Dark Elves

Elves

The elves have the same physical strength and endurance as humans do, though they have twice the dexterity and reflexes as humans. They can see in low light conditions and have extremely sharp senses of hearing and sight, at least twice as good as a human's. The elves live ten times as long as humans, not showing the signs of old age until 500 years, they also are highly resistant to natural diseases. On the downside, elves grow more slowly than humans, and are thus not physically mature until the age of 20 and elven females may only have one child every 5 years though the gestation period is only a year.

Elves are limited to technology of the high middle ages. They never where plate armor because it is too great a hinderance to their dexterity. They have high quality bows, of course, as well as any other item available to someone in the year 1400 aside from gunpowder based weapons which they have no knowledge of. Elves are more intelligent than humans by about 20% though they tend to forget things that they learn over the long years of their lives.

All elves have at least minor magical powers and elven sorcerers are among the most powerful magic users in existence. All elves have access to elven steeds, special horses which are 20% faster than equivalent human horses.

There are three primary types of elves dark elves, wood elves, and high elves. Below are some of the things that make each race unique.

Dark Elves

Dark elves can see in absolute darkness as well as daylight. They have the ability to cloak themselves in shadows, becoming a black ink mass that is almost impossible to see at night - though this power cannot be used in combat. Dark elves can channel dark shadowy energy into their melee weapons, causing the weapons to do cold damage to those touched - making even a scratch agonizingly painful. Furthermore, any mortal (except player kings) who makes eye contact with a dark elf for more than 5 seconds within 5 feet will be filled with dread and run in terror for 10 seconds before regaining composure.

Dark elves have a special material they call shadowsteel, which is a dark colored metal magically made by dark elf alchemists. It is both 20% stronger and 20% lighter than any high quality steel of the middle ages. The downside to this metal is that without special magical treatment, it slowly starts to dissolve - meaning that it is seldom traded to other races

Dark elf alchemists have created horrible magical creatures to serve dark elves so that the dark elves less frequently have to do labor or even fight for themselves. One of these creatures are the homunculi. Homunculi are creatures roughly 6 feet tall will heavy muscles. They have 50% more strength and toughness than humans, but only about 75% of the intellect. They have dark gray skin, sharp ragged claws, and large fang filled maws. They can see well in absolute darkness but have poor vision in the daylight. They are savage in combat and totally loyal to dark elves. Homunculi are grown in vats, they do not reproduce naturally and have no gender. It takes an alchemist two weeks of constant work to grow one homunculus - which emerges from the vat fully formed and with the ability to fight and understand orders. With 3 months of work, an alchemist can instead create a gargoyle - a creature much like a homunculus but with the ability to fly 40 mph with its great wings. Homunculi and gargoyles only live for 10 years for crumbling to dust.

Dark elven alchemists, in addition to being able to create homunculi and gargoyles, have a number of other special powers. They take special potions which give them peak (for an elf) physical abilities and combat skill. In battle they all wear high quality darksteel armor. Their weapons are always coated with a lethal poison so that even the slightest scratch can kill any living creature. In addition, each carries a single haling potion that can be used to instantly heal all wounds.

Dark elven sorcerers have a number of powers, most of which are based on cold and darkness. A sorcerer can concentrate to create an aura of darkness around themselves with a mile radius. This aura makes it darker than usual, allowing creatures whose vision is hurt by daylight able to see normally, it isn't dark enough to hinder the vision of normal creatures but will protect vampires from sunlight. They can shoot out beams of cold darkness from their fingertips, killing any mortal creature struck and freezing undead solid for 10 minutes - this power has a range of 200 feet. They can focus their attention on another magic user within 500 feet, while doing this they can counter any spell cast by that magic user before it can take effect. Countering spells this way takes concentration, but they can still walk at half speed while doing so. They can magically fly or hover at the speed of 100 mph. They are surrounded by a field of entropy that gives them the protection of steel plate armor. They can also teleport anywhere within visual range by concentrating for 30 seconds. Once per day, a DE sorcerer can let out a piercing howl that causes all mortals within 100 feet to run in terror

As king of the dark elves, you can choose one of the following power sets.

You can be sorcerer-king. This gives you all of the powers of a DE sorcerer and some additional powers as well. They can also teleport anywhere within visual range by concentrating for 10 seconds. By concentrating and taking no offensive action, you can block all enemy magic from affecting you and 50% of spells directed at you return to damage the caster instead. You are surrounded by an aura of dread and terror, reducing the bravery of all who look upon you by 20%. You can blast out a freezing wind that saps the heat from enemies, this has a 100 range and is 20 feet wide. You ray of dark energy has a range of 500 feet instead of 200.

You could also be a master alchemist. You have all of the standard alchemist abilities. A master alchemist can create gargoyles in 1 month instead of 3, They have twice the peak physical abilities of dark elves. Their blood is so infused with magic that every magical attack directed against them has a 50% chance of not affecting them and even when it does, the effect is only half as strong as normal. Master alchemists carry 3 healing potions with them at all times. If a master alchemist is killed, his soul returns to a specially created clone body in his laboratory - the alchemist can only have one clone at a time and it takes 6 months to grow a new one. Once per day the MA can drink a potion to change himself into a huge beast, basically a giant gargoyle that can fly 50 mph and has double the strength and toughness - this transformation lasts for 10 minutes. Lastly, the alchemist can hurl flasks of caustic fluids at the enemy - each explodes with a 10 foot radius and inflicts horrible if not lethal wounds on all creatures touched.

All elves begin play with 25,000 elves.

Dark elves start with 5,000 homunculi, 250 alchemists, 250 gargoyles, and 250 dark elf sorcerers. The population of alchemists and sorcerers can never rise above 1% of the population of normal dark elves.

Draconians

Draconians are the result ancient magic that combined dragon blood with that of humanoids. Draconians have the basic shape shape of humans, standing about 6 feet tall, are covered with scales, have a long tail, sharp claws at the end of fingers and toes, and their head is reptilian and filled with sharp teeth. Draconians' scales are as protective as bronze scale armor but it does not impede their movement. They are 50% stronger and tougher than humans, 10% more dexterous, and 10% more intelligent. Draconians can see in low light conditions, much like a cat. Some draconians have large leathery wings that allow them to fly at the speed of 40 mph. Draconians also have a dragon-like breath weapon that they can use once every 10 minutes. This breath weapon basically extends as a cone from the mouth of the draconian, it is 15 feet long and 3 feet wide at the end of the cone. This breath weapon can inflict grievous if not deadly injuries on those affected and armor is only partially protective.

The nature of a draconian's breath weapon is based on the kind of dragon it is tied to, as is its scale color and certain other special abilities. Red draconians breathe fire, they are also immune to fire. Black draconians spray acid, they are also excellent swimmers and can hold their breath for an hour. White draconians spray a freezing cold mist, they are also immune to cold. Blue draconians shoot lightning out of their mouths, they are aquatic and can breath underwater, swim with great skill, survive extreme ocean depths, and are immune to electricity - though they cannot fly. Gold draconians breathe fire, they can also survive with virtually no water and can endure extreme heat and dryness as well as blowing sands. Green draconians spray a poisonous gas that kills animals but does not harm vegetation, their green scales also give them extremely good camouflage in forests or jungles. Silver draconians fire a burst of searing white light from their mouth, they can also fly and run 25% faster than other draconians.

Draconian females lay eggs only once per 5 years, each egg takes about a year to hatch and a draconian takes 30 years to reach adulthood. After reaching adulthood, draconians live for about 5 times as long as humans do, making the average lifespan about 300 years. About 50% of normal draconians have wings. Draconians with wings have difficulty flying if they wear armor.

Draconians have technology about on par with 9th century Europe.

A minority of draconians have more powerful breath weapons than their brethren, these are called potent ones. Their breath weapons extends out to 30 feet and is 5 feet wide at full extension. Additionally, they can use their breath weapon every 5 minutes instead of every 10. Half of potent ones have wings and half don't.

Some draconians still have some of the magical nature of their dragon relatives, these are the draconian sorcerers. A draconian sorcerers can concentrate to create a protective bubble around themselves and allies within a 10 foot radius, while doing this they can't take any other action or even move and erecting this barrier takes 5 seconds of concentration. While this magical bubble is in place, nothing can leave or enter the bubble, including magic and attacks. Draconians can focus their attention on another magic user within 500 feet, while doing this they can counter any spell cast by that magic user before it can take effect. Countering spells this way takes concentration, but they can still walk or fly at half speed while doing so. In place of using their breath weapon, a draconian sorcerer can cause the element tied to his draconic color to burst into effect at any point within 500 feet. Everyone within a 10 foot radius sphere will be affected as if they had been hit by the breath weapon. About 75% of draconian sorcerers have wings.

Some draconians are much bigger and stronger than most others, these are called brutes. Brutes stand around 7 feet tall and are heavily built. Each brute has the strength and toughness of 3 men. Their scales are tougher as well, being as strong as iron rather than bronze. Only about 25% of brutes have wings.

Sometimes baby dragons ally with draconians of the same color. These dragons are young and weak by dragon standards, but are still very powerful compared to mortal races. These baby dragons are quite large, 20 feet or more from head to tail. They have massive wings that allow them to fly at a speed of 60 mph and even running along the ground they can reach speeds of 30 mph. A baby dragon's breath weapon has a range of 100 feet and has a width of 20 feet at the end of the cone - it can use this once per 5 minutes. A baby dragon's scales are as strong as steel plate armor and its massive body and dense muscles can take massive punishment before it dies. It has the strength of over 30 men and and claws and teeth are like swords. The dragon is also highly resistant to magic, suffering only half of the normal damage or effect from any magical attack directed against it. The baby dragon has tremendous speed and skill in combat as well, lashing out with its claws, tail, jaws, and even wings - each blow capable of easily crushing a horse or ogre. It also has incredible intelligence, an equivalent human IQ of at least 200. Like draconians, baby dragons have a breath weapon and special ability associated with their color. Baby dragons are a bit flighty and independent, they will only be available to go to battle with you or to defend your nation 50% of the time.

There is a lesser race of draconians called kobolds. These creatures are smaller than draconians, only about 4 feet tall and never have a breath weapon or wings. They have the same keen intellect as draconians but are only 75% as strong as humans, though they are 25% more dexterous than humans are and have scales that protect them as well as tough leather scale armor. Kobolds often find themselves doing menial labor for other draconians, though this isn't always the case, among some communities there is total equality between draconians and kobolds but in others kobolds are little better than slaves. Though they don't have a breath weapon, kobolds do have a scale color and associated powers such as being immune to fire or being able to breathe underwater. Since they don't have the physical power of draconians, kobolds often have to compensate by using equipment or their wits - kobolds often create traps or elaborate strategies to defeat their enemies, they also like to use more mechanical weapons like crossbows or siege machines. Kobolds also reproduce more quickly than normal draconians, laying an egg every year which takes 6 months to catch, maturing in 20 years, and living about twice as long as humans.

Some kobolds have magical powers from their dragon blood, those that do have the same power set as draconian sorcerers.

As king of the draconians, you have one of several options.

You could be a draconian or kobold sorcerer king. As sorcerer king, you have all of the powers of a draconian sorcerer with a few additions. You can cause your elemental burst as often as once per minute instead of once per 10 minutes. You can use your counter spelling ability without concentrating, though the target has to be within 100 feet of you and there is a 25% chance you can't counter the spell in time. You can see invisible and hiding creatures with complete clarity. You can erect your magic bubble instantly as a reaction to an attack directed at you, you you must be aware of this attack and the bubble has a 50% chance of not appearing quickly enough to protect you. If you are a draconian, you can choose whether or not to have wings, though you can choose to be a kobold instead.

You could also be a young dragon. As a young dragon, you have all of the powers and abilities listed for a baby dragon above, though your strength, toughness, the range of your breath weapon, your speed, and your scale's hardness is all increased by 50%.

Finally, you can be an ancient wyrm. An ancient wyrm is a very old and powerful dragon, one that has lived for thousands if not tens of thousands of years. You are vastly more powerful than a baby dragon, your scales are as strong as slabs of adamantite, your breath weapon is like a nuclear explosion, your tail is a wrecking ball that can level castles, and when you flap your wings the wind can blow over houses. You only suffer 10% of the effect from offensive magic, meaning that it takes ten of even a necromancer's death rays to kill you. You have all of the magical powers of a draconian sorcerer as well. You have more wealth than any faction, a mountain of gold that you rest upon. The downside to being an ancient wyrm - you are asleep and tend to stay that way. Every 50 years, there is a 10% chance that you will awake, though even if you awake you will only stay that way for a month before deciding to go back to sleep. The draconian sorcerers who serve you can sense your dreams and rule based upon their interpretations of them. If any of your servants dare wake you or try to take even a single coin of your treasure, you will awake only long enough to kill the impertinent draconian who dared to disturb your slumber.

As king of the draconians, you have 10,000 normal draconians in your service. You also command 1,000 brutes, 100 potent ones, and 10 draconian sorcerers. You have 10,000 kobold servants and 10 kobold sorcerers. You also begin with one baby dragon. Brutes will always be equal to about 10% of your draconians, potent ones will be around 1%, and sorcerers will be about 1 in 1000. Only 1/1000 kobolds will be sorcerers as well. Baby dragons can only be acquired by getting the egg from an adult dragon or by convincing a baby dragon to join your side - it is assumed that as leader of the draconians that you doing your best to recruit baby dragons - so for every 10 years that go by you have a 10% chance of finding a baby dragon to ally with you.

Draconian nations are known for strictly enforced laws and harsh punishments

Dwarves

These dwarves are about 4.5 feet tall and weigh about the same as humans do. They are about 25% stronger and tougher than humans, but are only about 50% as fast and 75% dexterous. Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans do, though because of their natural toughness they live about twice as long as humans. Dwarves are naturally brave, stoic, and hard working. When under the effects of alcohol, dwarves only have 50% of human agility but are completely immune to fear, even if its magically induced.

Dwarves are the most technologically advanced race available. They have Renaissance level technology including arquebuses and primitive cannons. They also have full plate armor that they can equip a fair number of their soldiers with. Dwarves can build underground complexes, but still must subsist on agriculture to survive.

Dwarven smiths can create a metal called adamantite. This metal is as heavy as steel but 50% stronger. Not every dwarf has access to this expensive metal, but officers, nobles, and elite units typically do - a total of 5% of your nation may arm themselves with adamantite weapons and armor instead of steel.

A few dwarves are born different from their brethren, weaker physically than other dwarves but having supernatural powers related to the earth. These dwarves are called gnomes. Gnomes are stand about a head shorter than dwarves and have only 75% of the strength or toughness of a human, though they are just as dextrous as humans. They can control the forces of the earth, stone and rock. They can lift and throw stone as if it were 1/100 the weight, meaning that they could toss a 1000 lb boulder as if it were a 10 pound stone. They can shape stone and earth like soft clay. Once a day they can cause earthquakes that will level weak buildings, this affects a 250 foot radius around the gnome. They can tunnel through the earth, creating a 3 foot diameter tunnel, at a speed of about 1 foot per minute. They can make their skin as hard as stone, reducing their dexterity and running speed by half but doubling their strength and making them highly resistant to injury.

5% of the dwarves in your nation will have a single rune upon either a weapon, armor, or on their bodies. Choose one such rune from the list below:

Iron Cutter - any weapon which bears this rune can ignore any armor which is made of iron or steel, the weapon merely cuts through ferrous armor as if it were aluminum foil. The weapon itself must be made of adamantite. Other armor, such as thick skin, leather, bronze, or armor of a magical nature will not be affected.

Earth Cutter - this rune is usually reserved for a weapon that can also be used as a digging tool, such as a pick. When struck by a weapon bearing this rune, earth simply gives way as though it had no strength at all. This allows the dwarf to dig or tunnel at ten times the normal speed. It is also effective against stone, causing 10 times the damage to stone that a blow from such a weapon would normally cause.

Shield Rune - this rune causes a shield, usually a large scutum style shield made of metal, to become completely immune to harm - both physical and magical. While the force of a blow may knock down or even kill the shield's user, the shield itself will be undamaged. The shield can also block spells or other magical effects as long as they can be physically blocked to the shield.

Demon Cutter - this rune causes the weapon it is etched upon to cause double damage to creatures of evil such as vampires or demons. It also can ignore the magical defenses of such creatures and damage from this weapon takes twice as long for such beings to regenerate.

Fire Ward - this rune is etched upon armor, causing the wearer to become immune to fire and heat of all kinds - though hell fire has half of the normal effect as it doesn't damage from heat alone.

Frost Ward - this armor rune protects the wearer from cold, making him completely immune to environmental cold and from attacks which utilize it.

Spell Ward - this armor ward gives the wearer a 50% chance to resist any spell cast upon him unless the spell or magical effect bypasses armor - like the death gaze of a necromancer.

Iron Mind - this rune is tattooed onto the head of the dwarf, it makes him totally immune to fear, pain, mind control, illusions, or any other mind affecting power or spell.

Arquebus Rune - this is a rune placed upon an arquebus' barrel. The rune causes the arquebus to never misfire and for the ball to fly 25% more accurately and with a 25% greater velocity.

Rune of Sustenance - this rune is placed into the flesh of a dwarf with a tattoo or branding. It causes the dwarf to have no need of food, water, or sleep and to be able to hold his breath for up to an hour.

Rune of Power - this rune is branded or tattooed onto a dwarf's flesh. It doubles his strength.

Rune of Health - the dwarf with this tattoo rune never gets sick, nor is he affected by any form of poison, disease, or such ailments. He heals at 5 times the normal rate and never gets infections or complications from an injury. Furthermore, the dwarf with this rune only suffers 10% of the effect of any necromantic power used against him - meaning it would take 10 necromancer death rays to kill him. Dwarves with this rune live twice as long as other dwarves.

Rifle Rune - this is a rune inscribed upon a rifle's barrel. This rune allows the rifle to be loaded as quickly and easily as an arquebus and causes it to never misfire.

The elite soldiers of the dwarven race are the rune warriors. Rune warriors have the ability to inscribe runes upon their armor and weapons, giving those items special magical powers. A rune warrior's plate armor is is made of adamantite and its runes make it resistant to all magical magic - spells, supernatural attacks, and even magical weapons have half of their normal effect on the rune warrior. A rune warrior's melee weapons are supernaturally sharp and can cut through any non-magical earthen material (including stone and metal of all kinds) as if it were a hot knife through butter. Physically, rune warriors have peak fighting skills and physical prowess for dwarf. The rune warrior also gets to select one of the above runes as well.

As king of the dwarves, there are several different specialties to choose from.

You can be a rune master. A rune master the most powerful rune warrior in kingdom. He has all of the powers of a run warrior plus several additional ones. The rune master has double the peak strength and toughness of any dwarf. His armor is three times as strong as steel and his blade can cut through any substance as easily as the air. With one month of work, he can forge a rune blade like those of a rune warrior - so given enough time he can supply numerous normal dwarves with runic blades that ignore non-magical armor. With 3 months of work, the rune master can scribe runes around a city's or a castle's wall which prevents teleportation past that wall or that wall from being affected by magic. With one week of work, the rune master can scribe a rune on any dwarf's armor making that dwarf only take half of the effect of any magic directed against him. In addition, a rune master has access to 3 special runes from the list above.

There is also the earth elemental. Given enough time, a gnome can eventually evolve into an earth elemental, a powerful creature made of stone and dirt. The earth elemental have vary its physical shape and size as long as it is touching the ground, from the size of a gnome to up to 10 feet tall and weighing 5 thousand pounds. It has the strength of 10 men, the same dexterity as a human, and has skin as tough as stone. They are also immune to pain, poison, thirst, hunger, and do not need to breathe. The earth elemental can heal its wounds by drawing strength from the earth, recovering all wounds within 10 minutes of such exposure. To destroy the earth elemental it must be smashed to pieces. Earth elementals can move effortlessly through the ground as if swimming in water. The earth elemental has all of the powers of a gnome as well. If an earth elemental is separated from the ground - by wood, metal, a living creature, or something similar - then it becomes merely a normal gnome and can be killed as such.

The last option for a dwarven king is the engineer. A dwarven engineer is only physically equal to the average dwarf, his abilities are the wondrous things he can design. A dwarven engineer can design a steam tank. The steam tank takes a great deal of time to build and resources, but is quite powerful as well. It takes five years to build a steam tank and only 1 can be under construction at a time for ever 10,000 dwarves in the kingdom. A steam tank has thick steel armor, 4 times as strong as steel dwarven plate armor, making it virtually immune to melee blows from humans or similar beings. It has a single cannon mounted in the front which is typical of cannon technology from about 1500. It runs best on coal but can also run on wood, it can travel about 1 mile per 5 pounds of coal or 10 pounds of wood and can hold 500 pounds of fuel at a time. While the trends of the steam tank allow it to go up relatively steep inclines or over rough terrain, it has a maximum speed of 10 mph on easy terrain and 5 mph on rough terrain and cannot cross rivers, through swamps, or breach thick walls. The engineer can also design rifles, a technology that allows a gun to be fired with much greater range and accuracy. One rifle can be constructed per month for every 10,000 dwarves in the nation. Another great invention that the engineer makes possible is a railroad. Trains can be made in place of steam tanks and allow for faster travel through the dwarven kingdom and greater economic prosperity as well as ability to move goods.

You begin with 50,000 normal dwarves. 50 gnomes, 500 rune warriors, and 2500 dwarves with a single rune. There can never be more gnomes than 1 per 1000 normal dwarves, more rune warriors than 1 per 100 normal dwarves, or more dwarves with one rune than 1 per 20 normal dwarves. If the king is an engineer, you also start with 500 riflemen and 1 steam tank.

Goblins

Goblins are small are weak, about 4.5 feet tall and with half the strength of a human. They have either gray, green, or yellow skin, depending on the race of goblin - your choice. They are half as strong as humans but 50% more dexterous. Goblins reproduce at a prodigious rate 3-4 babies per mother with each birth with a 3 month gestation time, they also both grow and age at twice the human rate - so an 8 year old goblin is the equivalent of a 16 year old human. Goblins can see in the dark, but their vision is impaired during the day and they only have half the visual range of a human in bright daylight. Goblins are about as intelligent than humans, though they do learn necessary life skills quickly because of their short maturation.

A rare few goblins, about 1 in 10, do not age as normal goblins do. Instead, they become bigger and stronger as the age and instead grow into what are called hobgoblins. Hobgoblins are the same size and strength as humans are, hobgoblins are at least 50 years of age and live until around 100 human years old. Hobgoblins are the rulers of their people.

Goblins have access to worgs, giant wolves that weigh about 500 pounds, with which the elite soldiers can ride into battle one - as you can imagine, such a beast would be quite dangerous. There is about 1 worg for every 10 goblins, meaning that a significant portion of goblin soldiers can ride on worgs. Sometimes hobgoblins ride upon worgs as well, though because of their greater size the worgs cannot run as quickly.

Goblins sometimes keep trained trolls to fight for them. Trolls are large humanoid creatures that stand about 10 feet tall and have the strength and toughness of 8 men. They are almost immune to pain, they also have a human's dexterity and are ferocious in close combat - attacking with claws and teeth. They are quite dumb and hard to control, having only half of a human's intellect. Because of their savagery and stupidity, goblins often keep trolls locked in cages or chained up before combat, releasing them only when the enemy is in sight and then having a troll trainer point the creature in the right direction. The most powerful ability of a troll is its regeneration power. Any injury inflicted on the troll will regenerate in a matter of minutes, even arms and legs can grow back in a few hours. Trolls cannot regenerate from fire damage. The only way to permanently kill a troll is decapitation, fire, or the use magic. Once per day, trolls can spit acid at their enemies, basically creating a cloud of acid mist in up to 10 feet in front of them that burns the skin and eyes of enemies.

Goblins are fairly technologically advanced, having access to very early forms of black powder weapons as well as generally 1400 AD technology. They have access to very early arquebuses, cannons, and gunpowder bombs, though they do not use full plate armor but do use other forms of armor such as coats of plate, scale, or chain mail.

As leader of the goblins, you have several options.

You can be a Hobgoblin mystic. A mystic has a variety of magical powers, most of which have to do with enhancing or altering goblins. All goblins or hobgoblins within a 1000 radius of a hobgoblin mystic have their strength and dexterity increased by 20%. Mystics can heal all injuries of a hobgoblin or goblin with a touch and 10 seconds of concentration. Once per day, the goblin mystic can bring any hobgoblin or goblin back to life with a touch. A mystic can emit a low pitched scream that causes horrible pain to all creatures within 500 feet that aren't goblins of hobgoblins, though this can only be done once per hour and lasts about 30 seconds. With about a second of focus, a mystic can project magical force at a distance of up to 1000 feet with a width of 10 feet, all within this area will be affected. This attack will kill a human sized creature and will knock down and stun (if not severely injure) large creatures like ogres. Finally, the hobgoblin mystic has peak human strength, dexterity, and fighting skill - he is also affected by his own aura. Goblin mystics can make themselves invisible at will though they cannot use any powers while invisible or for a minute after becoming visible again.

Instead of being a mystic, you could be a hobgoblin demagogue. The demagogue is the leader of a zealous cult of goblins who obey his every command. When a demagogue leaders the nation, 10% of all goblins and hobgoblins become fanatics. Fanatics go into battle with no fear of death, willing to die for the cause. Fanatics are completely immune to pain and take twice the punishment that a human can without dying, furthermore when the demagogue himself is in melee combat or injured, all fanatics in the army fight with twice their normal strength and with peak combat skill. Fanatics will also gladly give their lives if ordered to do so by the demagogue, sometimes they even charge into the enemy carrying large gunpowder bombs. With but a touch, the demagogue can heal the faithful (any fanatic) of all their injuries and he can even restore the dead to life with a touch, but only once per day. Furthermore, because of the demagogue's great devotion and the faith his followers have in him, he is immune to all magic. The hobgoblin demagogue is more than just a leader, he represents a message. Therefore, if the demagogue dies, another of the faithful will pick up the message and continue on as leader in his place - making the demagogue effectively immortal.

Finally, you have the option of being a great troll. You are 10 times as strong or tough as the strongest human and are equal to the most skilled human in close combat and dexterity. Also, you have the ability to regenerate from injuries with incredible speed and can only be killed permanently if every part of you is burned to ash. It takes a few seconds to recover from sword blows, a few minutes to regenerate missing limbs, and days to recover from having your body completely destroyed. If even one part of a troll's flesh survives burning, the troll will be at full health again within a week. You can spit acid once per 10 minutes instead of once per hour as well.

Your kingdom consists of 100,000 goblins, 10,000 worgs, 10,000 hobgoblins, 1,000 trolls, and you.

Animal Folk

Animal folk are a race that combines the features of human and animal. They have the same basic life cycle as humans do, aging, growing, and giving birth at the human rate. Animal folk have relatively primitive weapons and technology, basically equivalent to western Europe after the fall of Rome.

Animal folk are essentially several different species of humanoids that seem to combine the qualities of humans and some species of animal. These creatures tend to live simple lifestyles in relative harmony with nature and their environment. They tend to have human-like or slightly lower intelligence, an average IQ of around 90, and have a mentality that combines the qualities of humans and the animal that the animal people most resemble. In general, animal people tend to be impulsive and have less control than humans, sometimes they more easily succumb to a fight or flight response.

There are numerous types of animal folk, one nation will only be comprised of one of the following types.

Lizardmen : these are a cross between reptiles and humans. They are covered with protective scales that are as strong as boiled leather armor, have reptile-like tails, they also have a reptilian head with sharp teeth and clawed hands. Some are based on aquatic reptiles, they have the ability to hold their breath for 30 minutes underwater and swim with twice the normal speed. Others are created with desert reptiles, they have the ability survive on 1/4 the water that a human requires. Lizard men are 50% stronger and 10% more dexterous than normal humans. Lizardmen are vulnerable to cold weather, suffering a 1% loss of dexterity per degree under 50 degrees Fahrenheit. A lizardwoman's pregnancy lasts only half as long as that of a human, the other 4.5 months for the baby to develop takes place in an egg.

Snakemen : These are just like lizardmen but they have no legs, their lower body is like that of a snake. They also have a poisonous bite which will be lethal to any humanoid creature bitten. On the down side, they can only move with 1/3 of a human's speed. Otherwise, they are just like lizardmen. Snakemen can put their poison onto blades and arrows as well.

Birdmen : these creatures are a cross between humans and birds. They are slightly smaller than normal humans and 20% more dexterous than humans. They have the ability to fly through the air at 40 mph. Birdmen also have excellent eyesight and can see for twice as far as normal humans can. Birdmen also have sharp talons on their hands and feet.

Carnivores : These are animal folk that combine the elements of large predatory animals and humans, including but not limited too wolves, large cats, etc. They 60% stronger and 40% tougher than humans and also 20% more dexterous. They can also run at twice the speed of a normal human.

Herbivores : These are animal folk created from herbivorous animals like goats, sheep, horses, etc. They are 40% stronger and 60% tougher than humans and 50% faster runners. They have great endurance and can work for twice as long as other animal people without tiring.

Large : These are animal folk created from extremely large and powerful animals like bulls, bears, hippos, etc. They have 3 times the strength of a normal human and twice the toughness.

Swift : These are animal folk are created from extremely fast or nimble animals such as cheetahs, deer, or the like. They can run at 3 times the normal human speed and have double human dexterity.

Amphibians : These can breath both underwater and in the air. They have soft wet skin and require a relatively moist environment to thrive. They are 20% stronger and more dexterous than humans.

The most skilled warriors and leaders among the animal folk are the warlords. Warlords have peak physical abilities for their type of animal folk as well as peak combat ability. They are also highly intelligent and resourceful, considerably more so than the average human. The natural weapons (claws, teeth, horns, etc.) of warlord count as magical weapons and inflict twice the normal amount of damage that such attacks would if they were mundane. Warlords are blessed by the animal spirits, once per day they can ask for a single favor which will be granted: the warlord will be healed of all of his injuries, the warlord's natural weapons will become especially lethal for an hour, inflicting 4 times the normal damage instead of double, the warlord can turn into the kind of animal his people resemble for up to an hour, the warlord can make some loud animal noise which increases the bravery, strength, and combat prowess of all fellow animal folk within 1000 feet by 10% for the next hour. For every 20 normal animal folk, there will be one warlord.

About 1% of animal folk are animal shamans. They have the ability to speak to spirits of animals and of the earth. Once a month a shaman can summon an animal spirit with an hour long ritual. The animal spirit will manifest in physical form and will serve the shaman for one week or until destroyed. An animal shaman can only have one animal spirit in his service at once. Animal shamans may also control animals of their own totem, up to 1000 pounds of totem animal - meaning he could have a 1000 pound brown bear in his service or a flock of birds.

There are a small percentage of animal folk that are spirit shamans. Spirit shamans can enter or exit the spirit world with a 1 minute long ritual. While in the spirit world, they may travel anywhere they desire by flying at a speed of 100 mph. No enemy may see them, attack them, or otherwise sense or interact with them in the spirit world. Their body stays in the physical world at the location where there soul entered the spirit world, this is the only place they may return to the real world. This allows mystics to travel to distant places or act as spies and be immune to harm, as long as they stay within the spirit world. Spirit shamans may also heal living creatures with a touch and special ritual - each ritual takes a minute and will heal the recipient of all injuries and diseases. Spirit shamans can also restore the dead to life, though they may only do so once per year. Finally, a spirit shaman can cast a curse on an enemy up to once per hour. A cursed enemy finds its combat ability and dexterity reduced by 50% and also has a 50% chance to fail at any magical power it tries to activate. A magical curse lasts for 1 week.

Animal spirits are a version of the animal that the shaman who summoned it is tied to - a birdman shaman may summon a spirit eagle while a lionman may summon a spirit lion. These creatures are massive, weighing between 300 and 3,000 pounds (based on the original size of the animal) and having the physical prowess of a scaled up animal of their type. Spirit animals have a 50% chance of shrugging off any attack (physical or magical) directed them them. They are creatures of spirit and don't need to eat, breathe, or sleep and are also immune to poison and fatigue. Spirits animals heal from injuries at an advanced rate.

As king of the animal folk, you can be a great shaman. A great shaman has all of the powers of an animal shaman and spirit shaman. He can control 5,000 lb of animals at once. The great shaman can also fire spirit energy from his fingertips to strike an enemy. This attack has a range of 250 feet and ignores armor, causing damage that looks like terrible claw or tearing wounds - like being attacked by a large beast. Great shamans can also cause their body to partially enter the spirit world, turning themselves into ghostly spirits that can fly at the speed of 100 mph and can only be hurt by magical attacks.

Alternatively, animal folk can be ruled by an animal totem. The animal totem is a gigantic animal spirit made permanently manifested. It has all of the abilities of a spirit animal. They weigh about 5,000 lb if they are a terrestrial animal or 2,500 if a flying animal. It as skin at least three times as tough as the natural animal does and is resistant to pain and injury. If the animal totem's physical body is destroyed, ten shamans may get together in a month long ceremony to resummon the totem animal.

Animal folk armies have 40,000 animal folk, 2000 warlords, 400 animal shamans, and 400 spirit shamans.

The Ancient Dead

You command an army of long dead warriors, their souls forever bound in your service. These are undead servants, but unlike the standard vision of the undead, they have minds and souls and an reason and even love. Each undead servant has has their soul stored in special reliquary or canopic jar, containing the warrior's preserved heart as well. As long as this heart remains intact, the corpse will remain animated and the undead warrior shall serve. The canopic jars are protected from magical scrying of all kinds, including looking out from the spirit world.

Each undead servant is a mere withered husk, a mummy whose flesh is withered and desiccated or a mere skeleton. Despite this, each mummy has the strength and dexterity of a normal human. To destroy one you must sufficiently smash its bones and skeleton so that it is incapable of movement, though this is a hard task as their bones are 50% stronger than those of mortals. They are entirely immune to pain and can continue fighting with what ever portion of them remain. Each mummy can work or march tirelessly and will never show signs of age. Likewise, they need no food, water, or sleep nor are they injured by poison, disease, or environmental extremes. Each mummy has human-like intelligence and knowledge of their mortal lives as well as the ability to learn and reason.

If a mummy's body is destroyed, then the master need merely speak the true name of the destroyed mummy while touching the stored soul. This causes the mummy's bones and ancient armor and weapons to start reforming at the location of their phylactery - a process which takes about a month. If you touch the remains of a destroyed minion while touching the phylactery of that minion, you can restore it instantly.

The Ancient Dead are resurrected from a long dead civilization, their technology is more primitive than most others. Their weapons are made of bronze and the military and architectural technology is roughly equal to that of 1000 BC or before.

Instead of creating human mummies, horse mummies can be created. They are dedicated to their riders and to the tomb king. They are as resistant to harm as are human based mummies, though as large, strong, and swift as horses. Like normal mummies, their hearts and souls are stored within canopic jars.

As a Tomb King, you get the following servants :

30,000 mummies, described above.

5,000 human remnants. These are the ancestors of the people who built the ancient kingdom which has now been animated as mummies. This is an almost dead civilization, with only a few people who still speak the ancient language and follow the old religion. These are the only people who can be animated as mummies or become priests, so you had better protect them.

50 Priests. These are human priests who administer religious rituals for your remnant human subjects. The original ritual which bound the souls of mummies to their bodies centuries ago was preformed by such priests and only these priests are capable of creating new mummies.

To create a new mummy requires 5 priests participate in a month long ritual at a special temple of your religion. It must be preformed on a corpse of a loyal mortal follower of the tomb king - so it can only be preformed on those who in life are willing to serve the tomb king in death.

Priests themselves can only be recruited from the mortal remnant and it requires 25 years of training to become a priest, with at least one full time priestly teacher per 5 students at a time.

Priests also have the ability to heal mummies of injuries with a touch, they can touch a damaged mummy and chant for a minute to restore its injuries. It cannot restore a mummy whose soul has been banished to its phylactery.

When a priest dies, he can be reanimated as a lich priest. Lich priests cannot preform the ritual to create new mummies, though their devotion in life is rewarded after death with a variety of other powers. Any living foe within 20 feet of a lich priest is weakened and finds its strength and dexterity reduced by half. Lich priest's souls are so powerful that if destroyed, they may instantly reanimate their bodies to full "health" though they may only do this once per day. They may also cause rapid decay in any object they concentrate on within 100 feet, causing 10 cubic feet of organic material to decay per second of concentration or 1 cubic foot of stronger material (like stone or metal) per second - obviously, this power allows them to kill a living creature in an instant. Lich priests are resistant to magical effects, 50% of the time any magical attack directed at them fails, even when it doesn't fail it will only have half effect. Like mortal priests, they can heal injured mummies.

The tomb king has his own unit of elite guards, called the chosen. Each one has 50% greater strength than the human maximum and maximum human dexterity and fighting ability. They require the same amount of damage to destroy as any mummy, though their bones are twice as strong as those of mortals. Their blades are supernaturally sharp - able to cut through almost any substance. There are only ever 1000 of the chosen at one time, if one should die permanently then the tomb king can elevate one of his other mummies to one of the chosen.

As leader, you are a tomb king - not only a monarch but also a priest and god to your people. You have absolute command over your subjects, but your are essentially like them, a mummy whose life force is preserved in a special container. Unlike your servants, your body reforms automatically when it is destroyed, right next to your phylactery within one month of your body's destruction. If you desire, you can allow your body to instantly crumble to dust so that your body may reform a month later.

As tomb king, you'll have numerous powers, both physical and magical. You have all of the powers of one of the chosen and of a lich priest. You are highly resistant to injury, having bones 3 times as tough as those of the hardiest human. Your strength is 2 times the human maximum, your combat ability is the human peak as well. You may also cause rapid decay in any object you concentrate on within 100 feet, causing 100 cubic feet of organic material to decay per second of concentration or 10 cubic feet of stronger material (like stone or metal) per second - obviously, this power allows them to kill a living creature in an instant. Furthermore, the tomb king can speak the name of any of his mummy servants and destroy that servant where ever it is, even if it is miles away - the servant can then be resurrected with its phylactery.

Mummy armies have the technology of about 1000 BC. You begin play with 30,000 mummies, 50 priests, 50 lich priests, 1,000 chosen, and 5,000 mortal remnant.

Necromancers

You're a necromancer lord who animates the dead to create an unstoppable horde of zombies and other undead creatures.

The bread and butter of your army are zombies. Zombies can be raised by the dead by yourself or any of your necromancer acolytes. Each one has virtually no intelligence of its own but will obey the will of its necromancer master. They are 50% stronger than humans, 50% less fast and dexterous, and extremely difficult to kill. To take down a zombie you must hack it to pieces, cut off its dead, or otherwise pulverize the body until it is useless. Animating a zombie takes a ten minute ritual and can be preformed on any more or less intact corpse. Zombies do not decay, but do wear out over time. For each year that passes, 1% of the zombies in this army become unusable for some reason such as injury, rot, wearing out, or something similar. As other undead, they are immune to poison, disease, thirst, hunger, fatigue, etc.

Animating a creature as the undead doesn't just enslave the body, it enslaves the soul. The soul of the unfortunate victim is wrenched out of the afterlife and imprisoned in their rotting body. Trapped in their fetid corpse, they exist in a fog of agonizing cold, mental anguish over their state, and horrific nightmare-like visions of the worst parts of their former lives. They do not display any intellect because the torment of their undead state is so consuming that they cannot think clearly on their own. Because their soul is utterly enslaved by necromantic power, they are compelled to obey every order of their necromancer master even if it involves killing people whom they once loved - actions which will repeat themselves in their mind over and over again. The only release from this tormented state is total destruction of their corpse which breaks the chains of evil magic and releases the soul. Should a necromancer be destroyed, his zombie slaves will be free from his control but still imprisoned inside its corpse, they will have been driven mad by so much suffering and will attack any living thing that they see.

The limitation of zombies is that any one necromancer can only control so many at a time. As necromancer lord, you can control 10,000 zombies at once. Normal necromancers can control 5,000 zombies each. Acolytes can control 1000 zombies at once.

Necromancers can create more advanced undead creations as well. These are more difficult to control and more time consuming to create.

Wights are a powerful form of undead created by necromancers. Each one takes a single necromancer a week to create from a humanoid body. A wight is twice as strong as a mortal, just as dexterous, and even more durable. Wights can only be killed if their bodies are completely destroyed, even decapitation cannot destroy them. Also, they do not wear out as zombies do. Each wight has human-like intellect but only the vaguest memories of its human life, it is now devoted to the necromancer. Any weapon wielded by a wight courses with dark necrotic energy, causing it to instantly kill any living creature it pierces the flesh of. When a wight kills a living creature, it recovers from 10% of what ever wounds that it has, meaning that 10 kills will restore a wight to full health. Another variant of a wight is a death knight, a human wight with a wight horse steed. Because it takes more energy to control and maintain wights, each one counts as 10 zombies for a necromancer to control and a death knight counts as 20.

Necromancers can also animate other creatures as zombies than humans. These creatures become zombies in much the same way as humans do - having their strength increased by 50%, their speed and dexterity decreased by 50%, and becoming as difficult to kill as any undead are. Zombies of non-humans are, however, often a little more difficult to control than those of humans. Hobbit, goblin, hobgoblin, gnomes, and dogs/wolves count as a one human zombie each for purposes of control. Dwarves, elves, beastmen, and horses count as two each. Draconians, ogres, bears, worgs, and large cats count as 10 each. Flying eagles count as 50 each. Elephants or rhinos count as 100 each. Baby dragons or giants count as 1000 human zombies each. Other creatures will be decided based on their power and size. None of these special zombies have any supernatural power they had in life - a gnome zombie is simply a smaller version of a dwarf zombie and has power over earth or stone.

Abominations are huge undead constructs made from the bones of giant creatures or numerous smaller creatures. They are a mishmash of flesh and bone, sometimes with numerous limbs or multiple heads or layers of bone armor. They are gigantic, weighing thousands of pounds and having the strength of over 20 men, though they are slow and lumbering. They are virtually impossible to destroy, requiring siege machines, explosives, magical weapons, or other creatures of incredible strength. They are, however, particularly vulnerable to holy weapons and the power of good priests. They have the lack of free will of zombies and all of the immunities of zombies as well. Creating such a creature requires a year of constant work by a single necromancer, though the labor can be split between multiple necromancers for a faster job - 6 necromancers wold take two months. Abominations count as 500 zombies for purposes of control. Abominations slowly wear out like zombies, they need 1000 pounds of dead flesh added per year to prevent it from losing 5% of its strength and durability.

Necromancers are what make this undead army possible. All necromancers, including you as lord, get the following powers. They can animate undead as above. Any living creature within 50 feet who makes eye contact with a necromancer will die and instantly become a zombie if the necromancer has the ability to control more minions. A necromancer can surround himself with a cloud of necrotic energy, making himself immune to harm and magic as long as he maintains concentration and and doesn't move faster than a slow walk, though even when he is not concentrating this necromantic energy reduces the effectiveness of all attacks against him, physical and magical, by half. Necromancers can shoot a ray of dark energy from their finger tips with a range of 500 feet, any creature struck by it will instantly die or be stunned for 10 minutes if undead. Undead creatures attacking a necromancer, whether in melee, with a ranged weapon, or magically, have only half of their strength, dexterity, or accuracy to do so and their magic only has 1/4 of the normal effect. Necromancers can heal any wounds they have suffered by touching an enemy and draining its life force - one touch of a necromancer will kill any living thing if the necromancer wishes. Necromancers can focus their attention on another magic user within 500 feet, while doing this they can counter any spell cast by that magic user before it can take effect. Countering spells this way takes concentration, but they can still walk at half speed while doing so. Necromancers do not die from old age as normal humans do, but rather merely get more withered over time until at the age of around 100 they become an undead being with the powers and abilities of a wight in addition to their necromancer powers. If a necromancer should lose his mortal life by violence, he will arise as a necromancer wight one day later.

As necromancer lord, you have a few additional powers. With a second of concentration, a necromancer lord can take control of an enemy undead creature within 100 feet, the undead will then serve the necromancer for the next hour unless it is a lich priest, tomb king, or vampire. Once per day you can surround yourself with a cloud of dark energy that reduces the strength, dexterity, and courage of living beings (aside from fellow necromancers) by half within its 500' radius - this power lasts for an hour. Once per day, you can curse a land that is within your line of sight, causing 100 acres of vegetation to die. A necromancer lord doesn't need to concentrate to use his necrotic energy shield, but he cannot cast spells or use special abilities while it is in effect, though even without this field being active he still only suffers 25% of the effect of all attacks because of the necrotic energy which protects him.

Necromancers have access to one additional power chosen from the list below:

Phylacteries - the necromancer knows the secrets of storing souls in phylacteries instead of merely in the body of an undead creature. However, only willing individuals with some degree of magical power can have their souls stored this way. All of your necromancers (including the necromancer lord but not acolytes) are now liches - having all of the powers of wights and necromancers combined. In addition, when ever a lich dies its body crumbles into dust and will reform 1 month later at the location of the phylactery. These phylacteries are immune to all magical scrying and divination and are protected by powerful magical enchantments.

Unholy Abomination - your necromancers know the secrets to creating a much more powerful form of abomination. This creature requires 10 years to create divided by the number of necromancers working on it. It requires at least 1000 man sized or larger corpses. It is a massive lumbering beast with limbs constructed of many smaller creatures bodies and wailing faces of the dead looking out from its massive body. It has the strength of 50 men and is terribly difficult to destroy, even massive attacks which may severally damage it do not harm, only cause a shower of maggots and black blood to rain down on attackers. The creature can regenerate damage by consuming smaller creatures - essentially eat creature is devours has its body added to the undead mass and effectively heals an equal amount of flesh to the victim's mass. The unholy abomination must consume 10,000 pounds of flesh each year or lose 5% of its strength and vitality. All who look upon the unholy abomination who aren't immune to fear suffer a 25% reduction in their combat ability (assuming they don't flee) because of the terror the beast inspires. The unholy abomination counts as 2500 zombies for the purposes of control.

Wraiths - you have the ability to create wraiths by enslaving the soul of a dead humanoid without trapping it in its body. A wraith has normal human dexterity and double a human's strength. A Wraith appears as a dark and ghostly spiritual form, like a skeleton wreathed in flowing black robes and emanating darkness. The touch of a wraith kills any living creature. It can only be injured by magical weapons and even then, it is resilient to harm and requires many blows to destroy. A wraith takes a week long ritual to create and counts as 500 zombies for the purposes of control.

Vampirism - the necromancer lord and all of his necromancer followers (but not acolytes) have transformed themselves into vampires through necromantic magics. They all of the abilities and weaknesses of fledgling vampires and retain their necromancer powers as well.

Instant Animation - your necromancers need to only touch a corpse and speak magic words for 10 seconds to animate a dead creature into a zombie. For acolytes they must chant the words for 1 minute while the necromancer lord may do it in 5 seconds.

Acolytes are those who have begun their training in the dark arts of necromancer but have yet to become full fledged necromancers. They can only animate zombies and only control 1000 at a time. Aside from that, the only other supernatural ability that they have is to kill with a touch, which heals them of their own injuries.

You begin play with 50 necromancers, each of which is master over 1000 zombies, any number of which can be traded for wights or death knights. You also have 250 acolytes. You personally control 5,000 zombies or equivalent value in wights or death knights. You cannot begin play with an abomination, but can begin construction.

In addition to the above servants, you get 50,000 human servants who worship and serve you, hoping to eventually become a necromancer or be given immortality by you. These people can reproduce among themselves as normal humans do. You can have up to a number of necromancers equal to .1% of your human population, and each necromancer can have up to 10 acolytes under him.

Necromancer armies start with access to 13th century technology, but most of their equipment will be stolen along with the dead.