The Serbians represent all of medieval Serbia, from the pre-Christian Serbs, to the early Principality of Serbia, then to the Grand Principality, then to the Kingdom of Serbia, and ultimately to the Serbian Empire. They use a Balkan architecture set shared with the Albanians and Croatians. Their unique Castle is based on Belgrade Fortress, and their Wonder is Gracanica Monastery.
The Serbians are an archer and cavalry civilization. Unlike most other cavalry civs, they are largely focused on light cavalry as opposed to heavy cavalry. This is because they have totally generic Cavaliers with no bonuses, while their light cavalry are heavily favored, with bonuses and techs affecting them. However, the Monks are also top-tier, being nearly fully upgraded.
Getting into the concept now:
Civilization Bonuses
- Monks cost -50 gold, +50 food
Like many other European countries, medieval Serbia was full of monasteries with their own vineyards. This was typically because monks needed wine to conduct their rituals, and importing wine would’ve been too costly. However, many vineyards were on large tracts of land, particularly after the 14th century.
Monasteries also often received bees and beekeepers as gifts, with the wax being used for church matters and the honey sold as an export.
- Villagers affected by Barracks technologies
In the late Middle Ages and early modern period, there were occasional peasant revolts in Serbia against the Ottoman invaders. Bandits known as hajduks were also probably recruited from the ranks of peasants. Either way, Serbian peasants were frequently prepared to take action, whether to defend themselves or to raid and rob Ottoman shipments.
- Archery Range units deal +50% bonus damage
The typical Serbian army consisted of cavalry armed with lances or bows (and crossbows later) as well as infantry with javelins, spears, and bows.
- Light Cavalry and Hussar upgrades don’t cost gold
While the Serbians did employ heavy cavalry like all other European kingdoms, they were probably most famous for their light cavalry. Their gusar cavalrymen were sort of like precursors to the hussars, and many believe that the word “hussar” gets its name from “gusar.” In fact, the hussars got their start from Serbians entering Hungary and acting as mercenaries.
- Team bonus: Scout Cavalry line +3 attack vs infantry
These light cavalry had the role of being shock troops, quickly overwhelming the foot soldiers in enemy armies to either break their ranks or act as a distraction until the heavier cavalry engaged.
Unique Unit: Gusar
-
I alluded to this unit earlier during the historical discussion. This is a light cavalry unit with 65 HP (80 for Elite), 0 melee armor (1 for Elite), and 2 pierce armor. It has 9 attack (10 for Elite) and attacks slightly faster than Light Cavalry, at 1.5. It costs 55 food and 30 gold, though the gold cost can be brought down even further with a unique tech.
-
The unit’s special gimmick is that if it moves in a straight line for 5 consecutive in-game seconds, the next attack will deal 50% trample damage (accounting for armor). The charge can be visualized through a bar under the HP bar that fills up through momentum; changing trajectory or stopping for more than a few seconds will rapidly deplete the bar.
-
The Gusars were the main light cavalrymen of medieval Serbia. Their specialty was to disrupt the enemy through cavalry charges to support the infantry. As support cavalry, they did not hold up well if caught by the enemy, so it was the infantry’s job to prevent enemy troops from chasing them. The word gusar means “pirate” in Serbian, and is a possible (or likely) etymology for hussars.
Unique Techs
Rascian Mercenaries: Archers, Gusars, and Cavalry Archers cost -50% gold
-
Cost: 300 food, 150 gold
-
This technology makes Crossbowmen and Cavalry Archers significantly more affordable, saving 23 and 30 gold per unit, respectively. The Gusar also goes down to only 55 food and 15 gold, making it much more comparable to the Light Cavalry, a trash unit only costing food. Gusars and Archery Range units are most effective in large numbers, making this technology useful for training a powerful army.
-
The Serbians have a long history of being mercenaries in other countries. Early hussars in both Hungary and Poland were Serbian, having been hired to carry a similar shock cavalry role as they were used to in their homeland. The term “Rascians” was an exonym used by Eastern Europeans to refer to Serbians and other South Slavs; a notable example of this term being used was the Rascian Reform, which formed the Polish hussars.
Autocephaly: Conversions cost -50% faith
-
Cost: 500 food, 500 gold
-
This technology makes Monks much more effective by making conversions cost only half faith instead of full faith. If there are many enemies nearby, Monks are less vulnerable by being able to carry out many consecutive conversions, even as a group. It can also be useful for reducing the downtime between individual conversions, since Monks only have to rejuvenate half their faith instead of all of it. With this technology, Monk play is very dangerous, since they’re fully upgraded except for Illumination and Theocracy (which this technology is a replacement for) and they only cost 50 food and 50 gold.
-
The Serbian Orthodox Church, formed in 1219 in the Kingdom of Serbia, is an autocephalous branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church. A church being autocephalous essentially means that it is independent, self-governing instead of having to report to the main church in the hierarchy. This increased independence allows for greater autonomy and a more efficiently-run organization.
Tech Tree
Missing Units: Eagle line, Elephant Archer, Hand Cannoneer, Paladin, Camel Rider, Battle Elephant, Steppe Lancer, Armored Elephant, Heavy Scorpion, Fast Fire Ship.
Missing Techs: Parthian Tactics, Illumination, Theocracy, Bracer, Architecture, Treadmill Crane, Siege Engineers, Crop Rotation, Stone Shaft Mining, Guilds, Shipwright.