After some good feedback, I've edited the proposal. The original idea can be found in the spoiler at the bottom.
Below are the proposed changes:Grima, using the power of the One Ring, breaks free of Saruman's control and takes over Rohan through sabotage and the command of his puppet-king. Théoden succumbs to the venomous words of Grima and becomes his puppet. Grima takes control and Théoden follows him around like a passive creep. He cannot be freed as long as Grima has the Ring and must die before Glory of the King can take effect.Traitor-King Grima has the following abilities:- Traitor-King - Grima takes Eowyn for his wife against her will, and will not let her escape, yet will do everything he can to protect his love, even at the expense of himself. If Eowyn is near Grima, she will become invulnerable and gain an increased life-regeneration, but her movement speed, will be reduced by -50%, she will be unable to mount, and her ability cooldowns will be slowed by 20%. The Ring's corruption reduces Grima's movement speed by -50%. Theoden's mind may not be his own, but he still inspires his people. Nearby allied units will gain +15 armour and damage. (Passive ability)I feel like a vital aspect is missing from the Grima Ring-Hero; his "love" for Eowyn. The changes to this ability seek to rectify that. Much like how Ring-Hero Glorious Theoden protects his family, Grima will do the same for his love. However, in doing so, Eowyn's greatest fear will be realised; she will be trapped in a cage of possession by Grima.
Gameplay wise, Grima could act as an area of retreat for Rohan's Hero-Killer, but she won't be able to leave it easily, and while she may still be able to fight against heroes, she will find it much more difficult with the slowed cooldown and inability to chase down wounded heroes.
The idea behind Grima's movement speed reduction represents his unwillingness to leave the safety of "his" kingdom, as well as the corruption the Ring would have on a weak-willed mortal such as him.
- Banishment to Exile - Grima banishes all heroes of Rohan who oppose his rule. If any Rohan hero besides Eowyn are near him they will suffer continuous damage. The very thought of Grima on the throne of Rohan fills the heroes of Rohan with wrath. Heroes of Rohan will gain +75% damage and be unable to be knocked back. If a hero of Rohan dies, they can be revived with 20% increased cost and will take 20% longer to revive. (Passive Ability)This spell would no longer be single-target; instead, it would be a passive ability, making it far stronger than the original. However, in return, a fallen hero would be more costly and take longer to revive, perhaps representing Grima sabotaging the attempt much like how he might have done with Theodred.
- Grima's Taxes - Grima Wormtongue sends his thugs to extort taxes from the people of Rohan. The targeted resource building immediately produces triple recourses, but is damaged by 30% of its health and has half armour for 3 minutes.A glance at what the rule of Grima might look like; a cruel king who demands payment from his subjects. Being able to use it on any recourse building shows the reach of his cruel hand.
- Grima's Traitors - Grima replaces the soldiers of Rohan with his own loyal thugs. The targeted Peasants or Rohirrim are replaced with Traitors of Rohan. Traitors will only last for a couple of minutes and do not benefit from Grima's rule unless they are bribed to stay. Bribing costs 200 resources. Once bribed, Traitors will stay permanently and be able to receive upgrades, and will gain a larger benefit from "Traitor-King" (+25% Damage and Armour).Every king needs loyal soldiers, otherwise they wouldn't last very long. Grima has his traitors. While not initially loyal, they can be bribed into loyalty, allowing them to act as Grima's soldiers and letting them benefit from Rohan upgrades and Grima's leadership. Grima can now also convert Rohirrim into Traitors.
- Defend Me! - Grima orders his forces to return to the keep and defend him. For 30 seconds, all friendly units on the map become invulnerable and get a +30% speed boost, but they cannot attack for the ability's duration. Grima additionally gains +30% armour for the duration. Eowyn will also gain an increase of +30% to armour.This is not a retreat from the battlefield as the old ability, but a call back to defend the king. This will allow you to protect Grima if you so desire it, to further benefit from his boons, though they are few. Along with this, Eowyn will gain an armour increase, though it will not benefit her if she is near Grima as she will be immune to damage.
I am most grateful to Elendil's Cousin, Halbarad, and The Necromancer for their ideas to improve this concept, though further improvement is always welcome.
Greetings from the pool, O' Edain Team and community!
I would like to propose a change to the Theoden the Corrupted Ring-Hero so that it feels more accurate to the lore and the character of Grima Wormtongue (a favourite of mine, even though he is undoubtedly a wicked person).
The proposed changes are not overly large nor powerful (at least in my eyes), as Corrupted Theoden is an inexpensive hero that can easily gain the Ring should it be found, and making his Ring-form too powerful would of course be very unbalanced. Besides that, both Corrupted Theoden and Wormtongue are ultimately men, and weak men at that, so they will be unable to wield the true power of the Ring.
Without further ado, lets jump right into it!
Below are the proposed changes:
Grima, using the power of the One Ring, breaks free of Saruman's control and takes over Rohan through sabotage and the command of his puppet-king.
Théoden succumbs to the venomous words of Grima and becomes his puppet. Grima takes control and Théoden follows him around like a passive creep. He cannot be freed as long as Grima has the Ring and must die before Glory of the King can take effect.
Traitor-King Grima has the following abilities:
- Traitor-King - Grima takes Eowyn for his wife against her will, and will not let her escape, yet will do everything he can to protect his love. If Eowyn is near Grima, she will become invulnerable and gain an increased life-regeneration, but her movement speed, attack damage, and ability damage will be reduced by -50% and she will be unable to mount. The Ring's corruption reduces Grima's movement speed by -50%. Theoden's mind may not be his own, but he still inspires his people. Nearby allied units will gain +15 armour and damage. (Passive ability)
I feel like a vital aspect is missing from the Grima Ring-Hero; his "love" for Eowyn. The changes to this ability seek to rectify that. Much like how Ring-Hero Glorious Theoden protects his family, Grima will do the same for his love. However, in doing so, Eowyn's greatest fear will be realised; she will be trapped in a cage of possession by Grima.
Gameplay wise, Grima could act as an area of retreat for Rohan's Hero-Killer, but she won't be able to leave it easily nor stay and fight in her invulnerable state. Of course, the effects of this ability, as well as the others, are subject to change, if this suggestion is added to the mod.
The idea behind Grima's movement speed reduction represents his unwillingness to leave the safety of "his" kingdom, as well as the corruption the Ring would have on a weak-willed mortal such as him.
- Banishment to Exile - Grima banishes all heroes of Rohan who oppose his rule. If any Rohan hero besides Eowyn are near him they will suffer continuous damage. The very thought of Grima on the throne of Rohan fills the heroes of Rohan with wrath. Heroes of Rohan will gain +75% damage and be unable to be knocked back. If a hero of Rohan dies, they can only be revived once Theoden is freed from his spell. (Passive Ability)
This spell would no longer be single-target; instead, it would be a passive ability, making it far stronger than the original.
- Grima's Taxes - Grima Wormtongue sends his thugs to extort taxes from the people of Rohan. The targeted resource building immediately produces triple recourses, but is reduced to half-health and has half armour for 3 minutes.
A glance at what the rule of Grima might look like; a cruel king who demands payment from his subjects. Being able to use it on any recourse building shows the reach of his cruel hand.
- Grima's Traitors - Grima replaces the soldiers of Rohan with his own loyal thugs. The targeted Peasants or Rohirrim are replaced with Traitors of Rohan. Traitors of Rohan cannot receive upgrades, but gain a larger benefit from "Traitor-King" (+25% Damage and Armour).
Every king needs loyal soldiers, otherwise they wouldn't last very long. Grima has his traitors. In addition to getting a greater effect from "Traitor-King", Grima can now also convert Rohirrim into Traitors.
- Defend Me! - Grima orders his forces to return to the keep and defend him. For 30 seconds, all friendly units on the map become invulnerable and get a +30% speed boost, but they cannot attack for the ability's duration. Grima additionally gains +30% armour for the duration.
This is not a retreat from the battlefield as the old ability, but a call back to defend the king. This will allow you to protect Grima if you so desire it, to further benefit from his boons, though they are few.
And here we reach the end of the suggestion! I'm certain not everything here would work well in the mod, and the idea may not even be very good at all, but I hope that it sparks some discussion on this seemingly forgotten Ring-Hero of Rohan.