The Guptas represent the Gupta Empire of late antiquity, being contemporary with the Goths, Huns, and Romans. They are the only Indian civilization to have access to the Battering Ram instead of Armored Elephants, which reflects their historical introduction of siege weapons to the Indian subcontinent. They also have Cavalry Archers instead of Elephant Archers, for the exact same reason.
The Guptas have the Indian architecture set, with a unique Castle based on Kans Quila, and their Wonder is Mahabodhi Temple.
The Guptas are a cavalry and siege civilization, and have quite a few options available, from Battle Elephants to Steppe Lancers to their unique Knight replacement.
What’s important to note is that the Guptas have a special regional unit, the Chariot Archer, shared with the Sinhalese and Dravidians (or Tamils if they got renamed). The other two civs would have a melee Chariot unit as well, but since it shares the same slot as the Knight, which is replaced by a special unique unit for the Guptas, only the Chariot Archer is available to the Guptas. Unlike Elephant Archers, Chariot Archers do not share a slot with Cavalry Archers, so they can coexist with either unit. When I cover the Sinhalese, I will go over the stats for the Chariot, but here is an overview of the Chariot Archer:
- The Chariot Archer costs 90 wood, 30 gold, and has 75 HP (the Heavy upgrade has 85 HP). It’s about as fast as the Ratha, since both are chariots. While it costs the same total resources as the Ratha, it’s weighted more heavily towards wood, making it more viable in the late game. It has 6 attack and 5 range (7 and 6 for Heavy), so its attack stats are better than the ranged Ratha’s, at the cost of some HP. Its low gold cost makes it more cost effective. It has only 1 melee armor, but 2 pierce armor just like the Ratha. The Chariot Archer has an accuracy of 75%, with the Heavy version having 90% accuracy, so Thumb Ring is less important. The Heavy upgrade costs 800 food and 500 wood.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get into the civ concept:
Civilization Bonuses
- Receive +10 population space at the start of each age
Unlike the Goths, who add to the max population limit (the bonus should really be +10% population, with a minimum of +10, but that’s a discussion for another time), this one simply adds population room out of nowhere, and cannot ultimately affect the population cap.
This bonus originally represented India’s large population, but since it didn’t start to skyrocket until long after the Gupta Empire vanished, it instead represents the massive urbanization that occurred during Gupta rule.
- Mounted archers +1/+1 archer armor in the Castle/Imperial Age
As mentioned before, the Gupta Empire really introduced horse archery to the Indian subcontinent, and used it to great effect. Part of its military success can be attributed to horse archers.
- Siege weapons move 20% faster
In a similar vein, siege weaponry was a new introduction by the Guptas that made their conquest of India much easier than it otherwise would’ve been.
- Thumb Ring and Husbandry available one age earlier
The Guptas were masters of archery and cavalry, and they made considerable advances in both areas earlier than many other civilizations, since they existed in the late antiquity period.
- Team bonus: Monasteries provide +15 population space
This is a reference to one of the later Gupta emperors promoting Buddhism and building a prominent vihara, which is essentially a Buddhist monastery with living quarters and an open floor plan.
Unique Unit 1: Khanda Swordsman
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This unit is a quick infantry unit, with 65 HP (75 for Elite), 1/2 armor, 12 attack (13 for Elite), and a speed similar to that of the Ghulam. It has a +5 bonus against Monks, and is itself conversion resistant. On top of that, it also provides conversion resistance within 5 tiles to all units other than itself by +1/min, +1/max, the same as its own conversion resistance. It costs 50 food and 50 gold.
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Given that the Guptas lack Heresy on account of the Battle Elephant, as well as Faith, this unit is very important when it comes to countering Monks. Light Cavalry are also missing to incentivize usage of this unit, and since they don’t hold up as well in battle and also cost more food, it’s a decent trade-off.
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The Khanda is a double-edged straight sword from India. It was used by Gupta soldiers, but also improved by Prithviraj Chauhaun and used by Rajput warriors to great effect. It also has an important role in Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism as a symbol of wisdom.
Unique Unit 2: Asi Cavalry
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This is essentially the Knight replacement for the Guptas. It has 1/2 armor and 80 HP (90 HP for Elite), as well as 12 attack (14 for Elite). To make up for its lesser HP than the Knight line, it heals 10% of its base HP for each kill (8 for normal, 9 for Elite). With its high attack, it can easily take out weak units, like archers, and get a similar level of hardiness as the normal Knight line. Since it lacks the final armor upgrade, this healing is the main way that it obtains hardiness.
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Asi, quite simply, is the Sanskrit word for “sword.” Heavy cavalry wielding swords were an important part of the Gupta army, and in fact made up the main fighting force.
Unique Techs
Sangharama: Monks produced 80% faster
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Cost: 300 food, 120 gold
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While the Gupta Monastery isn’t great, most technologies are available, and Monks hold an important role in healing, converting enemy units, and gathering relics. Monk conversions can often swing fights, especially against Knights, but if they go down, they are costly and time-consuming to replace. This technology makes it easier to mass them in a timely fashion.
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The word sangharama basically refers to a temple or monastery, and is the place where the Sangha, or Buddist monks, live. The same Gupta emperor who built a vihara also built a sangharama at roughly the same site.
Chaturanga: Stable units and Chariot Archers +5 attack vs infantry
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Cost: 800 food, 500 gold
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This technology makes mounted units considerably better against infantry, especially Chariot Archers, since they benefit from both Parthian Tactics and this tech, making them great against pikes. However, to counteract this, both sets of units lack the final armor upgrade, making them glass cannons. Still, enemy infantry, except for Halberdiers, will be ineffective against a late-game Gupta army.
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Chaturanga is an ancient Indian board game often believed to be the ancestor of chess, shogi, and others. The Persians called it shatranj and eventually brought it to Europe, where it became chess. Chaturanga featured essentially the same types of soldiers as the Gupta army, with elephants (or gaja, which became bishops, chariots (or ratha, which became rooks), horses (or asva, which became knights), and infantry (or padati, which became pawns), as well as, of course, the Mantri (minister, which became the queen) and the Raja (king).
Tech Tree
Missing Units: Champion, Eagle line, Elephant Archer, Hand Cannoneer, Light Cavalry, Knight, Camel Rider, Armored Elephant, Bombard Cannon, Demolition Ship, Cannon Galleon.
Missing Techs: Gambesons, Redemption, Heresy, Faith, Theocracy, Plate Mail Armor, Plate Barding Armor, Ring Archer Armor, Fortified Wall, Bombard Tower, Arrowslits, Two-Man Saw, Stone Shaft Mining, Guilds.