"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." –Illwinter
Ermor was once a great empire that had conquered much of the known world. The realm crumbled as the
great mages of the Empire studied dark magic under the Sauromancers of C’tis. Unaware of the dangers of
dark sorcery, priests performed unholy rites in the capital city of Eldregate. But there were voices who
demanded that the foul practices stop. Theurgs and Thaumaturgs foresaw the cataclysm and advised
generals, governors, and consuls to revolt. When the Apostate Emperor marched on Ermor itself, the
Augurs and Bishops of the Empire were forced to act in concert. In one cataclysmic event, Death was let
loose and the empire was shattered. The Cataclysm attracted attention from an earlier God, a dark and
hungry God. The vast power of this Awakening God erased the boundaries between the land of the living
and the land of the dead. Ermor is now a cursed land of ashes and darkness where nothing grows. The
bones of long-dead inhabitants reassemble to form legions of undead under the leadership of the cursed
priests of the old Ermorian faith. Undead legions march forth to conquer a world once theirs. The
Ermorian Dominion reanimates the dead without the aid of unholy priests. It also destroys the land,
turning crops and forests into ashes, and people and livestock into bones. The Pretender God of Ermor will
also be able to sense where any corpses are in provinces under his Dominion.
It's the original popkill nation! Isn't it cool? Piles of skeletal freespawn, with varying amounts of skill, allow you to wash over most of your foes. The lack of a need for recruiting troops makes this one of the archetypal "Hellbless" nations, especially with the rare few Undead Knights that can carry your bless. Your start is very weird, though, and it will take time and practice to figure out what the heck to do so you can get on your feet.
Race | Military | Magic Access | Priests | Buildings |
---|---|---|---|---|
Undead | No Recruits Free Longdead Hordes Many Sacred types: * Heavy Lictors * Ghostly Grenadiers * Fearsome Knights | 2 With 3 & 20: 4 (rare 5) 2 (rare 3) 2 (rare 3) 1 (uncommon, rare 2) 1 (uncommon, rare 2) 1 (uncommon, rare 2) | Summons: 1 (2 & 10) 2 (2 & 16) 3 (3 & 23) Reanimators | Standard Forts +1 for each Fort with a Temple inside |
The Unholy Sepulchre |
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Produces 9 per month. |
MA Ermor cannot natively recruit any units or commanders whatsoever. Instead, Ermor relies on rituals, freespawn and indies to form its mage corps and armies.
In addition to those traits listed, all Ermorian commanders share the following traits:
Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Censor 2 4 Revive Censor | Sacred | Compared to the generic Mound King, Censors cost slightly more and have lower morale, but are a bit more resistant to magic and can lead more undead at a time. | |
Acolyte of Eldregate 2 10 Revive Acolyte | 1 Sacred Reanimator Priest | All of MA Ermor's priests can reanimate, although this is largely outscaled by the reanimation effect of Ermor's dominion. Higher priest level allows the priest to summon more elite undead. Of these, Arch Bishops are perhaps the most effective use of death gems as they can cast battlefield-wide (un)holy magic, claim thrones, and reanimate sacred Lictors on the side. | |
Bishop of Eldregate 2 16 Revive Bishop | 2 Sacred Reanimator Priest |
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Arch Bishop of Eldregate 3 23 Revive Arch Bishop | 3 Sacred Reanimator Priest |
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Spectator 2 12 Revive Spectator | 2 9 Poor Amphibian Stealthy (40) Ethereal Fear (7) | Inefficient for researching from a gem perspective, but is the cheapest mage for casting more of MA Ermor's national summons. Has some potential as a light thug, although death mages or priests can cheaply counter them. You start with one. Empowerment will make it able to summon Dusk Elders, and this requires 45; or you can spend 10 for a Skull Staff, if you wish to save Gems via Research. |
|
Dusk Elder 3 20 Revive Dusk Elder | 1131100% 10% 17 Poor Amphibian Stealthy (40) Ethereal Fear (8) | A solid path spread for 20, although its random is unreliable and it cannot efficiently cast non-death magic in combat. Occasionally provides access to the coveted crosspath. The single level of astral magic makes the Dusk Elder very weak to Magic Duel, especially since MA Ermor has no other astral mages outside of any indies one is lucky enough to stumble upon. These are also the most cost-effective Researchers Ermor has, slightly better for their price than the Revenant. |
In addition to those traits listed, all Ermorian heroes have the following traits:
Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Etimmu - Wraith Lord Minimum hero arrival turn: 15 | 3211 Sacred Cold Resistance (25) Poison Resistance (25) Cold Aura (3) Fear (13) Immortal (1 month) Dominion Attraction (Shade) Mounted Ethereal Amphibious Death Curse | An excellent thug chassis that can bless himself and quickly reforms if killed. | |
Alcastos - Forgotten King | 3 Sacred Cold Resistance (15) Poison Resistance (25) Poor Amphibian Pierce Resistant Inanimate | A free 3 for throne-claiming and battlefield-wide blessing. | |
Caractor - Arch Censor | Sacred Cold Resistance (25) Poison Resistance (25) Cold Aura (3) Fear (5) | Higher protection than ordinary Censors and has fear, but otherwise unremarkable. | |
Putrescator - Dusk Elder Minimum hero arrival turn: 15 | 23423 Cold Resistance (25) Poison Resistance (25) Stealthy (40) Cold Aura (3) Fear (9) Poor Amphibian Ethereal | Provides access to high death magic. |
Combat
Ermor is unable to cast many of the traditional blessing and undead banishment spells available to most nations. Instead, it gets its own brand of "Unholy" priest spells, which fulfil the same functions and more. Most come in 3 versions which each have a successively larger area of effect.
Rituals
Lictor Summon Spells
Lictors are MA Ermor's primary infantry sacred.
Wailing Lady Summon Spells
Non-sacred Summon Spells
What is the best spell you can use in combat. What spells the best support your national lineup, Is there weakness that you need to fix? Any tricks you should be aware you have?
What is the best ritual you could cast. Are there any globals you want up, any units you should be summoning? Are there any Generic rituals few nations can cast?
This is probably the most difficult section to get consensus for. Describe how strong the nation is during expansion, the early, mid and late game, and what makes it strong/weak at each of those points. This should give readers an idea of where the weaknesses of a nation lie (if they have not been shown already) and when to take advantage of a nation's strengths.
List some example expansion strategies here. If a strong bless or pretender is required then leave the specifics for the pretender section.
List some example pretender builds. Try to use the following format to keep authorship and pretender design rationale clear.
National overview by LucidTactics
Nations | |
---|---|
Early Ages | Arcoscephale • Ermor • Ulm • Marverni • Sauromatia • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Mictlan • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Agartha • Tir na n'Og • Fomoria • Vanheim • Helheim • Niefelheim • Rus • Kailasa • Lanka • Yomi • Hinnom • Ur • Berytos • Xibalba • Mekone • Ubar • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Therodos |
Middle Ages | Arcoscephale • Ermor • Sceleria • Pythium • Man • Eriu • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Asphodel • Vanheim • Jotunheim • Vanarus • Bandar Log • Shinuyama • Ashdod • Uruk • Nazca • Xibalba • Phlegra • Phaeacia • Ind • Na'ba • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Ys |
Late Ages | Arcoscephale • Pythium • Lemuria • Man • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Jomon • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Midgård • Utgård • Bogarus • Patala • Gath • Ragha • Xibalba • Phlegra • Vaettiheim • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Erytheia |