This is a concept I have been playing around with for a while for a Biblically-based pantheon in AoM. I posted an earlier version of it on reddit, and its reception was a bit controversial. That’s reddit for you. I understand the visceral reaction some have to incorporating Biblical mythology into a game like this but I think the world is ready. We live in a time of many creative reimaginings of Biblical mythology like Supernatural, Good Omens, Lucifer, etc. I also think it sets a good precedent. If the Bible is fair game, that opens the door to other currently-practiced religions like Hunduism being incorporated without giving the impression of trivializing them. It just makes good sense to add the most popular cosmology in western culture first.
With that out of the way, let me get into the build.
Canaanite civilization could be villager-focused, with a gather-based favor system.
The standard hero unit is the shepherd. Shepherds act as extra villagers, gathering food at a rapid rate. For balance, Canaanites can only gather from ducks, chickens, goats, rams, cattle, aurochs, elk, deer, gazelles, giraffes and yaks. Pigs can’t be herded or eaten. In addition to acting as villagers, shepherds are armed with staves and slings, making them formidable in battle. They form the backbone of a Canaanite army.
The standard gatherer unit is the worker. Like the Norse, they have movable drop off points in the form of pack mules. Unlike the Norse ox carts, these mules also double as cavalry.
The other hero unit is the High Priest. He can be tasked to “bless” a resource drop-off to exchange a small percentage of resources gathered for favor. Like the Egyptian pharaoh, there is only one high priest per player who will resurrect after a period of three in-game days once killed.
The villager focus, and the major overlap between military and civilian sets Canaanites apart from other civilizations.
The starter military building is the war tent. At the war tent, clubmen and compound bowmen can be trained in the classical age, and chereb swordsmen in the heroic age.
The Heroic age fortification is the masada. At the masada, iron chariots and covered rams can be trained. The iron chariot seats two warriors, one ranged and one melee, combining the abilities of an Egyptian chariot archer with a Chinese war chariot. The covered ram can garrison units and resist pierce damage.
Navy is Phoenician-based. The standard warship is a quinquereme, a faster and stronger version of the trireme. Their hammer ship is the triaconter. Their siege ship is the horse-headed hippos. In addition, they have a trade ship called a gauloi.
Now onto the mythology. The Canaanite “gods” are actually a mix of gods and angels. I think this would be doable, as long as there’s a change in terminology because angels can be invoked but not worshipped. In lieu of the usual major god statues, El has a bronze snake totem, Asherah has a tree and Baal has a golden calf.
Archaic Age
El, God of Gods
- Focus: Buildings and Heroes
- Bonuses: high priests generate favor faster and can summon serpents, workers build faster, shepherds do more damage to myth units, and relics can be garrisoned in town centers.
- God power: Ark of the Covenant (temple upgrades to Holy of Holies that melts enemies within a radius)
- Tech: Hallowed Ground (prevents enemy myth units from using special attacks around town centres)
- Wonder: Solomon’s Temple
- Myth unit: Throne (a durable scout with no attack. Slow but with huge line of sight)
Asherah, Lady of the Sea
- Focus: Navy and Economy
- Bonuses: workers, fishing ships and gauloi have more HP, navy and pack mules have more attack.
- God power: Fatted Calf (instantly fattens livestock)
- Tech: Mammon (relics produce a trickle of gold).
- Wonder: Ugarit Royal Palace
Baal, God of Storms
- Focus: Human Units
- Bonuses: human soldiers are cheaper, and attack faster with extra damage against heroes. Military buildings automatically spawn two of any one available human unit when built.
- God power: Lord of the Flies (summon a swarm of flies to devour enemy berry bushes or butchered animals)
- Tech: Moloch (workers pay back food cost in favor if killed)
- Wonder: Temple of Bel
Classical Age
Gabriel (El, Asherah), angel of protection and prophecy. His improvements aid your towers and navy.
- God power: Deliverance (temporarily lifts a selected group of workers or fishing ships into heaven until danger has passed)
- Myth unit: Cherub (flying archer that shoots flaming arrows)
- Techs: Tower of David (increases tower HP and range), Noah’s Ark (doubles carry capacity of transport ships), Star of the Sea (ships regenerate HP), Ezekiel’s Vision (upgrades cherubim to guardian cherubim with higher armor)
Dagon (Asherah, Baal), god of prosperity and kingship. His improvements aid your economy.
- God power: Providence (free farms generate around selected food production site)
- Myth unit: Deep one (an amphibious being that can eat friendly workers to heal itself)
- Techs: Fountains of the Deep (fishing ships work faster), Earthly Treasures (farms generate a small amount of gold as well as food), Cedars of Lebanon (increased wood gather), Abomination (upgrades deep ones to deep one hybrids)
Azazel (El, Baal), angel of the wilderness. His improvements aid your shepherds and armory.
- God power: Elisha’s Revenge (summons two powerful she-bears)
- Myth unit: Ziz (giant griffin that drops huge eggs, destroying enemies, damaging buildings and providing food)
- Techs: Sling of David (increases ranged attack of shepherds), Staff of Moses (increases melee attack of shepherds), Tree of Knowledge (armory techs research faster), Scapegoat Rite (extra favor gained from livestock slaughtered by shepherds)
Heroic Age
Lailah (El, Asherah), angel of the night. Her improvements aid your civilian units.
- God power: Cover of Darkness (temporarily makes workers invisible to enemies)
- Myth unit: Golem (a clay giant that can be repaired by workers)
- Techs: Immaculate Conception (workers train faster and have more HP), Joseph’s Dream (farm boost), Ships of Tarshish (gauloi speed boost), Gift of the Magi (caravans carry more gold), New Jerusalem (masadas provide pop space)
Ashtoreth (Asherah, Baal), goddess of war, hunting and beauty. Her improvements aid cavalry and navy.
- God power: Light-Bringer (temporary LOS on all explored territory)
- Myth unit: Alukah (bat-wolf hybrid monster that can fly short distances and turn any human unit it kills into another alukah)
- Techs: Horsemen of the Apocalypse (iron chariot and pack mule melee attack), Ships of Kittim (navy attack and speed), Rahab (allows you to train leviathans at your dock)
Samael (El, Baal), angel of death. His improvements aid walls and archers.
- God power: Abaddon (the mouth of hell opens up to swallow units and smaller buildings)
- Myth unit: Lilith (an owl demon that swoops down on victims and spawns imps)
- Techs: Sting of Death (compound bowman and iron chariot pierce attack), Lord of the Wall (walls less vulnerable to crush damage), Pale Horse (iron chariots fire arrows faster), Mother of Demons (upgrades Lilliths to Mother Liliths that are stronger and spawn two imps at once)
Mythic Age
Asmodeus (El, Baal), demon of wrath. His improvements aid infantry attack and buildings.
- God power: Possession (converts a selected group of enemy villagers into a demonic legion who die after a set number of kills)
- Myth unit: Shamir (scarab larva that spits poisonous blood and heals by eating buildings)
- Techs: Bloody Mace (clubman attack), Sword of the Spirit (chereb swordsman attack), Wisdom of Solomon (reduces favor cost of wonders), Rock Foundation (buildings and foundations are indestructible as long as a worker is working on them)
Chemosh (Asherah, Baal), god of conquest. His improvements aid your masadas.
- God power: Blasphemy (temporarily converts all enemy temples and claims the relics inside them)
- Myth unit: Nephil (a giant wielding a spear that can stab multiple units at once)
- Techs: Mark of Cain (upgrades nephilim to cursed nephilim with higher pierce attack), Gog and Magog (Iron chariot and covered ram attack speed), Bow of Conquest (arrows fired from iron chariots and masadas do crush damage, making them effective against siege engines and ships), Kingdoms of the Earth (allows one more masada to be built)
Michael (El, Asherah), angel of battle. His improvements aid your heroes and myth units.
- God power: Fire and Brimstone (burning rain that damages buildings, destroys crops and petrifies units)
- Myth unit: Seraph (a flying serpent that spits venom)
- Techs: Apocalypse of Baruch (allows you to summon behemoths at your temple), Armor of God (boosts armor of all heroes), Aaron’s Rod (boosts favor production and reduces training time of serpents), Book of Enoch (seraphim upgrade to chalkydri who fly faster and spit fireballs)
The titan could be Abaddon, a winged angel of destruction who rises from the underworld to punish mankind. He wields a flaming sword and spews devouring locusts from his mouth.
Maps:
Gehenna
Mount Ararat
Garden of Eden
Armageddon
Red Sea
Gilead
Carthage
Jordan River
Mount Sinai
Mesopotamia