Age of Glorantha

Total Conversion for Age of Wonders : Shadow Magic

v2.0

By Rosen Mc Stern

Introduction
Glorantha is a fantasy world that was created by Greg Stafford. It is a place of myth and magic, where a multitude of gods carry on an eon-old conflict. Now is the time of the Hero Wars, when old gods return, great battles are fought, and the future of the world will be irrevocably changed, forever. The world of Glorantha first saw publication as a board game, White Bear and Red Moon, later republished as Dragon Pass A second board game, Nomad Gods, was published a short time later. Most people, however, are familiar with Glorantha through RuneQuest, a role-playing game which was first published by Chaosium, and later by Avalon Hill, between 1978 and 1995. Then, Glorantha was quiet for three years, but that changed in 2000 with the publication of Hero Wars an all-new Gloranthan roleplaying game by the Glorantha corporation, Issaries Inc. In 2003, a completely revised version of the game was published as HeroQuest. With many new publications just over the horizon, it's a great time to be discovering Glorantha for the first time!
[From the official Glorantha site, www.glorantha.com]

Where and when in Glorantha Age of Glorantha version 2.0 focuses on the classical playable area of Glorantha, Dragon Pass and Prax, during the Third Age. Some characters from the Western area have been introduced as wizards or heroes, but the associated scenarios will be released at a later time. This package does not cover the Kralorela or Pamaltela areas. If you have been introduced to Glorantha by the Second Age sourcebooks that come with Mongoose Productions' new edition of RuneQuest, you will notice some differences, notably the fact that there are no longer any God Learners or Wyrm's Friends, and that the Lunar Empire has appeared. You will also notice that some characters from the Second Age are still around, i.e. Delecti and Sir Ethilrist, but they have been slightly, ahem, changed....

Installation and maintenance

What is in this package Age of Glorantha version 2.0 includes a modified resource set that converts almost all background details of the Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic game to the setting of Third Age Glorantha. It also includes two maps that can be played in Single Player or Multiplayer mode. Age of Glorantha also includes a smaller-scaled, totally revised set of graphics, originally created by the CivFanatics, that gives most AoW units the aspect of a regiment rather than a single fighter, though the basic behaviour of every unit remains the same. Two utilities that allow to switch back to the original resource set for Age of Wonders Shadow Magic and then back again to Glorantha are shipped with the package, and made available in the main Age of Wonders menu for your convenience.

Prerequisites You must have installed Age of Wonders : Shadow Magic patch 1.3, and the unofficial patch 1.4 before installing Age of Glorantha. You can get both patches at http://aow2.heavengames.com/ . A 1GHz processor with 256 Mb RAM is recommended to run the Dragon Pass scenario. How to install Age of Glorantha 1) Make sure Upatch 1.4 is installed in your system. 2) Disable all other Age of Wonder: Shadow Magic mods, especially those which change race names (Dwiggs 1.4, Brave New World 2.0, Lord of the Rings). You need not uninstall them, and you will be able to revert to these mods after installing Age of Glorantha. 3) Unzip the installer program AoGSetup.exe, double click on it and follow the instructions. 4) Launch Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. 5) Create a random scenario, or open the Glorantha subfolder in the Scenario folder and select either Dragon Pass or Prax. 6) Have fun.
IMPORTANT: language must remain set to English. The installer sets it to English automatically, but if you use AoWSetup to switch to another language, even the default auto language, the game will display the wrong names for races and spells.

How to uninstall Age of Glorantha 1) Select the main Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic menu in the Stard Menu and locate the Age of Glorantha Submenu. 2) Select the Uninstall Age of Glorantha option and follow the instructions. 3) Done.
Uninstalling is not necessary to play plain Age of Wonders or other Mods again! Just follow the instructions below.

How to play standard Age of Wonders or other mods 1. Select the main Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic menu in the Stard Menu and locate the Age of Glorantha Submenu 2. Select the Switch to standard Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic option and follow the instructions 3. (Optional) Launch the Age of Wonders Setup utility to activate your selected mod. 4. (Optional) Follow the additional steps required by your selected mod. This may include launching an external program, like InstallBNWExtras for Brave New World 2, or manually copying files for Dwiggs 1.4. 5. Have fun
Do not just use the AoWSEtup utility to change mod. You would mess up the other mod's resources with Gloranthan race names!

How to play Age of Glorantha again after playing other mods 1. Select the main Shadow Magic menu in the Stard Menu and locate the Age of Glorantha Submenu 2. Select the Switch to Age of Glorantha option and follow the instructions 3. Have fun

Playing Age of Glorantha

The purpose of this Mod is NOT introducing more balance in the game, but portraying the uniqueness of Glorantha. As such I introduced some major variations that actually reduce some options the players should have available in a regular AoW:SM game. Some effort has been made in order to make Age of Glorantha playable online, too, but you might still encounter some balance issues. Maps The Dragon Pass map is playable both in Single Player and in Multiplayer. The Prax map is intended for multiplayer only, because the AI is at a considerable disadvantage in it. More maps are planned. Gameplay variations All units that represent an infantry regiment have four times the hit points and two times the damage range than the equivalent Shadow Magic unit; this is clearly shown by the unit picture All units that represent a cavalry squadron have two times the hit points and two times the damage range than the equivalent Shadow Magic unit; this is clearly shown by the unit picture All ranged attacks and spells have had their damage value increased by an amount that ranges between 50% and 100% All ranged weapons but cannon, catapult, musket and longbow have been reduced to Medium range Hurl Boulder can now damage only walls; catapults still have hurl firebomb to attack infantry All races have a maximum of 10 buildable war units, including siege machines and priests All priest units are race-based, not alignment-based, and many of them are buildable at the Temple, not the Monastery All Level 1 units are buildable in outposts. Barracks build non-priestly Level 2 units. Level 3units are divided among War Hall, Champions Guild and Racial Structure, one per structure. Most level 4 units are not buildable. Many races have no units available at the Champion's Guild, so check out before building it! Most spells have been rearranged among spheres Mastery spells are no longer available, and so are terrain-changing level 4 spells The Water sphere has been replaced by the Darkness sphere, which has some major connection to Death too, Life sphere is called Law Sphere and shares its connection to healing with the Earth sphere Death sphere is called the Chaos sphere and shares its connection to Death with the Darkness sphere and many more... Races I have divided races in three groups: civilized, barbarian and primitive Civilized races are much like the standard AoW races; most of their basic combat units are Lvl2 units, not Lvl1; they have more siege machines and high-level units, including some Lvl4 units (Moonboat, Dream Dragon). Civilized races are Mostali, Malkioni, Dragonewts, Lunars, Vadeli, Grazers, Beastmen and Undead. Barbarian races have reduced production in towns and cities but a boost in outposts and villages. They have fewer machines but can build a lot of units in a simple outpost. They have a wide set of Lvl3 units, usually four, but no Lvl4. Barbarian races are Orlanthi, Aldryami, Uz and Krjalki.

Primitive races have strongly reduced production in towns and cities but a BIG boost in outposts and villages. They have almost no machines but can build at least two units in a simple outpost. They generally have no Lvl4 units. Primitive races are Broos, Hsunchens and Praxians.

Playing with Build Outpost off If playing with the Build Outpost option off, the following races will be at a severe disadvantage: Hsunchens, Praxians, Broos. Playing these races with Build Outposts disabled is not recommended. Physical Immunity The following races have units that have Physical Protection, and gain Physical Immunity at Silver level: Hsunchens, Krjalki, Undead. When facing these races, be prepared to counter stacks of units that cannot be hurt by mundane weapons. The Krjalki unit is particularly nasty because it is a level 1 unit built at the Builder's guild, so it is very easy to rush with it. It is, however, very slow, weak and vulnerable to fire.

Guidelines to playing races

Malkioni (humans) You need fully developed cities to build a decent army. Your infantry is strong, and you have three different kinds of magicians. But your real strongpoints are the Knights. Nothing can resist their charge, and they can be recruited at War Halls. Be careful, though, because they are vulnerable to domination and paralyzing magic. Furthermore, do not forget to carry along a bishop to increase morale. Grazers You need only barracks to build an effective mobile force than is stronger than any other cavalry except Malkioni knights. With a War Shrine, you can even use it to enslave enemy troops. Furthermore, your Templars are by far the best infantry available in Glorantha. Hsunchens Do not play this race with Build Outpost off. Any outpost will grant you one wolf per turn, or one hunter per two turns, so you can easily scout or rush even with newly built settlements. Your intermediate units are not so strong except in forested areas, but your top level troops can wipe out entire armies if taken to silvere medal status with a War Shrine, for they have physical immunity at veteran level. Beware of countermoves, though, because they cannot withstand a magically enhanced opponent. Using Sofali as u-boots can give you the upper hand in sea battles, too. Orlanthi (frostlings) You have a noticeable starting scouting ability, and your units have plenty of special abilities, including several ways to disable a powerful opponent. Still you have no juggernaut units, so be careful when building armies. Aldryami (elves) You are supreme in the woods, as 90% of your units are undetectable, and all move faster than any opponent but Hsunchens. Barring the harmless runners, no Aldryami units are very fast, but all of them are faster than your opponent's average unit. Use your range advantage with longbows wisely, because when you are at melee range your troops are no match for other races' melee fighters. Finally, do not overestimate Pixies: they are invincible versus pure melee fighters, but any decent missile troop can shoot them down easily if they are not escorted. Also remember that you grow up

fast in new settlements, but slowly in towns and cities. Uz (trolls & gobins) You are stronger underground, but you are not defenseless on the surface, too. You can rely on great numbers of trollkin or on selected dark troll troops, backed by some Zorak Zorani, both tactics being effective. Use webbing to disable strong enemies while you deal with the underlings, and remember that Voralans are among the best missile troops available. Mostali (dwarfs) Your race grows slowly, so upgrade your cities rather than attempting to expand by colonizing. You are decently fast underground but slow on the surface, so build roads with nilmergs to offset this disadvantage. If you cannot build roads use a Floating Fort to transport troops: it is slow but reliable. Once you reach your target, you will discover that your troops are stronger than their average opponent. Also remember that half of your units are machines, so send in Nilmergs to repair them. Beastmen This race was originally not meant to be played, but it can give some satisfaction if you build a balanced army. Centaurs are wonderful mounted archers, while minotaurs are effective shock troops and manticores can scoop down from the sky and poison selected enemy. Lunars (evil archons) Although you need developed cities to build an effective army, your battalia are the most flexible when it comes to battlefield organization. With light and heavy infantry, the latter being capable of shield wall tactics, a powerful heavy cavary and two classes of battle magicians, your army can withstand any threat on an unenchanted battlefield, and is not resourceless even when magics is on the scene. Finally, your moonboats are the fastest transportation system in Glorantha. Broos Do not play this race with Build Outpost off. Send your troops to pillage the countryside! Your chaotic warriors can breed with defeated enemises, and you will end up with more troops than before entering the battle. With a builder's guild you can produce hordes of breeders that can spawn more troops, and create outposts once they reach gold medal status. Your feral troops can upgrade, too. Once you have established a solid empire, go for Champions and Horrors, and nobody will be able to stop you. Vadeli Your Pirates can make you supreme on the seas, for they have Swimming at veteran level. Your common troops are strong, though they lack special abilities and land speed. They need support on the part of your special troop. Boristi Assassins have a paralizyng crossbow that rarely miss, so use them to disable strong opponents and then send in the pirates. However, your real strength are the Blue Vadeli: send them against some malkioni knights and watch an entire enemy army collapse! Be careful, though, for they are physically weak and will not last long if your opponent is prepared. Undead Barring Turn Undead, you have no weaknesses but your limited speed. Howewer, your army is among the most balanced, and you have several useful special abilities, too. You cannot heal your troops, but you can raise dead enemies with Necromancers and dominate living opponents with Vampires. Finally, a silver medal Wraith is totally immune to mundane attacks and your Bone Giant is the most dreadful fighter that walks the battlefields. Praxians (nomads)

Do not play this race with Build Outposts off. You can build effective armies from outposts, and your average speed is the highest among all races. Though slightly weaker than your opponents' battalia, your armies move fast even when accompanied by healers and siege devices. Send one Yelornan to lead your land troops and you'll gain the upper hand easily. Dragonewts (draconians) Your troops start rather weak, but grow up with experience. Not considering the above average strength of your warriors, you have access to much more flying and floating troops than your opponents. And your Dream Dragon is the best mass produced troop in Glorantha. Krjalki (demons) These are a collection of otherworld demons rather than a race. Each creature has strengths and weaknesses, and most of them are slow. For instance, remember that Gorps with silver medal are immune to mundane weapons. Use your Thanatari to disable opponents, and Lamias and Succubi to enslave male enemies. Once all this is done, send in the Chaos Incarnations and make mincemeat of all enemies!

Copyright Issues
Age of Wonders : Shadow Magic is a trademark of Triumph Studios and Gathering of Developers Glorantha is a trademark of Issaries Inc. This package includes several images that have been collected from AoW fan sites on the Internet. Some of the images are possibly copyright of an Author or a Publisher, and so if anybody has complaints about this small percentage of non-original artwork, I am willing to replace them. The images of Harrek and Sedenya are original Glorantha cover art, and as such are Copyright 2000 by Issaries inc., as for the rest of the Glorantha lore. All descriptions taken from the Glorantha: Introduction to the Hero Wars sourcebook, by Greg Stafford and Peter Metcalfe, are used with the permission of Issaries Inc. Other descriptions, notably of Malkioni and Vadeli races and characters, are quoted or adapted from materials created by David Hall, Nick Brooke, Ingo Tschinke and Joerg Baumgartner for various fan articles and live-action roleplaying games. Visit www.tradetalk-online.de, www.etyries.com and www.lokarnos.com for the complete materials.

Credits
I hereby give a well-deserved credit to all digital artists who gave me the permission to use important pieces of artwork, for free, for the main characters and races of Dragon Pass: Aaron Acevedo for the portrait of Delecti (www.aaronace.com) Sandra Leigh for the Centaur portrait (ladythornewood@yahoo.com) Ruben De Vela for the Broo pictures (www.rubendevela.com) Richard Yang, aka Neil Blade, for the Malkioni illustrations (have a look at the complete picture at http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/y/a/yang/final_1_war_700.jpg.html - believe me, it is worth a glimpse) John Hughes for the Orlanthi and Uz 3D Illustrations, especially the Argrath Portrait (http://home.iprimus.com.au/pipnjim/questlines/questlines.html) Kirin Stein Heller for the picture of Sheng Seleris (www.fantasydimensions.com). Dario Corallo for the picture of Count Julan in the installer Very special thanks to the following people: Triumph Studios for creating the Age of Wonders series Greg Stafford for creating and developing Glorantha over the last 40 years. All the people at AoW2Heaven (aow2.heavengames.com) for the support they give to the AoW community, and in particular: Swolte for creating upatch 1.4 and for helping me with the second version of the Dragon Pass map PawelS and Dhuval for all the work they did on the ILBs, and for helping me by resizing the Dragon Pass map TurboBeholder for discovering how to modify abilities. Kirky Picardo for teaching me how to convert civ3 graphics TheStranger and ElJoepo for DwiggsMod1.4, and in particular the fey city pictures Griffith, Merkraad, Munataros and TruePurple for helping me with playtesting and many more.... All the people at CivFanatics (www.civfanatics.com) for making all the graphics that are used in the mod. I wish to mention Plotinus, Kinboat, UtahJazz7, Aaglo, CivArmy, BeBro, Mrtn, and there are many more!