I really hope that they could add some Asian natives either in the next DLC or in a DLC about SE Asia. Right now Asian maps only have religious sects or holy sites as minor civs, and they definitely can’t capture the diversity of peoples and cultures in the region, and I find this to be rather unfortunate.
Here’re some of my proposals for potential native minor civs for South China and Indochina. I only focus on these regions cause I know quite a lot about them. Though you may feel free to add your thoughts of native minor civs for other areas of Asia.
The Zhuang
Location
They can appear on various maps of Southern South China (Lingnan and Yungui) and Northern Indochina (Red River Valley, Lanxang Plateau, Plain of Jars, etc.)
Unit
Lang Bing or Wolf Troop. The original character for Lang should be 俍 with a human radical on the left, and this was one of the names given to the Zhuang people by the Ming, with unclear etymology. However overtime it became gradually confounded (whether intentionally or unintentionally) with the homophone 狼 with a dog radical on the left meaning “wolf”, hence given rise to the name Lang Bing (with “bing” meaning “troop” or “soldier”).
In terms of appearance this wouldn’t be an Asian version of Coyote Runner. Instead historical records suggest that native troops from this region mostly wore leather armors of some sort, with the 12th century first-hand account Lingwai Daida mentioning that the native Zhuang and Yao troops wore armors made out of bear hide. Though by the 16th century they had switched to using cowhide or buffalo hide instead (and they treated it with lacquer or tung oil), as mentioned in the Ming era record Chouhai Tubian. In terms of weapons they would use a type of poisoned crossbow at range, and would switch to Dao sword and wooden pavise shield at melee (the below historical painting Kangwo Tujuan showed them using pavise shield combined with a type of hooked polearm though I don’t think this was their usual equipment).
I’d imagine them be a ranged infantry of some sort in the game. When in range they would use a poisoned crossbow that has a shorter range and weaker attack than a typical European crossbowman, however they would have the poison effect similar to the Jungle Bowman of the Incas. And for hand attack they would use a sword + a pavise shield. They would have bonus against light ranged cavalry and ranged shock infantry, though would perish against heavy infantry, heavy cavalry, and artillery.
Possible Techs
Ang Quan, a traditional Zhuang martial art which focuses on knee and elbow strikes (some say that it may be related to the more famous Muay Thai). For effect this would improve the hand attack of your hand shock infantry.
Zhuang Rice Ceremony, the Zhuang people have the habit of eating five-colored rice (dyed with plants) during times of festivities. For effect this would improve your villager’s gathering rate from Mills, Farms, and Rice Paddies.
The Hmong
Location
Largely in the same areas as the Zhuang, though unlike the Zhuang they could appear on maps for Sichuan and Dongting (Middle Yangtse) as well.
Unit
Hmong Javelineer, a ranged heavy infantry clad in leather laminar armors and wielding a javelin and a pavise shield. For hand attack they would switch to a sword as well. They would have a rather high ranged resistance and would have bonus against light ranged cavalry and musket infantry, though would perish against hand shock infantry, heavy cavalry, and artillery. For the historical reference of this unit, there’re many surviving Ming and Qing era paintings of Hmong warriors, such as the following:
And there’s even a surviving set of Hmong body armor from the 19th century, which was once used by a Hmong rebel leader
Possible Techs
Slash and Burn Farming, improves your villager’s construction speed of Farms, Mills, Estate, and Rice Paddies from 20 secs to 15 secs, and as well as decreases the cost of these buildings by 20%
Hill Fortification, improves the attack and range of Castles, War Huts, Watch Towers, and Outposts
The Tanka
Location
I intend them to represent not only the historical Tanka boat people as well as covering the She people (輋人) and the South Chinese pirates (they were active from the 11th or 12th century all the way to the 19th century, with some rather famous individuals like the female pirate boss Ching Shih), hence they would be present on nearly all maps from Jiangnan to the coasts of Indochina.
Units
Paper-Armored Militia. I’ve always wanted an unit wearing the historical South Chinese paper armor be introduced in the AoE franchise, either in AoE 2 or in AoE 3. This unit could also be called “South Chinese Pirate” although I don’t think such a term would work considering that the devs want the names to be as neutral as possible (which is why they changed names like Colonial Age to Commerce Age), hence the more neutral term Paper-Armored Militia.
According to Song and Ming era records, paper armors as well as some other types of organic armors (like leather, rattan, and even armors made out of isinglass) were commonly used by the militia, marines, sailors, and pirates active along the coasts of South China. Paper armors were made by cutting out mulberry paper or paper from old accounting books into squarish lamellar blocks around a few inches thick, and then stacking them on top of one another in a similar fashion as one would make a lamellar armor. For even better protection and durability some other materials could be added, like tung oil or some kind of resin on its surface to make it less susceptible to rotting, and wool, cotton, or hemp cloth into the paper blocks to make them even more arrow-resistant. It could be worn as a standalone armor or either underneath or on top of other armors.
In terms of weapon they could use either the aforementioned hooked polearm depicted in the Ming era painting about the Wolf Troops above. Per Ming era records this weapon was likely called a Scorpion’s Tail and was used in naval warfare, although how it was used is debatable. And there is at least one surviving example of the weapon
An even better alternative would be the Tangpa trident, also commonly used by troops from Ming and Qing era Southern China
In game this unit would function somewhat similarly to a pikeman, though with a lot more ranged resistance and a bonus damage against villagers and cavalry.
Tancareira. A Portuguese term given to Tanka women, boat women, or female pirates who were active in Macau in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were the only group of women in China who were willing to marry the Portuguese sailors. In-game they would function as a combination of Inca priestess and chasqui, can both heal and attack as well as build trading posts, and has a relatively high movement speed of 6.5. For weapon they would use the famous butterfly swords. There’re debates about the origin of this type of short swords, although a popular theory suggests they were originally naval or pirate weapons.
Possible Techs
Not sure about the name yet but some techs related to improving the working rate of docks or improving the fishing ships seem reasonable to me.
