The Latins represent the various Crusader states and military orders established in the Middle East, particularly the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Latin Empire, and the Knights Hospitaller. The campaign for the Latins would be centered around King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, a leprous leader whose nemesis was Saladin, tying into the original game. The Latins would have the Middle Eastern architecture, but with classic Monks and Mediterranean ship sails, as neither Middle Eastern default fits them. Their Castle is based on Krak des Chevaliers, and their Wonder is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The Latin specialty is monks and ships, but it also has pretty good infantry and decent cavalry, particularly the Knight line. Archery Range units are also quite good, as the Latins have a fairly wide tech tree.
Moving onto the civ design itself.
Civilization Bonuses
- Market prices return to normal over time
This one requires some explanation. Every in-game minute, the exchange rate for the Latins goes down by 1, which means that if the Market is left alone for long enough, the exchange rate will return to what it was at the start of the game. Uniquely, this trait is restricted to the Latins, and their exchange rate is not affected by Market usage from other players.
The Holy Land was a major hub for trade in the Middle Ages, with Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia all buying and selling commodities with each other in this region. The Kingdom of Jerusalem took advantage of this, and its economy became dependent on the free trade in Palestine. In addition, tribute from adjacent cities and states became the predominant source of money.
- Fraters, Knights, and Galleys affected by Sanctity and Fervor
Military orders were formed by the Crusaders in order to establish a significant foothold in the Middle East. These orders were religious by nature, but nonetheless highly trained, and their devotion to Christianity was a major factor contributing to their effectiveness in battle. In the 1100s, the Order of St. John, or Knights Hospitaller, formed a navy, which started in Acre, and eventually relocated to places like Cyprus, Rhodes, and Malta, the latter of which became its main base of operations starting in the mid-1500s.
- Monks with Relics move 10% faster and have +15 HP
The Latin Empire Wikipedia article claims that the sale of relics was important to its economy, and while this is plausible, the claim is unsourced. Nonetheless, as a religious kingdom, the collection of relics wouldâve been important to both it and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as they wouldâve brought in significant revenue from pilgrims.
- Hospitals replace Monasteries
As the name suggests, the Knights Hospitaller were initially formed to build hospitals all over the lands contested by the Crusaders. While they eventually became more militaristic, building hospitals was still an important goal. They were run by monastic organizations.
- Team bonus: Caravan free
Another important source of income for the Kingdom of Jerusalem was the taxation of merchant caravans passing through the region on the way to Egypt, Syria, or Arabia. This revenue allowed them to hire mercenaries to make up for the lack of recruits within the kingdom.
Unique Unit 1: Frater
-
This is an infantry unit that has similar stats to the Long Swordsman, with 65 HP, 10 attack, and 1/2 armor. Itâs naturally a bit slower, at 0.9 tiles/second, but is affected by both Squires and Fervor, making it move at over 1.12 tiles/second, a little bit faster than Long Swordsmen with Squires. With Sanctity, it has 80 HP, making it quite tanky compared to its generic counterpart. The Elite version does not gain any more HP, but gains 2 more attack, trading 1 attack for 10 more HP than the Champion. It costs 65 food and 35 gold, making it an expensive investment.
-
This lesser attack value can be raised by being within 15 tiles of a Hospital, which raises its attack value by 3. While this attack boost goes away after leaving the area, it can effectively make the Frater a Castle Age Champion, but tankier and much more expensive. In the Imperial Age, an Elite Frater within range has 15 attack (17 fully upgraded), making it stronger than a Champion in every stat. Again, though, this attack boost is restricted to Hospital proximity, making it useful for controlling land, but not much else.
-
Frater was the earliest title used by the Hospitallers, which means âbrotherâ in Latin. Brothers-at-arms had two major ranks, knight brothers and sergeant brothers. Sergeants were originally hired mercenaries instead of brothers, but became official brothers after their de facto brother status was made apparent. Fraters took monastic oaths of poverty, chastity, and obedience, just like ordinary monks and priests.
Unique Unit 2: Crusader Knight
-
This is a direct upgrade to the Knight, replacing the Cavalier and Paladin. It has different stats from the current Scenario Editor version, having 130 HP, 13 attack, and 3/2 armor. In addition, it also has inherent conversion resistance and a +2 attack bonus vs Monks, unlike the existing version which cannot be converted at all. The upgrade costs 800 food, 950 gold.
-
Obviously, this is a reference to the fact that the kingdoms and orders the Latins represent were all founded by the Crusaders. The Crusaders fought on horseback and were heavily armored. Being highly religious, they were fanatical and basically never switched sides.
Unique Building: Hospital
- This is a Monastery replacement that heals units 30 HP/minute for each garrisoned relic. It has a 6-tile square radius. Unlike the Monastery, itâs 4x4 tiles instead of 3x3, so itâs harder to find space for, and this is accompanied by a larger cost of 200 wood. Because the healing radius is so small, and it requires leaving relics vulnerable to attack, itâs best to build the main one within a safe area that can be used for healing, and any additional ones can be supplemental or used as a boost for Fraters in the front lines.
Unique Technologies
Turcopoliers: Light Cavalry and Cavalry Archers take -3 damage from enemy archer units; mercenary unique units cost -25%
-
Cost: 500 food, 300 gold
-
This technology causes Light Cavalry and Cavalry Archers to take less damage from all archer units the player is facing, making them much more effective against them. It sounds like a flat pierce armor improvement, but in fact also applies to bonus damage, making it much more all-encompassing. Plate Barding Armor and Parthian Tactics are both missing, and this technology can be a good replacement for those techs, at least against archers. (Skirmishers are excluded from this effect for balance reasons.) The technology also makes Genitours, Condottieri, and Imperial Skirmishers cheaper when the relevant allies are present.
-
Turcopoliers were leaders of Turcopoles, who were auxiliaries of Turkish descent hired by the Byzantines and Crusaders. Turcopoles primarily used light cavalry and mounted archers in combat. The term eventually became ubiquitous with any light cavalry auxiliaries, even ones who were not of Turkish heritage.
Chivalric Orders: Knights and Galleys attack 50% faster
-
Cost: 850 food, 700 gold
-
This technology allows the Knight-line to receive a higher damage output than its base stats would suggest, and makes up for the lack of Blast Furnace and the Crusader Knightâs lower attack than the Paladin. It also makes the Galleon attack faster than its Saracen counterpart, which gives the Latins a rather potent response to a Saracen water monopoly. This is an essential technology on water maps if the player can afford it, but itâs less important on land maps, since the Knight-line canât be fully-upgraded.
-
The Order of St. John had a navy, as mentioned earlier. It was dissolved and integrated into the French navy in 1798, but it diligently protected Christian coastal interests for almost 700 years. It was ordered to assist Cilician Armenia in 1292, and by 1306, it had begun to gain naval superiority, transforming it into a maritime power. The Order of St. John is an example of a chivalric order, which was basically an order with its own organization, goals, and code. Most initial chivalric orders were formed to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land, but some formed simply for ceremonial purposes, particularly after the Middle Ages.
Tech Tree
Missing Units: Eagle line, Elephant Archer, Hussar, Battle Elephant, Steppe Lancer, Siege Ram, Heavy Scorpion, Heavy Demolition Ship.
Missing Techs: Parthian Tactics, Husbandry, Sappers, Plate Barding Armor, Blast Furnace, Architecture, Heated Shot, Treadmill Crane, Gold Shaft Mining, Guilds, Dry Dock.
