Civilization Idea: Parthians (Chronicles)

Age of Empires II: DE II - Discussion
1

PARTHIANS
Cavalry civilization

The Parthian Empire utilized Cataphracts (later adopted by the Byzantines) as the backbone of their army, mowing through opponents with lances, called “kontos”, and occasionally swords, while their horseback archers fired devastating volleys of arrows into the battle. Those archers had a tactic called the Parthian Shot, in which they would feint a retreat, drawing their enemies out into the open. When the pursuers were exposed, the cavalry archers would turn around in the saddle and fire arrows. The Parthians had no standing army, but could quickly raise one if a threat presented itself.

Note: The Parthians were basically the 2nd Persian Empire, after the Achaemenids and before the Sassanids, so they are similar to the Achaemenids in several ways. They are designed to be strongest late-game.

Bonuses

  • Mounted units are 10% cheaper in the Imperial age and train 33% more quickly.
  • Cavalry Archers/Heavy Cav Archers/Imperial Cav Archers available in the Feudal/Castle/Imperial age.
  • Parthian Tactics free and available in the Feudal Age (should this be Castle Age?)

Unique Units

  • Cataphract (Chronicles): Stronger but more expensive replacement of the Knight.

    I was hesitant about naming the Cataphract what it is because of the Byzantines, but the same thing is true with War Chariots (Achaemenids/Shu), so I think it’s fine.

Cost: 80 food, 85 gold (72 food, 76.5 ≈ 77 gold in Imperial age with bonus).
Training time: 30 seconds (20 with bonus)
Upgrade cost: 1400 food, 750 gold.

Health: 125/170
Attack: 12/15
Reload time: 2.0
Armor: 2, 2 / 3, 3
Speed: 1.4
LoS: 5/6

  • Imperial Cavalry Archer: improved Heavy Cavalry Archer.

Changed Statistics:

HP: 75
Attack: 8. Bonus: +5 vs Spearmen.
Armor: 2/1

Upgrade cost: 1300 food, 700 gold.

Unique Technologies
Castle Age
Fertile Crescent: Villagers and Trade Units drop off +5% rss.
Parthian Shot: Cavalry Archer-line +1 range, -75% attack delay (+2 range if modifying the attack delay is not possible).

Imperial Age
Kontos: Cataphracts pierce through multiple units.
Persian Horses: Cataphracts regenerate 30 hp/minute.

Team Bonus
Mounted units and Trade Carts +5% movement speed

Technology Tree

Archery Range
Crossbowman
Elite Skirmisher
Imperial Cavalry Archer
Thumb Ring
Parthian Tactics

Barracks
Long Swordsman
Pikeman
Squires

Stable
Hussar
Heavy Camel Rider (historically, the Parthian Emipre used camels and light cavalry)
Battle Elephant (not elite, only a few were used)
Husbandry
Bloodlines

Siege Workshop
Capped Ram
Onager
Scorpion
Siege Tower

Blacksmith
Archer attack x3
Melee attack x3
Archer armor x2
Infantry armor x1
Cavalry armor x3

University
Treadmill Crane
Architecture
Keep
Fortified Wall (?)
Murder Holes
Chemistry
Ballistics

Castle
Cataphract
Trebuchet
Conscription
Fertile Crescent/Parthian Shot
Kontos/Persian Horses
Hoardings

Monastery
Monk
Fervor
Herbal Medicine
Faith

Economy
Crop Rotation (food x3)
Two-Man Saw (wood x3) (maybe move this down to x2?)
Gold Mining (gold x1)
Stone Shaft Mining (stone x1)
Coinage (tribute x1)
Guilds

Port/Shipyard
I have absolutely no idea what to do here. To my knowledge, the Parthians were entirely land-focused.

Ideas or suggestions are very welcome!

2 Likes
2

It’s difficult, but I wouldn’t rule them out for a 2nd century DLC for Chronicles…

3

Feudal CA are pretty busted.

Just make this similar to current persians so there is continuation.

You should add an economic bonus as all three are cavalry only.

4

Good point. A 10% discont on cavalry is pretty large, but it’s only in the Imperial age. How about farms cost -50% or they become 2x2 (saves walk time and lets you compact your base)? Or Caravanserai could be an option.

Forgive me; what does “busted” mean? Good? Bad?

5

Oops, I forgot that the Persians had that bonus. But similar how? In the same age as the basic Cavalry Archer, or in the Castle Age?

6

It means its broken or hard to balance.CA is a fast raiding unit and feudal units will have a hard time defending from them so not a great mechanic.

Maybe parthian tactics free or affect all cavalry would fit this civi the best?

7

How about this?
Bonuses
• Mounted units cost -10% in Imperial Age and train 33% faster
• Parthian Tactics free and available in the Castle Age
• Farms are smaller (2x2)
• Can construct Caravanserai

Team Bonus
Cavalry Units +10% movement speed

2 Likes
8

I like this,keep on working on the rest of the ideas too.

Btw you can call the UU Azadan or Kontos cavalry(kontos is a weapon name they used).

9

Kontos is the name of one of the Imperial Age technologies, so maybe Azadan? But I don’t think all the Cataphracts were nobles, and they definitely were called Cataphracts. I think the Byzantines/Romans actually took the idea from them. So I’ll probably stick with Cataphract for now. The same thing happens with War Chariots.

10

For me personally, your concept is missing something important for creating a chronicle civilisation: a special flavour, a special mechanism, a special building, extra technology that makes the civilisation a little more distinctive from the others.

I don’t know much about the history of the Parthians, but perhaps it could be something like this:
All mounted units have a dismounted version (like the Konnik), which is much weaker. When they are killed, they are dismounted and, after a certain amount of time, they can be remounted for a small cost (10 food, for example). This could also be a unique tech.

And I don’t like the fact that both Imp UTs are for the Cataphracts and affect only them. For me, this is not a particularly interesting choice. It’s like ordering fries with either ketchup or mayonnaise — the same dish, just with a different dip. In the end, though, all you get is fries.