Re-evaluating the Death Realm and the undead

[Bogus]

some random ideas:
- buff darkness to affect all living things, and reduce their resistance (by a flat amount or increasing over time). or another combat enchantment that does that
- zombie mastery increases speed of zombies
- global enchanment that adds regeneration to death/undead units, OR undead units always heal to full hp after combat by default.
- make black channels buffs permanent like chaos channels, and add lifesteal or regeneration to its effect

[Zephirus]

I think death should offer the same kind of benefiths than life, but in a twisted way.

For instance, you have Heroism as a life spell that rises a unit to elite status. The death equivalent to this spell is death channels, that converts the unit an upkeepless undead unit that does not level and give some minor bonus if you pay the spell upkeep, so you can mantain an larger army.

Life has crusade, that instantly rises the exp of every normal unit. Death has eternal night that gives some nifty bonuses to all undead units (and that includes the normal units transformed with death channels)

Life has charm of life, that increases all friendly units hearts. Death has death wish, that is a save or die for all enemy units.

Life has leonheart, that makes multifigure units unstopable. Death has lycantropy, that changes a normal unit into regenerating werewolves

Life has inspirations, that improves all workers hammers output. Death has dark rituals that improves all religious mana production.

What I think is missing:

Life has altar of battle, that promotes all units created on that town to the maximum exp level. Death should have something similar, that allows that all units created within certain town starts with death channels. That would free the wizard to make summoning spells and let his military city produce all units undead already. That is also a city pacifying spell, since you can cast it into a rebellious city, pump out a few undead spearmen that consumes no food and reduce unrest by 4. That enchantment should have a steep mana upkeep. Let's call this "Undying Servitude".

Life has some economy boosting spells. Death should have one of those too. Every one thinks about undeads as fighting units, but they are essentialy mindless automata. It is a dev team graling oversight not create some death economy boosting spell. I think something like "Undead Workers". The spell animates a team of undeads to do agricultural and sweatshop work on the city without need of pay. The spell has some upkeep (undeads do not heal, heavy work result in injuries and death from time to time, so you have to replace the injuried or destroyed undeads animating a few more every turn, and this replacement animations should be represented by the upkeep), say 5 mana per turn, and produce 3 food and 3 hammers every turn. If you cast this spell in a hamlet, you can set the single citzen as a worker and hush build a single spearmen unit. The city will be able to supply food for both of them, and you can build the builder's hall and granary in 20 turns, or 17 of you are creating a dwarf or klackon city. This will help you earlier in the game (hence why it should be common), but give you no advantage on the endgame.