Sundry Information
The mod is not based on any film, book or period in our history. The setting, factions and religions are entirely original. All designs, though influenced by real life equivalents are also original. The concept for this mod came to me after years of toying with a fantasy concept, originally I was planning on writing three novels, but that did not eventuate. I have developed religions, cultures and even the beginnings of two languages relating to this concept and I suddenly realised that a mod was the way to make it public.
Background
The world of the Western Continent is generally peaceful, but for the occasional raid on the Ilsamiri by their neighbours of the Northern Kingdom and the Seaborne. These raids have of late become increasingly regular and organised, however, a poor omen. The Ocean Tribes conduct their civilisation quietly among the Islands of the Dividing Sea and the Southern and Western Kingdoms carry out their trade and agriculture under stable rules, but they too are increasingly threatened, largely because of their close relationship with the Ilsamiri.
On the Eastern Continent, the Mechathenain civilisation is preparing a mass exodus. They have been driven to abandon their once fertile land by the encroachment of the desert from the centre of the continent. Rain has not fallen on their farms for almost 100 years, and so they have constructed a mighty fleet of ships and assembled a vast force for the colonisation of as yet undiscovered lands.
Note: Some of the terms e,g. the Malice, are the closest possible translations from the Ilsamiren terms. For example, the people of the Northern Kingdom do not worship what the Ilsamiri call the Malice.
Time Frame
As the mod is in a fantasy setting the timeframe is not particularly important. The period of conflict which the mod is concerned with begins in the 7,032nd year After the Fall. The mod ends when the Weaver visits his wrath on the world or when the player unites the factions in peace.
The World
The world of the Ilsamiren Wars is entirely fictional. I will be posting a map shortly indicating the positions of settlements, province borders, forests and mountains but for now a description will have to suffice. The world consists of two continents, one in the East, one in the West, separated by a wide ocean. Throughout the ocean are scattered various islands. The Western Continent is divided among five factions and the Eastern has only one – though there are very few provinces here and all are coastal. The islands in the ocean are divided among two factions, the Seaborne in the North and West and the Ocean Tribes in the South and East. The Eastern Continent is almost entirely desert, the Western is largely Green. There is a large forest in the South of the Western Continent and a mountain range separates the Northern Kingdom from the Ilsamir lands. Stay tuned for a map (drawn by yours truly~
).The Kingdoms
There are seven distinct kingdoms in the world of the Ilsamiren Wars, each with its own culture and beliefs. They are:
The Ilsamiri
The Seaborne
The Ocean Tribes
The Southern Kingdom
The Western Kingdom
The Northern Kingdom
The Mechathenain
General Information and Features
The mod will feature entirely new weapons, dungeons, armour and architecture for each cultural group and will be playable from one of three starting points: either as a mercenary scout - Udeval, as a Mechathenain sailor - Bezhir, or as an Ilsamir knight - Veros. Once the world is made and the events are defined the starting points will simply play out as different sides of the conflict.
This concept is also in development for the game Rome: Total War the Barbarian Invasion which will use the same setting and factions. The concept drawings will also be the same as will the map.
Please PM me or post for more information or to sign up!
I just thought I'd tell everyone about our forums at http://s14.invisionfree.com/The_Ilsamiren_Wars . Anyone is free to join. Also, if you wish to have access to the Development threads, please PM me and I'll consider it. Also, feel free to join in our discussions and polls in the discussion section.
We also have a Mod Database Profile at http://mods.moddb.com/6331/ . This thread and our forums will be the first places where updates are published, but any downloads we have will be at ModDb.
Our website, though by no means complete (any web designers willing to help?) is at http://www.freewebs.com/ilsamir_lord/ . It is mostly concerned with the RTW mod at present.
I also thought I'd show everyone some concepts done for us by Kataphraktoi!
This is a concept for a Mechathenain Lord's Man an elite unit for the desert culture:
Here are some more possible Mechathenain units. A Halberdier, a Heavy Archer and a spearman. The flat topped helm may become a design characteristic of Mechathenain units, therefore the other soldiers (with spiked helms) may be used for the Northern Kingdom or Seaborne.
The final concept for now is for either a Mechathenain Hunter or a Ilsamir Morchanin Scout (both of these units are elite stealth warriors). The colouring may change based on the decision. Should this concept be for the Hunter, they will wear camouflage colours (for scrubby forest and desert), if they are Morchanin they will be all in black.
The armour and weapons in those pictures will be available to the player and the player will encounter the units shown during their travels. In the Rome mod those units will be available to recruit.
