proposed this civ here on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/aoe3/comments/1vmbxk0/civ_proposal_the_omanis/
The Omanis
Capital: Zanzibar
Ruler: Seyyid Said bin Sultan, the Lion of Oman (1791-1856)
History
In 1652, the Omani tribes of the desert interior unified and expelled the Portuguese from Muscat, Oman’s ancient coastal capital. In the century that followed, the Omanis consolidated their state into a unique, non-European maritime empire of the early modern period. They pursued the fleeing Portuguese south down the eastern African coast, driving them from their strongholds in Mombasa, Zanzibar, and Kilwa to the Mozambique border. The Omanis seized control of these ports and dominated the burgeoning eastern African caravan trade, which brought ivory, gold, timber, and slaves from the African interior to the Indian Ocean. In the early 19th century, the Omani sultan Seyyid Said relocated the capital from Muscat to Zanzibar, which for a time became the wealthiest port in the Indian Ocean due to its critical location at the terminus of major caravan routes. He also imported clove trees to the island and encouraged their cultivation, making Zanzibar the world’s primary supplier of cloves for more than a century. Through their efforts, the Omanis built a wealthy mercantile empire.
Playing as the Omanis, you face vengeful Portuguese raiders intent on reclaiming their old mercantile networks, Ottoman and Persian naval incursions, and the slow encroachment of industrializing European powers who seek to carve up your dominions in Africa. Will mercantile wealth alone be enough to defend your holdings in the Indian Ocean, and your place in history?
Civ Bonuses:
-
Ibadism. Omani settlers follow Ibadi Islam, a particularly austere and rugged sect. As such, their settlers cost only 80 food (can be adjusted for balance) from the start of the game.
-
Mercenary Armies. Mercenary units cost 10% less (can be adjusted for balance) and can be hired at the Souk, the unique Omani building that is a hybrid market / saloon, which can only be built from Age 2 onward (so no access to market techs in age 1!)
-
Access to two unique economic units, caravan porters and pearl dhows. Caravan porters are trained at the Souk for coin, the unique Omani market/saloon hybrid. Once hired, they will path between the Souk and an assigned trading post, bringing a small amount of coin with them each time. The further away the trading post, the more coin they generate. Basically the exact mechanic as donkey caravans in AoM. Build limit of 5, can be raided and killed. Pearl dhows are boats trained at the dock that specialize in pearl diving. The ship generates a small trickle of coin (equivalent to a card like capitalism) while on the map, no whales required. Build limit of 2, with a high initial cost. Cannot fight, and very low hp like any other fishing boat, so quite vulnerable to naval raids. You basically just train them and try to keep them alive!
Characteristics and Playstyle
-
Like the Ottomans, the Omanis are essentially a “European” civ in style (Euro age up mechanics with politicians, no extra resource type).
-
However they have few aspects that draw on African civ design style: Minutemen are trainable from houses, explorers are able to construct smaller, weaker forts, and the Falaj building works like a granary, increasing farm gather rates in proximity to it. This reflects their historical connections to Africa.
-
Their civ bonuses orient them toward early-mid game booming with cheaper settlers (somewhat like Brits, France, or Germans, where they get a very strong early-mid game start due to either having more efficient villagers or more of them in general).
-
They have a gold oriented economy with pearl dhows and caravan porters generating coin, and mercenaries being cheaper than usual. Both these coin sources require map control, however, so aggressive, expansionist play is encouraged while turtling is discouraged.
-
Their economic power drops off in late game, reflecting their lack of industrial development. They do not have factory shipments.
Basically my goal here was to make a civ with the original Vanilla AoE3 design philosophy, which is to make a civ that is strong at some things and weak at others, giving it a true identity and playstyle, as opposed to the DE civ design philosophy which tries to make every civ able to do everything. I also tried to design the civ bonuses to make sure that map control is still important-- to use pearl dhows and caravan porters and the hamam bathhouse, you have to protect them on the map. It’s certainly not meant to be a civ for turtling in base.
Explorer:
Sheikh, basic infantry explorer, with a musket but also a powerful melee saber strike ability against treasure guardians.
Unique Units:
Barracks:
-
Nabbāl Bowman. A short range anti-infantry unit, like a cetan bowman, available from Age 2 onward.
-
Fathila Musketeer. A musketeer unit, available from Age 2 onward. Uses a sword in melee like a Janissary, but with less hp and attack.
-
Sayf Swordsman. A melee swordsman with area of effect damage, like a less powerful but cheaper skull knight or doppelsoldner. Available from Age 2.
-
Baluchi Sharpshooter. A skirmisher type unit, available from Age 3. The Baluchis were an ethnic group from the coasts of the Arabian/Persian Gulf who served as elite bodyguards to Omani rulers in eastern Africa.
Stable:
-
Fāris Horseman. A basic hand cavalry unit, with stats similar to a hussar. Available Age 2.
-
Dhalūl Camelry. A zamburak style anti-cav unit. Available Age 3
-
Gatling Camel. Available in Age 4. Already in the game, so Omanis would have to have them! If they are going to be trainable though, they should be a toned-down, nerfed version of the merc unit.
Artillery Foundry:
-
Falconet
-
Culv
-
Dhow mortar. A ship mortar brought onto land. Long range, but less powerful than a European mortar. Similar skin to a Chinese hand mortar but no bonus vs. other artillery, just siege.
-
No other artillery, reflecting the lack of industrial manufacturing.
Dock:
-
Fishing boat: ngalawa, an outrigger canoe.
-
Caravel style boat: Sambuk, a small sized dhow of southern Arabia.
-
Galleon: Ghanjah Dhow Medium sized war dhow.
-
Frigate style boat: Baghlah, a large, deep-water dhow of the western Indian Ocean
-
Monitor: just a monitor
Minuteman Style Unit:
- Swahili Askari. A levied unit that loses hp over time. Can be called from houses, like with African civs.
Unique Economic Units
-
Caravan Porter. Trained from the Souk, the unique Omani hybrid market / saloon. Costs coin up front to hire. Once hired, will path between a targeted trading post and the Souk, bringing a small amount of coin with each trip, much like a donkey caravan in AoM. Pays for himself after the 3rd round trip. Build limit of 5. Can be raided and killed.
-
Pearl Dhow. Trained from the dock. A dhow that specializes in pearl diving. Build limit of 2. Generates a small trickle of coin while active on the map, no whales required. Cannot fight, and very low hp. High initial cost to train them. You basically just train them and try to keep them alive to keep the trickles active! Essentially it’s like a bank that you have to make and defend on water, though less integral to the economy than Dutch banks.
New Mercenaries
-
Circassian Lancer. Anti-infantry lancer.
-
Hadrami Dervish. Whirling swordsman.
-
Mijikenda Bowman. Poison arrow bowman from eastern Africa.
Unique buildings:
-
Souk – Omani market that also functions as a place to recruit mercenaries. Replaces the saloon and market, but can only be built in Age 2 (so no market start!). Is also where you train caravan porters, and is the waypoint that they return to from their route to trade posts or nat posts.
-
Hamam Springs – A countryside bathhouse, influenced by Persian design. Must be built in a radius far from the town center. Once built, it can be captured by the enemy if left unattended. Units around the hamam slowly heal over time. Available in Age 2.
-
House of Wonders / Beit el Ajab– An electrified capitol building where the Sultan’s affairs of state occur. Functions like an Age 5 capitol for Euro civs, but also has other unique upgrades and opportunities similar to the US state house building. Available in Age 2.
-
Date Palm Orchard – A food producing farm, similar to a European mill. 10 settlers can work it at a time.
-
Clove Orchard – A coin producing farm, similar to an estate/plantation. 10 settlers can work it at a time.
-
Falaj – An irrigation canal. Functions like an African granary. Build them between your orchards to increase production.
-
Nizwa Fort – The Omanis cannot ship a fort wagon, but their Sheikh can build forts like an African explorer. Omani forts have the Nizwa fort pattern and like the African civ counterparts, are slightly weaker and smaller than a European fort, but are rebuildable.
