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erytheia-la

LA Erytheia, Kingdom of Two Worlds

Lore

"Erytheia is the late era development of Pelagia. It is a nation heavily inspired by Ptolemaic Egypt. Like Ptolemaic Egypt, it is a nation of foreign conquerors adopting local traditions forming an isolated kingdom desperate to keep its royal blood lines and avoid foreign influence. I wanted the Ptolemaic practices of royal sibling marriages represented in the game and this led to some new mechanics developed for Erytheia. I also wanted Erytheia to be more of a contender for the closed realm, Pelagia's name for dry land. The idea of a merman kingdom of both worlds started to take form when I worked on the Dominions 4 UW-patch. The pairing with Ptolemaic concepts fit well and Erytheia became a nation quite different in feel from previous underwater nations." - Illwinter

Erytheia, Greek for "the red one", takes its name from one of the three Hesperides (Greek Nymphs of the setting sun). It's the name of the Red Land, an idyllic place where the sunset strikes its river with an exquisite red color. While Arcoscephale held the Land at first, it later became the site of a prosperous Pelagian colony of Mermen, strange amphibious humanoids who trade their fish tails in for legs when they reach dry land. Eventually the Old Kingdom of Arcoscephale collapsed into an (until-recently) ineffectual heap, and the Merman colony united with the Human colony through the marriage of their governors.

Merman Erytheia was still nominally a part of the Triton Kingdom of Pelagia, however, until a curse was laid upon the sea. The Tritons are a strong race, but they are unable to breathe air. Pelagia was in a part of the ocean that had been relatively-unaffected by catastrophes thus far, and even benefited from crises that staggered or outright crushed their rivals, so their lack of flexibility was a political and economic nuisance at worst. But then came a disaster beyond our understanding of physics and reality, one that Pelagia itself only witnessed through its mighty Kings and much of its population falling to an endless sleep. Those still awake broke the Kingdom as they disagreed upon how to go on, and many Tritons and Mermen decided to turn to Erytheia for stability. The former colony had thus become a "Kingdom of Two Worlds" – that of the Surface, and that of the Sea.

Has Erytheia benefited from the collapse of the Middle Age world? Yes, but whether or not it can sustain its good fortunes is another story. The Humans are locked from positions of influence, the Tritons have been more-or-less forgotten by the surface-dwellers (though they're eager to serve the King if it means he'll visit them), and only one family is good enough for the royal family to marry into. On the other hand, the merging of the two worlds has led to interesting new technologies, and the Red Land's Magic is quite powerful on a good day.

In case you're wondering if Erytheia was a label for an actual place, it wasn't exactly; various portions of the Indian Ocean have been referred to as the Erythrean Sea (with Erythrea also meaning "red"), and the Red Sea inherited that label in modern times. Eritrea was named after the Erythrean Sea, too, as a colonial nation.

General Overview

Erytheia is essentially the LA Atlantis for the Pelagia line: it is a land nation that would like to get back into the water. Although Erytheia has better off-cap land mages while Atlantis has proportionally better troops, the premise is largely the same. Erytheia is more akin to a water nation that starts on land, in fact, as most of its good units and mages can only be recruited underwater or on coasts.

Erytheia is notable for its mages, the best of which have a high degree of randomness and can form powerful and balanced communions.

National Features

Race Military Magic Access Priests Buildings
Prefers Heat 1
Some Average Humans
Mermen:
Amphibious
Base 1 PROT
+2 MR vs. Humans
Slow on Land
Fast underwater
Tritons:
Aquatic
Base 1 PROT
High HP vs. Humans
+2 STR & MR vs. Humans
+1 ATT & MOR vs. Humans
Fast underwater
Iron & Heavy Bronze
Some Coral & Pearl Gear
Imitation Hoplites
Amphibious Crossbows
Sacreds with Magic Gear
Mediocre Leaders
water 33*
fire 22 (rare 3)
astral 22 (rare 3)
earth 22 (uncommon, rare 3)
air 22 (uncommon)
nature 11 (uncommon)*
Heroes: fire 11earth 22, nature 11
Summons:
nature 33water 11 & 30naturegem:
nature 44 (rare 5)
water 33 (rare 4)
earth 33air 11 & 30earthgem:
earth 33 (rare 4)
air 22 (rare 3)
death 11 (uncommon, rare 2)
fire 33astral 11 & 35firegem:
fire 33astral 33nature 22
Decent (holy 22)
Recruit-anywhere
(holy 11 UW)
Standard
UW Forts
Coastal Recruits

*The water 33's & nature 11's are primarily/only found underwater. If you are not underwater, you will not find nature 11 (except for on those uncommon Shaman Indies), and water 33 will be about as rare as astral 33. These mages can also convert watergem to astralpearl at a one-for-one ratio, though at a limited rate per turn.

The King and Queen

Erytheia starts with no King or Queen. Your first Prince of the Setting Sun will be promptly coronated to a King of Both Worlds in the capital, giving him a +holy 11 pathboost, 120 base Leadership (as opposed to 80), and an additional point of Awe in sunlight. The King must then be married to a Princess of the Setting Sun in the same province, who will get the exact same bonuses when she becomes the Queen of Land and Water; otherwise, your capital will periodically generate Unrest. The marriage ceremony also comes with significant gifts, such as a decent amount of Gold. You can do this in reverse order, by the way, getting the Queen first (by hiring a Princess first) and then moving a Prince to her location to get the King.

Since there can only be one King and one Queen at a time, the King and his Princes (as well as the Queen and her Princesses) hate each other; if two Princes (or two Princesses) are in the same province when Random Events happen, one may assassinate/execute the other. This can also happen between the King and a Prince, and between the Queen and a Princess.

Capital Special Sites

Palace of the Setting Sun The Red River

* Enables recruitment of Prince of the Setting Sun
* Enables recruitment of Princess of the Setting Sun
* Produces 1 per turn
* Produces 1 per turn

* Enables recruitment of Soldier of the Setting Sun
* Produces 1 per turn
* Produces 1 per turn

Notable Units

FIXME General description of the units in the nations rooster, any standouts, shared qualities aka temperature, any foreign rec, what makes a good basis for planning around

Commanders

FIXME description of the workhorse options, for the sake of sanity better skip the clearly subpar and generic stuff (no h1 unless special qualities, no 40, 60 leadership dudes that are average, no scouts

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments

Erytheian Scout
Erytheian Scout
25
6
1
+Rec Underwater Fort
Stealthy (50)
Sea Shape
Amphibious Scouts, no terrain survivals.
Machimos Commander
40
16
1
Inland national commander of 60 ld.
Triton Priest
65
2
1
Rec Underwater Fort Only
holy 11
Sacred
Aquatic
Aquatic mage, only used in UW Expansion parties when resources are tight or need to banish lots of undead in the water.

Erytheian Commander
Erytheian Commander
70
31
1
Rec Coastal or Underwater Fort only
Formation fighter (2)
Sea Shape
80ld commander with a magic weapon.

Nomarch
75
2
1
holy 22
Sacred
Tax Collector
Patrol Bonus (15)
Inspirational (-1)
Sea Shape (Nomarch)
Not a great leader in combat, but has some uses outside of it in priestly duties and patrolling.

Their description talks about their role in landlocked areas, as they can be recruited inland. But a nomarch can also shine by sitting in a lake cut off from your territory, collecting taxes to pay for his upkeep.
Mystic
90
1
2
astral 11random1100% 10
Adept Researcher (1)
Decent communion mages and researchers. The only recruitable mage from inland forts.

Mermage
Mermage
95
1
2
Rec Coastal or Underwater Fort only
water 11random1100% 9
Sea Shape
Offers nothing new compared to Daduchoi and isn't as efficient as Mystics, but has cheaper access to some crosspaths and may be useful in an underwater war.
Triton Noble
110
32
1
Rec Underwater Fort Only
Mounted
Recuperation
Aquatic
Tough aquatic leader with formations.

Daduchos
Daduchos
180
2
2
Rec Coastal or Underwater Fort only
fire 11astral 11random3100%
50%
50%
50%
15
Sacred
adept researcher (2)
Sea Shape
The versatile workhorse of the nation. Efficient researchers thanks to their sacred upkeep. All Daduchoi study fire and astral magic, with most choosing one or more other elemental paths as well. Their guaranteed random can make them specialize by giving them 2 in one path. 20% are fire 22, and 20% astral 22. The rarer specializations are each 10% chances: air 22, water 22 or earth 22.

The remaining 30% with just 1 level in 3-5 paths are still necessary to form stable communions that can create many problems for your opponents who don't know what to expect with so many different paths. Especially the Daduchoi with 1 in all 5 paths are perfect communion slaves.

Beware that the more random paths they get, the older they become. Luckily you have access to disease healing Hesperides and Golden Apples.
Pearl Mage
175
1
2
Rec Underwater Fort only
water 22astral 11random1100% 13
Pearl Cultivator (3)
Aquatic
The prime mage for water magic. Can climb nature with Contact Naiad, and convert water gems to pearls.
Prince of the Setting Sun
210
2
4
Capital Only
fire 11astral 11holy 22random3100%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
15
Sacred
Sun Awe (2)
Insane (5%)
Starting affliction chance (20%)
Sea Shape ( Prince of the Setting Sun)
The insane nobility of Erytheia are the nation's most versatile casters and potentially best mages money can hire. Their paths are even more random than of the Daduchoi who train them. If they were to gain all of their random paths, they would have 11 total levels in magic (+2 priest levels), more than a big mage from the Early Age… Or they might be worse than your average Daduchos.

The Prince/Princess of the Setting Sun has a roughly 14% chance of having at least one level 3 path. There's three options, with one of them being less likely.

For the Prince: 6% fire 33 and astral 33, and 2% water 33.

For the Princess: 6% fire 33 and water 33, and 2% earth 33.

They can gain two or all three of these paths at the same time, but that is extremely unreliable. The Pearl Mage can much more reliably get water 33, albeit with fewer crosspaths.

Chance of earth 22 for the Princess is 15%, or 8% air 22. The Prince has 8% for both. The Daduchoi are faster to recruit in case you wish to gamble for a mage with these paths.

The nobility serve as good leaders to your troops, but if there is one thing worse than an important mage disobeying your orders, it's having them do that while also forcing an entire army to stop. In other words: if you use them as leaders, have other leaders ready to take over the troops. Then you can move on while leaving the insane prince/princess behind.
Princess of the Setting Sun
210
1
4
Capital Only
fire 11water 11holy 22random3100%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
15
Sacred
Sun Awe (2)
Insane (5%)
Starting affliction chance (20%)
Sea Shape ( Princess of the Setting Sun)

Troops

FIXME description of the workhorse options, for the sake of sanity better skip the clearly subpar and generic stuff (common indie like units with no gimmicks), merge units into a single description entry if functionally similar battle roles with only minor differences in gear.

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Machimos
9
9
7
A "pugnacious" human, made useful by his Javelin.
They are the only troop option inland, where they can help with battles and sieges.

Thyreophorite
Thyreophorite
10
8
9
Rec Coastal or Underwater Fort only
Sea Shape A "shield-bearing" merman, made useful by his Javelin.
Also for expansion.

Erytheian Crossbowman
Erytheian Crossbowman
10
7
9
Rec Overwater Coastal Fort only
Sea Shape The coolest thing about this guy's "belly bow" is that it might force him to hit something, due to its low range. It shoots even underwater.
Javelins will do more damage with a Strength buff, although without armor piercing.

They are cheap, but not the easiest to amass since only coastal forts can queue them.

Erytheian Hoplite
Erytheian Hoplite
12
29
14
Rec Coastal or Underwater Fort only
Formation Fighter (2)
Sea Shape
If you're driven off-shore, at least you'll still have this guy.
At least he's not wearing iron. They are durable but painfully slow on land.

Erytheian Phalangite
Erytheian Phalangite
14
20
18
Rec Overwater Coastal Fort only
Formation Fighter (2)
Sea Shape
Your one professional, off-capital troop, who can breathe air.
Not having him inland really sucks; go for coasts.
It doesn't help that he's a slow marcher, like the Hoplite.
Soldier of the Setting Sun
Soldier of the Setting Sun
30
36
31
Capital Only
Sacred
Formation Fighter (2)
Sea Shape
Sun Awe (1)
This guy's main feature is his Awe, which functions on land.
Having a Magic Weapon is nice, too.
He could really use a stat Bless or two, if your Scales allow; he's not very punchy.
Triton Militia
8
2
5
Rec Underwater Fort only
Aquatic Dec
Triton Soldier
10
21
9
Rec Underwater Fort only
Aquatic Dec
Triton Hoplite
13
27
16
Rec Underwater Fort only
Aquatic
Formation Fighter(2)
Dec
Triton Knight
50
25
48
Rec Underwater Fort only
Recuperation
Aquatic
Mounted
Dec

Heroes

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Geryon - Triple-Headed
Minimum hero arrival turn: 15
Eyes (6)
Eurytion - Herdsman
Minimum hero arrival turn: 10

Magic

National Spells

FIXMEnational spell or summon cost and usecase, judgment if it's good.

Pride of Lions: Conj 3 10naturegem, nature 22( Great Lionx10+) Fast animal chaff with two high damage attacks. Erytheia rarely has nature gems or mages on land to spare for these.

Summon Hound of Twilight Conjure 5, earth 22death 11 4earthgem, ( Hound of Twilightx1) A big Fear monster with a Patrol bonus of 20. Cheap for an Empowered earth 22 in death to spam and remove your fort's unrest. Decent patroller.

Summon Hekateride Conj5 nature 33water 11 30naturegem. ( Hekateridex1) the amphibious sister of the Hesperide. They can be summoned by one with a Thistle Mace and a single Empowerment in water, or by a Naiad summoned by a nature random Pearl Mage. Allows Erytheia climb higher in nature with nature 33 or nature 44 and an UW nature mage and Foul Vapors caster.

Contact Hesperide Conjure 6, fire 33astral 11 35firegem, (summon Hesperidex1) A useful mage who not only removes a lot of Diseases and Unrest but also breaks you into Nature for rituals and communions. Gets level 3 in astral and fire in case gambling for randoms with princes and princesses didn't work out. Can forge Moonvine Bracelets.

Call Ladon Conjure 6, fire 33nature 22 15firegem, ( Ladon - Drakon Hesperiosx1) Summon a big unique monster with a Hesperide. He may be decent(by the standards of a big monster commander with only head and misc slots), the real purpose is to keep him alive so your can get an event in the spring that has a good chance to gives you a Golden Apple, a Decent morale booster and a way for important mages to remove 10 years when they get hold to increase their game relevance.

Summon Daktyl Conj6 earth 33air 11 30earthgem. ( Daktylx1) A master smith dwarf. Doesn't always offer you anything new in terms of magic, but the Air random can forge up to air 33 and the Death random breaks you into the path, letting you summon the Hound of Twilight and even forge Skull Staffs. The Earth randoms are also higher in the path than what you usually get without a lucky Princess. As for the remaining 2/5 Daktyls, gaining another level of Fire or Water does not make them special compared to your recruitable mages, aside from forging higher earth.

Craft Keledone Construction 7, earth 22astral 22 5earthgem, (summon 1 Keledone) Situational, Summon a Hard to kill immobile communion slave in case a fort gets besieged.

Forge Brass Bull Construction 7, fire 33earth 33 30firegem, (summon a Khalkotauros) A big Hard to kill Trample monster that breaths fire. Often a Skip as that Research and gems could be used for thugging.

Sow Dragon Teeth Enchantment 6, earth 22 1earthgem, ( Spartae x10) Combat Summons for only 1 Earth Gem, giving 10 hoplite magic beings with decent stats and magic gear.

Magic Access

FIXME What magic path/mages define your nation, what can you level, e.g., thunderstriking, astral, elementals, earth buffs, blood, what is recruitable anywhere and good, what are some summons you are likely able to get and are useable

Combat Magic

FIXME 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?

Ritual Magic

FIXME 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?

Magic Items

FIXME Do you have any National items(Construction Level, Price, and required Paths). Any unique generic items few other nations can forge? What item would be useful on your unit lineup (non-standard recommend thug gear)?

National Items

FIXME nation exclusive items

National Dicount Items

FIXME items you get national Discounted on (Reduced Price and required Paths). Any Reasons your nation may want to forge it?

Strategy

FIXME do you have a game plan? Anything you should always be working toward? Any National weaknesses?

Pretender

FIXME What kinds of scales does your nation like? Do they require any to function? Any blesses your sacreds would like? Do you desperately need an awake expander? Examples of Pretenders?

Early Game

FIXME How to expand, potential pitfalls and how to get around them, obvious weakness strength, how much do you have to focus on war/infrastructure

Mid Game

FIXME what is the first big research rush, what is the first big powerspike, where do you shift recruitment to? what are the big magic diversity issues, are there particular globals you should gun for

Late Game

FIXME How do you close out the game if you are in it, is the high-level research stuff you can do uniquely well, does your nation fall off, aka do you have to force things to conclude swiftly

erytheia-la.txt · Last modified: 2024/07/09 05:13 by johnnydown