I saw this idea in the "great M&B mods I'd like to see" thread.
I also think this is an excellent idea and something that could be done very easily. The undead already exist. You could make a simple mod by just changing the names of towns and people and the weapons and armor troops have.
For the Free Cities you could have:
-peasant levies (from M3, leather jerkin, spears)
-basic warriors (soldiers with heraldric armor (changed design), swords and long shields)
-fir'bolg archers (light armor like padded cloth jerkin, longbows and a dagger)
-journeymen (NPC characters with high medical skills, thick rawhide, a staff)
Each category could have novice, regular and veteran fighters.
For the Fallen Lords you could have:
-thrall (undead warriors)
-iron thrall (tougher undead with darker skin, possibly riding the undead horses that have been created)
-brigands (soldiers with brigantine armor, cheap swords, round shields)
-brigand archers (same idea)
-shades (one in each large party - undead in robes, very quick, strong attributes, poisoned swords)
I can't think of a way to do dwarfs, ghols or exploding wights.
You would program parties of different kinds of undead to spawn on one side of the map and all move towards Zendar which is the last city to defend.
The first quest would be to stop small parties of thrall attacking your city. After you've killed enough the next quest begins which has larger parties and parties of brigands. You slowly move up.
Some parties of undead troops would be transporting prisoners that you must rescue (adding the number of troops you can get apart from by recruiting in Zendar).
Maybe you could have a variable that counts how many parties reach Zendar (where they disappear). On each one the number of new warriors available for recruitment drops (they ransacked the town) and once they've sacked it say ten times you get a message saying you've lost the game.
After a while you get a special quest which is to liberate another town. You get a group of good warriors and must fight your way through different kinds of thrall who are all attacking you. When you reach the town you win the quest and get a second place to recruit from.
Variations on this could be getting food or weapons to Zendar to build up the army. Or after defeating a large war party Zendar is destroyed (switch the flag to invisible) and you must travel to the other side of the map (like the Landing at White Falls in M2).
Later quests could include recovering an item (the Deciever's hand, the Ibis Crown) from a location (a modified city) with lots of enemies in the way. Maybe there is one that gives you access to Heron Guard troops. Rescuing a powerful NPC character (one of the Council of Seven or King Alric) Or finally making your way to the spawning point (Dhorak Keep) entering and fighting the big leader surrounded by shades.
I also think this is an excellent idea and something that could be done very easily. The undead already exist. You could make a simple mod by just changing the names of towns and people and the weapons and armor troops have.
For the Free Cities you could have:
-peasant levies (from M3, leather jerkin, spears)
-basic warriors (soldiers with heraldric armor (changed design), swords and long shields)
-fir'bolg archers (light armor like padded cloth jerkin, longbows and a dagger)
-journeymen (NPC characters with high medical skills, thick rawhide, a staff)
Each category could have novice, regular and veteran fighters.
For the Fallen Lords you could have:
-thrall (undead warriors)
-iron thrall (tougher undead with darker skin, possibly riding the undead horses that have been created)
-brigands (soldiers with brigantine armor, cheap swords, round shields)
-brigand archers (same idea)
-shades (one in each large party - undead in robes, very quick, strong attributes, poisoned swords)
I can't think of a way to do dwarfs, ghols or exploding wights.
You would program parties of different kinds of undead to spawn on one side of the map and all move towards Zendar which is the last city to defend.
The first quest would be to stop small parties of thrall attacking your city. After you've killed enough the next quest begins which has larger parties and parties of brigands. You slowly move up.
Some parties of undead troops would be transporting prisoners that you must rescue (adding the number of troops you can get apart from by recruiting in Zendar).
Maybe you could have a variable that counts how many parties reach Zendar (where they disappear). On each one the number of new warriors available for recruitment drops (they ransacked the town) and once they've sacked it say ten times you get a message saying you've lost the game.
After a while you get a special quest which is to liberate another town. You get a group of good warriors and must fight your way through different kinds of thrall who are all attacking you. When you reach the town you win the quest and get a second place to recruit from.
Variations on this could be getting food or weapons to Zendar to build up the army. Or after defeating a large war party Zendar is destroyed (switch the flag to invisible) and you must travel to the other side of the map (like the Landing at White Falls in M2).
Later quests could include recovering an item (the Deciever's hand, the Ibis Crown) from a location (a modified city) with lots of enemies in the way. Maybe there is one that gives you access to Heron Guard troops. Rescuing a powerful NPC character (one of the Council of Seven or King Alric) Or finally making your way to the spawning point (Dhorak Keep) entering and fighting the big leader surrounded by shades.
