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EA Pangaea, Age of Revelry

General Overview

Pangaea is one of the few original nations, which have been present in Dominions series since the original Dominions: Priests, Prophets and Pretenders game (back then things would look like this). It has always been a very thematic and interesting nation to play. To the date, EA and MA Pangaea (which are the logical successors of the original one) have preserved the original nations flavor and are normally played in the similar way.

From the Dominions 5 Manual:
"Pangaea is a nation of wild half-men of Greek myth, as they could have developed if exposed to a vast and technologically superior humanity: Iron or skin. Adapt or die. As in most cultures exposed to so-called civilization, some inhabitants cling to traditions, or current perceptions of them; while others adapt to the circumstances, with loss or gain in influence. The loss of ancient magic and traditions over the ages is quite apparent in this nation, but in the late era the centaurs have found new paths of magic, giving hope to the nation." - Illwinter

National Features

Special Race Attributes Military Magic Access Priests Buildings
Halfmen
Superior MR
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Stealthy
Fast movement
Forest Recruits
Excellent light cavalry
Poor leaders
Cheap and effective stealthy thugs
Dryad seducers/assassins
nature 44 (rare 5)
water 22 (rare 3)
earth 22 (rare 3)
blood 22 (rare 3)
Heroes: air 22, death 22
Communions
Reverse communions
Average (holy 22)
Blood Sacrifices
Normal forts are 50% more expensive and can't be upgraded
Labs cost 250 in Forests.
Temples cost 200 in Forests
Instant Bramble Forts in Forests for 35naturegem
  • Mercenaries are 50% more expensive.

Capital Special Sites

The Grove of Gaia

Enables recruitment of

White Centaur

Produces 6naturegem per turn

National Units

Early Pangaea lives off forests as many important commanders and units can be recruited in forests without a fort. Also, their only way to obtain a fort with 2 commander points is summoning it using the national spell Grow Fortress

Commanders

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Black Harpy
25
1
1
Can recruit in all forests
Stealthy (60)
Flying
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Black Harpies are easily the best recruitable scout in the game.
Not only they can boast of high stealth value, fast map movement and flying, but unlike the most other scouts they can also lead troops! On top of all that they can be recruited in any forest in one turn for only 25 gold.
As weird as it sounds, this simple scout unit is the true gem in Pangaean arsenal and is one of the key reasons the nation is so strong in hands of a competent player
Satyr Commander
40
5
1
Stealthy (40)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Satyr commanders are stealthy and thus are mostly useful for leading stealthy raiding parties, as they are not available in forests and are very similar to the indie commanders in all other regards
Minotaur Lord
70
10
1
Can recruit in all forests
Berserker (+5)
Trample
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Minotaur Lords are just meh, unfortunately. For 70 gold they are not good leaders, are prone to catching an arrow, running forward and dying due to berserk, and they are not a good thug chassis because you have much better ones.
Not good as commanders, not good as thugs. The least useful of pangaean commanders.
Centaur Hierophant
120
4
2
Can recruit in all forests
holy 11random1100% 7
Sacred
Stealthy (40)
Inspirational (+1)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
This unit is, in my opinion, what defines Pangaea. It is their bread and butter
He will be a good researcher if you take magic scales. He will be your best and most cost-effective thug (E variant) who can kill literally any amount of PD with very minimal gear and then sneak away. He will be the best leader and blesser for your white centaurs until they become really large because of high movement speed.
N variant is less useful, and its primary use will be research and forging. However, with 2 gems an nature 11 mage can cast swarm twice. 5 nature 11 mages can cast swarm 10 times which results in obscene amounts of bugs which will help greatly in repelling attacks or even large-scale battles
Centauride Hierophantide
120
3
2
Can recruit in all forests
holy 11random1100% 7
Sacred
Stealthy (40)
Inspirational (+1)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Most of the above can be said about Centaurides except they are worse thugs and generally should not be used like that.
W variant is a water forger and Frozen Heart spammer later on, so her best role will be to counter-thug if needed. Early on Centaurs are better.
Dryad
185
1
2
water 11nature 11holy 22 9
Sacred
Seduction (Morale vs 9)
Stealthy (65)
Supply bonus (10)
Awe (4)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Beastmaster (1)
Female
This is another nation-defining unit and the reason why only the bravest or dumbest enemies would invade Pangaean lands.
Not as cost-effective as researchers (you would use Centaurs in Magic and Panii in Drain), Dryads are one of the best assassins in the whole game (forget about seduction part - the chance is really low and shouldn't be counted upon. Treat them as assassins). They can self-bless, Barkskin, Quicken Self, Holy Avenger, Breath of Winter, Elemental Fortitude, Liquid body, Mossbody, Personal Regeneration with a gem. On top of that, they have Awe 4 which makes them very hard to hit in melee. With minimal gear, they will kill most commanders or mages with or without bodyguards.
The easiest way, however, is to give a Dryad 2naturegem nature gems and have her cast Swarm twice. There's very little an enemy commander will be able to do. If you may also give her acorns (or a Bottle of Living Water later on) one cast of Swarm will normally be enough for anything.
The main problem of Dryads is their low morale. Often one small hit will be enough to make her run and ruin your day. Their attack skill is also not great. That's why I generally don't advise using them as thugs - Centaurs are better in every way.
Dryad Mother
305
1
2
water 11nature 22holy 22random1100%
10%
13
Sacred
Seduction (Morale vs 9)
Stealthy (65)
Supply bonus (20)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Awe (5)
Beastmaster (2)
Ivy Lord (1)
Female
For 120 more gold what you get compared to the normal Dryad is 1nature 11(EW). So, these will be your Foul Vapors casters (with 2 gems) and your best Water mages allowing you to climb the Water tree.
Another important thing is Ivy Lord(1) tag. With an Ivy Crown Dryad Mothers will be summoning 4 Vine Ogres per cast for only 3 gems. This way, it is a very cost-effective and upkeep-free tanky summons with 55 HP and 9 Protection that can even deliver some big punches with its two 11-attack fists.
Overall, Dryad Mothers are niche but situationally very useful mages
Pan
325
1
4
earth 11nature 44blood 11random1100%
10%
19
Resist Poison (7)
Animal Awe (3)
Beastmaster (+3)
Stealthy (40)
Supply bonus (40)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Summon in Turmoil (Maenad)
Pan is the main recruit-anywhere Pangaean mage, able to cast almost any Nature or Earth battlefield spell, free chaff generator, ticket to Blood, Communion Master and Slave and a good thug chassis.
Pan's only downside is his high cost and upkeep, and Pangaea will always be money-constrained.

Troops

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Harpy
7
1
3
Can recruit in all forests
Stealthy (40)
Flying
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Harpies are your most effective patrollers, siege units (they are the most cost-effective siege units Pangaea has) and can defend walls pretty well too. You can use them as raiders but it's not very effective because attrition will be high.
Satyr Sneak
9
3
6
Can recruit in all forests
Undisciplined
Cause Unrest (+0.5)
Stealthy (60)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Almost naked undisciplined troops with no shield and low morale, what else can be said. However, Satyr Sneaks cause unrest, are recruitable in all forests and easily massable, so you can deploy sneaky economy-disrupting squads in the enemy territory, and the enemy will have only to guess what is causing all that unrest. Just don't use them in combat.
Satyr
9
4
6
Can recruit in all forests
Undisciplined
Stealthy (40)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Satyr Warrior
13
5
21
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Warriors are the disciplined version of Satyr with a shield and better stats, however, they still have very little armor, are not recruitable in forests, not stealthy, expensive and not massable because their recruitment point cost is high. So, if you really need heavy infantry, better find some indies.
Reveler
16
3
14
Undisciplined
Increase Unrest (+0.5)
Stealthy (40)
Berserker (+3)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Revelers are upgraded Sneaks that cost almost twice more in both gold and recruitment points and are not recruitable in forests.
For the increased cost you get slightly better stats, 3 more HP and 2 attacks with berserk. I find it hard to justify the cost, because if you need sneaky unrest creators, Sneaks are better and if you want raiders, Centaurs are better. I can see Revelers used successfully, but just think they are not cost-effective.
Minotaur
40
8
6
Can recruit in all forests
Undisciplined
Berserker (+4)
Trample
Forest Survival
Recuperation
As size 3 trampling bersekers, minotaurs are not very effective against human infantry, as they tend to run deep into the enemy ranks, become surrounded and die quickly, and the trample damage they are doing is not very high.
However, against size 3 and larger troops with relatively low defense (like giants) minotaurs will be quite deadly. For this purpose, Minotaur warriors are much better since they can be scripted and have better stats, mainly 1 more attack and 1 more berserk value. So, when berserked they will be hitting for 34 slashing damage with 15 attack, which is very impressive. Minotaurs are your go-to units to deal with giants and awake pretenders or thugs.
Minotaur Warrior
50
10
18
Berserker (+5)
Trample
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Centauride
25
3
12
Can recruit in all forests
Stealthy (40)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Centaurs and Centaurides are the only archer units that Pangaea can mass. Both can be recruited in all forests and both are stealthy. Centaurs have 1 less precision but use longbows, so, they are better in almost all situations.
While Centaurs may be very deadly in the battle, 25 gold is pretty expensive for an archer, and Pangaea doesn't have good shielded troops to use as frontline. Also, being naked, Centaurs will succumb to the enemy archer fire quickly.
The best use I'm seeing for them is stealthy raiding in Order builds.
Centaur
25
4
12
Can recruit in all forests
Stealthy (40)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Centauride Warrior
30
11
17
Stealthy (40)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Again, very similar units, and again, Centaur Warriors are clearly better than Centaurides because they have 4 more HP, a Helm and Berserker +3 instead of a Javelin and better Defense. They are 5 gold more expensive but the difference is easily worth it
These are very good fast light cavalry units that should probably be the core of your army at all times if you're not going for bless strategy. Good for expansion, good for sneaky attacks, good for flanking in combat. Also, they are good units to mix in with White Centaurs to disrupt archer fire.
In a large-scale battle Centaur Warriors will be better against smaller troops or units with higher defense.
Centaur Warrior
35
11
21
Berserker (+3)
Stealthy (40)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
White Centaur
55
12
29
Sacred
Berserker (+3)
Stealthy (40)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
White Centaurs are almost the same as Centaur Warriors except they are sacred, cost 20 more gold and have a Javelin (which is often a downside). But since Centaur Warriors are very good units, White Centaurs are even more so since you can additionally buff them with your bless.
We'll discuss this more in the Strategy section but overall White Centaurs should either be the centerpiece of your strategy or you should neglect them and employ Centaur Warriors instead
Maenad
Autosummoned by Panii, amount depends on Turmoil scale of the province
Undisciplined
Berserker (+1)
Forest Survival
Patrol Bonus(-1)
Female
Maenads are not exactly your national units but they kinda are because in Turmoil 3 your Panii will be summoning hordes of them.
They are very bad at fighting - they die like flies and even though they have berserk, with 0 protection and 10 hp it will hardly ever proc before they die. They are especially bad at patrolling.
However, they are completely free and free stuff can't be bad if you know how to use it. They can break walls pretty well, however, harpies are better for this purpose. Unlike undead, maenads can't be banished, have good morale and if you buff them up they can actually put up some fight. So, it is very essential to not use them early at all and wait until you have at least Wooden Warriors to protect them. The more battlefield-affecting magic you have, the better Maenads will become.

Heroes

Sprite Unit Name Special_Attributes Comments
Karya and Petraios - Blessed Couple water 11earth 11nature 33holy 22 15
water 11earth 11death 22nature 33holy 22
Sacred
Resist Poison (5)
Stealthy (65)
Awe (4)
Berserker (+4)
Innate Spellcaster (1)
Supply Bonus (30)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Beastmaster (2)
Dying Shape: Karya - Grieving Dryad
This hero has two forms: the first one has water 11earth 11nature 33holy 22 and innate spellcaster meaning he (and she) can cast two spells per turn at 100% casting speed no matter the spell complexity. This means that they can cast, for example, Howl in 1 turn while normally it would take 2,5 turns to do. This is a very powerful ability which is rarely encountered on non-pretender units.
If the first form (the Centaur) dies, the Dryad will start grieving and gain death 22. This is nice but in my opinion is not worth killing the first form intentionally especially taking into account that it will be hard not to kill the second one as well.
Arcopythera - Harpy Queen air 22nature 22 13
Stealthy (40)
Supply Bonus (20)
Mountain Survival
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Flying
Summon Harpy each month.
Harpy Queen is a very good hero allowing you to break into Air and Search for air magic sites. She also passively summons several Harpy units each turn which is equivalent to about 30 gold on average since Harpies are almost always useful.
White Minotaur
Multi-hero
holy 22 Sacred
Berserker (+5)
Inspirational
Trample
Forest Survival
Recuperation
If you take Luck scale, you're likely to end up having many of these white minotaurs. They're good leaders and blessers, nothing exceptional, however.
Worthy Heroes mod makes White Minotaur H3 meaning he becomes the best Pangaean priest and can claim thrones, cast Divine Blessing and Smite. This one change makes this hero much much better.

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

List combat and ritual spells unique to the nation. Keep descriptions brief but elaborate on any particularly useful spells. Nation-defining national spells (e.g. Bind Jaguar Fiends for EA Mictlan or Scapegoats for LA Gath) can be highlighted like important commanders or units.

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, consider linking 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

List and describe any unique national items or discounts in this section, discuss and compare with similar generic items. Also discuss generic items that are useful and accessible for the nation. These may include:

  • Thug gear (if the nation has good thugs)
  • Research boosters (particularly if the nation needs help researching or is already very good at researching)
  • Other items that synergize with the nation (e.g. Dwarven Hammers for MA Ulm)

National Items

National Discount Items

Generic Items

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

pangaea-ea.1654260125.txt.gz · Last modified: 2022/06/03 12:42 by wigglefig