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Order of the Black Hand
Some scholars and monks of Elgariol disagreed with the dogmas of the Church of Light; secretly conspiring with certain mages of Bracada, they raised a rebellion and liberated the province of Velnor from the power of the Elgariol nobility. To win the war and gain recognition of their independence, the best mages and inventors of Velnor bred rat-man spies, created grotesques and phantasms—perverted children of necromancy and magic—and provided sanctuary to incubi and succubi recently exiled by the Prince of Inferno. Living by the principle that everything is for victory, they turned their state, once a place of free thinkers and intellectuals, into a refuge for dark Necromancers and selfish witches. They named their land the Order of the Black Hand. After five years of struggle, for the first time in history, King Manfred III Ironfist of Elgariol concluded an alliance with Prince Tinorius Krigan of Inferno. The combined forces of men and demons pressed back the adepts of the Black Hand. Even fallen angels could not turn the tide. On the outskirts of the capital, Dark Claw, a corpse of an inquisitor was found at night in the camp of the Purifying Union; a squad of monks impulsively attacked a group of demons, seeing this, a regiment of imps intervened, followed by a company of crossbowmen. After some time, the entire camp was fighting. The rulers tried to pacify their troops, but it was too late. At the height of the battle, fog thickened around the camp, from which dark figures emerged. A pack of stray dogs that had drifted to the campsite tore into the throats of spearmen and hogs. Vampires! Those whom no one had remembered since the Day of Ash, as they had not been spotted among Necros's troops, and werewolves, about whom only vague rumors existed even before the Day of Ash. In a matter of hours, the victorious army of the Purifying Union was routed. Lord Tant of the vampires, who had successfully escaped from Jadama and remained hidden for many years, personally tore King Manfred's throat, and his lover Tamika killed Prince Tinorius. The entire plan of the uprising had been carefully orchestrated by them, as they did not wish to be pawns in the games of necromancers and longed to found their own Homeland. After this, no one dared challenge the independence of the Order's lands. Currently, the country is experiencing some decline due to disagreements among the ruling circles, but it remains a serious force on the world's political map.
Capital: Dark Claw
Ruler: Magister Tant, Lady Tamika
Symbol: black palm on a white background
Magic: Darkness, Necromancy
Religion: worship of Darkness and the Mother of Night
Religious symbol: dagger and crescent moon
Troops:
Level 1 Skavin-Skavin Hunter-Skavin Scout
Skavins are rat-men bred in the laboratories of the Black Hand mages during the war of the Purifying Union. Originally intended as scouts, they were used as ordinary soldiers when the Order's situation worsened. They are stealthy and use nets, daggers, and fangs in battle.
Abilities: all skavins are stealthy (optionally, after the first turn they can be invisible to enemies, appearing 5 cells away from an enemy unit); upgraded ones can throw 3 nets (binding enemy units up to level 4 for 5 turns if the unit has half or fewer troops); Skavin Scout has a 50% chance of a double strike (bite and dagger) and throws 3 nets.
Appearance: furry people with rat heads
Level 2 Ratcatcher–Heretic–Hierarch
Ratcatchers are humans trained to command skavins on the battlefield; heretics are the basis of the Valorian rebellion, simple soldiers tempted by the postulates of fallen priests; hierarchs are soldiers who underwent training under the Order's bishops and were taught sorcery.
Abilities: Ratcatchers provide control (all skavins receive +1 morale if there is at least one ratcatcher on the battlefield); upgraded ones always counterattack; Hierarch uses Arrow of Darkness (-30HP to a unit).
Appearance: ratcatchers are humans in black clothing with daggers, heretics are humans in black armor with swords, hierarchs are humans in black armor with skull helmets.
Level 3 Dark Monk – Dark Priest – Dark Bishop
The initiators of the Valorian rebellion—mages and priests who gradually converted to the religion of Darkness—now constitute the spiritual class of the Order.
Abilities: Dark Monk uses Curse (living warriors deal minimum damage, undead and demons deal maximum); Dark Priest uses Curse and Shield of Darkness (+5 defense for undead); third level uses Curse, Shield of Darkness, and Raise Skeleton (summons a skeleton from corpses based on the number of dark bishops).
Appearance: monks dressed in black and red.
Level 3(m) Witch – Sorceress – Enchantress
Sorceresses known for their unusual rites and devotion to the Mother of Night were exiled from Bracada and found their home in the lands of the Order.
Abilities: all have ranged attack; witches use Lightning (for every 5 witches -10HP, minimum 50 and maximum 300); sorceresses use Lightning and Life Channel (for every 3HP an enemy unit has, 1HP is added to the sorceress via channel); third level uses Lightning, Channel, Raise Skeleton.
Appearance: women dressed in black and red, with staffs.
Level 4 Incubus – Succubus – Seductress
Demons who previously worked as agents of the Prince of Inferno in other countries and switched to the side of the Black Hand. They left the Prince; the fiery Inferno could not provide the pleasures promised by the Mother of Night. In peacetime, these demons are famous for organizing orgies and entertainment for the Order.
Abilities: Incubus uses Charm Women (female warrior switches to the incubi's side for 3 turns +1 for every 5 additional incubi, but no more than 15); upgraded and third level use Charm Men (same as above but with male warriors); third level uses Polymorphism (turning units of levels 1-2 into pigs (3HP, 1 attack, 0 defense, 1 damage, 3 speed, 1 initiative) if there are half or fewer units than seductresses); charm works on units up to level 4 if they are half or fewer than the incubi-succubi.
Appearance: incubi are horned people with tails in red clothing; succubi are girls in red lingerie with horns and tails; seductresses are girls in red open-top lingerie with horns and tails.
Level 4(m) Boar Werewolf - Wolf Werewolf - Bear Werewolf
Those whom peasants spoke of only in whispers; after the Day of Ash, some of them announced themselves loudly by joining the armies of the Black Hand.
Abilities: Boar werewolves – transformation into boars (+3 attack, -3 defense); upgraded level – transformation into wolves (+30 damage, -20 health); third level – transformation into bears (+30 health, -20 damage).
Appearance: half-human boars, wolves, bears.
Level 5 Vampire Apprentice – Vampire Warrior – Vampire Marksman
Lesser vampires serve as simple warriors in the Order's troops.
Abilities: all have minor vampirism (1HP to self for every 5HP of enemy, without resurrection); third level are marksmen; all three are undead; vampire (monks and angels deal +50% damage).
Appearance: vampires.
Level 5(m) Grotesque – Phantom – Phantasm
Grotesques are demons specifically bred by the Black Hand mages for the war with the Purifying Union. Phantoms are undead specifically raised by the Order's dark priests. Phantasms are a more upgraded version of phantoms.
Abilities: Grotesque is a demon; Phantom and Phantasm are undead; they instill fear.
Appearance: Grotesque – a small demon with a disproportionately ugly face; Phantom – a ghostly figure of gray-yellow color; Phantasm – a ghostly figure of red-yellow color.
Level 6Vampire Lord – High Vampire – Ancient Vampire
Vampire lords have achieved success and earned ranks; they hold high positions in the Order's hierarchy, high vampires are part of the magistrate, and ancient vampires constitute the Capitulate of the Order.
Abilities: levels 1 and 2 use vampirism (1HP to self for every 3HP of enemy, without resurrection); level 3 uses expert vampirism (1HP to self for every 3HP of enemy, with resurrection); first level transformation into a dog (+2 initiative, -10 damage); second level transformation into a bat (flying, -10 damage); third level transformation into mist (flying, stealth, -20 damage); all three are undead vampires.
Appearance: richly dressed vampires.
Level 7 Fallen Angel – Night Angel – Dark Angel
Angels who rejected the teaching of Light and came under the patronage of the Mother of Night.
Abilities: all three fly; upgraded ones resurrect undead once per battle; third level resurrects undead once per battle and resurrects vampires once per battle.
Appearance: fallen angels are dressed in black and red, night angels are dressed in dark blue, dark angels are dressed in black.
Level 8 Rider of Darkness
Riders of Darkness are the embodiment of the Mother of Night's wrath; she sends them to cities devoted to her where the Grail has been brought.
Abilities: teleports, instills fear, undead.
Appearance: figures on black horses, wrapped in black.
Commanders:
Vampire Bard (warrior commander) – former bards who now instill horror with their melodies, helping the Order's troops in wars.
Ability: Sorrow (apprentice -1 morale to enemy army, advanced -2, expert -3, master -4, grandmaster -5).
Appearance: pale lutenist.
Vampire Witch (mage commander) – witches with perfect knowledge of life energy.
Ability: Health Theft (apprentice -10HP from enemy +5HP to own unit, advanced -20HP enemy +10HP own unit, expert -30HP enemy +20HP own unit, master -40HP enemy +30HP own unit, grandmaster -50HP enemy +50HP own unit).
Appearance: pale woman with a staff.
Vampire Thief (clerk commander) – thieves are of little use in battle but can carry out various diversions.
Ability: Guild Master (apprentice thief guild service cost reduced by 10%, advanced by 20%, expert by 30%, master by 40%, grandmaster by 50%).
Appearance: pale youth with a short dagger.
Warrior Hero – Capitulate, Mage Hero – Malefic, Clerk Hero – Baron.
Defender:
Black Guardian – messenger of the Mother of Night; the Black Guardian performs the functions of a guard and defender of the Order's cities.
Abilities: Raise Skeleton (up to 30 units), Raise Undead (up to 10 units), Raise Vampires (up to 2 units).
Appearance:
Warrior in fully closed black armor.
Buildings:
Level 1 – Slums
Level 2 – Black Barracks
Level 3 – Dark Temple
Level 3(m) – Witch Tower
Level 4 – Vicious Tower
Level 4(m) – Forest of Transformations
Level 5 – Vampire Manor
Level 5(m) – Demonology Laboratory
Level 6 – Order Residence
Level 7 – Portal of Darkness
Level 8 – Dark Cathedral
Defender: Black Altar
Buildings increasing growth:
Canonization +10 skavins
Defiled Chapel +5 fallen monks
Waiting for comments and criticism.
Some scholars and monks of Elgariol disagreed with the dogmas of the Church of Light; secretly conspiring with certain mages of Bracada, they raised a rebellion and liberated the province of Velnor from the power of the Elgariol nobility. To win the war and gain recognition of their independence, the best mages and inventors of Velnor bred rat-man spies, created grotesques and phantasms—perverted children of necromancy and magic—and provided sanctuary to incubi and succubi recently exiled by the Prince of Inferno. Living by the principle that everything is for victory, they turned their state, once a place of free thinkers and intellectuals, into a refuge for dark Necromancers and selfish witches. They named their land the Order of the Black Hand. After five years of struggle, for the first time in history, King Manfred III Ironfist of Elgariol concluded an alliance with Prince Tinorius Krigan of Inferno. The combined forces of men and demons pressed back the adepts of the Black Hand. Even fallen angels could not turn the tide. On the outskirts of the capital, Dark Claw, a corpse of an inquisitor was found at night in the camp of the Purifying Union; a squad of monks impulsively attacked a group of demons, seeing this, a regiment of imps intervened, followed by a company of crossbowmen. After some time, the entire camp was fighting. The rulers tried to pacify their troops, but it was too late. At the height of the battle, fog thickened around the camp, from which dark figures emerged. A pack of stray dogs that had drifted to the campsite tore into the throats of spearmen and hogs. Vampires! Those whom no one had remembered since the Day of Ash, as they had not been spotted among Necros's troops, and werewolves, about whom only vague rumors existed even before the Day of Ash. In a matter of hours, the victorious army of the Purifying Union was routed. Lord Tant of the vampires, who had successfully escaped from Jadama and remained hidden for many years, personally tore King Manfred's throat, and his lover Tamika killed Prince Tinorius. The entire plan of the uprising had been carefully orchestrated by them, as they did not wish to be pawns in the games of necromancers and longed to found their own Homeland. After this, no one dared challenge the independence of the Order's lands. Currently, the country is experiencing some decline due to disagreements among the ruling circles, but it remains a serious force on the world's political map.
Capital: Dark Claw
Ruler: Magister Tant, Lady Tamika
Symbol: black palm on a white background
Magic: Darkness, Necromancy
Religion: worship of Darkness and the Mother of Night
Religious symbol: dagger and crescent moon
Troops:
Level 1 Skavin-Skavin Hunter-Skavin Scout
Skavins are rat-men bred in the laboratories of the Black Hand mages during the war of the Purifying Union. Originally intended as scouts, they were used as ordinary soldiers when the Order's situation worsened. They are stealthy and use nets, daggers, and fangs in battle.
Abilities: all skavins are stealthy (optionally, after the first turn they can be invisible to enemies, appearing 5 cells away from an enemy unit); upgraded ones can throw 3 nets (binding enemy units up to level 4 for 5 turns if the unit has half or fewer troops); Skavin Scout has a 50% chance of a double strike (bite and dagger) and throws 3 nets.
Appearance: furry people with rat heads
Level 2 Ratcatcher–Heretic–Hierarch
Ratcatchers are humans trained to command skavins on the battlefield; heretics are the basis of the Valorian rebellion, simple soldiers tempted by the postulates of fallen priests; hierarchs are soldiers who underwent training under the Order's bishops and were taught sorcery.
Abilities: Ratcatchers provide control (all skavins receive +1 morale if there is at least one ratcatcher on the battlefield); upgraded ones always counterattack; Hierarch uses Arrow of Darkness (-30HP to a unit).
Appearance: ratcatchers are humans in black clothing with daggers, heretics are humans in black armor with swords, hierarchs are humans in black armor with skull helmets.
Level 3 Dark Monk – Dark Priest – Dark Bishop
The initiators of the Valorian rebellion—mages and priests who gradually converted to the religion of Darkness—now constitute the spiritual class of the Order.
Abilities: Dark Monk uses Curse (living warriors deal minimum damage, undead and demons deal maximum); Dark Priest uses Curse and Shield of Darkness (+5 defense for undead); third level uses Curse, Shield of Darkness, and Raise Skeleton (summons a skeleton from corpses based on the number of dark bishops).
Appearance: monks dressed in black and red.
Level 3(m) Witch – Sorceress – Enchantress
Sorceresses known for their unusual rites and devotion to the Mother of Night were exiled from Bracada and found their home in the lands of the Order.
Abilities: all have ranged attack; witches use Lightning (for every 5 witches -10HP, minimum 50 and maximum 300); sorceresses use Lightning and Life Channel (for every 3HP an enemy unit has, 1HP is added to the sorceress via channel); third level uses Lightning, Channel, Raise Skeleton.
Appearance: women dressed in black and red, with staffs.
Level 4 Incubus – Succubus – Seductress
Demons who previously worked as agents of the Prince of Inferno in other countries and switched to the side of the Black Hand. They left the Prince; the fiery Inferno could not provide the pleasures promised by the Mother of Night. In peacetime, these demons are famous for organizing orgies and entertainment for the Order.
Abilities: Incubus uses Charm Women (female warrior switches to the incubi's side for 3 turns +1 for every 5 additional incubi, but no more than 15); upgraded and third level use Charm Men (same as above but with male warriors); third level uses Polymorphism (turning units of levels 1-2 into pigs (3HP, 1 attack, 0 defense, 1 damage, 3 speed, 1 initiative) if there are half or fewer units than seductresses); charm works on units up to level 4 if they are half or fewer than the incubi-succubi.
Appearance: incubi are horned people with tails in red clothing; succubi are girls in red lingerie with horns and tails; seductresses are girls in red open-top lingerie with horns and tails.
Level 4(m) Boar Werewolf - Wolf Werewolf - Bear Werewolf
Those whom peasants spoke of only in whispers; after the Day of Ash, some of them announced themselves loudly by joining the armies of the Black Hand.
Abilities: Boar werewolves – transformation into boars (+3 attack, -3 defense); upgraded level – transformation into wolves (+30 damage, -20 health); third level – transformation into bears (+30 health, -20 damage).
Appearance: half-human boars, wolves, bears.
Level 5 Vampire Apprentice – Vampire Warrior – Vampire Marksman
Lesser vampires serve as simple warriors in the Order's troops.
Abilities: all have minor vampirism (1HP to self for every 5HP of enemy, without resurrection); third level are marksmen; all three are undead; vampire (monks and angels deal +50% damage).
Appearance: vampires.
Level 5(m) Grotesque – Phantom – Phantasm
Grotesques are demons specifically bred by the Black Hand mages for the war with the Purifying Union. Phantoms are undead specifically raised by the Order's dark priests. Phantasms are a more upgraded version of phantoms.
Abilities: Grotesque is a demon; Phantom and Phantasm are undead; they instill fear.
Appearance: Grotesque – a small demon with a disproportionately ugly face; Phantom – a ghostly figure of gray-yellow color; Phantasm – a ghostly figure of red-yellow color.
Level 6Vampire Lord – High Vampire – Ancient Vampire
Vampire lords have achieved success and earned ranks; they hold high positions in the Order's hierarchy, high vampires are part of the magistrate, and ancient vampires constitute the Capitulate of the Order.
Abilities: levels 1 and 2 use vampirism (1HP to self for every 3HP of enemy, without resurrection); level 3 uses expert vampirism (1HP to self for every 3HP of enemy, with resurrection); first level transformation into a dog (+2 initiative, -10 damage); second level transformation into a bat (flying, -10 damage); third level transformation into mist (flying, stealth, -20 damage); all three are undead vampires.
Appearance: richly dressed vampires.
Level 7 Fallen Angel – Night Angel – Dark Angel
Angels who rejected the teaching of Light and came under the patronage of the Mother of Night.
Abilities: all three fly; upgraded ones resurrect undead once per battle; third level resurrects undead once per battle and resurrects vampires once per battle.
Appearance: fallen angels are dressed in black and red, night angels are dressed in dark blue, dark angels are dressed in black.
Level 8 Rider of Darkness
Riders of Darkness are the embodiment of the Mother of Night's wrath; she sends them to cities devoted to her where the Grail has been brought.
Abilities: teleports, instills fear, undead.
Appearance: figures on black horses, wrapped in black.
Commanders:
Vampire Bard (warrior commander) – former bards who now instill horror with their melodies, helping the Order's troops in wars.
Ability: Sorrow (apprentice -1 morale to enemy army, advanced -2, expert -3, master -4, grandmaster -5).
Appearance: pale lutenist.
Vampire Witch (mage commander) – witches with perfect knowledge of life energy.
Ability: Health Theft (apprentice -10HP from enemy +5HP to own unit, advanced -20HP enemy +10HP own unit, expert -30HP enemy +20HP own unit, master -40HP enemy +30HP own unit, grandmaster -50HP enemy +50HP own unit).
Appearance: pale woman with a staff.
Vampire Thief (clerk commander) – thieves are of little use in battle but can carry out various diversions.
Ability: Guild Master (apprentice thief guild service cost reduced by 10%, advanced by 20%, expert by 30%, master by 40%, grandmaster by 50%).
Appearance: pale youth with a short dagger.
Warrior Hero – Capitulate, Mage Hero – Malefic, Clerk Hero – Baron.
Defender:
Black Guardian – messenger of the Mother of Night; the Black Guardian performs the functions of a guard and defender of the Order's cities.
Abilities: Raise Skeleton (up to 30 units), Raise Undead (up to 10 units), Raise Vampires (up to 2 units).
Appearance:
Warrior in fully closed black armor.
Buildings:
Level 1 – Slums
Level 2 – Black Barracks
Level 3 – Dark Temple
Level 3(m) – Witch Tower
Level 4 – Vicious Tower
Level 4(m) – Forest of Transformations
Level 5 – Vampire Manor
Level 5(m) – Demonology Laboratory
Level 6 – Order Residence
Level 7 – Portal of Darkness
Level 8 – Dark Cathedral
Defender: Black Altar
Buildings increasing growth:
Canonization +10 skavins
Defiled Chapel +5 fallen monks
Waiting for comments and criticism.
