Taros
Taros is the house of Lokken, the younger son of Garacaius. Lokken breaks his father's law against magic, and his army shows it. Taros has more spellcasters than any other house, the cheapest soldiers in the game, and a large air force, but no real ships.
Lokken, the Necromancer
Lokken was a brilliant child, but after his mother's death he developed many unpleasant traits. His father hoped that a hard task would keep his mind busy, and gave him Taros with the sceptre holding Angvir's Flame. Within a year, Lokken had calmed the realm through diplomacy, brutality and magic.
Lokken has seen the world of spirits since he was a boy, and he wants to join it to the world of the living. His spells first turned dry canyons into green meadows. Then his changes to the land stopped working and a plague spread. Lokken blames Elsin, and has turned to raising the dead.
In battle, Lokken has 16,000 hit points, can make himself invisible, and casts Fire Ball, Guided Fire Ball and Fire Wave. He can build all three of Taros's summoning buildings himself: the Cabal, the Abyss and the Temple. He can also build Walls, Gates, Lodestones and Caged Demons, and summon the Spawn of Belial, the god of his house.
The Land and Its People
Taros is an ancient continent; some of its tribes claim to be older than the Kandrans. A chain of active volcanoes, the Kaf, forms its spine, and the manual suggests they give Taros its unusual share of magic. The capital is Elam. Its people worship Belial, a dark god.
The atlas tells the land through the memories of a woman who fled it as a girl. She describes Ugarit on the south-east coast, where Garacaius grew up nearby, and Shekelesh at the foot of the Greater Kaf. Elam lies under a sky of smoke and ash, guarded by Mage Towers, with the fiery mountains of Ladron's Wall to the north. In the west, lava from Mount Angvir runs into the Bay of Mist.
Lokken rejects his father's oath, and Taros is in open rebellion against it. His bitterest enemy is Aramon, and Thirsha of Zhon defends his right to use magic.
The Noble Houses
The noble houses of Taros are violent and quarrelsome. Lokken keeps them from civil war mainly by turning them against a common enemy.
| Noble house | Lands | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Ontinor | A peninsula on the west coast, facing Veruna | The least violent house, and the main traders of Taros |
| Ventar | The barren north | An endless feud with Balistan |
| Leimar | Around Ugarit | A claim to Kandran descent, some magic in every member, and the cruel Baron Leimar |
| Balistan | Not described | A reputation for bloodlust |
How Taros Fights
Taros uses magic more than any other house. Leaving out monarchs and gods, it can build 9 units with personal mana; no other house has more than 4. The Fire Mage throws fire up to a range of 1,200. The Mind Mage turns enemy units against their own side, and the Weather Witch calls up tornadoes, lightning and ice storms.
Taros is also strong in the air. Not counting gods, it has 7 flying units, as many as Zhon and more than twice as many as any other house. Its top-tier builder, the Dark Priest, flies on a carpet and casts lightning. The Sky Knight and the Iron Beak attack from the air. The Fallen Angel, added by a patch, strikes with a sword for 9,000 damage.
The undead give Taros cheap numbers. The Zombie costs 156 mana, less than any other fighting unit a house can build, and the Cabal produces such troops quickly. Taros also likes ambushes: Lokken, the Fire Spout and the Kamikaze Rat can all turn invisible.
The sea is its weakness. Taros cannot build a single ship. Its navy is the Ghost Ship, which flies over land and water alike. For defence it has the Caged Demon and the Mage Tower, whose lightning hits for 1,350 damage.
From the Cabal, Taros moves on to the Abyss and the Temple, which trains the Dark Priest. The Taros build tree has the full order.
Notable Units
| Unit | Role | Mana cost |
|---|---|---|
| Zombie | Cheap undead infantry | 156 |
| Executioner | Infantry with a pole blade | 296 |
| Dark Mason | Builder | 615 |
| Skeleton Archer | Ranged undead | 677 |
| Black Knight | Mounted archer | 722 |
| Lich | Drains life from nearby enemies | 744 |
| Ghost Ship | Flying warship and transport | 804 |
| Weather Witch | Spellcaster | 1,403 |
| Blade Demon | Heavy melee demon | 1,644 |
| Fire Mage | Long-range spellcaster | 2,308 |
| Mind Mage | Takes control of enemies | 2,947 |
| Sky Knight | Flying attacker | 3,221 |
| Dark Priest | Flying top-tier builder and spellcaster | 6,552 |
| Black Dragon | Dragon, one at a time | 44,587 |
Taros in the Campaigns
You play Taros in 12 of the 48 missions of The Book of Darien. These are missions 5, 8–11, 25, 26, 30, 31, 43, 45 and 47. The first is Black Peace, a raid on a town in Aramon. In Precious Cargo, you escort a mysterious cargo out of Elam as the enemy breaks in.
In The Iron Plague you play Taros in 4 missions: 1, 6, 15 and 21. The expansion opens with Taros in Blood and Gold, and Lokken himself is back in The Necromancer Returns. That makes 16 Taros missions in all.
Sources
- Total Annihilation: Kingdoms manual, The Chronicles of Darien (1999): the history, the Taros chapter and its noble houses
- The lore atlas in the GOG release of Kingdoms: the Taros section
- Game data extracted from the GOG release: units, build lists and missions