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pelagia-ma

MA Pelagia - Triton Kings

Lore

"Oceania and Pelagia are nations inspired by medieval bestiaries abundant with creatures of the sea corresponding to beings living on land. As most of these creatures are half-men and fish-beasts, Oceania as a nation became quite similar to Pangaea. The development of the Triton Kings incorporated modern concepts and imagery of mermen, and in Dominions 4, Pelagia was made a nation of its own, less Pangaean in style. Knights armed in mother-of-pearl armor, Triton Kings on hippocampoii-drawn sea-shell chariots, and golden tridents are all part of the Pelagia setting.

"With the release of the Dominions 4 UW-patch the backstory of Pelagia was developed. It became intermingled with Berytos and my first ideas on later developments for the nation emerged. I prefer if nations are primarily culturally defined, and secondarily racially defined. Pelagia always felt more like a race thing and less like a kingdom with its own cultural setting. The changes in the patch was a step in this direction, although I find the new nation Erytheia more interesting."
–Illwinter

Pelagia was the first kingdom to form under the sea, though it's technically the fourth undersea faction added to the game (after Atlantis, R'lyeh, and technically Oceania). It's the nation of the Tritons, the undersea equivalent to Mankind, with amphibious Mermen as middlemen between them and men. Achieving civilization first (though some carp-men in Uruk hotly debate this) and/or over the most-valuable waters, Pelagia prospered as the only undersea trading partner for nations such as Therodos & later Berytos. The Early Ages brought rivals, but they were short-lived; living in shallower waters than Early Atlantis and Aboleth R’lyeh, Pelagia was less affected by the Fall of the Star, and was immensely relieved to hear that their enemies beneath them had been crushed by what must have seemed like divine intervention. Pelagia still had to evolve somewhat, but the coming changes were further away and far more manageable than before. The Triton Kings (formerly the Pearl Kings) were no longer viewed as divine, and relinquished their Priest-King responsibilities in favor of mastering their Water Magic. The Turtle & Shark Tribes became fully integrated with the greater Pelagian culture, while the once-secretive Amber Clans relinquished their sovereignty after what their wars with Atlantis did to them. Though Berytos was destroyed, the Mermen traders brought bronze down to the Tritons from other trading partners, and most Pelagians outside of the Amber Clans abandoned their primitive undersea armor for armor made out of that bronze. Speaking of the Mermen, their curiosity for the surface (known to them as the Closed Realm) grew with the final rest of Therodos, and a semi-heretical order of Fire Mages & iron-wearing fighters was born. Though not eager to sow the seeds for a possible rival or replacement for their power, the Triton rulers nurtured their own division of that order for the purpose of claiming the Closed Realm as theirs.

General Overview

In the age with arguably the most competitive underwater scene, MA Pelagia is notorious for sitting at the top of the fishy food chain. MA Pelagia gains a diverse and deadly toolkit over its Early Age predecessor, including sacred cavalry, good infantry, and a stronger (though by no means decisive) ability to reach above the waves. Though the Middle Ages are less abundant with gems, the ability to field masses of Water Elemental summoners remains powerful and pearl farming opens up some strong late-game plays. MA Pelagia is well equipped to seize control of the seas early on and utilize the resulting defensive advantage to build for the late game, quietly setting up its Wish factory in peace while keeping an eye on land-nation affairs.

National Features

Pearl-Farmers! Some of your Mages can convert watergem into astralpearl at a 1-for-1 ratio, but at a limited rate per turn.

Race Military Magic Access Priests Buildings
Very Fast
Base 1 PRO
Base 12 MR
Tritons
Sea-bound Aquatic
Mermen
Breathes both air & water! Amphibious
Bronze
Some Magic Gear
Strong Triton Infantry
Weaker Mermen
Blessable Sacred Triton Cav
& Iron-clad Mermen
water 44 (rare 5)
air 22 (rare 3)
astral 22 (rare 3)
nature 22 (rare 3)
earth 22*
fire 11
Summons:
With nature 33water 11 & 30naturegem:
nature 44 (27.5%, rare 5)
With earth 33air 11 & 30earthgem:
earth 33 (22%, rare 4)
air 22 (22%, rare 3)†
fire 11 (22%, rare 2)
death 11 (22%, rare 2)
holy 22 in UW Forts
holy 11 in Coastal Forts
Fire Cultists
Three levels, standard for the era Castles
Coastal Mages & Warriors

*earth 22 is actually more common than nature 22 (25% chance per guy vs. 13.6%), but technically has a lower ceiling due to 10% randoms.
†You're a bit more likely to get air 33 from the Summon than from your Recruits (1/250 vs. 1/360). Hoping for either is a bit farfetched, but still.

Capital Special Sites

Palace of Pearls

Enables recruitment of Triton Prince, Triton King,
Knight of the Deeps, Conqueror of the Closed Realm,
Champion of the Closed Realm
Produces 4watergem1naturegem per turn.

National Units

Provide a brief overview of commanders and units and what tools they provide you with. Outline any peculiarities across the roster (e.g. the animal tag, cold blooded). Highlight any particular strengths of the roster and describe their roles (e.g. high-quality infantry, thugs, powerful mages).

Commanders

The following commanders can be recruited underwater:

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Merman Scout
25
4
1
Stealthy (50)
Amphibious
Land Shape ⇔ Merman Scout
It's an amphibious scout! Since there are no indie scouts underwater, consider spending a fort turn or two making these if you have underwater neighbors or are otherwise in need of scouting info.
Wave Lord
40
21
1
Amphibious
Land Shape ⇔ Wave Lord
An amphibious 60-leadership commander for when you need to move units onto land. This function can generally be fulfilled with indie leaders, however.
Pelagian Captain
40
26
1
Aquatic A slightly beefier (but purely aquatic) version of the Wave Lord. The Pelagian Captain's slightly lower map move does not actually amount to much, since move costs are generally higher underwater.
Amber Clan Noble
80
36
1
Aquatic According to lore entries from independent Amber Clans, these guys were a lot more rebellious in general before Atlantis came around.
80 Leadership is a lot better than 60, since it gives Morale boosts and special formations.
Merman Priest 45
1
1
+Coastal Fort Rec
holy 11
Sacred
Amphibious
Land Shape ⇔ Merman Priest
Important temple-builders and potential sacred expansion leaders.
Amber Clan Priest
65
2
1
holy 11
Sacred
Aquatic
A 40-leadership priest. The Amber Clan Priest is much more expensive than his Merman equivalent, but can lead sacreds without a morale penalty.
Pearl Clan Priest
80
2
1
holy 22
Sacred
Amphibious
A holy 22 for casting Sermon of Courage and banishing the occasional Longdead wave from Ermor or Sceleria.
Pelagian Mermage
95
1
2
water 11random1100% 9
Amphibious
Land Shape ⇔ Pelagian Mermage
This guy strikes a balance between the other Merman mages and your Triton mages in terms of research efficiency; the other Mermen favor gold-efficiency, of course, while the Tritons favor fort-turn-efficiency. Somewhat lacking in actual combat power, at least prior to Frozen Heart.
Pelagian Mystic
130
3
4
air 11water 11earth 11random1100% 15
Adept Researcher (2)
Amphibious
Land Shape ⇔ Pelagian Mystic
Another gold-efficient Merman research monkey that's slow-to-recruit. Heck.
If you're not starved for Mages, you can queue in the hopes for an earth 22 that'll get you Earth Boots.
Pearl Mage
175
1
2
water 22astral 11random1100% 13
Aquatic
Pearl Cultivator (3)
Similar to their EA equivalent, Pearl Mages continue to be Pelagia's best source of the vital Water Elemental, beating out their Amber Clan competitor by 10 gold. Pearl Cultivation is still a neat ability, even if Water Gems are a bit tougher to find than they were before.

They will often be recruited old.
Amber Clan Mage
185
1
2
fire 11water 22random1100% 13
Aquatic
Amber Clan Mages are slightly overshadowed as Water Elemental summoners by Pearl Mages due to being more expensive, but provide access to spells such as Geyser and Acid Spray
You might consider dragging one on-land so he can Manifest Vitriol.
Triton Prince
200
32
2
Capital Only
Sacred
Recuperation
Aquatic
Mounted
Your glorious 120-leadership commander.
Conqueror of the Closed Realm
130
32
2
Capital Only
holy 11random1100% 7
Sacred
Amphibious
Land Shape ⇔ Conqueror of the Closed Realm
Your 80-leadership commander for the surface. He carries a random magic level that's frankly a little wasted on his 13 HP, but that has a higher chance of being whatever you want it to be than with your off-cap randoms.
Triton King
390
7
4
Capital Only
water 44random2100%
100%
10%
17
Sacred
Resist Cold (7)
Aquatic
Pearl Cultivator (4)
Dominion Attraction/20 (Hippocampus).
Your glorious big mage.
Compared to his EA incarnation, he's missing a level of sorcery magic (and all those priest levels), but he's also cheaper and much more likely to have air 22. The air 22 guys have a surprising amount of Combat Magic at their disposal, even when stuck underwater. None of it compares to burning out on Living Water and resting for the remainder of the battle, but it's not like you start with that spell known.

The following commanders can only be recruited from coastal forts.

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Merman Commander
40
30
1
Amphibious
Formation Fighter (2)
Sea Shape ⇔ Merman Commander
A standard 60-leadership commander. Did you know that bronze is typically harder than iron? Bronze is a lot pricier, though, and it's nothing compared to steel.
Daduchos
65
2
4
Requires Temple
fire 11random1100% 11
Adept Researcher (2)
Amphibious
Sea Shape ⇔ Daduchos
Daduchoi are cost-effective research monkeys on the gold scale (costing a little under 6 bucks per RP), and it's not like you can recruit other mages from most of your coastal forts; however, they are slow-to-recruit.

Troops

The following units can be recruited underwater.

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Pelagian Militia
8
2
5
Aquatic Naked militia for chaffing it up. The Merman militia costs 25% more gold per unit, but comes with the significant advantages of being amphibious and wielding a disposable net, which massively reduces the defence of netted opponents.
Merman
10
3
9
Amphibious
Land Shape ⇔ Merman
Pelagian Soldier
10
21
9
Aquatic The Pelagian Soldier is the efficient infantry option between chaffy militia and premium Clan troops, costing only 10 gold for decent stats, prot and a 17 pierce-damage weapon. However, it can only operate underwater and has relatively high encumbrance due to its bronze armor.
Wave Warrior
13
20
16
Amphibious
Land Shape ⇔ Wave Warrior
Wave Warriors are MA Pelagia's primary nonsacred amphibious troop. They are a strong option for an initial incursion onto land, since they are much hardier than amphibious indies and come with a powerful 19 pierce-damage trident. They are accordingly 33% more expensive per unit than the aquatic Pelagian Soldier.
Coral Clan Hoplite
13
27
16
Aquatic
Formation Fighter (2)
The Coral Clan Hoplite is the first of MA Pelagia's premium aquatic troops. Their formation fighter ability combined with their 18 protection makes them the most durable of Pelagia's troops; however, like other hoplites, they lack decent damage output. Their heavy armor also results in a hefty 9 encumbrance, meaning they are much more likely to fall asleep within the bounds of an ordinary battle.
Amber Clan Guard
14
35
18
Aquatic Amber Clan Guard are essentially Pelagian Soldiers+. They have much better protection (17) and slightly better stats overall. However, their cost reflects their premium status; the Amber Clan Guard are 140% the gold cost and around twice the resources and recruitment points of Pelagian Soldiers.
Champion of the Closed Realm
23
30
27
Capital Only
Sacred
Amphibious
Land Shape ⇔ Champion of the Closed Realm
The Champion of the Closed Realm is MA Pelagia's amphibious sacred option. They have an impressive 19 protection and generally decent stats, apart from lackluster damage output. While they are much weaker individually than the Knights of the Deeps, they are also natively capable of going on land, meaning they may be worth recruiting once the underwater realm has been secured.
Knight of the Deeps
70
25
48
Capital Only
Sacred
Recuperation
Aquatic
Mounted
The Knight of the Deeps gives Pelagia a significant combat advantage over other underwater nations. For cost, these sacreds outcompete the best of their underwater competitors and can even put up some resistance against Water Elementals; whatever bless you layer on top will make them even scarier. They are capable of very fast underwater expansion with a typical rainbow bless.

The following units can only be recruited in coastal forts.

Sprite Unit Name Special Attributes Comments
Merman Hoplite
13
29
16
Amphibious
Formation Fighter (2)
Sea Shape ⇔ Merman Hoplite
A serviceable hoplite for holding the line on land. Like other hoplites, it is not particularly dangerous on its own and merely protects the mages that do the real killing.
Apostate of the Closed Realm
15
21
21
Requires Temple
Amphibious
Sea Shape ⇔ Apostate of the Closed Realm
15 gold is a lot to pay for what is effectively human light infantry with a javelin.

Heroes

MA Pelagia does not get any national heroes in vanilla.

Magic

Magic Access

MA Pelagia's magic access is quite diverse, with some access to all of the elements and two of the sorceries. MA Pelagia is particularly competent at water, earth, and astral magic.

For rituals, Pelagia has access to the following paths:

Elemental

  • fire 11 on a variety of mages
  • air 22 on Pelagian Mystics (and technically Triton Kings, though those are unreliable and very expensive)
  • water 44 on Triton Kings, water 77 via a Water Bracelet, Robe of the Sea and Queen of Elemental Water
  • earth 22 on Pelagian Mystics, earth 44 via Earth Boots, Troll King's Court

Sorcery

  • astral 22 on Pearl Mages, astral 44 via Starshine Skullcap and Crystal Coin
  • No death magic
  • nature 11 on Pearl Mages. There is a 12.5% chance of getting nature 22 on Triton Kings, but they are very expensive in both gold and fort turns to roll for this path if you don't get lucky.
  • No blood magic

National Spells

Combat

  • MA Pelagia does not have any national combat spells.

Ritual

  • Conjuration 5 nature 33water 11 for 30naturegem: Summon Hekateride ( Hekateride×1)
    Summons an awesome water 22nature 33holy 22random1100%
    10%
    mage. MA Pelagia doesn't have the magic to cast this spell unless it gets a lucky nature 22 Triton King, but this can be a good way to unlock more nature magic for battlefield casting. A more accessible alternative is the generic Contact Naiad.
  • Conjuration 6 earth 33air 11 for 30earthgem: Summon Daktyl ( Daktyl×1)
    Summons air 11water 11earth 22random1100%
    10%
    master smith. Can open up further diversity by building elemental boosters, though it might take some boosting itself to get to a Staff of Elemental Mastery. Also a potential path into some minor death access; any death random Daktyl can forge a Skull Staff due to their master smith ability. Decent in combat, though it doesn't have strong advantages on the battlefield over an earth-random Pelagian Mystic

Notable Generic Magic

Summon Water Elemental at Conjuration 5 is as important to MA Pelagia as it is for any underwater nation. Full-size Water Elementals are monsters in underwater combat, gaining 20% regeneration on top of their physical resistances and quadruple AP attacks. If you can figure out how to buff them as they are summoned, they can be made even scarier with spells like Quickness and Body Ethereal at Alteration 4. These buffs also work very well on Knights of the Deeps.

While Wishing (Alteration 9) for gems usually produces only as many astral pearls (via alchemy) as it costs to cast, Pelagia's unique pearl cultivator ability allows it to generate a 12.5 astral pearl profit on each Wish casting. These extra pearls can be used to fuel further Wish casts or empower more mages into being able to cast Wish. This means that Pelagia can completely destroy the gem economy if the game goes late, eventually being limited only by the numbers of pearl cultivators it has produced and astral 99 mages it has empowered into. Having infinite resources is, of course, a major advantage for winning the game. This potential for infinite pearls also makes Pelagia one of the nations more well-suited for casting the oppressive Arcane Nexus.

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 Discount Items

  • Construction 2 water 11nature 11 for 4watergem4naturegem: Clam of Pearls: This clam provides 2astralpearl for battles, and ONLY for battles. It's very handy if you want to save Astral Pearls on, say, Power of the Spheres; from there, the other Pearl can be used to help cast Soul Slay if the mage was astral 11 at first, or one of the few neat astral 33-&-1astralpearl army-buffs if they were an astral 22. It also pays for Light of the Northern Star, if your mage is astral 33.

Strategy

Power Curve

Although MA Pelagia's power curve varies a bit depending on the map and whether or not you have underwater neighbors, several elements remain common to most games.

MA Pelagia's powerful sacreds ensure fast, easy expansion underwater. Knights of the Deeps will rarely take attrition unless they are extremely outnumbered by independent troops, allowing expansion parties to simply keep going and combine when required. By contrast, Pelagia's on-land expansion is below average because recruiting amphibious troops competes with massing more Knights of the Deeps for faster expansion and/or early wars.

This easy expansion phase provides Pelagia with an excellent foundation for early game aggression against underwater neighbors before magic comes online. The onus is on Pelagia's opponents to find an answer to its Knights rather than the other way around! Its ability to mass Water Elemental summoners means it retains its combat advantage even when research comes into play.

Once Pelagia has finished its early UW wars (if any), it can make use of the underwater advantage to massively ramp up research into the mid game. However, the aquatic nature of the Knights of the Deeps means Pelagia loses its combat advantage once land opponents become relevant. At this stage, it is important to keep an eye on land affairs and diplo appropriately to ensure that no other player gains a decisive advantage.

In the late game, Pelagia has an unparalleled ability to scale using its pearl cultivation abilities in combination with Wish and Arcane Nexus. Pelagia can abuse its near unlimited resources to grab land thrones with impunity, safe in its underwater stronghold. However, you have to pick your timing carefully to ensure that no one else wins first!

Expansion Strategies

Pelagia's expansion is very straightforward due to the strength of its Knights of the Deeps. It only takes 5-6 Knights to conquer the majority of indie provinces, even with a light bless; the real risk comes from opponents circling around the Knights to snipe your commander. Consider splitting up the starting army to provide later expansion parties with a small chaff squad to guard against flanking independents.

A fast and reliable expansion party might consist of:

  • Merman Priest in a far back corner; bless a couple of times, then hold.
  • Pelagian Militia slightly in front of the commander; hold and attack
  • Knight of the Deeps mid-forward, sitting in the middle of the second line on the right in the squad interface (this allows the priest to still be able to bless them from a distance); hold and attack

Land expansion is less easy for MA Pelagia than it is for its competitors, since its primary expansion unit is aquatic (compare Ys's Morvarc'h Knights or MA R'lyeh's Meteorite Guard). This is especially true if you have underwater neighbors and want as many Knights as you can get. A quick expansion underwater can sometimes give you enough time to produce Wave Warriors to take land indies, but the viability of this strategy depends on the expansion of your land neighbors.

Example Pretender Builds

List some example pretender builds.

See More

pelagia-ma.txt · Last modified: 2024/07/09 04:53 by johnnydown