Wednesday, April 2, 2014

BATTLE REALMS

Battle Realms' gameplay is like many other real-time strategy games. There are several factions which all have various types of available structures and units to produce. Unlike other real-time strategy games though, the basic worker units (peasants), which are used for resource gathering and construction, also act as the base unit to be upgraded into military units. Thus, military buildings in Battle Realms are used for transforming and upgrading units rather than producing them directly.
Another unusual trait is unit generation, where peasants are produced automatically at no cost. The rate at which new peasants are produced is inversely proportionate to the current population of the player's army.
Peasants gather two resources in the game: rice and water. They also round up horses which can be used to enhance military units or can be outfitted as pack horses for peasants. Only one type of builder unit is required. Peasants are the only units that can be produced outright. Most of the buildings available are training structures where peasants are trained to become other units.
All factions start off with three basic training structures which produce units along different paths of warfare, such as melee or ranged combat. In most cases, units can be trained in three different structures to produce more highly skilled infantry or Battle Gears (commonly abbreviated as BGs) to improve their combat ability. This allows lower tiered units to defeat higher tier units, which they could not normally defeat. BGs also allow the player to further define the role of a unit, such as damage absorption, building destruction, or reconnaissance.
Another key element of Battle Realms is the Yin/Yang system. Each army obtains points of Yin or Yang when in combat, depending on their moral alliance to the forces of light or darkness. Hero units, or Zen Masters, require Yin/Yang to be summoned and increase their damage. Yin and Yang are also used by structures in the faction's base for military upgrades. The rate of Yin/Yang growth depends on the strength and flair of the army and how far they are from the main base.


Factions

There are four available factions, called clans in Battle Realms, and each has a different philosophy towards life and combat:
  • The Dragon clan is a race of warriors who favor honorable and valorous combat.
  • The Serpent clan is a renegade offshoot of the Dragon clan which uses stealth, trickery, and brutality to further its goals. Unlike their predecessors, they have mastered weapon technology to a certain extent (especially gunpowder) and has also dabbled into Necromancy.
  • The Lotus clan is an ancient group of sorcerers that delves deeply into the corrupting aspects of magic.
  • The Wolf clan is a race of formerly enslaved miners. Their clan members live basic, healthy lives, and their culture emphasizes strong ties to nature. Their former enslavement allowed them to develop armor made from the shale they used to mine.

DETAILS

Unlike most strategy games, all units in Battle Realms have a melee attack, however, missile units typically have drastically weaker melee attacks. Units are very detailed and have distinct fighting animations. Units can dodge projectiles if they run fast enough, and projectiles have different speeds and fire at certain angles.
A unit's attack has a property - either cutting, piercing, blunt, explosive, magic, or fire, as well as a bonus damage against buildings. The property of a unit's missile attack may also differ from its melee attack. Most units have resistances to particular properties and weaknesses to others. For example, the Dragon Samurai has excellent resistance against cutting attacks, but has a poor resistance to explosive and magic damage.

STORY

In single-player, the plot mainly revolves around Kenji, last heir to the Serpent's Throne. When he returns from exile, Kenji comes across bandits raiding a peasant village. He can choose to either kill the bandits and save the peasants, or he can side with the bandits and kill the peasants. If he chooses to save the peasants, he will follow the path of the Dragon clan. If he aids the bandits, he will follow the path of the Serpent clan.
In Kenji's Journey, the player may choose which territories he or she wishes to attack first. (Otomo, his lieutenant, gives you the options.) Kenji returns from Malcomson. He must decide whether to rebirth the Dragon Clan and save the peasants honor with righteousness or take up reigns in his brother's and his father, Lord Oja's, footsteps and lead the Serpent Clan. Taking specific territories might give benefits, and other Zen Masters may join Kenji. Later on, the player can summon these Zen Masters from the Keep. The story focuses on an artifact Called Tarrant's Orb/Orb of the Serpent which Kenji, the NPC Clans, and The Wolf and Lotus Clans are seeking out. Kenji must get to the Orb before them.
There are four clans in the game: Dragon Clan, Serpent Clan, Wolf Clan, and Lotus Clan, each with their own motivations. The ancient Dragon Clan prizes honor above everything else. Due to their devotion to honor, the Dragon deity assists them during times of great peril. The Serpent Clan have forgotten their honorable ways and have resorted to thievery and deceit. Serpent clansmen are Yin followers. Wolf Clansmen prizes freedom above all else. Wolf Clansmen are down to earth, hardworking people, and take a delight in nature. Lotus clansmen follow the Forbidden Path, which focuses on death and decay.

Characters

Zymeth

Zymeth has been the leader of the Lotus Clan for nearly four generations--or about as long as anyone has known about the clan's existence. Nobody knows how old Zymeth is, and how he has managed to survive--both physically and politically--for so long is also a mystery. It is suspected, however, that his ties to the occult probably play a role in his survival.

Politically, Zymeth is very cunning and extremely treacherous. He forced his way into power by disposing of his political opponents, including the high priestess Sethess, who would have otherwise been the most legitimate candidate for the leadership of the Lotus Clan at the time. In fact, Zymeth was almost single-handedly responsible for the great war that erupted between the Wolf, Serpent, and Lotus Clans. Because Zymeth worked his way into favor with the Serpent Clan's Lord Oja, he found himself in a position to bend the Serpents' will to his own, and he was able to wipe out nearly the entire clan after tricking them into constructing ships that would have supposedly taken them away from the isle they inhabit. These ships were cursed to drain the life from their passengers, and upon discovering Zymeth's treachery, Oja plunged the two clans into war. The Wolf Clan took this opportunity to rebel from their enslavement and struck up a war of their own.

Zymeth's political power is equally matched by his magical prowess on the battlefield. Zymeth is more powerful than any Lotus master warlock, and while he has the ability to cast all sorts of magic, he seems to favor dabbling with the weather more than casting other types of spells. Zymeth doesn't carry any weapons, but he's able to summon storm clouds in an instant. His special attack causes it to rain in the surrounding environment, letting rice grow back at a faster rate and triggering his innate ability, which sends arcs of lightning toward nearby enemies during a downpour.



Koril

Koril is Zymeth's primary advisor, and like Zymeth, his age is a complete mystery, although some people believe him to be well over 100 years old. Koril is both a master warlock and a skilled fighter. On the battlefield, he wields a scythe that can cut people down as easily as it can reap wheat. However, Koril's fighting prowess stems from his unique magical ability to fold the "fabric" of space. An old report from a Serpent Clan archer who saw Koril in combat said that the Lotus mage seemed to be shimmering like a quivering bowstring while fighting. Supposedly, Koril made quick work of two other Serpent Clan warriors before the archer took aim and loosed an arrow directly at Koril, only to have it strike the tree directly behind him as if the arrow passed right through him. The Serpent mage performed a strange hand gesture, and the archer instantly found himself standing on a road a half mile away from the fighting. Koril has rarely been seen since, although some of the Lotus Clan members now refer to him as the "master of the college of space."

Koril's special attack is a teleport spell that he can use to instantly send himself to nearly any part of the map, as long as his stamina bar is full. His innate evasiveness gives him a better chance of dodging ranged weapons than any other unit in the game.


Issyl

Among all the Lotus Clan heroes, Issyl's age is the biggest mystery of them all. Outwardly, he looks like a 12-year-old child, but his eyes reflect the wisdom of a 65-year-old man. In reality, Issyl is a skilled magician whose condition is the result of an experiment gone wrong. Nearly 70 years ago, Issyl was in his tower attempting to master the flow of time. Nobody knows what happened that night, but his servants heard a thunderous sound emit from the top of the tower, and they claim that their lord Issyl has been slowly aging backward ever since.

Issyl's servants claim to have seen a number of unexplainable occurrences since that night. A guard who was leaning against the wall of that same tower with one hand had it wither away to a shriveled claw. Another saw an entire wing of Issyl's stone keep erode into ruin overnight. Other sightings include a servant who glanced out the window of an empty storeroom to find the sun racing across the sky. Issyl himself is sometimes seen moving throughout his castle at a furious rate, while at other times he seems to stand in place like a statue.

Issyl has since been attempting to cure his condition by experimenting on others. His laboratory is often filled with the shriveled old bodies of unwilling subjects who, only days before, were mere children. Just as Koril is referred to as the "master of the college of space," Issyl is often called the "master of the college of time." Issyl carries a massive spiked hourglass that he uses to bash opponents with, and his special attack of haste causes nearby allies to heal and move at a faster rate for a short period of time. His innate regeneration ability allows him to heal twice as fast as normal units do.


Soban

Soban isn't like the other Lotus Clan warlocks. While he studied the forbidden black magic that seems to consume all the members of that clan, he eventually shunned it, preferring instead to focus on his studies of the earth sciences. Like the other Lotus heroes, Soban is old, and he himself remembers a time when the clan hadn't yet discovered the forbidden arts. At that time, Soban was a tinkerer, and he spent a lot of his time fashioning lifeless materials like metal and stone into toys and lifelike objects. When his colleagues began practicing the arcane magic that's now so prevalent in the Lotus society, Soban took his work one step further--he started to create life out of lifeless rocks. He ultimately unlocked the secret of golem creation. In fact, it was Soban who created the Wolf Clan's Shale Lord, a stone-skinned warrior who was once quite human.

Soban carries a claw engine, another one of his creations. This three-pronged weapon is attached to his forearm and gives him an improved striking ability. He can also create up to three golems at once, although each one will cost a certain amount of stamina, water, and rice. These golems will follow Soban around and pound nearby enemies into the ground.

Kenji Oja

"I am Kenji of the Serpent Clan, and my ancestor broke the world."
The son of Lord Oja, and the protagonist of the original two campaigns. Depending on the path chosen, he seeks either to rebuild the lost Dragon Clan, or to return glory to the Serpent Clan by becoming it's new leader. Not usable in multiplayer for either clan, as he would most certainly be a Game Breaker.
  • Arc Words: The above-mentioned quote. It's the first line Kenji speaks in the campaign, and the first line in his final speech in each campaign.
  • Awesome But Practical: His Battle Gear, "Critical Strike" can be used roughly four times before needing recharging, and inflicts A LOT of damage.
  • Bad Ass
  • Blood Knight: As leader of the Serpent.
  • The Butcher: His title as Serpent leader.
  • Eleventh Hour Superpower: As Dragon Leader. After the Nightvol reveals itself, he unlocks his Ki powers and gains massive stat bonuses that lets him more or less one-shot everything.
  • Evil Is Petty: To showcase his turn to the dark side, Serpent Clan Kenji is rude and disrespectful while Dragon Clan Kenji is polite and humble.
  • The Exile: In the backstory. The game starts as Kenji returns home.
  • I Am Not My Father: As Dragon Leader.
  • Ironic Echo: Across the campaigns. Upon being forced to burn down a village in the Dragon campaign, Kenji bemoans the fact that he may turn out like his father. Otomo, attempting to console him, answers that "there are worse men to be". In the Serpent campaign, Otomo's introduction has him sounding disappointed over Kenji having turned out like his father. Kenji replies "there are worse men to be".
  • Lightning Bruiser
  • Samurai: As Dragon Leader. His final appearance dons a traditional hakama just to underline it.
  • Self-Made Orphan: He has the reputation as the one who killed his father. He didn't. The Nightvol did.
  • Stupid Good: Dragon Clan Kenji at one point refuses to respond to the news of a wolf (or lotus, depending on your previous choices) military buildup on his borders to go MacGuffin hunting, proclaiming he's "got no quarrel with the other clans". Shinja quickly disabuses him of the notion.
  • Sword and Gun: He gets a gun early on in Campaign Mode.
  • The Exile: Returns from a long one in the beginning of the Campaign.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Has two 'evolutions' through the campaign where his appearance and stats change. Ironically, the first change is actually a weakening, as Kenji with Hat has more resistances than Kenji with Gun.
  • Unexpected Successor: Kenji was the second son and (in the Dragon campaign) implied to have been The Unfavourite. The death of his father and brother made him leader by default.
  • Villain Protagonist: Once again, as Serpent Leader.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: His final appearance in the Serpent Campaign.
  • Yakuza: His final Serpent appearance looks like one, complete with full-back serpent tattoo.

The Ninja/The Nightvol

A mysterious ninja who appears a few times during the campaign, each time disappearing in front of your eyes. It steals the Serpent's Orb and gives it to either Zymeth or Greyback (depending on whether you're Dragon or Serpent). It takes centre stage in the final part of the final level, revealing itself as an advance scout for the Horde.

Dragon Zen Masters

The Dragon Clan was one of peace, order and honour, before it was all but destroyed when Tarrant The Elder used the Serpent's Orb to stop the oncoming, destructive Horde. The remnants of the Dragon let go of their honourable ways, and formed sneaky and nefarious Serpent Clan. Many await for the day that the Dragon Clan is reborn under a new leader.

Otomo

"Fight not for me, but for the sake of your honour. Should you fall, others will remember this day as your greatest."
The Dragon Clan's main Zen Master, and Kenji's old friend. He seeks to aid Kenji in restoring the Dragon Clan. Honour is everything to him. He is killed in both the Dragon and Serpent Clan's campaigns by a rebellious Shinja, and the Serpent Army respectively.
  • Battle Cry: His Battle Gear inspires nearby allies to fight harder.
  • BFS
  • Crucified Hero Shot
  • Heel-Face Turn: In the Serpent Campaign, he is pissed off with all the needless slaughter and leaves to rebuild the Dragon Clan.
  • Hero Antagonist: If you choose the Serpent Path.
  • Heroic Willpower: His innate ability increases allies' stamina with every blow he deals. This makes him an awesome second for Kenji.
  • Meaningful Name: His name means 'great attendant'. Which is exactly the role he fills, at least in the Dragon path.
  • Mighty Glacier: Good offensively and defensively, but very slow.
  • Stuffed into the Fridge
  • Supporting Leader: Took control of half of the Serpent Clan after the Serpent died, and turned it into a Dragon Clan throwback. Upon Kenji's return he joins you willingly, and happily on top of it if Kenji chose to follow the Dragon path.

Kazan

"Fat, flammable, and dangerous to know."
A fat, cheery monk who carries a massive barrel filled with a poisonously strong alcohol which he uses to shoot fireballs at things.

Garrin

"Mud, gore, screaming horses... Fight on!"
The lord of a Dragon province and a famed General, Garrin carries a large lance and is exceptionally good at mounted combat. He is able to summon a horse from anywhere on the map to his side.
  • BFS
  • Blood Knight
  • Cool Horse: Every horse is a cool horse.
  • Determinator: His passive ability is a massive attack bonus against foes on higher ground than himself (including mounted ones).
  • Heroic Bastard: The manual claims he may be Shinja's. If he is, the game never acknowledges it and Serpent Kenji treats him as much older than he would have to be were that the case.
  • Horseback Heroism: He is rarely seen without a horse, and on one he is quite a force.
  • Hot-Blooded
  • Rags to Riches: Started out as a stable boy.

Arah

"My thoughts move, my arrows fly... One and the same."
A famed archer without peer, Arah met Kenji during his exile from the Serpent Clan, where she developed a strong bond with him. She can view the landscape through the arrows she fires.

Tao

"Perhaps you mistake the parts for the whole."
A wandering mercenary carrying only a staff and a sack of rice. He seldom speaks, and is in complete balance with both Good and Evil. Anybody who bothers him is dealt with swiftly. Stangely, he is only available to the Dragon clan in skirmishes, despite being recruitable as Dragon and Serpent in Kenji's Journey.

Teppo

A character introduced in the expansion pack, Teppo is a genius from the land of Malcolmson who wields a Dragon Wheel which launches several rockets in quick succession. He is a littly crazy.

Serpent Zen Masters

The Serpent Clan was founded from the remnants of the original Dragon Clan.

Shinja

"Only strength - and the willingness to use it - can preserve us."
The Serpent Clan's main Zen Master, and Otomo's polar opposite. He seeks to restore the Serpent clan, but is far more ruthless and pragmatic about it than Otomo is. He's killed in the Dragon campaign for murdering Otomo and trying to usurp Kenji, but get's to live in the Serpent campaign.
  • Anti-Magic: His special ability reduces all his magic damage to near 0.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Like most of the Serpent Clan, he isn't above using less "honourable" methods to win; in this case, poison.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Death Glare: His Battle Gear, "intimidate", (which reduces enemies' attacks) is represented by one.
  • The Dragon: To Serpent Clan Kenji. He would probably find the trope name ironic, given he does not believe in dragons.
  • Dual Wielding: Uses a pair of katana in battle.
  • Face-Heel Turn: In the Dragon Campaign.
  • Flat Earth Atheist
  • Social Darwinist
  • Sour Supporter: To a Dragon Clan Kenji. Eventually leads him to rebel as he considers Kenji too weak to rule.
  • Supporting Leader: Took control of the other half of the Serpent Clan following lord Oja's death, but was unable to wrest control of the other half from Otomo. Kenji's first order of business in both campaigns is to defeat him, after which he joins you.

Vetkin

"I'll fight to the death any man I can't outrun."
Garrin's main advisor and protegee, Vetkin is a wastrel and hedonist who is nonetheless unusually good at footraces and is implied to be much more cunning than he acts. He fights with twin sai. He joins you in the Serpent campaign if you visit Riverside.

Budo

"What are you looking at?"
A serpent clan overseer (read:slavemaster) from the days of the Wolf Clan's slavery, Budo now works as an administrator of peasants, where he favours a hands-on approach to increasing productivity. He can increase peasant movement and harvesting rate at a cost of their health by cracking his whip, which he can also use against enemies.

Utara

"Share my bed, share my sorrow."
A mad serpent geisha who's forsaken healing arts for inflicting pain, little else is known about Utara apart from tales and myths. She can join you during the Serpent Campaign. Her special ability stuns nearby enemies when she gets hit, making her a terror in clumped melees.

Taro Oja

Kenji's Jerkass older brother. Mentioned in the original game but not seen until the expansion, where he became a Serpent Zen master usable in multiplayer.

The Necromancer

"Enjoy your terror while it lasts. In my realm, you shall plead for death as you now plead for life."
Technically speaking a special unit rather than a hero, The Necromancer is one of the few important story characters of the Serpent Clan. He joins you instead of the dragon, finding Kenji's tendencies to kill everyone he encounters "most pleasant".
  • Awesome, but Impractical: In multiplayer. Requires a special building, lots of rice, lots of water, three yang, and sacrificing three ronin. Those ronin will usually be more useful than he is, although the necromancer costs no population so you can always re-train them if you have time.
  • In Love with Your Carnage: He joins you because of this.
  • The Evil Genius
  • Mook Maker: Creates zombies from the recently slain.
  • The Necromancer: Well, duh.
  • Stone Wall: Only fire is even halfway dangerous to him, but his melee attack is very lacking. The Necromancer is best kept out of combat, so his (sadly all too limited) stamina recovers faster.
  • The Undead

Wolf Zen Masters

A race of barbarians who landed on the northern shores of the continent made by Tarrant due to storms destroying their homeland, the wolf were enslaved by the Lotus with Serpent aid. They finally freed themselves a few years prior to the game's beginning. Led by Greyback, this faction of former mining slaves will stop at nothing to keep their freedom and restore their ancestral culture. The playable faction in the Winter of the Wolf expansion, they are antagonists during Kenji's Journey and are defeated halfway through if you play as Dragon.

Greyback

"Hear me, sorcerers; you cannot cage the wolf."
The self-appointed leader of the Wolf clan and the mastermind behind the wolf rebellion that finally freed them. His innate ability makes wild wolves nearby follow him, and they will never attack him first.

Longtooth

"Even the warlocks who claim to know death, cringe from my fury."
Greyback's second in command and next in line for leadership of the Wolf Clan. Longtooth fights with a gigantic, razor-backed boomerang and deals bonus damage when he has higher ground.

The Shale Lord

"..."
A gigantic pile of living stone made by an experiment of the Lotus warlock Soban on an unnamed and long-forgotten Wolf clan warrior. The Shale Lord is mute, but its willingness to crush the Lotus and protect the Wolf Clan speaks volumes in itself. The Shale Lord can armour your units for free by giving up some of its health.

Gaihla

"Thread lightly in this place, for every forest is my temple."
A forest nymph, allied with the Wolf. Can be recruited in the Dragon Campaign if you assault the Wolf Clan's mines.
  • Adaptation Dye-Job: Started out with green hair, before having her sprite and portrait changed to brown-red in a later patch.
  • Distressed Damsel: You have to save her in order to have her join you in both Kenji's and Grayback's journeys.
  • Fertile Feet: Increases rice growth by standing in a rice field.
  • Healing Hands: Her Battle Gear is area-of-effect healing.
  • Squishy Wizard: Do not, repeat, not put her in combat. Especially not against fire users.

Lotus Zen Masters

A clan consisting of death- and corruption-worshipping religious fanatics, led by a council of near-immortal warlocks, the Lotus were also originally immigrants to the continent of Battle Realms after The Horde destroyed their homelands. The Lotus allied themselves with the native Serpent and eventually, with Serpent aid, enslaved the Wolf Clan. Upon the death of Kenji's father, the Lotus betrayed the Serpent and conquered most of the north-eastern part of the island. It is the only clan not playable in single player and serves as antagonists in all three campaigns. They are defeated by the Wolf halfway through the Serpent campaign.

Zymeth

"The warlocks of the Forbidden Path have conquered death, but I am still their master."
Leader of the Lotus Clan warlocks and thus the clan itself, Zymeth is a several hundred year-old warlock, politician, and altogether unpleasant fellow. His specialization in-game is the weather; he can summon rainstorms and call lightning from the sky at will.

Koril

"You may think of space and distance as solid facts. I prefer a more fluid interpretation."
The second-most powerful warlock of the Clan and its effective second-in-command. Koril is the master of the school of space, and has mastered the art of teleportation.

Issyl

"Hey mister! Want to see me do a trick?"
Dean of the college of time, Issyl is currently stuck in the body of a twelve year old boy due to a magical mishap that makes his body age backwards.

Soban

"While my colleagues waste their time studying death, I have taught the very stones to live."
A master alchemist and golem creator, responsible amongst other things for the creation of the Shale Lord from an unknown Wolf Clan warrior, Soban has no interest in politics and holds his position purely on terms of merit: He has no real power within the clan and prefers it that way.
  • Artificial Limbs: His left arm is a mechanic claw-thing.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Is the only warlock to actually show his age.
  • For Science!: More interested in his research than anything else.
  • Heel-Face Turn: Can join the Dragon Clan if you attack the Lotus after taking Serpentholm. Given his history of experimenting on Wolf Clan, also something of a Karma Houdini.
  • Squishy Wizard: Moreso than the other three Lotus Zen masters: Soban can barely stand up in a fight, and is mostly useful for his golem-generation which frees up peasants.

Yvaine

Zymeth's mistress and lady of the shale mines, she is the Big Bad of the expansion pack Winter of the Wolf.





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