Introduction
Tamar has been my favourite leader since her introduction, but I share the commonly held opinion that her abilities aren't quite up to par. Therefore, I've decided to give her some additional abilities, so that she can better live up to her potential.
At present, Georgia is a defensive civ that focuses on Faith. This naturally steers them towards a religious or cultural victory. However, their ability to chain Golden Age Dedications together also lets them pursue domination or science victories. Tamar's leader ability also introduces a focus on city-states, which furthers that flexibility.
In the mod, I've decided to reinforce what already exists. Tamar is encouraged to spread her religion and influence to city-states over full civs, she leans more towards defense than offense, and her victory skew is religious or cultural. That being said, she can get bonuses towards science or domination victories, if she so chooses.
Unchanged
The civ ability, Strength in Unity, does not need changes in my opinion. Although cycling between Heroic Ages and Dark Ages is powerful, having a civ with the tools to be in a permanent Golden Age is interesting and different, and powerful in its own way.
The Khevsur unit, meanwhile, is not that interesting—but then again, it doesn't need to be. Giving Georgia a more powerful unique unit kind of goes against their defensive playstyle, and by leaving it unchanged, I had more power budget to spend elsewhere.
Glory of the World, Kingdom and Faith
This ability, in my opinion, had two issues: Georgia has no bonuses towards founding a religion, and the reward of doubled envoys may not always be worth the cost of spreading your religion to city-states.
That's why, in addition to her existing bonuses, Tamar now earns Great People Points for being suzerain to city-states. Broadly speaking, the type matches the city-state: scientific city-states get you Great Scientists, trade city-states get you Great Merchants, and so forth. For those who are curious, the exact numbers are below the cut.
Any city-state you recruit to your cause in the early game now helps you on your way to a religion, and once you have a religion, you can turn your doubled envoys into a powerful boost to whichever Great People you desire—or you can just go for a religious victory instead.
Tsikhe
Georgia's unique building is the only one in the game with a limited build time: once you research Steel, you can no longer build Renaissance Walls. To compensate for this, it now unlocks at the medieval-era Divine Right civic rather than the renaissance-era Siege Tactics tech. This gives Tamar a larger window in which to build them, and earlier access to the fortification and the +3 Faith bonus. Additionally, to support the cultural/religious playstyle, the Tsikhe now also has a slot for relics or Great Works.
Closing thoughts
As a Tamar enthusiast, I can't wait for Gathering Storm to introduce the diplomatic victory. Until then, though, this mod should help power her up to par. I hope you give this version of Tamar a shot sometime! Please enjoy, and thank you for reading.
Tamar has been my favourite leader since her introduction, but I share the commonly held opinion that her abilities aren't quite up to par. Therefore, I've decided to give her some additional abilities, so that she can better live up to her potential.
At present, Georgia is a defensive civ that focuses on Faith. This naturally steers them towards a religious or cultural victory. However, their ability to chain Golden Age Dedications together also lets them pursue domination or science victories. Tamar's leader ability also introduces a focus on city-states, which furthers that flexibility.
In the mod, I've decided to reinforce what already exists. Tamar is encouraged to spread her religion and influence to city-states over full civs, she leans more towards defense than offense, and her victory skew is religious or cultural. That being said, she can get bonuses towards science or domination victories, if she so chooses.
Unchanged
The civ ability, Strength in Unity, does not need changes in my opinion. Although cycling between Heroic Ages and Dark Ages is powerful, having a civ with the tools to be in a permanent Golden Age is interesting and different, and powerful in its own way.
The Khevsur unit, meanwhile, is not that interesting—but then again, it doesn't need to be. Giving Georgia a more powerful unique unit kind of goes against their defensive playstyle, and by leaving it unchanged, I had more power budget to spend elsewhere.
Glory of the World, Kingdom and Faith
This ability, in my opinion, had two issues: Georgia has no bonuses towards founding a religion, and the reward of doubled envoys may not always be worth the cost of spreading your religion to city-states.
That's why, in addition to her existing bonuses, Tamar now earns Great People Points for being suzerain to city-states. Broadly speaking, the type matches the city-state: scientific city-states get you Great Scientists, trade city-states get you Great Merchants, and so forth. For those who are curious, the exact numbers are below the cut.
Spoiler Great People Points per city-state type :
Any city-state you recruit to your cause in the early game now helps you on your way to a religion, and once you have a religion, you can turn your doubled envoys into a powerful boost to whichever Great People you desire—or you can just go for a religious victory instead.
Tsikhe
Georgia's unique building is the only one in the game with a limited build time: once you research Steel, you can no longer build Renaissance Walls. To compensate for this, it now unlocks at the medieval-era Divine Right civic rather than the renaissance-era Siege Tactics tech. This gives Tamar a larger window in which to build them, and earlier access to the fortification and the +3 Faith bonus. Additionally, to support the cultural/religious playstyle, the Tsikhe now also has a slot for relics or Great Works.
Closing thoughts
As a Tamar enthusiast, I can't wait for Gathering Storm to introduce the diplomatic victory. Until then, though, this mod should help power her up to par. I hope you give this version of Tamar a shot sometime! Please enjoy, and thank you for reading.