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PAoD - Pascal's Armies of Darkness [Demonologist]

Welcome to PAoD - Pascal's Armies of Darkness!

What is this about?
I always thought it was weird, that some classes like Necromancer or Demonologist use standard recruitment (Spearman, Swordsman, Archer, etc.), while others like Druid or High Priestess got their very own units. I mean, who would want to follow a Necromancer, fighting as a soldier besides the undead to create a realm of death? Nobody, was my first thought, surely there could be a better cause to fight for. But what about the desperate, the power hungry, the already corrupted? They might find such a cause appealing. And I decided to create them - these Armies of Darkness.

No, really, what is this about?
A new recruitment list to replace the standard units with thematic versions for the Necromancer Class, including normal recruitment and some mercenaries, a few new rituals, too.

However:
Compared to other mods in the PAoD series this is not only a new recruitment list, but a complete rework of how the class is played. You now generate freespawn units (called Blood Sacrifice, not to be confused with the resource of the same name, see pictures above) like Dwarf or Dryad Queen and upgrade them over multiple steps from helpless humans (that would probably die to an angry rabbit) into semi-demonic monstrosities that eat a knight for breakfast. A new economy, revolving around those freespawns and upgrades.

But is it balanced, though?
As balanced as the base game, I imagine - not at all.
Honestly, I tried to be reasonable, but this is not a balance mod. The strength of CoE - in my opinion - is its variety of cool and interesting units and I tried to play into these strengths. In my opinion the power level is quite fair, but I am open to feedback.

There is an optional balance mod for more freespawn generation, if you would like:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2582732652

Since the start with the reworked class in somewhat slow and vulnerable, here is some advice:
- you now start with two trade income, use it to your advantage, especially to buy iron if there is no mine around. Demonology is all about making the right deals at the right time.
- use the new rituals to recruit followers, especially your starting Cultist should soon start business as a Cult Leader, preferable in a Village, but a Hamlet will do until you find one. No followers means no soldiers.
- later you may want to use auto-recruitment (ctrl + click on recruitment, a green dot appears) to ease up upgrading. There is much to enhance about humans.

Known Issues?
- English is not my first language (you may already have noticed?) - still I like to write excessive unit descriptions. Some things will be worded weirdly, I imagine, and I probably missed some mistakes. Please forgive me.

Compatibility?
I only removed standard and start troops for the class and added new things, no existing data was altered.
The AI however does not understand the new freespawn economy and cannot use the class anymore in any sensible way.

Credits
Mostly Illwinter Games, all the new sprites are more or less slightly altered versions of CoE or Dominions sprites, some are direct imports this time around. Still, there are more new (as in, altered by me) sprites than in any previous PAoD entry. Unit concepts and writing are all mine, too, basically, but I used a lot of commonly known tropes and won't pretend I invented the wheel anew, although I did not knowingly copy any existing works or used them as a direct inspiration.

Leave some feedback: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/app/1606340/discussions/1/3039354010637515243/

Note: The linked video above was not done in collaboration between imperialus11 and me, and the video has some inaccuracies regarding more obscure details of the mod, but I liked it and thought maybe others would enjoy it, too! (Does not include the Crossroad mechanics from the recent update.)

Update - Crossroad Blues

A rather small addition to the mod with a strong impact. Cultists may now work as Crossroad Salesmen, allowing you to recruit solid units for the early- and midgame from those that sold their souls to the Underworld Bureaucracy. This allows for a more reliable expansion phase at the beginning and supports a more summon heavy playstyle, while delaying the power spikes from the Cult Business, allowing for a more situational approach to the playstyle with the reworked Demonologist.

The Cult Business rituals for transforming Blood Sacrifices (unit) into Sacrifices (resource) is now smoother and a bit more efficient, using the new 'expendable' mechanic rather than 'promotion.'

Cult Patriarchs now can call for an Offertory, generating gold instead of draining it, while all Cult Business rests, allowing for a more flexible economy.

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If you like the mod, please consider leaving a rating (Thumps up), it improves visibility and is quite motivating for further updates
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