Assyrians
Cavalry & Siege Civilisation
UI:
- Mesopotamian
Architecture set:
- Persian
Theme:
Monk:
- Priestess
Trade Cart:
- Middle Eastern
Civ Bonuses:
- Capped Ram upgrade free
- Garrisoned Siege Towers fire arrows
- Military Buildings are built 100% faster
- Husbandry available in Civic Age and costs -50%
Team Bonus:
- Siege Workshops work 20% faster
Unique unit:
- Turtan (Cavalry)
Assyrian Light Horseman with increased attack range and an aura to speed up archers and infantry. Strong in groups. Weak vs. Cavalry Units.
Unique techs:
Classical age
- Head-takers: Mounted units generate gold for killing units
- Metal Tires: Siege units and War Chariots gain +1/+1 armor
Imperial Age
- Rum-Gha: Lancer-line has 1 range
- Shield-Bearers: Archer-line gains +2 pierce armor
Tech Tree:
Barracks:
Swordsman, Elite Guardsman, Arson, Baggage Carriers, Battle Drills
Archery Range:
Recurve Bowman, Elite Skirmisher, Heavy Cavalry Archer, Thumb Ring, Parthian Tactics
Stable:
Raider, Shock Cavalry, Elite War Chariot, Bloodlines, Husbandry
Siege Workshop:
Siege Ram, Mangonel, Heavy Scorpion, Siege Tower
Fort:
Sappers, Palintonon, Conscription, Spies/Treason
Port:
Fishing Ship, Scoop Nets, Transport Ship, Merchant Ship, Drums, Elite Lembos
Shipyard:
War Galley, Heavy Incendiary Ship, Catapults Ship, Leviathan
Temple:
Priestess, Apotropaic Magic, Evocatio, Hemlock, Herbal Medicine, Fervor, Exorcism
Defensive Structures:
Guard Tower, Stone Wall
Blacksmith:
Ring Archer Armor, Bracer, Blast Furnace, Plate Barding Armor, Plate Mail Armor
Academy:
Target Practice, Lighthouse, Murder Holes, Treadmill Crane, Siege Engineers
Economy:
Gold Shaft Mining, Stone Mining, Two-Man Saw, Heavy Plow, Banking, Caravan
Thought I would do something fun here.
Assyrians are the civilisation from antiquity that I find most interesting, and since Chronicles is set just after they fall, and is only going forward in time from here, I thought why not make a fun little “what if” for them. Hell, I might mod it in if I get the time.
Now. On to the civ design.
This civ design bears call-backs to their AoE1 design, with a focus on siege. Here though I focused on it in a bit of a different way, including trying to make the Siege Tower actually usable. Since Chronicles would be closest to the Assyrians right at the end of their last empire, I focused more on cavalry for them, as that was where their focus was during this period. Chariots were on the way out, but still used as shock units.
The lack of an economic bonus is to try and demonstrate the Assyrians hard focus on military might. The faster-building military buildings and early husbandry are all geared towards letting them be aggressive as early as possible with their cavalry. Essentially their eco bonus is “I get to attack you to disrupt yours”.
These faster-built military buildings are also their main method of defense. Assyrians lack a lot of defensive techs, so building more buildings and getting an army out to deal with the threat is the way to protect themselves.
The rest of their bonuses lend themselves towards this military angle as well. With all but one of their unique techs focused on military, and the one that isn’t is an eco bonus focused on doing damage.
Unlike the Athenians, Spartans or Achaemenids, the Assyrian navy was pretty poor, mostly used for transportation. So here they even miss the monoreme, and just get the raw basics. The Elite Lembos is more to represent them having small ships for rivers, and Drums is to help their transport ships. The Assyrian naval answer is to drop land units onto the opponent and smash their docks.
The Turtan unique unit is representative of Assyrian commanders. And as such, they put units that walk on foot into a forced march. This allows the Assyrian army to move across the map quicker, pushing them towards this aggressive theme.