Luckmann, may I say you are truly my hero! lol I am totally amazed by your nations that you created in your post and heroes to go along with it! May I ask how you created those totally authentic portraits of your heroes?

On the second one, I went through the entire thing with the paintbrush in Photoshop, set to Hue, color red. Changing everything blue to red. Then I switched the setting to Color Dodge and added some highlights. I copied the section I wanted (cutting away some of the 'empty' space on either side of his shoulder), pasted into a new window, resized the width to 100px. Copied it into yet another window, this time a set window of 100x115, and adjusted how I wanted him to fit in height.

I then create two more layers. On the top layer, I add a 1px black border just at the edges. Moving inward, I mark the next 'pixel lining' with the Rectangular Marquue Tool, switch to the original layer, and use Color Dodge at approx. 40%. Doing it again on slightly darker areas so that areas that need to be more accentuated to appear do so. Lastly I add a 40-60% transparent black border on the third 'pixel lining'. To give the illusion of another border.

It sounds a lot more convoluted than it is, now that I read it. But I feel that on images such as this, it gives a really good impression, thanks to that 3px wide lining. On the third one I did no recoloring with the Hue setting. I simply added strong Color Dodge in "flashes", using a big (~80px+) paint brush. I don't remember what opacity I used, but usually around 40% is pretty good for Color Dodge, add more if necessary. Added mostly some bronze/orange, a little bit of red, and then I did the resizing and added the border.

On the first one I simply resized and added the border.

And yes, I realise I just pulled this entire thread off topic.

Edit: I found the issue. It actually adds a divide for every time you copy/paste something, for one reason or another. Just remove the <div> tags at the start and end of every post, and it's fixed. Note that the first <div> tag has a bunch of other info in it, I just don't remember what it was. But it starts with <div 100somethingoranother> and ends with </div>. Just scrap it.

Well there you go.  fantastic.  take note all others who copy paste things.

Name:  (Doctor) Sukamrin
Race:  Fallen
Hair:  burnt brown (white hairs on sides from age) - frazzeled (literally burnt)
Eye:   Red

Base class:  Scientist/wizard

History:  When the titans of old created the fallen, they had to ensure that intelligence would be present so the best evil scientists were used in the creation of the of the fallen.  They say that Sukarin is ephiphany of those evil scientists.  His creative mind makes him seem almost as unpredictable as normal men, but his evil and twisted mind keeps him as one of the fallen.

Major stats:
perception/intellect
will

minor stats:
strength
toughness

Abilities:
Dark research:  Sukmrin's perception is added to research each turn 
Magical prowess:  Sukmrin is adept at casting basic magic of the types known to the channeler
crazy experimentation:  Sukmrin experiments with different proformance enhancing drugs/magic/technology, it provides a boost to stats of all normal units in Sukmrin's army, but gives -1 Moral to Fallen because they don't like his wild ways.

Advanced class up > Mad researcher > brainiac

Obviously, I'm taking a shot at some fallen heroes.  I am probebly way off, but I created this from the like 2 small experts of info about them.  I feel bad for them because all of the fan heroes so far are men, rather than fallen.  I want excitement about them too.  Sadly because I don't know much about them, I have less to work with in terms of history and they are hard to relate since all we know is they 'arn't quite human'.  I don't want to stray too far from what is 'canon' at this point, so maybe I'll revise them when we know more about the personality and life of the fallen.  For right now, I may take more creative licence based on feedback...

Name:   Zurtu the dark
hair:  black
eyes:  unknown (she wears a mask)

race:  Fallen

history:  Zurtu loves the pleasures of life, especially when taken from others.  Like her fallen brothers and sisters, she knows only the strongest survive.  In her case, her strength comes from her ability to get under the noses of the biggest of fallen bruts and leave with there dinner without their notice.  She fights for what she knows she can win, and steals everything else.  Her youth was in an abusive family that quickly taught her to stay out of the way of others that were superiour to her, and now she holds the same policy on the battlefield.

Major stats:
Agility
perception

Minor stats:
strength

Abilities:
hiden scout:  Gets a free move (or just starts ahead) at the begining of the battle
backstab:  Does extra damage when attacking a unit/hero from behind (unit facing is suddenly important)
throw knife:  Can attack 1 tile away and still benifit from the effects of equiped magical knife or other basic throwing weapon
steals food:  Zurtu gains a healing bonus from un-hurt units in her army (she takes what they "obviously don't need")

Advance class up > Night stalker > Master assassin

name:  Kassinar
hair:  Bright red
eyes:  Black

Race: Fallen
base class:  Noble/leader (video game "idea guy"   semi-inside joke )

history:  Kassinar is a noble of the fallen, and his arrogence shows it.  He knows he's better than the common fallen, and he makes it his job to ensure that everybody else knows it too.  He takes charge in any situation and he never takes no for an answer.

Major stats:
Charisma (if you could call it that)
Will

minor stats:
agility

Abilities:
Annoying:  Kassinar's over the top personality is a pain to be with, general -1 moral to everybody in his army
"This is what happens to the weak":  Kassinar kills 1 person in a unit (does damage equal to 1 person, that would be 1/6th of the standard MoM unit, or 1/4th of the standard MoM cav unit) and that unit gets a MASSIVE moral boost.
High horse:  Kassinar doesn't take moral penalties from 'lesser' units, since he knows he's better than they are.  (mechanically, so he can use the above ability on anybody who is suffering )

Advance class up > Enforcer > High king

*I kinda wish I knew what they looked like.  I keep wanting to go with bizzar old Dr. Who style people (that are mostly human, but subtly different like are green or have strange hair)

What about champions and heroes with multiple or mixed classes? Thought I didn't give her a backstory I did create a pyromancer engineer. Being able to control heat would allow an engineer to do all sorts of stuff like weld metal. At the same time having the skills of an engineer would allow a pyromancer (with the help of a shaper staff) to build a structure out of ice that is both level and sound.

There are lots of other combinations you could make depending on what skills you allow champions to have. Not all skills have anything to do with combat and "civilian" champions would be an interesting addition.

create a character:  Fan service series

Name:   Sonic the Hedgemage

hair:  Blue (spiky, might as well be quills)
eyes:  Black

History:  Since birth this guy has been one with the wind.  When he runs, it is almost as if he flies and he always has a tail wind.  In his youth, he was able to collect his most prized possession, his emerald power ring of chaos. From there he became pretty much a loose cannon.  He has no master, and he carries himself with quite a bit of arrogance.  Dispite his inhuman power, he is still friendly, always stopping at local stands to eat chili-dogs.

Major stats:
agility/Speed
agility/speed again (its that broken)
did I meantion speed?

minor stats:
toughness ( Its almost like he can only take 1 hit after his power rings )

Abilities:
Item: (comes with) Emerald power ring of chaos: Gives him a boost to speed, power, and toughness.

Light dash:  1/per battle he gets an extra movement (which is already insane due to his base movement stats)

Super sonic top speed: If he moves full distance turns in succession, his move distance actually raises above normal allowed based on his stats (if he moves 5 grid spaces, he can move 6 the next turn.  If he moves all 6, he can move 7 the next, and so on until he reaches the engine's cap or he can't find a way to use up all his move)

For absolutely no real reason at all, I think this thread is always relevant, and deserve a bump.

good call.

I was going to be pumping it before the end of the month anyway since I have had a fan service charcter for a while waiting for its related release.

Name: Lord Haniel

Hair: White (nobody knows if this is because of age, birth, or some other reason), short

Eye Color: One red, one electric blue

History: Most of "Lord Haniel"'s history is unknown. Few scholars even know if "Haniel" is his real name, or if he actually holds the title of Lord. He appears to be searching for some unknown person or artifact from before the Cataclysm, and while he utilizes increadbly powerful magic, he lacks physical strength as a possible result of extreme age. Haniel has frequently thrown his support behind the Royal Imperium of Carthere, but holds no official loyalty to any Man or Fallen. The most common theory surrounding his origins is that he is a human from before the Cataclysm who through powerful sorcery has managed to survive the intervening centuries and is seeking to restore the world to its previous state.

Race: Human?

Base Class: Travelling Mage

Evolution: Travelling Mage -> Journeyman -> Studyer -> (Class Choice)

Class Choice A (Skill w/ dark/death magic & stealth bonus): Studyer -> Wandering Shadow -> Meddler -> Bane -> Interloper -> Waywalker

Class Choice B (Skill w/ light/life magic & morale bonus): Studyer -> Wandering Shaman -> Benedictor -> Provider -> Intervener (sp?) -> Freewalker

Attributes: Will, Perception, Stealth

Abilities:

• Peculiar Familiarity: Gains 10% boost to all stats in dungeons, 20% to sight.
• Arcane Knowledge: Improvements to magic cost 1/2 of what they otherwise would.
• Inner Balance: Magic type advantages have no effect. All spells of same power do same amount of damage.
• Traveller's Connections: Gains discounts when sent to purchase equipment, & can gain info on enemies by travelling to their cities.

Scoutdog, props for trying to work with the scraps of game canon we've had so far. I'll be interested in seeing a re-write after we know the basic mechanics for champion units.

You'll get it. Although a  dev journal on magic miiiiiiiiight help out a little, too..........

They just had one. Sure it only gave us 4 spells, but it was insight  into how magic worked and examples of magic that exists in the game.