Palace town, level 1 unit reveal – Day of Reckoning (Heroes 3 mod)

Author: Liso1 February 15, 2022 2 Comments

The other major race resident with the Snow Elves of Vori is the Nisse. The Nisse is a diminutive, gnomish creature of Nordic lore commonly associated with guarding the homestead from evil. In its Heroes of Might and Magic III: Day of Reckoning incarnation – much like the Leprechaun – it exaggerates certain folklore and deliberately plays up pop culture imagery, honing in on a classical link with Santa Claus.

The Day of Reckoning Nisse represents something of a loose conglomeration of Santa himself and the traditional concept of “Christmas elves” (as opposed to the angelic elves of the Prose Edda, represented by the Snow Elf). Motifs of time distortion are particularly relevant to the Palace: the multiplicative Nisse race lends some realism to the fable of Santa crossing the globe in one night, distributing presents to all.

In earlier Might and Magic games, such as Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra, the Gnome race was intrinsically associated with snowy regions, and the Nisse loosely approximates the same vision. While most of the other denizens of the Palace are relatively elegant and ponderous, the Nisse comes closer to channeling a festive, whimsical sensibility… bar those occasions when whacking enemies upside the head with its hefty sack of presents.

The Nisse’s upgrade, the Tomte, keeps a list of who’s naughty and nice, and rewards those it encounters accordingly! Rummaging through its sack, it is capable of granting a helpful boon to friendly units of good/nice alignment (Castle/Rampart/Tower/Palace), and of providing a debilitating lump of coal to enemy stacks of evil/naughty alignment (Inferno/Necropolis/Dungeon/etc).

Creatures of incompatible alignments, including neutral troops, receive neither help nor hindrance from these jovial folk, for they are not susceptible to this ability.

HoMM3: Day of Reckoning update – Snow Elves faction