A 2007 dark fantasy scenario for Civilization IV, which was included in the Beyond the Sword expansion pack.
The world is in an ice age, and has been since Mulcarn, god of winter, took over the world after the Balance Between Good and Evil was upset when the fire goddess Bhall fell from heaven. An immortal archmage, Kylorin, has created a civilization known as the Amurites in a valley sheltered from Mulcarn's blizzards. As Kylorin, the player must fight Mulcarn's Illian followers and their Doviello allies to reclaim the three pieces of the Godslayer, a weapon which has the power to slay Mulcarn.
This is a prequel to the Fall from Heaven mod.
This mod provides examples of:
- After the End: Before Mulcarn entered the material world, there were many thriving civilizations. All of them except the Illians were destroyed.
- All There in the Manual: Much of the backstory for the characters and world can only be discovered by reading the in-game Civilopedia.
- Arbitrary Headcount Limit: You can only have one hero unit active at a time.
- Black-and-Grey Morality: The Amurites are the only people in the mod who aren't outright evil, and according to Fall From Heaven 2 they are rather amoral in the following age.
- Cutting Off the Branches: While it is so distant in the past that certain details are long forgotten it is clear that Utgard was destroyed as Wilboman is the only Frost Giant left in this world. Not a case of Last of His Kind per se as their homeland is inaccessible but they aren't all dead.
- Death of a Child: In a subtle and a direct way. The direct way is obvious with Children of Kyorlin as a game unit. Creating infirmaries boosts the creation rate of said children by as much as the capital. Up until one was built there was
implicit quite high infant morality. - Death World: If you don't freeze to death, you'll probably starve or get killed by monsters or barbarians.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: The object of the game is to kill a god. It's pretty easy. Getting the Godslayer is what's difficult.
- Evil Is Deathly Cold: Mulcarn and his servants, obviously, but if you know of about the universe of Fall from Heaven they're not the worst thing out there.
- Fallen Angel: Bhall, the fire goddess, whose fall enabled Mulcarn to take over the world.
- Glacial Apocalypse: The game takes place during the setting's Age of Ice, characterized by a bitter winter lasting for generations after Mulcarn, the god of winter, rose to power, marking the end of the previous Age of Magic. The long winter results in the powerful civilizations of the Age of Magic collapsing, as few are able to survive the snowy wasteland.
- Good Weapon, Evil Weapon:
- The regular Amurite infantry use swords, while the Illians and Doviello use axes.
- The Civilopedia says that Mulcarn keeps ancient macemen frozen in his throne room.
- Heel–Face Turn: The Doviello will surrender to you if you weaken them enough.
- Hidden Elf Village: Fall From Heaven 2 reveals that the dwarves were unaffected by the age of ice.
- Kill It with Fire: The only attack spell in the game is Fireball.
- Mundane Utility: In the backstory, the Godslayer was used in ordinary wars.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Malus of the five, an undead pirate fulfills two of these.
- Religion of Evil: The White hand, which is dedicated to worshiping Mulcarn.
- Shrouded in Myth : Amurites in the later age insist they were chosen to join for being worthy in some way. The real reason? He had no other option who didn't collaborate with Mulcarn.
- Schmuck Bait: It is possible to get an event with a White Hand priest offering to set up a temple and their religion is the only one with actual benefits. Saying yes results in a blizzard which reduces the population and possibly destroys the town as Mulcarn isn't going to bless his enemies. Needless to say either banishing him or burning him for warmth are the far better options.
- The Smurfette Principle: Epona is the only female character in the game.
- Storming the Castle: If the Frost Giants are giving you too much trouble, you can storm their castle of Utgard.
- Sword of Plot Advancement: Finding the Godslayer is your focus for most of the game.
- The Dragon: Drifa, the White Dragon, is a literal example.
- Technically, Taranis the Unchanging is Mulcarn's actual dragon, as he is Mulcarn's archangel. However, he is trapped on an island, so he never actually appears.
- Warrior Prince: Kylorin's children can become powerful warriors and spellcasters.
- We Cannot Go On Without You: Once Kylorin appears as a unit, you had better keep him alive or you'll lose the game.
- World Half Empty: Erebus, even more than usual.
- Zerg Rush: The Illians, Doviello, and Barbarians will throw seemingly endless waves of units at you early in the game.
