Expansion Pass 3 Proposal: Age of Wonders 4: Web of Shadows

[__matmot]

Hey everyone! This is my first post on the forum, so greetings to all fellow realm-shapers and strategists! I've been a huge fan of Age of Wonders 4 and after putting way too many hours into it (no regrets!), I finally decided to turn my wishlist ideas into something a bit more structured—what started as scattered thoughts has now grown into a full expansion proposal. I'm calling it "Web of Shadows", and it's all about diplomacy, stealth, and dark intrigue. It’s my take on what Expansion Pass 3 could look like if we dive deeper into the darker side of diplomacy and bring back some Rogue vibes from previous games. Fingers crossed some of this inspires future content—hope you enjoy the concept!

Age of Wonders 4: Web of Shadows – Expansion Pass 3 Proposal
"Where diplomacy is shadowplay, and peace is just another kind of control."


Web of Shadows is introducing a new Culture steeped in espionage, manipulation, and diplomacy—wrapped in gothic, Slavic, and Victorian flair. This expansion leans deeply into Dark and Materium affinities and reimagines the legacy of the Rogue faction from previous Age of Wonders titles.

The new Veiled Council Culture—split into two distinct Subcultures: Mediators and Puppeteers—offers divergent paths to victory, whether through noble diplomacy or sinister subterfuge.

New Culture: Veiled
Core Mechanics:
Affinity: Dark + Materium
Theme: Espionage, Influence, High Diplomacy, and Intrigue
Playstyle: Stealth, fast movement, manipulation of world events and relationships

Unique Mechanics:
Begins with extra Whispering Stones
Can construct Embassies in the capitals of other factions or Free Cities

Unique Diplomatic Ops Panel allowing for:

Sabotage treaties
Stage grievances
Spread rumors (to increase tension between others)
Can unlock enemy Tier III units via High Diplomacy or Infiltration, depending on chosen Subculture

Subcultures
1. Mediators
Inspiration: UN-style global peacekeepers, noble diplomats, Arcane monks
Philosophy: Peace through understanding, balance, and strategic alliances

Gameplay:
Focuses on open diplomatic relations and grievance mediation
Gains diplomatic bonuses and additional Prestige
Can reduce War Exhaustion across the realm
Easier integration of Free Cities and vassals

Tier III Unit:
Mediator – a powerful crowd-control support unit with high morale aura, mass pacify, and zone denial spells


2. Puppeteers:
Inspiration: Secret societies, shadow governments, manipulators in the dark
Philosophy: Power through manipulation, conflict orchestration, and proxy wars
Gameplay:
Gains influence when other factions go to war
Can secretly incite rebellions in enemy provinces
Special actions: Forge grievances, frame factions, or tamper with alliances
High infiltration enables the recruitment of enemy Tier III units as your own

Tier III Unit:
Shadowblade (or Rogue) – a deadly rogue-assassin with Shadowblend, Poison Blades, and Blink Strike

Faction's Units:

Scout: Grimbeak Crow - A magical crow with recon, concealment detection, and high movement
I Outcast - Light-armored skirmisher, good in ambushes
I Ranger - Ranged unit, can deploy traps and camouflage
II Warden - Shielded heavy unit with a taunt and defensive aura
III M Mediator - Support, CC-heavy, boosts diplomacy standing in battles
III P Shadowblade (or Rogue) - Assassin with shadow stealth and anti-leader burst damage


Architecture & Aesthetic
Style: Gothic Slavic-Victorian fusion
Dark timber buildings, tall iron fences- Witcher III, Bloodborne, Van Helsing and Dishonored vibes.


New Racial Forms:
When thinking about race forms to match the theme of Web of Shadows, I wanted something that reflected the dual nature of the new culture—its light and dark sides. On the one hand, we have the Satyrs, inspired by Greek mythology—half-human, half-goat (or bovine, if you want a minotaur twist). They embody the Mediator subculture’s focus on diplomacy, harmony, and charisma. Satyrs feel naturally attuned to fostering peace, negotiating with Free Cities, and celebrating alliances. On the other hand, we have the Arachnids—sinister, humanoid spiders with multiple arms, customizable abdomens, and eerie eight-eyed faces. They're perfect for the Puppeteer side—stealthy, manipulative, and built for underground and urban infiltration.

Arachnids - Humanoid spiders with:
- Two sets of arms
- Large eight-eyed spider heads
- Optional abdomen customization (silk sacs, spikes, or venomous traits)

Satyrs - Greek-inspired half-goat (or cow, for Minotaur variant)


In the end, this is just an idea I had bouncing around in my head that I thought would be cool to share with fellow players. I love the mix of diplomacy and sneaky rogue gameplay. Hope you all enjoy the concept as much as I enjoyed putting it together. What kind of Tomes of Magic do you all think would fit with this expansion theme?

 

[white.kelevra]

Welcome and thank you!
This is definitely interesting.

quick note:
problem with Arachnids is that they will look a lot like Insectoid
but, I would buy x2 DLC if the form was similar to necrophage (Endless Legend)
I think the transformation mechanics are a hindrance and create a lot of difficulties for creating "unique bone skeleton" races

ps. I think many people, like me, are waiting for vampires)

 

[Blanch Warren]

Shadow does include espionage at least as a theme, with at least the ability to acquire knowledge and resources from enemy vassals, court of whispers available as a society trait, and in any case the ninja tome.

If there was a faction more focused on it, it should be included as a dark function or subclass, with skullduggery going back to aow1.

 

[Akani Sar-Teel]

Affinity: Dark + Materium

Materium doesn't have any obvious relevance to anything presented here. Given the emphasis on control, however, Order most certainly does.

 

[Damkac]

Some of those I think would fit nicely in the DLC with vampires.

 

[__matmot]

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone - love seeing all the responses and ideas bouncing around already!

@Damkac and @white.kelevra – I love the idea of tying this DLC in with vampires. Gothic espionage + bloodlines? Count me in. That could bring even more (much needed) dark fantasy flair and some really intriguing mechanics. With all that vampire intrigue, they definitely need to add a Tome of Garlic

@Blanch Warren and @Akani Sar-Teel – Great point about Materium! The reasoning behind it was tied to the economic side of manipulation—gold, construction of embassies, and the material tools of control. But you're right that Order makes a lot of sense thematically too, especially for the Mediator path. Maybe a better alignment would be:

• Base Affinity: Dark
• Mediators: Dark + Order (structured diplomacy, peacekeeping, and influence)
• Puppeteers: Dark + Materium (economic leverage, bribes, subterfuge)

That split better reflects the dual approach of overt diplomacy vs. covert control.

UPDATE:
Embassies – My Vision
I see embassies as a unique building type that can be constructed in another player’s or Free City’s capital without needing their permission - but removing them requires a formal diplomatic action and generates a grievance, making it a high-stakes political move. It is worth to mention that both subcultures: Mediators and Puppeteers remain indistinguishable to other players until they recruit their Tier III units, keeping their true intentions hidden and unpredictable throughout the game.

Once built, embassies grant mutual bonuses based on the current relationship level and unlock espionage potential exclusive to the Veiled Culture:
Diplomatic Tiers & Benefits:

Neutral:

• Mutual Bonus: Small bonus to Gold income for both factions
• Spy Recruitment: Veiled player may assign a low-level Watcher to the host city, granting limited 1-tile vision (can be upgraded via tech or units)

Friendly:

• Mutual Bonus: Choice of additional Production or Knowledge bonus depending on faction focus
• Spy Recruitment: Veiled player may tag a recruitable unit in the host city as a Sleeper Agent. When that unit is eventually trained, the Veiled player gains:
  • Full vision of the tile the unit occupies
  • Intel on unit upgrades and status
  • No control or sabotage—just passive intel gathering

Integration:

• Mutual Bonus: Shared access to rare magical materials or passive production boosts (can simulate trade of arcane goods)
• Spy Recruitment: Veiled player may tag a recruitable Hero in the host faction - when the Hero is recruited by the host, the Veiled player may later spend large amounts of Gold, Mana, and Diplomatic Influence to turn the Hero into a double agent—potentially flipping allegiance mid-game or offering covert advantages (temporary sabotage, turning against faction if morale is low, etc.)

The embassy could act like a "soft tether" between realms - boosting trust and cooperation, but also allowing Veiled players to gather intel, stage influence operations, or exploit shifting allegiances behind the scenes.

Additional Diplomatic/Puppeteer Actions:
Here are some ideas for Mediator/Puppeteer-exclusive actions in the Diplomatic Ops panel (some of which could be tied to Whispering Stones or unique buildings, all of them requires special diplomatic points/resources to "cast"). Remember! Mediators focus on positive, goodwill-driven actions that strengthen alliances and promote peace, while Puppeteers specialize in more deadly, tricky maneuvers aimed at sowing discord, manipulation, and covert sabotage.

• Defer Conflict – Pressure or incentivize two warring factions to agree to a ceasefire (temporary peace)
• Delay War Declaration – Slow down a faction preparing for war with a third party by creating additional cooldown for declaring war
• Resource Quarantine (instead of “block natural wonders”) – Use bureaucratic/political tools to restrict access to magical nodes or wonders for another player (“due to international investigations” etc.)
• Sanction Trade – Impose a limited embargo between factions (reduces trade benefits or slows vassal integration)
• Forge Allegations – Add “ghost” grievances between AI factions to increase tensions and incite conflict
• Sponsor Dissidents – Incite low-level rebellion or unrest in enemy cities (lowers stability or production temporarily)

 

[Whiskeyjack-5691]

Welcome to the forums!

Some interesting ideas in there for sure! I really like the idea of paying a puppet-master pulling strings and manipulating world events from the shadows! I've actually tried a similar build using Oathsworn Harmony, with Keepers of Knowledge and Silver-Tongued. Didn't work as well as I'd hoped, but was still fun playing mostly passively and pretending to be the good buy, while surreptitiously pulling the vassals of rival factions to my side.

To be honest though, I don't know if we'd necessarily need an whole new culture for many of these ideas.
The Sub-cultures - Mediators and Puppeteers - could possibly be implemented as Order and Shadow-themed Society Traits respectively, with the new diplomatic options you mentioned being part of them (not sure if that's mechanically possible though, I'm not a dev).
Many of the units and active and passive abilities could also be tied to new tomes.
Satyrs would be a neat new form, altough the Arachnids might be too close to the Insectiod form we already have.

However, it's been very strongly hinted that we'll be getting a "Vampire Lord" ruler for Season 3, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if a couple of your ideas (in some shape or form) are already planned for it!

 

[seperamos]

However, it's been very strongly hinted that we'll be getting a "Vampire Lord" ruler for Season 3, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if a couple of your ideas (in some shape or form) are already planned for it!

Ehhh...Idk if that would be a good idea, the ruler forms list is already getting too long and vampires would only need to be transformed Champions or WKs to be effective in theme and gameplay. It should be a transformation, either a conditional transformation after taking Wightborn, or an alternative Major/minor transformation to it. Such ruler limited transformation would give more power and choices to Champs and WKs to contend against giants, dragons, and eldritch sovreigns.

A Champion ruler that evolves into a Vampire Ruler over a gameplay session would be an adequate earned Pantheon Vampire Lord, with the earned vampyric traits to match.