Cult of Sotek


 * Cult of Sotek requires The Prophet and the Warlock paid DLC to play.

Cult of Sotek is a playable Lizardmen faction introduced in Total War: Warhammer II as part of The Prophet and the Warlock DLC. It is led by Tehenhauin.

How they play
A summary of Lizardmen (specifically Cult of Sotek) gameplay:
 * Units: In battle, Lizardmen have strong melee units, powerful magic users, and many monsters. However, their ranged units are just average.
 * Blessed Spawnings: These are elite Lizardmen units in limited supply, similar to Regiments of Renown.
 * Rampage: Overall, Lizardmen have good leadership. However, many of their units can potentially rampage and go out of control in battle.
 * Rites: Lizardmen can perform several rites in campaign to bolster themselves or recruit Slann Mage-Priests.
 * Astromancy Stance: A unique army stance which increases map vision and ambush defense chance.
 * Geomantic Web: Lizardmen settlements are linked by the magical Geomantic Web which makes their commandments more powerful.
 * Prophecy of Sotek: Use Sacrificial Offerings to fulfil the Prophecy and gain bonuses. Extra upkeep for Saurus units until stage 2.
 * Lord Kroak: Lizardmen factions can embark on a quest to recruit the unique hero Lord Kroak.

In battle
Cult of Sotek play similarly to other Lizardmen factions.

Prophecy of Sotek

 * Main article: Prophecy of Sotek

Tehenhauin believes that with sufficient sacrifices, the serpent-god may yet return, bringing salvation to the Lizardmen and the extermination of the Skaven. Tehenhauin will be issued with a series of unique missions, the completion of which grants access to new forms of sacrifice. When performed, these reward with unique banners, followers, powerful temporary effects, Regiments of Renown and more.

As Tehenhauin and his forces win battles against non-Lizardmen armies, they may choose to mark any post-battle captives as Sacrificial Offerings. As the offerings build, they may be spent on performing the sacrifices accessed by the Prophecy of Sotek missions.

The highest level of sacrifice grants Tehenhauin the ability to evoke Sotek himself, manifesting an aspect of the serpent-god in battle to deal devastating damage to his foes.

Sacrificial Offerings
Sacrificial Offerings are a resource unique to Cult of Sotek, similar to slaves.

Starting territory

 * Eye of the Vortex
 * Culchan Plains (one settlement)
 * Mortal Empires
 * Northern Great Jungle (one settlement)

Legendary Lord Choices

 * Tehenhauin

Faction effects

 * Cost -75% for the Rite of Sotek
 * Upkeep +200% for Saurus infantry units and Temple Guard, until reaching stage 2 of the Prophecy of Sotek.
 * Saurus Old-Blood
 * Saurus Warriors
 * Saurus Warriors (Shields)
 * Saurus Spears
 * Saurus Spears (Shields)
 * Temple Guards
 * Blessed Saurus Warriors (Shields)
 * Blessed Saurus Spears (Shields)
 * Blessed Temple Guards

Tehenhauin's lord effects

 * Physical resistance +10% for Skinks units (Lord's army)
 * Leadership +10 when fighting against Skaven (Lord's army)
 * Untainted +3 (local province)

Post-battle options
Cult of Sotek's post-battle options are the same as regular Lizardmen factions, except that Kill and Eat is replaced by Mark For Sacrifice which increases Sacrificial Offerings.



Starting agreements
Starts at war with Citadel of Dusk and Clan Fester

Diplomatic traits

 * Compliant - Only through Saurian unity can the Great Plan be enacted.
 * Cold-Blooded Logic - The immutable, alien logic of the Lizardmen means they will only consider strong, emotive states when engaging in diplomacy.

Strategy
This campaign is one of the harder ones, as you start in the middle of Lustria surrounded by enemies. Saurus units cost triple to recruit and maintain until the first stage of the prophecy has been completed. This means you must rely on Skinks more so than any other Lizardmen campaign. To augment them, they are given +10% Physical resistance, which can go a surprisingly long way to making them more durable. There are also skills that make them stronger. For most of the early game and into the mid game it is better to rely on Skinks than pay out the cash for Saurus. The Rite of Sotek is also 75% cheaper which means you can ambush enemies easier and enemies in your territory will suffer attrition. Use this to your advantage as you will likely be beset on multiple fronts and a little attrition or the tactical advantage of an ambush can change the fortunes of battle.

Diplomatically, it is best to secure allies when you can, for example fighting the Dwarfs is not advised. Fighting other Lizardmen is not advised unless you have to. With the addition of Gor-Rok and Nakai, you have slightly more options for allies, however they also can limit your expansion by taking settlements you want. The Court of Lybaras and Order of Loremasters can also be friends or foes depending on how you want to approach it. Your enemies will primarily be the Skaven, followed up by the Dark Elves and Vampire Coast.

Trivia
As of the Potion of Speed update, the Sacrificial Offerings gained from Mark for Sacrifice is no longer set at a constant 50. It now scales with the battle size. This provides an immense boost to the Cult of Sotek campaign, as many of their sacrifices were limited by how many battles had to be fought in order to gain enough slaves.