Dominions related Books/literature?

[Maxi]

As the title says, Dom5 has renewed my interest in the series, thank you for the summer sale devs! However i would like to read more into Dominions in general, other then the paper manuals for the games do books or any kind of literature for Dominions exist?

[CHOO CHOO]

Read, in no particular order:

* The Bible (Ashdod, Gath etc.)
* De Bello Gallico (Marverni)
* The Epic of Gilgamesh (Ur)

Report back in when you're done.

[Zonk]

Have you read the "design history" part of the manual? There are many references to the books & sources that inspired Dominions.

Originally posted by CHOO CHOO:

* De Bello Gallico (Man)

De Bello Gallico would fit Marverni. Man is actually based on the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.

[CHOO CHOO]

My bad, yes - I meant Marverni.

[Maxi]

Thanks for the suggestions fellas, i was kind of more aiming for actual Illwinter approved/made lore and such, but ill give those other two a look (Already own a KJV)

[Silence]

You can also read the short and fun "Norse Mythology" from Neil Gaiman (Vanheim, Helheim, Niefelheim, Jotunheim, Midgard, ...).

[Dast]

I would second the suggestion for Neil Gaiman's Norse Myth short collection, very good fun. If you like Norse as a style but want something a bit more down to earth (less magic, more axes) then the "Half a..." books ("Half a King", "Half a war" etc) by Joe Abercrombie are excellent.

Some Lovecraft stories (Shadow over Innsmouth, Dagon, Mountains of Madness) have clearly been "put in" to dominions in some sense. (Unfortunately the Elder things don't get their own civilisation and instead have to lurk in a place ruled by weird squid-people called "Ilithids", whose origin I am not sure about). Lovecraft's books are (in my view) a bit "patchy", some are excellent, others just degenerate into long lists of description words that are meant to be creepy. Mountains of Madness is a good one if you are interested.

Bandar Log is, at least in terms of being monkeys, taken from the Jungle Book.

I think I see influences from Malazan Book of the Fallen in Dominions in places (Thrones mostly). Their are also things that echo The Chronicles of Prydain, although both these and Dominions are probably drawing from the same Welsh myth. (And the cauldron that resurrects your troops but makes them mute is missing for some reason). I see Narnia in Pangea, but that is most likely a shared-source thing too.

Possibly me seeing stuff that isn't, but the shades in Sceleria seem to be quite similar in background to the shade-like things of Earthsea.

I have not yet seen anything in Doms I think comes from the Thomas Covenant books, which is a shame as, while these books are pretentiously written, the content is wonderful and a very good fit for Dominions. (Possibly Summer Lions are based on Fire lions, probably not. Maybe that thing you can only summon in Swamps (ancient presence?) is the Lurker of the Sarangrave.) When Dominions get Ur-Viles it will be a great day!

[Zonk]

Originally posted by Dast:

I see influences from Malazan Book of the Fallen in Dominions in places (Thrones mostly).

Haven't read Malazan myself (but I plan too) but I think the Unfrozen are also from there.

Bandar Log is, at least in terms of being monkeys, taken from the Jungle Book.

The Vanara/Monkey people are actually part of Hindu mythology/religion.
I'm not sure how many Hindus today believe they literally existed, but they play a fairly significant part in the Ramayana. I don't think they had castes like the monkey-people of DOminions though.

I see Narnia in Pangea, but that is most likely a shared-source thing too.

Pangea is pretty obviously the 'Greek-flavored beastmen' nation. Although the dryads aren't quite like Greek dryads - more like female Fauns (technically roman) as they seem benevolent(ish).

the shades in Sceleria seem to be quite similar in background to the shade-like things of Earthsea.

Undead shades is a pretty generic/old concept AFAIK.

Illithids are from D&D (and sometimes known as 'Mind Flayers'), as are Aboleths and maybe a few other things I'm forgetting.
(Conquest of Elysium has even more D&D references - notably Beholders and Displacer Beasts)

EDIT: I think it's somewhat surprising to see no ASoIAF influences at this point. The series has been around for a while, and obviously the GoT TV show mad it much more popular.

[✏pencils✏]

Originally posted by Zonk:

EDIT: I think it's somewhat surprising to see no ASoIAF influences at this point. The series has been around for a while, and obviously the GoT TV show mad it much more popular.

There is "The Iron Throne", though. ;)

Also seconding Zonk: there isn't much direct Lovecraftia but rather exports of Lovecraftia already exported to D&D. Also Pangaea is certainly the rural wild counterpart to the urban Arcoscephale.

Some of the magic items seem to be lifted almost directly out of the Wheel of Time books.

Parts of the Iliad definitely read like Dominions battles, with gods and goddesses actively helping their favored heroes.

I guess I can make a reading list; it's a bit classical I'm afraid:

The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer
The Aeneid by Virgil
The Ramayana by Valmiki
Metamorphoses by Ovid
The Golden Ass (← Asinus Aurum (lat.), actual title: The Metamorphosis) by Apuleus
The Dionisiaca by Nonnus (only for the extremely hardcore and bored)
The Story of Wenamun by an unknown author from New Kingdom Egypt

I'm sure Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology is good but I grew up reading Bullfinch's treatment (Hamilton's mythology is also very good but more Greek oriented).

[Mormacil]

I recommend A True Story by Lucian of Samosata. Not directly used by Dominions (yet) but it fits. It's also modest in length.

Originally posted by Dast:

I think I see influences from Malazan Book of the Fallen in Dominions in places (Thrones mostly).

Thrones as well as the Unfrozen are directly taken from Malazan IIRC.

I see Narnia in Pangea, but that is most likely a shared-source thing too.

No, just no. Pangeae is heavily based on the nature deities of Greco-Roman religion. Specifically Pan and his entourage. The Satyrs, the dryads, even the Maenads are directly derived from those stories. The Greeks had an extensive believe of natural forces living on their own in the wilderness.

I'd say the only deities the Greco Romans had more of the wild would be water deities.

[Zonk]

Originally posted by ✏pencils✏:

There is "The Iron Throne", though. ;)

Assuming you're serious despite the smile (I've seen someone seriously think it was a reference before), I don't think that has anything to do with ASoIAF. It's just part of the theme of having thrones based on metals/alloys (gold, silver, brass, bronze) or materials (crystal, coral...), and it has a powerful recruitable mage (E2S2 100 FAES), which would not really fit with ASoIAF's relatively low magic level (at least, in the time of the stories - even if magic seems to be becoming stronger).

Also, something I like to comment on - Dominions trolls are rocky, regenerate and are fire vulnerable.
The first attribute is obviously from legendary trolls (who would sometimes turn to stone in sunlight), the latter two are from "Three Hearts and Three Lions", which IIRC is the first instance of regenerating trolls, a concept which obviously became very popular later on as it was adopted not just by D&D but by many other games.

Personally I think this was a weird decision, since being rock-like doesn't quite fit with regenerating and being fire vulnerable (stone is generally far less flammable than flesh!).

[Uncle Al]

Couple of bits of out of print/rare stuff that's quite possibly available on the net:

Bushido roleplaying game rules by Fantasy Games Unlimited - was an inspiration for Yomi/Shinuyama/Jomon, most notably Shinuyama.

The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson - possibly not a direct inspiration but an absolutely outstanding Norse based high fantasy novel. It's also incredibly bleak so fits the general Dominions vibe.

[✏pencils✏]

Originally posted by Zonk:

Personally I think this was a weird decision, since being rock-like doesn't quite fit with regenerating and being fire vulnerable (stone is generally far less flammable than flesh!).

When rocks are flammable they're generally referred to as fossil fuels.

[Dast]

On the topic of rocky trolls, Tolkien's trolls (in the hobbit) turned to stone when touched by sunlight, the Goblins of the Hobbit would also be killed (or at least wounded) by sunlight exposure. It would fit the game very neatly to have some kind of unit that - just like naids take damage away from their home province, take damage when leaving caves or deep seas. (Sunsick, not homesick.) Ideally Utterdark or stealing the sun would leave them free to ravage the surface world in peace and second sun would obliterate them. (I think a swarm of bats blocked out the sun for the Battle of 5 armies so the Goblins could come out).

What influences would one actually expect from A Song of Ice and Fire? Most of the politics of marriage and assassination wouldn't really work. The armies could be done, but the game already has knights, horse barbarians, slave soldiers* and undead. The book does have giants riding mammoths though (Neifelheim could have those).



* Its a stretch, but one could compare the unsullied to Phlegra's slave hoplites.

[✏pencils✏]

Sulfur is another rock that's flammable, which is reflected in the name 'brimstone'.

[Rambone]

The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson, can capture the flavor of this game. It's great in its own right too.