Revised Novgorod Roster Mod
What is it?
This mod revises the vanilla unit roster for Novgorod to provide some more appropriate units and some (hopefully) more historically accurate units.
Why has this been made?
The roster for the Russian faction in Vanilla M2TW was fine for a generic Russian faction. But since this faction has been changed to the Republic of Novgorod in Stainless Steel, not all units in the roster are appropriate. For example:- Tsar's Guard: While Novgorod did have heavy cavalry, they never had a Tsar.
- Cossack units: Cossacks originate from southern Russia and the Ukraine, rather than northern russia where Novgorod is situated.
Such units have either been replaced by something more appropriate, or simply renamed.
How will these changes affect faction balance?
Hopefully minimally. The changes to the unit roster will make Novgorod more infantry heavy, which will make how the faction is played a little different. The units that have been added to the roster will of course need to be tested to make sure they don't overpower Novgorod.
When will it be available?
A version will be released for play testing once it has been integrated into SS 6.1
Unit Preview (not complete)
Name: Sulitsi Cavalry
Role: Javelin Cavalry
Replaces: Boyar Sons
Novgorod did employ cavalry armed with javelins (or sulitsi), but they came from the Baltic tribes within the borders of the Republic. On their backs they carry a dijed: a quiver for their javelins.
Name: Boyars
Role: Cavalry
Boyars are the nobles of Novgorod, equivalent to the Feudal Knights of western Europe.
Name: Dismounted Boyars
Role: Armoured Infantry
Replaces: Dismounted Boyar Sons
Equivalent to Dismounted Feudal Knights. Having this unit armed with swords rather than the axes of the Boyar Sons has deprived Novgorod of a source of armour piercing infantry. To make up for this, the next unit was added in.
Name: Peasant Crossbowmen
Role: Armour piercing archers.
The same unit as western factions get. Many crossbow heads have been found in and around Novgorod. The current roster does not reflect the historical usage of the crossbow in the area.
Name: Luchniki.
Role: Archers
Replaces: Dismounted Dvor.
Dvor is a later term more associated with Muscovite Russia rather than the time period covered in SS. For this reason, Dvor have been replaced with Luchniki (meaning Archers).
Name: Mounted Luchniki
Role: Armoured Missile Cavalry
Replaces: Dvor Cavalry.
Contact and conflict with steppe peoples led the Russians to adopt mounted archers. While well equipped, they are not as skilled as they're steppe counterparts and cannot use shooting circle tactics. Alexander Nevskii made good use of mounted archers at the battle of Lake Peipus in 1242.
Name: Novgorod Home Guard
Role: Heavy Spearmen.
The Novgorod Home Guard consisted of the richer citizens of Novgorod who, when drawn up into service, could afford better armour and weapons than most. Historically the Home Guard would only be drawn upon when Novgorod itself was directly threatened.
Credits
Thanks to DisgruntledGoat and Kalos for their kind permission for me to make some minor modifications to their excellent unit skins.
Also, thanks to Scolot for providing some excellent artwork. 
Preview: Revised Novgorod Roster Mod
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Originally Posted by fieldmarshal
