Draugr

[mediawatchdog]

Do you think we could have a ghoul turn into this creature described below?

Draugr
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A draugr is a corporeal undead, from the Norse Mythology. Draugrs were believed to live in the graves of dead vikings, being the body of the dead. Views differed on whether the personality and soul of the dead person lingered in the draugr. As the graves of important men often contained a good amount of wealth, the draugr jealously guarded his treasures, even after death. All draugr possessed superhuman strength and some were immune to usual weapons. To defeat a draugr, a hero was often necessary, since only such a man had strength and courage enough to stand up to so formidable an opponent. The hero would often have to wrestle with the draugr and so defeat him, since weapons would do no good. A good example of this kind of fight is found in Hrómundar saga Gripssonar.
It is said that the draugr, even when defeated, would come back, requiring the hero to dispose of the body in unconventional ways. The most preferred method was to cut off the draugr's head, burn the body, and dump the ashes in the sea, the emphasis being on making absolutely sure the draugr was dead and gone. This may be related to the traditional practice of killing vampires seen in other cultures.
The draugr were said to be either hel-blar ("death black") or, conversely, na-folr ("corpse-pale").
Some draugr were able to leave their dwelling place, the burial mound, and visit the living during the night. Such visits were universally horrible events, and often ended in death for one or more of the living, and warranted the exhumation of the draugrs tomb by a hero.
In modern times, the most familiar encounter with a draugr is Frodo's spectral struggle with the "barrow-wight" in J. R. R. Tolkien's book The Fellowship of the Ring, in the chapter "Fog on the Barrow-Downs."
Dr. John Tanke has theorized that the words dragon and draugr might be related. He notes that both the serpent and the spirit serve as jealous guardians of the graves of kings or ancient civilizations. Dragons that act as draugrs appear in Beowulf as well as in the stories of Siegfried.
A somewhat ambivalent, alternative view of the draugr is however presented by the example of Gunnar in Njál's saga:
"It seemed as though the howe was agape, and that Gunnar had turned within the howe to look upwards at the moon. They thought that they saw four lights within the howe, but not a shadow to be seen. Then they saw that Gunnar was merry, with a joyful face".
It has been speculated that there is a strong correlation between the draugr and the monster Grendel in the Old English narrative poem Beowulf.
In the movie Van Helsing, Dracula's servants - dwarfish black-clad vampiric undead named Dwergers - vaguely resemble the draugr and may have been inspired by them, their name being a Romanized corruption of that of the Norce undead.

[scott]

We have a draug.
http://wesnoth.slack.it/units.cgi?page=view&unit=Draug

[SmokemJags]

Speaking of which, it is just me or is that one of the worst level 3 units?
It gains 3 hp over the level 2(revenant), and 3 damage per swing...

The level 1(skeleton) to level 2(revenant) difference is 13 hp, 1 more damage per swing, and one extra swing.

[Cuyo Quiz]

The Revenant got buffed, and i think the same happened to the Skeleton some time before, But the Draug seems to be forgotten since it is all the way into lvl3 .

[SmokemJags]

If anyone should be making cases about higher level units not worth their upkeep, this is the unit to mention! *hint hint* Riox

So really, is there a reason he seems to be such a weak upgrade from a level two revenant? Or is CQ right and he just kinda got forgotten? (Gotta admit you rarely see this unit)

[JW]

If anyone should be making cases about higher level units not worth their upkeep, this is the unit to mention! *hint hint* Riox

So really, is there a reason he seems to be such a weak upgrade from a level two revenant? Or is CQ right and he just kinda got forgotten? (Gotta admit you rarely see this unit)

I rarely see this unit because I always pick Deathblade to avoid getting Draugs.

[Maeglin Dubh]

I usually pick one Revenant as an anchor for any defensive lines I need to throw up, then concentrate on Deathblades for my assault forces.

Best example of this so far is in The Dark Hordes....

[Skippy]

I rarely see this unit because I always pick Deathblade to avoid getting Draugs.

I usually pick one Revenant as an anchor for any defensive lines I need to throw up, then concentrate on Deathblades for my assault forces.

Which seems to prove the point that it is a worthless upgrade - delete it or buff it is the obvious conclusion.

[Garion]

Maybe if you gave it a few more damage per attack and added Steadfast?

Or would that double its weakness to Holy?

[Noy]

Not a great start, but the discussion has raised an important point about the draugh, so we'll move this to MP balancing.

[JW]

Skeleton
lvl 1
hp 34
moves 5
7-3 atk

Revenant ... Deathblade
lvl 2 . . . . ... lvl 2
hp 47 . . . ... hp 39
moves 5 . ... moves 6
8-4 atk . . ... 8-5 atk

Draug
lvl 3
hp 54
moves 5
11-4 atk

Draug has +15hp, -1move, +4dmg against the level 2 Deathblade.

I can live with the level 2 option being weaker, as long as the trade in power is made up for in the level 3 unit, which it currently isn't.

I imagine something like:
Draug
hp 58
moves 5
12-4 atk
would be significant enough to encourage more level-ups into Revenants.

[dthurston]

Note that the Draug is an enemy leader in several campaigns (eg ROTW). It ends up pretty wimpy as a lvl3 leader.

[Soliton]

Today's balancing round:

• * decreased movement cost for swamp for the Poacher line from 3 to 2
  * increased experience requirement of the Cavalryman from 34 to 40
  * decreased melee damage of the Dragoon from 7-4 to 6-4
  * increased experience requirement of the Fencer from 37 to 42
  * decreased ranged damage of the Duelist from 15-1 to 12-1
  * increased HP of the Lancer from 48 to 50
  * decreased HP of the Orcish Warlord from 80 to 72
  * decreased melee damage of the Orcish Warlord from 13-4 to 12-4
  * decreased cost of the Orcish Warlord from 56 to 48
  * increased movement cost/defense on various terrains for the Ranger line
  * increased movement of the Wose line from 3 to 4
  * increased HP of the Elder Wose from 60 to 64
  * increased melee damage ot the Elder Wose from 18-2 to 19-2
  * decreased experience requirement of the Elder Wose from 160 to 100
  * decreased HP of the Dark Sorcerer from 58 to 48
  * increased HP of the Draug from 54 to 66
  * increased melee damage of the Draug from 11-4 to 12-4
  * increased cost of the Draug from 40 to 50
  * decreased melee damage of the Blood Bat from 6-3 to 5-3

Btw, I nearly always level Skeleton Fighters into Revenants.

[toms]

* increased experience requirement of the Cavalryman from 34 to 40
* decreased melee damage of the Dragoon from 7-4 to 6-4

Umm, why is the dragoon so much overpowered that you have to increase the XP require of the cavalry and also decrease the dragoon´s strength?

[Dragonking]

* increased experience requirement of the Cavalryman from 34 to 40
* decreased melee damage of the Dragoon from 7-4 to 6-4

Umm, why is the dragoon so much overpowered that you have to increase the XP require of the cavalry and also decrease the dragoon´s strength?

Um.. We don't know why it was so much overpowered ( maybe because someone made it so long time ago? ).

But we also decrease its ranged attack from 15-1 to 12-1. It should be fine now.