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This topic has been pinned, so it's probably important 
Discussions Rules and Guidelines
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The .png format is easier to use. Keep in mind that .png files have a transparency layer that can be manipulated only with special software. A great resource for sprites is the online dominions inspector where you can right-click and save any sprite on .png format. You can find great game sprite sheets online by a google image search.
Windows Paint does not save the transparency layer of a .png file so it is useless for our purposes. The free Xnview software is very simple and easy to use. When you work with sprite sheets, you can use crop to select a sprite and then save as png with the transparency layer.
The .tga format does not need a transparency layer if it has a black background color (RGB 0 0 0). Any image that has a black background color and the right size can be converted to .tga format and work just fine.
The dominions modding community has created a vast repository of sprites in .tga format. The problem with .tga is that you cannot preview in windows so you might want to do a batch conversion with Xnview for easy preview.
Graphical illustration software is beyond the scope of this guide.
Cheers!
Click on the guide. Do it. Do it now if you want to live.
Update:
Further expanded the art section to account for things that I am qualified to talk about and which are definitely mentioned nowhere else.
Also made some corrections to the events section based on information that has since come to light.
Events will be the most interesting part of the guide. It is important to have an event that not only works properly but also is put into some kind of narrative context (I mean a description that makes some sense). We have much to learn yet, especially, on the use of variables.
Another issue you might want to address is modding from a philosophical/game design point of view. There is a certain lack of originality in modding with some rare exceptions like the Confluence Mod for Dominions 5. So what makes a mod original and what makes the time that a modder puts into the game worthwhile?
The problem with strategy games is that they hook you much the same way as other forms of entertainment and social media. First they create an itch, then you scratch from time to time, your scratch provide a variable reward, and the next thing you know is that you are hooked. So, first things first, why are we doing it anyway?
I've not put much in in the way of example code for events simply due to the fact that I don't use events very much and there's not much variation in what I'd need. I suppose I could expand the section to include a couple of actually useful examples, though.
Regarding event variables:
Variables should be simple to implement into events and ritual-based triggers for said events, if potentially time consuming. For example, even though I can't see it (nobody has ripped scenarios or event data), I strongly suspect that the majority of VoE ceremonies do is change event variables. The problem with events is that they are somewhat imprecise and you may need a lot of them to achieve some relatively simple things, while other things simply don't have an available function to execute. Not having examples does not help, as you say.
As for the rest:
As for design philosophy and philosophy in general, I suspect only the former is within the scope of the guide, and then only barely. I know there's the very occasional talk about balance vs narrative effect or just balance in general around these parts. As for myself, I've seen the things that can be done at all points of the narrative/balance slider over the decades and posit that however much effort one puts into narrating or balancing is solely at the discretion of the person/people making something. It just needs to remain relatively consistent and the idea behind it needs to be 'good'. I'll not get into that philosophical can of worms and will just define 'good' as 'changes or content that the creator and/or public believes improves the existing experience or adds to the existing experience in a meaningful way'. Such things are typically up to the individual.
I agree with you that philosophical speculation is a can of worms and you should not use the steam forum as your soapbox to pontificate and vituperate. Let me say only this: Most strategy players play obsessively and compulsively and end up tired, frustrated and confused. Modding a game puts you in the position of the game designer and thus gives you the chance to think imaginatively and creatively and break the vicious circle of repetitive and addictive gaming. Enough said.
On Events
There are two main problems with events. Narrative and Optimization. I leave Narrative aside for the moment. Optimization is a real issue because with so many planes and units moving around, square events can take a long time to resolve. For example I sometimes use the <killsquare> command to depopulate other planes and events resolve instantly. With early-game spawning events I disable them manually after the trigger. So we need to play-test and find a work-around if possible.
Two Examples
I give two examples of events simulating the Cataclysm and Astral Corruption Events from Dominions. They trigger for player number 0 (red) playing the Scourge Lord. The descriptions are addressed to the Scourge Lord and thus have a middle-eastern flavor. The implication is that the Lord has dabbled with forbidden knowledge and has incurred the wrath of heaven. Descriptions are from the early fantasy novel Vathek of William Beckford.
Cheers!
Admittedly, I haven't done nearly as much hands on testing as I'd like, so I could be blowing smoke out my ass.
#for play-testing
#selectclass 25 #scourge lord
#addcomrec 100 5 0 0 "Sheikh"
1 walk randomly on same plane
Random occasional movement one square at a time.
2 crusade
Moves directly against enemy citadels
3 inquisition/saint
Moves directly against enemy citadels but also likely to visit squares with human population.
4 rider
Moves towards enemy citadels in a more of less straight line. Moves aggressively. Unpredictable because changes targets often.
5 angel
Likely to visit squares with human population.
6 devil
Likely to visit squares with human population.
7 ghost
Likely to visit squares with many dead.
8 visit citadels & settlements
Self-explanatory.
9 dragon
Occasionally wanders around its home square undertaking raid missions within a certain distance.
10 merchant
Likely to visit squares with human population.
11 celestial angel
Celestial Angels rarely move on their home plane. Unknown Behavior on the Elysian Plane.
12 primal gods
Primal Gods rarely move on their home plane. Unknown Behavior on the Elysian Plane.
13 wild hunt
Unknown Behavior.
14 vassal
Unknown Behavior.
15 orchard of souls
Unknown Behavior.
16 pirate captain
Moves along the coastline from port to port, unflagging ports if possible.
17 teleporting horror
Unknown Behavior. Currently not present in the game. Nevertheless the command <maptele> is functional.
18 hunt enemy armies if on home plane
Self-explanatory. Apparently not fully implemented.
19 hunt player squares if on home plane
Self-explanatory. Apparently not fully implemented.
Notice that units with <wander> must be commanders and on their home plane to move properly. Notice also that the command <wander2> is currently not recognized by the game.
AI behavior needs further fine-tuning and debugging, and I look forward to see some improvements in the area. Thank you.