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Man is one of the first nations conceived in the Dominions universe. The nation is a conglomerate of medieval English and Arthurian concepts spiced with some fantasy elements from Ars Magica and the books of Robert Jordan. The Irish/Northumbrian monastic tradition, Anglo-Saxon society, and Welsh longbowmen are all inspirational sources. Later on, the nation turns towards scholarship paired with dark tidings. The mood in the movie Sleepy Hollow is a nice comparison.
In Dominions 4 steps has been taken to accentuate the influence of invading barbarians reminiscent of the Angles and Saxons. It is not difficult to see an early Ulm or a similar nation in the Logrian backstory." -Illwinter
The Kingdom of Man was once the land of Fomoria, or at least a land connected to that one. Though a bountiful domain, the Fomorians did a lot of damage to the place through their wars with Partholonians, Nemedians, and finally the Tuatha. Their back-and-forth with those superhuman elves, with the half-elven Fir Bolg used as peons by both sides, ultimately ended with Fomoria ruined and the Tuatha victorious; not that their victory was long-lived, for then humanity arrived.
The first humans in Man were the Logrians, guided by warrior-shamans of a seemingly-Ulmish background. Migrating to the once-Fomorian landmass, they coexisted with the Fir Bolg at first, but expelled most of them the moment an opportunity arose. This chance came with the Milesian invasion of the Tuatha's imperial core (now known as Eriu), causing the Tuatha and their Sidhe descendants to abandon Fomoria in a bid to salvage the situation. From there, the Logrians' new home was called Logres; that was the only thing the various Logrian tribes could agree on, however, and they entered a period of feuding petty kings.
Logres became Man with the arrival of the Witches, non-Logrian ladies who heard notes of magic from the forests and came to find the full songs. Eventually they found their prize, the Enchanted Forest of Avalon, and treasure troves of Sidhe spellsongs. Their discovery made them the most powerful beings in the land, so they united Logres and chose a non-Logrian King for it. The Logrian families remain as much of the Kingdom of Man's nobility, but their men are forbidden from joining the Witches' coven; the closest some can get, aside from eavesdropping and becoming Bards, is through supplicating to the Witches and becoming their Wardens.
A little trivia: Logres is the name of King Arthur's dominion in The Matter of Britain, and a variation of the Welsh name for England.
Magic Access | Alt. Access | Unit Summary | Core Abilities | Buildings |
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4 (rare 5) 3 (rare 4) 2 1 (rare 2) 1 (rare 2) 1 1 | Heroes 23232 1233 3321 | Varied human infantry Knights Longbowmen Sacred Unicorns | Stealthy Spell Singer Divine Insights Recuperation | Standard Forts Temples Cost 300 |
Capitol Gems: 32
Divine Insights: Man's designated priests may Research, but the number of units with this trait researching in the same province may not exceed the province's dominion strength.
Chorus Communions: Any Spell Singer in Man may join the Chorus Communion via a 1 spell. They automatically exit this Communion upon reaching 100 Fatigue, without causing any psychic backlash for the other members.
The humans of Man are completely all-over-the-place, statistically speaking. The two biggest groups are the average "men" and the Logrians; those of the latter group generally have 12 HP and 11 Strength, and 1 additional point of Attack Skill and Morale over what their station or training would suggest.
Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
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Royal Forester 40 8 1 Forest Rec+ | Stealthy(55) Ambidextrous(1) Patrol Bonus(5) Forest Survival | Commentary here. | |
Castellan 70 22 1 | Your standard milquetoast Leader. | ||
Monk 25 1 1 Foreign Rec+ | 13 Sacred Stealthy(40) Divine Insights | Commentary here. | |
Bard 75 5 2 | 17 Stealthy(50) Supply Bonus(10) Spy Spell Singer Forest Survival | Commentary here. | |
Daughter of Avalon 85 1 2 | 119 Sacred Supply Bonus(10) Spell Singer Forest Survival Female | Commentary here. | |
Mother of Avalon 175 1 2 | 111132100% 100% Sacred Stealthy(40) Supply Bonus(10) Spell Singer Forest Survival Female | Commentary here. | |
Knight Commander of Avalon 120 56 1 Capital Only | Forest Survival Recuperation Mounted | Commentary here. | |
Lord Warden 160 29 1 Capital Only | Sacred Stealthy(40) Ambidextrous(2) Forest Survival | Commentary here. | |
Crone of Avalon 335 1 4 Capital Only | 321171100% 10% Sacred Resist Poison(5) Supply Bonus(30) Spell Singer Forest Survival Old Age Female | Commentary here. | |
Logrian Wise Man 90 7 2 Foreign Rec only | 151100% | Commentary here. |
While some nations' troops gobble up Gold, others gobble up Resources, and still others gobble up Recruitment Points, Man has the misfortune of relying on all three. This makes choosing which Scales (Order for Rec Points, Productivity for Resources, etc.) to favor or dump somewhat tricky, though Man is one of those nations that doesn't need a Bless.
Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
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Logrian Slinger 9 8 6 Foreign Rec+ | Commentary here. | ||
Longbowman 10 7 13 | Commentary here. | ||
Spearman 10 9 9 | Commentary here. | ||
Longspear 10 13 9 | Commentary here. | ||
Logrian Warrior 12 15 9 Foreign Rec+ | Commentary here. | ||
Tower Guard 12 18 14 | Castle Defence Bonus(1) | Commentary here. | |
Forester 12 7 14 Forest Rec+ | Stealthy(55) Ambidextrous(1) Patrol Bonus(1) Forest Survival | Commentary here. | |
Landless Knight 13 24 16 | Commentary here. | ||
Logrian Cavalry 25 19 26 Foreign Rec+ | Mounted | Commentary here. | |
Warden of Avalon 26 28 31 Capital Only | Sacred Stealthy(40) Bodyguard(3) Forest Survival | Commentary here. | |
Knight of Man 40 51 46 | Mounted | Commentary here. | |
Knight of Avalon 60 56 48 Capital Only | Sacred Forest Survival Recuperation Mounted | Commentary here. |
You get seven of these things, and one of them is a multihero that you can get a theoretically-infinite amount of. All of your Mage heroes have wonderful paths for boosters, mainly the Moonvine Bracelet that boosts Nature.
Sprite | Unit Name | Magic | Special Attributes | Comments |
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Knight of the Stone | Mounted Multihero | He's not a terrible Multihero; his stats are neat, and he can lead your armies. The Mages are nicer, though. |
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Bernlad - Green Knight | Regeneration (10%) Stealthy (40) Forest Survival Recuperation Mounted | The best of your physical thugs! Try to guess why. Bernlad's dream is to find The Vale of Unicorns, which gives you ANOTHER place to recruit Knights of Avalon from, but he'll only find it where it's present. He can also give you up to three free Knight Commanders, by stealing them from provinces that raise their own Knights. |
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Rhianne - Heroine | Patrol Bonus (25) Forest Survival Recuperation Mounted | Certainly isn't Bernlad. 21 Defense is neat, though. |
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Brangwen - Blind One | 233121 | Sacred Resist Poison (5) Supply Bonus (30) Old Age Fortune Teller (10%) Spell Singer Blind | He's your only Mage-Hero who isn't a complete jerk. (Brangwen's actually a girl, but Illwinter forgot to give them the Female tag. Oops!) Hopefully you don't get him too early! |
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Nog - Ettin King | Ambidextrous (6) Gluttony (3) Unsurroundable (1) Undisciplined Mountain Survival Forest Survival Stupid Eyes (4) Retinue: Tower Guard (2 - 12) | A big boy. His retinue is neat! In battle, keep him AWAY from your Mages. You can also berserk him to negate the effects of stupid. |
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Myrddin - Cambion Hero turn arrival limit: 10 | 22323 19 | Demon Resist Fire (15) Resist Poison (5) Stealthy (40) Inept Researcher (10) Supply Bonus (30) Fortune Teller (15) Shapechanger Forest Survival | Excellent site searcher due to good paths and sneakiness. Also more of a Forger than a Researcher. If you have him AND a Mother of Avalon, he might seduce them, giving them a 1 pathboost or a 1 pathboost or (in a Forest) a 1 pathboost, in exchange for making them a Disciple of Myrddin who has Inept Researcher 4. This can only happen after Turn 15, but it can happen to multiple Mothers. (What a guy!) He can also make the Crystal Coin! |
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Morgaine - Fay Hero turn arrival limit: 10 | 3123 23 | Resist Poison (5) Resist Shock (5) Darkvision (50) Stealthy (65) Supply Bonus (30) Shapechanger Glamour Spell Singer Female | Morgaine is a very nifty Mage, able to fly wherever you need her to be, but she does NOT like the Witches. She'll turn one of your Mothers into a Great Boar (fortunately the Marverni kind) roughly once every twenty turns, and she might Mute one of your Crones with a powerful and destructive Curse (possibly the same Curse plaguing Later Man) to protect a pet Basilisk that you'll get to keep as compensation. The latter can Curse your Pretender and other units in the same province as her, but isolating her won't prevent the events. Fortunately, she doesn't start to hate Witches until Turn 15. |
Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
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Summon Black Dogs (Conjuration 2) 2 and 5 | Black Dog x 20 | Dark Vision (100%) Stealthy (60) Dark Power (2) Iron Vulnerability (1) Animal | Commentary here. |
Summon Barghests (Conjuration 4) 2 and 7 | Barghest x 14 | Dark Vision (100%) Stealthy (60) Dark Power (3) Iron Vulnerability(1) Curse Attacker (5) Animal | Commentary here. |
Summon Cu Sidhe (Conjuration 3) 2 and 5 | Cu Sidhe x 10 | Sacred Dark Vision (50%) Stealthy (40) Iron Vulnerability (1) Animal Forest Survival | Commentary here. |
Man is a fairy-tale place, with the happy (or at least neutral) paths of Nature, Air, Earth, Water, and Fire.
Nature's the big one; your Crones of Avalon can get 4 without Boosters, and 6 with the ones you can easily craft. Having at least a pinch of Luck (or at least not maximum Misfortune) may allow you to get one of the national Heroes that can craft your missing Booster, bringing you up to 7. That's essentially all the Nature you need for casting whatever Nature spells you want, though it does require Construction Level 6.
Air is capped at 3. I cry every time. On the bright side, that's enough for quite a few spells, and your 3's have a lot of 1's and 2's to support them in Chorus Communions, giving you whatever big buffs you think you'll need (and/or a ginormous pile of Living Clouds). There's also Storm and Summon Storm Power, if you feel like spending your Air Gems on things other than Owl Quills.
Earth has a slightly-higher ceiling than Air, but it's expensive and a bit manly. Logrian Wise Men can have 2, or 3 with the Booster, and you can slap those shoes on a Troll King for 4 if you're swimming in Earth Gems (or your 22323 Hero if you're not). Honestly, Empowering the 2 is cheaper, but the Troll King is less likely to die. In battle, your ceiling is either 4 or 5, depending on how dearly you clung to your Gems, thanks to Summon Earthpower; this is basically all you need in battle, at least for the bare minimum, but you could use the Chorus Communion with your rare Earth Witches to top it.
Water is stuck at 1 on your recruits, and not very common at that, but it comes on 3's and can thus be used for the dreaded Foul Vapors. With Construction 6 and a drop of good fortune, you can reach your national ceiling of 2; if you got that 22323 Hero, however, you can climb to 3 or 4, or even to 5 if you have enough Water Gems for a Sea King. In battle, the good ol' Chorus Communion can boost your Water levels to whatever you need, potentially enough to cast Fire Fend for your Barkskin-wearing troops.
Fire is stuck at 1, found on your Logrian Wise Men sometimes. It's enough for some Site-Searching, some Fire Resistance, some Magma Bolts, and some crafting of Lightless Lanterns. Unlike with Earth, the Logrian Wise Man's primary specialty, it's not taken up by the Witches and is therefore ineligible for the Chorus Communion; unless you got that magical 22323 Hero, anyway, who can craft the Crystal Matrix and thereby allow one of your Logrian Wise Men to lead the choir.
You're left out of Astral (mostly), Death, and Blood, all of which are (mostly) icky paths; Astral outside of your three Astral-bearing Heroes can be somewhat ignored since you have Chorus Communions, however, while Death can be (meagerly) entered via the Troll Shamans and Blood can be bootstrapped into.
DISCLAIMER: This doesn't acknowledge the 1/160 chance of getting 4 on one of your slow-to-recruit capital-only Witches, which would allow you to craft both of the Air-Boosters for 6. It also doesn't acknowledge the 1/160 chance of getting 2 on one of them, or the 1/160 chance of getting 5 on one of them, or any Unique summons such as the Elemental Royalty or the Treelords (one of which has 1).
Different expansion options.
Early game options.
Mid game options.
Late game options.
Chassis: Awake Titan of Crossroads
Paths: 457
Bless: MW/Arcane Finesse, Invuln 10, Regen.
Scales: 6203123
What are the nation's weaknesses?