Empire of Trebizond

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

These artillery pieces resemble giant crossbows, on a simple wheeled carriage. They can hurl javelins with great accuracy, and the power of these machines means that their bolts can pierce any armour.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

These artillery pieces resemble giant crossbows, on a simple wheeled carriage. They can hurl javelins with great accuracy, and the power of these machines means that their bolts can pierce any armour.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Constructed of wood and capable of flinging stones large enough to crush a man's head, the catapult was a common site on the ancient Roman battlefield. Now in the medieval era, the catapult is being replaced by newer and more powerful weapons.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Constructed of wood and capable of flinging stones large enough to crush a man's head, the catapult was a common site on the ancient Roman battlefield. Now in the medieval era, the catapult is being replaced by newer and more powerful weapons.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

The counter-weight Trebuchet is an evolution of the man-powered mangonel and catapults dating back before the 11th century. It has quickly spread throughout the world as an effective siege engine capable of lobbing large wall- crushing boulders.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

It is slow to reload and lacks the distance of drawn bows but makes up for it in power.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

These knights dominate both society and the battlefield in medieval Europe. Under the feudal system each man owes military service to his lord in return for protection, a grant of land, and the peasants to work it. Trained as warriors from birth, their favourite tactic is the headlong charge. Despite the simple tactics, their strong armour, heavy lances, and martial prowess mean that only the most resolute can resist them

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Knights would often dismount and fight on foot when the situation demanded it. Dismounted they make excellent heavy infantry.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"Squires are used to do what a knight would consider too low, and mounted sergeants are used to do what a squire would consider too low even for him" -- "Since common peasant couldn't afford a horse, but there was still the need for a rapid scout unit (and noble knights considered scouting a dishonourable task), trusted sergeants who showed cunning behaviour were given second-choice horses and used as a light and fast cavalry force, usually sent ahead of the main army to scout the area and harass enemy light troops or carriages. Being fast, they can easily outmanoeuver infantry and heavy cavalry, allowing them to hit fast and hard unprotected targets such as archers or supply convoys, but they should never be used against actual cavalry and trained infantry."

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"To be ranked a servant may seem ridiculous to a noble, but for most, it is the best they can hope to achieve" -- Coming from the Latin term "servientem", meaning "servant", sergeant is a rank used in almost every European army of the time (and still today). While each nation had its own technical meaning for the rank, generally the sergeant was the highest rank a low-born commoner could aspire to, since all higher offices were reserved for the nobles. Being promoted sergeant required that a soldier had survived many battles, and had performed many acts of valour (usually visible from the scars most sergeants sported), and meant better equipment and a higher salary (usually a larger part of the loot), which for most soldiers could mean the difference between returning to their homes as a serf and becoming an actual free land-owner. Usually sergeants oversaw training and equipment of small units, and led them in battle. Sometimes, sergeants were grouped together and used as a powerful fist to break the enemy lines, or to defend a focal point: well armed and experienced, these veterans are not to be underestimated.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

It is slow to reload and lacks the distance of drawn bows but makes up for it in power.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

These knights dominate both society and the battlefield in medieval Europe. Under the feudal system each man owes military service to his lord in return for protection, a grant of land, and the peasants to work it. Trained as warriors from birth, their favourite tactic is the headlong charge. Despite the simple tactics, their strong armour, heavy lances, and martial prowess mean that only the most resolute can resist them

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Knights would often dismount and fight on foot when the situation demanded it. Dismounted they make excellent heavy infantry.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"Squires are used to do what a knight would consider too low, and mounted sergeants are used to do what a squire would consider too low even for him" -- "Since common peasant couldn't afford a horse, but there was still the need for a rapid scout unit (and noble knights considered scouting a dishonourable task), trusted sergeants who showed cunning behaviour were given second-choice horses and used as a light and fast cavalry force, usually sent ahead of the main army to scout the area and harass enemy light troops or carriages. Being fast, they can easily outmanoeuver infantry and heavy cavalry, allowing them to hit fast and hard unprotected targets such as archers or supply convoys, but they should never be used against actual cavalry and trained infantry."

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"To be ranked a servant may seem ridiculous to a noble, but for most, it is the best they can hope to achieve" -- Coming from the Latin term "servientem", meaning "servant", sergeant is a rank used in almost every European army of the time (and still today). While each nation had its own technical meaning for the rank, generally the sergeant was the highest rank a low-born commoner could aspire to, since all higher offices were reserved for the nobles. Being promoted sergeant required that a soldier had survived many battles, and had performed many acts of valour (usually visible from the scars most sergeants sported), and meant better equipment and a higher salary (usually a larger part of the loot), which for most soldiers could mean the difference between returning to their homes as a serf and becoming an actual free land-owner. Usually sergeants oversaw training and equipment of small units, and led them in battle. Sometimes, sergeants were grouped together and used as a powerful fist to break the enemy lines, or to defend a focal point: well armed and experienced, these veterans are not to be underestimated.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"Squires are used to do what a knight would consider too low, and mounted sergeants are used to do what a squire would consider too low even for him" -- "Since common peasant couldn't afford a horse, but there was still the need for a rapid scout unit (and noble knights considered scouting a dishonourable task), trusted sergeants who showed cunning behaviour were given second-choice horses and used as a light and fast cavalry force, usually sent ahead of the main army to scout the area and harass enemy light troops or carriages. Being fast, they can easily outmanoeuver infantry and heavy cavalry, allowing them to hit fast and hard unprotected targets such as archers or supply convoys, but they should never be used against actual cavalry and trained infantry."

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"I... do profess and promise chastity, giving up all property, and obedience to God and the Blessed Virgin Mary and to you...Master of the Teutonic Order, and to your successors, according to the Rules and Regulations of the Order. And I will be obedient to you, and to your successors, even unto death." -- The Ritterbrüder are the highest ranking members of the Teutonic Order, taking an additional vow of chastity: usually members of great German noble houses, these men fear no enemy, both in politics and on the battlefield. Armed and equipped with the finest products of the Empire's most renowned blacksmiths, the Ritterbrüder ride into battle atop powerful steeds, pride and joy of generations of breeding.Their charge can shatter all but the most stubborn pike formations, and usually their enemies don't even try to resist, breaking formation in a desperate attempt to flee their doom, only to be trampled upon by their stallions. The Ritterbrüder however aren't invincible, as all this armour makes their charge quite slow: as such, light skirmishers can safely shower them in arrows and javelins, only to retreat when the Ritterbrüder try to chase them. Thus, they must be supported by light troops, otherwise they might find themselves cornered and taken out one by one by a cunning foe.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"Half-brother, Double the fury" -- The Haldbrüder were full-fledged members of the Order, but ranked lower since they took only half the oath (they didn't take the chastity vow). Still, their zeal, fanatism and martial prowess match their higher ranking brothers. Being usually members of minor noble houses, they can afford horses and finely crafted armours, and as such serve as medium shock cavalry, trampling over lesser enemies while the Ritterbrüder engage the enemy elite troops. Since their armours aren't as heavy as the ones used by the Ritterbrüder, they are better at flanking the enemy and fighting against the fast Lithuanian cavalry.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Strong Tradition
• Easier to recruit due to Tradition

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Rare
• Reduced Men per Unit
• Costly to Field

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Rare
• Reduced Men per Unit
• Costly to Field

Description

It is slow to reload and lacks the distance of drawn bows but makes up for it in power.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Increased Cost

Description

"Sound the charge! We will make the very heavens tremble and shake!" -- The term "Cataphract" comes from the Greek verb "kataphrattein", which means "to cover something in iron", and the word is perfectly fitting for this unit: both horse and rider are completely covered in thick and heavy chainmail and plate armour, hiding from sight everythig but the eyes and the hooves. Arrows bounce harmlessly against such protection, and the combined weight of flesh and iron makes the cataphracts a slow but unstoppable force. The the ground quakes under the sheer weight, and everything in their path is mercilessly trampled under them: not even spearmen can stop such a relentless killing machine. The horses used by cataphracts are strong and priceless purebreeds, hailing from the plains of inner Anatolia: should those plains fall into the hands of the enemy, surely the Byzantine army -and with it the Empire- would suffer a devastating blow

Strengths & weaknesses

• Capable of both Melee and Ranged fighting

Description

"Sound the charge! We will make the very heavens tremble and shake!" -- The term "Cataphract" comes from the Greek verb "kataphrattein", which means "to cover something in iron", and the word is perfectly fitting for this unit: both horse and rider are completely covered in thick and heavy chainmail and plate armour, hiding from sight everythig but the eyes and the hooves. Arrows bounce harmlessly against such protection, and the combined weight of flesh and iron makes the cataphracts a slow but unstoppable force. The the ground quakes under the sheer weight, and everything in their path is mercilessly trampled under them: not even spearmen can stop such a relentless killing machine. The horses used by cataphracts are strong and priceless purebreeds, hailing from the plains of inner Anatolia: should those plains fall into the hands of the enemy, surely the Byzantine army -and with it the Empire- would suffer a devastating blow

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"Both Franks and Turks love horses: let's see how they love their precious horses impaled on my spear!" The kontos is a Greek long spear developed from the Eastern cavalry: with a length of 4 meters, it is a multi-purpose weapon, longer than a spear but shorter -and lighter- than a pike, allowing it to be held in conjuntcion with a shield, an impossible feat for a pike. The Byzantine cavalry used a thicker kontos -the kontarion- during charges, holding it with both hands. The kontaratoi are a versatile unit, useful against both cavalry and infantry, and with their armour and training they can resist a prolonged assault with ease

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Strong Tradition
• Easier to recruit due to Tradition

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Increased Cost

Description

Grip firmly and brace. The sharp bit does the rest.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Low-quality Missile Troops

Description

"A javelin is a metaphor for life: it goes up fast, it goes down even faster, then it hits you in the face, and then you die." -- In times of war, every able bodied is expected to fight for his lord, be it rich or poor. Those too poor to afford even the cheapest form of armour and weaponry are listed in the skirmishers: without armour, save for a helmet and a small shield made of scrap material, and too unskilled to use bows, these men use javelines to hit the enemy from the distance. Even in their hands, javelines are still deadly weapons, capable of killing even an armoured swordsman, and their light equipment (further enhanced by their cowardice) means they can easily retreat from any pursuing infantry, harassing them in the process. However, should they be forced to fight, or hunted down by cavalry, the best a commander can do is pray for their souls

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Increased Cost

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Increased Cost

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Low-quality Missile Troops

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Town Militia are commoners and peasants levied into local militias to defend settlements and bolster armies These units are useful in homeland defence, but cannot be expected to endure for long campaigns.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

The first primitive gunpowder siege artillery, bombards were created in China and Western Europe in the early 14th century and spread to the rest of the world by the late 14th century. They are forged from bronze or iron, and designed to fire stone balls that crumble enemy defences.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

These knights dominate both society and the battlefield in medieval Europe. Under the feudal system each man owes military service to his lord in return for protection, a grant of land, and the peasants to work it. Trained as warriors from birth, their favourite tactic is the headlong charge. Despite the simple tactics, their strong armour, heavy lances, and martial prowess mean that only the most resolute can resist them

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Knights would often dismount and fight on foot when the situation demanded it. Dismounted they make excellent heavy infantry.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

These knights dominate both society and the battlefield in medieval Europe. Under the feudal system each man owes military service to his lord in return for protection, a grant of land, and the peasants to work it. Trained as warriors from birth, their favourite tactic is the headlong charge. Despite the simple tactics, their strong armour, heavy lances, and martial prowess mean that only the most resolute can resist them

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Knights would often dismount and fight on foot when the situation demanded it. Dismounted they make excellent heavy infantry.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"Half-brother, Double the fury" -- The Haldbrüder were full-fledged members of the Order, but ranked lower since they took only half the oath (they didn't take the chastity vow). Still, their zeal, fanatism and martial prowess match their higher ranking brothers. Being usually members of minor noble houses, they can afford horses and finely crafted armours, and as such serve as medium shock cavalry, trampling over lesser enemies while the Ritterbrüder engage the enemy elite troops. Since their armours aren't as heavy as the ones used by the Ritterbrüder, they are better at flanking the enemy and fighting against the fast Lithuanian cavalry.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"I... do profess and promise chastity, giving up all property, and obedience to God and the Blessed Virgin Mary and to you...Master of the Teutonic Order, and to your successors, according to the Rules and Regulations of the Order. And I will be obedient to you, and to your successors, even unto death." -- The Ritterbrüder are the highest ranking members of the Teutonic Order, taking an additional vow of chastity: usually members of great German noble houses, these men fear no enemy, both in politics and on the battlefield. Armed and equipped with the finest products of the Empire's most renowned blacksmiths, the Ritterbrüder ride into battle atop powerful steeds, pride and joy of generations of breeding.Their charge can shatter all but the most stubborn pike formations, and usually their enemies don't even try to resist, breaking formation in a desperate attempt to flee their doom, only to be trampled upon by their stallions. The Ritterbrüder however aren't invincible, as all this armour makes their charge quite slow: as such, light skirmishers can safely shower them in arrows and javelins, only to retreat when the Ritterbrüder try to chase them. Thus, they must be supported by light troops, otherwise they might find themselves cornered and taken out one by one by a cunning foe.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Strong Tradition
• Easier to recruit due to Tradition

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Rare
• Reduced Men per Unit
• Costly to Field

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Rare
• Reduced Men per Unit
• Costly to Field

Description

While the crossbow is relatively easy to use and powerful, it leaves the user quite vulnerable during the slow reload process. These men brought large pavise shields, which they use to take cover while they reload.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Increased Cost

Description

"Sound the charge! We will make the very heavens tremble and shake!" -- The term "Cataphract" comes from the Greek verb "kataphrattein", which means "to cover something in iron", and the word is perfectly fitting for this unit: both horse and rider are completely covered in thick and heavy chainmail and plate armour, hiding from sight everythig but the eyes and the hooves. Arrows bounce harmlessly against such protection, and the combined weight of flesh and iron makes the cataphracts a slow but unstoppable force. The the ground quakes under the sheer weight, and everything in their path is mercilessly trampled under them: not even spearmen can stop such a relentless killing machine. The horses used by cataphracts are strong and priceless purebreeds, hailing from the plains of inner Anatolia: should those plains fall into the hands of the enemy, surely the Byzantine army -and with it the Empire- would suffer a devastating blow

Strengths & weaknesses

• Capable of both Melee and Ranged fighting

Description

"Sound the charge! We will make the very heavens tremble and shake!" -- The term "Cataphract" comes from the Greek verb "kataphrattein", which means "to cover something in iron", and the word is perfectly fitting for this unit: both horse and rider are completely covered in thick and heavy chainmail and plate armour, hiding from sight everythig but the eyes and the hooves. Arrows bounce harmlessly against such protection, and the combined weight of flesh and iron makes the cataphracts a slow but unstoppable force. The the ground quakes under the sheer weight, and everything in their path is mercilessly trampled under them: not even spearmen can stop such a relentless killing machine. The horses used by cataphracts are strong and priceless purebreeds, hailing from the plains of inner Anatolia: should those plains fall into the hands of the enemy, surely the Byzantine army -and with it the Empire- would suffer a devastating blow

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"Both Franks and Turks love horses: let's see how they love their precious horses impaled on my spear!" The kontos is a Greek long spear developed from the Eastern cavalry: with a length of 4 meters, it is a multi-purpose weapon, longer than a spear but shorter -and lighter- than a pike, allowing it to be held in conjuntcion with a shield, an impossible feat for a pike. The Byzantine cavalry used a thicker kontos -the kontarion- during charges, holding it with both hands. The kontaratoi are a versatile unit, useful against both cavalry and infantry, and with their armour and training they can resist a prolonged assault with ease

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Strong Tradition
• Easier to recruit due to Tradition

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Increased Cost

Description

Grip firmly and brace. The sharp bit does the rest.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Low-quality Missile Troops

Description

"A javelin is a metaphor for life: it goes up fast, it goes down even faster, then it hits you in the face, and then you die." -- In times of war, every able bodied is expected to fight for his lord, be it rich or poor. Those too poor to afford even the cheapest form of armour and weaponry are listed in the skirmishers: without armour, save for a helmet and a small shield made of scrap material, and too unskilled to use bows, these men use javelines to hit the enemy from the distance. Even in their hands, javelines are still deadly weapons, capable of killing even an armoured swordsman, and their light equipment (further enhanced by their cowardice) means they can easily retreat from any pursuing infantry, harassing them in the process. However, should they be forced to fight, or hunted down by cavalry, the best a commander can do is pray for their souls

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Increased Cost

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Not the Tradition of the Faction
• Increased Cost

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Low-quality Missile Troops

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Town Militia are commoners and peasants levied into local militias to defend settlements and bolster armies These units are useful in homeland defence, but cannot be expected to endure for long campaigns.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

This fearsome artillery piece is the pinnacle of late Medieval gun engineering. With greater range, damage and accuracy than all the guns that come before it, no enemy emplacements nor troops can stand up to its fearsome bombardment

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

The Gun to end all Guns. The Great Bombard is made for one purpose only, the utter destruction of enemy defences. This massive Bombard fires a stone ball weighing well over half a ton, obliterating any but the most massive walls in one shot. Unfortunately the down side of all this firepower is that it takes an eternity to reload.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Resembling the iron bowl from which it gains its name, the Mortar was created to lob shots over intervening walls. Useful in dealing with units skulking behind walls for protection, or to whittle away besieging troops outside your own walls. The mortar's capabilities makes it an excellent siege weapon for both attacker and defender.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

These knights dominate both society and the battlefield in medieval Europe. Under the feudal system each man owes military service to his lord in return for protection, a grant of land, and the peasants to work it. Trained as warriors from birth, their favourite tactic is the headlong charge. Despite the simple tactics, their strong armour, heavy lances, and martial prowess mean that only the most resolute can resist them

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

Knights would often dismount and fight on foot when the situation demanded it. Dismounted they make excellent heavy infantry.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"Half-brother, Double the fury" -- The Haldbrüder were full-fledged members of the Order, but ranked lower since they took only half the oath (they didn't take the chastity vow). Still, their zeal, fanatism and martial prowess match their higher ranking brothers. Being usually members of minor noble houses, they can afford horses and finely crafted armours, and as such serve as medium shock cavalry, trampling over lesser enemies while the Ritterbrüder engage the enemy elite troops. Since their armours aren't as heavy as the ones used by the Ritterbrüder, they are better at flanking the enemy and fighting against the fast Lithuanian cavalry.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

"I... do profess and promise chastity, giving up all property, and obedience to God and the Blessed Virgin Mary and to you...Master of the Teutonic Order, and to your successors, according to the Rules and Regulations of the Order. And I will be obedient to you, and to your successors, even unto death." -- The Ritterbrüder are the highest ranking members of the Teutonic Order, taking an additional vow of chastity: usually members of great German noble houses, these men fear no enemy, both in politics and on the battlefield. Armed and equipped with the finest products of the Empire's most renowned blacksmiths, the Ritterbrüder ride into battle atop powerful steeds, pride and joy of generations of breeding.Their charge can shatter all but the most stubborn pike formations, and usually their enemies don't even try to resist, breaking formation in a desperate attempt to flee their doom, only to be trampled upon by their stallions. The Ritterbrüder however aren't invincible, as all this armour makes their charge quite slow: as such, light skirmishers can safely shower them in arrows and javelins, only to retreat when the Ritterbrüder try to chase them. Thus, they must be supported by light troops, otherwise they might find themselves cornered and taken out one by one by a cunning foe.

Strengths & weaknesses

• Strong Tradition
• Easier to recruit due to Tradition

Description

PLACEHOLDER

Strengths & weaknesses

• Ordinary Unit

Description

PLACEHOLDER