Other Forest Shifters

[johnnymra]

Forest Shifters

Plot:
In the ancient forest of Azshara, lies a secret... hidden within the dark shadows of the trees. In the past decades... the forest has been tainted with an blighted wind. Beings of unimaginable power, hunters of the most highest grace have become a real legend. The people call them the Shifters as they are beings who can shift not only themselves but the auras and environments around them. They hunt any sentient being with the greatest delight and thirst for blood. Many heroes in ages past have tried to kill the shifters yet none succeeded, and those who survived... barely wanted to remember they're nights in that forest. Once again... a group of adventurers go forth within the lurking shadows and try to decipher the mystery of the Shifters power and hopefully their doom.

The map is a combination between survival, tag and RPG maps. I inspired myself from many of the types i said before.
There are basically two teams, Heroes (9 players) and Shifters (3 players).

Heroes:
The humans are the good team of the game. They start in the south-eastern corner of the map, and have to chose between different classes. Further their mission is to find a way to kill the Shifters.
Classes:

>>Warrior - the classic fighter, made for harsh battles and resisting very much. He bases on Strength and has the abilities:
Battlecry - the warrior shouts and gives himself and his companions some battle inspiration, gaining bonus damage for a short duration.
Stone Blows - he enhances his fists to be as hard as a rock. Deals extra damage with each attack but at the cost of his energy.
Speedrage - from his endless battles he has gained quite some experience. So he can channel his rage into speed to move and attack faster.
Multiple Fighting - as a skilled warrior, the hero can fight with many enemies at the same time, and so deals damage to those near the primary attacked target.
Giant's Stomp (Ultimate) - invoking his ancestral strength the warrior stomps the ground to tremble, stunning all those near him and damaging them.

>>Mage - the magician of the elements controlling the arcane arts of most varieties. He is based on Intelligence and has the abilities:
Firebolt - sends a ball of pure fire trough the air hitting and harming the target enemy, also interrupting any of it's castings.
Chain Lightning - forges a spark of electric energy within his hands and sends it forth into some enemies to damage them.
Whirlwind - enchants the air around him and forms a little torrent of wind that blows in a line, damaging all those hit.
Spiritual Aura - as any mage, he can channel his energy to recharge it faster, also he forms an aura that helps his allies regenerate mana faster.
Elemental Storm (Ultimate) - the mage channels for a short time a powerful storm that rages all his elements onto the enemies right down from the sky. It damages all enemies within range with fireballs, lightning strikes and stars.

>>Paladin - the honorable nobleman that fights for the light. He is a powerful person able to fight the evil. He is based on Strength and has the abilities:
Inspiration Aura - as a leader person, his presence inspires his allies and become more able to defend themselves, gaining bonus armor.
Noble Hand - being a knight from a noble family he has a native fighting skill, therefor he has the chance to deal extra damage and interrupt one's casting.
Holy Shield - as a final resort, the paladin prays trough all his heart, gaining a shield of godly energy. He so becomes invulnerable for a short time.
Holy Bolt - He uses his hands to bind the light and send it as a bolt that damages an enemy.
Angel's Sword (Ultimate) - the knight calls forth an angel from the sky to use his sword and slash an enemy once, bringing amazing damage to the target.

>>Tamer - one simple adventurer and hunter, he has learned the skills of survival and is usually very able in forests. He bases on Agility and has the abilities:
Tame - his basic ability, he can tame one animal from the forest, whether it is a simple animal or a predator.
Throw Net - he makes out very fast a net from what he has near him, therefor throwing onto a target and binding it in one place for a short time.
Owl Sight - an ability given to him like a blessing, he can see what usually cannot be seen, so he can detect invisible units in range.
Camouflage - the tamer puts some leaves, enchants them and makes a cloak for him or an ally, making the target invisible for a short time.
Skilled Reflexes (Ultimate) - the tamer has gained experience trough his adventures and has now the reflexes to easily avoid enemy attacks.

>>Druid - the wise and old seer that can bind his soul with nature. He is based on Intelligence and has the abilities:
Heal - the druid creates a magical energy around himself or an ally, removing any of the target's wounds.
Natural Bonds - the druid, in communion with nature channels an aura of native regeneration trough the air, giving his allies increased health regeneration.
Root Grasp - he calls forth the roots of the forest to bind a target to where he stands. The roots also strangle the target giving some damage.
Ancient's Call - trough the wisdom of the ancients, the druid sounds trough a inner horn and creates an mighty walking tree to aid him in battle.
Ressurection (Ultimate) - if one of his allies is dead, the hero can use all his energy to bring a soul back into it's body, reviving the target allied hero.

Also, the heroes start with moderated health, mana, damage, speed and attributes. Their powers are much lower that the shifters' so they have another way to even the odds. Trough the forest they can find different materials (i.e. sticks, stones, flints, magic stones, plants of many types, etc.) and use them in crafting items, buildings and further weapons, armors and many more. They can also find different book items over the map, which contain riddles about amazing item combination to create supreme weapons. They must make different camps, work as a team, organize themselves and always watch out because the shifters can always "jump" onto them.
When one hero dies he leaves a corpse at the place where he died and becomes a ghost. Any of them can be revived by a druid or by another player that uses a certain item.
In order to win they have to make powerful weapons and kill all the shifters before they are killed.

Shifters:
They are the hounds of death, the hunters of the darkest nights, terrors of the forest, beings that came from the nether plains. They start in a cave in the eastern mountains of the map. They have to chose a form and then hunt down the humans, but first level up and gain power by killing animals.
Forms:

>>Stalker - a wolven form, one of the eldest which is used by skilled hunters. This form is made for chasing it's pray without stopping, based on Agility it has the abilities:
Chasing Frenzy - the shifter suddenly enhances the power of hunt into his feet gaining maximum speed for a short time.
Nocturnal Vision - the stalker uses his special eyes to see within the night better than others, therefor detecting any invisible being.
Incapacitating Claw - he viciously strikes an enemy with his deadly claw, stunning it for some time.
Wolven Pack Aura - as a natural wolf, he is used to being in a hunting pack and also enchants himself and his allies to gain more attack speed.
Lethal Hunger (Ultimate) - as a thirsty demon, the shifter gains a bloodlust that magically drives him to be more accurate, this way he has a chance to deal more damage with each attack.

>>Specter - the shadowy form of a shifter, he is a blended assassin that lurks within the dark and is able to pass by his pray with ease. He is based on Agility and has the abilities:
Blink - the shifter creates a aethereal rift within the fabric of time and jumps forth to a location in the blink of an eye.
Wind Walk - the assassin becomes blended within the wind, gaining invisibility for some time.
Nether Walk - he enhances himself into a spectral energy that gives him the ability to pass trough objects or over them, not being affected by normal walking environment.
Black Dagger - throws a dagger out of his hand, one that taints his target with magical energies that slows it and gives some damage.
Phase-Shift (Ultimate) - as a master of the dimensions the shifter breaks the dimensional bounds and steps into another one for a second, being unaffected by attacks and unseen.

>>Necromancer - the shifter that chose the path of wisdom, he is a magical being that can bend the darkness at his will. He bases on Intelligence and has the abilities:
Summon Skeleton - summons a skeleton of a fallen creature under his command, therefor having a minion to aid him.
Ritual Aura - the necromancer channels his inner energy to aid himself and his allies regenerate mana faster.
Soul Share - the shifter uses the flow of soul energy to heal an ally or himself, recovering the wounds they have.
Unholy Lightning - he sends forth at the same time more lightning bolts to his enemies damaging more targets once cast.
Necromantic Call (Ultimate) - he summons the spirits of the underworld, calling forth many restless ghosts that are controlled by him and fly around him, attacking any enemy that comes near him.

>>Vampire - the youngest form of a shifter, it's power resides in continuous battles and his thirst for blood. He is based on Strength and has the abilities:
Vampiric Touch - as a being of great power, he channels a vampiric force within his hands being able to transfer the lifeforce of his victims to him with each attack, regenerating some health.
Hell's Blow - with one single hit, he creates a ball of infernal fire in that blow, dealing an immense damage.
Demonic Shout - screams with anger and makes his enemies fear him, therefor lowering their capability to defend themselves or to fight.
Devil's Bite - the shifter uses his own jaws to pierce the flesh of his enemy and bite it, so he sucks some of it's blood instantly and gains health damaging the enemy.
Evil Grip (Ultimate) - uses an dark arcane channeling force he binds a target to once place, dealing damage and making it unable to move, attack or cast spells for some time.

The shifters are beings of hunt, their power comes from this and therefor with every hunt they gain some resources. Blood - gained trough every attack they do against an enemy animal or hero / Souls - gained by each kill of enemies.
These resources can be used in the shifter's cave to purchase different items, or rituals that give them extra power.
They start with moderate attributes, health and mana, but with increased speed. Also they gain much more attributes than the humans. They have to kill the humans in order to win but they must do it before the humans find a way to kill them.
Once one is dead he becomes a ghost and so they also can revive themselves (only if more than one shifter) with a certain item.

Completion
Terrain - IIIIIIIIII - 100%
Triggers - IIIIIIIIII - 90%
Units/Heroes - IIIIIIIIII - 100%
Items - IIIIIIIIII - 50%
Spells - IIIIIIIIII - 80%

(UNFORTUNATELY the project will be in a "pause" for some time... as i am very busy and cannot afford to work it very much. Also i have come up to a bug that stops the map from loading in game... and as i said i don't have time to find out it's cause. I will still try, tough, to see if i can find a solution, when i have time)



Screenshots:

>Minimap legend<


More screens coming soon.


I would like if someone sings in for beta testing... i will need help with solving the bugs after the beta version is complete. By the way... my map maker nickname is w3.player, so that's why my maps shall have this name as author.

Constructive comments are appreciated

 

[Happy]

sounds like fun if you have massive possibilities...means a big number of possible items...and a not that small map...

the heroes sound balanced...the skills are good as far as i can see...


1 thing i still wanna ask....
is there something new/unique in your map? means a mode or a way to make items...or whatever... i hope you get what i mean...

 

[johnnymra]

Basically the item combining system is a simple one took from the hive... so it isn't unique... but the thing is you have to find out the combinations trough riddles and such
Also the gameplay itself is very unique by idea being original from my point of view. It's like "WHERE is the killer" not "WHO is the killer" you understand?
It's rather hard to explain what's special to the map in words... it's easily just to play it... but i have to finish the beta.
Thanks for the comment.

 

[rexpim]

sounds fun pm me if you need one more tester

 

[johnnymra]

Happy, just a simple example... something like a "trailer" riddle so that you understand what i mean:
-A warrior's wards [page 1]-
"[it looks like the first page in some sort of a book] The strengh of my hands comes from my soul, yet the weapon i wore was the greatest of all. It was forged with two mithril ingots and...[here everything is tore apart but you still see the image of a sword and four cristals of different colors, also a arrow that points to a statue...that seems to be of Aszune]"