Hi everyone and welcome. Let me do a small introduction before we go to the heart of the matter.
So this is the fan design that I made of an eventual Italian Kingdom civ for AoE3.
I’ll start saying that I’m not that expert on aoe3 balance and mechanics as much as I’m of aoe2. So what to me may have appeared as a good idea, it may seems orribile to an more expert eye.
So for that reason nothing that you’ll read here is written on stone, but it’s subject to potential change, especially on the balance side. For that, I encourage everyone to give me feedbacks and criticism, both positive and negative (but always respectful). I’m sure that together we can we can make a fantastic work.
Lastly, I know that some people don’t think that the Italians should be added to the game, or that other cultures should take priority, but this isn’t the argument of this topic.
This post is to discuss my specific design of the civ, to see if it’s balanced and historically accurate. For all other arguments, there already are more appropriate topics, or you can create new ones. I also ask to people to limit the discussion to this fan design, if you have another one, please post it in its own topic, as I did to avoid spam on other discussions.
So here are my (broad and not that defined) design of an potential Italian civ. I borrowed features from the USA, african civs and swedes, so it may appear not too much original, but still I made as much unique as I can.
Italian Kingdom
Home City:
Rome (or Turin, which would be more accurate, but less iconic)
Flag:
Age Up Mechanic:
A bit of a mix of the USA and african civs, with 5 main smaller states, and 4 that add up as soon as you age up:
First 5 cities:
- Venice
- Milan
- Florence
- Naples
- Genoa
And then 3 more, in order:
- Palermo
- Modena
- Turin (or Rome if Turin is the HC)
Like similar civs, each age up gives you 2 unique technologies for their unique building, the University. On top of the classic age up resources/units.
Unique Building:
- The University
A building of the first age that slowly generates experience (it increases with age ups, specific HC shipments) and research the age ups unique techs (those too give a bit of a boost to the exp generated). The techs have a gradually higher cost depending on the age that are unlocked.
The University of Bologna, the most ancient university of the world
Unique Bonuses:
- Docks and markets cost -50%.
- They don’t need a HC shipment to have Unique Technologies at the Church.
- They don’t have Revolutions, instead they have the option of Diplomatic Table. This option allows them to choose an ally among other European powers (France or Prussia, but it’s possible to add Britain and Spain too). When they do that, they get some soldiers and 4 unique shipments of the civ choosen, that adds up with deck. You don’t loose the vills or your deck, but you can’t advance to the Imperial age or re-ships cards.
Those shipments are of course in general less powerful than the shipments of the revolutions (and one is always the 2 ironclads).
Unique Technologies at the Church:
-
Lateran council of 1139
It exchange the food cost of the xbow with gold, but add a +1.5 damage multiplier on the range attack against cavalry (age 2 - free). -
Golden Bill of 1265:
Market fee reduced to 5%, but all natural resources are gathered 15% slower (age 2 - free). -
Swiss Papal guard
It ships 6 papal guards (swiss pikes) and allow to train papal guards at the church (age 3 - 500 gold). -
Carabineers
Ships 7 carabineers (guard carabiner cavalry) and transform all cranequins presents at the moment in carabineers (age 4 - 1500 food).
Tech Tree:
Buildings: Standard european buildings plus their unique building, the university.
Barracks:
Age 2
- Crossbowman - upgradable up to Imperial level (pavisan crossbowmen).
- Pikemen - standard (capped at veteran)
Age 3
- Bersagliere - unique musketeers that have ranged resistance when locked in melee (with the possibility to increase its speed with HC shipments) but have less standard melee resistance.
Stable:
Age 2
Mounted crossbowman - mounted unit that cost only food and wood (capped at veteran) with 2 stances:
- Mounted: mobile unit with low RoF and range. It can be manually dismount. It can attract in melee (like a dragoon).
- Dismounted: static units, have an higher RoF and range, but it needs to re-mount (so going through an animation) to move. It can’t attack in melee while in this stance.
No standard melee cavalry, so they either rely on mercenaries or send them from HC. They can train stradiots or elemti through age ups.
Foundry and Factory:
Standard with falconets, culverins, mortars and HC.
Docks:
Galleys instead of caravels, then galleons, frigates and monitors as standard.
Town Center:
Standard villagers and volunteers.
Some images of the Italian army:
Crossbowman with pavise
Mounted crossbowman
Bersagliere
Swiss Pope guards
Venetian galley
Italian Kingdom Age Ups Effects:
Genoa:
2°A - 1 galley and 4 xbows
3°A - 2 galleys and 7 xbows
4°A - 1 galleon and 15 veteran xbows
5°A - 2 Ironclad and 20 guard xbows
UTs:
Italian explorers - it gives +50% LoS to the explorer.
Pavise - it gives ranged resistance to crossbowmen and cranequins (when dismounted).
Venice:
2°A - 400 wood
3°A - 700 wood
4°A - 1000 wood and 2 stradiots
5°A - 2000 wood and 4 stradiots
UTs:
Arsenale - doubles the work rate of the docks. Ships are also repaired at twice the speed.
Balkan mercenaries - it delivers 5 stradiots and stradiots can be trained at the stables at the cost of 150f and 150g.
Florence:
2°A - a church wagon and 2 vills
3°A - a church wagon and 5 vills
4°A - a church wagon and 1000 gold
5°A - a church wagon and 2000 gold
You can build a second church.
UTs:
Condottieri - mercenaries can be trained in bigger groups of 6 and HC shipments gives 25% more units (with 1 unit more for minimum).
De Medici’s bank - it ship a bank wagon.
Milan:
2°A - an outpost wagon and the ability to call 4 extra volunteers armed with crossbows.
3°A - an outpost wagon and an early arsenal wagon.
4°A - 2 military wagons and an arsenal wagon.
5°A - a factory wagon.
UTs:
Comuni - All buildings have 40% more HP.
Permanent garrison - TCs can shoot even if empty (with the attack of just 1/2/3/4/5 vills depending on the age) if it’s garrisoned it’s like having extra vills.
Naples:
2°A - age up 2.75 faster.
3°A - age up 2.75 faster.
4°A - age up 2.75 faster.
5°A - age up 2.75 faster.
UTs:
Textiles expertise - gives a trickle of gold for the game.
Scutage - it delivers 400 gold for each TC and it allows to train elmeti at the stables.
Palermo:
3°A - 2 monks and 3 mounted xbow. Guard and imp (cranequins) unlocked.
4°A - 3 monks and 5 (guard) cranequins. Upgrades all cranequins to guard and unlock the imp upgrade.
5°A - 4 monks and 7 imp cranequins. Upgrades all cranequins to imp.
UTs:
Lemon orchards - transform all estates into lemon orchards, which gather coins faster, but only 7 vills can work on it.
Trade egemony - TPs gives back 15% more resources (not exp).
Modena:
4°A - 1 TC wagon and 2 falconet.
5°A - 1 TC wagon, 2 falconets and 2 culverins.
UTs:
Students traditions - it gives you a university wagon, and allows you to build a second university.
Alpines troops - it allows to train Alpines (jagers with +5% speed) at the barracks.
Turin:
5°A - 2 heavy cannons
UTs:
Modern army - all gunpowder units are trained 15% faster (including HC at the factories).
Foreign instructors - it allows you to train guard hussars at stables 30% faster.
I hope you enjoy it, remember that those are just random ideas, and I’m more interested on the concept and history, than in the specific effects and numbers. For that reason, this first post will probably change multiple times.
Let me know what you think. I’ll post more info and concepts in the future, in particular I have one with some suggestions for shipments cards, and I’ll also try to go in detail on some units.
) fan of the aoe series.