Cultures
Four groups, sixteen subcultures.
Pick a group and you pick a way of fighting: a strength, an admitted weakness, one special command, two special units and a Great Work. Pick a subculture within it and you pick the clothes, the heraldry, the voices and the buildings. The rules stay the same.
Town Hall
House
Farm
Tree
Villager
Spearman
Archer
Heavy cavalry
Trebuchet
Group I
Latin Kingdoms
Hold and smash
Fortification, heavy warfare and shock. Slow to move, hard to move off a position.
What it looks like. Timber and earthworks, then Romanesque stone, mature castles and Gothic monuments.
- Special command
- Lance Charge
- Special units
- Knight Retinue and Arbalester
- Great Work
- Grand CathedralMorale recovers much faster within friendly territory; units near their own towns resist losing it.
- Subcultures
- FrankishEnglishImperial GermanNordic
Group II
Eastern Realms
Form and endure
Discipline, combined arms and position. Armies that hold their shape under pressure.
What it looks like. Timber and stone, then brick-and-stone masonry, arches and compact domes, sacred and civic compounds.
- Special command
- Shield Wall
- Special units
- Cataphract and Shield Guard
- Great Work
- Imperial SanctuaryArmies rally and recover faster, resist morale loss and keep their cohesion in defence.
- Subcultures
- ByzantineRus'GeorgianBulgarian
Group III
Sultanate Realms
Trade and maneuver
Trade, maneuver and knowledge. Rich caravans and armies that fight on the move.
What it looks like. Courtyards and markets, then arcades and gateways, caravanserais and monumental complexes.
- Special command
- Harass
- Special units
- Guard Cavalry and Composite Archer
- Great Work
- Grand FoundationTrade is worth more, research is faster and caravans are harder to disrupt.
- Subcultures
- AndalusiMaghrebiLevantine-EgyptianPersianate
Group IV
Steppe Confederacies
Raid and outmaneuver
Mobility, pillage and manipulation. The weakest at static defence and the hardest to pin down.
What it looks like. Camps, tents and corrals, then organized encampments, semi-permanent centres and an imperial court.
- Special command
- Feigned Retreat
- Special units
- Horse Archer and Steppe Lancer
- Great Work
- Great OrduMorale recovers after disengaging, loot is banked at forward camps and reinforcements move faster.
- Subcultures
- MongolCuman-KipchakOghuzKhitan
Shared by all four
The same four ages, the same three choices.
Every group climbs the same ladder and makes one doctrine choice at each age-up. Your rivals only learn what you chose by scouting, or by keeping an Envoy House.
- I
Founding Age c. 700–850
Small settlements, timber, basic infantry, scouts and palisades.
- II
Territorial Age c. 850–1000
Organized domains, mounted warfare, markets and roads, early stone defenses.
- III
Kingdom Age c. 1000–1175
Castles, heavy infantry and cavalry, serious siege, trade networks.
- IV
High Medieval Age c. 1175–1350
Stone cities, sophisticated siege, mature formations and the Great Works.
The native build includes the four groups, subculture selection, special commands, doctrines, Great Works and culture architecture. Final cultural review, culture music and the full set of separate subculture art and voices remain in release preparation. Choosing a culture has the current prices.