Should there be an 'Evil Men' Faction that covers the men of Khand, Harad, Umbar, and other such evil peoples (which I'll collectively refer to as Easterlings from now on), I thought it'd be interesting if the Blue Wizards took a central role in such a faction.
The Blue Wizards went East and South long ago to both help the people there and turn them away from Sauron. While Tolkien himself was perhaps unsure of what role they exactly played in these far away lands, their fates can be explored in-game. Similar to Mordor's mechanics for Sauron, these Istari can be responsible for the Easterling's upgrades, even to the point of having various forms to represent their ultimate fates and requiring tasks to be fulfilled to increase their level. However, while Mordor fulfills tasks to increase Sauron's influence, the Easterlings fulfill tasks to instead decrease Alatar and Pallando's influence.
A common point between all the evil men under the Easterlings faction is that they've each traveled far from their homelands to fight the free peoples and serve Sauron. They likely forage and hunt as they go along, carrying only what is on their backs, and nearly all of their structures are tents or some other form of temporary construction (and new soldiers technically travel all the way from their respective homeland to the base). Because of this, I imagine the Easterlings do not benefit from an 'Expanded Storerooms' upgrade as other Factions, instead perhaps only able to increase their CP through limiting the influence of the Blue Wizards.
Stories of the Blue Wizards never reached the West, but their influence had a clear impact on the war. Having them be a permanent, visible presence on the battlefield would be completely against the lore. Thus I think they would be best represented as abilities tied to and casted from the Easterling Citadel, rather than the Wizards being a purchasable Hero; with the idea being that they are influencing the Easterlings through work in their homelands. Or, going along with the inherently transient nature of the Easterling faction, the Blue Wizards could make short, discreet appearances as summonable Heroes. Or alternatively, they can be a purchasable Scout/Support Hero that is permanently stealthed and can't attack or be attacked. Either way, they will be distinct from other factions' Heroes and from Sauron, despite sharing similar mechanics with him.
As emissaries of Oromë, the Blue Wizard's abilities are based around hunting and beasts, which goes hand-in-hand with the Easterlings' camp aesthetic and somewhat barbarian nature. Their powers are perhaps best for the early to mid-game. Alatar, Darkness-slayer, has abilities that make clearing Lairs and claiming Settlements very easy. Pallando, East-helper, has abilities that boost your economy. Like Denethor and Theoden, each of these abilities could potentially be a risk-reward that might benefit your enemy; after all, the Blue Wizards are good guys in an evil faction; but unlike Denethor and Theoden, these abilities should be a bit more permanent and be game or map-affecting.
For example:
Hounds of Valinor - Alatar breeds wolfhounds as companions and hunting dogs, raising them to take after Huan the Hound of Valinor. Battalions in target area will be paired with a Wolfhound, granting them bonus damage in melee and against monsters.
Kine of Araw - Pallando's instruction of careful hunting practices causes Rhûns' oxen population to swell and spread across the land. Summons Wild Oxen at the target location. These can be attacked and they drop treasure on death. The longer they are alive, the more treasure they will drop when killed.
A key part of Easterlings strategy is deciding when to cut the Blue Wizards off, for while they offer a lot of great economic benefits for the Faction, they naturally limit the Easterling's CP as they convince the Men of the East and South to turn away from evil. From the game start, the Easterlings can purchase a free upgrade (perhaps level-locked) that will greatly increase their CP at the cost of either removing Alatar or Pallando's abilities (their choice) from the game, signifying that the respective Wizard has been driven off or captured by Sauron's servants in the East/South. Removing both Wizards should decidedly shift the Easterlings' playstyle, as you trade those abilities in order to field a larger army.
An alternative to losing the Wizards is instead to corrupt them to Sauron's service. The two final spells in the Easterlings' Spellbook are to corrupt one of the two Wizards, Pallando on the Defensive side and Alatar on the Offensive side. When one of these spells is used on your Citadel, you'll gain the same CP increase as if you had driven off the Wizard, but you'll retain 'corrupted'/evil versions of their abilities and perhaps gain other bonuses. For instance, in Tolkien's early writings he guessed that they might have become "founders or beginners of secret cults and 'magic' traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron", and this might be represented with Heroic units or upgrades.
To briefly explore the idea of the Blue Wizards being actual Hero units...
'The Blue Wizards' could be an early-game Scout/Support Hero. They start the game as Alatar and Pallando, riding together on horses. They're on the side of good and Maia of Oromë, so they have a constant stealth/invisibility and cannot attack or be attacked. You can switch between their respective abilities by changing their Stance; "Darkness-slayer" for Alatar's abilities, and "East-helper" for Pallando's; which perhaps represents one of them taking the lead and their differing mindsets on how to best go about their mission.
If one of the Wizards is driven off or corrupted, the remaining Wizard becomes either 'Morinehtar the Darkness-slayer' or 'Rómestámo the East-helper'. The corrupted Wizard's new name could perhaps be based on Oromë's titles, "Huntsman of the Valar" and the "Great Rider", as a mocking perversion of them, with Alatar/Morinehtar becoming 'The Blue Huntsman' and Pallando/Rómestámo becoming 'The Blue Rider'.
Thema: Blue Wizards and Easterling Faction (Gelesen 1211 mal)