| Faction Description |
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 The Irish, A.D. 1180 Summer
To the Irish, Ireland is the promised land, an island prosperous enough to ensure the lowest rung of society have a decent standard of living. Events outside the island hold little significance to the common man predominantly due to its isolated geographical position, but nevertheless the Irish, who are accomplished sailors, trade as far away as Persia but most notably with Byzantium. They trade a valuable resource, the knowledge of the Greeks preserved in the books of the Irish monasteries that were lost in Europe during the dark ages, and use it to trade for materials and weapons the islands resources cannot give them. The island itself is sub divided into five provinces, Munster, Leinster, Connaught, Ulster and the seat of the High King in Meath, with all these provinces sub divided into small "kingdoms" or tuadhs with an elected leader. Warfare between the provinces is common, and as a result the Irish are more than capable warriors with all men required by brehon law to be equipped and trained to fight, with many doing so abroad for profit as mercenaries. The tuadhs and provinces resist any overtures from natives or foreigners on their territory fiercely, but much of the infrastructure of the island, such as the timber highways that cross it, have suffered as a result. There is, however, a continuing trend toward true unity of the islands provinces under the High King. The Irish are nominally united under this High King, a position which entitles its bearer to authority over all when it comes to military matters. However this is rarely the case, with the provincial kings and regional chieftains seeking to expand their power and influence with no effective opposition from the king. The current High King is Turlough O'Brien, grandson of the great Brian Boru, but his position is weak and his rule is contested. He does, however, have undisputed control of the Kingdom of Thomond and with it power in the greater province of Munster, which was more than enough of a starting point for his grandfather on his way to uniting the provinces of Ireland. The battle of Clontarf on Good Friday, 1014, saw the death of Boru and his closest family members repelling a Viking invasion force, and with no clear successor surviving the battle the regional chiefs again found an opportunity to try and gain power for themselves. Now, some 70 years after Boru's death, can a strong ruler of his line once again unite the Irish under one banner, or go even further and emulate the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages by not only ruling Ireland but gain lands in Britain and the continent?
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| Units List |
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50
Carrack
light ship
A large capital ship armed with broadside firing cannons. Capable of travelling across the ocean.
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30
Dragon Boat
light ship
A larger version of the longship, able to carry more men as well as grappling hooks for boarding actions.
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30
Gun Holk
light ship
An upgraded Holk, armed with cannons in the fore castle and extra marines armed with gunpowder weapons.
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20
Longboat
light ship
Usually used as a Viking troop carrier. These ships carry Scandinavian raiding parties across Europe.
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16
General's Bodyguard
heavy cavalry
Well armed and equipped these elite troops have the task of guarding and fighting alongside the army's general.
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32
Knights Templar
heavy cavalry
Elite and some say reckless knights formed to protect Christian pilgrims in the Holy Lands.
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32
Knights Hospitaller
heavy cavalry
Well trained and disciplined these knights are amongst the deadliest heavy cavalry in all Christendom.
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32
Mercenary German Knights
heavy cavalry
Protected by plate armour and equipped with maces, these knights for hire excel at taking on heavily armoured units.
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32
Mercenary Knights
heavy cavalry
Capable of deadly charges and impressive melee combat, these mercenary knights are well worth the money.
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32
Condottieri
heavy cavalry
Armed with a lance and plate armour these trained and experienced mercenaries are well known for their capricious ways.
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32
Alan Light Cavalry
light cavalry
Hardy horsemen accustomed to the plains and steppes of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. Excellent light cavalry.
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32
Cuman Horse Archers
missile cavalry
Asiatic Nomads, who fight as mercenary horse archers, wearing little armour and armed with a composite bow.
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56
Peasant Crossbowmen
missile infantry
Peasant crossbowmen are armed with a crossbow, knife and if lucky enough, some armour.
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56
Javelinmen
missile infantry
These troops are drawn from the Spanish peasantry, protected by light armour and fighting with the javelin, in Iberian fashion.
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60
Raiders
light infantry
Wild and hardy warriors from the cold north armed with axes and light armour.
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56
Irish Kerns
missile infantry
Skirmishing unarmoured Irish warriors armed with javelins and handweapon.
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60
Slav Mercenaries
light infantry
Poorly trained and equipped mercenaries from Eastern Europe, armed with spears.
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72
Landsknecht Pikemen
spearmen infantry
Originally from the Holy Roman Empire, these elite mercenaries are armed with pikes and their distinctive slash and puffy clothing
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60
2H Swords Nobles
heavy infantry
Scottish shock troops wielding a large two-handed sword and armoured in chain.
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60
Galloglaich
heavy infantry
Fierce Scottish warriors who have settled in Ireland. Formidable troops armed with large two-handed axes and wearing light armour.
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60
Frankish Foot Knights
spearmen infantry
These Feudal mercenary knights are powerful troops and invaluable for whomever can afford them.
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32
Armenian Cavalry
heavy cavalry
Armenian mercenaries equipped in a western style, armed with lances and protected by mail.
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56
Armenian Archers
missile infantry
Armenian mercenaries from the mountains. Lightly armed, but still effective.
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60
Ghazis
light infantry
Reckless and fanatical religious warriors armed with an axe, capable of devastating attacks.
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16
Ballista
missile siege
Resembling a giant crossbow, this powerful weapon can fling a javelin to a great range, skewering men with ease.
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16
Catapult
missile siege
Older style rock-flinging wooden artillery piece. Can throw flaming and normal shots.
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16
Trebuchet
missile siege
Giant rock flinging artillery piece. Capable of flaming and normal shot. Also able to fling diseased cows!
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16
Bombard
missile siege
Primitive siege-gun forged of bronze or iron, can shoot solid stone or flaming shot. Inaccurate versus units.
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16
Mortar
missile siege
A siege weapon capable of firing over walls and plunging shots down on enemies hiding behind said walls.
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16
Culverin
missile siege
Able to fire solid or exploding shots, the culverin is devastating against enemy walls and lethal against enemy troops!
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56
Welsh Longbowmen
missile infantry
The first wielders of the longbow. Totally unarmoured means they need to stay out of melee. Can lay stakes.
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56
Bulgarian Brigands
missile infantry
Brigands armed with a composite bow, sword, padded armour and shield.
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72
Swiss Pikemen
spearmen infantry
The most renowned mercenaries of their age. Lightly equipped, but exceptionally brave and fierce.
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60
Galloglaich
heavy infantry
Fierce Scottish warriors who have settled in Ireland. Formidable troops armed with large two-handed axes and wearing light armour.
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32
Turkomans
missile cavalry
Tribal Turkish nomads, accustomed to life in the saddle. These hardy bowmen have a fierce and unruly reputation.
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60
Foot Knights Templar
heavy infantry
Elite and some say reckless knights formed to protect Christian pilgrims in the Holy Lands.
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60
Foot Knights Hospitaller
heavy infantry
Well trained and disciplined these dismounted knights are amongst the deadliest heavy infantry in all Christendom.
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36
Ridire
missile cavalry
Ridire are the elite of Irish society and their bodyguards, the bravest and most ferocious fighting men from their regions.
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56
Sersernn
missile infantry
Bog standard Irish archers, armed with a short bow and a scian.
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56
Saigdeoir
missile infantry
The best Irish archers available, armed with a bow, mail and hand axe, these archers are good in a fight.
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56
Calivermen
missile infantry
These soldiers are lightly armoured and carry the caliver firearm, a lighter variant of the arquebus.
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60
Cliarthairi
missile infantry
Irish regulars, these spearmen are also equipped with javelins and shields that fought in tight formations akin to a shield wall to hold lines.
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72
Geadusernn
spearmen infantry
Well trained, but sometimes reckless men armed with pikes, able to form a wall of pikes against cavalry.
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60
Fianadi
missile infantry
Fianadi are professionally trained Irish infantry armed with javelins, a short sword and a shield.
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56
Cruitearan Gorm
missile infantry
Cruitearan Gorm are mercenary Irish warbands, infantry armed with throwing spears, swords and shields
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60
Rastriagha
heavy infantry
The Rastriaga are generally religious fanatics and usually very well trained and very intelligent, armed with high morale and a hammer to smash their foes.
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32
Gasóg
missile cavalry
Gasógs are scouts who scirmish with a bow, but cannot not be relied on in hand to hand fighting.
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32
Saighamilidha
missile cavalry
Saighamilidha means 'Bow Champions', they are ridire or nobles who prefer to use a bow, but are adequately equipped for hand to hand fighting if needed.
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32
Marcach
missile cavalry
Marcach are soldiers mounted on ponies who are used by the Gaels to skirmish and run down routers while also enjoying a powerful enough charge to break a weakened enemy position.
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32
Ostmen
missile cavalry
Ostmen were Vikings who settled the coastal towns of Ireland who wore mail with a helmet and armed themselves with axes and throwing javelins who fought from horseback.
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32
Mounted Calivermen
missile cavalry
These horsemen wield the lightweight caliver and are equipped with brigandine armour and a sword for close quarters encounters.
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60
Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre
heavy infantry
Well trained and disciplined these dismounted knights are amongst the deadliest heavy infantry in all Christendom.
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60
Templar Sergeants
spearmen infantry
Templar Sergeants are professional soldiers unable to join the ranks of the Templar Knights. Armed with a spear and light armour, very effective against cavalry.
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16
Mangonel
missile siege
Great siege engine capable of throwing exploding barrels of oil
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| Cannot recruit units |
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25
Criosacinna
heavy infantry
Criosacinna, nobles fighting in excellent equipment paid for by the church.
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| Faction strength |
Fast, manoeverable units that make good use of javelins. Excellent ambushers. |
| Faction weakness |
Lack heavily armoured units. |
| Special unit |
Ridire |
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| City Buildings List |
Wooden Palisade (Upgrade)
A Wooden Palisade gives a sense of security but is unlikely to delay determined attackers for very long.
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Ballista Towers
Ballista Towers provide the defenders with enough firepower to keep attackers at bay.
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Town Watch
The Town Watch have the minimum equipment and resources needed to train infantry.
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Ballista Maker
A Ballista Maker allows the construction of ballista siege weaponry.
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Gunsmith
A Gunsmith allows the construction of a bombard cannon.
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Leather Tanner
A Leather Tanner offers the most basic armour improvements to new and retrained units.
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Port
A Port allows a settlement to trade with the far-distant corners of the world.
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Merchant's Wharf
A Merchant's Wharf allows an extra trade fleet, and increases trade to the settlement.
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Grain Exchange
A Grain Exchange is absolutely essential if townsfolk are to be fed and good profits made.
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Dirt Roads
Dirt Roads increase the movement speed of units that travel along them, as well as improve trade.
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Land Clearance
Land Clearance allows a region to begin producing enough food to encourage growth.
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Mines
Mines increase the trade income generated by metal deposits in the region.
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Amber Route
An Amber Route improves taxable trade income and increases the people's happiness
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Well
Wells are a healthy water source for the people.
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Alchemist's Lab
An Alchemist's Lab allows gunpowder infantry to upgrade their weapons, as well as improve the education of characters created here.
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Small Church
A Small Church converts a very small percentage of the region to Catholicism, and improves happiness.
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Brothel
A Brothel increases happiness in the settlement slightly, and allows the recruitment of a spy.
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Town Hall
A Town Hall helps maintain law and order, as well as reduce squalor.
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Assassins' Guild
An Assassins' Guild house improves law and order in the region, and the quality of locally trained assassins.
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Masons' Guild
A Masons' Guild house reduces the cost of stone buildings, and improves happiness.
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Theologians' Guild
A Theologians' Guild house improves the quality of priests created in the region.
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Merchants' Guild
A Merchants' Guild house improves both the trade income, and the quality of merchants created in the region.
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Alchemists' Guild
An Alchemists' Guild house improves the experience level of gunpowder units trained in the same settlement.
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Thieves' Guild
A Thieves' Guild house improves the quality of spies hired in the same settlement.
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Explorers' Guild
An Explorers' Guild house slightly increases the movement speed of those trained in the same settlement.
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Swordsmiths' Guild
A Swordsmiths' Guild house allows trained melee units to upgrade their weaponry by retraining in the same settlement.
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Templars' Minor Chapter House
A Templars' Minor Chapter House allows the recruitment of Templar knights.
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Horse Breeders' Guild
A Horse Breeders' Guild improves the quality of cavalry units recruited in the region.
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Slave Market
Slave Market considerably improves the trade but also affects the happiness of the common folk decreasing it noteably. It requires slave resource in province to work.
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Forging Shop
Forging Shop provides the basic melee weapon upgrade and slightly increases the profit from the trade. Local resource of iron or tin provides the material to work.
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Mint Coin
Mint Coin requires gold or silver to function and brings a moderate bonus to the trade in all cities of your empire but also deacreases the law abidience due the corruption.
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Jeweller's Shop
Jeweller's Shop uses local resource of gold, silver, ivory, or amber to provide an extreme boost to the trade as some people not only travel hundreds of miles to bring jewellery from far away land, but also are obsessed by it.
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Joiner's Shop
Working with the local resource of timber Joiner's Shop reduces the costs of the wooden buildings and ships. Also it slightly improves the trade but only during the winter, the peak logging season.
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Vineyard
Vineyard gives a slight boost to the trade in region. Its value is greater in summer, the peak grape-harvesting season. If you have an inn in the town common folk also will be glad to take a cup of good wine, sometimes even loosing the measure and health.
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Textile Mill
Textile Mill provides above average impact into the trade of the region, which is even greater if there is local resource of dyes to complete the process of cloth fabrication. Of course the trade is much higher in summer during the linnen harvesting season.
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Cotton Mill
Cotton Mill provides above average impact into the trade of the region, which is even greater if there is local resource of dyes to complete the process of cloth fabrication. Of course the trade is much higher in summer during the cotton harvesting season.
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Silk Mill
Silk Mill provides high impact into the trade of the region, which is even greater if there is local resource of dyes to complete the process of cloth fabrication. Of course the trade is much higher in summer when the silkworms are in active state.
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Fishers Quarter
Fishers Quarter gives a slight bonus to the trade in region as well as improves the health in the province. Due to the storms and bad weather in the winter season its trade bonus is somewhat decreased.
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Windmill
Windmill provides a slight bonus to the trade of the region which is greater during the good harvest summer seasons. It also improves the health in province. A 1/10th share of the flour was paid to the miller in return for his service.
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Sugar Refinery
Sugar Refinery gives the moderate bonus to the trade, which is greater in the warmer summer season, but also are not very low in winter since the sugar plantation are mostly in the warm middle eastern regions. It also gives a slight health bonus to the province.
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Marble Workshop
Marble Workshop gives high bonus to the trade in region and also increase the happiness due the masterpieces made of it.
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Wool Farm
Wool Farm provides the basic cycle of cloth manufacturing without dyeing or finishing of the woven product. Its trade impact is beyound average but somewhat increases in the winter time, when the mass sheep shearing occurs.
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Trappers Hut
Trappers Hut provides the high bonus to the trade as well as a happiness increase if there are furs resources in region. The bonus is much higher in the winter fur hunting season.
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Glass Blower
Glass Blower adds big bonus to the trade of the region and also encorages the peolple happiness with a state of art masterpieces.
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Saltern
The saltern gives the city high trade bonus based on the level of market city has.
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Bakery
Bakery provides the settlement with a fresh bread slightly increasing the population growth, happiness and trade of the region.
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Brewery
Brewery provides the settlement with fresh beer slightly increasing the happiness and trade of the region.
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Small Jewish Synagogue
Small Jewish Synagogue
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Dominican Hermitage
A Dominican Hermitage converts a moderate percentage of the region to Catholicism and improves happiness.
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Franciscan Hermitage
A Franciscan Hermitage converts a moderate percentage of the region to Catholicism and improves happiness but decreases law.
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Dungeon
Dungeon improves law but decreases happiness.
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Scholarium
A scholarium is necessary for the civilian education and offers a happiness bonus.
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Tower of London
A Tower of London increases happiness and loyality.
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Dome of the Rock
A Dome of the Rock increases happiness and loyality.
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Hagia Sophia
A Hagia Sophia increases happiness and loyality.
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Bayt al Hikma
A Bayt al Hikma increases happiness and loyality.
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Palazzo Ducale di Venezia
A Palazzo Ducale di Venezia increases happiness and loyality.
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Notre Dame de Paris
A Notre Dame de Paris increases happiness and loyality.
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Roemer
A Roemer increases happiness and loyality.
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| Castle Buildings List |
Motte and Bailey (Upgrade)
A Motte and Bailey is a simple, defensible outpost, little more than a watchtower and protective fence.
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Ballista Towers
Ballista Towers provide the defenders with enough firepower to keep attackers at bay.
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Stables
A Stable allows for the recruitment of basic cavalry units.
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Mustering Hall
Men must be gathered, selected and trained if military strength is to be maintained.
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Bowyer
A Bowyer allows for the recruitment of basic missile units.
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Ballista Maker
A Ballista Maker allows the construction of ballista siege weaponry.
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Gunsmith
A Gunsmith allows the construction of a bombard cannon.
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Leather Tanner
A Leather Tanner offers the most basic armour improvements to new and retrained units.
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War Harbour
A War Harbor can build the warships needed for a strong fleet.
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Dirt Roads
Dirt Roads increase the movement speed of units that travel along them, as well as improve trade.
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Land Clearance
Land Clearance allows a region to begin producing enough food to encourage growth.
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Mines
Mines increase the trade income generated by metal deposits in the region.
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Amber Route
An Amber Route improves taxable trade income and increases the people's happiness
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Small Chapel
A Small Chapel converts a very small percentage of the region to Catholicism, and improves happiness.
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Swordsmiths' Guild
A Swordsmiths' Guild house allows trained melee units to upgrade their weaponry by retraining in the same settlement.
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Templars' Minor Chapter House
A Templars' Minor Chapter House allows the recruitment of Templar knights.
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Horse Breeders' Guild
A Horse Breeders' Guild improves the quality of cavalry units recruited in the region.
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Forging Shop
Forging Shop provides the basic melee weapon upgrade. Local resource of iron or tin provides the material to work.
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Joiner's Shop
Working with the local resource of timber Joiner's Shop reduces the costs of the wooden buildings and ships. Also it provides better material for the bows and crossbows.
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Mercenary Camp
A Mercenary Camp decreases happiness and loyality. But if new mercenaries arrive from time to time in the camp, a trader will propose them to you.
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