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machaka-ea

EA Machaka, Lion Kings

Lore

"The Machaka of the early age is influenced by the old pen and paper RPG Powers and Perils. In the fantastic campaign setting of this game there was a nation of African stock led by great men that were released from a great sleeping city. The notion of a released race of superior men was attractive. Various myths, tales, films and "African" fantasy concepts have been mashed together and mixed with the middle age Machaka ideas. My first idea of clans based on body parts like liver, heart, hand, head and leg, did not feel right and was replaced with animals, more fitting with the spiders of the middle age.

The nation evolved side by side with Berytos, but it took a bit longer to finish. Creating two nations together and intertwining their history gave them both additional life. It is probably something I want to do with more new nations in the future." - Illwinter

Machaka is an old sacral kingdom divided into totemic clans. The clans follow their totemic spirits and worship them as bringers of civilization and tell myths about their interactions with men. For centuries the Lion Clan has dominated the others and formed a unified kingdom under their wise rule. The Lion Clan is blessed by Lion and they are superior to other men. The Great Men of Mababwe, called ’Colossi’ by Arcoscephalean historians, have ruled the plains since Hyena was coerced to teach metalworking to men and Rhino was defeated by spears longer than his. From Great Mababwe, the semi-divine Colossi of the Lion Clan rule their lesser kin as sacred Kings and Queens. There are many totemic clans, but some have been more influential. Hyena, Rhino, Elephant and Spider all serve Lion with their totemic masters’ skills and guidance. Recent contact with Berytos and other nations has seen the rise of ambition among the Colossi royalty and the Lion Kings are preparing for the Awakening of Lion. Machakans prefer hot lands.

General Overview

FIXME

Machaka is a weird nation. It has a ton of variations of the same few soldier types, most of which aren't worth using, and a ton of specialists and powerful mages restricted to four paths. Almost all of your mages have two or more magic paths, and most of them have three. Research is unfortunately hampered by your Mages being either expensive, subversive, slow-to-recruit, or inept researchers, so you'll have a strange late-game if you're not planning for it from the start.

National Features

Race Military Magic Access Priests Buildings
Highly-varied Humans
Colossi (Size 3)
Pygmies (Size 1)
Light Infantry with Tower Shields
Archers
Rhino Clan: Heavy Infantry
Spider Clan: Poison, Spies, Spider Riders
Good-Morale Lions & Elephants
Sacred Colossi Lion Warriors
nature 33 (rare 4)
fire 33 (rare 4)
death 33 (rare 4)
earth 33
holy 22 Standard Forts

Capital Special Sites

Forest of Spider Great Mababwe
Enables recruitment of:
Spider Clan Sorcerer
Spider Clan Archer
Spider Clan Warrior
Spider Rider
Produces:
1deathgem per turn
2naturegem per turn
Enables recruitment of:
Lion Queen
Lion King
Lion Warrior

Produces:
2earthgem per turn
1firegem per turn

Units

Commanders

Machaka has some cool guys, but it lacks super-good Leaders and super-cheap Research.

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Machaka Scout
25
3
1
Stealthy (40)
Mountain Survival
Forest Survival
Scout for scouting.
Rhino Clan Commander
40
13
1
He'd be a lot better if he could lead 80. Leading 60 is still kinda respectable, though.
Lion Clan Commander
75
8
1
Your more-expensive leader of 80. Even if you're not hiring tons of troops, you'll want the line formations and the morale boost.
Voice of Spider
75
3
2
Sacred
Stealthy (60)
Forest Survival
Spy
One of the cheapest Spies in the game, especially since his upkeep is halved.
Spies tend to provide more thorough information than scouts, and they can be used to stir unrest if you're bored.
Voice of Lion
80
2
2
nature 11holy 11 7
Sacred
Supply Bonus (10)
Beastmaster (+2)
A decent expansion commander and leader of animals.
He's also your cheapest research monkey in the long-term (due to his reduced upkeep costs).
Spider Clan Witch Doctor
80
1
2
fire 11death 11nature 11 7
Resist Poison (5)
Inept Researcher (-4)
Supply Bonus (10)
Forest Survival
Your cheapest non-sacred mage.
His odd-looking set of paths is a potentially dangerous combo using evocations en masse.
Eagle Eyes helps with precision on landing evocations, and you can then have these guys spam Bane Fire Dart, Frighten, or (with a gem) Phoenix Power and Fireball.
He's also your best short-term Research Monkey (he ties with the Lion Priests in gold-per-point, but those guys need Temples).
Hyena Clan Witch Doctor
165
1
2
fire 11earth 11death 22 13
Disease Healer (1)
Heretic (1)
Wasteland Survival
Your fast Researcher (fort-turn-wise) and your minor skele-spammer.
They're old, but their disease healer trait will typically cover for that problem.
They also lower dominion a little, but the effect isn't very noticeable.
Bouda
215
3
4
fire 11earth 22death 22random1100% 17
Forge Bonus (1)
Cause Unrest (+2/Month)
Heretic (2)
Wasteland Survival
Shapechanger: Werehyena
The powerhouse of the nation.
They're not just great forgers who can craft Dwarven Hammers; their Werehyena form gives them amazing mobility + Stealthy and puts their Raider-ready paths to use.

Don't keep them in territory that you care about, though.
Spider Clan Sorcerer
175
1
4
Capital Only
fire 11death 11nature 11random2100%
100%
10%
15
Poison Resistance (5)
Supply Bonus (10)
Forest Survival
The cheapest of your slow-to-recruit mages. The Spider's unique magic within the nation is just the death/nature crosspath. At least the Sorcerer has no negative effects, and he's only slightly-less Gold-efficient than your Spider Clan Witch Doctors in terms of Research (11.667 gold-per-point vs. 11.429).

Their random paths decide whether they substitute for a Bouda or one of the Lion royalty.
Lion Queen
320
8
4
Capital Only
fire 33earth 11nature 22holy 11random010% 17
Sacred
Fire Resistance (5)
Supply Bonus (20)
Your fire 33.
Climbing Fire is as simple as crafting a Skull of Fire, giving it to this lady, and having her craft a Flame Helmet. She can then summon a King of Elemental Fire.
You don't need a lot of these girls, unless you favor Elemental-spam or see yourself bullying a nation without Fire Resistance in your future.
Lion King
350
11
4
Capital Only
fire 22earth 11nature 33holy 22random010% 17
Sacred
Poison Resistance (5)
Supply Bonus (30)
Your nature 33.
Most of your guys are unarmored or under-armored schmucks who could use Nature's buffs, such as Mass Protection. They go well with their Queens in that sense.
Like with the Queens, you don't need that many, though every army you have will probably want one for at least the Sermon of Courage.

Troops

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Pygmy
5
2
2
Forest Survival Weak but cheap size 1 archers, As a nation with Fire, Earth, and Nature paths, they can actually be a significant threat since they take point buffs super well.
Machaka Militia
7
2
3
Very cheap cannon fodder. The best use is siege chaff since they give the normal human amount for less gold while the Pygmies don't give a lot of it
Bird Clan Archer
10
3
9
Human short bow archers with slightly above average precision.
Rarely there would be a situation where you would use them over having mages buffing Pygmies.
Machaka Warrior
10
2
9
Naked human with a hide shield. Hyena Clan is better than them for barely more resources.
Only takeable in the likely situation you need cheap numbers that live a second longer then militia and happened to dump Sloth 3.
Hyena Clan Warrior
10
5
9
Wasteland Survival Human in furs with a javelin and shield with high parry value.
Your main expansion unit as javelins are very good at clearing barbarians especially when you have a mage around. Low morale of 9.
Rhino Clan Warrior
13
13
16
Formation Fighter(2) Your mainline troops.
Rhino Clan is above average human with decent armour for the EA and produces 4 damage 17 attacks per square.
add in all the troop buffs you have and you have a fairly reliable line unit.
Lion Clan Warrior
14
6
18
Pay more to have a Rhino Clan with slightly lower stats, barely any prot, but slightly higher morale, defense, and attack skill.
A very situational pick when those +1s outweigh having amour.
+1 can make a difference when dealing with enemies with higher defense or being subjected to multiple morale checks.

Their 16 map move lets them attack a plains/farmland province from further away, giving the Lion Clan a tactical advantage normally reserved for cavalry.
War Lion
20
1
14
Animal
Darkvision (50)
Undisciplined
Using forts over Gems to produce Great Lions.
Situational counter rush option with its speed and damage out but dies quickly.
War Elephant
100
20
33
Animal
Trample
The trampler expander for Machaka. Slightly better then other EA elephants as they have better morale, especially when lead by a Voice of Lion.
They still are not good against other players and will trample your own troops when they inevitably rout.
Spider Clan Archer
12
4
20
Capital Only
Forest Survival Man with poison arrows. Despite how much recpoints they cost, you should be having a few stacks of them in reserve. Their poison is effective at trading with thugs, armies, and raiders without poison resistance. Both side will be losing resources, but you're very likely to bleed a enemy player dead if they try to rush you. This is a reason Machaka can stay in a game despite its shortcomings.
Spider Clan Warrior
12
5
14
Capital Only
Forest Survival Machaka Warriors with poisoned spears. Cost less rec then Spider Clan Archer but you're guaranteed to lose them as they have to go into melee with only a shield for protection. At least they do more poison damage than archers.
Spider Rider
30
5
46
Capital Only
Forest Survival
Wounded Shape(Great Spider)
A partly confused unit, being a Spider Clan Archer mounted on a Spider.
The archer dies quickly but turns into a better protected Great spider that will rush the enemy.
You do actually want them to get into melee. They have a special web attack that entangles the enemy, making them easy pickings for your hoplites.
When fighting difficult line troops, Spider Riders can give you a additional edge when in the mix or a square behind using their poison and web attacks.
They are still fairly frail, so only use by mixing them directly behind the fighting.
Lion Warrior
40
26
23
Capital Only
Sacred They are expensive half-giants with good stats. They are not something that will carry an army but is useful in supporting it when fighting tough player units.
In addition to their high damage, their clubs also cause a lot of fatigue damage. They are effective at smashing high prot foes and fatiguing them out if that doesn't kill them.

Heroes

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments

Ainra - Lady of Spiders
fire 11earth 33death 33 19
Shapeshifter(Great Spider)
Forest Survival
Female
Powerful Earth and Death mage with a second spider health pool.
Abasi - Hero
Forest Survival
Inspirational (1)
Inspirational leader for free, may also be used in minor arena battles.
Save for late game with morale boost items for a army that is harder to rout.
Yasini - King Triumphant
holy 33
Sacred
Forest Survival
Inspirational (1)
Awe (1)
Throne claimer, and and better leader then Abasi.
Mwaka - Crowned Ape
holy 11
Sacred
Forest Survival
Animal
Dominon attracts units (Great Ape)
Big 120 leadership commander and gets some extra ape siege chaff.
Mchumba - Ape Oracle
nature 11 7
Supply Bonus (10)
Fortune Teller (10%)
Forest Survival
Animal
Female
Only use is have her sit around and prevent bad events.

Magic

Magic Access

This section is the longer version of the 'Magic Access' column in National Features. List which paths the nation has access to, what level in each path and the maximum level attainable with common boosters. Avoid discussing in too much depth as much of the information is already covered in MelficeBelmont's Boosting and Access Guide. The length of this section will vary greatly depending on the nation, and does not have to be formatted in the same way as the example below. Some explanation may be required for more complicated boosting methods (e.g. commanderifying a unit with hidden paths). What exactly these paths can be used for can largely be explained in later sections, but pointing out good crosspaths works well in this section too. Mention communion access if applicable.

National Spells

Machaka doesn't have any noteworthy national spells.

  • Herd of Elephants: nature 22 Conj 3 for 25 ( Elephantx5 + 1/2 [lv]). Use nature gems instead of gold to get Elephants for your expansion parties.
  • Pride of Lions: nature 22 Conj 3 for 10 ( Great Lionx10 + 1/2 [lv]). Turn nature gems into low-tier killing power. Decent if you're getting rushed in the early game, but not so much after that.

Notable Generic Magic

Discuss the top few generic spells that most increase a nation's combat power or synergize with national strategies. These will generally be early-to-mid game spells since individual spells matter much more during those periods of the game. Some examples are Foul Vapors for MA C'tis, Horde of Skeletons + Sabbath Master/Sabbath Slave for the Niefelheim line of nations, Mother Oak for the Pangaeas, Wailing Winds access, etc. For broader advice on magic use, link to Not-Lola's Basic Magic Use Guide.

This is also a good place to point out notable magic weaknesses, such as a lack of nature access making a nation vulnerable to Foul Vapors.

Magic Items

With all the cross paths, and Boudas, Machaka is a Forging nation, able to get a great discount on items with Dwarven Hammers and have all paths for some of the better thug 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?

  • Kithaironic Lion Pelt: Const2, nature 11earth 11, 2naturegem1earthgem. A cheap, low encumbrance item gives both body and head prot. This is definitely something you would mass-produce to give to all your mages to let them survive many big evocations like Earthquake. Dwarven Hammers only reduce the cost to 1naturegem1earthgem.
  • Totem Shield: Const4, nature 11astral 11, 4naturegem4astralpearl. Need outside help since astral is not a national path. Causes the attacker to become Cursed, will lose out to a Vine Shield in most situations.
  • Spirit Mask: Const4, death 22nature 11, 8deathgem4naturegem. Gives some MR, and auto-cast Frighten. In the midgame having a commander passively spamming a fear spell can swing a fight in your favor.

Strategy

Power Curve

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.

Expansion Strategies

List some example expansion strategies here. If a strong bless or pretender is required then leave the specifics for the pretender section.

Example Pretender Builds

List some example pretender builds. Try to use the following format to keep authorship and pretender design rationale clear.

See More

machaka-ea.txt · Last modified: 2022/06/28 22:07 by fingolfin