History Characters / Dominions

* AscendedExtra: The Wolf Clan and the Bear Clan are sourced from the independent Wolf Tribes and Bear Tribes, much like how Early Machaka's Lion Clan is sourced from the independent Lion Tribes. Many of the troop types are similar to those in Early Ulm, too.

The Nidings are a hardy nation of humans who war with the Vanir and have carved out a kingdom of moors and cold mountains in this conflict. Led in battle by jarls and led by their shapshifting priests, the Seithberenders, the people of Nidavangr devote themselves to their three sacred animals and live for conflict. They were introduced in Dominions 6.

* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: The Seithberenders are mages who can shapshift into their totemic animal - bear, crow, or wolf.

* TheImp: Late Marignon has the exclusive right to summon Demon Jesters, also known as Harlequins, whose purpose is to raise the morale of others in their squad; this is a net positive in demon-only squads, and merely negates the morale penalty of having mixed squads otherwise. As troops, the Demon Jesters are stronger than humans and capable of flight, but they're worse than most other demons and ill-equipped for fighting; part of the amusement is in watching demons eagerly get into situations and mess up (for the humans), or in [[{{Schadenfreude}} watching them get roasted by friendly fire]] (for the other demons).

* CorruptChurch: Late Age. Their priests convert populations, but turn a blind eye to demonologists snatching virgins for sacrifice. Worse, girls are sacrificed publicly on Sunday so Marignon has clearly turned to ReligionOfEvil.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: They're essentially magical Gauls ruled by their druids.

[[folder:Muspleheim]]

* Mordor: Muspelheim gives this vibe, being a realm of shadows, ash, and volcanoes.

A nation introduced in Dominions 6, Pyrène takes heavy inspiration from Basque mythology. In the Early Age it is a nation of cave-dwelling humans called the Bekrydes who were taught metal-working by Giants. By the Middle Age it has become a prosperous feudal nation, but a disastrous war with Abysia saw the extinction of the Jenitlak and Basajaunak and the nation embraces blood magic under the tutelage of the Black Goats.

* BloodMagic: Under the tutelage of the Black Goats, this becomes Pyrène's hat. Both the Akerbeltz and the Middle Age version of the Sorgina are potent blood mages and the Pyrènian bishop has some skill in the path.

* OurGiantsAreBigger: In the Early Age, Pyrène has access to the Mairu (brutish rock throwers and club wielders), Basajaunak (nature-themed druids), and Jentilak (skilled metalworkers), as well as the Tartalo cyclopes.

* {{Halflings}}: The people of Piconye resemble the hoburgs in stature and temperament but are described as "ugly" and have horns on their heads. As they were disunited tribes before being conquered by Ind, they adopted Ind's culture as their own and after Ind's fall built up a successor kingdom complete with its own Prester King.

[[folder:Ind]]
'''Ind - Magnificent Kingdom of Exalted Virtue''' (Middle Age)

One of two Middle Age nations introduced in Dominions 5's two-year anniversary patch. Ind is a fabled kingdom of marvelous riches hidden beyond heathen lands. In Ind every soldier is a priest, every priest is a bishop and every noble is a King.

* {{Dogfaces}}: Ind can hire straight-up Cynocephalians from hills and mountains, including [[TheDreaded the vicious]] members of [[NamesToRunAwayFrom/BiblicalNames Gog and Magog]]. While Cynocephalians can be also be found and subjugated as neutral parties, Ind is the only faction that incorporates them, and they're extinct in the Age after Ind.

* ShoutOut: The nation of Ind is heavily based on the tale of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John Prester John]], a legendary Christian patriarch.

'''Muspelheim- Sons of Fire''' (Early Age)

* OurGiantsAreBigger: In addition to the previously established Jotun, Muspelheim introduces the eponymous Muspel, fire giants descended from primordial giants of a past age, with the muspel ruling over the jotun.

[[folder:Oceania]]
'''Oceania - Coming of the Capricorns''' (Early Age)\\
'''Oceania - Mermidons'' (Middle Age)

Ubar is a nation of Jinnun who lord over their human slaves. In the anciet past the most powerful Jinnun rebelled against the Pantokrator and were imprisoned, leaving a handful of Jinnun to lord over the humans and await their masters' return. During the transition between the Early Age and Middle Age the humans overthrew the Jinnun and founded their own nation, Na'Ba. Na'Ba is a hidden kingdom from which traders with silver tongues travel far and wide with luxurious wares imbued with ancient magic. The rulers are descendants of a race of mighty Jinn.

** For Na'Ba, their recruitable elites are humans with genie blood called Jann. Generic versions of the Ubar genies can also be summoned as commanders by Na'Ba's spellcasters, although the Houris now have Nature, Air, Fire, and Glamour magic. Na'ba doesn't have access to the generic Ifrit troop but can summon Ghuls and Jinnun (although as Na'ba has no native access to Blood, summoning Ghuls and Shayatin is much more difficult for them than Ubar).

[[folder:Nazca]]
'''Nazca - Kingdom of the Sun''' (Middle Age)

Formerly a Caelum colony, the fall of the Eagle Kings before the Middle Age resulted in the colony splitting off. The Raptor Clan's necromancy wasn't banned, and they took to mummifying the dead rulers and priests to retain their wisdom, and now the mummies are the true rulers of society.

* BattleCouple: The Royal Mallqui, the mummified remains of an [[PowerOfTheSun Inca]] (king) and [[{{Lunacy}} Coya]] (queen) bundled together and carried aloft in the same litter. In death, their combined experience and power is retained.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Inca with WingedHumanoid people and a heavy focus on mummies. Hints of Persia, inherited from Caelum, can still be found.
* {{Mummy}}: Incan ones, and what happens to their dead commanders.
* TheNecrocracy: It wasn't really intentional -- Nazca kept mummifying its rulers and priests for them to serve as advisers, but as more and more mummies were made, more and more resources had to go to them...
* TheRedMage: Nazca's mages are quite flexible, and some of them can even kick ass physically. With that being said, their "mastery" of any one path is quite lacking, only rarely touching level 3.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Like Oceania, Na'Ba, and Phaeacia, Nazca disappears without a trace in the transition from the Middle to the Late Ages. It is implied that Nazcan society is set to collapse shortly after (or during) the Middle Ages, and the Raptors are said to have regrouped in the Late Ages to take Caelum, but not even a hint of Nazcan culture survives after it's no longer playable.

[[folder:Niefelheim/Jotunheim/Utgård/Vaettiheim]]
'''Niefelheim - Sons of Winter''' (Early Age)\\
'''Jotunheim - Iron Woods''' (Middle Age)\\
'''Utgård - Well of Urd / Vaettiheim - Wolf Kin Jarldom''' (Late Age)
Jotunheim has been in the game since the very first Dominions, with Niefelheim and Utgard being variations to it added in Dominions 2 or 3. All three factions were later reworked with a patch to Dominions 5, which also added Vaettiheim.

* OurGiantsAreBigger: The primary unit type fielded by these factions, these giants are strong, armored (sometimes heavily), and large (being size 4 units). However, in trade off, they are incredibly weak to lightning attacks.
* AnIcePerson: Jotunheim and especially Niefelheim are primarily associated with ice magic, with their top tier mages and warriors emitting a cold chill around them, often having ice armor as an ability, and having ample access to water magic, which includes all of the ice spells.

[[folder:Pyrène]]
'''Pyrène - Kingdom of the Bekrydes''' (Early Age)\\
A nation introduced in Dominions 6, Pyrène takes heavy inspiration from Basque mythology. In the Early Age it is a nation of cave-dwelling humans called the Bekrydes who were taught metal-working by Giants.

* {{Cyclops}}: The Tartalo are dim-witted sheep-herding cyclopes.
* DishingOut Dirt: All of their spellcasters have at least some skill in Earth.
* OurGiantsAreBigger: In the Early Age, Pyrène has access to the Mairu, Basajaunak, and Jentilak, as well as the Tartalo cyclopes.
* ShockAndAwe: The Sorginak serve a primordial storm god and specialize in Air magic.

[[folder:Pythium]]
'''Pythium, Emerald Empire''' (Middle Age)\\
'''Pythium, Serpent Cult''' (Late Age)

After the conquest of Sauromatia by Ermor, the region was integrated into the Empire and heavily influenced by imperial culture. However, they continued to maintain their own distinctive institutions, namely hydra-taming and the communion of the Theurgs, an order of astral mage-priests. Forewarned of the coming cataclysm, the Theurgs led the Pythians to break away from the Empire of Ermor just in time to witness its utter ruin. Backed by the military might of the old legionary tradition (augmented with distinctive Hydras and Serpent Cataphracts) and the faith and astral magic of the Theurgs, the Emerald Empire of Pythium struggled to restore a semblance of order and unity to the fractured provinces of Ermor's old empire, or at least those within its reach.

As it expanded, however, the character of the Emerald Empire changed. With the collapse of Ermor and its all-encompassing Imperial Cult, a number of mystery cults flourished as the inhabitants struggled to find some sort of anchor in the surrounding chaos. One cult in particular, the Serpent Cult, grew in prominence as C'tissian Sauromancers, invited by the Emperors of Pythium, found great success in beating back the undead hordes of Ermor's Ashen Empire. In time, the Serpent Cult has come to displace the Theurgs almost entirely as the state religion, using the Serpent Cataphracts and their own order of assassins to maintain their dominance and suppress rival mystery cults (though the Theurgs are still tolerated out of respect for Pythium's old traditions). Additionally, the need for permanent garrisons to secure the empire's overstretched frontiers has split the old legionary military into two separate institutions -- the locally recruited, trained, and equipped Limitanei responsible for holding and maintaining the border forts, and the professional, elite Comitatenses who are trained to swiftly march from frontier to frontier to deal with serious invasions or to conquer new territories.

* CrystalDragonJesus: The Theurgs of the Middle Age. By the time of the Late Age, they've been pushed to the side by the Serpent Cult, as well as several minor cults suck as the Cult of The Solar Bull, a Crystal Dragon ''Mithras'', and the Cult of the Great Mother, Crystal Dragon Cybele.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire. The Late Age adds elements of pre-Christian Rome.
* LightEmUp: Pythium makes extensive use of Astral magic.
* OldMagic: In the Late Ages, the official magic of the Empire becomes that of Early-and-Middle-Age C'tis, with an incidental focus on Middle-Age C'tis's "Marsh" magic. This sidelines the Theurgy's "Sphere" magic, as the Theurgs lose funding and become lowly teachers. As a result, Late Pythium's Astral and Air mages are lesser than those from before; the Empire's Water Magic is largely unchanged by the focus-shift from the sky to swamps, while its solar Fire Magic ironically gets ''more'' popular [[TheDarkArts thanks to a heretical cult]] in the army.
* OurHydrasAreDifferent: A recruitable capitol-only unit, capable of [[GoodThingYouCanHeal re-growing its heads]] but not dividing them. In the Late Age, they have sacred status. Late Age Pythium can also summon the Daughter of Typhon, a unique hydra.
* WeatherManipulation: Pythium's non-Astral magic consists of Air, Water, and Fire, representing the "Spheres" between the Theurgs and the Stellar Sphere (Air being the atmosphere, Water being [[SpaceIsAnOcean the cosmic sea]] referenced in the Bible, and Fire being the Sun). Likewise, some Arch Theurgs can call down lightning, some can make it rain, and some can cause solar eclipses.

[[folder:Ragha]]
'''Ragha - Dual Kingdom''' (Late Age)

A mixed nation descended from the Abysian colony of Tur and Caelumite refugees. Tur was once a prosperous colony founded after the Abysian campaign against Ashdod, but was cut off by an Aroscephale campaign. Tur developed as an independent kingdom until suffering a devastating invasion by Caelum. Tur was almost destroyed until Caelum suffered a civil war and Caelum Airyas fled to Tur negotiating a peace and asking for refuge. The peace was sealed by the Gryphon riders of Tur fighting off the Herab Seraphs pursuing the Airyas, and Ragha has become a bifurcated society, the Airyas and Turans each with their own soldiers, mages, and priests, with Turans active in summer and the Airyas active in winter.

[[folder:Oceania]]
'''Oceania - Coming of the Capricorns''' (Early Age)\\
'''Oceania - Mermidons'' (Middle Age)

%%Describe Ubar here (eventually).

Na'Ba is a hidden kingdom from which traders with silver tongues travel far and wide with luxurious wares imbued with ancient magic. The rulers are descendants of a race of mighty Jinn.

* ColdIron: Some of Na'Ba's troops are vulnerable to non-magical iron weapons and take more damage from them.

* OurGeniesAreDifferent: Na'Ba's primary elite troop type is genies, said to be born out of "smokeless fire" from before mankind came to the land. As a result, they are powerful, semi-ethereal, {{Glamour}}ed mages and warriros who are only able to come out and play after their city, Jannah, is unsealed by the coming of their Pretender. However, in exchange for their massive physical power, they are vulnerable to both iron weapons and salt thrown at them, which can stun them and leave them open for more attacks.

* BlowYouAway: The Kavi, aka the Spire Horn or Tepest Clan, have this ability inherited from their divine serving ancestors, which include their mages and their soldiers alike, since all are capable of flying during even the strongest storms.

* WingedHumanoid: The Caelians all poesess wings, which is commonly used to snipe enemy rear line troops such as archers and mages.

* AscendedExtra: In the fourth game, their Early Age is built around the usually independent Lion Tribe.

* ObviousBeta: Eriu is overall a lot less complete than Tir na n'Og, the faction it was based on. [[BalanceBuff It's slated to be a lot more distinct with the next game's release]], though!
* Oireland: Eriu even has one of Ireland's names, while Tir na n'Og is one of the faery lands in Irish mythology. Their Heroes are all legendary figures, too, such as Lugh for Tir na n'Og and Cu Chulain for Eriu.

'''Eriu, Last of the Tuatha''' (Middle Age)

* FishPeople: The Merrow are a race of green-skinned merfolk who make up the bulk of the inhabitants of the city of Ker-Ys.

* IdiotBall: Sceleria grabs onto this thing ''hard'', then proceeds to do several laps around the track with it. Specifically, they decide that the way to combat undead is with more undead (which can work because death magic can undo undeath, but this can also be used alongside normal undead), which, when Ermor is purged, is not put to use in the fields in lieu of peaseants. The peasants revolt, so the idiots who run the nation decide that opening another portal to the realm of death is worth it to quiet them down. This ends predictibaly, with the place becoming the ghostly place of Lemuria.

* VirginSacrifice: During the Early and Late Ages, it's the only way to spread dominion.

** Berytos's destruction by Arcoscephale is possibly a reference to the sacking of the Phoenician cities by [[UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat]], mainly the city of Tyre after it forbade Alexander from performing a sacrifice at its high temple.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Egypt and Babylon.
* LizardFolk: Comes in three flavours: Herbivore Lizards, Predator Lizards, and the Sobek Giants.

* PoisonousPerson: Aside from their natural resistances to poisons, the C'tis have the Empoisoiner Guilds, experts in various toxins.
%%* ProudScholarRace: They have this going. Probably why they didn't see why teaching Ermor was a *really* [[FromBadToWorse bad idea]].%%They have *what* "going"?

* CastingAShadow: Middle and Late Ages, due to having death mages and the corresponding death magic.

* TheEmpire: While all pretender-ruled states fits the trope, early Ermor in ''Dominions 5'' is the state that backstory-wise fits clearly here, with three Middle Age states confirmed as descended from the occupation of Early Age nations (Pythium from Sauromatia, Marignon from the Maverni, Ulm from Ulm), another splinter state carrying on the traditions of the old Ermor (more or less -- Sceleria), the heartland of Ermor itself being the centre of an undead realm, ''and'' the reason for another of the disappeared Early Age nations (Berytos) is that Ermor smashed them.

* AscendedExtra: Lemuria's conceptual origins go all the way back to ''Dominions 2'', which offered certain varieties of Ermor a ritual for busting open a portal to the Underworld themselves. The faction itself became a thing in ''Dominions 4'', after the ritual's absence in ''Dominions 3''.

* {{Expy}}: The Propet of the New Faith of Early Age Ermor, due to his association with shrouds, a sacrifice, and healing powers, is very clearly a version of Jesus Christ and his healing powers and sacrifice.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: AncientRome, complete with the Manipular legion units of Hastatii, Triarrii, and Princepes, and worship of a Jesus {{Expy}} who displaced the old Pagan traditions to the countryside. They do diverge though in that they accidentally wake up a death god in the process of trying to resurrect Jesus and become undead in the process.

* AscendedExtra: Asphodel's conceptual origins go all the way back to ''Dominions 2'', where the civilized "theme" of Pangaea (the equivalent of Late Pangaea before Ages were introduced) had a ritual for attempting to re-awaken the wildness of the woods. Asphodel itself wouldn't become a faction until ''Dominions 4''.

* UsefulNotes/Romani: Portrayed in the Late Age as Fortune Tellers, who live in the [[TheLostWoods Black Forest]] despite its dangers.