Sorry for the delay. Been busy of late.
Ships were typically large double hulled
They were owned by merchants. But manned by specialists from around the world like Greco Roman soldiers for protection of cargo
These ships had enough ammunition to not be dependent on separate convoys to protect them from pirates or unfriendly ships.
The ships were built in both Kerala and Tamil nadu. But trees came from Kerala. However both were combined as Tamil country at the time of cholas. So a shared unit makes sense.
You can go though the below bonus and see that both the civs can work well with colondia unit.
**Dravidians Rework
MalayalisKeralites - Archer and Naval civilization**Keralites are based on Malayali speaking people of calicut kingdom which endured through neighbourhood Tamil, deccan kingdom and hindustani threats from north India. They fought against the Portuguese and other modern western powers as well to maintain their autonomy well after AOE4 timelines as well. Their ancestors were chera kingdom which had a bow and arrow as flag. This makes them a good candidate for receiving the faster attacking skirm and elephant archer bonus. Their natural forest resources make them the best candidate to make use of Dravidians template. The Urumi swordsmen is also a product of Kalaripayat martial arts which is mainly Keralite. Kerala hosted merchant fleets being brought to their coast by the monsoon winds. But Tamils actively engaged in outbound trade. So the +5 pop space is best given to this civ
• NEW - Receive +10 wood for every villager createdSiege units cost 33% less wood
Team Bonus:
Unique Units:
Urumi Swordsman (Infantry),
New - Colandia (சொழாந்தியம்)(Thirisadai renamed)(Warship) - Generates +10 gold per kill
Unique Techs: Woots steel moved to castle age• Wootz Steel (Infantry remove armour like Obuch)
• Medical Corps(Elephant Units regenerate 30 HP per minute)
Tech tree Change
Both husbandry and bloodlines. But no cavalry armour upgrades in blacksmith.
Tamils - Infantry and Naval civilization
This is the design I want to propose for the Tamils after 12th century. The pandyas continued patronage of trade similar to imperial cholas who were extremely wealthy through trade and thus the civ design is mainly late game oriented. The Venetian traveler Marco Polo visited the Pandya kingdom and described it as the “richest and most splendid province in the world ” specifically noting the abundance of pearls and precious stones. They were so rich they would import huge number of war horses every year which will be replaced again the next year due to improper vetinary care.
The design will incentivize the civ to go for gold heavy pop-efficient units which will end up being its strength as well as weakness. The civ’s main weakness is against archers, skirms and cav archers. They only get fully upgraded skirms for balance reasons. This weakness derives historically from their eventual fall to the delhi sutanate who were good with horse archery and used mobility tactics to overcome the heavy cavalry disadvantage against Tamils. Monks will get bonuses to function as counter to cavalry in early castle age along with valari thrower in late-game. The fish flag of pandyas goes rather well with their team bonus.
• Villagers within LOS of TC work 10% fasterSiege units and Colandia(Thirisadai) have 10/20% more HP in castle and imperial age. [Optional]
Team Bonus: Fishermen and Fishing ships +5 carry capacity [Current patch Gather rate has been reduced by 15%. Fishing ships just sit there for too long. So bonus modified]
Unique Techs:
Unique Units:
Colandia (சொழாந்தியம்)(Thirisadai renamed) (Warship) Generates +10 gold per kill (Large ships historically used for trade and war)Valari thrower (ranged Infantry) (castle unit) - Long ranged Melee attack unit whose weapon returns to the unit which increases the attack speed the closer the target is. Attacks in straight line. Attack is 10(12) melee, Speed is 1.0, range is 6(7). Armour is 0/0.