Men of Darkness: Heroes
NOTE: For the sake of keeping this post clean and easily overviewed I will not add images to it for aesthetic purposes. Pictures can be viewed within the document found through the link.
Khamûl, Shadow of the East
SUMMON FROM SPELLBOOK
(hero: unit and building disrupter)
Khamûl the Easterling is in the first place represented in the Men of Darkness faction as a Black Rider, who is at the same time one of Sauron’s Commanders at the time of the War of the Ring. Besides his seat in Dol Guldur in his Master’s stead, he travels often to the lands of the East from whence he originated. He goes cloaked as a rider in black so as to not uncover his actual appearance to hostile tribes (amongst whom he is seen as an omen of death) and the Free Peoples alike. He has unit disrupting powers at the start, which form a basis for his Ring-form. His summoned form will perform a supportive role (comparable to Radagast in Lothlórien), making him stay on the battlefield for a long time, rather than a highly destructive one in little time (like Gandalf with the Dwarves).
Mount (toggle): toggle between form on foot and on horseback
Shadow of the East (passive): This ability lowers nearby enemy units' damage and armour by 15% and cancels all their leadership bonuses. In his presence, wood rots, stones crack, and metal rusts, inflicting continuous damage to buildings.
Morgul Blade (on foot): Khamûl stabs the targeted enemy with a Morgul blade, poisoning them over time. If the unit dies while the effect is active, it will become a Wraith.
Curse of the Black Rider (mounted): the target building stops functioning and shares vision with Khamûl, and nearby enemies gain no experience for 1 minute
Emperor of Darkness:
RING
(unit, hero and building disrupter)When Khamûl picks up the Ring he takes it for himself becoming the Emperor of Darkness, instead of the concept of a separate hero called Emperor of Darkness that is mentioned under the Ring-Hero section. He will gain new attire that makes him look like a God on Earth, as an impression of how he would have been alive before he fell for Sauron’s subjugation (see images with Ring-Hero abovementioned), portraying his lordship over all Men of Darkness from the East and South. Sauron, in the first place, lets him take control of all peoples in the East and South, and rewards him for it (Khamûl gains one level every minute). But once he has achieved this, Sauron will demand the Ring for himself in order to conquest the whole of Middle-Earth: Khamûl powers vanish over time before he leaves the battlefield again (a while after he reaches level 10 [5-10 minutes] Khamûl dies).
Lvl 1 – Mount (toggle): toggle between form on foot and on horseback
Lvl 1 – Emperor of Darkness (passive/active): Khamûl the Black Easterling is a master of deceit, siege and coercion, a title he deserved before he succumbed to Sauron’s subjugation through the One of the Nine Rings he was wearing. The passive side of this ability lowers enemy units' damage and armour by 15% and cancels all their leadership bonuses; additionally, wood rots, stones crack, and metal rusts, inflicting continuous damage to buildings; in a very large radius. Enemies attacking him receive revenge damage. When activated, this ability affects enemy and friendly heroes as if they were units or buildings, reducing armour and damage while damaging them continuously.
Lvl 4 – Curse of the Nazgûl: target building stops functioning, shares vision, and enemies near it gain no experience for 1 minute; target hero cannot attack Khamûl, shares vision, and enemies near him/her/it gain no experience for 1 minute; cast at range
Lvl 7 – Morgul Blade / Ride into Shadow (on foot/mounted): Khamûl stabs the targeted enemy with a Morgul blade, heavily poisoning it over time, while disrupting all units near it with a powerful dark force, knocking them back and causing light poison damage. If the unit dies while the effect is active, it will become a Wraith.
Lvl 10 – The Black Easterling: Khamûl summons a dark cloud about him that covers his soldiers with protective Dark Magic; friendly units (not Khamûl himself) under this cloud are invulnerable to melee and ranged damage, whereas they become much more vulnerable to magic and elemental damage; all heroes underneath this cloud cannot use abilities, but gain massively increased damage (which makes Khamûl an obvious target)
War Priest / Rising Sun in the East / Bright Sun of the East / Hand of Sauron
(hero; mass-unit de-buffer/supporter): 1200-1400
This concept is similar to Denethor’s in that the War Priest (needs new name, preferably in Black Speech) is a ‘commander’ hero, very weak on his own, but powerful when combined with troops. Instead of summoning units however, he is able to affect enemy units with his words: being a Priest this should symbolise a moment of doubt in the hearts of those he wants to submerge to his willing, although they will naturally regain their ground. His standard ranged attack depends on his three different stances, which also affect the range, maintaining a very low attack speed (10 seconds) and a short duration of the effect. I see him gaining experience by using his abilities rather than by fighting. When he gets too close to combat, his standard melee attack has low damage but also small knockback. Saruman’s animations fit best with the playing style of this hero, acting at range while holding a staff as a weapon.
Possibly, he could use the Wave Force Artillery sound set from Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, although the Yuri Clone and Yuri Prime sound sets from Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 Yuri’s Revenge will probably fit the conversion theme better. The Ryze sound set from League of Legends might work out here too.
Stances:
1) Long attack range; units movement speed is reduced by 25% for ±4 seconds
2) Medium attack range; units movement speed is reduced by 50% for ±4 seconds
3) Short attack range; units are slowed down completely/paralysed in their fear for ±4 seconds
Lvl 1 – Black Speech of Mordor: the War Priest converts units with more dedication, doubling his attack speed; also increases his level
Lvl 3 – Sauron’s Election: friendly target battalion is chosen to sacrifice themselves for the Dark Lord’s cause; friendly units near the target are healed slightly (max +50%) and also regain health points by attacking enemies for a short duration
Lvl 5 – Dark Inspiration: significant increase of enemy and friendly armour and damage but zero experience gain for both in small target area
Lvl 7 – Divine Demand/Command: on demand of the Emperor of Darkness (i.e. Sauron/Tar-Mairon or Khamûl with the Ring), a building will be defended to the last brick: for a medium duration the targeted building will allow respawning of lost units in nearby battalions, its armour increases drastically, but it will remain without functioning for the duration
Lvl 10 – Masterful Conversion (passive): the duration of the effects specific for each stance is doubled; additionally, every attack has a 33% chance of converting enemy units to fight any unit in their vicinity for a short duration (+-8 seconds)
Amdûr, Lord of Blades
(tank hero; cavalry supporter; unit debuffer): 1600-1800
He could use Uruk Fighter/Berserker animations because of the two-handed weapon, or Nazgûl animations carrying a one-handed sword. Faramir’s animations with the two-handed sword could work, but I see Amdûr as a slower, yet more powerful fighter, which is not represented well when Faramir runs and swings around his sword. Amdûr doesn’t need to undergo a complete model change when he becomes soaked in necromantic power; making him look more sinister (by adding shadows around him) along with slowing down his movement speed should suffice. Hence different animations are also not required. For his sound set, I believe the Nuke Cannon’s quotes from the game Command & Conquer Generals would suit him well. Alternatively, the Karthus or Gangplank sound sets from League of Legends might correspond well to the theme of a raging, deadly warrior concerned with death.
Lvl 1 – Servant of Shadow (transformation): as one of the mightiest warriors in the East, Amdûr is elected to have his body be a vessel inhabited by feats of Sauron’s necromancy when he dies or kills himself; when activated prematurely he kills himself and his body is opened to Sauron’s Necromantic powers, making him spawn at critical health level. Amdûr opens his body as a vessel for the Necromancer’s power ending up in a state of not being exactly dead or undead. His ability set changes until his death in battle. When he is revived again, however, he spawns in his regular form, allowing him to admit necromancy after a full cooldown.
--> Necromantic Fervour (passive): Amdûr steals health points from his enemies with every attack; doubled when below 25% health
Lvl 1 – Mount (toggle): Amdûr mounts his heavily armoured steed
--> Necromantic Stride: Amdûr screams in anger, making all enemies in a short range run away cowering in fear (Terror), as his movement speed is increased for a short duration; similar ability to ‘Mount’ in order to get out of nasty situations
Lvl 4 – Lord of Blades (weapon toggle): Amdûr has mastered the skills of martial arts in his service for Sauron; single blade has knockback effect and increased damage against heavy-armoured units, while double blades have splash effect, and increased damage to light-armoured units [different animations such as Lorién Warrior are required here]
[ALTERNATIVE ABILITY, IF NOT TECHNICALLY POSSIBLE
Lvl 4 – Lord of Blades: Amdûr has mastered the skills of martial arts in his service for Sauron; when activated his attacks deal area-of-effect (splash and knockback) damage and ignore enemy armour values]
Lvl 8 – Dragon’s Charge: Amdûr orders nearby Easterlings to charge into battle recklessly; infantry (on foot) or cavalry (when mounted) gain increased movement speed but significantly decreased armour, and their attacks negate heavy armour; the health bar for all affected units cannot be brought to zero; short duration.
--> Necromantic Absorption: Amdûr absorbs enemy attacks for a while before releasing them in waves at own command or when he dies (the longer it is charged, the more powerful the outburst); for the duration of this ability the effects of Fervour of the Wight are cancelled
Lvl 10 – Dragon Warriors: Amdûr sees the potential of a battalion of Easterlings and promotes them to the rank of most ferocious and honoured; the appointed battalion of Easterlings reaches level 5 and gains all upgrades, as well as an ability that passively makes enemies cower in fear (Fear) and makes nearby Easterlings immune to fear. When activated, this ability makes the battalion’s units invulnerable to damage for a medium period of time, after which they will die instantly.
Suladân the Serpent Lord
(hero; Haradrim supporter; mass-slayer aspect): 1600-2000
Suladan will need to undergo some changes from his earlier portrayal in the Edain Mod as part of the Mordor faction. Being the only leader of the forces of Evil Men named by Tolkien, he will take the place as the central figure in the Haradrim sub-faction. Several existing sound sets can be chosen: Xin Zhao, Yasuo, Zed, Aatrox, and Azir, all Champions from League of Legends.
Lvl 1 – Mount: Suladân mounts his horse
Lvl 3 – Serpent Blade: Suladân’s blade is of high heritage in the Haradrim culture; for a short duration Suladân’s attack speed is increased and deal splash damage while regaining pieces of health
Lvl 5 – General of the Snake Army (passive): Suladan leads the forces of the Haradrim into battle in service of Sauron, charging into enemy ranks and slaying their heroes ferociously; leadership that affects nearby Haradrim by passively increasing damage (10-15%), and when Suladan engages an enemy hero the damage buff is doubled (20-30%) and a movement speed buff is added, for a few seconds
Lvl 8 – Intimidation: Suladan’s challenges enemy units to show their strength in battle; the targeted enemy battalion will gain extra experience increasingly (+50% for first 10 seconds, +100% for second 10 seconds, +200% for last 10 seconds, after which the ability runs out), but have reduced armour and damage attributes, and friendly units near this battalion will also gain a fixed amount of extra experience. [The idea is that Suladan risks slaying a particularly strong enemy so that his forces can learn from it, but the enemy battalion find themselves forced to fight to the end, which explains their increasing experience boost.]
Lvl 10 – Serpent Guard: Suladan promotes a battalion of Haradrim to his personal Black Serpent Guardians who will defend him with their lives; the battalion reaches level 5 and gains all upgrades, as well as a special Black Serpent dress (black cape or certain aura visual effect). When Suladan reaches critical health, the damage and armour of the Black Serpent Guardians is increased significantly
RING: Suladan, the Golden King of Harad / Serpent King of Harad
(global unit supporter; mass slayer)The specific powers the Ring has over Suladan make him an incredibly strong warrior who is untrusting of putting power in anyone’s hands. The few soldiers he trusts will be linked to his fate and that of the Ring, increasing its efficiency in controlling the minds of Men before betraying them to its actual leader. On his own he becomes a mass-slayer but the aspects of unit support make his personal army a force to reckon with as they share in his powers. He will be forced to bind units to his will as it makes him a truly dangerous leader, pushing his loyal soldiers in front of him to battle, but he has to pay a price for this magical grip: when his soldiers fail him, he will lose health as well, thus increasing their strength again.
Lvl 1 – Mount
Lvl 1 – Ring function: Golden King of Harad: Suladan deals area-of-effect/splash damage passively; as well as granting leadership to all Haradrim units in global range that grants them resistance to fear and increased experience gain. Suladan gains strength from his servants, increasing his damage as the numbers of the Haradrim increase, but losing armour and movement speed at the same time as he carries this burden. (As this works globally it effects are hard to balance, yet I will give an example of how the scaling could go: 0-50 Haradrim, Suladan +15% damage -10% armour and speed; 50-100 Haradrim, Suladan +30% damage -20% armour and speed; 100-200 Haradrim +60% damage -40% armour and speed).
Lvl 5/7 – Retribution: Haradrim battalions gain significant attack damage and movement speed; in medium range and for long duration; does not work in unison with ‘We Never Bow’; medium cooldown; non-Haradrim units are negatively affected
Lvl 5/7 – We Never Bow: Haradrim battalions gain significant armour, become immune to knockback and more resistant to arrows; in medium range and for long duration; does not work in unison with ‘Retribution’; medium cooldown; non-Haradrim units are negatively affected
Lvl 10 – Curse of the Serpent Guard: Suladan promotes a friendly battalion of Haradrim to his Accursed Serpent Guard: the same as the non-Ring Serpent Guard ability, with the addition that these units become invulnerable when Suladan reaches low health, and they die when Suladan dies (and loses the Ring). When cursed units die before Suladan does, a set amount of health points are deducted (200-500).
Scorpion Lord of Harad / Khuralim-Mur / Mulamkor / Malakmir
(hero; Haradrim supporter; hero killer): 1200-1400
The concept behind this hero is that his base values are quite low for a hero-killer, but that he needs to get the most out of every attack through his abilities. The ‘Sacrifice’ ability increases his damage output, which means he should always be accompanied by Haradrim units. The ‘Abrakhân Guard’ ability shows how vulnerable the Scorpion Lord is without protection, and is meant to be used as a damage shield to enable a final escape.
On foot he uses Nazgul animations with curved sword OR Wormtongue’s animations with a curved knife as weapon. On the Scorpion mount he uses the vanilla Goblin King’s animations, carrying a sword and a sceptre. His design should be focused around a man of high status, discerned from his soldiers with dark blue/purple robes and a wealthy appearance, carrying golden weapons and golden armour. He could use the Scorpion Tank sound set from Command & Conquer Generals.
Lvl 1 – Sacrifice (passive): the Scorpion Lord’s power grows as he see his servants die before him while he stands strong; for every Haradrim unit that dies in his proximity, his damage output is increased very temporarily; scaled at levels 1 5 and 10 (at level 10 he can target a friendly battalion to commit suicide immediately draining more power from their sacrifice)
Lvl 3 – Poison Sting: single-target enemy is only poisoned for a medium duration, while the damage output depends on Sacrifice; when the Scorpion Lord is at critical health the duration of the poison is doubled
Lvl 5 – Scorpion mount: the Scorpion Lord mounts a dangerous Giant Scorpion that moves slower than most cavalry but quicker than infantry or heroes (as quick as Dwarven Battlewagons or Shelob?); armour is slightly increased but the Scorpion Lord’s vulnerability to spears and single-target/anti-monster attacks is increased
Lvl 7 – Abrakhân Guard / Half Troll Guardians: Scorpion Lord is protected from most attacks by his personal guardians (sixth and seventh picture) that follow him around (also count for ‘Sacrifice’); they are strong against basic infantry dealing knockback damage and protect the Scorpion Lord against arrows, the Scorpion Lord’s ranged armour increases slightly; use animations of Half-Troll Swordsmen
Lvl 10 – Ruthless/Ferocious Possession: the Scorpion Lord targets an enemy hero he will take down as if possessed by a great wrath; he gains increased armour, attack and movement speed for a short while also gaining area-of-effect/splash damage indiscriminately thus receiving Sacrifice bonus
Castamir, Captain of the Corsairs
(hero; Corsair supporter; building destroyer): 1200-1500
It is difficult to pinpoint on a design philosophy regarding the Corsairs. We can assume that Númenorean blood also flows through Castamir’s veins, with the connection between Númenor and Umbar, and later Gondor and Umbar: therefore, he would probably dress more regally than most of the mercenaries. However, taking into account this mercenary nature, there is reason to believe that Corsairs would invest their loot in better equipment for fighting and looting. Thus, a complete change of wardrobe for all of them does not sound too strange. Still, the problem lies with the inspiration for the armour: should it look mostly Númenorean (second image) as if it were pieces of heritage, or taken from houses of the upper classes; or do we look more towards a Gondorian style (fourth image) combined with Harondor/Haradwaith influences of tribal lords (second image); do we opt for a Byzantine look (third image) if we conceive of Umbar as parallel to Númenor, equivalent to Rome and Constantinople; or, do we follow the lead of a South-East Asian pirate culture (fifth image) proposed in the Lord of the Rings movie and vanilla BfME2, and reinforced in the recreations of The Battle for Middle Earth HD Mod (see more at section of Corsair units)?
Castamir could use Faramir’s animations, but Éomer’s animations would give a more unique character if he were wearing a dagger instead of a shield in the left hand. The animations of the Corsairs will always work, but I feel Castamir should differ in his movements because of his superior position as a Captain/Lord.
Lvl 1 – Vengeance: Castamir charges into enemy target with increased movement speed causing slight knockback to units on the way, but only significant damage to the target, including buildings; damage output increases as he levels
Lvl 3 – Arson: activate to throw a clutch of firebombs dealing direct damage but also rendering units and buildings much more vulnerable to fire damage for some time
Lvl 5 – Mercenary Plunder: nearby Corsairs temporarily gain increased armour against building/ranged damage and steal resources when attacking buildings --> at level 10 turns into Lord of Umbar (passive): Castamir’s armour improves (more lord-like appearance); nearby Corsairs gain increased armour against building/ranged damage and steal resources when attacking buildings passively
Lvl 7/8 – Ballista Company: Castamir summons a stationary ballista with shorter range than other ranged siege, but with higher defence values; the ballista should take inspiration from the Isengard fortress expansion from vanilla BfME2
Lvl 10 – Crew Mobilisation: friendly siege and naval units are recruited at much higher speed, as well as gaining a drastic damage and movement speed boost for a medium duration
Saleme
(scout hero; hero disrupter): 150 > 500
Saleme transforms from being a scout hero to an Early Game hero killer. Her price changes consequently and at level 10 she can be recruited at all times at the citadel for double price.
Lvl 1 – Thief in the Night (passive): Saleme is camouflaged when standing still amongst friendly units --> at level 10 turns into Chief Hasharii: Saleme dons the official Hasharii outfit (heavy armour); attributes (damage, armour, health points) and recruitment costs are doubled; (passive): always stealth when standing still and while moving amongst friendly units
Lvl 1 – Swift Wits: increased movement speed and increased vision for a while --> when level 10 larger vision range and faster health regeneration in addition to standard effects
Lvl 3 – Glare of the Dagger: Saleme throws a dagger at short/medium range for medium damage at single units or heroes with spying effect --> at level 10 Saleme jumps at target dealing great damage
Lvl 6 – Trap: Saleme lays down a trap with small radius to capture enemy unit for a short while --> when level 10 trap does additional poison damage
Lvl 8 – Face Off: Saleme receives only 60% damage from heroes --> when level 10 she only receives 30% damage from heroes
Murakhan /Urakhan/Morza/Akh-Unor, Captain of Variag Guard
(alternative scout hero; hero supporter): 200 > 500
I conceptualised this hero as an alternative to Saleme if the team has decided that her place fits better within the Create-a-Hero aspect of the mod. Murakhan will be less of a traditional scout hero, and more like an early game fighting hero who transforms into a Captain of the strong Variag Guardians in the middle game. In contrast to Saleme, who I shaped to be a minor hero-killer/disrupter, Murakhan will support friendly heroes with his abilities.
Concerning his design I think it would be interesting to shape the Variag Guardians around the description Tolkien made of long, dark-skinned warriors with long beards and double-handed axes. Although originally meant for the Easterlings I feel this interpretation should not be absent in the Edain Mod. The animations could be taken from Hwaldar (just like Beornings), but Gimli’s animations might work better with an ability like Variag Madness. Also Uruk Berserker animations can be an option to emphasise the incredible strength of the Variag Guardians and their Captain.
Several existing sound sets can be chosen: Xin Zhao, Yasuo, Zed, Aatrox, and Azir, all Champions from League of Legends.
Lvl 1 – Weapon Expert (toggle): the two-handed axe does increased damage against melee units, while the short bow does increased damage against ranged units; excluding siege weapons
Lvl 1 – Mercenary Loyalty (passive): gains experience slowly but much faster when near Variag Guardians and friendly heroes --> level 10: drastic increase of own armour value and those of nearby heroes when Murakhan reaches critical health
Lvl 3 – Memory’s Revenge: this ability marks units that Murakhan attacks with bow or axe, following their position for a short while
Lvl 5 – Variag Madness: increased attack speed and knockback to attacks for a short duration; double damage to enemies targeted by ‘Memory’s Revenge’
Lvl 8 – Furious Charge: increased damage and movement speed of himself, nearby heroes and Variags
OR, ALTERNATIVELY AS A FULL-FLEDGED HEROMurakhan /Urakhan/Morza/Akh-Unor, Captain of Variag Guard
(hero; hero and Variag supporter): 1100-1200
I realised that with Khamûl in the spell book, the Men of Darkness do not dispose of many heroes. So I figured Murakhan could be imagined as a complete hero very useful in early and mid-game on his own, but increasingly important as a hero-supporter in late game.
Lvl 1 – Mercenary Loyalty (passive): gains experience slowly but much faster when near Variag and friendly heroes --> at level 10 this ability improves: when Murakhan engages in battle with heroes or monsters, all friendly heroes and Variag nearby will gain an armour boost
Lvl 2 – Weapon Expert (toggle): the two-handed axe does increased damage against melee units, while the short bow does increased damage against ranged units; excluding siege weapons
Lvl 4 – Execution: targeted enemy shares vision with Murakhan, and his abilities recharge slightly faster when target is eliminated
Lvl 6 – Variag Madness: increased attack speed and knockback to attacks for a short duration; double damage to enemies targeted by ‘Execution’
Lvl 8 – Blood Contract: target friendly hero will receive drastically reduced damage from enemy heroes but Murakhan takes 50% of this damage dealt by heroes
I hope to have sparked an interest with this proposal. I welcome any suggestions, questions, unclarities, and I would be happy to give explination and motivation where necessary. I realise that in some places this might not be clear, but I hope this is not detrimental to the effect.
Greetings,
Garlodur