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{{ :nations:flags:ma_vanheim.png?nolink|}}
====== MA Vanheim, Arrival of Man  ====== 
===== Lore =====

These are all nations sprung from old Norse myth. The Poetic Edda and some later tales, combined with general conceptions of Iron Age Scandinavia, are the main sources. Vanir, Aesir and Giants are ancient antagonists in these myths. The Aesir, being perceived as gods, have been made pretenders in Dominions. Not that Vanir weren't, but they seem less so than the Aesir in most instances. As with most nations of supernatural origin, it seems fitting that their magic fades with each passing age as humans become more and more numerous. Niefelheim, Jotunheim, and Utgård are part of the history of a single nation through the ages. Vanheim,
Helheim and Midgård also share a common ancestry and development. In the middle era Helheim
merges with Vanheim and disappears as an independent nation. Only the valkyries remain as reminders of the legacy of Helheim. -Illwinter

Vanheim is a land of misty moors and bitter forests. Humans compose most of the population, but the rulers of the land belong to a tall and innately magical race known as the Vanir. The Vanir once fought the giants of Jotunheim, but with the coming of man, they have turned their attention elsewhere. Now only a precious few of the Vanir remain and humans are no longer slaves. Humans compose the basic infantry units of Vanheim. The Vanir have blessed some loyal
humans with superior fighting skills and the ability to enter a state of wild rage or wolven shape. The Vanir are masters of illusion who fight while mounted on exceptionally fast horses. Female Vanir are called Valkyries and have the ability to fly. This ability was a gift from a dead god who used them as messengers of death. During those days, blood was sacrificed. The old ways have not been used in ages, but still the oldest of the Vanir remember how to sate nature with blood. The Vanir are very skilled sailors and can sail the oceans. -Illwinter
===== General Overview =====

Vanheim is an elven nation with glamoured elf cavalry, dwarven blacksmiths and shapeshifting troops. FIXME
==== Strengths ====

Vanheim has some fantastic battle mages: Dwarf Smiths and Vanadrotts. The dwarves can put up the standard army buffs (??Legions of Steel??, ??Strength of Giants??, ??Weapons of Sharpness??) and cast fun stuff like ??Blade Wind??, ??Magma Eruption?? and ??Rain of Stones??. The Vanadrotts can put up things like ??Arrow Fend??, ??Storm?? and ??Fog Warriors?? and come with the usual lightning spam.

Vanheim has fantastic thugs. Vanjarls make great raiding thugs and can put up spells like ??Mistform?? and ??Mirror Image?? to protect them. With minimal investment you can turn them into solid raiders. Starting a war with a ??Cloud Trapeze?? paradrop of a dozen equipped Vanjarls can ruin someone's day.

Vanheim has some excellent troops (Skinshifters and Einheres) and some tactically interesting troops (Vans and Valkyries), as well as some reasonably cheap melee troops (Huskarls).

==== Weaknesses ====

Vanheim lacks the end game paths that can help transform a strong position in the mid game to a winning position in the end game. All Vanheim gets with regard to the big end game paths is {{path>D1}} and {{path>B2}}. They have no astral, limited blood (on expensive hunters), very low levels of Death magic and no Nature magic. A bit less of a problem now that you can with a bit of luck get access to {{path>B3}} naturally.

Aside from your dwarves, all your mages are sacred meaning you will need temples and labs in every fort if you are going to produce them. Your forts are really expensive (your only fort that costs less than 1k gold is a Swamp fort) so you will need plenty of gold.

Vanheim lacks magic diversity. Barring 10% randoms the only paths you get with more than one in them are Blood, Air and Earth. While Earth and Air are not bad on a battlefield, this lack of diversity is a problem you need to work around.
=====National Features=====

^  Race                                                                                                                                                                                             ^  Military                                                         ^  Magic Access                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ^  Priests                                                   ^  Buildings                                                ^
| Prefer {{cold}} +1\\ **Humans**\\ **Skinshifters**\\ **Elves**\\ {{:abilities:stealthy.png?10&nolink}} [[Stealthy]](65)\\ {{:abilities:glamour.png?15&nolink}} [[Glamour]]\\ High Defence and MR  | Sailing Vikings and Elf Vikings\\ Strong Thugs\\ Expensive Mages  | {{path>A4}} (rare 5)\\ {{path>E3}} (rare 4)\\ {{path>B2}} (rare 3)\\ {{path>F1}} (uncommon, rare 2)\\ {{path>D1}} (uncommon, rare 2)\\ \\ Summonable: {{path>W2}}*,  {{path>A4}}*,  \\ {{path>E3}}*,  {{path>F2}}* ,  {{path>N2}}* ,  {{path>D2}}*\\ \\ *Can't be summoned natively.  | Average (max {{path>H2}})\\ Can perform Blood Sacrifices.  | {{:misc:gui:castle.png?30&nolink}} Standard Fort(castle)  |

 

==== Capital Special Sites ====

FIXME add the site pics

^ Valhalla                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ^  The Halls of Andvare                                                                                                                                                                                  ^
| Enables recruitment of: \\ {{:nations:ma:vanheim:van.png?25&nolink }} ??Van?? \\ {{:nations:ma:vanheim:Valkyrie.png?25&nolink }} ??Valkyrie?? \\ {{:nations:ma:vanheim:Vanadrott.png?25&nolink }} ??Vanadrott??. \\ Generates {{gems>2A}} per turn.  | Enables recruitment of:\\ {{:nations:ma:vanheim:Dwarven_Smith.png?25&nolink }}  ??Dwarven Smith?? \\ {{:nations:ma:vanheim:Fay_Boar.png?25&nolink }} ??Fay Boar??. \\ Generates {{gems>3E}} per turn.  |



===== Units =====

General description of the units in the nations rooster, any standouts, shared qualities aka temperature, any foreign rec, what makes a good basis to plan around 
 

==== Commanders ====

FIXME intro


^  Img                                                  ^ Unit Name                                                                                                                                                                               ^ Special Attributes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ^ Comments                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ^
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:scout.png?25&nolink }}          | **??Scout??**\\ {{gold}} 25\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 4  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 1                                                               | {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]](50)\\ {{:abilities:mountain_survival.png?15&nolink}} [[Mountain Survival]]\\ {{:abilities:forest_survival.png?15&nolink}} [[Forest Survival]]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  | Cheap scout.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:herse.png?25&nolink }}          | **??Herse#422??**\\ {{gold}} 40\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 22  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 1                                                          |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | Cheap non-steathy commander to do cheap commander things.                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:vanherse.png?25&nolink }}       | **??Vanherse#263??**\\ {{gold}} 140\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 16  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 2                                                      | {{path>A1H1}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 7\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}} [[Sacred]]\\ {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]](65)\\ {{:abilities:glamour.png?15&nolink}} [[Glamour]]\\ {{:abilities:sailing.png?15&nolink}} [[Sailing]](3, Max 999)\\ [[mounted]]                                                                                                                                                                    | Army leader, light thug, and your cheapest mage.\\ They can become lighting casters if ??Storm?? is up, even making the most use of ??Shock Wave?? with their high defense.                                                                                    |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:dwarven_smith.png?25&nolink }}  | **??Dwarven Smith??**\\ {{gold}} 140\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 2  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 4\\ {{:misc:gui:fortress.png?20&nolink}} Capital Only  | {{path>E2,100%FAED,10%FAED}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 11\\ {{:abilities:master_smith.png?15&nolink}} [[Master Smith]](1)\\ {{:abilities:darkvision.png?15&nolink}} [[Darkvision]](50%)\\ {{:abilities:mountain_survival.png?15&nolink}} [[Mountain Survival]]                                                                                                                                                                                         | The smith that makes a lot of your thug gear.\\ National master smiths are good but rare, able to forge a large variety of gear.\\ Can participate in battle but movement is visible on the map.\\ Grants protection boosting and anti-armor magic in combat.  |
| {{:nations:ea:vanheim:vanjarl.png?25&nolink }}        | **??Vanjarl#264??**\\ {{gold}} 275\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 18  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 2                                                       | {{path>A2B1H2}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 11\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}} [[Sacred]]\\ {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]](65)\\ {{:abilities:glamour.png?15&nolink}} [[Glamour]]\\ {{:abilities:sailing.png?15&nolink}} [[Sailing]](3, Max 999)\\ [[mounted]]                                                                                                                                                                 | Better thug, Air mage, and your cheapest blood hunter.\\ {{path>A2}} makes them nearly impossible to hit by normal units.\\ In the mid-late game, they can form blood sabbaths and spam ??Thunder Strike??.                                                    |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:vanadrott.png?25&nolink }}      | **??Vanadrott??**\\ {{gold}} 410\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 19 \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 4\\ {{:misc:gui:fortress.png?20&nolink}} Capital Only      | {{path>A3B1H2,100%AEDB,10%AEDB}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 15\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}} [[Sacred]]\\ {{:abilities:resist_shock.png?15&nolink}} [[Resist Shock]](5)\\ {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]](65)\\ {{:abilities:sailing.png?15&nolink}} [[sailing]](Ship Size: 999, Max size: 3)\\ {{:abilities:glamour.png?15&nolink}} [[Glamour]]\\ {{:abilities:spirit_sight.png?15&nolink}} [[Spirit Sight]]\\ [[mounted]]  | Vanheim's masters of air and blood.\\ They put up ??Storm??s for the nation and perform big rituals.\\ Earth randoms make for better thugs.                                                                                                                    |
==== Troops ====
FIXME intro


^  Img                                                ^ Unit Name                                                                                                                                                                           ^ Special Attributes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ^ Comments                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ^
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:huskarl.png?25&nolink }}      | **??Huskarl#142??**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 12  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 9                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | Your Cheap recrutable siege chaff.\\ Comparable to ??Heavy Infantry?? and has a javelin. Vanheim has some magic to buff javelins.                                                                                                                                                                      |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:huskarl_2.png?25&nolink }}    | **??Huskarl#143??**\\ {{gold}} 10\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 12  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 9                                                    |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | :::                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:hirdman.png?25&nolink }}      | **??Hirdman#144??**\\ {{gold}} 12\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 20  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 14                                                   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | Your resource intensive soldiers. if you go heavy on productivty scales, they can be your early to mid game workhorse. \\ Decently armored. \\ Choose between hard-hitting slashing damage or weaker piercing damage depending on your needs.                                                          |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:hirdman_2.png?25&nolink }}    | **??Hirdman#145??**\\ {{gold}} 12\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 22  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 14                                                   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | :::                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:einhere.png?25&nolink }}      | **??Einhere??**\\ {{gold}} 25\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 21  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 31                                                       | {{:abilities:ambidextrous.png?15&nolink}} [[Ambidextrous]](1)\\ {{:abilities:berserker.png?15&nolink}} [[Berserker]](5)                                                                                                                                                                      | Ambidextrous berserkers with 2 weapons.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:skinshifter.png?25&nolink }}  | **??Skinshifter#400??**\\ {{gold}} 25\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 7  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 31                                                | {{:abilities:regeneration.png?15&nolink}} [[regeneration]](10%)\\ [[wounded Shape]](??Werewolf#399??)                                                                                                                                                                                        | Regenerating unit that shapeshifts to a werewolf when hurt.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:valkyrie.png?25&nolink }}     | **??Valkyrie??**\\ {{gold}} 45\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 15  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 29\\ {{:misc:gui:fortress.png?20&nolink}} Capital Only  | {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}} [[sacred]] \\ {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]](65)\\ {{:abilities:glamour.png?15&nolink}} [[Glamour]]\\ {{:abilities:spirit_sight.png?15&nolink}} [[Spirit Sight]]\\ {{:abilities:flying.png?15&nolink}} [[flying]]\\ [[Female]]       | Sacred stealthy flying units                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:van.png?25&nolink }}          | **??Van??**\\ {{gold}} 65\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 16  \\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 48\\ {{:misc:gui:fortress.png?20&nolink}} Capital Only       | {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}} [[sacred]] \\ {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]](65)\\ {{:abilities:glamour.png?15&nolink}} [[Glamour]]\\ [[mounted]]                                                                                                                    | Sacred glamoured elven cavalry.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| {{:nations:ea:vanheim:fay_boar.png?25&nolink }}     | **??Fay Boar??**\\ {{gold}} 100\\ {{:misc:gui:resources.png?15&nolink}} 1\\ {{:misc:gui:recruitmentpoints.png?15&nolink}} 30\\ {{:misc:gui:fortress.png?20&nolink}} Capital Only    | {{:abilities:supply_bonus.png?15&nolink}} [[supply bonus]](50) \\ {{:abilities:Immortal.png?15&nolink}} [[Immortal]]\\ {{:abilities:animal.png?15&nolink}} [[animal]]\\ {{:abilities:trample.png?15&nolink}} [[trample]]\\ {{:abilities:forest_survival.png?15&nolink}} [[Forest Survival]]  | Small tramplers that respawn at your cap when killed. Buff them with spells like ??Enlarge?? and ??Gift of Flight?? to improve their performance in battle.\\ It's rare for Vanheim to run into supply problems with their smaller armies so you don't often need these units for their supply bonus.  |


==== Heroes ====
If playing with Worth Heroes, **Laurin - Keeper of the Rose Garden** provides {{path>N3}}.

**Vanilla**

^ Sprite  ^ Unit Name                       ^ Special Attributes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ^ Comments                                          ^
|         | **??Farbaute - Einhere#544??**  | Unique hero \\ {{:abilities:ambidextrous.png?15&nolink}} [[Ambidextrous]](3) \\ {{:abilities:berserker.png?15&nolink}} [[Berserker]](8) \\ **If playing with Worthy Heroes:** \\ Casts ??Personal Luck?? each battle \\ Summons in battle: **Friend of Farbaute** x2 \\ Wields a **Hero's Blade** and a ??Axe of Sharpness??                                                                                                                                     | Can freespawn Einheres and Hirdman via an event.  |
|         | **??Vanlade - Vanadrott??**     | Unique hero \\ {{path>A4,D2,B2,H2}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 21\\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}} [[Sacred]]\\ {{:abilities:resist_shock.png?15&nolink}} [[Resist Shock]] (7) \\ {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]] (65) \\ {{:abilities:sailing.png?15&nolink}} [[Sailing]] (Max size 3) \\ {{:abilities:inspirational.png?20&nolink}} [[Inspirational]] (1) \\ {{:abilities:glamour.png?15&nolink}} [[Glamour]]\\ [[mounted]]  |                                                   |

**Worthy Heroes**

^ Sprite  ^ Unit Name                               ^ Special Attributes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              ^ Comments  ^
|         | **??Dwarf Elder#6183??**                | Multihero \\ {{path>F1,E3,100%FAED,10%FAED}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 22\\ {{:abilities:adept_researcher.png?15&nolink}} [[Adept Researcher]] (7)\\ {{:abilities:forge_bonus.png?15&nolink}} [[Forge Bonus]] (2)\\ {{:abilities:master_smith.png?15&nolink}} [[Master Smith]] (1)                                                                                                                   |           |
|         | **Geirskögul - Daughter of the Storm**  | Unique hero \\ Casts each battle: ??Storm?? \\ {{:abilities:sacred.png?15&nolink}} [[Sacred]] \\ {{:abilities:resist_shock.png?15&nolink}} [[Resist Shock]] (25) \\ {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]] (50) \\ {{:abilities:storm_power.png?15&nolink}} [[Storm Power]] (3) \\ {{:abilities:glamour.png?15&nolink}} [[Glamour]] \\ {{:abilities:flying.png?15&nolink}} [[flying]]\\ [[Female]]  |           |
|         | **Sigurd - Dragon Slayer**              | Unique hero \\ {{:abilities:resist_fire.png?15&nolink}} [[Resist Fire]] (15) \\ {{:abilities:stealthy.png?15&nolink}} [[Stealthy]] (90) \\ {{:abilities:inspirational.png?20&nolink}} [[Inspirational]] (1) \\ {{:abilities:invulnerability.png?20&nolink}} [[Invulnerability]] (25) \\ [[mounted]]                                                                                                             |           |
|         | **Laurin - Keeper of the Rose Garden**  | Unique hero \\ {{path>W1,E2,N3}} {{:misc:gui:research.png?15&nolink}} 17 \\ Temp gems: {{gems>2N}} per battle \\ {{:abilities:resist_poison.png?15&nolink}} [[Resist Poison]] (5) \\ {{:abilities:darkvision.png?15&nolink}} [[Darkvision]] (25%) \\ {{:abilities:animal_awe.png?15&nolink}} [[Animal Awe]] (5) \\ {{:abilities:supply_bonus.png?15&nolink}} [[Supply Bonus]] (30)                              |           |

===== Magic =====
==== National spells and Summons====

  ***??Sloth of Bears??**: Conj 3 {{gems>6N}} {{path>N2}} ( {{:nations:ea:helheim:great_bear.png?25&nolink}} ??Great Bear??x10+) Need indes to cast. Sacks of HP with high lot of strength.
 
  ***??Awaken Draugar??**: Conj 4 {{gems>12D}} {{path>D2}} ( {{:nations:ea:helheim:Draug.png?25&nolink}} ??Draug??x3) They are undead with a [[chill aura]] and [[fear]] and hit harder when on their last legs. They are comparable to ??Wight??s, with Draugar being better equipped to win the grind game.


  ***??Summon Valkyries??**: Conj 4 {{gems>1A}} {{path>A3D1}} ( {{:nations:ea:helheim:Valkyrie.png?25&nolink}} ??Valkyrie??x7) In combat, Summon [[Sacred]] [[flying]] ladies to Dive bomb the enemy with a high damage lance charge. They will be unscripted will prioriteze the squishy mages in back but will be hard to bless,
  
  ***[[Summon Dwarf of the Four Directions]]**: Conj 8 {{gems>62A}} {{path>A4E3}}. Shared between the Jotun and Vanir nations. Summon one of the four Dwarf smiths. Get a strong {{path>A4E3,200%FWDE}} caster and a forger for your troubles at the cost (or benefit) of some ??hurricane??s ravaging the world. Your unlikely to summon all four, but having them all missing benefits your Vanir nation the most. 

==== Magic Access ====

Mages in Vanheim are used more for thugging buffs than casting rituals or research. Off cap you have ??Vanjarl??s with {{path>A2B1}} plus any indies you find, paths that need empowerment or a ??Storm?? or expensive [[communions]] to be decent ranged casters rather than ??Mistform??ing and charging. 

??Dwarven Smith??s are your earth mages and forgers. While ??Vanadrott??s are good Air mages. Boosting a ??Vanadrott?? to cast ??Queen of Elemental Air?? is the gate to higher air, ??King of Elemental Earth?? for earth and [[Summon Dwarf of the Four Directions]] break you into strong air/earth and another path. Climbing blood for [[Bind Heliophagus]] gives you more Blood access as well as Death and Fire.
====Combat Magic====

Vanheim relies more on their surprise attack with hard to hit troops and commanders that can solo battalions over traditional magic artillery. Your thugs will be forced to take up the artillery role late game when Glamour stops being a huge advantage in combat, though this is not the most gold efficient roll for them.  

Early game combat involves having a thug cast ??Mistform?? and ??Flight?? then attack rear, with summoned ??Air Elemental??s for extra support.

Capital only ??Dwarf Smith??s which bring Earth magic to combat, improve armor with ??Marble Warriors?? and harass with ??Maws of the Earth??, ??Rain of Stones?? and ??Destruction??. Their movement on the map is visible to most scouts.

??Vanadrott??s make up your wind power, being the ones putting up ??Storm?? so your ??Vanherse?? and ??Vanjarl??s can spam lighting spells.

Blood communions are also important to the nation. ??Vanjarl?? are expensive for nearly sitting around but are the only national way to empower your mages. With boosters, you can cast higher Air, Earth, Death, Fire, and blood spells (you can empower any dwarf in Blood to join). For example, you can cast ??Storm?? without ??Vanadrott??s. Blood is useful for taking out dangerous units with ??Life for a Life??, and shifting battles in your favor with ??Blood Rain??, ??Wailing Winds??, and ??Rush of Strength??.

??Wind of Death?? is an interesting spell as Vans still have between 100 to 500 years of life in them, So armies made up of shorter-lived races and, more importantly, the elder mages that are the backbone armies, will be crippled and die, while only some of your will only be a few decades from retirement. 
====Ritual Magic====
??Vanadrott?? and ??Vanjarl?? can ??Cloud Trapeze??, Letting them immediately pounce on any province in range, including a surprise blood sabbath.  

Late game use ??Storm Demon??s as they are strong demons. Also getting [[Bind Heliophagus]] and [[Elemental Royalty]] for Stronger power.
====Magic Items====

Your recruitable thugs are mounted mages that are really hard to hit. They may need not that much extra prot, but shouldn't but that much encumbrance on them as they will be casting spells. The better thing is giving them weapons to stab better (??Fire Brand??, or ??Frost Brand?? for AOE, ??Flesh Eater?? for anti thugging).  Can make Earth, Blood, and even the hard to make air boosters (some rare ??Dwarven Smith??s can forge ??Skull of Fire??). Even make a ??Robe of the Magi?? for late-game magic boosting. 

===National Dicount Items===

  ***??Dwarven Hammer??** Cont 2, {{path>E3}}, {{gems>12E}}: A quintessential item for forging. Forge Discount on an item that gives you Forge discount is an economic win.

  ***??Lightweight Scale Mail??** Cont 2, {{path>A1}}, {{gems>4A}}: light armour for non-van thugs and mages.
  ***??Weightless Scale Mail??** Cont 2, {{path>A2}}, {{gems>8A}}: pay more so the Scale Mail has no encumbrance of a thug build that's more consciences about fatigue produced per turn.

  ***??Cauldron of the Elven Halls??** Cont 4, {{path>A3}}, {{gems>12A}}: let only a fraction of your human death balls and other summon, be reported. If you into mind game strategies having a massive army mistaken as a small raiding party grants you a greater level of surprise.
=====Strategy=====
FIXME do you have a game plan? Anything you should always be working toward? Any National weaknesses?

====Pretender Building: Scales====

**Order/Turmoil:** Vanheim has expensive castles, expensive mages, and expensive troops, so Order is preferable.

**Production/Sloth:** How you set this scale depends on how much you intend to use Einheres. if you want to use them a lot you will want at least neutral scales. If you intend to rely on Skinshifters you can afford some sloth scales. Conversely, higher production scales will help you afford your expensive mages and infrastructure.

**Heat/Cold:** Vanheim prefers cold 1 so you will want at least that to start with and you can push up to cold 3 when you need more design points.

**Growth/Death:** Growth scales help mitigate the population loss from blood hunting. Growth 3 is probably overkill but can be helpful if you have points to waste. 

**Luck/Misfortune:** Vanheim's heroes aren't incredibly exciting, so Luck 3 might be overkill. 

**Magic/Drain:** There are some nations who can get away with drain 2, but Vanheim is not one of them.

====Pretender Building: Magic Paths====

Vanheim is only really strong in Air and Earth and blood, everything else it has only a smattering of level 1s or 2s. Whichever pretender design you take you might want to think about filling some of those holes.

**Air:** Vanheim does not need air on its pretender. An A4 Vanadrott with one booster can cast every Air spell in the game except for the rather useless ??Fata Morgana??. 

**Astral:** One of Vanheim's biggest weaknesses is its lack of Astral access for forging and ritual casting. Its access to astral mages is limited. You have a couple of ways to get Astral access. Firstly you can rely on indies which is chancy and relies on you being lucky enough to find a province with recruitable Lizard Shaman or Crystal Amazon Indies. The second requires you to rely on summons from your pretender of which probably the easiest to cast are ??Hidden in Sand?? which gives you a 33% chance to get an E2S2D1 mage (it costs 35 earth gems and can only be cast in wasteland provinces by a E3D1 dwarf). One of the other spells is ??Summon Spectres?? which for D3 has a 25% chance of giving you an S2D2 mage. The third and final way into Astral is taking Astral on your pretender. Generally you will want some combination of all three. 

**Blood:** MA Vanheim only gets up to B3 so if you want to go into blood in a big way you will either need to empower or take blood on your pretender. You only need B4 to forge boosters and there are generally more important magic paths for your pretender to take. At some point you may want to go down the blood school in which case empowering a B3 Vanadrott to B4 is probably not a bad idea.

**Death:** MA Vanheim only gets access to D1 on its native mages which, while not enough on its own to boost higher into death, can at least site search for death gems. You can either empower a D1 dwarf, use ??Hidden in Sand?? (which gets you an E1D2 mage with a 50% chance for D3), or have your pretender go into death. 

**Earth:** Your dwarves cover most of your earth needs but you may want E1 or E2 so you can forge a crystal coin to buff your S magic.

**Fire:** Vanheim does not have much access to fire with only 25% of dwarves being able to get a fire random path. This is generally enough for basic forging but if you really need more F magic either take your chances with ??Hidden in Sand?? (which can get you F2 33% of time with an additional 50% chance of F3) or just empower. You might want at most F1D1 on your pretender to be able to forge a cheap skull of fire to enable your F1 dwarves to remote site search. 

**Nature:** Vanheim has no access to Nature so you want at least N2 on your pretender so you can forge a thistle mace and give it to an Indy Druid or Shaman and cast Haruspex hopefully getting some enchantresses or other good Nature mages while searching. Alternatively, you can take N4 on your pretender, which is enough to cast most of the main nature spells as needed. Naiads are an option if you take at least W2N1 on your pretender as they get you into Nature and Water at the same time, 2 paths you lack natural access to.

**Water:** while water in itself is not very useful it can be handy for getting into other paths that you want access to and a minor W bless can be handy for your raiding thugs. To get into water in a big way you either need rely on summoning Naiads or summoning Koythaki.

====Bless Effects====

Your sacred elven cavalry benefit from increased strength. FIXME

====Early Game====
FIXME How to expand, potential pitfalls and how to get around them, obvious weakness strength, how much do you have to focus on war/infrastructure 
====Mid Game====
FIXME what is the first big research rush, what is the first big powerspike, where do you shift recruitment to? what are the big magic diversity issues, are there particular globals you should gun for
====Late Game====
FIXME How do you close out the game if you are in it, is the high-level research stuff you can do uniquely well, does your nation fall off, aka do you have to force things to conclude swiftly

=====Links=====
youtube of someone discussing the nation \\
guide page on steam??\\
forum thread or AAR

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