Humankind -The Celts discussion thread

[Krajzen]

Ah yes: the ability to build a tree!

On a more serious note, really happy to see them, have been reading about them recently and they were far more advanced than stereotypes say.

 

[Zaarin]

I think that whether druids performed human sacrifice or if that is just Roman propaganda is up for debate

Not even much debate, really. The archaeological evidence rules out that human sacrifice was ever an ordinary occurrence. What's open for debate is if human sacrifice is something they did once every few generations, which depends on how you interpret bog bodies--sacrifice, executed criminal, or victim of private violence.

I also wonder if they delayed Celts to see what speculation we came up with. Trick us into telling them which cultures we want in DLC.

Silla when?

have been reading about them recently and they were far more advanced than stereotypes say.

Definitely. The Gauls were a sophisticated, educated, urbanized culture. Their metallurgy was some of the finest in Europe, and there was a high demand for Gaulish craftsmanship in Southern Europe, which they traded for Mediterranean wine and other luxuries.

 

[Trav'ling Canuck]

"Sacrificing animals and prized possessions"... would be cool if that equates in game to spending food or gold on influence or science with the Nemeton quarter.

I don't feel like that should be enough. To get full benefit of the quarter, I feel like you should have to sacrifice your real, prized possessions that you have lying around your house while playing. Only possessions, though; leave your poor cat alone.

Similarly, to get the benefit of the Gaesati's unique abilities, I feel like you should have to strip naked before sending them into battle, but possibly I've been cooped up inside too much during the covid-crisis ...

 

[grug]

I don't feel like that should be enough. To get full benefit of the quarter, I feel like you should have to sacrifice your real, prized possessions that you have lying around your house while playing. Only possessions, though; leave your poor cat alone.

Similarly, to get the benefit of the Gaesati's unique abilities, I feel like you should have to strip naked before sending them into battle, but possibly I've been cooped up inside too much during the covid-crisis ...

I smashed my laptop to pieces to try to divine what this culture would be, but it came up as the Nazca. Probably I needed to sacrifice more laptops to get the divinations right.

 

[Siptah]

I smashed my laptop to pieces to try to divine what this culture would be, but it came up as the Nazca. Probably I needed to sacrifice more laptops to get the divinations right.

So, which part of the laptop doubles as the liver?

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

. . . wonder what their capital will be - Lutetia, Pyrene, Noricum, Numantia?
There are some reconstructed/preserved Celtic city name available, but with less glamour.

Thanks for not giving them druids as EU!

There are actually quite a few Gallic City Names available, since the Romans 'Latinized' a bunch of them and re-used them or Roman /Greek writers recorded the originals:
Bibrax or Bibracte - the largest, may have had a population of over 20,000, which would make it as large as Medieval Paris
Samaurobriva
Noviodunum
Durocortorum
Mediodunum
Tolosa
Arelate
Massilia
Condatum
I compiled a list of over 20 some time ago when I got tired of playing the 'Celtic Blob' in Civ V.

If I recall correctly, a lot of the inspiration for the "Celts" is based on the Gauls, similar to how the "Persians" are based on the Achaemenid (did I spell that right?) dynasty. I would have to double-check that with our historian, though.

Gauls would almost have to be the primary influence, since they were just about the only Classical Era Celts that had reached the City-Building stage
There are 'Duns' or Oppidums/Oppiduns all over central Europe down to the Balkans and throughout the British Isles, but no population concentrations like cities except in the Celtic lands west of the Rhine and north of the Pyranees - Gallia.

And, of course, the Gaesetae or 'Gaisatai' were, according to Polybius, a 'Warrior Order of notable courage and ferocity' of a single Gallic Tribe, so specific to the Gauls - although naked warriors carrying long iron swords were common to most of the Celtic groups, as Celtic nobles in link mail with stout wooden shields and swords were also common and Latin even had a specific word for a Celtic javelin/throwing spear: 'gaes' so one has to assume that it was a common Celtic weapon as well.

"Nemeton", on the other hand (or words related to it) or 'Sacred/Druidic Groves' were found Everywhere, which probably reflects the cultural solidity of the Celtic World as opposed to any political unity, which was non-existent

. . . The Gauls were a sophisticated, educated, urbanized culture. Their metallurgy was some of the finest in Europe, and there was a high demand for Gaulish craftsmanship in Southern Europe, which they traded for Mediterranean wine and other luxuries.

Among the things invented/developed by the Celts:
Link mail ('chain mail') armor
the long iron sword
Soap from animal fats while the Mediterranean World was using Olive Oil
the wooden barrel - from either Gaul or Germany, no one is entirely sure which, but a revolution in shipping equivalent to the Standard Container of the 1950s CE.
Iron plows - not as efficient as the Medieval wheeled plow, but sufficient to plow the heavier soils of northern France
Pattern-welding for swords
well-surveyed, well-built roads - at the same time the Romans were building theirs, with distances surveyed so accurately the Romans kept using the same surveys centuries after they had conquered Gaul!

So, In-Game Celts should at least be well-armed, well-traveled, well-fed, and Clean!

 

[Zaarin]

There are 'Duns' or Oppidums/Oppiduns all over central Europe down to the Balkans and throughout the British Isles, but no population concentrations like cities except in the Celtic lands west of the Rhine and north of the Pyranees - Gallia.

Not just Central Europe and Britannia: there are also names in -duno and -briga in Iberia, though the Celtiberians and Gallaecians were not nearly as sophisticated as their Gaulish cousins..

 

[j51]

I compiled a list of over 20 some time ago when I got tired of playing the 'Celtic Blob' in Civ V.

Yeah, of the civ games that have featured Celts (2-5) 4 is the only one that got the city list mostly right.

 

[Gwydden]

I'm genuinely surprised. Didn't expect them to break with the alphabetical order. On its own, I like this civ, though I'd prefer them to be called "Gauls" (but then I'd also prefer "Achaemenids" over "Persians"). My only issue is that this makes four European civs for the Classical Era, while East Asia and South America remain unrepresented. I love European history, and I've had a lifelong fascination with everything "Celtic", but this is a world history game, not a European-history-with-some-guest-appearances-by-other-parts-of-the-world game. Playing devil's advocate, I can see how maybe the current roster best represents the Classical world proper, of which East Asia and the Americas weren't part, strictly speaking. Sort of how the Ancient roster takes into account all the cradles of civilization, except for the Andes.

 

[FinalDoomsday]

Considering its a classical age civ theres no reason to have messy naming like Cardiff, Edinburgh, etc. Hopefully just settlements from Gaul but I'm sure they can pull from wider celtic areas if they need more names.

 

[Catoninetales_Amplitude]

I smashed my laptop to pieces to try to divine what this culture would be, but it came up as the Nazca. Probably I needed to sacrifice more laptops to get the divinations right.

Well, what did you think we have to do to get the streams working? That's some dark art...

We broke the alphabetical order because some of the art featured on this card was not ready to be shown. (And contrary to rumors, this was not a last minute removal of a large Gallic warrior feasting on a boar. )
Regarding the city names: I can't recall any specific names, but I don't recall seeing any Cardiffs and Edinboroughs in the dev build, so I think you're safe on that end.

 

[ehecatzin]

Well, what did you think we have to do to get the streams working? That's some dark art...

We broke the alphabetical order because some of the art featured on this card was not ready to be shown. (And contrary to rumors, this was not a last minute removal of a large Gallic warrior feasting on a boar. )

Only one boar?

 

[Zaarin]

(And contrary to rumors, this was not a last minute removal of a large Gallic warrior feasting on a boar. )

Well, that's disappointing.

 

[Catoninetales_Amplitude]

I have confirmed with our historian that we are sticking to original celtic city names, e.g. Bibracte, Numantia, or Durovernon, but the exact list still needs to be verified and approved. Rest assured, however, you will not be founding any modern cities as the Celts.

 

[bite]

I have confirmed with our historian that we are sticking to original celtic city names, e.g. Bibracte, Numantia, or Durovernon, but the exact list still needs to be verified and approved. Rest assured, however, you will not be founding any modern cities as the Celts.

I do like a good city list

 

[Jkchart]

I do like a good city list

*bite awakens from hibernation at the mention of "city list"*

 

[Guandao]

*bite awakens from hibernation at the mention of "city list"*

@bite You gonna map these cities list out too?

 

[bite]

@bite You gonna map these cities list out too?

Maybe .............

Spoiler :

 

[Krajzen]

I really like Celts being agrarian.
I mean, what else focus would feel more historical to them?
They weren't THAT Expansionist or THAT Mercantile, they weren't prolific Builders of solid structures for whatever reason, they weren't Scientists (honestly I would never give this title to Romans either, or any other civ in this time other than Greeks, India and China). So that leaves us with Agrarian, Militarist and Aestethe. Militarist would be kind of historical but very boring as well: stereotypical "agressive barbarians". Aestethe would actually be very interesting and kind of fitting. But Agrarian IMO relays the best Celtic mastery of metallurgy, agriculture, their impressive proto-civilization of surprisingly big urban centers.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

I really like Celts being agrarian.
I mean, what else focus would feel more historical to them?

Well now that you mention it what is more agrarian than having a nemeton tree?