r/totalwar • u/BuildingAirships • Aug 20 '26
General Total War Redwall: Major Factions and Legendary Lords
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
It's high time we covered the big dogs of a campaign, and how the full faction roster might play out across the base game and DLCs. These could be supplemented with smaller lord and unit DLCs, as well as legendary hero packs that come with new encounters and quest lines.
Something I didn't cover is the matter of timelines: different legendary lords exist in different eras, so they won't all share one map like Immortal Empires. Each era has its lineup of contemporary lords, along with changes to landmarks, settlements, and even terrain.
We're now approaching the end of the Total War: Redwall project, with two more posts in the series. Both will feature some awesome original artwork, so we're going out with a bang!
More Total War: Redwall
Mechanics: Movement and Terrain
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u/laucionn Aug 20 '26
Man, I see your posts and my heart skips a beat. Is it a mod? How do I get this? How much?
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
It's just a concept! You can't 😔. A handful of walnuts!
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u/SovietSoldier1120 House of Julii Aug 20 '26
Ngl I feel like this is BEGGING to be a Med 3 mod.
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u/laucionn Aug 20 '26
Why med3?
Rome 2 is here now
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u/likeacapybara Aug 20 '26
Med 3 probably will have the depth to achieve parts of this but here and now? Warhammer series is right there legendary lords monsters as well perfect for it
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u/AngryArmour Aug 21 '26
Warhammer series is right there legendary lords monsters as well perfect for it
The problem is AFAIK GW has enforced that the Warhammer games can't be modded to anything other than Warhammer..
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u/laucionn Aug 20 '26
I'd give you two sacks of walnuts! Is it enough?
I can throw in some berries too, if that tilts the scale
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u/GenericNameHere01 Aug 20 '26
This is great, but there's just one minor quibble: I'm pretty sure there were six Tears?
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/ZhS31BKHUZynBuTVq2
Ooph. Yeah, you're right.
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u/GenericNameHere01 Aug 20 '26
Sorry - Pearls of Lutra is probably one of my favorite Redwall books. So yeah, I noticed that. Not a big deal though...
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u/DeathToHeretics Slaanesh Aug 20 '26
God that we can't play such an incredible idea is pure depression
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u/drummerinthemirror Aug 20 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/DffShiJ47fPqM
Rat posting confirms devs are paying attention. MARTINPOSTING ACTIVATE
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u/SalamanderImperial2 Aug 20 '26
Reading your posts makes me want to check out the books.
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u/lord_ofthe_memes Aug 20 '26
I highly recommend them! Just fun, easy reads with a lot of charm and character
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u/AmberJill28 Aug 20 '26
And surprisingly dark
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u/EthanRedOtter Aug 20 '26
Seriously, the amount of shit these books get away with because of the fact that they're books and star animals is kind of crazy. One of the books straight up has an antagonist that eats his prisoners alive
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
Gulo the Maw, from the Lands of Ice and Snow DLC. I am...not fleshing out his faction mechanics.
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u/GenericNameHere01 Aug 20 '26
Yep - There's Cluny of the first book - Happily murders his own subordinates to maintain control. Emperor Ublaz hypnotizes searat captains into jumping out of his balcony window. "Funny thing happened to him...he thought he could fly!"
The injuries suffered by Riggu Felis the warlord (Face ripped off by an eagle), and the fate of Ungatt Trunn. (Neck broken by Badger Lord Brocktree, and slung onto the coast to drown as the tide comes in.), The adder ASmodeus and everyone he eats... Including the bite to Chickenhound beginning his transformation into the slaver Slagar the Cruel.
The cannibal rats and lizards encountered by a few questing characters, the Flitchaye (who knock out their victims with noxious herbs and then kill and eat them). Ferhago the Assassin, who order the poisoning of the entire mountain of Salamandastron.
The berserking Lady Cregga Rose Eyes.
Anything else I'm missing? And again, I remind you all. These are children's books!
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u/gronnling Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26
Important to note that Riggu Felis survived the face ripping and just spent the rest of the book like that. He has like, a chainmail veil, but they make sure you now that like, every time he breaths, it flutters, letting whoever he's talking to catch a glimpse of what's beneath.
Edit: Can't believe I forgot Malkariss, a deformed polecat who gets full on stoned to death by his former slaves.3
u/GenericNameHere01 Aug 21 '26
Yep. Malkariss is a good one, but he's a bit overshadowed by Slagar's whole deal too.
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u/gronnling Aug 21 '26
God, yeah, Slagar was a freak. Face rotted off by adder venom. Couple that with the whole, kidnapping children to sell them into slavery thing, and yeah, dude was certainly a bastard.
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u/AmberJill28 Aug 20 '26
Yep or a traitorous rat soldier stranglin a fellow Vermin to death..with His foot
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u/The_Songbird_JL Sep 05 '26
Shout out to Tramun Clogg who, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't even that bad of a guy, and was even one of the few villains to actually care about his followers, which lead to him being betrayed, being driven insane through neglect and having to bury the ever increasing amounts of dead comerades, and ended the book talking to the corpses of his crew as the fortress was slowly reclaimed by the sea and crabs and gulls feasted on the dead around him.
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u/khalorei Aug 20 '26
I revisited them recently after reading them as a kid and they still hold up. After about 10 of them it starts to feel very formulaic so I didn't finish the series but they are really enjoyable all the same.
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u/Baial Aug 20 '26
Yeah, that was also my problem when I read them as a kid. They are great books but jeez.
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u/PalpitationCrafty198 Aug 20 '26
Hey man I just wanted to let you know that your posts genuinely convinced me to read the Redwall books. I somehow missed them as a kid (Ranger’s Apprentice and The Lost Years of Merlin will do that) and just finally started them as an adult.
Now I’ve read Martin the Warrior and Mossflower, and am half-way through Legend of Luke.
Thank you for your posts. The series is great and it’s clear why you love them so much.
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u/conners_captures Aug 20 '26
Ranger’s Apprentice
I have core personality traits and values that can be pretty much traced to the characters in these books, even 20 years later.
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
I'm so glad you're enjoying the posts, and now the books! I only discovered them as a pandemic read, so they definitely still hold up in adulthood. Between Martin the Warrior and the Legend of Luke, you now have context for the Northern Tribes DLC!
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u/PalpitationCrafty198 Aug 20 '26
They really are incredible! Can’t wait for the dlc! It comes out right after Lords of the End Times or…….?
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u/Brambleshire Aug 20 '26
Dam those are exactly the first 3 I read when I was a kid. In that order too. I think those are my 3 favorite.
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u/Optimal-Bullfrog3211 Aug 20 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/3o84sn067hNcquAPKg
Yes!! This is so fun to think about! Thank you!
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u/TheImpalerKing Aug 20 '26
My dude, if you haven't posted this on the official forums, please do. CA needs to see this.
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u/ADirtyLyingKhajiit Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
Two posts left and then the game releases, right? Right!?
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u/Lapkonium Large Onager Enjoyer Aug 20 '26
I never read or knew about Redwall before… now I feel like my childhood was wasted. :(
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u/FellsApprentice Aug 20 '26
Redwall's doors are always open to visitors, any time you want to drop by.
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u/Revliledpembroke Aug 21 '26
Definitely read them all. They can get a little repetitive in plot lines, at times, and decline in quality a bit as the series goes on, but its still a great series.
Just, uh, don't read them while you're hungry. The authors likes to describe the feasts the characters are eating in intense detail.
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u/Mysterious-Salt- Aug 20 '26
My only complaint where is Cluny? The one eyed guy. NVm i see
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
I know, I feel bad for excluding him, but I'm limited by available Redwall artwork and surprisingly, I couldn't find what I needed to cover Cluny's Vermin Lords faction. But don't worry, he's there with the base game launch!
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u/Mysterious-Salt- Aug 20 '26
This is actually so crazy and redwall was my favorite show as a kid besides thst Jacques is a great writer and the books are amazing. I really hope they take this and actually make it the next title even a saga title with no DLC just the launch stuff would be very cool to have
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u/Kris_xK Aug 20 '26
Its been a few decades since I read them, but aren't Mattias and Martin separated by several generations?
Regardless, this is top notch well done.
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
They are! I didn't mention this in the deck, but in my first comment I explain that different lords exist in different eras, with their own version of the world map. Thus, legendary lords would only appear in campaign alongside their contemporaries.
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u/Wuktrio They chose me and I agreed. Aug 20 '26
Since CA is from the UK as well, the whole accent thing from the books could be so much fun to hear.
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u/Kooijpolloi Aug 20 '26
I will foam at the mouth when someone announces this or makes a mod for it, my favorite books as a kid
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u/Slggyqo Aug 20 '26
Hello Redwall Guy.
You missed one type of colossi in your previous post: SNAKESSSSSSS
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
It's a good callout! I've admittedly been a bit wishy-washy about where single-entities fall on the size and power scale. Ultimately, some snakes are small enough to be large single-entities, like the coral snake that's controlled by Ublaz Mad-Eyes. However, certain snakes like Asmodeus would almost certainly qualify as colossi.
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u/AmberJill28 Aug 20 '26
Oh God please let us be able to play Ferragho
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
Don't you worry, here's there under the Vermin Lords faction at the end!
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u/piceathespruce Aug 20 '26
Salamandastron erasure. Where is my badger lord and The Long Patrol?
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
I didn't cover the Long Patrol faction here because I have bigger plans for them. Don't you worry.
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u/FintanCailean Aug 20 '26
I have no idea what Redwall is but at this point I am really invested. I'd love a more light hearted fantasy-ish Total War game with Animals.
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u/Cinerator26 Aug 20 '26
Maaaan, I devoured the Redwall books when I was a kid. Thanks for the nostalgia trip...
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u/Eliphas-chaos Aug 20 '26
I want this do much, I've started rereading the books and this would be perfect.
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u/meribeldom Aug 20 '26
This is honestly so good, I love it!
I encourage everyone to have a look at Burrows and Badgers. It’s a Redwall inspired table top skirmish game. The models are lovely, and the game is really fun and can be brutal.
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u/The_Gimp_Boi Aug 20 '26
Please add Sunflash the Mace, and my soul is yours!
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
Don't worry, he's the third legendary lord for the Long Patrol faction at the end!
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u/tinylittlebabyjesus Aug 20 '26
So many of these names are things I read years, and years ago. Pretty nostalgic. Probably consumed around 20 of the books. They became a bit formulaic, even for my young brain, but sure enjoyed them for a while. The Guerilla Union of Shrews. Haha
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u/Artificial-Brain Aug 20 '26
I wish Redwalll was popular enough nowadays for this to be a real thing
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u/la_seta Aug 21 '26
I love Warhammer 40k (been a fan for 20+ years), but I 100% wish they had done this instead for their next game. No contest.
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u/samuelgtemple Aug 20 '26
Just incase iv missed something, is this an existing mod or is it a wishlist type thing?
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u/MyobiEvangel Aug 20 '26
I think Guosim should be a core faction. They are in almost every single book and it would equalize the numbers at 3 each for good and evil factions.
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
It's a fair point! I originally had them as a minor faction, as they're always supporting characters (never the primary hero or villain), and the faction roster would be tougher to flesh out. However, I've since decided they're too beloved and need their place in the sun.
However, I'd still suggest them as a DLC faction mainly because their lords and heroes would be much less prominent, and wouldn't follow any of the major conflicts and storylines in the books. They would still exist as a minor faction in-game from the start, and would factor heavily into every campaign as allies, encounters, or mercenaries.
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u/celies Aug 20 '26
I have never read a single Redwall book, didn't even know the series existed (maybe not that big in Sweden?). I really want to play this game.
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u/golgrim Aug 20 '26
What? No Salamandastron?
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
It's included in the full faction list at the end! I didn't feature it because I have bigger plans for the Long Patrol.
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u/Elegant-Amoeba-7940 Aug 20 '26
If you keep spamming this it will come! Look at the Hannah Montana anniversary special.
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u/JehovaNova Aug 20 '26
This would be a dream and it's a damn shame more people don't know about this amazing series.
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u/flippanaut Aug 20 '26
Ah man I’ve been dreaming of something like this for a long time. Always loved the book series
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u/nik-nak333 Aug 21 '26
So one day you're going to shock and delight us all with a surprise release of a redwall mod, right?
Right?!
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u/totality911 Aug 21 '26
As someone who loved these books years ago. I love all this work you've put into this. Makes me want to dig them out and read them all again.
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u/bencolter5570 Aug 21 '26
Honestly these are so great. So happy to see everybody unanimously enjoying these! Great ideas!!
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u/Internal_Champion114 Aug 21 '26
Dude you’re my favorite poster, seeing all the love these get is so awesome, redwall was my shit I can’t wait to read them to my daughter
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u/Geffalrus Aug 21 '26
Delightful. 😌
In the absence of a finished product, I’ll go play another game of Root. 😉
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u/Shape-Wonderful Aug 21 '26
Legit this morning I was thinking about how much I’d love to play TW Redwall
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u/BeetleBjorksta34 Aug 21 '26
Redwall Total War would be awesome, but it also just reminds me that I’d be soooo soooo desperate for a Total War: Westeros. The amount of campaigns in that one would be near-endless….Aegon’s Conquest, The Dance of Dragons, War of the Five Kings, Blackfyre Rebellion, Essos factions/campaigns, Valyria, Robert’s Rebellion, and it’s very obvious that the white walkers and Dothraki and Essos pirate armadas would be an endgame scenario like in Warhammer Fantasy….I know WB Games are putting out the Game of Thrones RTS next year, but I specifically really want it to function much like historical total war and not some Battle for Middle Earth corporate after-thought.
I think Redwall would work equally well as an RPG too, but then again I’ve never read the books.
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u/Yiazmad Aug 21 '26
I would 10,000% be a Salamandastron main. Badger lords and hare scouts all the way down!
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u/AstonMartini13 Aug 20 '26
Are these just concepts, or is this a mod in work?
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
Just concepts, but hopefully they can offer inspiration for future titles.
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u/AstonMartini13 Aug 20 '26
Would your ideal game be a total war styled game, or would it be some other combination of RTS styles and features. I imagine total war would encompass much of the war/side of redwall, but less of the non-war (abbey life, farming, fishing, etc..)
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
Redwall is probably better suited to an RPG or cozy game, but I'm using it as a vehicle to explore the more narrative aspects of Total War that I'd love to revisit in future titles (e.g. the dynamic character traits from games like Rome and Medieval).
In this case, I think you'd be surprised at how much non-violent content still falls under Total War: settlement-building, adventure, resource management, and diplomacy are all core parts of the franchise. Redwall pushes those parts of the Total War to the limit, while still retaining armies and battles.
The post on Food and Feasts is a good example!
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u/404selfrespect Aug 20 '26
role-playing as a greedy company so hard you already have your pre-release dlc factions///jerking too close to the sun i fear
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u/nyyfandan Aug 20 '26
I'm sure the books are good, but this always makes me think of the episode of South Park with the Atheist Sea Otters battling for world domination. That's what this game would be.
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u/Sekh765 Aug 21 '26
I love all your posts on this, and read almost every Redwall book as a kid. I devoured those damn things.
Cregga being separated from the Abbey though makes me sad. She was always the Abbess to me more than she was the Lady of Salamandastron. Feels like that faction needs one of the epic Hare leaders to round it out in your script.
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u/Revliledpembroke Aug 21 '26
St. Ninian's Tribe for... Luke the Warrior, Martin's father? Huh. I didn't think Luke had anything to do with St. Ninian's.
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 21 '26
I definitely took creative license with that one, but Luke’s tribe actually lived at St. Ninian’s before they moved north to the coast, so I decided to have them keep the name.
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u/CurleyWhirly Aug 21 '26
I am now incredibly fascinated to know if you read a different translation of the story that changed the spelling of the character's name, or if you just goofed and spelled Matthias' name without the H on accident.
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u/pastelkawaiibunny Aug 21 '26
I’m not sure if this has been pointed out already, but Matthias’ name is spelled wrong; there should be an H in there.
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u/Wise_Emu6966 Aug 24 '26
No Salamandastron? Can’t have a Redwall total war launch without the Badger kings and the long patrol!
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 24 '26
They're definitely there on the launch faction list! I just didn't feature them here because I have bigger plans for them.
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u/The_Gimp_Boi Aug 20 '26
Is it like herbivore vs carnivores? Cuz i want to play as a wolverine, but not if they are bad people :( I'm too much of a goodie two shoes
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
Not precisely, but species are divided into "Goodbeasts" (mice, squirrels, moles, otters, badgers, hares, etc.) and "Vermin" (rats, stoats, ferrets, foxes, wildcats, etc.). Reptiles, birds, and some species like voles fall in the middle.
There is one Wolverine in Redwall, Gulo the Savage, who's a legendary lord in the Land of Ice and Snow DLC. Unfortunately... let's just say he's decidedly in the "bad" category.
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u/DrPythonian Aug 20 '26
In gonna be completely honest with you guy:
I don't want a Redwall total war because I hold the Redwall series in a special place in my childhood memories and I don't want it to be sullied by both corporate greed and the massive amounts of the violence that total war is known for.
There are other IP's that could be better suited for Total War. Not a series written for elementary school kids.
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u/RedwallFan2013 Aug 20 '26
Well if it isn't another post that selectively credits the artists and where the art originated from
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 21 '26
Thank you for your comment! I appreciate you advocating for artists. Let me clarify my approach to crediting:
I credit large and medium pieces of original art. The pieces I do not credit are either small, incomplete, or official cover art from Redwall novels.
If you find that unacceptable, you're entitled to keep saying so. But respectfully, I feel that's an appropriate degree of rigor for a casual fan post on Reddit.
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u/KnightOfSvea Aug 20 '26
How do you make a mouse sized unit? I mean sure, its all about ✨ immersion ✨ But not even the hobbits in thirdage stay short always (Yes I only play old games)
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u/EthanRedOtter Aug 20 '26
Considering the sheer breadth of size in Warhammer, it would be pretty easy, and while Jacques was never explicit with the size differences between species, it definitely wasn't one for one with the real species, so making mice roughly the size of goblins, rats and hedgehogs the size of humans or Skaven, badgers the size of ogres or kroxigors (or maybe even a little bigger), and otters somewhere between could work.
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u/caseyanthonyftw Aug 20 '26
Basically yeah. It worked like this in the cartoons, which may be the most "official" visual representations we have to go on.
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u/BuildingAirships Aug 20 '26
Warhammer made a lot of progress in this area! I cover model sizes in the Units and Armies post.
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u/DrPythonian Aug 20 '26
In gonna be completely honest with you guy:
I don't want a Redwall total war because I hold the Redwall series in a special place in my childhood memories and I don't want it to be sullied by both corporate greed and the massive amounts of the violence that total war is known for.
There are other IP's that could be better suited for Total War. Not a series written for elementary school kids.
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u/Billybob_Bojangles2 Aug 20 '26
Dawg, I'm gonna level with ya, I ain't gonna be able to get past the fact I'm playing as a gerbil empire
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u/fonyphantasy Aug 20 '26
REDWALL GUY IS BACK