Here are a few things I think could be interesting features for some groups. As I have no modding ability whatsoever, this is basicly a 'dream feature' list.
Cannibalism:
Several groups the world are noted to be cannibalistic, ranging from the Skagosi to some wildlings to the brindled men. Eating the bodies of fallen opponents could be a excellent demotivator in combat, on par with having a warged companion, and eating prisoners could be a way to gain some prestige/ complete hatred from civilized individuals. While it would make sense for it to be restricted by culture, having Green Dreams could be a positive modifier towards a predisposition for cannibalism, which could allow non Skagosi/Thenn/Ice-River followers of the Beyond The Wall Old Gods to eat people.
Whaling:
Whaling is a profitable enterprise that could bring wealth and prosperity to many with access to northern waters. Besides the Ibbenese, Wildlings and others in the general Shivering Sea's region could have the ability to whale as a venture. The Ibbenese and the Wildlings of the Frozen Shore may have the ability to go on such expeditions themselves, but others may choose to go whaling or seal-hunting if they have the Hunting focus in general. As a alternative, others may have the ability to hunt seals as a lesser risk, lesser reward venture. Of course, there's always the chance that a hardened Ironborn fighter simply cannot club a baby seal, and ends up taking the creature as a companion to the possible derision by his fellows.
In addition, Whale companions could occasionally lure fish towards boats, allowing more prosperous fishing and a more prosperous ocean provence, accordingly; seal companions could do the same on a far smaller scale, by hunting down individual, larger fish to present to their 'friends'.
Special Units:
A special Unicorn cavalry unit type, perhaps, could be appropriate for some, as rare as they would be; like mammoths, they would rarely be around and would likely only be seen in very small amounts, but still, unicorns. In practice, they would be somewhat halfway between a camel and heavy cavalry; here's a basic unit writeup:
Skagosi and Ibbenese could have a special building with two levels, akin to the Ironborn Shipyard, which gives access to small amounts of unicorn riders. The Ibbenese, in addition, could have the ability to build mammoth pens, but these buildings could be restricted only to Far Ibb, to prevent them from becoming too prominent. These buildings should be expensive, but the breeding of these ancient creatures could be a end goal for Skagosi lords and Ibbenese rulers, as bringing back these storied beasts could coralign with the general 'bringing back' of magic.
Beyond The Wall:
- I would suggest carving the lands Beyond The Wall up a bit more; to be exact, separating the Frozen Shore and Ice Bay Shore provinces into two each (Western Ice Bay and Eastern Ice Bay Shores, for example,), along with Antler Vale, the Northern Frostfangs, Thenn, and the Shivering Forest. At the moment, the Wildlings have plenty of mechanics, but they have fifteen provinces to use them in unless they decide to actually head south; going from fifteen counties to twenty-one could allow for some more room for wildling rulers to play in, and allows for more than, say, four rulers of importance to emerge.
- The two counties that were formerly the Northern Frostfangs would have different cultures; one would be controlled by the Nightrunners while the other would be held by Hornfoots. As the two had to have been able to war with each other at some point, it makes sense that they would be geographically close.
- The county that I am calling the 'Eastern Ice Bay', being landlocked, would make a better Ice River Clan provence then Frozen Shore one, as the two had to have been close enough to war against one another.
-Craster's Keep could be named 'Western Haunted Forest' when not held by a member of the Cold Gods faith.
- Kings Beyond The Wall, after founding his or her kingdom, can 'announce kingship'; this event would be similar to that of what occurs during a prepared invasion, with event units and skilled commanders appearing, but with more flavor and not requiring a war. In essence, this is a 'create group of powerful misfits' event, in which any wildling with any amount of personal power can swear loyalty to an individual King Beyond The Wall. The event units created by this could last for some time, or until the King dies or loses a war.
Some examples of what could come around during this event (listed somewhat in order of probable rarity):
1. A small village in it's entirety comes to the king's camp, with quite near nearly every able-bodied individual willing to fight, the group led by a elder. While coming in relatively large numbers, the new units are mostly light infantry
2. A raider/bard/speaker of some renown brings his followers, consisting mostly of mixed infantry and archers.
3. A individual skinchanger arrives to the camp, trailed by his companion beasts and his reputation.
4. A group from one of the various clans arrives, led by a powerful tribal speaker or warrior. Ice River Clansmen could bring light cavalry and archers; Frozen Shore leaders could bring with them small amounts of chariots, along with the normal amounts of light infantry. Hornfoot and Nightrunner hosts could have some amount of spearmen among them, as well, along with light infantry and archers. Thenns would bring heavy infantry and a small amount of mixed cavalry.
5 .A chieftain from an isolated tribe, such as the Cannibal Clans or the Cave People, come to throw their lot in with the King Beyond The Wall. The Cannibal Clans could provide a good number of light cavalry and light infantry, while the Cave People could provide mixed infantry and archers.
6. A gigantic man or women, who many say to have giant's blood, comes to the camp along a small group of villagers. Likely to be dull of wit, this individual could alternatively be said to be a fierce berserker or gentle and more fond of tending to gardens then swinging a club. Regardless, his very presence could be of use to a King requiring a bodyguard, or friend.
7. A strange child, clad in crude skins and barely able to speak, possibly the last of his village or tribe, arrives to the camp. Despite his age, he is recognizably a natural fighter or a green dreamer and may have the companionship of a beast, and could very well grow into one of the finest fighters or commander of beasts the free folk have ever known.
8. A powerful free folk raid leader of renown comes with his many of his well-equipped raiders, as well as relatively large amount of gold, or perhaps some priceless treasure (such as a valyrian sword).
9. A strange beast has arrived to camp, exhibiting unnatural intelligence. It eventually becomes clear that it is a skinchanger, locked into a beast, one that desires to accompany the new king.
10. A landed Black Brother defects from the wall and heads to your camp, bringing with him a group of former watchmen, intending to destroy the organization they hate.
11. A tiny, strange group of free folk appear at the edge of camp, speaking in the Old Tongue and riding great shaggy beasts with long horns. Eventually, it becomes clear that they are from some nameless tribe that dwells in the far, far north, and that the creatures they ride are unicorns.
12. A singular giant comes from the far, far north, and brings with him his mammoth mount.
And some secondary religion speculation:
- Worshipers of the Stone Cow could choose to go on a pilgrimage to the Cow itself, and could make sacrifices to the god when appropriate. It sounds something akin to a primitive fertility deity in general, it being a stone cow and all; very rarely, worshipers could gain small bonuses to health or fertility after visiting the idol.
- Trios seems to have a life/death focus; the few bits regarding the three-headed god involve death coming out of one head and new life from the other, and that ripping apart a dwarf and stuffing bits of him into each of the god's mouths is apparently acceptable. Based on what little is available, I would suggest that the faith could be opposed to 'defective' life; worshipers could choose to sacrifice slaves with a negative congenital trait to the god in a bloody spectacle, in exchange for prestige and piety.
Cannibalism:
Several groups the world are noted to be cannibalistic, ranging from the Skagosi to some wildlings to the brindled men. Eating the bodies of fallen opponents could be a excellent demotivator in combat, on par with having a warged companion, and eating prisoners could be a way to gain some prestige/ complete hatred from civilized individuals. While it would make sense for it to be restricted by culture, having Green Dreams could be a positive modifier towards a predisposition for cannibalism, which could allow non Skagosi/Thenn/Ice-River followers of the Beyond The Wall Old Gods to eat people.
Whaling:
Whaling is a profitable enterprise that could bring wealth and prosperity to many with access to northern waters. Besides the Ibbenese, Wildlings and others in the general Shivering Sea's region could have the ability to whale as a venture. The Ibbenese and the Wildlings of the Frozen Shore may have the ability to go on such expeditions themselves, but others may choose to go whaling or seal-hunting if they have the Hunting focus in general. As a alternative, others may have the ability to hunt seals as a lesser risk, lesser reward venture. Of course, there's always the chance that a hardened Ironborn fighter simply cannot club a baby seal, and ends up taking the creature as a companion to the possible derision by his fellows.
In addition, Whale companions could occasionally lure fish towards boats, allowing more prosperous fishing and a more prosperous ocean provence, accordingly; seal companions could do the same on a far smaller scale, by hunting down individual, larger fish to present to their 'friends'.
Special Units:
A special Unicorn cavalry unit type, perhaps, could be appropriate for some, as rare as they would be; like mammoths, they would rarely be around and would likely only be seen in very small amounts, but still, unicorns. In practice, they would be somewhat halfway between a camel and heavy cavalry; here's a basic unit writeup:
Code:
unicorn_riders= {
morale = 12
maintenance = 5
phase_skirmish_attack = 4
phase_melee_attack = 9
phase_pursue_attack = 4
phase_skirmish_defense = 4
phase_melee_defense = 6
phase_pursue_defense = 3
base_type = knights
}Skagosi and Ibbenese could have a special building with two levels, akin to the Ironborn Shipyard, which gives access to small amounts of unicorn riders. The Ibbenese, in addition, could have the ability to build mammoth pens, but these buildings could be restricted only to Far Ibb, to prevent them from becoming too prominent. These buildings should be expensive, but the breeding of these ancient creatures could be a end goal for Skagosi lords and Ibbenese rulers, as bringing back these storied beasts could coralign with the general 'bringing back' of magic.
Beyond The Wall:
- I would suggest carving the lands Beyond The Wall up a bit more; to be exact, separating the Frozen Shore and Ice Bay Shore provinces into two each (Western Ice Bay and Eastern Ice Bay Shores, for example,), along with Antler Vale, the Northern Frostfangs, Thenn, and the Shivering Forest. At the moment, the Wildlings have plenty of mechanics, but they have fifteen provinces to use them in unless they decide to actually head south; going from fifteen counties to twenty-one could allow for some more room for wildling rulers to play in, and allows for more than, say, four rulers of importance to emerge.
- The two counties that were formerly the Northern Frostfangs would have different cultures; one would be controlled by the Nightrunners while the other would be held by Hornfoots. As the two had to have been able to war with each other at some point, it makes sense that they would be geographically close.
- The county that I am calling the 'Eastern Ice Bay', being landlocked, would make a better Ice River Clan provence then Frozen Shore one, as the two had to have been close enough to war against one another.
-Craster's Keep could be named 'Western Haunted Forest' when not held by a member of the Cold Gods faith.
- Kings Beyond The Wall, after founding his or her kingdom, can 'announce kingship'; this event would be similar to that of what occurs during a prepared invasion, with event units and skilled commanders appearing, but with more flavor and not requiring a war. In essence, this is a 'create group of powerful misfits' event, in which any wildling with any amount of personal power can swear loyalty to an individual King Beyond The Wall. The event units created by this could last for some time, or until the King dies or loses a war.
Some examples of what could come around during this event (listed somewhat in order of probable rarity):
1. A small village in it's entirety comes to the king's camp, with quite near nearly every able-bodied individual willing to fight, the group led by a elder. While coming in relatively large numbers, the new units are mostly light infantry
2. A raider/bard/speaker of some renown brings his followers, consisting mostly of mixed infantry and archers.
3. A individual skinchanger arrives to the camp, trailed by his companion beasts and his reputation.
4. A group from one of the various clans arrives, led by a powerful tribal speaker or warrior. Ice River Clansmen could bring light cavalry and archers; Frozen Shore leaders could bring with them small amounts of chariots, along with the normal amounts of light infantry. Hornfoot and Nightrunner hosts could have some amount of spearmen among them, as well, along with light infantry and archers. Thenns would bring heavy infantry and a small amount of mixed cavalry.
5 .A chieftain from an isolated tribe, such as the Cannibal Clans or the Cave People, come to throw their lot in with the King Beyond The Wall. The Cannibal Clans could provide a good number of light cavalry and light infantry, while the Cave People could provide mixed infantry and archers.
6. A gigantic man or women, who many say to have giant's blood, comes to the camp along a small group of villagers. Likely to be dull of wit, this individual could alternatively be said to be a fierce berserker or gentle and more fond of tending to gardens then swinging a club. Regardless, his very presence could be of use to a King requiring a bodyguard, or friend.
7. A strange child, clad in crude skins and barely able to speak, possibly the last of his village or tribe, arrives to the camp. Despite his age, he is recognizably a natural fighter or a green dreamer and may have the companionship of a beast, and could very well grow into one of the finest fighters or commander of beasts the free folk have ever known.
8. A powerful free folk raid leader of renown comes with his many of his well-equipped raiders, as well as relatively large amount of gold, or perhaps some priceless treasure (such as a valyrian sword).
9. A strange beast has arrived to camp, exhibiting unnatural intelligence. It eventually becomes clear that it is a skinchanger, locked into a beast, one that desires to accompany the new king.
10. A landed Black Brother defects from the wall and heads to your camp, bringing with him a group of former watchmen, intending to destroy the organization they hate.
11. A tiny, strange group of free folk appear at the edge of camp, speaking in the Old Tongue and riding great shaggy beasts with long horns. Eventually, it becomes clear that they are from some nameless tribe that dwells in the far, far north, and that the creatures they ride are unicorns.
12. A singular giant comes from the far, far north, and brings with him his mammoth mount.
And some secondary religion speculation:
- Worshipers of the Stone Cow could choose to go on a pilgrimage to the Cow itself, and could make sacrifices to the god when appropriate. It sounds something akin to a primitive fertility deity in general, it being a stone cow and all; very rarely, worshipers could gain small bonuses to health or fertility after visiting the idol.
- Trios seems to have a life/death focus; the few bits regarding the three-headed god involve death coming out of one head and new life from the other, and that ripping apart a dwarf and stuffing bits of him into each of the god's mouths is apparently acceptable. Based on what little is available, I would suggest that the faith could be opposed to 'defective' life; worshipers could choose to sacrifice slaves with a negative congenital trait to the god in a bloody spectacle, in exchange for prestige and piety.
Last edited:
- 10