New Content Discussion [SPOILER]

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

• So Zyainor wants Dorten's daughter to soon claim the throne... Sadly the old king is too stubborn to die a let the mad nation to try such a thing. Hope Ferina refuse or keeps her distance with any of Bloodclaw's brood.
• Honestly, I'm happy that Zora's presence and new rank within Zyainor made Zoia angry. I mean, it can be VERY humiliating that a pirate became admiral as soon as she appeared on the nation. Good job, Bloodclaw.
• Hortnog having contacts in the demons ranks?... That COULD be true, considering profit is above anything else for him and the goldaxe.
• ... You are making a mistake, Edoarus. The executioner could turn into the executed... (Hope him and Inara killed each other)
• Dude, Kazardius betraying Aridon and getting revenge by destroying the Splecir nexus or defending Zyainor somehow to defy the master of the undead?

There is so much I could wait from the legacy.

 

[Navy45]

Damn, with the amount of undead whose weareabouts are unknown, I feel Aridon's genocide plans are about to turn to a continent-spanning game of "where's Waldo ?".

• Sir Edoarus is in Rengar. But, based on what we know of him, I don't expect him to rebel against Aridon, even if he goes free. Though I expect him to be fanatical enough that Aridon has trouble getting him to do what he wants instead of executing whoever he wants to.
• I don't think Galareth's mage background was expanded upon before but it's a bit sad. The poor guy wanted to study necromancy in his corner, not bothering anyone...
• Krom is 100% not coming back. Especially if he learns the truth about the Bonelords. And honestly, that's for the better. I hope we'll get the Praxeus' squad protecting him from Aridon like a new girlfriend being angry at their partner's manipulative ex.
• A bit unexpected to see a Quiraness' character sheet. I expected her story to have come to an end, but maybe not. Either way, I expect her daughter to play a role in the story, since Pentiss spared her. I also expect Aridon to go to the Dark elves first, since they're the easiest to find and reach. Pentiss probably won't like Aridon's return, but how much of that will she show ?

Now on the ones whose whereabouts are unknown, let's play "Let's find that undead !"

• Haran'tel Kazor : We've seen Ejara breeding grounds in Salria, but I doubt their Nexus is there. They likely are keeping it somewhere underground and decentralizing spreading their bases over the continent because of the ease of transportation given by controlling the tunnels. Maybe they're closer to the contested mining areas.
• Kazardius : I don't know how large a force Kazardius has, but wherever he is, it isn't far from Zyainor. Most likely in some mountain range or perpetually on the move, since he doesn't have a Nexus to slow him down. I also really like the idea of him protecting Zyainor from the shadows with some little things like some bandits or renegade mages "disappearing", bodies and all.
• Lady Meya : I expect the Rohir Nexus to be somewhere in Zyainor. Maybe in the basement of some unimportant fortress. With her spies, influence in necromancer cults and illusion magic, she could avoid detection from the humans. Most importantly, it would be the best defense against Aridon or any undead. Anyone who would wish to come after her would have to deal with the Zyainese army.
• Rahandir and co : Same as Kazardius, no idea how many troops they have. Since they have Selena and the children, I doubt they are moving much. Maybe they have asked queen Keera for her hospitality, since there's no way she would turn down the chance to protect living elves. Tough, now that I think about it, while they were somewhat close, Rahandir did kill her... which makes me want to see them interact even more !
• Ornasion : I would expect him to try to get close to the demon Realms. Maybe by going to the Cold North to circumvent the Void, since I can't imagine him to manage an invasion head on, and the revival of the duchy of Isalmur means there's not much of no-mans land to hide in. Though, personnaly, I hope he hasn't gone that far, since I find him at his most interesting when he interacts with other undead, while his interactions with demons usually boil down to "I will murder you in an interesting fashion". Though maybe once freed and not interacting with Souleater scum, he could have more interesting relations to other demons or demon slaves.

 

[Tchakuryo]

I am so hyped up by all this information and the first missions. I absolutely love all of it. Can't wait for the challenge of the third mission.

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

Grofzag and Vanessa working together!!! Deathbreeze and Salrian army o. o this could be very interesting.
My true question however: Why are dwarves OUTSITE and not in their tunnels?
Also, I don't think the GG are happy to see Praxeus with some... well, exotic allies?

 

[Shar Dundred]

Something that is not in the newspost:
There is a hidden secret in the images. Can you find it?

 

[Karmondia]

Something that is not in the newspost:
There is a hidden secret in the images. Can you find it?

Night Elves!

 

[Navy45]

On the latest sneak peak images (or another episode of "me going insane reading into unit colours") :

On the first image :

• Seems like a confrontation between the Dominion and the dwarves. Since Vanessa is there, I would expect this to be some kind of negociation (considering every unit is in its "ready for battle" animation, seems like the negociations are going great !). Vanessa now has her own Salrian guard. However, the ogres seem to be a different shade of green from the orcs (like, they appear dark green whereas the orcs appear emerald). Either that's the model doing that, me becoming mad, or the ogres still being distinct and not under the orders of Grofzag. Maybe they're involved in the dispute, which could be over mountains where the Legion lives (Dark Green seems weird for them since they were brown under Brockta but that might be to avoid sharing with the dwarves.
• On the dwarves' side, we got 3 clans, the Hammerfall in grey, the Stonelords in brown and the Ironbreakers in light blue (I had to play through half of Menace Below, since that is, to my knowledge, the only level where they appear). Unexpectedly, there are no Bloodstones, despite their territories being closest to the Dominion if I'm not mistaken. Considering how stubborn the dwarves are, I expect Vanessa to have initiated negociations. Still I wonder what Zarin's stand would be on those happenings (Though I just remembered that in the True Story, Amari was Mordin's killer so... I won't get my hopes up. Maybe his daughter will be more reasonable)

On the second image :

• I know Praxeus isn't the most versed in the art of diplomacy, but please tell me he didn't actually bring Krom when ringing at the Golden guard's doorbell after 20 years... I doubt he would have been offended at being asked to remain at the campfire while they talk to the zealous, unreasonable and extremely pissed off military force that lost quite a bit of their soldiers at the hands of the undead during the last war. Either way, the reunion won't go well. Marin won't take the risk of getting another potential leader who will definitely condemn his research for the torture that it is. He will likely berate Praxeus for losing the Grail to the demons and trusting an undead and either send him to recover the Grail without support, or attempt to have him executed.
• I also like Richard being on the side wearing the yellow of the golden guard while most soldiers have taken Marin's colours. Though Richard still has a few guards with him. Who knows, maybe Praxeus will get the chance to knock some sense into him.

 

[LISBOAH]

Night Elves!

Maiev went through the wrong portal while trying to return to Azeroth.
But don't worry, she can meet another hunter that is going through an existential crisis.

Still I wonder what Zarin's stand would be on those happenings (Though I just remembered that in the True Story, Amari was Mordin's killer so... I won't get my hopes up. Maybe his daughter will be more reasonable)

Who knows? Maybe some Dwarves have noticed that their High King's stubborness and pride will, sooner or later, lead them to disaster, so they want to make a deal...

I know Praxeus isn't the most versed in the art of diplomacy, but please tell me he didn't actually bring Krom when ringing at the Golden guard's doorbell after 20 years... I doubt he would have been offended at being asked to remain at the campfire while they talk to the zealous, unreasonable and extremely pissed off military force that lost quite a bit of their soldiers at the hands of the undead during the last war. Either way, the reunion won't go well. Marin won't take the risk of getting another potential leader who will definitely condemn his research for the torture that it is. He will likely berate Praxeus for losing the Grail to the demons and trusting an undead and either send him to recover the Grail without support, or attempt to have him executed.

Please, let it be brought up that Renald was ordered to kill Gardon. It's about time that the van Durces get off from their high horse.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Please, let it be brought up that Renald was ordered to kill Gardon. It's about time that the van Durces get off from their high horse.

Richard is the only van Durce in the image, what did HE do to you?

 

[LISBOAH]

Richard is the only van Durce in the image, what did HE do to you?

 

[Shar Dundred]

You sure you not a sith lord with all of that hatred?

 

[Navy45]

Please, let it be brought up that Renald was ordered to kill Gardon. It's about time that the van Durces get off from their high horse.

Actually, does Praxeus even know that the Golden Guard attempted to assassinate Gardon ? He may have had a somewhat high rank in the Golden Guard, but I doubt Van Durce wanted to shout to every commander that he was supporting a rebellion against the Empire to have an imperial general assassinated, both because that would be bad for morale and because I doubt that was the assignment he was most proud of.
Technically, Birram told him and Zarin that the Golden Guard attempted to have Guardon assassinated, but Praxeus called him a liar like 4 times in 2 sentences so I think it's safe to assume he wasn't convinced (and I can't really blame him for not trusting a word Birram says when trying to get the dwarves' support). Also neither Gardon nor Praxeus mentionned the subject at their confrontation. Even Van Durce's children didn't seem to know since no one mentionned it when they debated the reasons for Gardon's insurrection among themselves.
I also can't really imagine Praxeus playing with Zed and not attempting to get to the bottom of Gardon's supposed "treason" before he's sent to his death against Retka. (Especially when he tries to see with Van Durce if things can be mended even after Gardon and the Kingdom have gone into open revolt)

If things are still as they seemed to be at their last stand, Marin might be the only one left in the golden guard to know of this attempt. Both Praxeus, most of the soldiers and even Richard himself wouldn't know of this. If it was somehow revealed, it might reshuffle cards in the Golden Guard, or at the very least help Praxeus leave it behind and... well I doubt his relationship with Gardon can ever be mended, but it's still something.

 

[LISBOAH]

Actually, does Praxeus even know that the Golden Guard attempted to assassinate Gardon ? He may have had a somewhat high rank in the Golden Guard, but I doubt Van Durce wanted to shout to every commander that he was supporting a rebellion against the Empire to have an imperial general assassinated, both because that would be bad for morale and because I doubt that was the assignment he was most proud of.
Technically, Birram told him and Zarin that the Golden Guard attempted to have Guardon assassinated, but Praxeus called him a liar like 4 times in 2 sentences so I think it's safe to assume he wasn't convinced (and I can't really blame him for not trusting a word Birram says when trying to get the dwarves' support). Also neither Gardon nor Praxeus mentionned the subject at their confrontation. Even Van Durce's children didn't seem to know since no one mentionned it when they debated the reasons for Gardon's insurrection among themselves.
I also can't really imagine Praxeus playing with Zed and not attempting to get to the bottom of Gardon's supposed "treason" before he's sent to his death against Retka. (Especially when he tries to see with Van Durce if things can be mended even after Gardon and the Kingdom have gone into open revolt)

If things are still as they seemed to be at their last stand, Marin might be the only one left in the golden guard to know of this attempt. Both Praxeus, most of the soldiers and even Richard himself wouldn't know of this. If it was somehow revealed, it might reshuffle cards in the Golden Guard, or at the very least help Praxeus leave it behind and... well I doubt his relationship with Gardon can ever be mended, but it's still something.

Marin obviously knows, and Krom as well.
If Krom gets too vexed at the Golden Guard's antics, I can see him drop this bombshell.

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

Here we go:

Spoiler

• Garan: The future ruler. Just like his father, but less brutal on battle (I think, but can be wrong). I wonder about his reaction if he faces an enemy he can't outsmart so easily, or did something is not on his calculations. Reminds me of Lelouch Lamperouge with that chessboard he carries around.
• Zurae: Such potential and power, and a lovely daughter it seems. Does she have more attunement with fire magic? I think Harmos would like to have her in the Order of the Flame, if she wasn't Bloodclaw's daughter in the first place. What would happen if she and Fiona met?...
• Hotar: I kinda like him cuz he is so different than Gardon and Garan, but he's a dragon knight and Thanok's "favorite"... Well, only time will tell.
• Laura: I didn't expect Claire will have a child with someone since she is "too bound and loyal to the Ironfist". I think I know who her father is from the SHB IF we made some choices, either that or some random fool is her father. I like her in general.
• Parlea: From good to chaotic, just a step. Can't blame her for that change, she didn't deserve that kind of treatment (Thanks Birram for protecting her). I wonder If she will turn crazy like Scarlett.
• Velina: Now she's an interesting combination of a ranger using necromancy. I think she and Zurae wouldn't get along since the latter is "the lovely princess" of Bloodclaw.

• Ebira: She seeks the golden age of the demons back, but only made everything worse time and again. This could change with the Grail however; Nysara is probably on her way to give the cup to her. If she's going to use the grail to bring back the Demon god... Aridon, your time is near.
• Erganoth: Since his forces were the ones that met Toraes and his knights... either he kept the prince as slave for latter use... or he gave him to the next character.

Vermon: I have so many questions about this character. If Erganoth gave Toraes and his knights to the Mindslayers... well, we know this could kill Dorten at last.

Maronogin: I wonder how much riches he have right know. I really want to know HOW he became the chieftain of the Goldaxe clan.

 

[Navy45]

So, new character sheets !

Finally ! The heirs of Zyainor ! For all Guardon has done, the question of Zyainor's continued existence rests solely on their heads... and there're as many good omens as there are bad ones :

• Garan : The bane of the enemies of Zyainor, an heir that takes after his father. Of course that also makes it the most valuable target in the nation besides maybe Gardon and Vail themselves.
• Hotar and Laura Greendale : Hotar would be the ideal white knight to support Zyainor and keep the populace content. While he would certainly grow critical of some of Zyainor's methods, he would likely try to settle matters with his siblings. The "problem" is Laura. As she is, she's perfect, able to call out bullcrap when she sees it but conscious of where and when to call it out. But there is this tiny problem with her mother having been given some pretty jewelry during her time in the Ironfist. Should she learn how genuine her mother's loyaulty was... well people usually aren't a fan when you mess with their family.
• Princess Velina : Amusingly, her situation is quite close to Laura's. She seems to be driven by the need to prove herself, to Gardon and about anyone else. And that wouldn't be a problem (Though we've got no clue how much the Grave Warden may have been infiltrated by the undead. There's at least one undead I know of who would give anything to become close to Zyainor again). Unfortunately, again, mother, pretty jewelry, yadi yada... If she wasn't a fan of her mother's passivity and hopeless infatuation with Gardon... I cn't believe she'll react well to learning these aren't 100% genuine.
• Zurae : While her magic is chaotic and destructive, she doesn't seem to be. Her abilities as a socialite might even become more valuable than her magic, especially since Garan seems to take after his mother on that side. Even more important may be her commitment to her family. We can expect her to attempt to mend any dispute between her siblings, maybe even the elven ones if she knows of them. How successful she'd be though...
• Princess Parlea : The true wildcard among the siblings. I suppose it can happen for victims of abuse to mimic what they suffered through, if only as a means to recover agency. But in a world where evil beings attempt to influence anything that breathes, the natural reason might not be the right one. Except the corruption of the undead or the demons usually focus more with seeking power or knowledge, whereas she simply seems to have the urge to cause pain. Of course, as Fiona van Durce showed us, there are other powers in this world, with their own influence...

Now on to the demons :

• Ebira : So her plans seem to advance as she's shed the Souleater legion to create something more. Since she has no interest in an invasion of the humans, her "Golden age of demonkind" probably doesn't mean taking someone else's land. So I can see only two possible goals : resurecting the Demon God and restauring the demon lands and the demons themselves (I believe they were different before Zindrach's death). The Grail is likely an integral part of her plans, but she also seemed to require something of Aridon, since she supported focusing on him during the invasion. I wonder if she still needs something of him or if the Grail is supposed to be a subsitute for whatever she failed to acquire.
• Amuzingly, the Darkblade Legion, which was always the B squad for the invasion, is now the most powerful Legion. With no interest in an invasion, Erganoth will probably try to strengthen his power by going after other legions and Ebira's new group. Unless, of course, he adheres to her vision. In the unlikely event Toraes is still alive, he's also Erganoth's captive.
• We know almost nothing of the Mindslayer Legion and Vermon, but another spymaster in Arkain can't really be a good thing.

 

[Kasrkin]

Courtesy of a returned modeler @johnwar, please welcome some of our new units in Legacy of Arkain!

Spoiler

 

[Kasrkin]

Spoiler

Soon

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

Let's begin:

Spoiler

• It's so good to play with the Dominion again. I feel like home.
• So Vanessa and Grofzag are a couple now? married? I was hoping they'd end up together during "A Red day". Can we expect half-orcs in a future?
• The Dwarves have all of Arkain as enemies right now... and yet they launch an invasion force against the ones that didn't attack them... fools.
• Poor Okri. I feel really bad that Amari changed her for that snake Inara. Hope she have an important role in the Dominion story.
• Hortnog cares so much for Vanessa that he sent an entire elite squad "just in case". The best character and uncle.
• So the gnoll king gets along with Vanessa? To send real troops, they have to be.
• And now who TF wants to sow chaos between the dwarves and the Dominion? If Zarin allowed this guest in his realms, It could be an Imperial, or perhaps one of the Bloodstones? or like Jayborino said in his gameplay: Inara (Zoia cuz she's her master after all)
• Nothing gives me more pleasure than killing those aberrant night elves. That cursed tree took me by surprise, but next time It won't be so lucky.

Amazing work as always.

 

[Plantpaladin]

Another good mission, medium difficulty that punishes you for making dumb mistakes but dont push you to limits.
Diplomatic mission to the North? To Gardon to see if hes willing to move on after the death that caused them to splinter?
Dont think its Gardon or Zoia who sent the message, Gardon has other enemies that are a higher priority than Dwarves and Dominion. Think its Imperials who wanna prepare another invasion by opening up another front.

 

[Navy45]

A full RTS mission ! Yes ! (I mean, RPGs are nice, but I can't make 5 Red dragons and blast hundreds of dwarves in an RPG)

Gameplay :

• Now with the axethrower, the dwarven clans are slowly getting more and more unique.
• The heroes have stayed pretty much the same, except Vanessa who got a thorns aura instead of a command aura. It's a nice change since it makes her synergize better with Grofzag, with them being married, and also I feel Thorns aura was usually a thing of human leaders, like Lerrig and others, so it feels like she's embracing her human side a little bit. I can't help but feel Okri could get a new ultimate and maybe change barrier for more offensive focused abilities, since it feels like she's leaning even more into her aggressive side now that she's been sidelined by Amari.
• Very sad that we don't get to make a human/dominion hybrid army (yeah I know technically they are also part of the dominion...). With your ally being able to train human and Blackthorn units, it really feels like we got the short end of the stick.
• Maybe Ortag could get a Character lore entry ? I don't remember him from the true story and it would make a pretty good introduction to the Blackthorn too (well, apart from Praxeus')

Story :

• Well... so much for diplomacy. At least they convinced one paladin of their efforts.
• The Ironbreakers being the most aggressive dwarves feels strange considering they barely were involved in the conflict in Salria, and thus have the least grievances with the Dominion.
• So the dwarves got tricked into invading the dominion under the order of the High King. There's almost no-one that we know of, that the high king would consider a "trustworthy source", so, to me, there's very limited choices :
  • A : Mind Control : technically possible, but if someone can just waltz in the confined dwarven lands and mind control the High King... I feel they don't really need deception.
  • B : Proof : Amari is really preparing an invasion and whoever came to the High King (probably a dwarf or maybe a Salrian, so he'd listen to them) came with undeniable evidence.
  • C : Mordin Hammerfall : Pretty much the only thing I feel might be able to throw the High King off might be the appearance of his dead brother, coming to warn all dwarves of a danger. With knowledge of the Ejara tunnels and the help of the Rohir, I feel Mordin "could" do it. The question would be why Mordin or Rahandir would want that.
  • D : Fake invasion : Someone in the Dominion is making it seem like Amari is preparing to invade and leaked it. Likely Inara, since she has plenty of ressources, trust and free time to do this. I doubt the order would come from Guardon, since he doesn't seem ready to capitalize on the dwarves' weakness, but Zoia might have a personnal plan.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Very sad that we don't get to make a human/dominion hybrid army (yeah I know technically they are also part of the dominion...). With your ally being able to train human and Blackthorn units, it really feels like we got the short end of the stick.

I have considered to give you the ability to train the Blackthorn units up to a certain count but
decided against it due to the mission being not that difficult anyway.
In this chapter you primarily control the Deathbreeze Clan, hence the lack of human units.
I can understand wanting to use them though.

Maybe Ortag could get a Character lore entry ? I don't remember him from the true story and it would make a pretty good introduction to the Blackthorn too (well, apart from Praxeus')

Will put him on the list of characters to be added there.

The Ironbreakers being the most aggressive dwarves feels strange considering they barely were involved in the conflict in Salria, and thus have the least grievances with the Dominion.

Their aggressiveness is less due to holding any grudges or grievances, it is more them being more warlike
and very loyal to the orders of the high king.
They did play more of a offscreen role in the Second Voidwar. In another timeline they would have appeared in the
"final" (as in the final released one) mission of the Second Undead Book with a massive cavalry force to wreak havoc.
An elite variant of the Bear Rider was also named "Ironbreaker" in the original books.

 

[LISBOAH]

So Vanessa and Grofzag are a couple now? married? I was hoping they'd end up together during "A Red day". Can we expect half-orcs in a future?

Volarian is rolling in his grave like a beyblade!

The Dwarves have all of Arkain as enemies right now... and yet they launch an invasion force against the ones that didn't attack them... fools.

They think that the Golden Guard and the Duke Redfist were men of honor.
They deserve what is coming to them.

Poor Okri. I feel really bad that Amari changed her for that snake Inara. Hope she have an important role in the Dominion story.

It sucks I know...

And now who TF wants to sow chaos between the dwarves and the Dominion? If Zarin allowed this guest in his realms, It could be an Imperial, or perhaps one of the Bloodstones? or like Jayborino said in his gameplay: Inara (Zoia cuz she's her master after all)

It has to be Inara. During the war between the Dwarves and the Dominion, comes Zyainor to take the spoils...

Well... so much for diplomacy. At least they convinced one paladin of their efforts.

Dwarves have shown to care little about diplomacy with people they assume have wronged them...

D : Fake invasion : Someone in the Dominion is making it seem like Amari is preparing to invade and leaked it. Likely Inara, since she has plenty of ressources, trust and free time to do this. I doubt the order would come from Guardon, since he doesn't seem ready to capitalize on the dwarves' weakness, but Zoia might have a personnal plan.

Zoia might have a grudge against the orcs for pretty much wiping out her regiment.

 

[DD Mikasa]

Took a while but i guess we back to playing orcs ( BOOOOOOOOOOO )
I swear to god, pikemen are busted, i dunno if its their models, attack rate or smth else but that god damn unit overperformes, the AI ally rekt the first dwarf base with them lil buggers.
Difficulty wise this isn't what i'd expect from a Shar Melee map, things were mostly easy to handle.

The gnoll unit models were chef kiss

Even in death Redfist's name still haunts Vanessa.
Her marying Gorfzag does make sense, out of all the Orcs he was the most Human like, kinda symbolises the union of the Dominion between Humans and Orcs (i would assumet those two are the most dominant factions within the Dominion)
So let me guess we got orcs following the Geneva convention talking about peace treaties, declaration of wars, sending emissasries and Dwarfs that have become so bloodthirsty that Orcs out of all creatures are complaning about it.

Either Inara or Grann is feeding Dwarfs info. (Since allegedly Aridon has taken a detox from trying to start shit up ) or could it be the Sisters and their Kabal?
I dont think Gardon could pull something like this off trying to trick the Dwarfs to start a war with the Dominion so he can attack them from the back , Unless he found a friend of the Dwarfs gave him a new leash which does seem highly unlikely.

 

[Jongyi233]

Took a while but i guess we back to playing orcs ( BOOOOOOOOOOO )
I swear to god, pikemen are busted, i dunno if its their models, attack rate or smth else but that god damn unit overperformes, the AI ally rekt the first dwarf base with them lil buggers.
Difficulty wise this isn't what i'd expect from a Shar Melee map, things were mostly easy to handle.

The gnoll unit models were chef kiss

Even in death Redfist's name still haunts Vanessa.
Her marying Gorfzag does make sense, out of all the Orcs he was the most Human like, kinda symbolises the union of the Dominion between Humans and Orcs (i would assumet those two are the most dominant factions within the Dominion)
So let me guess we got orcs following the Geneva convention talking about peace treaties, declaration of wars, sending emissasries and Dwarfs that have become so bloodthirsty that Orcs out of all creatures are complaning about it.

Either Inara or Grann is feeding Dwarfs info. (Since allegedly Aridon has taken a detox from trying to start shit up ) or could it be the Sisters and their Kabal?
I dont think Gardon could pull something like this off trying to trick the Dwarfs to start a war with the Dominion so he can attack them from the back , Unless he found a friend of the Dwarfs gave him a new leash which does seem highly unlikely.

Just my two cent, is union between orcs and humans feel earned? I think orc story arcs could be a lot better with some expansion.
Orcs of arkain heavily mirror that of Warcraft. But at least in warcraft, orcs 'repent' by finally cooperating with human, night elves in pushing back scourge/ demons at mt.hyjal. But while arkain orcs talked about changing the old way, they don't really 'redeem' themselves. Their arc mostly involve invading Salria, which is frankly overthrowing its 'rightful' rulers. Not to mention bringing large population of non-humans to Salria will potentially displace local population. Salrian humans are pretty much subjugated and forced to accept orc's rule whether they like it or not.
Like i said, tribal dominion contributed nothing in pushing back the common enemy , the demons. At least in second orc story book, they helped fight against demon legions. So their 'redemption' story does not feel earned.
Or maybe Shar do not include 'redemption' story because he never intend tribal dominions to be 'kind-hearted noble savages' like blizzard regarded to the Horde?

 

[Shar Dundred]

Arkain Orcs =/= Warcraft Orcs

They did not change to redeem themselves or because they have been corrupted five retcons ago, they changed as a necessity to survive.
They didn't take control of Salria twenty years ago by befriending them but by conquering them in the True Story.
The surviving Salrians were given a choice: Stay and join us or take your things and leave. Each of them made their own choice.
The next twenty years then were used to create a cooperation between conqueror and conquered.

How you view the Orcs and their allies for this is completely up to you as the player/reader.

 

[Jongyi233]

Arkain Orcs =/= Warcraft Orcs

They did not change to redeem themselves or because they have been corrupted five retcons ago, they changed as a necessity to survive.
They didn't take control of Salria twenty years ago by befriending them but by conquering them in the True Story.
The surviving Salrians were given a choice: Stay and join us or take your things and leave. Each of them made their own choice.
The next twenty years then were used to create a cooperation between conqueror and conquered.

How you view the Orcs and their allies for this is completely up to you as the player/reader.

Thanks for clarifying it further. I tend to mirror orcs from arkain to warcraft often. But you are right, orcs of arkain have much less war crimes in their belts than their warcraft counter parts. Now I see clearer about direction of arkain. Respect the work you have put it so far, keep going mate!

 

[DD Mikasa]

Just my two cent, is union between orcs and humans feel earned? I think orc story arcs could be a lot better with some expansion.
Orcs of arkain heavily mirror that of Warcraft. But at least in warcraft, orcs 'repent' by finally cooperating with human, night elves in pushing back scourge/ demons at mt.hyjal. But while arkain orcs talked about changing the old way, they don't really 'redeem' themselves. Their arc mostly involve invading Salria, which is frankly overthrowing its 'rightful' rulers. Not to mention bringing large population of non-humans to Salria will potentially displace local population. Salrian humans are pretty much subjugated and forced to accept orc's rule whether they like it or not.
Like i said, tribal dominion contributed nothing in pushing back the common enemy , the demons. At least in second orc story book, they helped fight against demon legions. So their 'redemption' story does not feel earned.
Or maybe Shar do not include 'redemption' story because he never intend tribal dominions to be 'kind-hearted noble savages' like blizzard regarded to the Horde?

They dont seem like warcraft orcs to me though, sure Hord and Dominion have the similarity of being two factions that are made up of different races but other than that, the similarities between Arkain Orcs and Warcraft Orcs are superficial at best.
In regards to overthrowing the rightful rulers ehh its not like the Orcs were gifted the land, they conquerd it and then they managed to defend it from the Undead invasion so they kinda earned the right to be called the rulers of that land.

Salrian humans aren't really subjugated they have the right to join the army ( subjugated people usually are not allowed to serve in the millitary/bear arms), they were given the right to choose between leaving the lands or staying on them (subjugated people are usually either expelled, genocided or put into slavery ) i guess just like any other race within the dominion they have their own portion of the lands, their repersentatives and their own religion (i doubt the humans follow the shadocracy theology, they most likely stick to their light worship)

The way i see it with the whole Salrian debacle, it was a upper managment change, from what i remember from the stories the commoners and their ruling elite didnt see eye to eye in most things, your everyday commoner in salria had no issue trading with the Centaurs (also native to Salria) it was the nobility that tried to enfore a no contact policy and went to war with the horsemen. Out of all the kingdoms Salrians would be the most likely to actually go along just fine with the Orcs since they were never really raided by orcs, they had no trouble co-existing for a long time with centaur so to them being ruled by an orc isn't really that much of a big deal, they still get to be mercenaries, they still have the right to own land and they still have repersentatives Vanessa is the main repersentative (a human raised by orcs) but i would assume there are other Humans who also hold a degree of power within the new Dominion structure, Shar can clear that up for all of us.

On the topic of arkain Orcs being similar to any other fantasy orcs, i actually cant find another similarity between them, with warcraft orcs they are similiar on a surface level, LOTR orcs have nothing in common with arkain orcs, Warhammer orcs are totally different from arkain orcs and other fantasy orcs (both 40k and fantasy), Armies of exigo orcs are also different from arakin orcs. Maybe some rpg orcs might be similar to arkain orcs but no rpg game that has orcs similar to arkain orcs comes to mind (maybe baldur's gate orcs BUT that is a strech)

 

[krawg]

the new models are sick also noticed gryphons have pierce damge and not magic , feelsbad the old units got no visual upgrade even tho the orc 'huntresses' got one can we expect some leadership boni in the future and maybe make the dwarf castle attack as a unique race trait since they have no militia burrows they are experts when it comes to explosives looking forward to next map good luck

 

[Navy45]

On the topic of arkain Orcs being similar to any other fantasy orcs, i actually cant find another similarity between them, with warcraft orcs they are similiar on a surface level, LOTR orcs have nothing in common with arkain orcs, Warhammer orcs are totally different from arkain orcs and other fantasy orcs (both 40k and fantasy), Armies of exigo orcs are also different from arakin orcs. Maybe some rpg orcs might be similar to arkain orcs but no rpg game that has orcs similar to arkain orcs comes to mind (maybe baldur's gate orcs BUT that is a strech)

I agree, to me, Arkain orcs are closer to real life vikings, who shared their raiding lifestyle and eventually colonized/occupied foreign lands, causing their cultures to mingle with the local one.

While I like the Dominion's efforts to include the humans in their new society, since I feel it makes sense and I also love to see some cross-faction armies, I hope we'll get to see a bit of the conflict that Praxeus' story hinted at inside the dominion, especially between humans and the others. After all, the humans might have been given the option to leave, getting rid of some dissenters, there definitely remain people who either couldn't afford to leave or felt Salria was their land and would rather bide their time under orc leadership than leave. There's also of course the humans that sided with the dominion for their own interests (like the nobles fighting in exchange for part of the royal treasury and probably keeping their lands afterwards). These ones feel like they would gladly turn around the second helping the dominion is no longer profitable.

Overall, I feel like an invasion from Rengar, for example, could be met with some interesting reactions from the humans in Salria. Especially if the real "leadership" of Rengar remains concealed.

 

[DD Mikasa]

I agree, to me, Arkain orcs are closer to real life vikings, who shared their raiding lifestyle and eventually colonized/occupied foreign lands, causing their cultures to mingle with the local one.

While I like the Dominion's efforts to include the humans in their new society, since I feel it makes sense and I also love to see some cross-faction armies, I hope we'll get to see a bit of the conflict that Praxeus' story hinted at inside the dominion, especially between humans and the others. After all, the humans might have been given the option to leave, getting rid of some dissenters, there definitely remain people who either couldn't afford to leave or felt Salria was their land and would rather bide their time under orc leadership than leave. There's also of course the humans that sided with the dominion for their own interests (like the nobles fighting in exchange for part of the royal treasury and probably keeping their lands afterwards). These ones feel like they would gladly turn around the second helping the dominion is no longer profitable.

Overall, I feel like an invasion from Rengar, for example, could be met with some interesting reactions from the humans in Salria. Especially if the real "leadership" of Rengar remains concealed.

Aye in terms of real life examples Orcs do kinda resemble raiders/barbarians/nomadic tribes who chose to integrate within the people they conquered/raided.

A threat from Rengar would be abit weird as far as i remember half of the kingdoms territory is under quarantine another portion was lost to dominion ( judging from the maps) it feels like they dont possess any meaningful manpower to undertake such an expedition, Unless Marin is really cooking smth up in that castle of his, makes you wonder if he might have any hand on the plague to begin with (Last i check the remnants of GG are holding up in some rengar keep). Maybe Praxeus party will shed some light unto the kingdom as a whole out of all human kingdoms we are yet to explore rengar hell i dont remember them make an appearance on the true story as well ( or did they in one of the later orc chapters not sure)

As for the Dominion while the kingdom is stable, there might be some descent brewing in there, Gran doesn't like them, Zarimak is a staunch traditionalist, Centaurs dont bother with anything, Innara has consolidated much of the orc clans and is shattering their tribal identity while on the other hand Deathbreez still remains intact. That kingdom is a powderkeg if you ask me.

 

[Jorgonson]

I feel like people may be overlooking the simplest answer to who the informant is: Marin or another Golden Guard member. The dwarves 100% trust the Golden Guard having fought with them many times in the past, and Marin's fortress is in Salria. Marin is also capable of building spy drones (pretty sure the Golden Guard has these, or at least Marin would be able to build them). Why would this have happened? I have a few ideas:

1: Amari is actually planning an invasion of the Dwarven realms to gain access to their resources. Consider that the largest force on the continent is Zyainor, and that in the True Story Gardon has no real reason to not attack the Tribal Dominion, as he has broken ties with Brian. IDK about you, but if my northern neighbor was a massive expansionist empire mostly made of people who hate the races of the tribal dominion, I would be pretty concerned about the potential for invasion. As such, maybe Amari is planning an invasion of the dwarves to get access to their iron and other materials (I doubt anyone is mining cobalt or yttrium yet, but you still need minerals for factories and ships) and allow The Dominion to industrialize and match its northern neighbor. At the same time, Amari is sending a diplomatic mission north to try and create closer ties, thereby decreasing the risk of conflict. The morality of imperialism aside (remember the setting), I think this would be a pretty good foreign policy strategy as it disincentivizes conflict with Zyainor through both seeking closer diplomatic and maybe economic ties and modernizing The Dominion to keep up with Zyainor's military. If Amari was going to invade the dwarves, I'm sure Marin could observe The Dominion's troop movements and tip off his ally.

2: Maybe Inara is seeking a conflict with the dwarves under Amari's nose. This could be for similar reasons as outlined above, because Inara wants to increase her personal power, or because she's still brainwashed by Zoia. If it's that last one, it could be a plot by Zoia to weaken both The Dominion and The Dwarves to Invade one or both of them. The Golden Guard could have caught wind of this and told the dwarves about it.

3: Crackpot time. One of the Van Durce's kids (Fiona I think) starting worshipping Progderas the Smoking. The Vermin and Progderas are ancient foes of the dwarves, and want their land. As such, Fiona could have exploited the dwarves' trust to make them send out their troops and then attack the dwarves with the vermin and other Progderas aligned troops. I think this is a bit less interesting than the other two options, but it is a solution to the current mystery that makes a lot of sense.

Personally I'd probably enjoy the first option the most, as I think Amari's internal conflict of not really wanting to be a ruthless imperialist but feeling like she has to in order to fulfil her responsibility to protect her people from modern and industrial states could be a really interesting internal conflict that would really flesh out the world. There could also be a great conflict between Amari and Vanessa, the latter of whom definitely wouldn't be on board with conquering dwarven lands unprovoked even if The Dominion could greatly benefit from dwarven resources. Second option could be really cool too though as subterfuge plots tend to be really well executed in Arkain storytelling

 

[Shar Dundred]

Marin's fortress is in Salria.

Rengar*

 

[DD Mikasa]

We are so visiting Arkain's own unit 731 in the next drop!
Cant wait to see what manner of mechanical+flesh contraptions Marin has cooked now that he has become fully Unhinged.

 

[ddd deathknight]

The place where Haran is located close to the territory of the Bloodstone?

 

[Navy45]

Cant wait to see what manner of mechanical+flesh contraptions Marin has cooked now that he has become fully Unhinged.

I would love to see Marin, through an unbelievable chain of events, taking command of the Ardoz Nexus and somehow wrenching it away from Aridon for his experiments

 

[DD Mikasa]

I would love to see Marin, through an unbelievable chain of events, taking command of the Ardoz Nexus and somehow wrenching it away from Aridon for his experiments

Considering with all the mess that has become of the undeads,i wouldnt be surprised if he just waltzed in the middle of the dead mountain and took it under the nose of Aridon (dude's has been taking way to manny L-s, whats one more)

 

[Scamator_crowned]

You know, i bet somehow Renald will return, simply because Marin it's beyond crazy, losing the holy grail might have been the best thing to happen since that way Renald stays dead, for now, that being said, let hope Praxeus will be able to beat some sense into Richard

 

[Apprentice Darkmoon]

Marin is enjoying his time with no rules. I see a Demon prisoner and even aberrations like the sludges (Perhaps the Ejara give some to him?), what is he doing? Creating new troops to face Zyainor or kill someone in specific? (Perhaps a child of the Kinslayer?)

 

[DD Mikasa]

Marin is enjoying his time with no rules. I see a Demon prisoner and even aberrations like the sludges (Perhaps the Ejara give some to him?), what is he doing? Creating new troops to face Zyainor or kill someone in specific? (Perhaps a child of the Kinslayer?)

Everyone knows that Marin is cooking the Arkains Version of Adeptus Custodes. The next logical evolution step for the golden guard.

 

[Navy45]

The portal is quite interesting. Since they have demon prisonners, does it mean it is connected to the Demon Lands ? Because I don't think we've ever had anyone open a portal there except Demon Slaves and Demons themselves. If it's possible, that would be a great way to circumvent the Void and the Gates of Hell... not that anyone is in a position to invade the demons, though.

I wonder how overt these experiments are, because, with all the complaints/praises of Marin we've seen in short stories, you'd think someone would mention the litteral demons, mutants and hellgate he has in his basement if all the guard knows about it. So maybe we can expect some sort of infiltration mission with Krom and maybe Callere ? Because I doubt Praxeus is gonna storm the golden guard's last stronghold and he's probably the last person Marin wants to show off his collection to.

 

[DD Mikasa]

The portal is quite interesting. Since they have demon prisonners, does it mean it is connected to the Demon Lands ? Because I don't think we've ever had anyone open a portal there except Demon Slaves and Demons themselves. If it's possible, that would be a great way to circumvent the Void and the Gates of Hell... not that anyone is in a position to invade the demons, though.

I wonder how overt these experiments are, because, with all the complaints/praises of Marin we've seen in short stories, you'd think someone would mention the litteral demons, mutants and hellgate he has in his basement if all the guard knows about it. So maybe we can expect some sort of infiltration mission with Krom and maybe Callere ? Because I doubt Praxeus is gonna storm the golden guard's last stronghold and he's probably the last person Marin wants to show off his collection to.

I mean technically Marin was able to create a cannon which was a mix of machine and aracane, if he tinkered hard enough with something he might have opened a Demon Portal himself, however my head cannon on this is that during the Fight between the GG and Genethas they might have taken a few Demon Slaves as war prisoners and forced/learned from them how to open a Demon Portal or the madlad might have simply observed how they did it and re-created the whole thing. After all he had no issues contacting swamp dragons and recruting them for the battle against Iron Fist and their black dragons.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Everyone knows that Marin is cooking the Arkains Version of Adeptus Custodes. The next logical evolution step for the golden guard.

So the Golden Guard are Space Marines? That's a new one.

 

[DD Mikasa]

So the Golden Guard are Space Marines? That's a new one.

Thats Adeptus Astrates, Custodes are the cooler cousin dripped out in gold of space marines.

 

[Shar Dundred]

I am aware but you said that he is working on Custodes, what does that logic make the current Golden Guard?

 

[DD Mikasa]

Oh in that case, i guess you could call them space marines but that doesn't make much sense anyway, custodes were build from their first cell to be perfect, unlike the jury rigged Space Marines...Maybe Marin has discoverd artificial insemination, dunno, anything is possible with that guy. Whatever he cooks up it better be dripped out in gold (and hopefully wont take as manny L-s as the last GG)

 

[Scamator_crowned]

Oh in that case, i guess you could call them space marines but that doesn't make much sense anyway, custodes were build from their first cell to be perfect, unlike the jury rigged Space Marines...Maybe Marin has discoverd artificial insemination, dunno, anything is possible with that guy. Whatever he cooks up it better be dripped out in gold (and hopefully wont take as manny L-s as the last GG)

Golden Guard not taking L-s? impossible, that all they did during the true story, the second orc book, and most of the second human book, If somebody would have stop being an asshole "cough" Renald "cough", the demon might have gotten defeated already -_-, that being said, somebody gotta knock some sense into Richard ,also its kinda funny to me, everyone accused Gordom of black magic and undead alliances and Praxeus has now an undead buddy, and the golden guard become crazy

 

[DD Mikasa]

and Praxeus has now an undead buddy, and the golden guard become crazy

I mean having a undead buddy who before joined you had made the goal of his life to defend a backwaters village isn't the same with indoctrinating your soldiers, mind enslaving your lieutenants and sacrificing whole villages for their magic barriers and what not. Prax as stiff as he is in his reasoning is generally good dude, his stiffness might get in the way and make's him slightly boring but i don't think Prax wakes up and decide to be bad.

 

[Scamator_crowned]

I mean having a undead buddy who before joined you had made the goal of his life to defend a backwaters village isn't the same with indoctrinating your soldiers, mind enslaving your lieutenants and sacrificing whole villages for their magic barriers and what not. Prax as stiff as he is in his reasoning is generally good dude, his stiffness might get in the way and make's him slightly boring but i don't think Prax wakes up and decide to be bad.

Oh, I am not arguing about that. Prax it's a better man than Gordon, but that doesn't mean I can't call him out. Now, of course, Prax doesn't know the full story of what happened and the last conversation between Renald and Gordon, but he's still a bit of a hypocrite, which adds to his character. That being said, it will be a wake-up call for Prax to see what became of his beloved Golden Guard...that being said, the Golden Guard Ls record will never recover unless they take down Zyanor or invade the demon realm. also Prax should remember, THE GOLDEN GUARD WEREN'T SAINTS, they some of the best sure, but that far diffrent then his fantasy of them, at the end of the day, the golden guard where zealots, much like the ironfist

 

[DD Mikasa]

I dont think he's a hypocrite though, he thinks finding the chalice is the best way to re-invgorate the GG and stem the tide of corruption that has swept the land of Arkain cant really blame him for that, he is a paladin, we all know how paladins are like. He clearly got pissed when he found out Nyssara was a demon and had tricked him and cant really judge him about how he will deal with GG downward spiral without seeing it, Hell he actually accepting an undead in his crew kina shows that he isnt that much of a one dimensional character and its actually developing.

If anything he is the most resilint character in LoA, Gardon went from " I dont take the crown to be king, but to do what i must to save this land" to having multiple baby mommas and revivng a nation that pretty much everyone hated
Aridon had a mind shattering ephiphany and went from i will preserve to i will destroy it all
Renald went from being emperors lapdog to we need to join toghether and overthrow the Emperor
Amari well we gotta have to wait for her to get a rough estimate on how she has changed in this pas 20 years


Good ol Praxy boy just wants to bring back the glory of his Lads, cant fault a man for wanting to bring back the good times, dont we all after all, who doesnt want to wake up at 12 pm boot up the pc and game, then go out with the lads and crack open a cold one

 

[Scamator_crowned]

I dont think he's a hypocrite though, he thinks finding the chalice is the best way to re-invgorate the GG and stem the tide of corruption that has swept the land of Arkain cant really blame him for that, he is a paladin, we all know how paladins are like. He clearly got pissed when he found out Nyssara was a demon and had tricked him and cant really judge him about how he will deal with GG downward spiral without seeing it, Hell he actually accepting an undead in his crew kina shows that he isnt that much of a one dimensional character and its actually developing.

If anything he is the most resilint character in LoA, Gardon went from " I dont take the crown to be king, but to do what i must to save this land" to having multiple baby mommas and revivng a nation that pretty much everyone hated
Aridon had a mind shattering ephiphany and went from i will preserve to i will destroy it all
Renald went from being emperors lapdog to we need to join toghether and overthrow the Emperor
Amari well we gotta have to wait for her to get a rough estimate on how she has changed in this pas 20 years


Good ol Praxy boy just wants to bring back the glory of his Lads, cant fault a man for wanting to bring back the good times, dont we all after all, who doesnt want to wake up at 12 pm boot up the pc and game, then go out with the lads and crack open a cold one

To be fair, I don't think that Gordon's affair should be a reason for his downfall because he was never truly in love, but yes, Renald may no longer be the emperor's lapdog, but he was still a jerk supreme. Aridon, well, Aridon was always crazy, let's not say that his shattering relevance showed anything new. As for Amari, well, I think I can speculate that power might have gotten to her head, or that someone chose to try mind control because it seems strange for Inara to be closer to her. Now, yes, Prax and his party are probably some of the best people in the crazy continent Arkain became. We have Vlen "totally-not-Blen" the nameless, Darkan "Rebelious brother" Hammerfall, Calere "most-likly-black dragon" and in the end Krom and Praxeus, very weird party, but probably some of the best people right now -weird Krom is in it still- but it is true that the one character that moral never seemed to weaver is Prax, which is nice, but still i say he was way to judgmental towards Gardon, which again, not his fault since Gordon did a lot of shady stuff, but he also turned an blind eye to a lot of the golden guard shadiness