My personal view of Thera
Hello,since this is my first post in this forum(and in all of TWC,by the way…)allow me to explain how i got here:I stumbled across this mod almost by chance,and I must say that I really appreciate the work done to make the world of Thera something more than a silly map full of isles and strange factions,but a really deep experience,with factions inspired by(but not BASED ON,that’s the really good point)real cultures and timelines. Every one of them has a role to play,and they do it very well,I must say,since I now am playing my 5th campaign so far(with the Faustian Reich,after having played Pale Knights,Privateers,Lao Che and Teutonic Knights).
The sheer amount of possible outcomes in every single continent means we almost never have to fight the same war twice(with some exceptions in the beginning,maybe,but hey…).
So,after lurking here for a while,I thought I could at least contribute to the forum by adding my personal view of the Thera universe,focusing on the factions,with some suggestions here and there.
Please don’t think of me as presumptuous,I’m not here to teach anything to anyone,as I already said I just wish to share the way I started looking at certain factors during my campaigns,and the way I would try to “optimize”(let’s use this word,sounds diplomatic enough to me…)the experience.
The main factor that convinced me to post here,though,is the recent taliking about a new faction;again,I’m not going to try making you change idea,I only want to give my personal opinion about the matter.
Before beginning my”analysis”I have a last favor to ask youLEASE forgive me if my english is not always top notch,as it’s not my native language,so I’ll try my best and begin my review.
I’ll start by covering existing factions one by one…I’ll follow the order in wich they appear in the presentation thread,in order not to forget any of them,so…let’s begin!!
Kindom of Avalon
Now,the guys here are in pole position for my next campaign,in the beginning I used to think they were too much “chivalric”for my tastes,but reading various times their background and military doctrine,I started taking an interest in them:the main reason would be the fact that some knights willingly choose to fight on foot in order to PROTECT the archers,who are commoners. That is almost unheard of,a really nice touch and,if I may,a really good chance to have a defined strategy to adopt on the field(I like to change my strategies and tactics according to the faction I’m playing,the faction leader’s traits and the commander’s traits on the field),so having to actually protect your archers with your heavy infantry gives character to the army,and is nice to think of the knights as they rush to interpose themselves between the commoners and the enemy,in an act of self sacrifice that in the world of Thera is not so common…
The hint about their close relationship with the Hospitaliers,cause of suspect from the Templars,is also a really good starting point when considering which units you’re going to choose from the unit roster.
All in all,I’m looking forward to trying these guys,especially since they sallied out from their castles to pwn my Faustian army,killing 2 of my men for every 1 of them I managed to kill…let’s say I decided to change my army composition and field tactics when dealing with chivalric nations(and I must say it turned out pretty well,when I fought a battle with the Bons Chevaliers…).
The whole thing around Avalon and the Holy Grail is not too pressing,so they are a good pious faction,something the Christianity in Thera seems to be lacking in recent times,so I’m sure the Grand Inquisitor will appreciate
Royaume des Bons Chevaliers
Here is another apparently”standard chivalric faction”,but,even if the AI may not put so much emphasis on the Chevaliers from which the faction takes its name,I really like to think about them as an army almost entirely made of full plate armoured nobles riding war horses and laughing in the face of all odds as they make ready to charge anything,from a horde of almost naked Paynal warriors to a mob of Lao Che rocket spamming war elephants.
Treating ”the ones travelling on foot” like little more than fodder to be smashed against the enemy walls until they manage to open the doors and let the “real” battle(or should we say”sport”?)begin.
Now,not all of these ideas may be easy to be enacted during the campaign,but it sure would be a nice challenge…
Plus,their affiliation with the Templars is easily usable as a pretext to start a war with Avalon
Men of Valhalla
If Avalon will be my first choice in my next campaign,the Man of Valhalla will be in the one I’ll play after that,the idea of an entire nation of hardy northern warriors sailing forth to travel in the world,just to prove they’re the strongest around,surely is the stuff from which legends come from!
These guys gave me some really nice and big battles back in the times when I was leading the Teutonic Order,and I learned to respect their courage and strength. Hell,they used to beat up pretty badly may sword brethren,thus leaving the dismounted Ritterbruder alone for some time,holding the centre alone surrounded by countless axe wielding barbarians,either dead or deadly(now,weren’t we talking about stuff of legends?)
Moreover,these guys are some of the few factions in which I would approve of buying mercenaries,as I imagine they would surely be happy about ordering warriors from all over the world around,a further proof of their superiority.
Their starting position and lack of decisive religious input means that we really can do anything we like with them,so let’s just prepare some boats and all ahead to the nearest coast…
Povos da Hispania
Now,I’m not really fond of dark ages factions,but the Povos gave me something to think about when I played the Privateers,always attacking with fury my settlements until my garrisons were on the verge of annihilation before managing to repel them.
I like the idea of these Hispanic tribes closing themselves in,turning to themselves while glaring at everyone outside their territories with hostility and suspect,being them Privateers “nobles”,Muslims or Christians.
Their reliance on javelins is also a good point we could use to develop strategies in the field…I don’t think it’s by chance that they remind me of Iberian tribes fighting guerrilla wars against the roman empire in ancient times.
So,even if I would probably not choose them as a faction to play,they surely represent good enemies to fight against.
Warriors of Kukulcan
Horde based armies are not my cup of tea,as you would have already understood by now,since I tend to rely on a relatively harder core of good troops(keeping the elite units rare,though),but they sure can be fun and challenging to fight,especially with a heavy infantry based army,with little to no cavalry in order to enjoy a good challenge.
I regret to say I still have to fight any “American” faction,except some rebel armies here and there,but seeing their units are based around a core of lightly armored troops as the vanilla Aztecs,and judging by what I saw of the giants and jaguar warriors,I have to say they’re pretty nice.
Unable to talk about them in the field,I’ll focus on their society:the idea of groups of Paynal and Sycorax joining together to repel the pale skins,blaming their respective “old” nations for the presence of these offenders of the ancient gods sure is fascinating. Also,their conviction that their god will be satisfied by the sacrifice of a huge amount of invaders blood makes me depict their screaming hordes of warriors,charging the ordered enemy lines heedless of arrows,bullets or cannon balls in their fury and desire to spill blood…now THAT is something that could unsettle the rank and file soldiers composing invading armies,don’t you think?
A seemingly endless horde of unrelenting and uncompromising enemies surely looks like a challenge to me,so I’ll think about making myself known in the northwest of Thera soon…
Faustian Reich
Ok,I admit I wasn’t interested that much in the Reich when I started to know the world of Thera,but lately I kept thinking about them and the way they could fight during a battle,taking the idea of a “professional” army to a whole new level:I imagine them conducting wars with maths and politics,looking for the most efficient way to achieve a goal,a very disillusioned doctrine of warfare,developed after all the lessons they had to learn the hard way in the past.
Their resenting the Inquisition is also a very good factor when thinking about how to behave on the campaign map…as the Kaiser said,the Grand Inquisitor’s advice can be followed as long as it is favourable for the Reich.
During my campaign I started using arquebusiers and cuirassiers,with pikemen and forlorn hope,to fight the Otterbach,imagining this would be the “old” faustian way to fight a war,then,after my defeat by Avalon hands,my Kaiser decided to reform the armies,and I started training line infantry,grenadiers and the like,with cuirassers only as specialized support.
A very different way of fighting for me,especially since I always do my best to keep my generals out of melee and I put little to no cavalry in my armies,even before the ”reform”,so I have to keep a “passive” behavior in the initial stages of the battle. A strategic experience I’d recommend to anyone usually sticking(like me)to chivalric or generally heavy cavalry based armies,just to try something REALLY different.
Paynal Empire
As with the Kukulcan,I cannot say I really know them,but I had to fight both giants and jaguar warriors,so I had to learn how hard a punch they can pack as well. The only way not to enjoy a good battle is by spamming heavy cavalry when invading them…now,I’m not here to judge anyone’s tastes,but who wants a war to conquer an immense continent to be boring and easy?
Talking about their culture,I like to think of them as more silent warriors than the Kukulcan,feeling somehow responsible for what happened to their land and resenting their past mistakes,all the while emerging from their sadness more resolute and determined to solve the problems assailing them with their own blood-stained hands.
Men of Wotan
I’m sorry to say this faction doesn’t seem particularly inspiring to me…don’t get me wrong,they’re nicely done,but their background seems to plainly state that they just want to be left alone in their(literally)corner of the world,ready to take up arms if needed but unwilling to go far past their own borders. And the whole ”oops,we killed the wrong ones!!let’s close the gates!!” incident,although realistic and nicely put,just strengthen my conviction that they would be better off rendered a sub-faction to begin with.
The fact that they barely seem to do anything in every campaign I play does not help…the best theymanaged to do was quarrelling with the Avalon for the isle south of their coast,thus making the Avalon invade them and crush them almost completely in less than 10 turns
I feel their presence in the north is needed,but maybe their background could be expanded to give them a real motivation to get ready for war apart from keeping the TO away from them,it would be a pity to leave them be as they are now.(remember!!I’m just sharing my opinion,no mockeries or flaming intended!)
Romuli Empire
Unexpectedly,the Empire is not a faction I’m looking forward to play as,although I can’t wait to meet them in the field in one of my campaigns. This is strange,as I really liked Romans back in RTW and mods,but I think it could be due to the sheer amount of interesting factions in the mod(I always have to think a lot before choosing a faction for a new campaign),although I think there will be a time when I give’em a shot.
Another motive for my NOT playing them yet is their vicinity to the Dominion,as I had to fight long and hard with the Uruks during my Lao Che campaign,so I wanted to take a break from that enemy,in order to see something new.
Their background is nicely written,a lot of interesting hints and references,especially the cult of Mithras(it’s been ages since I last saw it mentioned anywhere);the background gives the impression of a ruthless empire,far from the way too idolized view of romans as knights going on foot(The Gladiator,anyone?). Don’t get me wrong,I love romans,their empire and their history,but I accept that sometimes they had to do something not so “clean”…call it “imperialism”but those were hard times,and they had to be harder in order to prosper,wich they did pretty well…
This is exactly what the Romuli are about,so good job about this faction,even as my goal atm is to find a reason to burn them to the ground…
Barka Sultanate
As with the Wotan,I feel more could be done about this faction. The idea of a pious Islamic faction is really nice,but the Vashta are often shown more active on the religious front,and the Barka usually end up with their hands full trying to repel the Romuli from the south,so I only once saw them call a Jihad to take back Bae Eden…that could be fine normally,but when I saw them call a jihad on Costantium,and failing to even raise an army to join THEIR OWN jihad,I seriously thought there was something wrong. Even considering that these are just my personal experience during the campaign,I keep thinking that they even became vassal to the Pale Knights once,and almost never attack anyone…I usually play on h/h,so they may have financial problems,I’ll see how they behave on vh on the campaign map…
Talking about their roster,I think they are way too similar to the Vashta;this,added to the fact that the Pale Knights are a pretty “normal” medieval faction,surely helps giving the land of Eden the”crusades” feel,but also makes you think”am I not playing vanilla by mistake? :\ “
Even taking into consideration a “cultural” approach when considering their units,one could depict the muslim factions as being part of the crescent(since they seem more united than Christian factions):while the Vashta,with their hard core of Yani Ceri,may be seen as the diamond hard cutting edge of the crescent,and the Tahar may be considered a more “blunt” edge,the Barka imho fail to really distinguish themselves…maybe putting them in a different timeline would help? I cannot say,as the Vashta seem to be more like the tipe who would go and use gunpowder to crush their enemies,while the Barka would try to stick to the “old” ways of fighting in order to honour their culture and religion.
This would mean reworking one of the two muslim factions in Syrianna,something that would require a massive amount of work…something that imho would be worth thinking about in order to have even more variety,but take my words for what they are:an opinion,not a request.
Gaelic Nation
I can’t say I know them,for I haven’t encountered them yet,but they sure seem like an interesting faction:fighting against the Avalon to reclaim their rightful dominance of Tethra,maybe with low quality troops but iron hard resolve,and then sailing forth to conquer any land they wish(or even taking the fight to Europa or Avalon itself),is a really strong image to think about. On the other hand,fighting as the Avalon or another more ”civilized” nation to try to put these barbarians back to their place surely would be cause for a lot of great battles and hard fought sieges.
Talking about background and culture,it seems like they give a lot of freedom about the interpretation,although the strong affection for their ancestral homeland marks them out from other factions that only think about the land as a place on which to build cities and castles,and nothing else,so I’d say they ended up pretty good.
Lao Che Khanate
Well,one of the most complete unit roster around Thera,I would say:first we have rabble,rabble with spear,rabble with bows,rabble with horses and rubble with horses and bows. Then we move to slaves:some fairly good troops here considering their cost,and I like the idea of them trying to fight their way out of misery in a literal way. Let’s move to nobles:on one side we have the elite ruling class,the guys with war horses,bows,relatively heavy armor and a lance,not talking about the skill to use them very well. On the other side we have a fairly large amount of different elite units of heavy infantry,consisting of training obsessed blood thirsty samurais that I can easily picture walking on the roads of their cities and slashing anyone they don’t like,feeling superior to others both for skills and status. And then we have elephants. Yes,one of the elephant units has rockets. Yes,they will unleash hell even if you DON’T give the signal,but that’s what you buy them for so where’s the problem?
What I want to say is that you can take the Lao Che Khanate and choose any tactic and unit composition you would like on the field,and almost always feeling like you made the right choice,but still wishing to try something different on the next battle.
Their background and culture are fairly interesting since they seem to combine different aspects of asian populations(although,if I may say,I think they would need some more “china” added in,apart from Mancu Warriors),and,even considering engine limitations,the idea of Japanese style castles put in shadow by huge Aztec pyramids surely is something worth of consideration.
As with the Romuli,a nice work giving a more “bloody” aspect to the samurai caste,that tends to be idealized too much by Hollywood…
Tahar Caliphate
So,we have desert tribes,with a lot of camels,and seemingly even more ELEPHANTS,looking outside their borders on two different BIG land masses and thinking they would soon be theirs…obviously the result will be an invasion on at least two fronts,wich the AI seem to handle pretty well,as a bonus.
When fighting against them with the Lao Che,the sight of A LOT of elephants on the desert always gave me pause,feeling the bows I was so proud of were not THAT powerful after all. Apart from elephants,they seem to rely heavily on a very mobile style of warfare,something the BAI doesn’t seem to get quite right on occasions,but their skirmishers and cavalry(yes,even elephants,how could we forget about them?)usually cover up for major mistakes.
Worth of mention is the fact that they don’t seem to worry that much about religion,using it mainly to put themselves apart from their enemies,and that they actively try to expand rather than passing their time worrying about some Christians putting foot on holy soil(which is,after all,pretty far away from home tbh)
So all in all a good super power in the south,and the sheer number of elephants that can be found in late games is a good challenge,and something that should worry commanders(like me)well too used to seeing their armies emerge almost untouched in certain battles.
Grand Duchy of Dracule
This is a faction worth talking about…the idea of a Dracule based faction is intriguing,and the starting position means that the Grand Duchy can pretty much focus on any enemy on a number of different fronts(although obviously not all at once,maybe),but I think they could be changed somehow…I know there has been talk about this already in recent days,but allow me to say what I used to think even before the topic sprang up on the forum.
A great part of the roster consists of pajama wearing rabble,being them hussars,archers,bandits or other types of troops…now,while this may be good to express the population background and culture,I feel some work could be done regarding skins,or maybe even some colour change. What I want to say is that there are these “mysterious” chivalric units,and then we have a lot of “brownies”,so(maybe it’s just the AI recruitment management,I cannot say)aGrand Duchy army usually comprises a general,his bodyguards,one or two feudal units(maybe!!)and the brown guys,thus ending up not that “Grand”at all…
I think some work regarding skins could be enough to solve the problem,after all the commoners are an important part of the faction roster and culture,but I think a lot of people just prefers to focus on knights of various types.
Their story is very nice,and I like the idea of some iron fisted noble using whatever it takes to keep control over these rainy lands.
If I may suggest something,though,I would say that something more could be done to join the faction with Vampires and the like…I understand that the team is trying to limit the “fantasy” factor in the mod,but my proposition is fairly moderate I think:using “hints” in the background.
Allow me to explain with an example:assume you have an invading army of soldiers ready to conquer Slavia…now,the soldiers will no doubt start hearing rumors about these so-called ”vampires” ,and they would probably start laughing about them too. But,after encountering some of these knights on the field(especially the bodyguards,having 2HP)and seeing as they are not that simple to kill,a lot of different rumors will start spreading,and the soldiers might not be laughing about them anymore,wondering if any of the full armoured killing machines they could find on the battlefield may be human or not.
I don’t think this is too “fantasy” ,as basically is just adding some rumors regarding vampires to the elite chivalric units as well…maybe even the population may actually believe these rumors,fearing an elite ruling class of immortal warriors always watching over them. I also think that the Duke himself could be inclined to spread,or at least tolerate,this rumors,in order to better control the common folk with fear and superstition(surely it is something an iron fisted regime could do to ensure obedience)
As a last note,if I may:I saw the work being done on the new Blood Knights skins,and I personally think that black doesn’t suit them…they even more resemble TO knights,while Dracule colors are red and white…also,black and white may be interpreted like some hint to duality;while we may argue that it could be the case for the Dracule,being Christian but also cruel,I think they are better off without it,as they are pretty adamant about what they want to achieve.
League of Privateers
The idea of a faction composed of pirates,mercenaries and wannabe-nobles is intriguing,and their background is very well written. I particularly like the whole conversion affair of Greystoke:already dubious about Christianity for being hunted down with no apparent reason,he then gets saved by the serpent gods he once used to fear as a sailor,turning from a cunning,ambitious captain to a merciless and resented leader of a new faction the world of Thera would soon have to deal with.
Their tactics may seem similar to those of the Faust or Valiente,but the addition of pirate units means they can be much more mobile even without adding a lot of cavalry(not forgetting they are very reliable light infantry units).
On the strategic level it’s nice to rely on fleets and scattered bases of operation,conquering or sacking isles or rich coastal cities to your heart’s content,but still remembering to keep an eye on politics and diplomacy to get what can’t be won by steel and guts.
Ducado de Sangre Valiente
I find myself simpatizing for this faction,as I depict them as an almost desperate group of cities struggling to hold a line,going from coast to coast,on Ibellica,repelling Povos,Tahar and Faust at the same time while trying to get something out of their expedition in Mesocala. Usually they end up doing something like this in my campaigns,anyway…
As the only strong,pious christian faction on Ibellica,they can easily be seen as fighting a desperate last stand,rather than a “Reconquista”,and the help of the Santiago Knights just adds to the feel that they really are ready to take the brunt of the unbelievers’ relentless assaults,and think of only themselves as being worthy to spread God’s word on the continent.
I might try them out someday,as I enjoyed using some of the troops they have in their roster playing as Faust,so I’m looking forward to keeping my thin,yellow line,and try to stem the black tide from the north and the orange hordes from the south.
Sycorax Nation
As I am about to launch a full-fledged invasion on their lands(the reason being they attacked and took 3 cities in the north of Slavia),I still have to know them well,but judging from their roster,I think a lot of blood will be spilt in the north before I can say I have won against them(the fact that they are the sole rivals to my undisputed supremacy in the north is just another reason to expect a hell of a war up there)
Their culture is interesting,as again we have the usually “noble” americans resort to bloody rituals in order to win the favour of the gods,and I fear their unit roster will be comprised of harder-than-they-look warriors that will know how to pack a punch,so…I’ll give more details after some years of war
Vashta Sultanate
Ok,I remembered while writing that I also played some turns as the Vashta Sultanate,focusing on the slavian front,and I have to say that I really like the style of warfare their unit roster can allow. Yani Ceri and Immortals are very good troops,spearheading assaults or wating to reinforce the battle line,or dealing the final blow to an opponent worn down by volleys of arrows.
I also appreciate the fact that they actively try to rid the world of Thera from infidels by attacking them on their own soil,rather than just staying in Syrianna waiting for some crusaders to attack them.
I personally think they are the best Muslim faction,and this is one of the reasons why I’d suggest to change them,maybe in a more renaissance-themed faction,in order to make the Barka really stand out as classic, ”conservative” muslims.
Holy Order of the Pale Knights
I really enjoyed playing as this Order,as they really are the pious and faithful knights the folk could think about when imagining the “ideal” Knightly Order the priests may refer to in their sermon.
Their background is inspiring,and I just LOVE the silver mask detail about their Grand Masters,something that puts them aside from other chivalric kings. I also like the fact that they are aided in their holy struggle by both the Templars and the Hospitaliers;the idea of these usually rival Orders,moved by the faith and zeal showed by the Pale Knights,sole real prosecutors of the Holy Wars,putting aside their differences and suspicions in trying to achieve their goal and defend the Holy Land.
A very good faction in an interesting scenario,now if only we could make the two muslim factions a bit more different from each other…it would be absolutely perfect!
Teutonic Order
Now,let me say that these guys are imho one of the best factions around Thera. It’s not about skins or names,and it’s not directly tied to their background story…it’s all about their actual BEHAVIOUR that marks them out.
Let me explain…we have a lot of christian factions in Thera,and even a former-christian,for that matter,but now some of them are disillusioned,while some others are more than willing to ignore the Inquisition or remain more tied to their own culture and folklore rather than just nodding at everything the Grand Inquisitor says;atm,only the Holy Order of the Pale Knights and the Teutonic Order seem to really care about Christianity,but while the PK are pious and righteous(even if they kill a lot of people…),the TO is ruthless and cruel,blood-thirsty and arrogant,viewed with suspicions by even other christians,for fear of being targeted by the Ritterbruder and their Master.
They are the dark side of Christianity in Thera,one of the main reasons for which Christians are so hated around the world.
I depict them as grim zealots,following their own ideal of faith and purity to the point of obsession,marking anyone they think might be lacking in faith as heretics and traitors. I love to think that they could,in fact,if excommunicated by the Grand Inquisitor for attacking a fellow christian faction they found lacking,laugh in the face of excommunication,accusing even the Grand Inquisitor himself to be unworthy to call himself a true servant of God,and willing to challenge every other christian faction in Thera to dare prove them wrong.
I also like the fact that they absorbed the Livonian Knights and are willing to ”aid”(or rather employ)them in their epuration of pagans in the north. Again,I pictured the talk between the two Grand Masters when deciding to join forces,maybe with not-so-veiled threats regarding suspicions about how the lack of faith of the Livonian Knights may have been the cause of their downfall.
They are an important part of Thera,IMHO,and they deserve the place they now occupy.
Uruk Dominion
Last but not least,we deal with a faction almost entirely composed of monsters in the literal sense,and some humans hardy enough not to be crushed between the talking beast(which in itself is something of an achievement,if I may say so),the detail and effort put in their background is worthy of praise,and they are a nice faction to come to blows with:their resilience and skill as killing machines is always cause of concern,and I really liked the desperate struggles they put me through when assaulting my walls down in the Sumari steppes…
Their animosity with the Romuli almost always means troubles will come fast on that front,and the isle they posses in the north puts them in a position from which to attack pretty much anywhere.
So,although I’m not interested in trying them out myself,I really like them as a faction,as they represent the more fantasy factor in Thera without giving the feeling of being out of place.
How to improve Thera?
Now,I’ll start by asking again to remember this is all IMHO,these are all suggestions by someone who doesn’t know much about modding,but just wishes to share his personal view without trying to sound too presumptuous…
I’m not going to cover the two main topics of discussion(the merging of Dracule and TO and the new faction)for now,as I will cover them later,now I just wish to share some ideas who might be useful to render more unique the world of Thera.
I think I remember someone already pointed out that almost all the “fantasy” in Thera can be found in the southern continent:I agree with this,so let me put it this way.
We have,for instance,the landmass of Europa,where we can find pretty “classic” medieval factions fighting among themselves…then we have muslims attacking east-european inspired people in Slavia…going to Syrianna we have what can be almost considered as vanilla Crusades…then we reach the southern continent and…WOOSH,we find roman legionnaires with muskets firing against URUK-HAIS,LIZARDMEN,BEASTMEN,hoplites,demons and samurais,all the while rocket shooting elephants are rampaging back and forth…
The whole point is that the difference in what we can find on the various battlefields is maybe a little too extreme.
I understand what the team wanted to do,to recreate some “typical” situations while maintaining the Thera feeling,and I approve,so my suggestions mainly are similar to what I already said about the Dracule:working around background and side stories using hints,and some minor spreading of certain units.
As far a the Huruks go,they are fine where they are,but if iirc,some Mahisha units can be recruited on the Aztlan isles,and that is what made me think this whole suggestion.
Since Mahisha are,in the new background,evolved Reptarri,why not state that Reptarri where Mesocala natives? Adding some slow recruitment mercenary units of Reptarri and Mahisha in the Mesocala landmass may give the feeling that some tribes decided to remain in their homeland,while the vast majority decided to join the newly formed Dominion in an exodus that allowed humans to spread relatively unopposed. This could also serve to render campaigns in Mesocala a little more unpredictable…usually,when taking an army to Mesocala,we can pretty much be sure about what we’re going to find there,and even choose units from the roster accordingly,but the sudden presence of Mahisha or Reptarri in a Paynal army could ruin our planning and force us to react to an unexpected threat.
Along the same lines,the same could be done with Lykan…I’d say they came from Norselund,maybe closer to Wotan…the presence of Rohan could be used as a mean to tell about the struggles men had to fight with non-humans in the past…plus,Valhalla has a certain “13th warrior” feel to it,and it’s easy to imagine the songs and tales about the bravest warriors venturing alone in the dark to challenge the beastmen for the sake of fame and honour. Also,the inclusion of Lykan units,being them mercenaries or not,may serve to give the Wotan a little more character,as it could be stated that the few Lykan still living in the north are the ones pressing for the Wotan to prepare for war and conquer,and they may even have been behind the “slaughter of outsiders” incident.
The isle possessed by the Dominion in the north may be related to the Lykan that used to live from the north,maybe a tribute to show the Alpha their willingness to join his cause.
I think that this,along with the rumors about vampires in Slavia,could spread the “fantasy” air around Thera,without being too invasive…I mean,everyone in Thera seems not so concerned about the presence of monsters and giants(of course they could be frightened by them on the battlefield,but I’m talking more about civilians,traders,diplomats and the like),and I think every faction has already had one or more encounters with them on the field,anyway.
The most important thing however would be maintaining the balance,so if adding these units(even as rare mercenaries)to certain factions or lands poses a problem,feel free to ignore my suggestion.
About Merging Dracule and Teutonic Order
I already stated how these two factions are important to Thera,and although it would sadden me to see the TO disappear,I think the Dracule could benefit greatly from such a move. After all,the “dark side of Christianity” feeling that I so much love about the TO can easily be transferred to the already cruel and blood-thirsty Dracule. It could also coexist with the “eek,vampires!!!” rumors of the folk in Slavia:talk about an elite ruling class of seemingly immortal warriors,showing under the sun only when clad in their full armour,or otherwise riding during the night or one of the all-so-often rainy or foggy days in Slavia sure is fascinating. It also would add to the lore that,while they are subject of such conjectures,the Dracule nobles remain obsessed with the epuration of non-humans,pagans and heretics alike.
We could also relate their obsession for their ideal of purity with blood,thus strengthening the vampires lore around them(always as hints,remember,they wouldn’t be REAL vampires),and the same ideal could lead to a crusade they’re willing to launch by themselves. The Dominion Isle in the north could be a very good motivation to wage war in Norselund and Lenapa,as the supposed Lykan presence in Norselund,and the talk of non-human creatures lurking in the jungles of Mesocala…this way,the reformed Dracule could also fully take advantage of their relatively central position,being able to attack a number of different factions(even in Europa)for pretty much any reason(of course the Faustian Reich in the south,with his recent behavior,could be seen as an already full-fledged heretic nation by the over-zealous Knights).
As for their starting position,I’d suggest to give them the south of Slavia,so the Dracule possessions by ”old” Thera standards,and the region possessed by the former TO in Norselund,avoiding the TO settlements in Europa. This way,the Dracule can decide to focus on one front or the other,keeping in line with the pagan prosecution and the retaking of Slavia parts of the lore…plus,the AI would have less problems managing 2 fronts rather than 3.
As for the unit roster,I’d keep some of the commoners from Slavia,although reduced in number inside the roster to strengthen the fact that the Dracule now are a Knightly Order,so I’d say Hallbruder(not sure about Ritterbruder,they could be joined with blood knights…or maybe the Blood Knights could be given different weapons and heraldry to show they are blood-thirsty and relentless even by Dracule standards)and absolutely Livonian Order troops,maybe only making them available from Norselund(or not,since after having been ”asked” to join the Dracule they could have been forced to join the war against boyars and Vashta…),plus maybe some others I’m surely forgetting atm.
I think this would be a nice compromise and would keep the winning elements of TO lore adding them to the Dracule’s,thus creating a good “shadow” over the north of the world,resembling what some could think of the Dominion in the south(oh,the irony!!).
About the new faction
So,here comes the last topic I am going to discuss.
I know it might sound strange,but I think that rather than creating a brand new faction based on an entirely different culture,it would be better to just “promote” an existing sub-faction,always in the north in order to fill the hole left by the TO…so,my suggestion would be(please be kind):the Medici Family.
Allow me to explain:they already are one of the “strongest” sub factions,having 3 good settlements,strong garrisons and strong armies on the field(2 full stacks,iirc),and they would keep the number of christian factions the same as it is now.
Moreover,they would keep the number of factions in Europa to 3.
About their background,they could be another “evil” christian faction:they could be rendered as greedy and cunning,ready to do anything in order to achieve their political goals(one of their cities is named after Machiavelli,am I wrong?
It could be said that in the past,while the other christian factions joined the crusades,they managed to avoid it,claiming that they would protect the Grand Inquisitor by his many enemnies…but actually they used the chance to strengthen their domain over Europa and even managed to sell weapons,armour and mercenaries to christians,muslims and even pagans. So,while they were busy and with their hands full(of gold),a certain self appointed “Lord” Greystoke led an army to the Vatican and razed the city,killing the Grand Inquisitor the Medici were supposed to be protecting. During the trials that followed they were forced to answer to various accusations,and had to accept to eradicate the newly born Privateers faction.
In the present,they still are greedy,and see the Bons Chevaliers in particular as rivals to their dominance of Europa,but they still are well aware of having the eyes of every christian leader on themselves,so they take their task to destroy the Privateers rather seriously…plus,they surely can be seen as rivals and a threat concerning naval trade…
For their starting position,I’d say to give them Medici,Machiavelli,and a province in Mesocala,near the Kukulkans maybe(it could be said that they officially claim to be investigating on apparent talk of Privateers presence around there,but they actually chose to land there because of the way more rich lands in the south). I’m not sure about giving them a third city in Europa from the beginning,as it could then prove too strong a position for enemy AI factions…it could be said that they had to give it when charged of betrayal after the Grand Inquisitor death,so it now is ruled by free people who look at the Inquisition for certain matters…
Roster-wise,they could be put apart from other chivalric factions by making them focus more on higher quality militias and crossbowmen,with their heavy cavalry limited to broken lances…so they would be forced to rely more on heavy infantry,and,maybe,they could be forced to rely almost exclusively on mercenaries(the reason could be that they had to retire a lot of their troops during the trials,and the lack of cavalry could be explained as a debt they had to pay in horses to the Bons Chevaliers,adding another reason for resentment between the factions).
Also,maybe a limited access to gunpowder infantry:it could be explained that it was the Medici Family,using their old contacts with muslims,that helped the Faustian Reich to obtain the help of muslim scientists,in exchange for money and some technologies…(in particular,I’m thinking about some pistol and sword armed heavy infantry,pretty much like the vanilla pistoleers:they would strengthen the reliance of the Medici on infantry,and could be some elite shock troops trained for city fights).
So,promoting the Medici,the number of christian factions would remain the same,as would remain the number of factions in Europa,moreover an apparently chivalric nation could have a different way to be played(relying on militias,infantry and mercenaries they wouldn’t be that “chivalric”,but their reliance on heavy armoured infantry in the late stages wouls put them apart from the renaissance factions.
Last but not least,they would represent,with their expedition in Mesocala,the only(iirc) chivalric presence in the landmass,and putting them near the Kukulcans would give the possibility to ignore Mesocala and head for Lenapa anyway.
In conclusion
Finally my talking has come to an end…please forgive me if I annoyed you in some way,as I only wanted to share my view about Thera,and the community around this mod doesn’t look like the sort that would flame and burn me for pointing out what I think about something,even in my first posts…so please tell me about YOUR view of the Thera universe,and correct me where I am wrong in my reasoning…I always enjoy sharing thoughts about common interests anyway
I wish my english was better,so I could better explain myself,so please tell me if you have trouble understanding something I wrote,I will do my best to clarify any misunderstanding.
So,thanks for your time and patience,and most important of all:
THANKS TO THE THERA TEAM FOR CREATING SUCH A NICE WORLD BEHIND YOUR MOD!!!!!
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Originally Posted by TheFirstONeill
If I put in a Ly Kan Zor on Grimhelda, Grendel, TOnder and Sraken, should they be available to factions of all relgions, I mean should christian and muslim factions have the ability to recruit Ly Kans, or should it only be Pagan, Sun God, Animal, Spirits ?
Like I say your input is more than welcome mate, I look forward to hearing more of it.
