Dwarf Overhaul

Do you hate trees, knife-ears, and innovation? Do you opine that Dwarfs have needed an upgrade since CoE3? Do you worry that the world will just pass you by as you sit in your mine, slapping runes on Guards? Then, by Grungni, have I got the cure for what ails you!

The Dwarf Overhaul aims to make the Dwarf Queen viable in mid- and late-game by expanding upon the class’ mechanics. A particular emphasis is placed on rituals and magic/ritual pathing, but the roles for commanders in general have been improved substantially. Gone are the days where you hit ‘s’ on your Dvala as soon as you found a colony, only waking them rarely to summon a smith or promote to T3. Likewise, Councilors and Chosen take a more active role in play as scouts and expanders by founding mines and tunneling through Agartha, while Rune Smiths and the new Rune Lord have a more multi-faceted role as both crafters/enchanters and mobile mage support.

• All commanders can either burn (Rune Smith line) or chop (everyone else) forests. That’ll teach the knife-eared pricks. Most commanders can also tunnel.
• Access basic Enchanting rituals and Storm Magic with Rune Smiths.
• Invade Agartha! Then pull out 20 years later when you realize Pale Ones can’t be civilized.
• Invade Inferno! Immediately regret digging too deep. !!!FUN!!!*
• Explore and expand your empire with Councilors. Councilors now found mines, rather than just occasionally occupying them. They are also ideal for exploring Agartha.
• Improve your colonies with the Dvala’s new enhancement rituals to make the knife-ears jealous. Defend your colonies from said knife ears with the Dvala’s new promotion and defensive rituals.
• Empower your armies with the new Rune Lord, who provides army buff rituals and high magical ability in addition to the old Rune Smith rituals.
• Craft items with Rune Smiths! Regret all of your life’s decisions when you’re literally up to your eyeballs in cursed items.
• Call upon the Ancestor Gods to wreak havoc among your foes! Using a combination of Geomancy and Dwarf Magic, Ancestor Gods are the SC chassis of the past, now in a stout, squat package.

*: Permanent inferno counter-invasions are not fun. Don’t lose if you invade Inferno.

First and foremost: Giving dwarfs a Functioning Economy™* and some honest-to-god endgame power spikes likely makes them a nightmare on par with endgame necromancer/demonologist. Kill them early rather than complaining.

Several issues are suspected, but not confirmed due to lack of proper documentation and sleep deprivation.

Suspected:
None presently

Known:

• Mines change gem type/quantity when upgrading them or founding dwarfen cities from them.
• The portal to the Plane of Earth can wind up in the Void. This is far less common than earlier attempts, but I still have nightmares about those cats.
• As of 5.03, bentarg and bentargall ritual effects only last 1 turn for some reason. When using Rune rituals, they will have to be cast prior to important battles.

*: Economy does not actually function. Author not responsible for losses on the Gem Market.

Unfortunately, beyond providing a few syntax examples and a list of functions, the modding documentation isn’t that great. Without the following CoE4 modders, I’d not have had an idea of proper syntax and what works for some ideas for quite a long time to come. So, they get a shoutout even if they probably wont see it.

Hell, without being in the dark about syntax, this would’ve been the easiest 600 lines I’ve ever written. No brackets? No long function strings? Count me the feth in!

Oya’s Agarthan Realm (for enchantment and commander role ideas, ritual restrictions, and also a sprite because I cannot into art)
https://steamcommunity.com/app/403950/discussions/1/361787186439304156/

Kilmorr’s Item Forge (for a viable workaround to the lack of forging functions and a couple sprites)
https://steamcommunity.com/app/403950/discussions/1/152390014790539898/

Emperor Herb’s Extra Rituals (for tileforming ritual ideas and general syntax)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2581475059&searchtext=

I’m currently in the process of making overhauls for every single faction in CoE 5 and I plan to eventually port over the Warhammer Fantasy Battles mods for Dominions 4-5 over to CoE (a sizeable undertaking, only barely in the planning stages).

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