Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Electorate of Trier

[Azrien Fox]

Electorate of Trier





"You friends of Saint Peter, you defenders of the holy Church, who place your mortal bodies in danger against the swords of your enemies on behalf of God and justice. Serve under Saint Peter, and he shall protect you with a host of saints and shields in battle!"
- Archbishop Albero of Trier

The Electorate of Trier is most known for the city Trier, the oldest city in Germany which has existed since the 1st century. Trier, like six other Electors, was responsible for voting the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire into office. Throughout the early Middle Ages, Trier's land came mostly from the archdiocese that held only a few cities close to Trier. But, in 1212, Trier was given a charter from Emperor Otto IV that gave the city autonomy from the religious office that was established inside Trier, and as well raised the city to an Electorate, and its territory became that of the Archbishop-Electorate, an uneasy bond of faith and power.


For Trier I decided to work the faction into three mostly distinct parts:

The first part are the forces known as the Electorate units. These will mostly consist of your standard levy troops, and trained militia troops, which are few and far in between and as a result, their armor and training will be lacking.

The second part are the Trier units. These units will be your trained and well-armored militia and infantry units that will be coming straight from the Trier itself. They will, without a doubt, be your champions of the early and high tier conflicts.

And finally, the last part is the Elector units, units that have taken heavy inspiration from Bishop's teaching of St. Peter, and use St. Peter as a symbol on quite a bit of their armor. These units will include the Elector-Knights (knights that use the St. Peter coat of arms instead of Trier's) and your heavy late tier units to replace the poor Electorate units of the first and second tier. Their armor will be on par if not possibly better than the Trier units in tier 3, and their training and morale will be almost exact, creating a pretty well-rounded highly lethal set of units.

(Note: The generals will soon have the mitre as well as the helmet)




Early Tier


General:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Archbishop-Elector of Trier

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Sword Infantry:

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Electorate Levies





Trier Militia Swordsmen





Dismounted Elector-Knights

Polearm Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Dismounted Elector's Guard

Spear Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Trier Militia Spearmen





Electorate Levy Spearmen

Shock Cavalry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Elector-Knights








Knights of Trier








Mounted Elector's Guard
(Same unit but without the general)

Melee Cavalry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Mercenary Lorrainer Coustiliers


Coming soon!

Archer / Crossbow Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Trier Militia Crossbowmen

High Tier:


General:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Archbishop-Elector of Trier

Sword Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Electorate Levies





Trier Sword Infantry





Dismounted Elector-Knights

Polearm Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Dismounted Elector's Guard








Electorate Men-at-Arms








Electorate Voulge Sarjeants

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spear Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Trier Pavise Infantry







Electorate Spearmen

Shock Cavalry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Elector-Knights







Knights of Trier








Mounted Elector's Guard

Melee Cavalry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Mounted Elector Men-at-Arms








Mercenary Lorrainer Coustiliers


Coming soon!

Archer / Crossbow Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Elector Militia Crossbow-Infantry








Trier Militia Crossbowmen








Electorate Levy Archers

Late Tier:


General:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Archbishop-Elector of Trier

Sword Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Electorate Sword Militia








Trier Sword Infantry








Dismounted Elector-Knights

Polearm Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Dismounted Elector's Guard





Elector Men-at-Arms








Elector Halberdiers

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spear Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Trier Pavise Infantry








Elector Pavisiers

Pike Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Trier Pike Militia








Elector Pike-Infantry

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Also included: Flemish Pikemen

Shock Cavalry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Elector-Knights








Knights of Trier








Mounted Elector's Guard

Melee Cavalry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Mounted Elector Men-at-Arms








Mercenary Lorrainer Coustiliers


Coming soon!


Also included: Ecorcheur Horsemen

Archer / Crossbow / Gunner Infantry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Elector Crossbow-Infantry











Trier Pavise Crossbowmen











Electorate Militia Archers











Trier Gunners

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Also included: Freecompany Longbowmen, (possibly) Merc. Genoese Crossbowmen

I'd like to thank everyone on the team for their help in making Trier happen!


As always, feel free to share feedback, suggestions, etc.!

[Slytacular]

The Doge hat. Seriously, you're making me cringe. Possibly others too.

[Knight2708]

Really great looking roster. It really shows that there was a lot of time spent on designing these units and the whole roster looks very diverse and colorful. The tier 3 bishop and his guards especially look just beautiful.

My main issue is the almost complete lack of any sort of pole weapon infantry. Glaives, billhooks, voulges and halberds were the most commonly used infantry weapons in western Europe and to not have any of them in tiers 1 and 2 just seems kinda wrong to me.

There also seems to be quite a bit of redundancy within the roster. I mean does the roster really need 4 types of sword infantry in tier 3, 3 of which are very similarly equipped and fulfill pretty much the same role? I think that at least the Electorate Sword Militia and Elector Sword Infantry in tier 3 could be combined into one unit.
Similarly, instead of having 2 nearly identical pavise crossbowmen units in tier 3, how about turning one of them into a handgunner unit instead?

[Azrien Fox]

My main issue is the almost complete lack of any sort of pole weapon infantry. Glaives, billhooks, voulges and halberds were the most commonly used infantry weapons in western Europe and to not have any of them in tiers 1 and 2 just seems kinda wrong to me.

Yeah, I really kinda forgot about the halberdiers and more pole weapon troops. Ill probably do something like maybe a levy halberd force with lots of different polearms for tier one, make a militia type for tier 2 with better stuff, and have tier 3 elector halberds be a lot like the men-at-arms.

There also seems to be quite a bit of redundancy within the roster. I mean does the roster really need 4 types of sword infantry in tier 3, 3 of which are very similarly equipped and fulfill pretty much the same role? I think that at least the Electorate Sword Militia and Elector Sword Infantry in tier 3 could be combined into one unit.

Usually when making a WE faction, it is encouraged to try and fit militia and levy units into higher tiers, especially into tier 3. I really kinda want to keep the elector swordsmen the same, but something else is I could have units Trier specialize in fields like crossbowmen, pikes, swords, etc. and allow the elector units to be the better units in the polearms, men-at-arms, and gunners category; make them sort of a group of units that are heavy hitters.

Similarly, instead of having 2 nearly identical pavise crossbowmen units in tier 3, how about turning one of them into a handgunner unit instead?

Ooooh, now thats an idea for the elector pavise! Should they still use the pavise shield if theyre using guns? I mean it could help make the gunners more valuable if it gives them more missile block on the statistics side...

[Azrien Fox]

The Doge hat. Seriously, you're making me cringe. Possibly others too.

Just waiting for that mitre you promised me.... Then all your doge hat problems will disappear.....

[Filips Augustus]

I agree with Knight that the faction has too many swordsmen units in the later tiers, especially tier 3. I'd suggest to rename the Men-At-Arms polearm infantry to Dismounted Elector/Trier Knights for tier 2 and/or 3, and remove the Dismounted Elector/Trier Knight units in the swordsmen pool for tier 2 and/or 3. This would keep it more consistent with the other western factions, where their knight units carry polearms in the later 2 tiers, and at the same time removing the huge amount of swordsmen in the faction.

[Knight2708]

Yeah, I really kinda forgot about the halberdiers and more pole weapon troops. Ill probably do something like maybe a levy halberd force with lots of different polearms for tier one, make a militia type for tier 2 with better stuff, and have tier 3 elector halberds be a lot like the men-at-arms.

Usually when making a WE faction, it is encouraged to try and fit militia and levy units into higher tiers, especially into tier 3. I really kinda want to keep the elector swordsmen the same, but something else is I could have units Trier specialize in fields like crossbowmen, pikes, swords, etc. and allow the elector units to be the better units in the polearms, men-at-arms, and gunners category; make them sort of a group of units that are heavy hitters.

I definitely agree that there should also be lower class troops in the upper tiers, but I think it is important to do more to differentiate them from the rest of the roster. For example, instead of making the Electoral infantry just another of 3 or 4 sword units, I would make them more like what you describe here:

a levy halberd force with lots of different polearms

and leave the swords to the more elite units.
Basically, I would suggest giving the Electorate units mostly pole weapons, including maybe also some peasant weapons such as great flails, as well as some lightly equipped crossbowmen without shields and with little armor and some light levy archers as are already present.

Ooooh, now thats an idea for the elector pavise! Should they still use the pavise shield if theyre using guns? I mean it could help make the gunners more valuable if it gives them more missile block on the statistics side...

Although both would totally work, I would actually suggest giving the handguns to the Trier unit, as cities were generally quick to adopt and produce new technology and keep the Elector unit as a pavise crossbowmen. Basically, have the Trier gunners be a lighter more technologically advanced unit, while the Elector pavise crossbowmen are more of an old guard of heavily armored veterans capable in melee, tasked with defending the Elector's castles, that way both units would have a distinct niche and important role on the battlefield.
As for the pavise on the gunners, I didn't even know that that was possible, but would be cool imho.

[Heisenburrg]

I would not complain about too many units. I like it when you have multiple opportunities for one unit role from which you could choose. Imagine there would be era techs like the team planned which dont let you use units from other tiers; you could only recruit one sword/spear/polearm/archer unit in each tier without a choice or variety. This sounds pretty boring to me. If there is no other unit type lacking because of this, 2-3 units from one type are rather good than bad. Through this variety is given, you could present different qualities in one and the same tier and the role-sharing-units could have certain strengths and weaknesses, so you would have to consider which one is more to your likings.

Otherwise its a really, really cool roster! General-units and mounted knights could use a slightly darker, less pinkish colour for their caparisons (like the infantry) but apart from that its perfect!

[Knight2708]

I would not complain about too many units. I like it when you have multiple opportunities for one unit role from which you could choose. Imagine there would be era techs like the team planned which dont let you use units from other tiers; you could only recruit one sword/spear/polearm/archer unit in each tier without a choice or variety. This sounds pretty boring to me. If there is no other unit type lacking because of this, 2-3 units from one type are rather good than bad. Through this variety is given, you could present different qualities in one and the same tier and the role-sharing-units could have certain strengths and weaknesses, so you would have to consider which one is more to your likings.

Otherwise its a really, really cool roster! General-units and mounted knights could use a slightly darker, less pinkish colour for their caparisons (like the infantry) but apart from that its perfect!

I agree, but there is a difference between diversity and redundancy. Having for example a medium and a heavy unit of melee infantry adds diversity and is generally a good thing, however when you have 3 units of medium melee infantry there is only so much you can do to differentiate them from another without stretching believability.

[Azrien Fox]

I would not complain about too many units. I like it when you have multiple opportunities for one unit role from which you could choose. Imagine there would be era techs like the team planned which dont let you use units from other tiers; you could only recruit one sword/spear/polearm/archer unit in each tier without a choice or variety. This sounds pretty boring to me. If there is no other unit type lacking because of this, 2-3 units from one type are rather good than bad. Through this variety is given, you could present different qualities in one and the same tier and the role-sharing-units could have certain strengths and weaknesses, so you would have to consider which one is more to your likings.

Otherwise its a really, really cool roster! General-units and mounted knights could use a slightly darker, less pinkish colour for their caparisons (like the infantry) but apart from that its perfect!

Yeah the conversion system we have that converts the regular textures to the texture type the game uses made the caparison for both the trier and the elector caparisons lighter for some reason. In any case, I agree with both of you guys, having a system in place that allows certain units with unique abilities is a good idea, because i would kinda like to keep the roster the way I have it, maybe move the knights to be polearms and the men-at-arms to stay an exclusive mounted unit, but at the same time i really don't want to have units just for the sake of having units. I mean I understand that I am taking a lot of focus on variety for the sake of variety, and maybe i can make the elector units maybe have some sort of zeal or some sort of high morale; something that might make the player choose elector units rather than trier, but maybe have the trier use better armor and have the better training. Or i could possibly focus the elector towards other parts of the roster which players go for offensive capability more than defensive, and that could even be with the zeal and high morale thing i was talking about. So like for instance, I take out the elector spears, swords, and crossbows, and have them be more focused on the very offensive stuff like pikes, polearms, knights and gunners. I mean I have those elector halberdiers (which i need to get photos of), changing the knights over to polearms, maybe make the swordsmen i made and give them pikes instead, and have the elector crossbowmen either be crossbowmen with good infantry training like i planned, and give the trier guns instead. Essentially, I want the elector units to be great units with super offensive capabilities.

[Azrien Fox]

Alright, changed the general for the early period, took out the elector swordsmen and added on the elector pike infantry, halberd units for tiers 2 and 3, and added gunners. Unfortunately, unless I get an animation to allow the unit to use the shields, the pavise gunner combo wont work, so I have left the trier pavise crossbowmen for now in case I want to keep the unit. Other than that, there are just some small changes as I add in some new textures and models, like some new sallets, some very cool arm harnesses, and gothic breastplates and other armor pieces.

As well, TWC doesnt seem to like my preview, because it keeps adding spoiler brackets where they are unneeded and every time I delete them, they come back. So Ill soon have them fixed once I figure out how to solve the issue.

[Knight2708]

Really like the new voulge unit, something similar for tiers 1 and 3 would be great.

Also, I cant believe I didn't notice this earlier, why is the Archbishop-Elector wielding a stick??

Btw how are you handling unit names this time around? Do you plan to keep using the English names you have currently or do you want to use German names?

[Azrien Fox]

Also, I cant believe I didn't notice this earlier, why is the Archbishop-Elector wielding a stick??

The Archbishop-Elector uses a stick because the Archbishop only leads the army, he doesnt actually take part in fighting, so I gave him a quarterstaff so it seems like he would do just that.

Btw how are you handling unit names this time around? Do you plan to keep using the English names you have currently or do you want to use German names?

This time around Im going to stick to all English names.

[claymore833]

Why are the Elector's MaA and Guard all holding poleaxes and no bastard sword?

[HannibalExMachina]

The Archbishop-Elector uses a stick because the Archbishop only leads the army, he doesnt actually take part in fighting, so I gave him a quarterstaff so it seems like he would do just that.



This time around Im going to stick to all English names.

many bishops took an active part in the fighting. just give him a mace, and bobs your uncle.

[Azrien Fox]

many bishops took an active part in the fighting. just give him a mace, and bobs your uncle.

Well, I mostly made the decision off of finding stuff on Archbishop Albero of Trier, who did not seem to much of a participant of combat, but commanded a few campaigns in his time as Archbishop. Like in the excerpts I found on him, his part of the combat was overseeing and setting the individual or group confessions as well as inspiring the troops.

So for the instance of the general, I made the same sort of decision; that the archbishop is a general, but he does not do combat per-se, or at least the kind that is lethal.

[Azrien Fox]

Why are the Elector's MaA and Guard all holding poleaxes and no bastard sword?

That was a choice I made mostly on the premise of uniformity when it came to the weaponry used.

[atademir]

for God's sake
When we play this beautiful mode
When will it finish