Lanka is the kingdom of the Rakshasas, beings loosely-related to the Yakshas of Mount Kailasa. They are worldly descendants of various Asuras, fallen beings who fought with the Devas (also known as "Suras") in ages past, before both groups gradually moved on from their bickering and left the world; the Yakshas retreated to Mount Kailasa, the mountain where their superiors left for the Celestial Spheres, while the Rakshasas fortified on the island of Lanka.

Such an arrangement was not to last, for apes of uncanny brightness evolved on the continent, and the Rakshasas saw them as useful pawns and snacks. Though the Yakshas probably had more of a hand in the evolution of the apes, the Rakshasas were the first to meddle with them in-person, seducing some by appealing to their baser instincts and cowing most of the rest. They found the Bandar apes especially appealing, given their strength and their violent natures, and some even bred with them to produce darker-than-average Bandar known as the Kala-Mukhas. The more-common Vanara weren't shown the same favor, especially not the white-furred ones who ultimately stirred the Yakshas against Lanka.

Rakshasas are not quite a uniform race, possibly due to their chaotic nature, and few directly answer to the Raksharajas (kings) of Lanka. Even the common Rakshasas must be hired with Blood Slaves instead of gold, in tricky arrangements personally handled by Lanka's sorcerers. Rakshasas don't innately make things worse by existing, unlike the Oni, but that can be a bit annoying since they like when things are worse.

In Hindu myths, Lanka was the kingdom first established by the Rakshasa Sumali, then taken and made what it was by Kubera (King of the Yakshas), and then stolen by his half-brother Ravana. Ravana then stole a lady named Sita, wife of the legendary prince Rama, sparking a series of events leading to Lanka being burned down by a single Vanara and Ravana being killed. Not all Rakshasas are evil in Hindu myth, but most of them have ferocious appetites and a taste for live creatures.

Lanka is one of the early era blood powers. As a nation it is made up of Markata, Atavi, Bandar and demons. Lanka is able to field very hard hitting demons and Bandar warriors, or instead field large amounts of Markata or undead chaff. It is notable for its cheap blood 1 mages, strong and sacred blood summons, demon thugs, and demon supercombatants. They have excellent death, air and blood mages, with strong access to nature. Most of Lanka's demon units are weak to fire- even though Lanka has a heat preference! Many of their demonic troops also have chaos power where they gain attack, strength and defense in turmoil and unrest. They also can reanimate undead for chaff as needed with their priests.

Special Race Attributes	Military	Magic Access	Priests	Buildings
Prefers 2 Stealthy Monkeys Strong Gorillas Fire-vulnerable Demons	Stealthy Monkey Raiders Gorilla Infantry Sacred Demons Undead	3 (Rare 4) 2 (Uncommon 3, rare 4) 2 (Uncommon 3, rare 4) 3 (Rare 4)	2 in Forts 3 Summons Reanimator Priest	Standard Forts (Fortress)

• Improved blood hunting in turmoil: +1 slave per scale point.
• Mercenaries are 25% more expensive.

Lanka's troops are split into two broad camps: the lower monkey castes (Markata and Vanara), and the Bandar and Demons. The former are stealthy but generally poor troops, while the latter hit very hard but have at most moderate protection. Notably all of Lanka's demons (including its summons) have Chaos Power, making them much stronger in turmoil and much weaker in order dominion.

Lanka's commander lineup provides some powerful tools to a blood nation of the Early Ages. The Raktapata is an exceptionally gold-efficient blood hunter, reanimator and even researcher (in the right scales), the Rakshasi is a deadly seducer/assassin and the Raksharaja is a good (if expensive) recruitable thug. Even better, they make Lanka's plethora of useful blood summons easily available in comparison to the later monkey nations.

Unfortunately being a monkey nation means that many of Lanka's recruitable units have both the Animal tag and low Magic Resistance, making them rather vulnerable to Charm Animal. Fortunately, Lanka's stronger mages and most of its summons are demons instead of animals; on the other hand this makes them weak to demon counters like the Holy Scourge and Cleansing Water. Lanka's demons are also Fire Vulnerable, a problem which they cannot solve with their native magic paths.

Lanka has the possibility of reanimation which is a big strength for the nation. The chance to get a national longdead for Lanka is 75%, otherwise you get a common longdead. All units have the longdead suite of abilities: Undead, Resist Cold (15), Resist Poison (25), Inanimate, Pierce Resistance, Poor Amphibian, Spirit Sight, Mindless, Need not Eat, Never Heals.

Sprite	Unit Name	Abilities	Comments
	Longdead Markata Chance to get 12/21		These are your patrol chaff and you need plenty of it as Lanka. Despite having 11 attack/defence skill, the 3 hp makes them die to just about anything in combat, they can also barely deal any damage. Their only use in combat is tar pit chaff.
	Longdead Vanara Chance to get 1/21		Same as the Longdead Markata but 5 hp and less defence skill.
	Longdead Vanara Warrior Chance to get 1/21		Brings a mace to the fight which means it has a base damage of 16 and is as deadly as a regular longdead with a sword against regular units.
	Longdead Vanara Warrior Chance to get 1/21		Same as the Longdead Vanara Warrior but comes with actual body armor and a (bad) shield.
	Longdead Bandar Chance to get 2/21		With 12 attack skill and 21 damage, these have significant killing power. With 11 HP and piercing resistance, these may be able to take a hit (or two with good drn rolls) despite the low protection. Preferable try to make these not take the brunt of the enemy units attacks but rather flank/reinforce.
	Longdead Bandar Warrior Chance to get 2/21		Same as Longdead Bandar but with body armor and a (bad) shield.
	Longdead Bandar Warrior Chance to get 2/21		This is your creme de la creme of longdeads. 12 attack skill paired with 26 damage means this has the means to damage and kill most elite enemy units.

Combat

• Lanka does not have any national combat spells.

Ritual

Animal Summons
You can spend nature gems for animal chaff with big HP pools but low MR. Nature gems are desperately needed elsewhere, so use them only when desperate for bodies.

Img	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Elephant Conj 3 2 25 for 5+[1/2lv]	Troop Trample animal	Biggest HP pool. Summoned by Herd of Elephants
	Tiger Conj 3 3 10 for 10+	Troop Darkvision(50%) undisciplined animal Forest Survival	Has multiple attacks. Summoned by Ambush of Tigers
	Buffalo Conj 3 2 10 for 5+[1/2lv]	Troop Berserker(2) Trample animal	Tramplers that never retreat. Summoned by Herd of Buffaloes

Evil Spirits
Summonable Undead ghost. Each of its members has the following traits:

• Undead
• Resist Cold (15)
• Resist Poison (25)
• Poor Amphibian
• Spirit Sight
• Need not Eat
• Ethereal (true form)

Img	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Gana Conj 2 1 12 for 20	Troop	These Ghost monkeys are very mage-turn efficient units to mass, costing 0.6 per Gana. They are perhaps most notable for having magic weapons and being ethereal. Not inflicting a tremendous amount of damage themselves, they can be a very effective screen vs units that have no magic weapons. Being ethereal and having a shield, they are also effective vs archers. Summoned by Host of Ganas
	Possessed Corpse Conj 5 2 10 for 10	Troop Inanimate (first shape) Never Heals (first shape) Ethereal (wounded shape) Wounded Shape (Vetala)	Cheap death summoned Undead Bandar Warrior with a second ethereal form (the Vetala) that has an armor-piercing life drain attack as well as an attack that feebleminds the target. Like all second-form troops that survive, the unit will revert to the first form after the battle. Notably Well protected with the first form has some armor and a buckler while the second form is ethereal. Summoned by Summon Vetalas

Demon Units Demons

Gose, without saying they are Demons with the trait. Each of its members has the following traits:

• Demon
• Sacred
• Chaos Power

• Fire Vulnerability (Rakshasas)
• Gluttony (Rakshasas)
• Need not eat (Many Gluttony also have)
• Forest Survival (Rakshasas)

Img	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Rakshasa Blood 1 1 10 for 3	Troop Chaos Power (1) Fire Vulnerability (-5) Need not eat Gluttony (4) Forest Survival	Like your other national Demen apes, they are Sacred with Chaos Power Vulnerable to Fire. The Rakshasa is available very early (blood 1) and has two claw attacks but quite low protection. In turmoil 3, it will hit twice for 22 damage with 16 attacks. When attack density is needed over raw damage, they might be preferable to Rakshasa Warriors. They also have quite high HP pools at 28. Summoned by Summon Rakshasas
	Praghasa Blood 2 11 50 for 15	Troop Chaos Power (1) Fire Vulnerability (-5) Gluttony (7) Forest Survival	The Praghasa is very similar to the rakshasa but is more mage turn efficient to summon and has notably more HP (35). This unit is the most efficient way to turn blood slaves into sacred HP in Lanka. So while it has higher strength and HP than the Rakshasa, it gives up its two attacks in favor of a single mace attack. Summoned by Feast of Flesh
	Asrapa Blood 3 2 11 for 3	Troop 11 (hidden) Chaos Power (1) berserker (3) female	Asrapas are quite cheap compared to other Lankan summonses. While having no protection, they have a rather good attack and defense stats and a built-in life-draining magic weapon as well as a kick. This gives asrapa better attack density than other Lankan summonses. Once berserk, in turmoil 3, their athame will be 20 attacks and 23 magic damage and their kick will be 18 attacks and 19 damage. They also do no have fire vulnerability, unlike most Lankan demons. Asrapas can also be the Gift of Reasoned to be turned into commanders, at which point they gain a Hidden which matters more to other nations with this spell. Summoned by Summon Asrapas
	Rakshasa Warrior Blood 4 2 25 for 5	Troop Chaos Power (1) Fire Vulnerability (-5) Need not eat Gluttony (4) Forest Survival	The Rakshasa warrior is the middle ground between the expensive well-equipped elite summons and cheap poorly equipped summons. Costing only 5 slaves per unit yet still having decent armor and a high damage two-handed cudgel, the Rakshasa Warrior a very compelling middle-of-the-road option for trade-offs between quality and price. Summoned by Summon Rakshasa Warriors
	Sandhyabala Blood 5 21 33 for 3	Troop Chaos Power (1) Dark Power (1) \\ Fire Vulnerability (-10) stealthy (40) Need not eat Gluttony (4) Forest Survival	Some of Lanka's most expensive elite heavy infantry. Sandhyabalas carry a Moon Blade and a buckler, but have no helmet. They do have phenomenal stats in turmoil and darkness: Their moon blade will do 32 magic damage with 20 attacks (64 damage vs magic beings!) while they sport an impressive 17 defense. Even though they have an inherent way to see in the dark, if their enemy also has the darkness penalty, the stat difference can become huge. While very strong, they are much more expensive than other Lankan summons and also more vulnerable to fire (10). Summoned by Summon Sandhyabalas
	Dakini Blood 6 41 81	3132 19 Chaos Power (1) Shock Resistance (5) Damage Reversal (0) Need not eat fear (6) Spirit Sight flying female	The Dakini is very competent in the roles of a thug, air mage, or blood mage. As a thug, damage reversal will block and reflect all damage if the enemy fails an MR check, this is notable for both reducing incoming damage and potentially killing high-value targets such as mages. They are also competent sabbath masters. Summoned by Summon Dakini
	Samanishada Blood 7 31 35	Assassin Chaos Power (1) Dark Power (2) Fire Vulnerability (-10) stealthy (60) Need not eat Gluttony (4) Ambidextrous (2) Forest Survival	The Samanishada is a competent assassin having a Moon Blade and a Duskdagger (usually costing 510 to forge) along with a very solid stat melee stat line. Dark power is of special importance if the battle happens at night (50% chance). While quite effective without gear vs simple targets, higher-value targets will often require items to assist in successful assassinations. Summoned by Summon Samanishada
	Danava Blood 8 5 75 for 3	Troop 2250% 50% 50% 50% (hidden) Chaos Power (2) Fire Vulnerability (-5) Ambidextrous (8) Need not eat fear (5) Spirit Sight	Danava are top tier units which can be turned into commanders with Gift of Reason or Divine Name to gain 2250% 50% 50% 50% paths. By default, they have 3 unholy weapons that paralyze sacreds and poor armor with a weak shield. As units, they are relatively cheap anti-elite units. If turned into a commander and kitted properly, they become much more durable and may become super combatant tier. Summoned by Summon Danavas
	Mandeha Blood 8 52 133	3323 21 Cast each battle: (Battle Darkness) Chaos Power (2) Dark Power (3) Fire Vulnerability (-10) stealthy (60) Need not eat Gluttony (10) Shock Resistance (5) fear (8) Spirit Sight Cause Unrest (5) flying Sleep Aura (15) Forest Survival	The Mandeha is a super combatant-tier summon with 65 hp, a great stat line (especially in turmoil and darkness), and many SC-supporting abilities. The Mandeha is also excellent at supporting undead and demon armies by auto-casting darkness every fight. Having H3, it is also able to divine blessing large sacred demon armies and claim thrones. It is, however, vulnerable to anti-demon weapons and spells. Summoned by Summon Mandeha

National Items

• Construction 4 1 for 5: Headdress of the Bull
  Grants the user +2 strength and a retinue of one Buffalo. Great on a mage thug as its a cheap item that boosts their damage, and gives them a trampling animal to buy him time for buffing. Also, Buffalos are able to run over any would-be assassin.

Generic Items

• Construction 4 1 for 5: Amulet of the Dead
  The reanimation boost this item provides makes Lankan priestly reanimation significantly more efficient.

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.

Dominions 5 - EA Lanka - National Overview and written guide by LucidTacics

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