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Shadow Covenant
by ISL
Techtree Contest #16 - Faith
Download at Shadow Covenant
About
A faction of religious dark elves who worship a pantheon of four Dark Divines.
Their tech-tree is divided into four different Cults,
each providing access to their own sets of units,
upgrades, technology and perks.
The player can produce a third racial resource called Faith,
which can be invested into one of these cults.
Background
The Shadow Covenant is the ruling faction of the Dark elves of Drottomar,
A majestic elven realm located deep underground.
Dark elves engage in frequent conflicts with the Shadow Demons,
A race of demonic horrors hailing from the darkness of The Abyss.
The Abyss is a vast demonic world located even deeper than the realm of Drottomar.
Its denizens constantly try to invade the mortal realm through numerous Rifts located around the world.
Full Feature List
Dark Invocation
Dark elven Disciples can pray at Shrines to produce Faith.
Faith is a third racial resource used to unlock new Cult technologies.
Divine Favor [/size]
Investing faith into one of four Cults increases favor with one of four elven deities.
This allows you to use the Divine Favor mechanic,
which lets you use powerful global abilities which cost Faith to be cast.
Artisanship
Dark elves have no regular shops.
Instead, they rely on talented Artisans to craft items for their heroes.
They also harvest a bit more lumber than usual.
Ritual of Evocation
Instead of upgrading their main building, the Shadow Covenant performs a
Ritual of Evocation to reach the next technology tier.
Their main building can still function while this is happening,
It can produce workers, attack and cast spells.
Teleportation Link
Dark elf main building - Nexus - can be linked to other Nexuses via a
Teleportation link, which allows you to teleport your units between bases.
Daemonic Invocation
Dark elves can initiate summoning rituals at Shrines and Nexuses.
This grants them a unique way of training additional units:
Imps are summoned at Shrines and spawn in pairs,
Incubi can be warped-in almost anywhere on the map,
etc.
Unit Promotions
Some units can be upgraded from one unit type to another.
Some promotions are meant to give you a smoother transition to later game,
Other promotions serve as the only way to acquire certain units,
And others are just straight up upgrades.
Shared Abilities
A lot of units share common passive abilities with each other.
These include Armor of Dread for Dread units, Manaburn for Demon units,
Shadow Strike for Shadow units, Baneful Poison and Spider Venom for Spider units,
etc.
Dread, Fear and Terror
Warriors of the Cult of Dread use fear as a weapon.
They strike fear into the hearts of their enemies,
enfeebling them and causing them to flee in terror.
Martial Prowess
Like all dark elves, members of the Cult of Dread strive for excellence in everything they do.
They strive to have the most powerful weapons and armor,
and spend most of their lifetimes perfecting their skills in combat.
Magic Supremacy
Like all dark elves, members of the Cult of Darkness strive to be the best at what they do.
This includes the magical arts - Dark elf skills in the arcane are unparalleled.
Shadow Walk
Assassins of the Cult of Shadows can shift in and out of the shadow realm.
This allows them to become invisible at will and maneuver around the battlefield unseen.
Elusiveness
Members of the Cult of Shadows possess great mobility,
which allows them to excel at skirmishes, harassment and hit-and-run tactics.
The Swarming Brood
Ra'Gathian spiders can easily outnumber any foe.
Their swarms ravage through the battlefield, leaving devastation in their wake.
Baneful Venom
While most of the arachnids used by the Cult of Spider do not boast much strength,
Their poison can severely weaken any foe before delivering the final blow.
Units and Cults
Cult of Dread
Cult of Darkness
Cult of Shadows
Cult of Spider
Hybrid Units
Cult of Dread
Followers of the Nightmare God, Xalanar,
are menacing warriors who inflict terror in the hearts of all who oppose them.
This cult provides powerful melee fighters capable of absorbing great amounts of
incoming damage while also negating enemy damage output.
Cult of Darkness
Devotees of the Goddess of Darkness, Setta,
are powerful spellcasters who can cast an array of devastating spells and summon demons into battle.
They provide magical support for other units and can unleash
tremendous amounts of magical damage upon their enemies.
Cult of Shadows
Worshipers of the Abyssal Lord, Du’ragh,
are agile and dexterous assassins who excel at swift combat and assassination.
They also possess great mobility and are able to pass though the shadow realm,
allowing them to become invisible and quickly maneuver around the battlefield.
Cult of Spider
Children of the Spider God, Ra’Gath,
are monstrous arachnids who are worshiped by some dark elves as sacred beasts.
This cult provides access to various specialized units, each possessing their own
unique abilities and providing access to new strategies.
Hybrid Units
Dread+Darkness
Dread+Shadows
Dread+Spider
Darkness+Shadows
Darkness+Spider
Shadows+Spider
Variety and Replayability
A major feature of the race is how much playable content it packs.
You might need to play it a couple of times in order to experience it in its entirety.
Decision Making
Unlocking new technologies requires a lot of time and resources.
Poor decisions or lacking resource management can easily lead to defeat.
The race is also taxing on your micro-control.
Prosperity
Dark elf buildings provide high amount of supply,
Allowing you to forget about the food limitations.
Vulnerability
Any damage done to your buildings or workers can easily cripple you and your power growth.
3 out of 4 cults lack early base defenses besides their Shrines and Nexuses.
Power Growth
In addition to having high early game potential, the race growths more powerful as the game progresses.
Every new upgrade or unlocked technology is meant to give you an incredible sense of growth in power.
OP
The race has been made intentionally overpowered upon its release.
Certain features and abilities are more powerful than they are meant to be.
Lore and Thematics
Dark elves are not evil
Dark elves are depicted in many different works of fiction,
And almost always, they come off as exclusively evil.
An entire race hell-bent on revenge, a society of sadistic psychopaths,
A nation that is built on treachery and centuries of murder.
This is not the case here.
There is no slavery, no blood sacrifices,
Nothing of the likes.
Life of Excellence
Dark elves of Drottomar live immortal lives of wealth and prosperity,
They dedicate their lives to pursuit of greatness, excellence, or religious devotion.
No matter what they do - They must be the best at it. They must excel.
This concept is reflected in their gameplay:
Focus on melee infantry, and you will have the best warriors who can outmatch anyone in battle,
Focus on spellcasters, and you will gain access to supreme magical warfare,
etc.
Dark Elf Mythos
Setta, the Goddess of Darkness, is the prime deity of the dark pantheon.
She is regarded as the maker of the dark elf race, and holds the most power out of all four gods.
She holds unconditional love for all of her children,
and is often referred to as the Dark Mother, the Mother of Darkness, etc.
Du'ragh, the Abyssal Lord, is the antagonistic deity of the dark elven pantheon.
He is regarded as evil - The necessary evil, the unavoidable evil, the undeniable evil.
He is the antagonistic part of nature of the world and all who live in it.
He is also the maker-god of dark elves' prime enemy - the Abyssal Demons.
He is not worshipped by the dark elves the same way they worship other gods;
Instead, they regard him with respect, but they resist him and his influence.
That is the worship of Du'ragh.
Xalanar, the Nightmare God, was once a great demon who was
vanquished by a dark elven hero during one of the demonic invasions.
His spirit lingered in Drottomar, poisoning the realm with nightmares and waning its habitants' sanity.
The Goddess Setta captured his spirit, enslaving him, and binding the first demon to her will.
Now he serves the Goddess of Darkness and is a part of the dark elven pantheon.
He is the lingering dread that overcomes all unwanted guests of Drottomar,
He is the unseen menace that stalks every elven adversary,
He is the nightmares that plague everyone who means harm to the children of Setta,
He is the demonic guardian of Drottomar.
Ra'Gath, the Spider God, is one of the ancient titans known as the Fire Gods, or the Chaos Pantheon,
which was revered by the Orcs, Dwarves and many other Fire races.
When the war between the Fire Gods and the Elven Pantheon raged,
Ra'Gath was defeated by the goddess of the Dark elves.
He was imprisoned deep in the Undergrounds of the world, where the realm of Drottomar now resides,
and was later bound to the will of the Dark Goddess.
He is the maker-god of all spiders, the creator of the Underground world,
and was once the Corruptor God of the Chaos Pantheon.
After the War of the Pantheons, he now serves as the Gatekeeper of the Abyss.
His endless web lies above the maw of the bottomless Abyss,
And his children hunt and feast on any demon that dares to leave the demonic world.
Gamplay Tips
Note: These do not apply to every strategy.
1. Filling up Shrines with Disciples is just as important as filling up Gold Mines with workers.
It is crucial for you to maintain high Faith generation.
Every Shrine needs 4 Disciples to be fully effective.
2. Have 4 Shrines before you first tech.
Teching takes two minutes - 4 fully powered Shrines will generate ~1000 Faith in that time.
That is just enough for you to unlock new Tier-2 technologies.
3. Shrines can heal.
Every shrine is like your very own healing fountain in the comforts of your base.
They only need mana from Disciples in order to function.
Retreat to your base in order to heal back up - You have no other ways of sustaining your health in battle.
4. You have a thousand and one ways of harassing your opponent.
Swift units with invisibility, Flying Imps with magic attack at tier-1,
Queen Spiders who can prey on weak units and breed swarms of smaller spiders,
Incredible mobility and speed shared by most of your units,
You can even retreat to your base and heal up after every raid.
Make use of everything you have.
5. Dark elves excel at skirmishes.
Your units excel at swift combat with small numbers of units,
However, full-scale battles will require insane amounts of micro-control in order to win.
Use your mobility to force combat on your own terms.
Engage when you have the advantage, disengage when you don't.
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