evonannoredars
King
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2024
- Messages
- 734
The Calusa are incredibly interesting imo, as they established large, powerful settlements sustained by fishing instead of agriculture. As such, many of their abilities are geared towards establishing coastal settlements and getting rich yields there instead of further inland. Although the Calusa were still around when the Spanish showed up, and likely were at their height around the time period of the Exploration age, I think their potential abilities make them better suited as an Antiquity civ. Part of this is because of their unique infrastructure: Iśitepe.
Canals are something I really hope also gets added to Civ 7, working in a similar way to train stations. Build two canal locks (special improvements on navigable rivers/adjacent to coast/lakes) and they automatically connect with a canal, allowing ships to travel through them. Canals wouldn't be able to auto-construct through urban tiles, and the maximum range would be fairly small. They unlock late-ish in the Exploration age and continue to exist in the Modern age, albeit with a larger connection range. The Calusa Iśitepe is effectively identical to an Exploration age canal, but unlocked a whole era earlier.
Unique Ability
Caloosahatchee: Sailing and agriculture are swapped on the tech tree. Reduced food from farms. Increased food from fishing boats.
Name refers to the core Caloosahatchee culture of the Calusa. Basically you start with sailing instead of agriculture.
Attributes
• Cultural
• Militaristic
Civic Trees
Waterways
• Tier 1: Increased food yields on marine and wet tiles. Unlocks Iśitepe unique improvement. Unlocks Yaka tradition.
• Tradition - Yaka: Increased gold on trade routes that go along canals.
Shell Mounds
• Tier 1: Grants culture to improved tiles adjacent to marine and wet tiles. Unlocks Ri unique improvement.
• Tier 2: Unlocks Mound Key wonder. Unlocks Mahoma tradition.
• Tradition - Mahoma: Increased production towards improvements, buildings and wonders on or adjacent to coast tiles.
Dugout Canoes
• Tier 1: No movement penalty from embarking and disembarking. Unlocks Śihpi unique unit. Unlocks Ñoka tradition.
• Tradition - Ñoka: +1 Movement per age for naval and embarked units.
• Tier 2: Increased combat strength against enemy units on marine, wet and river tiles you own.
Shell Mounds and Dugout Canoes branch off from Waterways. Assuming marine tiles include lakes as well as coast/ocean. Yaka means 'to bring'. Mahoma means 'building of worship'. Ñoka means 'war'. Reflecting their interactions with the Spanish a bit here.
Unique Infrastructure
Ri: Unique Improvement. Must be built on land tiles adjacent to coast or vice versa. If placed on land tile, tile becomes navigable. Culture base. Increased gold to adjacent marine and wet tiles.
Iśitepe: Unique Improvement. Must be built on a navigable river or adjacent to a navigable tile. Automatically builds Canals to other Iśitepe within range.
R(i) means 'house', couldn't find a translation for 'mound' specifically. Iśitepe is from (ʔ)iś(i) meaning 'water' and -tepe meaning 'to connect'. Probably haven't combined them correctly, all root words are correct tho.
Unique Military Unit
Śihpi: Unique archer unit. Increased strength when attacking while embarked or on a wet tile.
From śi(h)pi meaning 'harpoon'
Associated Wonder
Mound Key: Must be built adjacent to coast. Grants gold, culture and influence to all marine and wet tiles in this settlement.
Specifically referring to the Chief's enormous mound house, which Spanish accounts claimed could fit 2,000 people inside with little crowding. Basically Monks Mound with its current reversed big house on small mound proportions.
Starting Biases:
• Coast
• Wet Tiles
Primary sources:
Ancient Americas (2024) The Calusa: Fishermen Kings of Florida. Available at: youtu.be/yiz292ot1fY?si=soujNuZDzxKwr1im
Granberry, J. (2011) The Calusa: Linguistic and Cultural Relationships. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press.
Snapp, A.L. (1999) The World of the Calusa. PhD Thesis. University of Oxford. Available at: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7...5e536/files/md02b148f1c2bdb4aadff9d5d7b00b3c1
Canals are something I really hope also gets added to Civ 7, working in a similar way to train stations. Build two canal locks (special improvements on navigable rivers/adjacent to coast/lakes) and they automatically connect with a canal, allowing ships to travel through them. Canals wouldn't be able to auto-construct through urban tiles, and the maximum range would be fairly small. They unlock late-ish in the Exploration age and continue to exist in the Modern age, albeit with a larger connection range. The Calusa Iśitepe is effectively identical to an Exploration age canal, but unlocked a whole era earlier.
Unique Ability
Caloosahatchee: Sailing and agriculture are swapped on the tech tree. Reduced food from farms. Increased food from fishing boats.
Name refers to the core Caloosahatchee culture of the Calusa. Basically you start with sailing instead of agriculture.
Attributes
• Cultural
• Militaristic
Civic Trees
Waterways
• Tier 1: Increased food yields on marine and wet tiles. Unlocks Iśitepe unique improvement. Unlocks Yaka tradition.
• Tradition - Yaka: Increased gold on trade routes that go along canals.
Shell Mounds
• Tier 1: Grants culture to improved tiles adjacent to marine and wet tiles. Unlocks Ri unique improvement.
• Tier 2: Unlocks Mound Key wonder. Unlocks Mahoma tradition.
• Tradition - Mahoma: Increased production towards improvements, buildings and wonders on or adjacent to coast tiles.
Dugout Canoes
• Tier 1: No movement penalty from embarking and disembarking. Unlocks Śihpi unique unit. Unlocks Ñoka tradition.
• Tradition - Ñoka: +1 Movement per age for naval and embarked units.
• Tier 2: Increased combat strength against enemy units on marine, wet and river tiles you own.
Shell Mounds and Dugout Canoes branch off from Waterways. Assuming marine tiles include lakes as well as coast/ocean. Yaka means 'to bring'. Mahoma means 'building of worship'. Ñoka means 'war'. Reflecting their interactions with the Spanish a bit here.
Unique Infrastructure
Ri: Unique Improvement. Must be built on land tiles adjacent to coast or vice versa. If placed on land tile, tile becomes navigable. Culture base. Increased gold to adjacent marine and wet tiles.
Iśitepe: Unique Improvement. Must be built on a navigable river or adjacent to a navigable tile. Automatically builds Canals to other Iśitepe within range.
R(i) means 'house', couldn't find a translation for 'mound' specifically. Iśitepe is from (ʔ)iś(i) meaning 'water' and -tepe meaning 'to connect'. Probably haven't combined them correctly, all root words are correct tho.
Unique Military Unit
Śihpi: Unique archer unit. Increased strength when attacking while embarked or on a wet tile.
From śi(h)pi meaning 'harpoon'
Associated Wonder
Mound Key: Must be built adjacent to coast. Grants gold, culture and influence to all marine and wet tiles in this settlement.
Specifically referring to the Chief's enormous mound house, which Spanish accounts claimed could fit 2,000 people inside with little crowding. Basically Monks Mound with its current reversed big house on small mound proportions.
Starting Biases:
• Coast
• Wet Tiles
Primary sources:
Ancient Americas (2024) The Calusa: Fishermen Kings of Florida. Available at: youtu.be/yiz292ot1fY?si=soujNuZDzxKwr1im
Granberry, J. (2011) The Calusa: Linguistic and Cultural Relationships. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press.
Snapp, A.L. (1999) The World of the Calusa. PhD Thesis. University of Oxford. Available at: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7...5e536/files/md02b148f1c2bdb4aadff9d5d7b00b3c1
