Wizzrobe

The Order of the Wizzrobe is a playable faction in Hyrule: Total War. They won't be available from start, and must be unlocked, though the method of unlocking is unknown.

Description
The Wizzrobes are as secretive a race as any. A true Wizzrobe is more or less an avian being notable for their dark feathers and protruding beaks. Despite the fact that their arms appear to be wings, Wizzrobes cannot fly by natural means. Other then this, the Wizzrobes as a society or political entity remain shrouded in secrets. The Wizzrobes in more ancient times have been known to side with powerful armies, the most notable case being an alliance with Ganon. Despite this, Wizzrobes have also been known to be very humble and charitable, wandering around in pairs and healing the sick. The duality of their actions masks their true intent, an intent which is likely to be forever unknown, even to non-Wizzrobe members of their order. In times of war the Wizzrobe have and can assemble their numbers into a standing army. The concept of magic remains a fanciful and mysterious thing to many people, but if anyone understands the nature of it then the Wizrrobes are the masters. They are able to manipulate the forces of nature through the use of wands and staffs. The degree of manipulation varies greatly, some can only fling a simple fireball from thin air while others can conjure an entire city of illusion. Wizzrobes are rightly feared for these abilities, and in battle they can tap into these powerful spells and unleash them on their enemies. Fireballs, lighting bolts, chucks of flying earth, and blasts of water are but a few of the weapons they may unleash on an enemy army. Despite all these amazing advantages, a Wizrrobe caught at the tip of a sword is vulnerable. They may be quite the magicians, but in a melee their magic is useless against the swing of a hammer if they have no time to react. Bold warriors may spread their pride should they get close enough to kill a Wizzrobe, but they are more likely to meet the fate of a barrage of streaming flames from the staff of these legendary magicians.

Strengths, Weaknesses and Abilities

 * Master of the Elements: Wizzrobes have control over a large variety of ranged elemental spells, making them deadly from a distance.
 * Wizard's Last Rule: A Wizzrobe forced into or caught off guard in a melee has a significant disadvantage and is generally extremely frail.
 * Appealing Converters: Wizzrobes are masters at manipulating people into believing any faith that appeals to their desires. In the Campaign the Wizzrobes have a large bonus when spreading their religion to other empires.
 * Secret Society: The Wizzrobes maintain a small covert organization and rarely have the numbers that are significant enough to declare war on other empires in the campaign. As such they prefer to convert their potential enemies rather then fight them.

Campaign Info

 * Faction Leader: Nostrum
 * Settlements: N/A
 * Goals:
 * Short Campaign: hold 30 regions
 * Long Campaign: hold 40 regions

Gameplay
The Wizzrobe are designed around converting the dimwitted commonfolk of Hyrule with promises of power and a better government. The Wizzrobes will not start out with any cities but that's not a problem from their point of view: they'll just set up shop near a city and work their magic on it. Instead of Forts, Wizzrobe characters and generals can build Churches outside of settlements.

As long as a leader character or General is garrisoned at the church it will begin to offer services to the lower class of the nearest city and in exchange all they have to do is serve as Acolytes. The Wizzrobe player will then be able to hire Acolytes like mercenaries.

Eventually the temptation of power will become great and Wizzrobe propaganda will inspire the nearest settlement to revolt against its host government. This will clear out the city of soldiers and allow the Wizzrobe to occupy the city without any contest, from which they can build the infrastructure they need to train better Wizzrobe units. The truly nefarious benefit of this is that the victim faction won't consider it an act of war since their own population rebelled against them, letting you maintain alliances you might have.

In addition, Wizzrobe churches greatly boost the economy of the region they are set up in. This boost is not for the Wizzrobe, it's for the victim faction.

In the case of the Wizzrobes just outright invading cities this is not really a wise option early on since the Wizzrobe start with virtually nothing and can only bolster their ranks with Acolytes. You'll want to convert your first few settlements before brute force comes to mind. After you have a handful of cities to churn out your powerful mages then you can shift your attention to dominating through warfare rather then conversion.

Only these factions will be affected by Wizzrobe Churches:
 * Kingdom of Hyrule: full effect
 * Sheikah Cadre: full effect
 * Ordona Province: 25% resistance
 * Lanayru Province: 50% resistance
 * Kokiri: 50% resistance
 * Gerudo: 75% resistance
 * Labrynna Regime: 75% resistance

Standard

 * Acolyte
 * Pyromancer
 * Aquamancer
 * Electromancer
 * Geomancer
 * Illusionist
 * Aeromancer
 * Conjurer

Siege Weaponry

 * Earth Reaper

Command

 * Head Mage
 * Supreme Mage

Agent

 * Priestess of Hylia

Heroes

 * Nostrum
 * Carock
 * Hylia, The False Goddess

Special

 * Thunderbird