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Balkoth's Dark Elf Smarter Revered Names of Power

TL;DR: You'll always get a useful Revered Name of Power even if it's not ideal, the weaker Revered Names of Power have been buffed, nothing that affects Shades has been buffed.

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The goal of this mod is to make sure that you get SOMETHING useful if you select a Revered Name of Power for a Dark Elf Lord (as a reminder, this is the Name of Power type that buffs the Lord's army).

I'm sure we've all been in the situation where we had an army of Dreadspears, Shades, War Hydras, and Cold One Chariots...only to get a choice between buffing Black Guard of Naggarond or Witch Elves/Sisters of Slaughter.

Or we had an army of Black Guard of Naggarond, Witch Elves, Darkshards, and Reaper Bolt Throwers...only to get a choice between buffing Shades/Dark Riders or Black Ark Corsairs.

Or (let's be frank) we had a stack of Shades and none of the options gave them any bonuses at all.

None of those above scenarios are good and all result in completely wasting a skill point. This mod prevents such a situation from occurring by ensuring that something useful is always a choice and buffing the weaker Names of Power.

It will NOT, however, guarantee you Shadowdart (or any other specific Name of Power). Nor does it buff any of the Names of Power that impact Shades, they're already strong. It does mean you'll always be able to pick one of the Names of Power that give bonuses to Shades, though (specifically Barbstorm, Shadowdart, or Grey Vanquisher).

Implementation details below for those interested.

This is save game compatible and should also be compatible with other mods unless they alter Revered Names of Power specifically.

Author's note: I originally started off with the intent of keeping the actual Names of Power the same but quickly realized I couldn't offer a variety of choice that offered at least some noticeable benefits (I'm looking at you, Wrathbringer and Moonshadow). I am completely open to adjusting some of the bonuses below based on feedback...but if you think some of the bonuses below are too powerful, do ask yourself this question: "Would this Name of Power actually get me to use these units instead of another Shade stack?"

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DILEMMA CHANGES

- Instead of six dilemmas with two choices each, there are now three dilemmas with two/four/six choices each respectively
- Dilemma 1: Barbstorm (general ranged bonuses) or Granitestance (general defensive bonuses)
- Dilemma 2: Moonshadow (army speed), Shadowdart (Shade bonuses), Wrathbringer (leadership and army attack), or Fangshield (Dreadspear/Bleaksword/Darkshard bonuses)
- Dilemma 3: Grey Vanquisher (Shade/Dark Rider bonuses), Krakenclaw (Black Ark Corsair Bonuses), Beastbinder (beast bonuses), Grimgaze (Black Guard/Har Ganeth Executioner bonuses), Lifequencher (Witch Elf/Sisters of Slaughter bonuses), or Tempest of Talons (Cold One bonuses)

This should basically cover any possible eventuality. The only exception I can find is an army of basic infantry (Dreadspears, Bleakswords, Darkshards) could get dilemma 3...but the solution to that is to simply upgrade to the better troops that you want the lord to use.

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UNCHANGED NAMES OF POWER

Barbstorm
- Unchanged, this is already really good
- For reference, gives 10% missile strength, 5% missile range, and 40% more ammunition
- Notes: this is an excellent all around Name of Power that buffs Darkshards, Shades, Reaper Bolt Throwers, Medusae, Reaper Bolt Throwers, and more -- definitely does not need any buffs

Shadowdart
- Unchanged, this is already really good
- For reference, gives 35% Shade range and a few other minor bonuses
- Notes: this might be the most popular Name of Power, definitely does not need any buffs

The Grey Vanquisher
- Unchanged, this is already solid
- For reference, gives 30 armor, 5 attack, and 15% less upkeep for Shades/light cavalry
- Notes: I could be convinced this should be buffed slightly but it's already solid at a minimum and so there are no current changes

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CHANGED NAMES OF POWER

Beastbinder
- Current version: -20% upkeep, +10 charge bonus, +10 leadership, +10% weapon strength, +30% missile range for beasts
- Buffs: +10% weapon strength, +30% missile range
- Nerfs: -10 charge bonus
- Notes: this isn't a bad name of power but I felt like it needed a little bit more oomph. Switched some of the charge bonus into raw weapon strength and missile range

Fangshield
- Current version: +10 leadership and 20% ward save for Dreadspears, Bleakswords, and Darkshards (Shields)
- Buffs: +20% ward save
- Nerfs: -10% physical resistance
- Notes: especially in Warhammer 3 there's just so many magical attacks (and devastating spells) that physical resistance is underwhelming. Yes, 20% ward save is a lot but in the end it's still just Dreadspears, Bleakswords, and Darkshards (Shields)...and 20% ward save is roughly only a 25% health bonus. Dreadspears with 25% more health are still Dreadspears. Side note, I cannot seem to get rid of the 0% physical resist tooltip unfortunately. I suppose I could set the physical resistance to 5% or something, considering that.

Granitestance
- Current version: Stand or Die (leadership and melee defense ability), Hold the Line (leadersip and melee defense passive aura), and 5% ward save for Lord's army
- Buffs: 5% ward save for Lord's army
- Notes: This isn't a bad name of power but I thought it needed just a little bit more than the default

Grimgaze
- Current version: +2 recruit rank, +20 armor, Causes Fear, +3 melee defense, and 10% missile resistance for Black Guard of Naggarond and Har Ganeth Executioners
- Buffs: affects Har Ganeth Executioners as well, +20 armor instead of +10, +3 melee defense, +10% missile resistance
- Notes: by default this is just so unimpactful, this should give a little more staying power and at least the Har Ganeth Executioners get SOMETHING

Krakenclaw
- Current version: +100% armor piercing weapon damage, +100% armor piercing missile damage, and 20% missile resistance for Black Ark Corsairs
- Buffs: +20% missile resistance
- Notes: a bit of missile resistance should help the Corsairs close the gap while still leaving them vulnerable to spells and enemy melee infantry. Lokhir still gets a 50% discount and Stalk/Vanguard deployment instead of the missile resistance

Lifequencher
- Current version: -15% upkeep, 10% ward save, +2 recruit rank, and Regeneration for Witch Elves and Sisters of Slaughter
- Buffs: Regeneration
- Notes: one of Crone Hellebron's talents gives Regeneration so this seemed somewhat fitting...she still gives a 50% discount, faction bonuses, and 10% weapon strength/+6 melee defense/+8 bonus vs infantry/10% missile resistance to her units

Moonshadow
- Current version: +15 leadership during ambushes and +20% army speed
- Buffs: +20% army speed instead of +5%
- Notes: Honestly I'm just keeping the leadership during ambushes for legacy purposes and making this the speed Name of Power, 5% is just too little to be useful

The Tempest of Talons
- Curent version: +10 leadership, +15% weapon strength, and -15% upkeep for Cold Ones
- Buffs: +15% weapon strength instead of +10%
- Notes: not a bad Name of Power but thought it needed a small buff

Wrathbringer
- Current version: leadership aura effect +10, +100% leadership aura size when attacking, +4 melee attack for Lord's army
- Buffs: now gives a global +4 melee attack for Lord's army
- Notes: by default I find this Name of Power pretty useless, usually if stuff flees near my Lord it's low enough health I want it to run away, even on Very Hard battle difficulty. And the leadership aura size is already pretty bad, especially since it only applies when attacking (rather than defending where I could be in a tight spot). With +4 melee attack it becomes generically useful to a broad swath of armies