Dominions 3: The Awakening/Nations/Pangaea, New Era

At the brink of destruction of their home, the Pans have turned to dark magic in desperation. The Carrion Woods enchantment represents the final corruption of nature.

Overview
Essentially a modernized version of their MA counterpart, Pangaea, New Era continues its tradition of pairing light stealthy units with strong berserkers. Unfortunately, your centaurs have discarded their missile weapons in favor of becoming knights, your priestly types have given up their holy growth powers in favor of death magics, and the general improvement in troop equipment has left your frequently-unarmored hordes very vulnerable. One feature you do have going for you, however, is the new Carrion series of spells - which will let you summon swarms of fatiguing Carrion creatures.

Unit Comparison

 * Harpy: Gold 7, Resources 1
 * This flying scout continues to pose no threat to anything with combat capabilities.


 * Satyr Sneak: Gold 10, Resources 3
 * Identical to their MA predecessors, identically worthless.


 * Satyr (javelin): Gold 10, Resources 4
 * Identical to their MA predecessors. Sadly, these (plus the sacred Black Centaurs) are your only troops with any missile capability - and it's a javelin.


 * Satyr (buckler): Gold 10, Resources 4
 * Unfortunately, the 10 morale of their MA predecessors is lost, and these troops are stuck with morale 8. At 4 resources, however, you can spam out hordes of these if you need to.


 * Satyr Hoplite: Gold 13, Resources 24
 * Pangaea's main infantry. Slow to move, but at least disciplined enough to soak up fire before other troops move in to attack.


 * Centaur Cataphract: Gold 40, Resources 35
 * Your go-to cavalry choice. Aside from some minor weakness in the weapon selection (Light Lance + Hoof), easily a match for indie Heavy Cavalry.


 * Minotaur Soldier: Gold 35, Resources 31
 * Your next upgrade from Satyr Hoplites. They still trample, but they don't berserk any longer.


 * Grove Guard: Gold 50, Resources 38
 * The ultimate Pangaean infantry, these both trample and berserk+3. Their high protection and strength make them great for smashing enemy infantry blocks.


 * Dryad Hoplite: Gold 35, Resources 20
 * The first of your two sacred troops, the Dryad Hoplite retains her +1 Awe aura, but is otherwise similar to the Satyr Hoplite.


 * Black Centaur: Gold 75, Resources 12
 * The second Pangaean sacred, Black Centaurs gain 3 map mobility, stealth, and berserk+3 at the cost of poor protection and mediocre weapon choice.

Commanders

 * Black Harpy: Gold 20, Resources 1
 * Just like its MA counterpart, the Black Harpy is an excellent scout and sneak - and not much else. A starting leadership of 10 means she won't be leading any great flocks of harpies.


 * Cataphract Commander: Gold 60, Resources 35
 * The basic commander with 40 leadership. Not sneaky, but more than a match for indie Mounted Commanders.


 * Minotaur Commander: Gold 60, Resources 38
 * Unfortunately ends up being slightly more expensive than the Cataphract Commander, while not providing any better leadership, or any other features (besides trampling) for that matter.


 * Keeper of Traditions: Gold 90, Resources 38
 * Sacred, trample, berserk+3, 80 leadership... these are a far better choice for thug-hood than their Minotaur Commander brethren. Good for bossing around the swarms of Satyrs too.


 * Dryad: Gold 80, Resources 1
 * Magic: N1H1
 * Pangaea's mainline priestly sort, unfortunately, has lost a point of holy influence as the ages turned. Still stealthy, and the point of Nature magic means she can supply a bodyguard of equally-stealthy troops as she moves into the enemy rear to preach. Her awe+2 is unlikely to impress enemy troops for long.


 * Pan: Gold 330, Resources 1
 * Magic: E2N3 +10% random (EDNB)
 * Pangaea's primary battlemage combines stealth and powerful Nature magic. He no longer attracts Maenads.


 * Black Dryad: Gold 150, Resources 1
 * Magic: D1N1H1
 * Take an ordinary white Dryad, strip off her Awe aura and give her a point of Death magic, and you have a Black Dryad. Capital-only, and almost twice the cost, which generally makes the basic Dryad a better value.


 * Panic Apostate: Gold 320, Resources 1
 * Magic: D2N3 +10% random (EDNB)
 * Swap a Pan's Earth magic for Death, and trim off some of the Pan's innate protection and defence skill, and you get a Panic Apostate. What makes these guys worth their cost is their ability to cast the first three Carrion ritual spells with no assistance. Sadly, they're capital-only.

Heroes
You get the same heroes as MA Pangaea, so here:
 * Rams Head the White Satyr
 * Nice leader, he can command 120 Troops, and has a standard of 15. But he is just a better variant of satyr, so his potential for thugging is at best minor. He is also stealthy, has awe (+2) and berserk (+3).


 * Menophatos the White Minotaur
 * Magic: H2
 * Sacred Minotaur, with the ability to bless himself, he makes a nice Thug if you equip him with some additional items, like a shield, Pendant of Luck. He has the ability to go berserk (+5).


 * Arcopythera the Harpy Queen
 * Magic: A2N2
 * The most important hero of Pangea, as she is the only mage you will get that can use Air Magic offcourse you will later get faerie queens, but they work better when you used Arcopythere before to cast Auspex on every province. The Harpy Queen is also autosummonig about 5 Harpys per turn. She is also a stealthy leader, but she is to important to be wasted in battle.


 * Taurotyrannos the Black Bull
 * Magic: N3B3
 * Another nice hero that you get, he is more or less a Pandemoniac with better blood magic and the ability to go berserk (+7). Taurotyrannos might be the unit with the highest berserk value in the whole game, so you might try to use him as stealthy thug.

Starting Sites

 * The Grove of Gaia
 * Produces 3 Nature gems and lets you recruit Dryad Hoplites.


 * The Carrion Grove
 * Produces 1 Death gem and lets you recruit Black Centaurs, Black Dryads, and Panic Apostates.

National Spells

 * Monster Boar
 * Ritual, 10 Nature gems; Conjuration 5, N3
 * Increases unrest in a distant province, until the boar is found and killed.


 * Tune of Fear
 * AoE 15, Fatigue 5-; Enchantment 0, N1
 * Frightens nearby enemies.


 * Tune of Growth
 * AoE 15, Fatigue 5-; Enchantment 0, N1
 * Entangles nearby enemies.


 * Tune of Dancing Death
 * AoE 15, Fatigue 5-, 31+ fatigue damage; Enchantment 0, N1
 * Causes exhaustion in nearby enemies if they don't have magic resistance.


 * Quick Roots
 * Range 10+, AoE 1, Fatigue 0-; Enchantment 1, H1
 * A prayer that quickens the vines of carrion creatures.


 * Regrowth
 * Range 10+, AoE 1, Fatigue 0-; Enchantment 4, H2
 * A prayer that makes a carrion creature heal quickly.


 * Mend the Dead
 * Range 25+, AoE 1, Fatigue 0-; Enchantment 6, H3
 * A prayer that instantly heals a carrion creature.


 * Puppet Mastery
 * AoE battlefield, Fatigue 0-; Enchantment 6, H3
 * A prayer that speeds all Manikins.


 * Carrion Woods
 * Ritual, 90 Nature gems, global enchantment; Enchantment 8, N6D5
 * Kills off native population inside your dominion, in exchange for spawning carrion creatures. Growth scales, forests, and temples will all improve the result.


 * Carrion Growth
 * AoE battlefield, Fatigue 0-; Enchantment 8, H4
 * Similar to Regrowth, except it affects the entire battlefield.

National Summons

 * Carrion Centaur
 * 10 Nature gems, Enchantment 1, N1D1
 * Reanimates a dead centaur. The resultant Carrion Centaur has H1, two Sleep Vines attacks in addition to its Hoof and weapon attacks, and the ability to "Awaken Manikins" on the strategic map. Unfortunately, it cannot preach.


 * Carrion Lady
 * 16 Nature gems, Enchantment 4, N1D1
 * Reanimates a dead dryad. The resultant Carrion Lady has N1H2, one Sleep Vines attack, and the ability to "Awaken Manikins". Like its brethren, it cannot preach.


 * Carrion Lord
 * 25 Nature gems, Enchantment 6, N3D2
 * Reanimates a dead pan. The resultant Carrion Lord has N3H3, two Sleep Vines attacks, and the ability to "Awaken Manikins". It cannot preach, but its Holy 3 skills means it has access to all but the most potent Manikin-boosting prayers.