Obvious questions from Regional Monk & Monastery skins

Age of Empires II: DE II - Discussion
1

A. The monastery skins are said to be for “Byzantines, Ethiopians, and shamanistic civilizations”.

The Byzantine monastery should also be used for other non-Catholic civs using the Mediterranean set: Romans (pre-schism) and Bulgarians (Orthodox).

===

B. Africa.

All of the new monk models had been created before or during the development of AoE2DE.

From the revealed 7 additions - 6 for the standard monk and 1 Pagan Priest, there is an 8th model, seen in an official slide, that’s missing from this update.

image
image170×155 36.2 KB

That is the sub-Saharan model, carrying a cross staff in the image above.

unused monk
unused monk256×256 43.7 KB

In fact, you can still find a remaining portrait icon of this monk in AoE2DE, holding a different staff and a whisk (a ritual tool in Ethiopian church).

While the original intention of this model (a model vaguely based on Ethiopian Church, to be used for both the Islamic Malians and the Christian Ethiopians) is bad, it remains a problem that the existing models will fit the two sub-Saharan civs poorly.

EDIT:
On closer look, the staff in both images might be the same - a cross staff with the top removed, in an attempt to make the monk not Christian.

===

C. There are more complications with real history, such as civs that changed religions through AoE2 timeline, and further denominations.

The Bengalis are the perfect example:

The Bengal region began as a Buddhism-majority, became Hindu with the decline of Buddhism, then converted to Islam.

The in-game version is entirely based on the early Buddhist Bengali (campaign, unique tech, archaic unique unit), but that moves us to the other problem:

Different branches of Buddhist monks do not dress the same way.

the current model is based on Buddhist monks in Sinitic cultures (cultures that received Mahayana Buddhism through Chinese culture). Monks do not look the same in Theravada Southeast Asia, nor should they look the same in Pala dynasty Bengal.

We can ask more similar questions: should the Romans use the tonsured classical monk, or the very late Orthodox monk? And so on.

3 Likes
2

There is a South Asian monk model shown. The Bengalis will likely get that one.

1 Like
3

It would be cool if civs that had multiple faith can recruit monks that comes out randomised like villager male and female.

4

I agree that Bulgarians should get the Byzantine monastery, along the Mediterranean architecture (sorry!).
I’m a bit bothered by the Cardinal monk.

1 Like
5

Spanish Inquisition GIFs | Tenor

6

As the above post said, the cardinal model always feels like an extended joke from that Monty Python meme. People already said they were weirded out by it before.

Actually using it means you’ll be fielding the cardinals as rogue conquistadors in America, as random Italian city states, or as Sicilian leaders like Frederick Roger, who weren’t on good terms with Vatican. It’ll be comical, though not too much more ridiculous than any other detail in AoE series.

If the Buddhist civs have to choose one model from the offered selection, the Buddhist monk is definitely the best, even if looking a bit too East Asian.

That’s because some of the universally observed Buddhist monastic rules include shaving and austere dress. The South Asian model is unambiguously an Indian Hindu priest.

This concerns Bengalis & Burmese, who as presented in-game, are fully Buddhist factions, even though there are non-Buddhist leaders in the Bengali list.

Two other civs, Malay & Khmer are only partially Buddhist (the Malay wonder is Buddhist; the Khmer wonder is “localized” Hindu), and should be OK with either, purely from the perspective of religion.

From the perspective of appearance - physical features and dress style, Malay & Khmer Hindu priests probably wouldn’t resemble the model very well.

The next problem is Hindustanis, but that’s whatever.

7

The Eastern European church already looks Orthodox. The Slavs are also obviously not Catholic.

It would make sense to give it to the Goths though.
Generally a split of the Mediterranean architecture would have been nice.

1 Like