I'd like to develop on the Locust-Swarm type of disaster, but a more planned and persistent verison:
Feast and Famine- Age of Monsters only. A prophet has declared that e has seen the future of wealth followed by vast poverty. Warns you to prepare for it, and maybe let his people go.
- Affects Your food resources: Rice, Wheat, Pigs, and Sheep (maybe fish, but it doesn't quite fit).
- 4~6 turns of double production, followed by 10~12 turns of
zero production with double crime rate or +5% crime rate. Does not affect your food stores. Random number so you can't calculate exact numbers to hit.
- The crime penalty is designed to represent starvation unrest, and will overthrow all of your towns if you hit the famine period without enough food and
also do nothing.
- The player can stock up on your food stores/prepare with Cornucopia/plant some food resources.
Locust swarms can be retooled to hit your food stores and production for a short time only (such as 3 turns).
= = =
Dwarven Invasion - Age of Man/Age of Monsters (age alters the number of spawn points).
- ideally should only implement if it's possible to make the hostile to bandits as well. Generic mayhem is good.
- Several mountain tiles are selected as spawn points for an incoming army. Mark them with a "Dwarven Tunnel" token so they do not get smited.
They come for your diamonds, jewellers, moonstones and sunstones, but aren't afraid to sack your towns if they're in the way.
- When the map has no mountains, spawn a few during the warning period and mark them.
- Copy the Brokkr's portrait if in need of dwarven units. When the act comes, spawn them constantly over 6 turns or so. They are strong melee fighters with bonuses against light infantry, heavy infantry, and buildings. They'll have mountain-walker, naturally. Town they capture may or may not be turned to their faction.
- EDIT: In addition, also spawn a pair of battering rams.
- In terms of fluff, disable Brokkr when the invasion is in effect. He wishes to remain out of the conflict.
- Metagame-wise, this is specifically designed to ruffle up players who use mountains as part of their city defense. If possible slightly increase the odds of picking mountain tiles near player towns, and slightly increase again for picking them next to
Greek towns.
= = = = =
Developing the plague ideas a bit more...
A Plague! (several variants)
- Age of Man/Age of Monsters.
- This cataclysm needs to begin in only one faction in order to de-stabilise the game. The choice is random.
- When a plague erupts, ideally inflict several
buildings with the plague. Higher probability to pick the largest city. (I think units tend to get killed too quickly especially when players deploy enemy mythological counters.)
- Each turn after, spread the plague to neighbouring buildings cardinally. An infected trading-post has a chance to infect another trading post. Wells will never be infected.
- Each
unit that step onto these buildings will be infected (80% of the time?). Conversely, each infected unit stepping onto a building can infect the building. Their auto-heal is inverted and multiplied by 5, and each unit they are adjacent to can get infected as well. Up to you when you want to calculate these spreading events.
- Town-centers that are infected have no crime rise, as the criminals are steering clear.
Infected buildings cease to function.
- (nasty version) If ever all buildings in a city becomes infected, that town is killed off and is turned into empty ruins! Having a well (see above) will always prevent this from happening.
- It would be nice to give the Norse Shotput some auto-heal, but Apollo may have something to say about that too.
- The plague runs its course after 3~7 turns (shorter at age of man so as not to directly wipe out your chances). At which point remove all plague tokens. It is possible for a melee unit to infect his enemy faction, but the effect will inevitably be less.
- To combat this, players should prepare additional towns to compensate, and spread them out a little more. One *should* expect to lose a town or two to this cataclysm.
