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ermor-ea

EA Ermor the New Faith

Lore

"Ermor was initially a conglomerate of the Roman Empire and undead nations of general fantasy stock. With time, it has received a history that begins as something like the early Roman republic, with military units of that age and priests and diviners inspired by Roman religious officials. The New Faith replaces the old state cult of the Numina, as Christianity eventually replaced the old Roman state cult. With the turn of the age, the mistake of the Augurs becomes apparent, and the nation is brought into darkness.

Ermor is one of the first conceived nations in the Dominions universe. In the first Dominions, the Ermorian backstory influenced many of the other nations. When the eras were introduced in Dominions 3, the undead empire ended up in the late age and the Dominions history lost some of its coherency. With Dominions 4, I tried to straighten things up and once more placed the Ashen Empire of Ermor in the middle age where its antagonists and splinter empires can be found.

The backstories of Sceleria, Pythium, Marignon and Ulm are all influenced by Ermor. Several other nations have interacted with the nation or its shadow. It would be difficult to imagine the Dominions setting without Ermor."
- Illwinter

Ermor is an empire centered around a great city. For centuries it has grown and become more and more influential. Traders and travelers from near and far come to the city. By military campaigns, diplomacy and trade, Ermor has become a power to be reckoned with. By adopting local traditions and beliefs, the Ermorians posed little threat to neighbors and conquered peoples, but this has begun to change. A new God is rising. Old syncretistic faiths and spirit worship were banned by a Prophet dressed in white shrouds. The remnants of his body and shrouds are buried in the Holy City of Eldregate where the adherents of the New Faith are awaiting the arrival of the Reawakening God foreseen by the Prophet. The all-encompassing old state cult of the Numinas still survives, but the Pontifices and Flamen are slowly adopting the New Faith.

General Overview

Early Age Ermor is a human nation based on the aesthetic of the Roman Empire combined with early Christianity. Its human mages focus on Fire, Astral, and Death magic, with a smattering of other paths. Uniquely, its most powerful mages, the slow-to-recruit Augur Elders, can be recruited outside its capital. Its troops range from militia to elites, most carrying the trademark tower shield and javelins of Roman infantry. Efficient cavalry, including strong sacred elite cavalry, round out the roster.

In the Early Age, the culture of Ermor is in a transition period. Its old elemental cult based around the Numina (Latin for Divinities) has been displaced from the capital and all outlying fortifications by a new religion, one focused on healing and (currently) focused on preserving itself. The new priesthood of Healers and the flexible Augurs certainly have a strong niche, but you'll have to build Temples and Labs in unfortified provinces if you want to experience all that Ermor's roster has to offer.

The random paths on Ermor's Mages are rather annoying, especially on its Flamens; you might not see a particular Elemental path or Nature for a very long time, especially since it's impossible to speed up the recruitment of your Flamens. You're not even guaranteed level 3 in Fire or Death on your Elder Augurs, your best Mages. In exchange for this inconsistency beyond low-level Fire, Astral, and Death, the mean cost of your Mages is pretty cheap, and you'll have a decent amount of money left over at the end of each turn for your other national features. These include your fine castles, your fit-for-service Healer-Priests (assuming you're not using the capital for your Mages), and your awesome cavalry.

National Features

Race Military Magic Access Priests Buildings
Average Humans
Lizard Auxiliaries
Neutral Temperature
Strong Medium Infantry
Cheap Mages
Tower Shield Infantry
National Longdead
Fast Movement
fire 33 (rare 4)
death 33 (rare 4)
astral 22 (rare 3)
air 11 (uncommon, rare 2)
water 11 (uncommon)
earth 11 (uncommon)
nature 11 (uncommon)
Summon: water 11earth 11nature 22
Strong (holy 33)
Healers
Advanced Forts (Castle)

Capital Special Sites

Temples of the Shroud
* Enables recruitment of Equite of the Sacred Shroud
* Enable recruitment of Bishop of the Sacred Shroud
* Enable recruitment of Arch Bishop of the Sacred Shroud
* Produce 3firegem3astralpearl

Commanders

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Scout
25
4
1
Stealthy(50)
Mountain Survival
Forest Survival
Scout for Scouting.
Assassin
60
4
1
Stealthy(65)
Ambidextrous(2)
Assassin 1
Assassin for assassinating.
Not very strong on his own, due to being just a human, but can be made more effective with a Bottle of Living Water
Centurion
70
21
1
Your default 80 leadership commander.
Legatus Legionis
110
21
2
Your slower-to-recruit 120 leadership commander. Not any better at surviving, but their base skills make them phenomenal leaders once they pick up some Experience stars.
Acolyte
45
1
1
holy 11
Sacred
National version of the common Indie priest.
It's a good thing they made Indie Priests more expensive, otherwise this guy would still be useless!
Augur
65
2
2
fire 11astral 11 9
Fortune Teller 10%
Your main Research Mage and only Communion Slave, reminding you to build forts.
You will have a lot of them in your forts, which will allow their Fortune Teller ability to eventually prevent (or at least warn you of) some bad events. Will serve your Augur Elders well.
Augur Elder
210
2
4
fire 22astral 11death 22random1100%
10%
17
Fortune Teller 10%
Your primary battle mage, strong in Fire and Death with the addition of Astral (to be the Communion Master) and Air (to prevent you from getting Fire 3 or Death 3).
Works well in the center of your army with Augur Communion Slaves casting big spells, or off to the side if summoning Fire Elementals.
Bishop of the Sacred Shroud
110
1
2
Capital Only
holy 22
Sacred
Recuperation
Healer 1
Capital-only Healers (able to remove afflictions with time).
Arch Bishop of the Sacred Shroud
145
1
4
Capital Only
holy 33
Sacred
Recuperation
Healer 1
Bishops are faster to produce, but Arch Bishops are H3 priests, making claiming thrones possible and blessing sacred formations easier.
They are one of the standout features of EA Ermor.
Pontifex
100
1
2
Rec Foreign Only
fire 11holy 22 7
Sacred
Foreign Recruit only so requires an unfortified Lab and Temple. You'd be surprised how expensive Mage-Priests can get, and these ones also have holy 22 for supporting non-Sacred armies.
Flamen
135
1
2
Rec Foreign Only
fire 11holy 11random1100% 9
Sacred
Foreign Recruit only like the Pontifex and your only access to Nature, Earth, and Water magic. Having a Temple and Lab without a fort is risky, but necessary for path variety. The guaranteed Fire level offers some interesting cross-paths, such as Fire/Earth for Magma Bolts, Fire/Water for Geyser, and Fire/Nature for Seven Year Fever.
More cross-path interactions can be utilized if you get Boosters, and/or somehow make them Communion Masters.
Note that having too many Fortresses around an unfortified province will steal all of its resources.

Troops

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Slinger
7
2
3
Inexpensive ranged weapons. Sadly not very useful, as slings are low damage and limited range. Could be deployed as in great numbers swiftly as siege chaff or in combination with Flaming Arrows.
Accensus
8
9
5
A Javelin and Towershield are useful, but the unit is completely outclassed by its slightly more expensive peers. May have a role if you are more recruitment point constrained.
Gladiator
10
1
9
levy FIXME Two attacks with a bonus against shield-wielding foes make this the unit of choice against medium infantry. Their low resource cost makes them easy to mass, but they will disappear after either inflicting or suffering damage in battle. Very useful for early expansion or as an emergency defense recruit.
Retiarius
10
1
9
levy FIXME Your mainstay expansion, rush, and counter-rush units. These deal effectively with several types of elite low-strength units due to their net attack and high piercing damage. An extremely cost-effective unit, the addition of spells like Fog Warriors, Will of the Fates, and Mass Flight turn them into weapons of mass destruction.
Leve
10
8
9
Tower shield and Javelin make them very much worth recruiting for expansion, but you may want to switch over to his more resource-expensive peers as the game goes on.
Rorarus
10
13
8
Your most heavily armored spear, tower shield, and Javelin option. A very good default recruitment option.
Lizard Auxiliare
10
11
11
Cold Blooded
Swamp Survival
Swimming
Weaker Map Movement and Morale than its peers, but more resource efficient and native poison resistance make them worth considering. Beware: Cold-blooded will cause problems in provinces with cold temperatures.
Hastatus
11
14
12
Comparable to the Rorarus, but with a short sword instead of a spear and slightly more expensive. Trades slightly higher damage for its repel potential. Likely your other default recruitment.
Principe
14
16
20
Better attack, defense, protection, and morale than the Hastatus, but also slightly slower and 27% more expensive.
Triarius
15
28
25
Formation Fighter
Old Age (55/50)
Your most heavily armored unit. No Javelin, but does have a better spear. Extremely high encumbrance combined with old age and higher cost to recruit make this a more questionable choice.
Standard
20
14
21
Standard A Hastatus with a flag. The extra squad morale is very welcome and a few should be sprinkled in any infantry formation.
Equite
30
22
46
A very average medium cavalry unit. Very high recruitment cost, and it's often difficult to find a place for them.
Equite of the Sacred Shroud
45
24
48
Capital Only
Sacred
Recuperation
Your capital only sacreds. Build-in recuperation means they are more likely to last to a higher experience level. Arguably the best human cavalry of the age, worth recruiting even without a blessing.

Heroes

None of Ermor's heroes are very flashy, but they could be good. The presence of Healers in Ermor makes Old Age trivial for these two.

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Cornelius - Pontifex Maximus fire 22astral 22holy 33
Sacred
Old Age
Essentially Ermor's only Communion Mage-Priest. Priest levels (and his Fire & Astral) can be boosted by Communion Slaves, while holy 33 is already a solid tier with Divine Blessing and Smite. He'd be a lot more useful in most other nations, though, as he's kind of obsolete in his home nation.
Innocentius - Primate holy 44
Sacred
Recuperation
Healer 2
Old Age
One of the game's super-rare holy 44 Priests, and a better Healer than the others to boot. If only his Recuperation weren't useless. Due to his Old Age, he'll need an attending Bishop.

Magic

Magic Access

Your strongest magic paths are Fire and Death, allowing you to forge boosters to bring Augur Elders up to fire 55, and death 33 Which is enough for Summon Spectre which could make you Crystal gear. There is a 20% chance that a twiceborn Augur Elder could return with a Death path boost, letting you climb up to Death 5 and 6 for Well of Misery and Liches.

You have Astral magic that can be raised to astral 33 with only national paths. May not need communion to be deadly against thugs, as you can Mind Hunt with an astral booster and you have national healers.

Air is available but it's only really useful for low-level lab jobs or powered up from Communions.

Flamens give you 1 level in Earth, Water, and Nature. Earth is hard to raise. Flamens can forge Water Bracelet but need lucky random from a Spectre Mage to reach water 44 with a Robe of the Sea.

Your Nature magic comes from Lars which, when given a Thistle Mace, are Nature 3 and 4 in combat. With the two Water boosters, Lars can Summon Naiads to reach water 55 and nature 44.

National Spells

Combat

  • EA Ermor does not have any national combat spells.

Ritual

  • Conjuration 5 nature 11 for 16naturegem: Contact Lar ( Lar×1)
    Absolutely worth the cost as it is one of your nation's most important mages water 11earth 11nature 22 and is very easy to summon. Just get an Indie shaman to find Nature gems and then cast. They break you into Nature and serve as Foul Vapors casters.

Notable Generic Magic

Main combat utility comes from Fire and Death, from Elders with Astral, a small amount of Wind, and minor levels in other paths.

Fire is known for evocations, though most players are capable of resisting and protecting their troops from Fire and Cold. Look to big wipes like Fire Storm and Heat from Hell if the enemy is unprepared.

In addition to Death Communions grinding the enemy down with unending skeleton spam, Death also has access to a number of useful battlefields wide spells such as Rigor Mortis and Life after Death). Using Soul Vortex with Lamia bodyguards is a good way to keep your Elders at low fatigue. Wailing Winds is castable by an air random Elder in a Communion and is a way to morale rout armies.

Astral allows you to enter Communions, and even Communions consisting of only Augurs or a solo Elder can counter thugs with Mind Burn, Paralyze, Soul Slay, Enslave Mind, and Nether Darts. Be careful with only having Elders with no Augurs to back them up as they can be targeted by Magic Duel.

Air requires Communions to be effective in combat, though you can enable some useful crosspath spells. Wind Guide + Flaming Arrows is good on nations whose front line units use javelins. Fog Warriors will buff your army with Mistform, making them last a lot longer if your enemy has no magic weapons.

Lars make up your Nature power. With a Thistle Mace and Strength of Gaia they can reach nature 44. They can boost your legion's protection with Mass Protection and combo Serpent's Blessing with Foul Vapors to keep them alive while the battlefield is wiped.

Flamen provide Fire mixed with other paths, including Earth and Water. Not too useful in combat outside of fluffing until you can get a Crystal Matrix then you will have Earth, Water, Acid, and Magma added to your Communion arsenal.

National priests are good at Dispeling.

Can Cast Vengeance of the Dead and Mind Hunt late game to remote kill enemy commanders, with healers to return feebleminded mind hunters back to the line of duty.

Climbing higher in Death allows you to summon immortal Lich and Wraith Lord thugs.

Can use Gateway and Stygian Paths to teleport into enemy territory.

Water random Flamen with a Water Bracelet can Manifest Vitriol.

You can cast Tartarian Gate in the late game.

Magic Items

Fire and Death allow you to make good thug items. Fire also boosts the morale of legionaries. Astral improves MR and grants luck. Flamen also can forge a lot of useful Fire crosspaths and low path items.

Forge Lightless Lanterns and Owl Quills to greatly speed up your research.

National Discount

  • Shroud of the Battle Saint: Conj 4, astral 11, 4astralpearl. Can't be removed, grants low body Protection, and makes the wearer always count as being blessed even if not sacred. Useful to give your blessing to a summoned thug or super-combatant chassis.

Notable Thug items

  • Blacksteel items
  • Ivory Bow
  • Carmine Cleaver
  • Duskdagger
  • Doom Glaive
  • Eye Shield
  • Lantern Shield
  • Evening Star
  • Rune Smasher
  • Shield of Gleaming Gold

Strategy

Power Curve

Expansion Strategies

Example Pretender Builds

See More

ermor-ea.txt · Last modified: 2023/09/29 18:52 by matius