I think almost everyone can agree that Stronghold is not a very good unique tech for the Celts. Its function is basically useless, and it doesn’t synergize well with the Celts’ very aggressive playstyle. It pretty much only exists in order to reference the many Scottish and Irish castles that exist from the medieval period.
There’s another complaint commonly levied against the Celts; that the Gallowglass, a very cool heavy infantryman used by the Irish during the 13th century to the 16th century, got snubbed completely in favor of the Woad Raider, an anachronistic and extremely stereotypical depiction of ancient Pict warriors, clearly inspired by the historically dubious movie Braveheart.
I think I know how to fix both problems at the same time. It won’t fix the Woad Raider problem (as they are here to stay), but it will fix the issue of Gallowglasses not being represented at all. That solution is to replace Stronghold with a new Castle Age UT entitled Gallowglass.
One thing I found really weird since the CD days was that the Celts were labeled as an infantry civ, but their one UT at the time was a clear upgrade for siege (many original UTs felt the same way, like random additions to a civ’s tech tree that didn’t synergize with its overall theme, but that’s a topic for another discussion). Stronghold didn’t help matters, and now the only real indicators that the Celts are meant to use infantry are the Woad Raiders and faster-moving infantry in general.
Gallowglass would be an upgrade to the Swordsman line and not the Woad Raider, as Gallowglasses were famously heavily-armored and specialized in defending positions. I am not yet sure how those traits or the fact that they were mercenaries from abroad could translate into a unique tech, but that’s where I need help from you guys. Help me come up with a unique function for the Swordsman line that Gallowglass could give them, one that isn’t redundant or overlapping with other bonuses or techs.
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Towers and castles fire 25% faster → Castle fire 3 extra arrows.
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That makes literally no sense. Gallowglasses were infantrymen. This should be an infantry upgrade. And besides, the whole point of this post is improving Celt swordsmen, who are mostly generic, with a unique tech.
You didn’t mention anything about that in the title. So I thought it is just another thread to change Stronghold to something new.
Oh, I should’ve specified.
I’ve read a suggestion: Gallowglass as a Castle Age UT that gives Woad Raider + X (5 I remembered) attack vs siege weapon.
Well the most straightforward and historically suiting would be, Gallowglass gives armor for militia line → +1/2 or +1/1 if first is too strong.
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Maybe this unit can be like the iitalian condo unit?
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A UT that grants a buff to the militia line sounds fair. It’s not like +5% speed is a lot compared with bonuses other civs get.
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Why not give them a gallowglass unique unit instead of a UT?
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Because:
A. Celts already have an infantry unique unit
B. Celts have a bad castle age UT that probably should be replaced
Maybe the Gallowglass UT could upgrade your militia to Gallowglass
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I actually disagree with this. If Woad Raiders were based on Braveheart, they’d surely have lighter warpaint and be wearing kilts rather than Asterix-style stripy trousers. Added to which, Woad Raiders were present in early alpha versions of AoK, whereas the William Wallace campaign was added late in development (some beta versions don’t have it). So it seems much more likely to me that both Braveheart and Woad Raiders were inspired by the same or similar sources (ultimately, Julius Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War).
I agree with the suggestion though.
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What if my proposed unique tech gave the Militia line +5 infantry armor? It wouldn’t be a percentage of bonus resistance like the Sicilians, but rather a flat value. Units like the Plumed Archer and Chakram Thrower would now have no bonus at all, and other traditionally anti-infantry units like Cataphracts, Hand Cannoneers, and Jaguar Warriors would be significantly less effective. I think it would be a great buff.
That’s Obelix wearing these trousers 
I think they should just upgrade Stronghold to 33% and/or have town centers affected as well.
As for the Gallowglass, it could work similar to the Winged Hussar, that Celts get that Upgrade instead of Champion.
As for the Woad Raider, I think the Elite Upgrade should give them an extra +1PA and +2 vs. buildings, which will make them more of a propper raider.
Based on this, (if the coding allows it) I would suggest a UT that makes all infantry (or just the Woad Raiders) within 10 blocks from any Castle, Tower, or T C to Double their Armor and/or their attack damage.
If anything I will give +1000 and basically doesn’t take bonus damage at all.
Given how caravanserai works, I think the code allows it. And your idea would make their castle drops interesting. And then, keeps for then would make sense!
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I personally I would change the UT to something like woad raiders receive less damage from buildings (not my idea, found it in another thread).
For me makes perfect sense. They would still be bad Vs heavy gold units and archers but wouldn’t feel so bad when raiding their base.
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I dunno, that seems a little contrary to Gallowglasses to me. They were heavily armored infantry specializing in long-term engagements of defensive positions. That doesn’t sound like the Woad Raider to me.