Macedonian - You hail from Alexander's homeland, Macedon proper, and likely occupied a high rank in his army & inner circle. Though the Macedonians are counted among the Greeks, they are much more martially focused than most of their cousins in the south, and specialize in employing the 'hammer-and-anvil' tactics combining phalanxes & heavy cavalry perfected by Alexander the Great himself. Macedonians accordingly enjoy a +1 bonus to all battle rolls on flat terrain, which stacks with an Infantry/Cavalry/Skirmisher Specialist trait's bonus. The majority of players should be Macedonians so we don't have silliness on the level of Alexander's deathbed being surrounded entirely by Persians or w/e at the start of the game.
Greek - You are a proud son of one of the Greek poleis. The Macedonians may technically be considered fellow Hellenes, but they barely rank above the truly unwashed savages of the north or the scheming, effeminate Persians to the east in your educated eyes. Some of the Greek states of the south have taken advantage of Alexander's death to revolt against the Macedonians who'd imposed a yoke on their necks after Chaeronea 15 years ago, and it will be up to you to decide whether to join them in their efforts to free Hellas proper or look to the future & work with your new Macedonian overlords. Greek characters can be assigned to any one province to increase its income by 50%. I'll allow one Greek player to assume control of the Rebel Greeks who control Attica, Thessaly and Aetolia at the start of the game as well.
Anatolian - You were born to one of the myriad native peoples of Anatolia: Phrygians, Pisidians, Carians, Lydians, Lycians, Cappadocians, Mysians, Bithynians...the list is almost endless. Your people's warring petty-kingdoms and tribes were subdued by greater powers in recent centuries, first the Persians and now the Macedonians. But now Alexander, who had humbled your previous Persian overlords only to take their place, is quite dead, and for whatever reason you were deemed important enough to be given a place at his successors' table as they discuss the future of his realm. Anatolian characters get a -1 point discount and -1 day when recruiting non-Hellenic, non-elephant units.
Armenian - You hail from Armenia, a rugged mountainous region east of Anatolia. The Persians vassalized the old Orontid kings of Armenia in Darius III's time and reduced them to vassals, but ultimately the gods' joke was on them - their empire is no more while the Orontids & the Armenian people still endure today. However, the death of Alexander has thrown the entire Near East into disarray, and the Armenian people face an uncertain future as his empire threatens to disintegrate. Armenians get a stackable +1 bonus to their battle rolls in rough terrain: forests, hills, mountains, etc.
Persian - You are a Persian. Once your people ruled most of the known world, halted only by the elephant-riding Indians in the east and a particularly stubborn gaggle of Greeks in the west who missed the irony of claiming they were defending their freedom from the largely slave-free Achaemenid Empire while keeping slaves, but those days are gone now thanks to Alexander, whose pikes and lances brought the Persian Empire crashing down and extinguished the Achaemenid line. Nonetheless, even the hardest falls are survivable, as your existence and continued political relevance demonstrates. Persians get a stackable bonus +1 to all diplomatic rolls when engaging with a non-Hellenic NPC.
Bactrian - You're from Bactria, a mountainous region sitting at the extreme northeastern fringes of the Persian Empire. Yours is an extremely rough & defensible land that gave even Alexander pause, and even once he captured the seemingly impregnable Sogdian Rock he wedded the beautiful Roxana as part of an effort to soften your people's resistance to his coming. Now he is dead, and his empire's future is uncertain even as Roxana grows heavy with their child. Bactrians get a stackable +1 to all rolls when fighting on the defense. I will also allow one Bactrian player to have their character be a relative of Roxana's (she's mentioned to have had at least one brother who was appointed to lead a troop of cavalry by Alexander IRL) if they so choose.
Egyptian - You are a native Egyptian, a proud heir to one of the oldest and most storied civilizations in the world. The Persians ended Egypt's last native dynasty in 525 BC, but they were never the most gracious of overlords and so it was to your people's great joy that Alexander the Great, no doubt aided by the same Amun he came to identify with his chief god Zeus, broke their power over the land of the Pharaohs in 332 BC. But you owed a debt to Alexander, not his successors - so, now that he is dead perhaps it is time to cast out these Western interlopers who came after him and re-establish an Egypt for Egyptians? Alternatively you could of course look to the future and collaborate with the new conquerors...Egyptian characters get a stackable +1 to all rolls when fighting in deserts.
Syrian - You're a Semitic-speaking (likely Aramaean or Phoenician) native of the northern Levant. Once subjugated by various greater Mesopotamian empires such as the Assyrians and Babylonians, then by the Persians, you now find yourself under the rule of Western overlords instead - but does this present an opportunity for rebellion, or self-enrichment through loyalty? Your people are famous for their skill at archery and are related to the Jews of Israel & the various Arab tribes to the southeast. Syrian characters get a stackable +1 to combat rolls involving archers.
Jewish - You're a Jew. Your people have suffered much since your kingdoms of Israel & Judah were cast down by the Assyrians & Babylonians and thousands upon thousands of them were forcibly resettled away from the Holy Land centuries ago, but the Persians who came after them were gracious enough to let your people go back to their homeland. Now the Persians are gone, destroyed by the Macedonians as prophesied by Daniel long ago, and the future for God's chosen people can only be known by Him. Will you collaborate with these new pagan overlords, or take advantage of the inevitable chaos to rebuild the Kingdom of Israel & properly honor God? Jews get a stackable +1 to all ambush rolls.
Indian - You hail from northwestern India, the last of Alexander's conquests before his untimely (or very timely) death. Your people have not had to know his yoke long before he suddenly bought the farm, and it remains to be seen whether those who come after him can enforce their will on your people; thus, this seems like a great time to regain your independence...or, if you are so inclined, to remain loyal to the legacy of the one man who humbled your people and bring the light of his civilization to the rest of your cousins in the subcontinent. Indians get a -1 point discount and -1 day when recruiting elephant units.
Heterogenes - You're of mixed Macedonian/Greek and non-Hellenic parentage. You will have access to both of your parents' peoples' ethnic bonuses but you'll also suffer a +1 increase to revolt rolls every turn, as neither the Hellenes or non-Hellenes are particularly pleased at the prospect of being ruled by a mongrel - at least not this early into the age of the Diadochi. No character can start as a Heterogenes, but any child they have with a Hellenic (if non-Hellenic) or non-Hellenic (if Hellenic) spouse will grow up to be one. |