This is a civ concept that I actually initially created 2 years ago and posted here, but it was VERY rough around the edges. It was originally called the Bantus, which was rightly torn apart by many users for being an unnecessarily large umbrella. I reworked it a bit, and I have made quite a lot of changes since then, so I’m posting it again.
The Shona represent the Bantu-speaking people group of the same name, but also can generically represent the people of South Africa and Zimbabwe; this mainly includes the Zimbabweans and Nguni (Xhosa). They have the African architecture set present in the game already, since the Feudal Age architecture seems to fit; however, they have a unique Castle based on Khami, and their Wonder is the Great Enclosure of Great Zimbabwe.
Important to note is that they and the other Bantu-speaking African civs receive two new regional units: the Mpombo Scout line and the Assegai. The Mpombo Scout is essentially a fast, light infantry that receives 1 range in the Feudal Age, similar to the Steppe Lancer; the range is not present in Dark Age for balance reasons. The Assegai is a fast, spear-throwing unit that is designed to replace the Cavalry Archer; because it throws a spear, it has an attack bonus of 1 vs archers, but it is much more similar to an archer than a skirmisher in terms of stats and cost.
The Shona themselves are a defensive civilization, and while they have a fairly open tech tree aside from cavalry and gunpowder, they have no innate military bonuses. This makes them tricky to play aggressively, but are an ideal civilization for players who love to turtle.
Anyway, let’s get into the concept!
Civilization Bonuses
- Villagers automatically drop off their resources when idle, attacked, or tasked elsewhere
This bonus may not be useful most of the time, but it acts as insurance in case villagers are attacked, so you won’t lose the resources they’re carrying if they’re killed. You also won’t need to worry about dropping off resources when tasking villagers to a different one, because they’ll be dropped off and not lost. It can also be a useful laming bonus, since villagers can gather from hunt that’s far away and still drop off the food, as long as the player micros them.
For most of their history, the Shona people were largely decentralized. It was only starting in the 11th century that large, centralized kingdoms began to form.
- Granary replaces Mill
I’ll get into this building later.
The building’s appearance is based on an outdated theory that the conical tower in Great Zimbabwe was a granary. That has been disproven, but the Shona did practice agriculture extensively, and still do. Granaries are where the fruits of agriculture are stored.
- Defensive buildings take 50% less bonus damage
The residents of Great Zimbabwe built extensive stone buildings, notably with no mortar. The Great Enclosure still exists today, although most of it is in ruins, which testifies to the incredible strength of the structure despite having no mortar.
- Towers cost -15% in Feudal, -20% in Castle, -25% in Imperial Age
The fortifications built by the Zimbabweans were so extensive that European explorers who discovered them assumed that they were built by an older, non-African civilization. In fact, Great Zimbabwe encompasses more than just the Great Enclosure, but also a Hill Complex, the oldest, and the Valley Complex, the youngest. The Mapungubwe site south of its successor Great Zimbabwe is similarly large.
- Team bonus: Trade units cost -20% wood
Great Zimbabwe was a prime trading spot, trading with Kilwa, the Swahili coast, Arabia, and even China. Kilwa and Great Zimbabwe had similar coinage, and foreign artifacts and currency have been found at the site.
Unique Unit: Svimbo Warrior
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This unit has similar stats to the Long Swordsman, but has 70 HP (80 for Elite); it’s also slightly slower. It has 12 attack (15 for Elite), but has a slower attack speed. It’s slightly more expensive, at 65 food, 25 gold, but this is more pronounced since the Shona have access to Supplies. However, that extra cost is well-compensated for, because the Svimbo Warrior deals 25% trample damage to any adjacent units to the one it’s targeting. This makes it very effective in melee engagements against large groups of enemy units.
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The svimbo, also spelled tsvimbo, is a traditional Shona walking stick or club (the same word can be translated both ways). Not only is it useful as a self-defense weapon, but it carries religious and political significance, being a symbol of authority, as well as maturity and old age. Each new Shona chief receives a tsvimbo when he begins his rule, and elderly Shona men carry them to defend against wild animals. Chiefs also carry tsvimbos when they act as judges.
Unique Building: Granary
- This building is a Mill replacement, costing the same 100 wood and being the same size. It uses the same building foundation as the Donjon, and its appearance resembles the Conical Tower of Great Zimbabwe. Its special gimmick is that it generates 0.33 food per second for each farmer that’s working within an 8-tile radius of the building. Even if the farmers are not actively collecting, as long as they aren’t idle, the food will still be generated. This can allow a Shona player to have a constant supply of food where they would otherwise have to wait for farmers to drop off. However, it comes with the downside of villagers being less safe due to not being able to work around the Town Center to get a full benefit; this can be made up for with cheaper towers and walls that take less bonus damage.
Unique Techs
Nguni Shields: Infantry and Assegai gain +1/+1 armor
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Cost: 250 food, 150 gold
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This technology is essentially a second Chain Mail Armor in Castle Age. Shona infantry becomes extremely tanky in the late game with this technology, especially since they are all fully upgraded. Champions end up with 5 melee armor and 7 pierce armor, making archers rather ineffective against them and melee units significantly less effective. This technology is also very useful for the Svimbo Warrior, as it is a comparatively slow unit, vulnerable to ranged units. The Assegai is also greatly helped, as it lacks a lot of pierce armor, being an archer, and a little extra of both armor is helpful in the late game.
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Nguni shields are pointed, oval-shaped shields that are traditional elements of Nguni culture. They are usually made of ox or cowhide. While they mostly serve a ceremonial purpose now, and are produced as souvenirs for tourists, they were originally supplied by chiefs for usage in war. Nguni shields also served as standards or coats-of-arms for the tribe that used them; there were many types of designs. They were also used during courtship or traditional dances, or used as parasols to shield chiefs from the sun. In general, they had a wide variety of purposes, not just for war.
Great Zimbabwe: Defensive buildings heal 60 HP per minute
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Cost: 400 food, 200 stone
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This technology, combined with the decreased bonus damage taken, makes Shona defenses exceptionally difficult to break. The self-repair rate is 1 HP per second, which means that any attacking players must constantly barrage their defenses if they expect to break through; leaving the defenses alone and coming back after building up forces is a poor decision, as some or most of the damage will likely be repaired by then, completely for free and passively. The stone cost makes the technology difficult to afford up front, but it pays for itself after a few minutes in terms of adding back value to stone buildings.
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Great Zimbabwe, as previously mentioned, was built out of stones without any mortar whatsoever. A big advantage of that method is that the walls will spontaneously reform after any sort of disturbance, if fitted correctly. An example of this can be found in Inca buildings, which are earthquake resistant and fit together so well that even a coin cannot be slotted between the stones. While the stones at Great Zimbabwe are considerably looser-fitting, the fact that the outer walls and Conical Tower are still standing in very good condition after being abandoned for centuries is a sign that they were constructed well.
Tech Tree
Missing Units: Eagle line, Elephant Archer, Cavalry Archer, Hand Cannoneer, all cavalry, Siege Onager, Bombard Cannon, Heavy Demolition Ship, Cannon Galleon.
Missing Techs: Parthian Tactics, all cavalry techs, Atonement, Heresy, Illumination, Block Printing, Sappers, Architecture, Treadmill Crane, Bombard Tower, Siege Engineers, Dry Dock, Shipwright.
