Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus
Outremer is a French term that literally means “overseas,” and in medieval times it was used to describe the Latin-controlled crusader states in the Levant.
The end of the 12th century nearly spelled the end for Outremer as Saladin’s war machine decimated the largest Latin army ever fielded by that Kingdom at the Horns of Hattin, and then set about systematically reducing nearly every stronghold in Outremer. Fortunately, the arrival and relative success of the Third Crusade breathed new life into the Kingdom. A tenuous foothold was regained along the Palestinian coast, centered around a strong base in Acre. More importantly, however, was the gift of the newly-conquered island of Cyprus to Guy de Lusignan by Richard the Lionheart. With Cyprus, the Latins gained a rich, prosperous land relatively safe from invaders from which to base their continued efforts to colonize Palestine and eventually regain the holy city of Jerusalem. Bickering Barons and weak rulers trouble the two kingdoms, but luckily for them the death of Saladin caused turmoil among their chief rivals, the Ayyubids. Warring Ayyubid princes were more than happy to sign truces with the Franks to focus on their own squabbles, giving the Franks in Palestine a much-needed respite to recover their strength.
Units Tactics Update
The original roster I created was very heavy on Tier 1 units and light on the later units. Also, I put too much emphasis on having wide variety among the military orders and crusaders at the expense of the core faction. I wanted this redesign to reflect more historically on the real situation in the Kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus, while keeping playability. To do this, I looked at history. The Kingdom of Jerusalem always had problems mustering large numbers of troops. Under constant threat from the Muslim powers in the area, most Franks opted to sell their property and move to Cyprus, and from there, it was often very difficult to get them to participate in any campaigns off the island. Thus, the Kings of Jerusalem relied heavily on the Military orders and visiting crusaders to bolster their ranks.
The core roster for Jerusalem are the Franks of Outremer (called 'poulains' by their contemporaries). These core troops have everything a faction needs in order to function in a battle--cavalry, infantry, missile troops. However, these troops are typically lighter and of relatively poor quality. In order to augment their roster, during the campaign this faction will have to choose at various intervals between Crusaders, Hospitallers, and Templars. Hosptialler and Templar units can be accessed by building a preceptory in one of your provinces. This building will either build templar units or hospitallers, and provide unique bonuses depending on which you choose. The Templar building will give a morale bonus to any unit built in that province, and also increase revenue in the province. The Templars will also produce very effective heavy infantry and cavalry, including the military order swordsmen and melee cavalry. A Hospitaller preceptory will give a replenishment bonus to your armies, and also significantly increase public health in the region. The Hospitallers will also provide solid missile troops, including mounted horse archers and the Hospitaller caravan, which is a sturdy medium infantry unit that also carries crossbows. Hospitallers also have access to the only recruitable gunpowder units for this faction. On the other side of the coin are crusaders. These units also provide excellent heavy infantry, cavalry, and missile troops cheaply, but they come at a price. Crusaders will only be recruit-able through a 'Crusade' edict (hopefully if we can figure out the mechanic). This edict does nothing else besides give you a significant diplomatic penalty with any non-Latin christian faction. This leaves the player to make some tough choices about their armies, and hopefully will lead to a very enjoyable and unique experience playing as the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus.
The Franks of Outremer
The main units available to this faction, these are the native soldiers of the kingdoms.
Generals
John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem
John became King in 1210 upon marrying Queen Maria of Jerusalem, and ruled as actual King until 1212 when his wife died, and de facto King until 1225. He was a strong, capable ruler who saw the Kingdom through the Fifth Crusade, and later in life was named Emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. King John is accompanied by the Master of the Knights Templar as a military advisor.
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Tier 1
Tier 2 King
Tier 3
John d'Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut
Powerful baron from one of the most influential families in Outremer. John d'Ibelin was a fierce warrior and an excellent statesman, and his leadership even defied the schemes of Frederick II.
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Baron's Fideles Since the kingdom's revival after the third crusade, the King of Jerusalem was never much more than a figurehead. Real power in Jerusalem and Cyprus was wielded by the rich landowners in the region, the Barons.
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Poulain Knights
Poulain was a French word for a Frank born in Outremer. They retain western traditions and the knightly style of fighting, but have a distinctly eastern flavor to their appearance, described by chroniclers as wearing eastern clothing and sporting eastern-style beards. The Poulains were colonists, and often preferred to coexist with their neighbors rather than engage in constant warfare. This sentiment led to a general disdain for Poulains among western crusaders, who couldn’t fathom coexisting with the infidel. Dismounted, they use their lances in a defensive formation to provide a strong screen to protect the heavy cavalry so that they can make a decisive charge at the opportune moment.
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Poulain Sergeants
A light unit of reliable scouts to harass enemy formations and pick off unwary support units. This unit uses their fast horses and javelins to chase down enemy skirmishers. These are skirmisher cavalry with very fast horses who can hold their own in a fight fairly well.
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Tier 1 Tier 2
Tier 3
Urbe Pedites
During the gap in power between Saladin’s conquest of Palestine and the arrival of the 3rd Crusade, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was caught between baronial warring factions and a weak king. In order to fill the leadership void, some major cities, most notably Acre and Tyre, formed communes in the example of the Italian merchant cities.
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Communal Levies
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Poulain Crossbowmen
Crossbowmen were an essential part of combat for Latin armies fighting in the east. These local-born Latins provide an essential auxiliary force for the Kingdom.
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Urbum Hastarum
Local Christians were often called upon to serve their western overlords. The Latins ranked them from most to least reliable. Greeks were at the very bottom, while Maronite Christians were considered the most reliable of all local non-latin troops. Other troops are provided by the strong communes that rose to prominence in the 13th century based on the Italian model.
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Syriac Spear Levies Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
The French Regiment
A regiment of hardy french soldiers entrusted to the defense of the holy land. They were maintained in the service of the Kings of Outremer at the expense of the King of France.
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Tier 1 Tier 2
Tier 3
Lombard Cavalry
Sent by the Holy Roman Emperor to secure his claim to the throne of Jerusalem in the mid 13th century, these soldiers ravaged Cyprus during a civil war lasting several years. This is a unit of fast, medium melee cav.
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Tier 1
Armenian Cavalry
As the Ottomans gained power in Anatolia in the 14th century, the Kingdom of Armenia met its decline. Many of their people sought refuge elsewhere, and some undoubtedly found their way into the service of the Kings of Cyprus.
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Tier 2
Greek Refugees
As the Ottomans gained power in Anatolia in the 15th century, the Byzantine Empire met its decline. Many of their people sought refuge elsewhere, and some undoubtedly found their way into the service of the Kings of Cyprus.
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Tier 3
Italian Auxiliaries
These units will be recruit-able in any province with a port. Representatives from the Italian merchant cities were a constant presence in Outremer. Though constantly bickering and often unreliable, these men could sometimes be called upon to help fight in the wars of Outremer, for the right trade concessions…
Pisan Marines
The Pisans were an important faction in the civil wars which split the Kingdom of Jerusalem during its twilight years.
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Tier 1
Venetian Marines
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Tier 2
Genoese Marines
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Tier 3
Crusader Auxiliaries
Though they often caused more harm to Outremer than good, Crusades (when well timed with the ending of a truce) could provide the Kings of Outremer with an excellent source of manpower during their campaigns, or a diplomatic edge to gain concessions from their neighbors.
Crusader Knights
Though crusading to Outremer was beginning to lose its popularity by the 13th Century, there were still a large number of soldiers and kings to be found making their way East to fight for the King of Jerusalem and to regain the holy land from the infidel. These men came from all over Europe, and must have formed quite the hodgepodge of equipment, practices, and tongues. They brought with them an intense crusading fervor and hatred for all ‘infidels.’ It’s no wonder the Poulains dreaded the arrival of crusading armies.
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Crusader Polearm Units Crusader Northmen
Remnants of the paltry Scandinavian expedition which was to set out with King Inge II of Norway. He died before leaving, so not many of his men ended up going to the Holy Land. This is an axe unit who use their long Daneaxes to great effect.
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Tier 1
Crusader Halberdiers
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Tier 2
Crusader Pikemen
Men from central Europe who have brought the new way of warfare with them to the Levant.
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Tier 3
Crusader Marksmen
Men from lands in the North who use long war-bows instead of crossbows.
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Crusader Crossbowmen
Essential soldiers for combat in the eastern Mediterranean. Crossbows were worth their weight in gold to the military commanders of Outremer. Most crossbowmen who fought in the east were mercenaries.
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
The Military Orders
Knights pledged to the military orders had something that most soldiers of the time did not--fierce discipline. Forming the elite backbone of the Kingdoms of Outremer, these heavy shock troops fight like western knights, but are better trained at fighting as a unit, able to form a number of defensive formations to protect themselves from enemy projectiles, and they have very high morale. They were feared by the muslims such that they were often executed on the spot if captured, being too dangerous to ransom or to keep as slaves. These knight-brethren were the elite units of the Kingdoms of Outremer. (The early version hospitallers have been significantly re-vamped from the first release)
Order of the Hospital
Founded in the 11th century as a hospitaller organization, they became militarized sometime after the first crusade, though the first actual mention of a military arm of the order in surviving sources isn’t until the mid-12th century. In later centuries they would become a fearsome sea-power, and a significant thorn in the side of the Ottoman Empire.
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Master of the Temple
Unit contains the Master, Marshall, and Galfonier of the Order
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
40th Grand Master of the Hospital, Pierre d'Aubusson, hero of the Siege of Rhodes in 1480, with his Marshall, Galfonier, and a retinue of his most trusted Knight-brothers.
Fratres Milites Hospitalis (mounted and dismounted)
Powerful, elite shock cavalry and heavy melee infantry
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Hospitaller Caravan
After Acre fell in 1291, the Order of St. John conquered Rhodes and shifted their focus to naval warfare. A 'Caravan' was what the hospitallers called a raid or campaign, and each brother was expected to complete at least three 'caravans' before they could hold office within the order. Caravans were often teams of two war galleys that would work in tandem, each galley carried roughly 60 fighting men, so this unit is a representation of two galleys who had disembarked their crews. Crossbows were of utmost importance for naval warfare at the time, so these men carry crossbows, and are made up of hardy knight-brothers, sergeant-brothers, and various mercenary seamen which would have been found serving on hospitaller galleys.
Think of this unit as the ‘sergeant’ unit for the Hospitallers. They are melee infantry who also have crossbows, not crossbowmen. As such, they should not be underestimated in a fight, and can form defensive formations.
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Tier 1 Tier 2
Tier 3
Always on the frontier of Christendom, the Hospitallers were usually quick to adopt new technologies they thought useful in their fight against Islam. As such, they were one of the first in Western Europe to issue handguns to their soldiers.
Tier 3 Heavy Crossbow Caravan
Hospitaller Turcopolier
The Turcopolier was the Hospitaller bailiff placed in charge of the mercenary troops. The position gained even more importance in later centuries, as the duty was expanded to the oversight of the coastal defenses of Rhodes as well.
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Order of the Temple
Founded in the 12th century by knights who pledged to defend pilgrims on the road to Jaffa, thanks to a friendship between the first master, Hugues de Payens, and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the order quickly gained popularity and was a force to be reckoned with by the mid 12th century. Though in real life the order was annihilated by Philip the Fair in 1307, for the purposes of the game, I imagine the order continuing into the late middle ages.
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Master of the Temple Unit contains the Master, Marshall, and Galfonier of the Order
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Fratres-Milites Templi (mounted and dismounted)
Powerful, elite shock cavalry and heavy melee infantry. Later Tiers combine the Sergeant-brothers with the Knight-brothers.
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Military Order Troops
Acess to these units is gained through the Templar preceptory. These are melee infantry and melee cavalry units. A mixture of soldiers from the Order of St. Lazarus, the Teutonic Order, The Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Knights of St. Thomas of Acre.
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Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Last edited by The_Fawn_Rescuer; December 29, 2016 at 10:47 PM.
Re: Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus
Lawd. The texturing work is top-tier.
EDIT: Oh yeah, would you prepare some marine units for Crusader Kingdoms? The Hospitaller Caravan is ready to be a naval unit, the difference between a naval and land unit is just a tickbox in the main_units table after all. Well yeah, the ships are long way from finished, but when they are, you can just assign them to your finished marine units.
Last edited by You_Guess_Who; July 07, 2016 at 07:01 PM.
Re: Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus
I do not want to mess with those horses used by the Poulain officer. Those teeth. D: He'll bite your face off.
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Massive props for huge amount of work.
~Wille
Last edited by Kjertesvein; September 24, 2016 at 02:19 PM.
Thorolf was thus armed. Then Thorolf became so furious that he cast his shield on his back, and, grasping his halberd with both hands, bounded forward dealing cut and thrust on either side. Men sprang away from him both ways, but he slew many. Thus he cleared the way forward to earl Hring's standard, and then nothing could stop him. He slew the man who bore the earl's standard, and cut down the standard-pole. After that he lunged with his halberd at the earl's breast, driving it right through mail and body, so that it came out at the shoulders; and he lifted him up on the halberd over his head, and planted the butt-end in the ground. There on the weapon the earl breathed out his life in sight of all, both friends and foes. [...] 53, Egil's Saga
I must tell you here of some amusing tricks the Comte d'Eu played on us. I had made a sort of house for myself in which my knights and I used to eat, sitting so as to get the light from the door, which, as it happened, faced the Comte d'Eu's quarters. The count, who was a very ingenious fellow, had rigged up a miniature ballistic machine with which he could throw stones into my tent. He would watch us as we were having our meal, adjust his machine to suit the length of our table, and then let fly at us, breaking our pots and glasses.
- The pranks played on the knight Jean de Joinville, 1249, 7th crusade.
This is the only forum I visit with any sort of frequency and I'm glad it has provided a home for RTR since its own forum went down in 2007. Hopefully my donation along with others from TWC users will help get the site back to its speedy heyday, which will certainly aid us in our endeavor to produce a full conversion mod Rome2.
Re: Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus
The units are great for the 4 Crusader factions.All of them work greatly. The problem is this question from my side
Are Kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus 2 separated factions or 1 united? If its 1 united - its not historically correct.
Both Kingdoms became politically united in the 1230s ,not in 1212ad. Till then they were politically close but now that close to be 1 faction in the game. This can easily be simulated with the Confederation in the diplomacy panel in the campaign from the player.
Edit:
Rename the thread to Medieval Kingdoms Total War:Crusader States
Last edited by FrozenmenSS; July 08, 2016 at 10:28 AM.
Re: Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus
The mind boggles at the amount of work that has went into this, its incredible, and i for one cannot wait until i am playing a campaign
My Granfather Frederick Avery.Battalion Boxing champion. Regiment.The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. dorcorated D.C.M. M.M.
campaigns
(India.1930) (Norway 1940) (Fontenay le Pesnil) (North-West Europe1944-45) (Argoub Se!lah)
(Sicily, 1943 Salerno) (Minturno) (Anzio Gemmano Ridge)
"Burma, 1942"
My grandfather was a hero, modest, quiet and wounded twice, in hand to hand combat at Casino Italy.
Re: Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus
I hope that the teutonic order will be represented someway in the faction. Perhaps as units that can only be recruited solely around the Jerusalem area. They are the best representatives of the German crusaders, which kinda lacks in the current unit roster, eventhough a lot of Germans went on a crusade. The English, French and Italians are greatly represented within the Templar and Hospitaller order. I hope you guys will consider this . For the unit roster itself; it looks outstanding, great job!
Re: Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus
Originally Posted by The_Fawn_Rescuer
After the death of Guy’s brother Aimery in 1205, the dual crown of Jerusalem split between his young son Hugh and Maria de Montferrat. However, both were underage, leaving the rule largely to the regent, John de Ibelin, son of the famous Balian de Ibelin who negotiated the surrender of Jerusalem to Saladin. John was generally considered a wise and strong ruler, and served as regent until Hugh came of age in 1236.
Hello, I think you made a mistake here.
Hugh, king of Cyprus since 1205, had as regent Gautier of Monbéliard .
Maria, queen of Jerusalem since 1205, had as regent John of Ibelin.
In 1205 both kingdoms are separate from each other, in 1210 both children are in age to rule their kingdom themselves, in 1212 we have two totally independent Faction.
Re: Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus
Might as well add some teutonic knights. They are finished work after all.
Would be good if each of the orders required a unique building chain. But that's campaign stuff.
The dis. High-era Hospitaller knights looks great though. Really well done on them.
Still think that the northmen crusaders should be renamed to Germans. But they look much better now. The random byzantine gear was a bit odd.
Medieval Kingdoms Total War: Kingdom of Jerusalem and Cyprus
Tier 2
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Originally Posted by Finn
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