The Ilsamiren Wars

[Ilsamir Lord]

We are beginning work on a new mod: The Ilsamiren Wars for Barbarian Invasion.

The Team

Ilsamir Lord - Mod Leader, Minor Concept Artist, Writer

Grimsta - Texture Artist

KjaerliGH - Mapper

RTW King - Texture Artist

Kataphraktoi - Concept Artist

NodachiSam - Concept Artist

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 500 years after that date with the destruction of the World by the Weaver.

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 Factions & Cultures(descriptions and histories to follow)
The Ilsamiri - Ally of the Western and Southern Kingdoms, lands in the Western Continent

The Seaborne - Lands in the islands

The Mechathenain - Lands in the Eastern Continent

The Northern Kingdom - Lands in the Western Continent

The Southern Kingdom - Ally of the Ilsamiri, lands in the Western Continent

The Western Kingdom - Ally of the Ilsamiri, lands in the Western Continent

The Ocean Tribes - Lands in the islands

The Religions
The Path of the Weaver – Ilsamiri

Rain Worship – The Mechathenain

Sea Worship – The Ocean Tribes and the Seaborne

Sun Worship – The Western Kingdom

Moon Worship – The Southern Kingdom

Mountain Worship – The Northern Kingdom

The Path of Malice – The Ilsamiri and the Northern Kingdom

Unit lists will follow.

A question: would people prefer place names in English or the appropriate imagined language?

[Lonely Soldier]

How big is the map going to be? As big as RTR's?

[Bwian]

Hooray for originality

It's nice to see people using this game as abase for proper fantasy mods, rather than trying to search out ever more obscure fantasy novels or niche conflicts for inspiration. All the best ones got taken quite early on.

When you put all that aside, you are free to do what you want, build what you want, and end up with something much more satisfying.

Hope it goes well for you.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Thanks Bwian! I'm still relatively early on in the planning stages, but I have a few concept drawings done, and I'm finalising the map now.

Lonely Soldier - It'll be as big as we can get it! Lots of provinces to fight for and lots of smaller islands in the Dividing Sea.

The level of 'fantasy' is not particularly high, some units may be magically gifted (giving bonuses to speed, accuracy or stamina) but most will not be. I'd like the world to be believable but still unfamiliar.

I'm making the website at the moment as well, and when its up it'll be where you'll find all the information you want on every aspect of the world. I'm just happy I've got three months holiday to work on it!

So far each faction has a set of units about ten strong, nowhere near the model limit, which I'll be posting shortly - fear not, there will be more!

Recruitment
2d artists wanted for work on faction and religion icons, and menues. No obligation to do further work, but a uniform style would be ideal. I will provide references for basic forms and styles.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Early Unit Lists (more to follow)

The Ilsamiri
Infantry:
Peasants –
Armed with appropriated farming tools, these men are not brave, but they are stronger than other citizens, simply because they have had to hunt and farm to feed themselves.

Conscripts –
These men are forced into the military by random selection. They are usually young and inexperienced, and so are last resorts of desperate commanders. Because they are pressed into service, these soldiers are unreliable and have undergone minimal training.

Swordsmen –
These are sword armed professional soldiers. They are lightly armoured to facilitate rapid movement, but make up for their lack of armour with unmatched skill in defending themselves with their swords.

Spearmen –
These men carry spears and shields and can present an impenetrable wall of shields to a foe. They are not especially brave, but when placed in a tight formation with their flanks protected they are unlikely to waver.

Pikemen –
The natural progression of the spear is the pike, a massive pole-arm designed to hold the enemy at bay. Pikemen are very hardy, but when placed in their customary tight formation they are very vulnerable to flanking assaults.

Archers - with longbows
These archers are some of the finest in the world. They spend a lifetime training themselves to fire their powerful longbows, and are as a consequence extremely strong in a melee. These archers are armoured lightly and carry single-handed fighting swords.

Darineth Guardsmen
These are the finest men in the Ilsamiren army, armed with swords and shields, they wear the finest armour and undergo the most rigorous training, with the result that they are as fast as many light troops, but are infinitely hardier. They are chosen from among the guards of the fortress-city of Darineth, the capital of the Ilsamir lands. They fight in a relatively loose formation to facilitate the swinging of their longswords.

Warriors of Malice (?)
These men are shunned by the rest of Ilsamir society, but they are still respected as fine warriors. They are armed with two-handed swords and wear heavy armour. They have turned from the path of the Weaver, but not from loyalty to the Ilsamiri.

Warrior Priests (?)
These priests are followers of the Weaver and uphold his teachings. Though they are trained to be passive, when they are defending their people their wrath is terrible to behold.

Morchanin Scouts –
These are the finest warriors in the world. Armed with sabres and blowguns they are capable of taking enemies totally unawares and are particularly skilled in the killing of enemy captains and generals. They fight expertly at night, and hide easily in grass and forest.

[SvartH]

hi i have a big map made it for me could i give it to you for the mod i really would like to see the map in a mod for rtw is a 4 continent map im going to scan it if you like it use it ok???

[Ilsamir Lord]

I'll check it out, but I already have a map of my own, but that's no reason for your's to be any less useful.

[SvartH]

hi it took me a little while of time to scan and edit but here it is i hope you like it well is a map drawed by me see ya

[Ilsamir Lord]

Not bad at all!

Here is my map (in much rougher form than yours) with settlements, landforms and mountain ranges marked.

[SvartH]

nice map ammm theres a possibility to use bouth? yours in the east side and mine in the west side? or you think this could be a big map for moding? there is avaible 200 provinces on RTW map for citys thats what i heard before i had never mod nothing i just changed names of factions and things like that, well i can ensemble the two maps for see what can be done let me try it, i´ll post it later

[kataphraktoi]

You need any concept artists for unit design drawings???

e-mail me or pm if u do.

[Ilsamir Lord]

KjaerliGH - joining the two is a possibility. I'd rather we replaced the Eastern Continent though - I'm quite fond of the Western. By the way, do you do any mapping for this game? If so that would be very useful.

kataphraktoi - We may need someone later on, and I already have a broad idea of the influences for each culture.

[SvartH]

hi i know how to make the map on the rtw editor but i dont know how to make it run... hahaha i always try but it never works... if you want i can make it on the rtw editor and after found someone to make it works =)

[Ilsamir Lord]

That sounds like a good compromise!

[SvartH]

ok i´ll start the map tomorrow morning and i´ll send it to you soon my email is kjaerligh_svart@hotmail.com

[Lonely Soldier]

Sounds good to me! Glad to see something not particularly complex but still interesting and original. Best of luck!

[NodachiSam]

This sounds really cool and I'd be interested in contributing. I like to design maps but if that is already handled I can possibly do religions icons and event illustrations perhaps. I can't strictly speaking give a strong commitment. I am nearing the end of a semester of school work.

I have a deviantart account but I don't really have anything directly applicable to what I'm offering. http://calcaneus.deviantart.com/

I think you could name things in created words but they can't all be repetitive and too difficult or subtle. I would not think that Malikiratyatoji is a bad name for example. Malito, Genkra, Efta, Tib-Hentoll etc. would be fine I think.

[Ilsamir Lord]

The two categories you suggest would be excellent! Perhaps you could work on faction icons as well? We do already have a map, but thanks for that offer too.

I'll get back to you on general symbols and stuff in a while.

[SvartH]

hi here is how the map will be on the rtw map editor i already start the map in the map editor

[Ilsamir Lord]

KjaerliGH - It looks OK, but could we make the Eastern landforms a little smaller? I'd like the Western Continent to be the main place for conflict and if its just a little island in the middle of nowhere it won't be.

[SvartH]

no problemo =)

[Ilsamir Lord]

KjaerliGH - Cool. I'll be posting more stuff in a while.

[GrimSta]

this looks great, shame you never made it a book, sounds like the kinda thing i would love to read

[Ilsamir Lord]

That's very kind of you to say! I was planning on doing three books, describing the same large event (the Ilsamiren Wars) from three perspectives. That of the invaders (well colonisers from their perspective, the Mechathenain), the invaded (the Ilsamiri) and from the perspective of a neutral mercenary.

Sorry about the self-indulgence.

Thanks again!

[GrimSta]

Do you reckon you aould still write those? send them off to a publisher mate, tell them your ideas....if you do best of luck, and you would have one definate reader here

[Ilsamir Lord]

GrimSta - .

Some more content:

Faction Descriptions

The Ilsamiri
In myth the Ilsamiri were the chosen people of the Weaver, the God who created and protected the World from the Malice. The Ilsamiri believe that the Weaver created wind and with it shaped the world and its creatures. They are, and always have been according to their records, the dominant power of the Western Continent. They have two client kingdoms, the Western and Southern Kingdoms, which are ruled by the Ilsamir king’s chosen men. The Ilsamiri speak an ancient tongue and they have a rich folklore and culture.

Militarily the Ilsamir are without rival. Their weapon smithing is second to none and their military technology is superb. There armies are consequently quite small, but still varied.


The Seaborne
The ancient origin of this people is not known outside their closed society. In their lore, the Seaborne are said to have risen from the sea itself for they have always shared an affinity with it, mastering sea travel and warfare very early on. They still maintain land settlements, largely to supply their fleets.

Recently, their lords have become imperialistic and seek new lands in the West. To aid them in this they have some of the fiercest warriors in the world and the finest fleet to be seen upon the oceans.


The Mechathenain
A cursed people, rain has not fallen in their lands for more than a hundred years and they have had to eek an existence from underground springs and grain stores for all that time. In stead of focussing their wealth on the maintenance of these reserves, the lord of the Mechathenain ordered the construction of a massive colonisation fleet and with it would sail all those who would leave their blighted land.

The Mechathenain are not a war like people, in consequence their ways may appear naïve to those who are more aggressive, but should their wrath be incurred they are a fearsome enemy. Their military technology is not the world’s finest, nor are their tactics the best formulated, but their bravery and individual prowess can be unstoppable.

The Northern Kingdom
The people of the Northern Kingdom were once of the Ilsamiri, but while the Ilsamiri followed the Weaver, the people of the Northern Kingdom turned to the Malice, not that they see Him as such. The Ilsamiri hate the Northern Kingdom, largely because they perceive flaws in their own society in contrast to their enemy's.

The Kingdom of the North follows similar military codes to the Ilsamiri, relying on technology in stead of numbers. While the Ilsamiri have the horse, the Northern climate is not favourable for these animals, but the Northern Kingdom does have access to its own unique fauna in the form of the ethed.


The Southern Kingdom
The Southern Kingdom is the second ally of the Ilsamiri and provides its northern neighbour with a stable trading environment. The capital of the Southern Kingdom is the Port of the Empty Bay which is ideally situated for naval and commercial security.

The armies of the Southern Kingdom are rarely seen on land, they prefer to face their enemies on the sea if at all possible, but when forced to defend their lands, the Southern Kingdom is almost always on the defensive using heavy infantry almost exclusively.


The Western Kingdom
The Western Kingdom is the granary of the Western Continent and a close ally of the Ilsamiri. Since the earliest times these two peoples have been bound by an unwritten agreement; the Ilsamiri defend the Western Kingdom and the Western Kingdom feeds the Ilsamiri. This relationship has been remarkably stable thus far, but should one fail the other disaster would befall both.

The armies of the Western Kingdom are rather meagre, but they do have expert horsemen and archers at their disposal. Most of their men are lightly armoured and so a Western army is extremely mobile and is able to launch lightning attacks against an enemy’s unprotected flank.


The Ocean Tribes
The people of the southern and eastern islands of the Dividing Sea have quite recently formed a formal alliance, largely in a bid to repulse raids by the ever more aggressive Seaborne. This new unity is not only for protection though, the Ocean Tribes also share ancient cultural ties, presumably dating from a time when their islands were joined.

The military strength of the Seaborne is not great; they fight with stone weapons and wear armour of minimal value when faced with steel. They are great in skill however, and their light armour allows for rapid manoeuvring. Because of their island location, they have almost no fauna suitable for war, but do field, on occasion, small groups of men trained to control eagles and hawks (more information on these later. Too fantasy? Impossible with the engine?).

[GrimSta]

actually....do you need a hand skining and/or text editing? (you may have seen my Thrace mod its just below this one :P and i have done other things....i can scrape a portfolio together if you want me to :P)

EDIT: The Hawks thing, *could* work, it depends on how high up you want them.....just make a long thin pole in 3DS Max and place the eagle model on top...make it a warhound type unit and there you go! War Eagles...though they wouldnt flap wings or anything....your best bet is having The Ocean Tribes train leopards or something.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Thanks for the offer! That would be extremely useful once we get some concepts down!

The war eagles wouldn't need to be that high up, ideally they'd be animated to flap and all. I'd rather not use any really specific animals, horses are pretty wide-spread in fantasy, but leopards are a little too particular I think. Likewise I won't be using elephants and such.

Even more content! (I'm on a role today):

Units

The Seaborne
Infantry:

Slaves
These men are forced to fight, mainly out of fear for their masters, but also for the chance of winning their freedom. They are armed in the most meagre way possible, with oars, the same oars with which the row the Seaborne's ships. They are armoured very lightly, as can be seen (in the unit picture - they have no shirts.). They are not at all courageous when flanked, but when used in a direct charge they are all but fearless.

Crewmen
These are basic the crewmen of Seaborne ships. These men are more accustomed to working on the seas than fighting on land, but they are serviceable. Armed with a small buckler and cutlass, they are very vulnerable to ranged enemies but can put up a fight against other light infantry.

Boarders (expert shock troops)
Boarders are trained specifically for melee combat and are armed with cutlasses and small shields. They are perfect for making sudden attacks on lighter enemies, but when charged by cavalry they are all but helpless.

Spearmen
Armed simply for affordability, these spearmen are trained to repel enemies that might board their ships. Their spears are in fact adapted boat-hooks which are equally effective on land as from onboard a ship. These spearmen are trained rudementarily for land combat and so are best used in large numbers.

Swordsmen
These men carry lengthened cutlasses, designed to deal long, but not deep wounds. They carry round shields and wear helmets and light hauberks. These are soldiers best used against lightly armoured foes.

Crossbowmen
The crossbow is a frighteningly intuitive weapon to master, but the long time it takes to reload them can mean death for unwary archers. These weapons are powerful, able to pierce most heavy armour and are particularly effective when fired in volleys. The Seaborne are one of the only civilisations to to use the crossbow, and so they will often have the advantage over their enemy in ranged combat.

Archers
Armed with simple bows, these archers are not particularly skilled, their arrows are only capable of piercing light armour, and the archers themselves are poor in a melee.


War Machines:

Repeating Ballistae
The Seaborne are the only culture to produce this weapon, an adaptation of the crossbow on a larger scale. These weapons were originally developed for ship-to-ship combat where they were used to rain large numbers of flaming bolts on enemy craft. They are almost equally useful on land.

The Northern Kingdom
Infantry - stay tuned!

Cavalry:

Ethed Bowmen
These are expert archers mounted on the ethed, a heavy, bull-like creature. The ethed is not a particularly fast beast, though it can quite comfortably outrun a man, so these mounted archers should not be used against horsemen. If they are engaged the ethed will fight, but a few infantrymen will be able to bring one down quite easily. The bowmen themselves are armed with recurve bows of middling length and range and also with sabres. The ethed is not armoured, and the archer is armoured only lightly.

Ethed Knights
These are the most fearsome cavalry in the world. The ethed, when fully grown, is larger than a horse and has long, tough horns. These knights ride fully armoured ethed, which are strong enough to bare the extra weight virtually unhindered. The knights are armed with long, barbed lances, which they discard after the initial charge, and long sabres. They are armoured from head to toe and carry tall shields. A group of ethed knights in full charge is unstoppable.

Ethed Scouts
These scouts are armoured and armed lightly, meant for reconnaissance only. The ethed itself is of a special breed, lighter and more nimble than its heavier cousins.

Faction Colours
These colours are for borders and banners (campaign army size banners - no banners in real-time battles) only. Many units will have their faction's colours, but should not be restricted to them.

The Ilsamiri - Dark Blue and White (or steely-grey)

The Mechathenain - Tan and light Blue (?)

The Seaborne - Grey-green and dark Red

The Ocean Tribes - jade Green and reddish-Brown

The Northern Kingdom - Black and ?

The Southern Kingdom - Purple and Black?

The Western Kingdom - Dark Green and Brown

[Ilsamir Lord]

Here's a banner (the symbol is actually for the letter D in the Ilsamir script, I just thought it looked good ):


The Banner is quite simple deliberately, the faction banners will be more complex.

For some reason I can't upload that into my signiature. Anyone know why and how to fix it?

By the way, does anyone know how to put images into freewebs.com sites? I've uploaded a web page with an image box, but it won't allow me to place my uploaded images in it. It says: errors on page at the bottom.

[NodachiSam]

That is some very interesting info, that northern kingdom sounds very interesting

I don't really think slaves works too well with ores, they are sailers but they arn't stupid (Unless the ores are also modified so that they become something like spiked clubs). Perhaps you could make them fishermen and they could have 1 or 2 javelins (fishing spears) and modified fillet knives or something. I don't have RTW but there is a unit like that isn't there? I guess the spike ores could work afterall. I like the idea for seamen alot, like swashbucklers !

Perhaps the ocean goers can be jade and blue since it is more watery and to avoid being too similar to the western kingdom. Perhaps the northern kingdom can be dark brownish red and white.

The whole thing sounds even cooler now :)

You should give www.photobucketcom a try. I've had no problems with them and it is really quick.