Tauren Race

TiJiL, do you still accept help? If so I can trigger any maps that a terrain artist has done (If it needs triggering, you might want to set up different senarios, and I can do mostly all maps you've ever seen with a few exceptions so my abilities aren't really limited). Or, what I'd most likely to be doing, I could help with ideas for the whole project over all.

Regards
Dead-Inside

Sure, I could probably use you. It might be a little while before any campaign begins construction, but I'd love to have your help then.

hey tijil, i would like to help with the tauren race mod. Ive always wanted to see the tauren become more "aknowledged". im really good with concepts (concept art, thinkin of stuff). Oh and if you still dont know what to do with that building you had, you should make it a drop-off building. Oh and their defensive structure should be a bunker, from which they shoot crossbow bolts (it should resemble an orc burrow). Anyways, i just want to offer my assistance. my email is [email protected] i dont have AIM so...

i just thought of some more stuff:

the tauren house/farm should be a small tent pitched beside a totem called Totem Shrine

their siege weapon should be like a ballistae (plurral for ballista) mounted on a kodo called a Kodolista (lol sounds stupid)

tanker, or heavy melee guy should be a Tauren Halberdier

Spirit of the Wind-is flying unit...hmmmmmm... i know its far fetched but maybe a white tauren with wings. they undergo years of practicing and choose a "kindred spirit" and try to become like their "sprirt", those who chose the condor become the fyling unit. attacks with balls of lightning, or a katana-like sword, you choose.

Longbowmen-main ranged unti should be a tall thin tauren with a giant longbow, about the height of a BM (blade master)

main mounted unit should be tauren youngblood mounted on a basilisk or something like it (a basilisk is like a snake/dragon) so make the basilisk fairly thin, four, mebbe 6 legged, like a dragonspawn from World of Warcraft,attacks with a very wide bladed sword, has petrify skill, you should make it so that a beam or something comes from basilisks eyes, hit unit targeted and stops it for 4 sec, cost like 25mana, only has 200.

basic unit should be a Templar Warrior- has a scythe or maybe a long-wide bladed spear and a shield.

as for heroes, im a bit stumped.....hmmmmmm....... maybe an elder shaman, one skill could be Fissure, its like showckwave for TC but it makes a crack, and has AoE dmg and also leaves a trail of fire.

thats all for now, ill get back to ya (hopefully with drawings) soon
fell free to criticise the concepts:) !!

Certainly! Good to have you aboard. I'm trying to recruit a few more people before we get started. Still need a skinner and a modeler. *Crosses fingers*

Here are the ideas that I've come up with for the tauren so far…


Worker: Youngblood – The Youngbloods are adolescent tauren, already in possession of great strength but forbidden to fight alongside their elders until they learn the virtue of patience. Much of the tauren attitude towards combat centers around respect, honor, and compassion. The youngbloods, however, are quick to fight and demonstrate their strength, and thus are not considered yet ready to aid the tauren in defending their homeland. However, they are indeed still tauren, and in a pinch, their ‘small' 6-foot frames can soundly beat off many a stalwart warrior. The youngbloods are slower and more expensive than the workers for the other races, but can carry more gold and lumber. They also can utilize their great strength to chop down trees with fewer blows than other workers.

Tier 1 Melee: Brawler – The Brawlers are young tauren warriors who have not yet gained their second name. Much like the youngbloods, the elders limit their combat abilities. The older tauren have granted brawlers the privilege to fight and defend their race, but they are closely watched in order to ensure that they fully understand the tauren values. Thus, the brawlers are granted none of the magic weapons or fine armor that the seasoned warriors are entrusted to, in an attempt to ensure that they are responsible enough to possess such power. The brawlers fight using their physical strength alone. They use their massive fists to pummel enemies and can be upgraded to also wield enchanted knuckle-stones to increase their damage capacity. However, they are unarmored, which makes them fairly vulnerable to those bearing sharp blades.

Tier 1 Ranged: Hunter – The Hunters are tauren who come from the more nomadic tribes from the Central Barrens. Perfectly happy and adept in the desert, their swift speed and deadly accuracy are a bane to all who oppose the tauren. Wielding slings, the hunters can pelt enemies with small, sharp rocks. They are very lightly armored, which allows them to move very quickly and evade enemy blows. The hunters can be upgraded to attack multiple targets at once with volleys of gravel and also to loot the bodies of fallen warriors, gaining resources wherever they can.

Tier 3 Melee: Warrior – Massive tauren capable of routing entire armies by them selves, the Warriors are entrusted to the mightiest of bludgeons. Normally wielding magical maces, which the Earth Mother herself empowers to increase their already formidable strength, the warriors can also be upgraded to utilize long polearms, effectively increasing their range. The warriors are wise and honorable tauren, fully versed in all normal practices. Thus, their weaponry is great, and their decisions are highly valued among the tribes. The warriors can be equipped with magic weaponry and armor, increasing their damage and regeneration with the aid of the Earth Mother.

Supportive Caster 1: Soul Messenger – The soul messengers are a reclusive order of spell casters, adept at instilling courage in their allies and fear in their enemies. Even the least proficient of this order can rectify the souls of fallen units, healing nearby living tauren in the process. Those with further training can turn the devastating effects of The Fever (a tauren spiritual ailment) against their foes, disheartening them and preventing them from retreat, attack, or spells. The most ordained soul messengers can instill great fortitude and endurance in an allied unit, granting it increased potency in battle. The soul messengers come from the Dustmane Tribe of stone tauren within the foothills of Western Kalimdor

I'm tired of writing now. I will post more of my ideas later. Tell me what you think!

Supportive Caster 2: Skywatcher – the Skywatchers are a group of druidic tauren who reside in the precipitous mountains of Western Kalimdor. Harnessing the elemental powers of the storm wyrms, the skywatchers can set bases to waste. Skywatchers are also adept at augury. Initially, a skywatcher is trained in divination, allowing him to view a distant area for as long as he wishes. However, while performing this magic, the skywatcher needs utter quiet and concentration, for if he is disturbed, he can be injured or even killed. More talented skywatchers can summon healing winds, which will blow across the nearby area, healing allied units. Only the most powerful and adept skywatchers can summon forth mighty storms, but these powerful entities can slay entire legions of weak units.

Combative Caster: Onyx Templar – The Onyx Templar are the only casters from the mountain strain of tauren, which are normally associated with brute strength and size. Devoting themselves entirely to the study of the Earth Mother, these wise, shamanistic tauren can mold the very ground to do what is needed of it. Pillars of rock will rise, shielding the templar from all damage, while gigantic fissures and geysers of lava rend buildings and units alike piece from piece. Little is known of this order, as their members keep their abilities hidden, but the sudden appearance of a gigantic rift beneath an opposing army often gives clue to their presence.

Siege: War Kodo – Enormous kodo beasts fitted with armor, the War Kodos rush forth to destroy that which might threaten the peace of the Barrens. This reinforced reptile is difficult to kill and can smash to pieces many buildings that would take a hundred men to defeat. Unfortunately, the creature is very slow and vulnerable, and thus it is augmented with some tauren ingenuity. Sometimes, enormous catapults are mounted on the creature, allowing them to destroy buildings from afar. Alternately, a fortress can be built atop the kodo, granting it increased defense and allowing tauren from within to hurl spears at nearby units.

Tank Hero: Battlechief – The battlechieftains are few and far between, mostly due to their relatively new appearance. After the founding of Thunder Bluff, Cairne Bloodhoof asked of many of the large tauren tribes to elect martial leaders, proficient in combat and strategy. Thus, the gigantic strength of the Battlechief was brought to bear against the centaur. Wielding magical warblades and enormous shields, a lone battlechief can defeat most any single foe, and cleave through troves of hapless enemies. The Earth Mother's power radiates from the Battlechief to such an extent that nearby allies can swing their weapons with greater force, striking multiple foes at once.

Magic Hero: Thaumaturge – The Thaumaturges are masters of the ancient tauren practice of spirit-calling. They walk the fine line between the living and the dead, and act as spiritual aids to bereaved tauren. Through their great understanding of life and favor with the Earth Mother, a tauren thaumaturge can stop enemies from dying, resurrect the lives of those recently slain, and call upon the spirits of noble tauren to aid him in combat. While not a combative creature in himself, the Thaumaturge is a deadly enemy to have.

Assassin Hero: Plainstrider – The Plainstriders are the ultimate nomadic tauren. Fully capable of moving over the desert without food or water for days, they are the swiftest, most stealthy tauren in existence. Sending forth long spears, they are adept at slaying lone enemies, or picking off specific targets one by one. Perhaps the most frighteningly dangerous skill they have is that of silent, practically invisible travel. Talented plainstriders can move themselves and nearby allies over the terrain with amazing stealth.




I'm working on writing some of my own tauren lore, due to the painfully small amount of official lore that exists on them. Please, tell me what you think of my concepts.

I like the idea but right know, the tauren race seems way to good.
The only solution I can think of is to make their individual units cost a lot of food.
Good luck on your mod and post soem more models:D

so what about my ideas, are you keeping em or no. anyways what do you think of them?

Thanks antihero. I'll post some more models when I get one I like. (Having a bit of trouble adapting to 3dsmax4 with the art tools.) Yeah, I think the tauren will definately be geared towards slow, expensive, powerful units. For instance, I think their brawler unit should cost 4 food, and maybe even have the worker cost 2.

blahx3, I think your ideas are good, but they don't fit well with the tauren. The tauren are nomadic and fairly primitive. What little permanent architecture they have is made of hard stone and logs. They are artistic and honorable. Much of their magic deals with the natural elements and spirits. Try to keep in mind that the tauren culture is very much like that of the native americans. Thus, something so technological as a 'Kodolista' is out. Also, the tauren have very limited resources. The only metallurgy they do at all is the forging of the magical warblades that many of the older tauren utilize. Therefore, units with scythes don't fit well. Next, archery was primarily a European thing, so longbows are not good. Tauren need to throw rocks and spears and such. As for a mounted unit, for this I just don't know. The native Americans did not employ mounts originally (mostly because they didn't have any). Also, it's hard to imagine a reasonably sized creature carrying a tauren with any speed. Finally, cows don't fly. A spirit walker with wings just sounds too out there for me, despite its humor.

For air units, I was thinking there could be a wyvern of some type, as the tauren were occasional allies with them. Also, perhaps a tauren riding on a desert chimaera or a bronze dragon would be cool. Not sure on these.

Perhaps you could post some drawings soon? I am anxious to see what they are like.

Unmounted wyverns would be good for anti-air
But the only other aerial unit I could think of would have to be a harpy. Needless to say, I doubt that any harpies would help taurens.

Much the way that humans have a siege engine, you could use kudo beast as some sort of melee siege weapon.

Making the workers cost 2 food is a good idea
Will they also be better fighters then ordinary workers?

PS, I can help skin your models

Harpies most certainly cannot be used as tauren air units. The harpies and tauren are enemies to the core. Just wouldn't fit. I think I'll have to delve a bit into mythology to come up with a good deserty air unit for them.

As for kodo, yes. Look above at my war kodo entry.

The youngbloods will be much more powerful fighters than normal workers. They won't be powerful offensively (so as to discourage their use in rushing) but they will be much harder to kill than normal workers.

And as for you skinning, Whoopie! That is good. I am a pretty bad skinner. Thanks,


--TiJiL

Don't get too excited as I am a pretty unexperienced skinner. I'm mostly good with human faces and armor. But I'll experiment with ways to make good looking hair.

Regardless of your skill, the more the better. I think that the more people that can get involved in a project, the more likely that project is to be finished, and the less likely that the project will fall apart from lack of interest. Welcome aboard!

i think Tauren workers should be able to carry more wood/gold if they cost more food

tijil, your idea of the war kodo is the same, maybe even more farfetched than mine

my idea: a kodo with a ballista or some siege weapon mounted on it

your idea: an armored kodo with a catapult mounted on it, and a possible fortress.

honestly think of a kodos size, its not much taller than a tauren, its not that wide, but it is long. therefore i think a ballista would be a better fit since they are like a giant crossbow. which is narrow, except for the bow part.

as for you saying archery was a european thing, native indians main hunting weapon was a bow, how else would the kill from long distances. i know i know slings can do that, but you would have to hit something right in the temple, goin 75mph to kill it.

and for the flying tauren, no humour was meant. dont you think that that would look cool, a tauren with giant wings and a magical sword.

and you cant take these things so seriously, you cant just say, well the natives didnt use it, so we cant. dont forget that the tauren are great friends with the orcs, who HAVE technological stuff to some extent. keep that in mind

First of all, the archery that the native americans employed is not natural to their area. The later groups like the Apache began using it after it was introduced by the conquistadors. As for the kodo beasts, look at the storm wyrm. That's a variant of the kodo beast. That's an enormous creature. Next, a ballista is definately a more European technology. Catapult is more primitive. As for your orc explanation, do you see the orcs utilizing bows? I should think not. Their only machine is the demolisher and the previous catapults. Primitive, tensile-firing siege weapons. I suppose they must be much better at blacksmithing too, what with all their axes. A flying tauren would be funny and cool looking, I admit that, but doesn't make too much sense. As for the 'fortress' I didn't mean that in the literal sense. Essentially, I just meant an area where tauren could stand and fling spears.

Finally, I hardly think I'm saying if the natives didn't do it, we can't do it. The natives didn't have blacksmithing at all, the natives didn't make siege weapons at all, etc, etc. However, the natives are a perfect base to get the theme of the tauren right, regardless of whether they could have a ballista, it doesn't fit with their theme. Since I want to emphasize the culture and theme of the tauren with this race, then I shall be completely serious about it.



Oh, and Frostigt, I think so too. Tauren are a bit bigger than the others, I should think they could carry more.

Thanks for all comments,

--TiJiL




EDIT: Sorry, I just realized this. The orcs do use archery. Watch towers. *hits self on head*