African Civilizations and City-States

Xandinho

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So, like the thread about Civilizations of Latin America, I decided to create another one to post some of my designs, this time African Civilizations. I will be posting some designs when I have some free time. Feel free to contribute.

Civilizations

Amazigh
[in development]

Ashanti
Leader: Yaa Asantewaa
Start bias: close to a coast and adjacent to a river

UA: Gyaasehene - Commercial Hub grants +2 housing and +1 gold to its adjacency bonus for each adjacent mine, in addiction to +1 food for each adjacent farm or plantation. International trade routes receive +1 production for every resource in the home city and that the destination civilization doesn't have within its empire. Also, receive +5% gold for each city-state you are suzerain.

Leader ability: The Great Queen Mother - Your cities receive +20% production for land military units during Dark Ages. Gets another +20% production for land military if you are the target of a declaration of war.
It also grants a unique unit: Abrade - replaces Line Infantry. Available in Military Science. It's weaker than the Line Infantry (60 Combat Strength, instead of 65), but gets +10 combat strength extra against wounded units. This unit exercises zone of control.

Unique building: Abosomfie
Replaces Shrine
Available in Astrology
+3 faith
+2 culture
+4 loyalty
+1 citizen slot
+1 Great Prophet point per turn.
Allows the purchasing of Missionaries with faith.

Unique unit: Akwansrafo - replaces the Skirmisher. Can move after attacking if he still has moves left and his ranged combat strength is 35, instead of 30. Gains +3 extra combat strength if attacking from a jungle.

The Ashanti empire was a rich mercantile state that benefited from the trade of its vast natural resources, developing a populous kingdom with a sophisticated military organization. Yaa Asantewaa was the leader of the Ashanti rebellion against the British and today is a very important figure in Ghanaian history for her inspiring heroism.

Benin
[in development]

Dahomey
[in development]

Egypt
Leader 01: Ramesses II
Leader 02: Hatshepsut
Leader 03: Akhenaten (suggested by Alexander's Hetaroi)
Start bias: beside a river

UA: Nile Builders: Can spend builder charges to complete 20% of the production cost for ancient and classical wonders. Gets +25% production towards districts built next to a river. Floodplains tiles get +1 food.

Ramesses II' ability: King of Kings - During Golden or Heroic ages, you receive +30% production for buildings in all cities. Your cavalry units gain +1 movement when outside of Egyptian territory.

Hatshepsut' ability: Foremost of Noble Ladies - Egyptian cities receive +4 food for each foreign delegation sent to Egypt in the next 10 turns. Your international trade routes to a friend, ally or city-states that your're suzerain receive + 2 food and +4 gold and trade routes from a friend or ally that are sent to you receive +2 gold. +1 trade route capacity after Foreign Trade.

Akhenaten' ability: House of the Aten - Builders may be purchased with faith. Unlocks Great Temple of Aten, a unique worship building which provides +25% production to districts or wonders surrounding it. (suggested by Alexander's Hetaroi)

Unique district: Necropolis
Replaces Holy Site district.
Available in Astrology
+1 culture
+3 faith
+4 loyalty
+1 Great Prophet point per turn
+2 extra cultura for each adjacent world wonder.
+1 extra culture for each new era since constructed.
+1 extra faith for each Great General activated by your empire.
All culture generation is converted into tourism after Flight.
However, this district doesn't receive adjacency bonus from mountains, woods and natural wonders.
This district has a unique visual design.

Unique unit: Maryannu Chariot Archer - replaces Heavy Chariot. This unit is weaker than Heavy Chariot in melee combat (25 combat strength instead of 28), but they have range attack with 30 combat strenght. When on a flat land, this unit gets +5 melee combat strenght and +1 extra movement. They are more expensive to produce or buy than Heavy Chariot.

My design for Egypt is similar to the Civ6's one. Here egyptians are builders that grow alongside rivers, pretty much the same as Civ6, but here we have Necropolis instead of Sphinxes. Ramesses is a builder leader that will construct many monuments in his golden ages. On the other hand, Hatshepsut will prosper her empire through a great trade network.
 
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Ethiopia
[in development]

Kongo
[in development]

Madagascar
Leader: Andriamasinavalona
Start bias: close to hills and lakes

UA: Land of the Merina People - Your cities build on hills receive +10% faith and production towards districts and buildings. Specialized districts build on hills get +1 yield of their type to the adjacency bonus. If you have at least one source of rice worked in your empire, you can use builders to immediately turn swamps and floodplains adjacent to a dam into rice farms.

Leader ability: The Talented and Just Leader - Sending an envoy to a city-state that you were never suzerain before and is less than 10 tiles away from a city of yours counts as two. When you become suzerain of a certain city-state for the first time, you get a free governor title. All city centers within six tiles of a city with an established governor receive +1 gold, +1 production and +1 culture.

Unique improvement: Rova
Available in Divine Right
Limit of one per city
Can only be built on a hill that is not desert or snow.
+0.5 housing
+2 culture
+2 production
+2 loyalty
+1 food for each adjacent cattle pasture and rice farm.
If there's a Governor in the city, all these yelds are doubled.
All culture generated is converted into tourism after Flight.

Unique unit: Voromahery - replaces Pikeman. Has the same strength as Pikeman, but with an extra +4 combat strenght when defending next to a city center or a Rova. This extra combat strenght is doubled if defending in the capital.

The Kingdom of Madagascar (or Kingdom of Imerina) occupied the central highlands of the island of Madagascar, while enjoying an irrigation system of rice paddies on plains through dikes. Rovas were royal complexes that were built on hills to represent the power of the nobles. The Voromahery was a special army in the nation whose main use was the protection of the king, capital and villages. The reign of Andriamasinavalona is recognized in Madagascar as a golden age. He extended the kingdom's influence by uniting principalities to his empire, as well as carrying out sociopolitical, administrative and military reforms.

Mali
[in development]

Nigeria
Leader: Obafemi Awolowo
Start bias: next to a coast and adjacent to rivers

UA: Riches of Niger Delta - All your strategic resource sources accumulate +1 resource per turn and they grant +2 production and +2 gold if adjacent to rivers. Cities receive +5% growth for each improved strategic resource.

Leader ability: Path to Nigerian Freedom - Cities with governors receive +1 amenity and +1 housing for each base policy adopted in your government. Receives an extra base policy slot when all governors are recruited.

Unique building: Oil Company
Doesn't replace any building, but it's an alternative to the Stock Exchange.
Needs at least one improved oil source in the city.
Available in Refining
+5 gold
+2 gold extra per Specialist in this district.
All oil sources in this city generate +4 gold and +2 production.
Each oil source in this city accumulates +1 resource per turn.
Gains +7 extra gold when powered (base load: 3 power).
However, this building doesn't receive any extra bonuses from city-states and policy cards.
There is a city project in which you can replace a Stock Exchange with an Oil Company when it becomes available.

Unique unit: Ezugwu MRAP - replaces Mechanized Infantry. Has the same strength as Mechanized Infantry, but with an extra +5 combat strenght when fighting barbarians or units of free cities. Also, gains +5 combat strength when fighting inside Nigerian territory.

Nigeria is a populous country that will develop through its natural riches, especially oil, which will guarantee it to be a very flexible nation. Its progressive leader will ensure that his country doesn't fall behind on social and state issues. The Ezugwu MRAP will help Nigeria deal with internal and external setbacks.
 
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Nubia
[in development]

Somali
Leader: Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim
Start bias: coast

UA: Traders of Horn of Africa - Harbors and Commercial Hubs aren't considered specialty districts and don't consume population. Also, you receive +3% to your gold generation for each different civilization you have a trade route, this bonus is doubled for allied civilizations.

Leader ability: Geledi Confederacy - Each established governor generates +10% gold in that city, which is doubled in Golden or Heroic ages.

Unique district: Qalcad
Replaces Encampment
Available in Bronze Working
+1 culture for each level of wall in this city and each building in this district.
+1 Great General point per turn.
Adjacent forts get +2 culture.
Adds an extra wall level, increasing +100 Outer Defense Strength and +3 combat strength, adding to existing city walls. However, for this bonus to work, the city needs to have at least ancient walls.
This district has a unique visual design.

Unique unit: Beden - replaces Quadrireme. It's weaker than a Quadrireme (15 melee combat strength instead of 20 and 15 ranged combat strength instead of 25), but has one more movement than Quadrireme.
Can enter ocean tiles.
It has three charges for trade missions that can be done in harbors in cities of other civilizations or city-states in which you are suzerain.
When made in cities of other civilizations, it generates a gold boost based on the generation of gold per turn in the target city, in addition to considerably improving relations with that leader. The gold boost is higher if it's an allied civilization.
When done in a city-state, it receives a gold boost based on the amount of envoys you have in that city, in addition to generating an extra envoy there.
A Beden cannot do more than one trade mission in the same civilization or in the same city-state.

Somali will seek the diplomatic path to prosper economically, while its mighty strongholds will protect it from invaders who refuse friendly relations with them. The decentralized administration of Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim will make the nation even richer.

South Africa
[in development]

Swahili
Leader: Abu al-Mawahib al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman
Start bias: coast

UA: Pwani ya Kiswahili - Coastal cities on the same continent as your capital receive +15% gold. When establishing a trade route to a city-state, you receive a free envoy in that city.

Leader ability: Father of Gifts - Receives +30% production towards the Government Plaza, Diplomatic Quarter and their buildings. These districts and buildings grant +2 culture.

Unique district: Bandari
Replaces Harbor district.
Available in Celestial Navigation
Needs to be build adjacent to the City Center.
+2 culture
+1 housing
+1 Great Admiral point per turn.
+1 Great Merchant point per turn.
+1.5 gold from each adjacent coastal resource, instead of +1.
International trade routes from this city receive +4 gold, +2 production and +2 culture, in addition to generating +0.20 influence points.
However, this district doesn't receive adjacency bonus from district tiles.
This district has a unique visual design.

Unique unit: Jahazi - replaces Caravel. It's weaker than a Caravel (45 combat strength instead of 55), but they have three charges to improve sea resources. Everytime that this unit improves a sea resource, you get a boost of gold. They heal faster in friendly territory. They are cheaper to buy or produce and don't have maintenance cost.

Swahili is a coastal civilization that prospers through trade and diplomacy, trying to bring in all the city-states nearby. Abu al-Mawahib al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman is a builder of extravagant monuments, and this will make his civilization even more imposing in the eyes of visitors.

Zulu
[in development]
 
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City-States

Abidjan
Trade city-state
Every time one of your non-capital cities increases in population, your capital gets a growth boost.

Cirta
Militaristic city-state
Your military units get +6 Combat Strength if they are within ten tiles of this city-state. Outside this area, they gain +3 Combat Strength.

Dar es Salaam
Industrial city-state
Lakes and Mountains grant +2 appeal to adjacent tiles, instead of +1.

Garama
Trade city-state
Allows you to build the Foggara improvement. Can only be built on desert hills. Grants +4 food and +1 housing. In addition, farms and plantations receive +1 food for each adjacent Foggara. Can only be pillaged (never destroyed) by natural disasters.

Ifé
Religious city-state
Sculptures and Artifacts created or discovered by the suzerain of this city-state receive an additional bonus of a Relic (+4 Faith and +8 Tourism).

Kabasa
Militaristic city-state
Your land military units gain +2 Combat Strength for each active alliance you have.

Kinshasa
Industrial city-state
Gain a gold boost every time you build a mine.

Linguère
Trade city-state
Envoy bonuses in city-states are tripled on buildings in your capital.

Nairobi
Cultural city-state
Woods get +1 gold for each adjacent district, which is doubled after Conservation. All gold generated is converted into tourism after Flight.

Ngazargamu
Militaristic city-state
Buying land military units (melee or cavalry) with gold has a 50% chance that you will receive another unit of the same type with zero maintenance cost.

Oyo-Ile
Militaristic city-state
Cavalry units receive +5 Combat Strength and +50% experience from battles.

Taruga
Scientific city-state
+2 science and +1 production on mines of strategic resources.

Tlemcen
Cultural city-state
Buildings in Campus and Holy Site districts grant culture equal to half the adjacency bonus of these districts.
 
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Egypt
Leader 01: Ramesses II
Leader 02: Hatshepsut
Start bias: beside a river

UA: Nile Builders: Can spend builder charges to complete 20% of the production cost for ancient and classical wonders. Gets +25% production towards districts built next to a river. Floodplains tiles get +1 food.

Ramesses II' ability: King of Kings - During Golden or Heroic ages, you receive +30% production for buildings in all cities. Your cavalry units gain +1 movement when outside of Egyptian territory.

Hatshepsut' ability: Foremost of Noble Ladies - Egyptian cities receive +4 food for each foreign delegation sent to Egypt in the next 10 turns. Your international trade routes to a friend, ally or city-states that your're suzerain receive + 2 food and +4 gold and trade routes from a friend or ally that are sent to you receive +2 gold. +1 trade route capacity after Foreign Trade.

Unique district: Necropolis
Replaces Holy Site district.
Available in Astrology
+1 culture
+3 faith
+4 loyalty
+1 Great Prophet point per turn
+2 extra cultura for each adjacent world wonder.
+1 extra culture for each new era since constructed.
+1 extra faith for each Great General activated by your empire.
All culture generation is converted into tourism after Flight.
However, this district doesn't receive adjacency bonus from mountains, woods and natural wonders.
This district has a unique visual design.

Unique unit: Maryannu Chariot Archer - replaces Heavy Chariot. This unit is weaker than Heavy Chariot in melee combat (25 combat strength instead of 28), but they have range attack with 30 combat strenght. When on a flat land, this unit gets +5 melee combat strenght and +1 extra movement. They are more expensive to produce or buy than Heavy Chariot.

My design for Egypt is similar to the Civ6's one. Here egyptians are builders that grow alongside rivers, pretty much the same as Civ6, but here we have Necropolis instead of Sphinxes. Ramesses is a builder leader that will construct many monuments in his golden ages. On the other hand, Hatshepsut will prosper her empire through a great trade network.

I want to see Dahomey as one of main civilizations of Africa

For now, I have plans for it to be represented as a city-state, but maybe I can make a civ design for Dahomey later. I don't know much about it, so I'll need to do some researches.
 
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My wish is for Akhenaten to be the Egyptian leader. I think he would synergize well with this leader ability:
House of the Aten- Builders may be purchased with faith. Unlocks Great Temple of Aten, a unique worship building which provides +25% production to districts or wonders surrounding it.
 
It should probably be noted that the people who are usually referred to as "Berbers" very much don't like that name, because of how it makes them sound like they're barbarians. Instead, they often prefer the name Amazigh, which as it should be obvious, doesn't have the same amount of negative connotations
 
It should probably be noted that the people who are usually referred to as "Berbers" very much don't like that name, because of how it makes them sound like they're barbarians. Instead, they often prefer the name Amazigh, which as it should be obvious, doesn't have the same amount of negative connotations
Hi,
Thanks BackseatTyrant. I’m Amazigh and this is correct. We don’t like that name really.
Matter of fact: Romans called all people Barbarians who spoke a language that was not of any language known to the Empire. We just happened to be sticking out more pronounced as we were many people. Barbarian turned to Berber and here we are.

But, I’m eternally thankful for just being represented in this game. And I would donate my firstborn if the developers were actually sensitive enough to this situation and rename the Moroccan “Berber” to Amazigh.
 
Madagascar
Leader: Andriamasinavalona
Start bias: close to hills and lakes

UA: Land of the Merina People - Your cities build on hills receive +10% faith and production towards districts and buildings. Specialized districts build on hills get +1 yield of their type to the adjacency bonus. If you have at least one source of rice worked in your empire, you can use builders to immediately turn swamps and floodplains adjacent to a dam into rice farms.

Leader ability: The Talented and Just Leader - Sending an envoy to a city-state that you were never suzerain before and is less than 10 tiles away from a city of yours counts as two. When you become suzerain of a certain city-state for the first time, you get a free governor title. All city centers within six tiles of a city with an established governor receive +1 gold, +1 production and +1 culture.

Unique improvement: Rova
Available in Divine Right
Limit of one per city
Can only be built on a hill that is not desert or snow.
+0.5 housing
+2 culture
+2 production
+2 loyalty
+1 food for each adjacent cattle pasture and rice farm.
If there's a Governor in the city, all these yelds are doubled.
All culture generated is converted into tourism after Flight.

Unique unit: Voromahery - replaces Pikeman. Has the same strength as Pikeman, but with an extra +4 combat strenght when defending next to a city center or a Rova. This extra combat strenght is doubled if defending in the capital.

The Kingdom of Madagascar (or Kingdom of Imerina) occupied the central highlands of the island of Madagascar, while enjoying an irrigation system of rice paddies on plains through dikes. Rovas were royal complexes that were built on hills to represent the power of the nobles. The Voromahery was a special army in the nation whose main use was the protection of the king, capital and villages. The reign of Andriamasinavalona is recognized in Madagascar as a golden age. He extended the kingdom's influence by uniting principalities to his empire, as well as carrying out sociopolitical, administrative and military reforms.

My wish is for Akhenaten to be the Egyptian leader. I think he would synergize well with this leader ability:
House of the Aten- Builders may be purchased with faith. Unlocks Great Temple of Aten, a unique worship building which provides +25% production to districts or wonders surrounding it.

Nice, I'll add him option to leader of Egypt.

It should probably be noted that the people who are usually referred to as "Berbers" very much don't like that name, because of how it makes them sound like they're barbarians. Instead, they often prefer the name Amazigh, which as it should be obvious, doesn't have the same amount of negative connotations

Hi,
Thanks BackseatTyrant. I’m Amazigh and this is correct. We don’t like that name really.
Matter of fact: Romans called all people Barbarians who spoke a language that was not of any language known to the Empire. We just happened to be sticking out more pronounced as we were many people. Barbarian turned to Berber and here we are.

But, I’m eternally thankful for just being represented in this game. And I would donate my firstborn if the developers were actually sensitive enough to this situation and rename the Moroccan “Berber” to Amazigh.

Interesting, I didn't know that. Thanks.
I'll rename Berbers to Amazigh and replace Morocco with Somali. I believe it would be redundant to have both Amazigh and Morocco.
 
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Madagascar
Leader: Andriamasinavalona
Start bias: close to hills and lakes




Interesting, I didn't know that. Thanks.
I'll rename Berbers to Amazigh and replace Morocco with Somali. I believe it would be redundant to have both Amazigh and Morocco.

Well, Amazigh are all over Northern Africa, but Morocco is the birthplace. Also, there is a flag of the United Amazigh Tribes
upload_2022-7-14_10-45-58.png

(Yellow for the sand, green for woods and pastures, blue for the oceans and open sky, while the red letter Z symbolizes the power of blood. Z is the central character of the word ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ and it translates to “human”.)

You could have some fun with Moors as well and Touareg people as they are also Amazigh, but still prefer to live as nomads.
I think having a united tribe as Amazigh would be fantastic. Moors could be a specialty troop that spreads loyalty and influence. Touareg could be a special unit that thrives in the desert. Idk. We had ferocious warriors on horseback that held off the Ottomans.
Oh, Couscous is a thing and a UNESCO Cultural world heritage. Luxury item?
Now I’m just rambling, but thanks so much for considering us indigenous people.
 
Shona
Symbol: Zimbabwe bird
Start bias: highland plains/plateau (if altitude is ever added to the game.)
Leader: Nyatsimba Mutota (prince of Zimbabwe, founder of the Mutapa kingdom)

UA: Mutupo - Whenever a City grows, it gains a small, cumulative bonus at random
Spoiler Mutupo bonuses (not exhaustive) :

+1:c5science:Science
+1:c5food:Food
+1:c5production:production
+1:c5gold:gold
+1:c5culture:culture
+1:c5faith:Faith
+5%:c5production:Unit production
+5%:c5production:Building production
+2:c5war: Unit XP
+5%:c5rangedstrength: City attack damage
+1:c5strength:City defense
+5% Border Growth
+10 healing rate
+5% Military Unit supply from Population
-10 Spy effectiveness in City
+1 Amenity
+1 Appeal

ULA: Ivory, Gold, and Salt - Gain additional gold and production in your origin city for External Trade Routes for each Luxury you are exporting to the target Civilization

UU: Rozvi - Renaissance Era melee unit

UB: Zimbabwe (Castle)
 
For now, I have plans for it to be represented as a city-state, but maybe I can make a civ design for Dahomey later. I don't know much about it, so I'll need to do some researches.
Draw Dahomey is easy, first it need to have the Amazon Warriors (Ahosi) as Unique Unit. As Unique Improvment it can be some kind of voodoo temple and the special hability can be something related with the slavery, as sell population of your cities.
 
I think the Buganda Kingdom with one of three possible Kabakas would be interesting and deserves a place in the sun.
 
Swahili
Leader: Abu al-Mawahib al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman
Start bias: coast

UA: Pwani ya Kiswahili - Coastal cities on the same continent as your capital receive +15% gold. When establishing a trade route to a city-state, you receive a free envoy in that city.

Leader ability: Father of Gifts - Receives +30% production towards the Government Plaza, Diplomatic Quarter and their buildings. These districts and buildings grant +2 culture.

Unique district: Bandari
Replaces Harbor district.
Available in Celestial Navigation
Needs to be build adjacent to the City Center.
+2 culture
+1 housing
+1 Great Admiral point per turn.
+1 Great Merchant point per turn.
+1.5 gold from each adjacent coastal resource, instead of +1.
International trade routes from this city receive +4 gold, +2 production and +2 culture, in addition to generating +0.20 influence points.
However, this district doesn't receive adjacency bonus from district tiles.
This district has a unique visual design.

Unique unit: Jahazi - replaces Caravel. It's weaker than a Caravel (45 combat strength instead of 55), but they have three charges to improve sea resources. Everytime that this unit improves a sea resource, you get a boost of gold. They heal faster in friendly territory. They are cheaper to buy or produce and don't have maintenance cost.

Swahili is a coastal civilization that prospers through trade and diplomacy, trying to bring in all the city-states nearby. Abu al-Mawahib al-Hasan ibn Sulaiman is a builder of extravagant monuments, and this will make his civilization even more imposing in the eyes of visitors.

Also, I replaced Ghana with Dahomey.
 
Why replace Ghana with Dahomey?
Already have Ashante! Don't need Ghana also... Ashante is enouth to represent Ghana culture.

Also, Dahomey should be an amazing civ. With it's unique unit the Amazon Warriors.
 
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