History VideoGame / TotalAnnihilationKingdoms

* Elsin, the LawfulGood Mage King of Aramon is your classic medieval nation with castles, peasants, knights, primitive cannons and backstabbing nobility. Affiliated with the element of earth. Naturally, Aramon is known to have strong, albeit slow brute force land armies, including some of the best siege units in the game. Aramonian bases are well-known for their amazing ability to protect themselves, with some of the best towers in the game, including trebuchets; letting an Aramon player turtle in multiplayer will likely lead either to a long stall, or a fast and easy win for the iron-clads. Known to be very new-player friendly. A flexible faction, though they lack some specialized units from other factions, and aside from horsemen and knights they lack speed, which can be a weakness. Elsin himself has no special abilities, but he is considered to be the best in a straight up fight compared to other monarchs. Allied with Veruna.

* Thirsha, the TrueNeutral Huntress of Zhon, rules over a savage, wild jungle land inhabited by primitive animals and monstrous beings who worship her as a goddess. Affiliated with the element of wind. Zhon is the odd man out from the rest of the factions. They don't have many buildings, and rather than creating a building that makes other units, their units create other units. Thus, Zhon is all about speed and mobility. The army, or more accurately, the [[WorldOfBadass entire population]] of Zhon can be fast and deadly in the right players' hands, with tier 1 units weak but cheap to make, higher tier units very strong, and the winged beasts of war they employ are unmatched, [[OverlyLongGag except by, of course, Creon]]. Zhon is not known to be new player friendly due to the perceived drawbacks of nearly no actual base-building. Zhon is all about the offense, applying pressure and more pressure. Thirsha is the only monarch that can fly. Allied with Taros, for some unexplained reason.

* Elsin, the LawfulGood Mage King of Aramon is your classic medieval nation with castles, peasants, knights, primitive cannons and backstabbing nobility. Affiliated with the element of earth. Naturally, Aramon is known to have strong, albeit slow brute force land armies, including some of the best siege units in the game. Aramonian bases are well-known for their amazing ability to protect themselves, with some of the best towers in the game, including trebuchets; letting an Aramon player turtle in multiplayer will likely lead either to a long stall, or a fast and easy win for the iron-clads. Known to be very new-player friendly. A flexible faction, though they lack some specialized units from other factions, and aside from horsemen and knights they lack speed, which can be a major weakness. Allied with Veruna.
* Kirenna, also LawfulGood Sea Mage of Veruna, a Mediterranean-Scottish-and-whathaveyou flavored nation spread over numerous small islands, has the most powerful naval force in the game under her command, only challenged by the Creonite fleet. Affiliated with the element of water, obviously. Veruna has good base building ability; their Bastion cannon tower is almost as strong as Aramons'. They also can perform surprisingly well on the land, despite most of their troops being pushovers and [[GlassCannon Glass Cannons]], but only have a handful nigh-useless air units. Allied with Aramon.
* Lokken, the very NeutralEvil Necromancer of Taros rules over [[{{Mordor}} a barren wasteland]]. Has a slight East-Asian, Japanese and Chinese flavor, combined with your typical undead and demonic forces. Affiliated with the element of fire. The unit roster has many specialists, each unit very good at playing a specific role. This is also the "magic" faction, and has the most units that have special abilities, like fire mages and weather witches, thus requires more micro-management than Aramon or Veruna. These units can be very destructive when played properly. Taros can defend - their lightning towers are serviceable, but they are better at offense; and the speed of progression is largely dependent on management, making new players somewhat weak against early rushes and very weak against Creonites who advance to double the power during that time. Allied with Zhon.
* Thirsha, the TrueNeutral Huntress of Zhon, rules over a savage, wild jungle land inhabited by primitive animals and monstrous beings who worship her as a goddess. Affiliated with the element of wind. Zhon is the odd man out from the rest of the factions. They don't have many buildings, and rather than creating a building that makes other units, their units create other units. Thus, Zhon is all about speed and mobility. The army, or more accurately, the [[WorldOfBadass entire population]] of Zhon can be fast and deadly in the right players' hands, with tier 1 units weak but cheap to make, higher tier units very strong, and the winged beasts of war they employ are unmatched, [[OverlyLongGag except by, of course, Creon]]. Zhon is not known to be new player friendly due to the perceived drawbacks of nearly no actual base-building. Zhon is all about the offense, applying pressure and more pressure. Allied with Taros, for some unexplained reason.

* Thirsha, the TrueNeutral Huntress of Zhon, rules over a savage, wild jungle land inhabited by primitive animals and monstrous beings who worship her as a goddess. Affiliated with wind. Zhon is the odd man out from the rest of the factions. Rather than creating a building that makes other units, their units create other units. Thus, Zhon is all about speed and mobility. The army, or more accurately, the [[WorldOfBadass entire population]] of Zhon is the most versatile, presenting a great variety of troops among which are the best of their kind, and the winged beasts of war they employ are unmatched, [[OverlyLongGag except by, of course, Creon]]. Their utter ignorance of the concept of basic defensive structures such as walls, housing or pretty much anything else aside from magical campfires and totems is somewhat of a drawback, however... Allied with Taros, for some unexplained reason.

* Elsin, LawfulGood Mage King of Aramon is your classic medieval nation with castles, peasants, knights, cannons and backstabbing nobility. Affiliated with the element of earth. Naturally, Aramon is known to have strong, albeit slow brute force land armies, including some of the best siege units in the game. Aramonian bases are well-known for their amazing ability to protect themselves, with some of the best towers in the game, including trebuchets; letting an Aramon player turtle in multiplayer will likely lead either to a long stall, or a fast and easy win for the iron-clads. Aramon also possesses the strongest army aside from that of Creon, to compensate for their almost nonexistent air and water unit repertoire. Known to be very new-player friendly. A very flexible faction, though they lack the specialized units of the other factions, which can be a major weakness. Allied with Veruna.
* Kirenna, also LawfulGood Sea Mage of Veruna, a Medditerranean-Scottish-and-whathaveyou flavored nation spread over numerous small islands, has the most powerful naval force in the game under her command, only challenged by the Creonite fleet. Affiliated with the element of water, obviously. Veruna has a good base defenses; their Bastion cannon tower is almost as strong as Aramons'. They also perform surprisingly well on the land, despite most of their troops being pushovers and [[GlassCannon Glass Cannons]], but only have a handful nigh-useless air units. Allied with Aramon.
* Lokken, the very NeutralEvil Necromancer of Taros rules over [[{{Mordor}} a barren wasteland]], which has more undead, demons and other monstrosities to it than anything else. Affiliated with the element of fire. His armies are balanced on all sides and employ brutal force for a living, along with amusing amounts of collateral damage, and, as such, the best suited for offensive approach, yet, if handled carelessly, can prove quite self-destructive. Defense isn't really their thing, and the speed of progression is largely dependent on management, making new players somewhat weak against early rushes and very weak against Creonites who advance to double the power during that time. Allied with Zhon.
* Thirsha, TrueNeutral Huntress of Zhon, rules over a savage, wild land inhabited by primitive tribals and monstrous beings who worship her as a goddess. The army, or more accurately, the [[WorldOfBadass entire population]] of Zhon is the most versatile, presenting a great variety of troops among which are the best of their kind, and the winged beasts of war they employ are unmatched, [[OverlyLongGag except by, of course, Creon]]. Their utter ignorance of the concept of basic defensive structures such as walls, housing or pretty much anything else aside from magical campfires and totems is somewhat of a drawback, however... Allied with Taros, for some unexplained reason.

* Elsin, NeutralGood Mage King of Aramon has your stereotypical medieval country with castles, farms, wizards, evil, backstabbing nobles and all the intrigue that comes with the package. Aramonian bases are well-known for their amazing ability to protect themselves, without much effort put into supervision; letting an Aramon player to build up a decent fortress in multiplayer will likely lead either to a long stall, or a fast and easy win for the iron-clads. Aramon also possesses the strongest army aside from that of Creon, to compensate for their almost nonexistent air and water unit repertoire. Allied with Veruna.
* Kirenna, also NeutralGood Sea Mage of Veruna, a Roman-Italian-Scottish-and-whathaveyou nation spread over numerous small islands, has the most powerful naval force in the game under her command, only challenged by the Creonite fleet. They also perform surprisingly well on the land, despite most of their troops being pushovers and [[GlassCannon Glass Cannons]], but only have a handful nigh-useless air units. Allied with Aramon.
* Lokken, the very LawfulEvil Necromancer of Taros rules over [[{{Mordor}} a barren wasteland]], which has more undead, demons and other monstrosities to it than anything else. His armies are balanced on all sides and employ brutal force for a living, along with amusing amounts of collateral damage, and, as such, the best suited for offensive approach, yet, if handled carelessly, can prove quite self-destructive. Defense isn't really their thing, and the speed of progression is largely dependent on management, making new players somewhat weak against early rushes and very weak against Creonites who advance to double the power during that time. Allied with Zhon.

%%* ActionBomb: The Tarosian Kamikaze Rat unit.

* AllTrollsAreDifferent: Trolls are a first-level Zhon melee unit, being essentially {{Mooks}}.

* FourElementEnsemble: Elsin-Earth, Kirenna-Water, Lokken-Fire, Thirsha-Air.

** Taros is much more Balanced than Aramon. Their army is not very flashy but consists of enough units to cover land, air, and sea. Good ground forces, pretty nasty flying units, and a handful of amphibious units to deal with naval threats. Likes to use [[KillItWithFire Fire]] a lot. Not too shabby on the defensive either, just isn't as good as the other factions.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The war on the second game started when a Veruna captain searched for the lost ships carrying the gold to pay Creon. She assumed some Creonite ships were the ones who attacked the ships and engaged the fleet, this sparked the chain of events which result in the whole war.

* ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines: The Creon Barnstormer, which resembles a three-way cross between the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer Wright Flyer]], a helicopter, and a bat. They also have their Aerial Juggernaut, which is a winged boat with cannons.

* ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines: The Creon Barnstormer, which resembles a three-way cross between the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer Wright Flyer]], a helicopter, and a bat.

* CaptainErsatz: King Elsin is a tall, handsome, saintly fellow with a BadassBeard and ''True Resurrection'' as his "Target: Corpse" power. Two guesses, first one's just practice.

* LoadingScreen: Takes the form of a stained glass window, initially all in grey, with the panels being coloured in as the game loads.

* ElementalPowers: Garacaius' four children, the monarchs of the four original sides, embody the four classical elements. Respectively: Elsin of Aramon is Earth (or Stone); Kirenna of Veruna is Water; Lokken of Taros is Fire; Thirsha of Zhon is Air (or Wind). Another four qualities quoted about them are Honour, Hope, Terror and Vengeance. Three guesses which two consist of the good guys and which two are the baddies.

* {{Mockumentary}}: The briefings take their style directly from Ken Burns' ''The Civil War''.

* MindControl: Used by Taros' Mind Mage and Zhon's Harpy.

* OurGargoylesRock: Taros' unarmed scout unit.
* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: Taros' Dark Priest unit can resurrect corpses as Ghouls, which will obey you to some extent but also have a tendency to wander randomly.

* TheRemnant: After Lokken was defeated in the first game, a small band of cultist called The Cult of Lokken still fight to restore Taros's former glory, [[spoiler:and they are successful in reviving Lokken from the dead.]]

* EverythingFades: Not done as consistently as in VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation, because the corpses of organic units will behave differently to the wreckage of robots. However, non-organic waste such as the statues of units that have been turned to stone will never just vanish on their own.

Commonly abbreviated as TA:K or TAK, this RealTimeStrategy is the follow-up of the successful VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation made by the now-defunct company [[Creator/HumongousEntertainment Cavedog Entertainment]]. The latter's setting, centered around mechs and vehicles and never showing humans, had been chosen partly because it had been thought that the much-admired 3D engine was not capable enough to depict them. Later, however, improvements made TA:K possible.

* FrickinLaserBeams: Creon's advanced defense tower is a mirror-and-lens array that focuses sunlight into a powerful laser, strong enough to vaporize a man (or zombie or half-animal berzerker) and all his equipment. Works a treat on siege engines too.

* OurElvesAreBetter and OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: While numerous fantasy races are featured, the two most obvious ones are not.

* NoCanonForTheWicked: Averted in a very strange way (and one not very popular with fans) -- all the missions are canon, but unlike e.g. ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' where one campaign follows the next, instead the player plays a mission as Aramon, then one as Taros, and so on...including at least two cases where he first has to command one side and win a battle, then take over the other one and undo his previous victory.

* StrangeBedfellows: In ''The Iron Plague'', the four monarchs and former enemies team up against the Creonite invasion. Also, arguably the original storyline if you know the [[AllThereInTheManual backstory]], given that it says that previously all four kingdoms fought each other, and only recently has a two-against-two mentality developed.
** Zhon and Taros are only allied because the two 'good' nations are; they have no goals in common.

Commonly abbreviated as TA:K or TAK, this RealTimeStrategy is the follow-up of the successful TotalAnnihilation made by the now-defunct company [[Creator/HumongousEntertainment Cavedog Entertainment]]. The latter's setting, centered around mechs and vehicles and never showing humans, had been chosen partly because it had been thought that the much-admired 3D engine was not capable enough to depict them. Later, however, improvements made TA:K possible.

TA:K has number of differences separate from its predecessor. Firstly, it is set in a magical-fantasy world called Darien rather than a GrimDark science fiction future; secondly it has four sides rather than just two(The expansion adding a fifth one); thirdly said sides' units were very divergent, rather than almost every Arm and Core unit having a direct other-side analogue as in TotalAnnihilation. TAK also introduced mana batteries and multiple selectable attacks.

TA:K was not as successful as TotalAnnihilation, and parent company Cavedog shut down due to bankruptcy shortly after the release of its ExpansionPack, ''The Iron Plague''. However, the game enjoys a strong fan community and its versatile engine led to many [[GameMod mods]] and new side additions - probably the best-known fan-created side is the Azurians.

* CripplingOverspecialisation: The presence of setting-appropriate melee units meant that TotalAnnihilation's quirky exception of 'everything can shoot at everything' was not in place.

* RidiculouslyFastConstruction: The effect used was similar to the nanolathes from TotalAnnihilation, but was supposedly meant to indicate being "magically summoned into existence". Fine, except two (three with the expansion) sides were supposed to have an ideological thing about not using magic for mundane things, or at all...

* EverythingFades: Not done as consistently as in TotalAnnihilation, because the corpses of organic units will behave differently to the wreckage of robots. However, non-organic waste such as the statues of units that have been turned to stone will never just vanish on their own.

* AllThereInTheManual: The manual, that is, and also a lot of background information in the form of HTML files on the CD. Those who read it all were surprised (especially given the previous TotalAnnihilation's scant storyline) to find that the background of Darien was at least as well developed as ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'''s Azeroth was at the time. This had the unfortunate effect of making the plot utterly incomprehensible to anyone who hadn't done the reading.

* AwesomeButImpractical: The four original sides each have a 'Sacred Dragon' super-unit which is rather disappointingly weak for its cost, build time and unique status. A more direct analogue of TotalAnnihilation's Krogoth was the god of each nation, which (after the 3.0 patch, formerly they had appeared randomly in multiplayer games) could only be built by the nation's monarch and took one hour to construct.

* Kirenna, also NeutralGood Sea Mage of Veruna, a Roman-Italian-Scottish-and-whathaveyou nation spread over numerous small islands, has the most powerful naval force in the game under her command, only challenged by the Creonite fleet. They also perform suprisingly well on the land, despite most of their troops being pushovers and [[GlassCannon Glass Cannons]], but only have a handful nigh-useless air units. Allied with Aramon.

* {{Precursors}}: The Kandrans, a vanished civilisation who first tamed magic and then were destroyed by it. For the first 4000 years after the cataclysm, use of magic was taboo and persecuted.

* StatusQuoIsGod: The sequel ''Iron Plague'' ends in the same status the first game began, the four monarch are all alive, and went their own seperate ways.

* {{Wutai}}: Taros combines this with {{Mordor}}