TsimTsigal
Warlord
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2023
- Messages
- 162
Probably Celts were discussed a lot before (and certainly included in at least one modmods, as well as going to be included in 1.18, unless i got it wrong), but i feel that their identity is not exactly caught in either variant. Celtic history was one of rise and fall - rising to be the most influential and biggest culture in Europe and falling to relative obscurity.
Yeah, i'm aware that it's not a thread for civ drafts, but tbf posting complete variant with all parts being connected to each other feels more... reasonable than posting separate parts that might look awkward on their own.
UP - Druidism: one free slot for priest in every city (or free priest for cities with forests in city radius, which is honestly not that cool because it means pretty much everywhere in Europe).
Reasoning: Celts lacked Writing and had to rely on priest-scholar caste of Druids to keep their culture and traditions. It also works nice as Insular Monasteries representation (save for the name, of course...)
UUs - Celtic Chariot, Karbantos, could serve as early replacement for Catapults (or Chariots serving same purpose). The idea is that Celts lacked sophisticated siege weapons, but collateral damage chariots can make up for that. The second UU is not that important, probably some variation on Light Swordsman with retreat chance will do fine, to represent less rigid formation and tactics of Celtic infantry (compared to Legionaries/Phalanx).
UB - Dun: Walls with either +1 commerce, or -10% maintance. Makes early expansion less punishing for economy, and defending big early empire easier. With stone and possible free priest it is both cheap and useful, while not exactly powerful.
UHV1 - Menhirs and Mystery: own Stonehenge and build X (~6-10?) Pagan Temples in X BC
Reasoning: Pagan Temples goal is indirectly a stimuli to force player to expand. Celts never had defined borders, but early rapid expansion will probably make them stick to Historical area even when controlled by human.
Actual effect of the Stonehenge should be something like "Priests +1 science", to make Celts focus on Priests more. Should get obsolete relatively early, thematically Writing would be very fitting. Restrictions might be tied to forest and coast tiles to prevent Middle Eastern civs from building it before Celtic spawn (~1000 BC - Iron Age start?)
UHV2 - Vae Victus: Control Core area of any Ancient civilization in X BC (+ maybe research some metal-related tech if it is too easy?)
Reasoning: Celts were agressive people who sacked (but never conquered) city of Rome and majority of Greece. Going full alt-history and conquering Egypt or India should be an option, tho - not that it will make UHV easier, and you probably want to kill Rome anyway.
UHV3 - St. Patrick and Insular Christianity: Have a Cathedral of your state religion in your capital in 1000 AD, as well as 4 Monasteries.
Reasoning: and here we come to the Fall part. From ~500 AD onwards, European civs will start spawning all across the Europe, and if 1.18 gonna be anything like 1.17 in that sense, there won't be much territory there that won't flip - namely, Ireland, and maybe Scotland which should not be core. At this point you will be reduced to rather meh Dublin as sole expansion stability source, and let's be honest - it is not a stellar city. At this point the player should desperately try to get 4 cities staying until 1000 AD, while wasting production in the only safe city on rather worthless and expensive building (there are easier ways to get +2 happiness). Sure, if you kill Rome early, you will have around a millenia of peace, but in the end it won't make much difference. It also makes settling Iceland for sole purpose of building a Monastery here both reasonable and historically accurate choice. The fourth city can be anything, from trying to fit 2 cities in Ireland or Iceland (boo, boring), to settling in Baltics (weird and probably harmful for stability), to trying to retake some of your former lands in hurry. St Patrick reference can come in handy for some Great Prophet goal, but honestly at 1000 AD you will probably have at least 2-3 of them.
I purposefully decided to disconnect Celts from Scotland and Wales in this vision (save for historical areas ofc), because honestly i'm not a fan of idea of something like "don't die completely to English until historical date of...": they are both easy and boring, and anything beyond that would require just too much of alt-history.
Yeah, i'm aware that it's not a thread for civ drafts, but tbf posting complete variant with all parts being connected to each other feels more... reasonable than posting separate parts that might look awkward on their own.
UP - Druidism: one free slot for priest in every city (or free priest for cities with forests in city radius, which is honestly not that cool because it means pretty much everywhere in Europe).
Reasoning: Celts lacked Writing and had to rely on priest-scholar caste of Druids to keep their culture and traditions. It also works nice as Insular Monasteries representation (save for the name, of course...)
UUs - Celtic Chariot, Karbantos, could serve as early replacement for Catapults (or Chariots serving same purpose). The idea is that Celts lacked sophisticated siege weapons, but collateral damage chariots can make up for that. The second UU is not that important, probably some variation on Light Swordsman with retreat chance will do fine, to represent less rigid formation and tactics of Celtic infantry (compared to Legionaries/Phalanx).
UB - Dun: Walls with either +1 commerce, or -10% maintance. Makes early expansion less punishing for economy, and defending big early empire easier. With stone and possible free priest it is both cheap and useful, while not exactly powerful.
UHV1 - Menhirs and Mystery: own Stonehenge and build X (~6-10?) Pagan Temples in X BC
Reasoning: Pagan Temples goal is indirectly a stimuli to force player to expand. Celts never had defined borders, but early rapid expansion will probably make them stick to Historical area even when controlled by human.
Actual effect of the Stonehenge should be something like "Priests +1 science", to make Celts focus on Priests more. Should get obsolete relatively early, thematically Writing would be very fitting. Restrictions might be tied to forest and coast tiles to prevent Middle Eastern civs from building it before Celtic spawn (~1000 BC - Iron Age start?)
UHV2 - Vae Victus: Control Core area of any Ancient civilization in X BC (+ maybe research some metal-related tech if it is too easy?)
Reasoning: Celts were agressive people who sacked (but never conquered) city of Rome and majority of Greece. Going full alt-history and conquering Egypt or India should be an option, tho - not that it will make UHV easier, and you probably want to kill Rome anyway.
UHV3 - St. Patrick and Insular Christianity: Have a Cathedral of your state religion in your capital in 1000 AD, as well as 4 Monasteries.
Reasoning: and here we come to the Fall part. From ~500 AD onwards, European civs will start spawning all across the Europe, and if 1.18 gonna be anything like 1.17 in that sense, there won't be much territory there that won't flip - namely, Ireland, and maybe Scotland which should not be core. At this point you will be reduced to rather meh Dublin as sole expansion stability source, and let's be honest - it is not a stellar city. At this point the player should desperately try to get 4 cities staying until 1000 AD, while wasting production in the only safe city on rather worthless and expensive building (there are easier ways to get +2 happiness). Sure, if you kill Rome early, you will have around a millenia of peace, but in the end it won't make much difference. It also makes settling Iceland for sole purpose of building a Monastery here both reasonable and historically accurate choice. The fourth city can be anything, from trying to fit 2 cities in Ireland or Iceland (boo, boring), to settling in Baltics (weird and probably harmful for stability), to trying to retake some of your former lands in hurry. St Patrick reference can come in handy for some Great Prophet goal, but honestly at 1000 AD you will probably have at least 2-3 of them.
I purposefully decided to disconnect Celts from Scotland and Wales in this vision (save for historical areas ofc), because honestly i'm not a fan of idea of something like "don't die completely to English until historical date of...": they are both easy and boring, and anything beyond that would require just too much of alt-history.
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