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pangaea-la

LA Pangaea, New Era

Lore

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. – Dominions 5 Manual

The process of modernization begun during the Middle Ages has borne fruit in the New Era of Pangaea. The centaurs have totally eclipsed the Panii as the ruling class of halfmen, learning the arts and crafts of men to bring new knowledge of metalworking and writing to the ancient woods. Pangaean armies are now dominated by satyrs, centaurs and minotaurs clad in steel, marching in disciplined formations without the violent revelry of ages past. Yet, much has been lost. The Sacred Groves are withering, the Panii's influence is dwindling and, most distressingly, they can no longer make human females go wild with lust using their intense pan flute licks. The Panii still go to war alongside their halfman brethren, but the days of the wild will soon be over for good.

General Overview

In the Late Age Pangaea changes significantly from its earlier iterations of the Early and Middle Age. Gone are the White Centaurs as the centerpiece of the Pangaean army. Gone is access to the Nature/Water crosspath, closing the door to powerful spells like Foul Vapors and Mossbody. Gone is also the access to Blood.

Instead the Centaur Sages have transformed Late Age Pangaea into an Astral nation with a sprinkle of Air magic to complement the Earth and Nature magic of the Panii. The untamed berserking White Centaurs have been replaced with well-drilled and awe-inspiring Dryad Hoplites, and several high Protection units have found their way into the roster like the Centaur Cataphract and Grove Guard.

National Features

Special Race Attributes Military Magic Access Priests Buildings
Likes Forests
Recovers from Injuries
Satyrs & Dryads (Size 2)
Base 1 PROT
+2-4 HP vs Humans
+2-3 MR vs. Humans
+2 DEF & CS vs. Humans
+1 STR vs. Humans
-1 MOR vs. Humans
Beautiful Women
Harpies (Size 2)
-3 HP vs. Humans
Weak Fighters, Excellent Flyers
Stealthy
Centaurs (Size 3)
Like Knights, Weapon-wise
Base 3 PROT
+8-10 HP vs. Humans
Minotaurs (Size 3)
Base 4 PROT
+13 HP vs. Humans
High Strength, Low Skill
Prefer to Trample the small
Rowdy stealthy mobs
Keen crossbows
Centaur cataphracts
Minotaur infantry
(and some Berserkers)
Satyr hoplites (4/square)
Sacred dryad hoplites
Resilient Mages
Seducers
nature 33 (rare 4)
earth 22 (rare 3)
astral 11
air 11 (uncommon)
water 11 (uncommon)
death 11 (rare)
blood 11 (rare)

Heroes (one each):
air 22nature 22
earth 11nature 33blood 33 (turn 5)
holy 11 Priests
holy 22 Heroes
Castles (Primitive Forts)
Temples cost Gold200

"Rare" is 2.5%, on a Mage that requires 4 Commander Points to recruit. "Uncommon" is 25%, on a Mage that requires 2 Commander Points each.

Capital Sites

Grove of Gaia

Enables recruitment of

Dryad Hoplite

Produces 1earthgem3naturegem per turn

National Units

Continuing where MA Pangaea left off, LA Pangaea places an even greater emphasis on durable troops supported by a very capable mage corps. Their troops compete with the best of the age: the Satyr Hoplite is well-protected and benefits from better-than-human stats, while the Centaur Cataphract is very affordable for the quality of heavy cavalry. The new Dryad Hoplite sacred is an interesting change of pace from the formidable White Centaur, switching from light cavalry to high defense infantry with awe.

The new and improved Pangaean mage corps now boasts a strong research mage in the Centaur Sage, who also brings durable communions and air magic to the battlefield. The Panii remain powerful earth and nature casters and the dryads' seductive powers are as oppressive as ever, if not more so due to their reduced cost. These provide strong options for midgame magic, though the chance for the crosspath is no longer available and sorely missed.

Commanders

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Description
Black Harpy
Gold 25
Resources 1
Recruitment points 1
Stealthy (65)
Flying
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
A very mobile scout. Unfortunately no longer recruitable in all forests.
Satyr Commander
Gold 40
Resources 24
Recruitment points 1
Stealthy (40)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Stealthy 40 leadership commander.
Minotaur Commander
Gold 70
Resources 38
Recruitment points 1
Trample
Forest Survival
Recuperation
60 leadership commander and size 3 trampler.
Cataphract Commander
Gold 85
Resources 35
Recruitment points 1
Forest Survival
Recuperation
80 leadership commander for formations.
Keeper of Traditions
Gold 155
Resources 38
Recruitment points 1
holy 11
Sacred
Berserker (+3)
Trample
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Horrifically expensive for a minor priest, but comes with a fairly beefy chassis and high protection. Still has the cheapest upkeep for an 80 leadership commander. Can bless himself and hit things if needed.
Centaur Sage
Gold 90
Resources 1
Recruitment points 2
astral 11random1100% 11
Adept Researcher (+2)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Compared with the Centaur Hierophant/Centauride Hierophantide of old, the Centaur Sage can't hold a bless but is a gold-efficient researcher, communion mage and remains a decent light thug chassis. Can support more masters as a communion slave due to its relatively large hitpoint pool. The astral magic adds Body Ethereal and Luck to Pangaea's suite of buffs, and the air magic access is welcome path diversity.
Dryad
Gold 160
Resources 1
Recruitment points 2
nature 11holy 11 7
Sacred
Stealthy (65)
Awe (4)
Supply bonus (10)
Seduction (Morale vs 9)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Seducer/assassin. Fewer magic paths than in earlier ages but also cheaper. Notably lacking the chance for the crosspath, so LA Pangaea cannot natively cast Foul Vapors or fluff with Mossbody.
Pan
255
1
4
earth 22nature 33random010% 15
Resist Poison (5)
Animal Awe (2)
Beastmaster (+1)
Stealthy (40)
Supply bonus (30)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
LA Pangaea's centerpiece caster for big earth and nature spells. The Pan is an excellent caster chassis: it has enough hitpoints to survive some punishment and is able to sneakily reinforce armies using its stealth. The LA version is less expensive but also weaker than its earlier incarnations, lacking the random earth 33 or nature 44. They are still capable of strong battlefield magic, but big rituals may be a bit out of reach for the weakened Panii.

Troops

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Description
Harpy
Gold 7
Resources 1
Recruitment points 3
Stealthy (40)
Flying
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Cheap flying chaff that can patrol or harass backlines. The Stymphalian Bird is better suited for the latter role due to improved equipment, but neither will scratch even moderately well-protected troops.
Stymphalian Bird
Gold 8
Resources 11
Recruitment points 3
Flying
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Satyr Sneak
Gold 9
Resources 3
Recruitment points 6
Stealthy (60)
Cause Unrest (+0.5/month)
Undisciplined
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Undisciplined stealthy chaff. Can run stealth raids if in sufficient numbers and led by a stealthy commander. The Satyr Sneak has neither javelin nor buckler but has additional utility as a way to cause unrest in enemy lands.
Satyr (javelin)
Gold 9
Resources 4
Recruitment points 6
Stealthy (40)
Undisciplined
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Satyr (buckler)
Gold 9
Resources 4
Recruitment points 6
Satyr Sniper
Gold 12
Resources 24
Recruitment points 19
Forest Survival
Recuperation
High-precision crossbow with medium-heavy armor.
Satyr Hoplite
Gold 14
Resources 25
Recruitment points 24
Formation Fighter (2)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Medium-heavy formation fighter infantry. Has generally higher stats than human hoplites, particularly defence skill, magic resistance and map move, but is significantly more recruitment point-intensive. Compare with LA Arcoscephale's Hoplite and LA Erytheia's Erytheian Hoplite.
Dryad Hoplite
Gold 30
Resources 21
Recruitment points 12
Capital Only
Sacred
Awe (2)
Formation Fighter (2)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Dryad Hoplites have less protection and damage than the Satyr Hoplites, but their Awe ability and very high defense skill make them a good deal more robust (especially against low-morale opponents).
Centauride Crossbow
Gold 30
Resources 34
Recruitment points 17
Forest Survival
Recuperation
A Centaur Cataphract with lower protection, no helmet, a slightly higher damage melee attack, and a crossbow.
Centaur Cataphract
Gold 35
Resources 35
Recruitment points 21
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Centaur Cataphracts are unusual heavy cavalry. They are more heavily armored than most cavalry at 20 protection and are relatively inexpensive compared with their peers; however, their damage output is somewhat low with only a light lance and hoof attack. They have more hitpoints than human cavalry but miss out on the +3 defense and reduced harassment from being a mounted unit.

For comparison, see LA Arcoscephale's Agema Companion, LA Ragha's Savaran Guard, and LA T'ien Ch'i's Barbarian Heavy Horseman.
Minotaur Soldier
Gold 40
Resources 31
Recruitment points 12
Trample
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Medium/heavy infantry with a high-damage battleaxe, but will trample instead if facing size 2 or lower units. Expensive for a size 3 unit with very mediocre melee skills, but the trample can be useful if they are properly fluffed and their battleaxes do a lot of damage.
Grove Guard
Gold 50
Resources 38
Recruitment points 18
Berserker (+3)
Trample
Forest Survival
Recuperation

Heroes

LA Pangaea's only holy 22s are its multihero White Minotaurs. The hero lineup can also provide some blood magic if the Black Bull shows up, but is otherwise unremarkable.

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
White Minotaur
Multihero
holy 22
Sacred
Berserker (+5)
Trample
Forest Survival
Recuperation
The highest level of holy magic available to LA Pangaea and an 80 leadership commander.
Taurotyrannos - Black Bull
Minimum hero arrival turn: 5
earth 11nature 33blood 33 19
Poison Resistance (5)
Stealthy (40)
Berserker (+7)
Supply Bonus (30)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
A strong mage that gives LA Pangaea access to blood magic with the earth and nature crosspaths.
Arcopythera - Harpy Queen air 22nature 22 13
Stealthy (40)
Supply Bonus (20)
Flying
Mountain Survival
Forest Survival
Recuperation
Female
Summons 1×Harpy/month
Somewhat redundant in LA Pangaea due to the centaurs' newfound access to air magic in communions.
Rams Head - White Satyr Sacred
Stealthy (40)
Awe (1)
Berserker (+3)
Inspirational (1)
Forest Survival
Recuperation
120 leadership inspirational commander.

Magic

Magic Access

Aside from the Pan's moderate access to earth and nature, air and water magic can be brought into communions courtesy of the Centaur Sage. Their crosspath also makes it possible for Pangaea to artificially raise magic levels using the Crystal Matrix.

For rituals, LA Pangaea has access to the following paths:

Elemental

  • No fire magic.
  • air 11 on Centaur Sages
  • water 11 on Centaur Sages, water 22 via a Water Bracelet.
  • earth 22 on Panii, earth 33 via Earth Boots.

Sorceries

  • astral 11 on Centaur Sages
  • No reliable death magic.
  • nature 33 on Panii, nature 44 via a Thistle Mace.
  • No reliable blood magic except for a blood 33 hero.

National Spells

Combat
All of the Pangaea line's 'Tune' spells have no listed range, meaning they can only be cast at point-blank. They are thus very difficult to use without getting the caster killed, despite the large area-of-effect. Of these, the Tune of Growth provides perhaps the most useful effect for a mage that is casting on the front line.

  • Enchantment 0 nature 11: Tune of Dancing Death
  • Enchantment 0 nature 11: Tune of Fear
  • Enchantment 0 nature 11: Tune of Growth

Ritual

  • Conjuration 5 nature 33 for 10naturegem: Monster Boar
    Summons a stealthy Monster Boar which raises unrest in its province. Appears as an anonymous event. Can draw resources away to patrol the Boar out, but is rather expensive for an effect that takes place over time and doesn't directly kill enemy units.
  • Alteration 5 nature 44 for 35naturegem: Fort of the Ancients
    Produces a Bramble Fort, identical to that produced by EA Pangaea's Grow Fortress. The Bramble Fort has +1 CP but worse stats overall than the ordinary level 2 Fortress.
  • Enchantment 5 nature 44 for 25naturegem: Awaken Hamadryad (Hamadryad×1)
    The Hamadryad is an immobile nature 33 mage. While they make an interesting turret-style defensive commander and come with high protection and hitpoints, 25naturegem is somewhat expensive for a mage that cannot move anywhere and which is beaten in combat utility by the humble Pan. Still very durable and an innate caster.

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.

Aside from the lack of water 11nature 11 for Mossbody and Foul Vapors, LA Pangaea's biggest departure from its previous iterations is its lack of nature 44, making Mother Oak just out of reach without remarkable luck on a 10% random or (more likely) a 45naturegem Empowerment. Fortunately your Mages are all rather hardy and long-lived, making such investments in them a lot safer than those in humans.

There's also Communions, of course; Blood has been lost, but you now have a supply of astral 11's, so you can now build up to buffing spells like Battle Fortune or point-buff blocks of Dryad Hoplites with Body Ethereal. Alternatively you can assemble batteries of Soul Slay or Enslave Mind casters if you tune your ratio of slaves-to-masters properly, or bring one caster up to Light of the Northern Star and have a larger force of Mind Burn users. You also have earth 11astral 11's and astral 11nature 11's, so you can forge a Crystal Matrix and boost your Panii; the Panii can support the Slaves with Summon Earthpower's Reinvigoration, at least.

Communions with LA Pangaea have some complications, though. For starters, while your astral 11's are on the cheaper end by Late-Age standards, you're still matched or outmatched by quite a few (Ulm, Patala, Gath, R'lyeh, and Erytheia), and all of those except for R'lyeh will outdo you in Mage production due to having 3-CP Citadels. This makes Magic Duel a legitimate concern for you, especially if they add to their starting Pearl income. On top of that, each of your astral 11's has a random path (either air 11, water 11, earth 11, or nature 11); this is great when you can account for the mismatching, but it results in your mismatched Communion Slaves gaining a lot of Fatigue when non-Astral spells are used, typically off-script.

Without Communions, your Panii can still cast wondrous buffs for your tougher troops (such as Haste, Mass Regeneration, Strength of Giants, Legions of Steel, Marble Warriors, and Gaia's Blessing), and strong offensive spells for harrying foes (such as Charm, Wild Growth, Poison Cloud, and Polymorph).

If you need higher Earth, Empowerment is cheaper than summoning a Troll King's Court (45earthgem vs. 55earthgem), but you might want to try that anyway since your Panii are slow to recruit. If you want reliable death 11 with a chance of death 22, summon a Forest Troll Tribe for 37naturegem; just don't count on getting that extra level of Death.

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