Pick a leader who isn't in the game yet and give them an ability!

[TheGhostEnthusiast]

NEZAHUALCOYOTL​

​

NEZAHUALCOYOTL, TLATOANI PERSONA​

Nezahualcoyotl’s conquests led to the rise of the Aztec Empire, and the rise of Tenochtitlan and Texcoco as powerful political forces. His conquests set the stage for the systems of tribute that would fuel the Triple Alliance, and he used that wealth to undergo great construction projects. His dams, levees, and aqueducts turned the settlements of Lake Texcoco into the hydrological engineering marvels that they would go down in history as.

Unique Ability

Aztec Empire:

- Conquering a City State or dispersing an Independent Power grants a burst of Food and Gold in the Capital.
- +100% Production towards Buildings on Lakes.
- Buildings on Lakes gain Production and Gold for every City State you occupy or are Suzerain of.

Attributes

• Militaristic
• Economic

Agenda

Fasting Coyote: Likes Civilizations that do not Conquer or become Suzerain of more City States than he has total. Dislikes Civilizations that do.

Starting Bias

• Lakes

NEZAHUALCOYOTL, TLAMATINI PERSONA​

Nezahualcoyotl’s conquests led to the rise of the Aztec Empire, and the rise of Tenochtitlan and Texcoco as thriving metropolises. He embraced his Mexica heritage to help him enforce laws and rebuild Tenochtitlan, and he established a group of intellectuals to enrich cultural learning in the empire, his own works of poetry including among theirs. Texoco became home to a large library containing his works and the works his policies helped nurture, and he himself is placed as one of the greatest thinkers of this period of enlightenment.

Unique Ability

Athens of the West:

- Specialists gain additional Science and Culture for each Great Work slotted on their tile, doubled in the Capital.
- Happiness and Science buildings gain Great Work slots in the Capital.
- Settlements gain Happiness for each Great Work slotted in the Capital.

Attributes

• Cultural
• Scientific

Agenda

Texcoco's Golden Age: Likes Civilizations that have frequent Celebrations. Dislikes Civilizations that have had few Celebrations.

Starting Bias

• Lakes

 

[ConspicuousFlower]

Came back with another concept. I wanted an Ancient Greek leader that represented their intellectual achievements, and landed on a pretty cool choice that, conspicuously, was not included among the Logios for the Greek civ. I hope I have captured a sense of "history" through gameplay mechanics: obsolete buildings and Legacy Paths.

HERODOTUS

Born in Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire at the time, the Greek author Herodotus sought to, in his own words, "prevent the traces of human events from being erased by time". In his seminal work, The Histories, he not only recounts the events of the Greco-Persian Wars, but also includes detailed accounts of the customs, religions, and histories of different peoples and nations, many of which he travelled to visit himself. Often called the "Father of History", his work was one of the first to systematically record and analyze historical events, particularly focusing on the causes and context behind them. While his writing has been criticized for his overly storytelling tone and his tendency to frequently blend factual accounts with folklore, legends, and sometimes dubious sources, he is still considered a pioneer historian, who helped shape the way history was written by emphasizing inquiry, exploration, and the comparison of different cultures.

Attributes: Scientific, Wildcard

Unique Ability: Father of History

• Obsolete buildings retain half of their adjacency bonus from the previous Age, and have a halved Gold and Happiness maintenance cost.
• Reaching a Legacy Path milestone grants Cities +1 of the respective Yield per Age (Production for Military, Gold for Economic, Science for Scientific, Culture for Cultural). These bonuses reset at the start of every Age.

Unique Agenda: Student of Clio

• Increase Relationship by a Small Amount for the leader with the most obsolete buildings.
• Decreases Relationship by a Small Amount when a leader overbuilds an obsolete building.

Mementos:

• Painted Kratera: +1 of their respective Yield on obsolete buildings.
• Marble Bust: +20 Happiness per Age each time you overbuild an obsolete building.
• Manuscript of the Histories: Finishing a Legacy Path triggers a Celebration and, if it's the first Legacy Path finished in the Age, a Wildcard Attribute Point.

 

[Banazir864]

INCITATUS

Incitatus is one of the most well-known figures of the Roman Empire. An emperor named "Bootsie" or somesuch planned to make him Consul, but apparently never got around to it. Nevertheless, he lived in luxury befitting a royal, and is indisputably one of the horses of all time.


Unique Ability

Consul Presumptive: Each City with a Cavalry Unit stationed in the City Center receives +4 Unhappiness per Age but has all effects of Unhappiness reduced by 50%. Gains the "Horse's Feast" Unique Diplomatic Action, which greatly reduces the target's Influence generation and Happiness and causes heavy Grievances.


Attributes

• Diplomatic
• Militaristic

Agenda

Horse Sense: Increase Relationship by a Large Amount when the player proposes or supports a Farmer's Market or Local Festival Endeavor with him. Decrease Relationship by a Medium Amount each time the player moves troops from tiles outside his Sight to tiles adjacent to or within his borders.


Starting Biases

• Grassland
• Plains

EDIT: Please note the date on which this was posted.

 

[Ryansinbela]

The Horse is Here

 

[MariMisawa]

Olga of Kyiv

Olga of Kyiv, a prominent figure in early medieval history, was the regent of the Kievan Rus' after her husband, Prince Igor, was assassinated.
She is best known for avenging his death against the Drevlians and for her conversion to Christianity, becoming the first ruler of the Kievan Rus' to do so.
She is also revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Attributes: Cultural, Militaristic

Ability: Revenge on the Drevlians - No penalty for razing enemy settlements. Gain +1 Culture per turn for each enemy unit destroyed — this is reset at the beginning of the next age. This bonus is raised to +2 Culture if the enemy unit is destroyed inside your own territory. In the Exploration and Modern Ages, gain a Relic or Artefact respectively whenever you raze an enemy settlement.

Agenda: Patron Saint of Vengeance - Likes those who raze captured enemy settlements in war. Dislikes those who keep captured enemy settlements in war. Very unlikely to be swayed by offers of settlements during peace deals.

Unlocks: Russia in the Modern Age.

Starting Biases: Tundra

Preferred Civs: Greece or Rome in the Antiquity age, Bulgaria or Mongolia in the Exploration age, Russia in the Modern Age.

(I've never really designed a ruler before, but I've had a lot of ideas recently. Please forgive me if she's too overpowered/weak! I would love some suggestions on how to improve her, because I'd love to learn to mod and implement my ideas )​

 

[Hellenism Salesman]

I've never really designed a rule before, but I've had a lot of ideas recently. Please forgive me if she's too overpowered/weak! I would love some suggestions on how to improve her, because I'd love to learn to mod and implement my ideas

For your first time, this is great!!!! Definitely a neater, more concise design than all of my first concepts

As for suggestions, I might change the Culture to be +1 per Age since +1 Culture isn't very much in later Ages. I can see how that would get absurd with the doubling, though: +6 Culture per turn per Unit slain vs the AI would be pretty ridiculous!

Maybe the solution is to add a cap? Let it increase per Age but have it end after 10, maybe 20 Units killed?

Just some thoughts.

 

[Lord Lakely]

MUHAMMAD ALI PASHA

Traits: Economic, Expansionist
Terrain Bias: Navigable River
Languages: Egyptian Arabic with an accent (ideally a native speaker of Turkish or Albanian who is also proficient in Arabic)


Biography: Muhammad Ali was the Albanian Wâli, or governor of Ottoman Egypt, and its de facto Head of State for over forty years. As wâli, Muhammad Ali consolidated power, purging the Mamluks from influentual positions, expanded Egypt's borders to include parts of Sudan, Arabia and Greece. With his position secured, Muhammad Ali worked on industrializing Egypt, ushering in the 'Nahda', a period of renaissance. By his decree, Egypt began producing weapons and cultivated a thriving cotton industry, not only becoming the most powerful province in the declining Ottoman empire, but a force in its own right. His descendants ruled Egypt as monarchs for over a century after his death.

Ability: Khedive of Egypt

• +1 Production per Era on Improved resources.
• Gain 50/100 Gold each time you Overbuild.
• +50% Production and Gold towards Warehouse Buildings in Settlements
• Whenever a Rural tile is replaced by an Urban Tile in a City, choose between claiming a new Rural tile, or recruiting a Tier 1 Militia, which has 50%/66%/75% the usual combat strength of a regular Infantry unit.

Agenda: Nahda

• +n Relations with players that have higher Production than Muhammad Ali Pasha
• -n Relations with players that have lower Production than Muhammad Ali Pasha
• The modifiers increase if the player in question is *also* ahead in Culture.

Mementos

• Bulaq Gazette - +1 Influence on Science buildings.
• Turkish Delight - +2 Gold and +1 Culture on Plantations in your empire.
• Narguile - Give your military units +1 Combat Strength for every 4 Empire resources you control.

Choices
In order of priority (if available)
Antiquity: Egypt, (Assyria), Greece, Persia, Carthage, Aksum, Random.
Exploration: (Ottomans/Seljuks), (Albania), Abbasid, Bulgaria, Songhai, Chola, Random.
Modern: (Modern Egypt), (Ottomans), Mughal, (Qajar), Buganda, Britain, Random.

Unlocks
Ottomans in Exploration or Modern (when added)
Modern Egypt in Modern (if added)

Also designed a Modern Egyptian Civ to combine him with!

 

[MariMisawa]

For your first time, this is great!!!! Definitely a neater, more concise design than all of my first concepts

As for suggestions, I might change the Culture to be +1 per Age since +1 Culture isn't very much in later Ages. I can see how that would get absurd with the doubling, though: +6 Culture per turn per Unit slain vs the AI would be pretty ridiculous!

Maybe the solution is to add a cap? Let it increase per Age but have it end after 10, maybe 20 Units killed?

Just some thoughts.

Thank you so much
I'll implement some of those changes. I've been working on a mod for Olga, and it's working on a base level, though I haven't managed to get her abilities working yet

 

[Lord Lakely]

MARGRETHE I

Traits: Diplomatic, Expansionist
Terrain Bias: Coast.
Languages: Danish


Biography: Cautious and headstrong, the Danish princess Margrethe Valdemarsdatter became the Queen consort of Norway and later secured the Danish throne after her father's death. She later also secured the Swedish crown by invading them and ousting their unpopular king, installing a puppet monarch. Having cleverly outmaneuvered her rivals, Margarethe de facto ruled three kingdoms at once, and issued the Treaty of Kalmar. This maneuver merged Demark and Norway as one kingdom, with Sweden as its vassal. By uniting Scandinavia under one banner, Margarethe ushered in an age of peace and prosperity for the former viking fiefdoms, with her at the helm.

Ability: Semiramis of the North

• +25% Influence towards the Befriend Independent Power and Integrate Independent Power actions.
• Free +1 Support on all Befriend actions.
• The first Independent Power you integrate in each era gives you +1 Settlement Limit.
• Penalty: Endeavours cost 30% more Influence to initiate.

Agenda: Hygge

• +n Relations (large) with players that initiate Endeavours with her, and are the Suzerain over fewer IPs.
• +n Relations (small) with players that initiate Endeavours with her, and are the Suzerain of an equal amount or more IPs.
• -n Relations (small) with players that have initiated Endeavours with other players, scaling with the amount of City States they're the Suzerain of.
• (Hidden): +n Relations (small) with Tecumseh.

Mementos

• Globus Cruciger - +50% Production towards Influence buildings
• Crown of Kalmar - +5 Happiness towards the next Celebration for each City State you're the Suzerain of.
• Ampulla of Annointing Oil - +1 Influence per Era. Gain +1 Influence per turn each time you become Suzerain of an Idependent Power. (Resets every Era)

Choices
In order of priority (if available)
Antiquity: (Norse), (Germania), (Goth), Greece, Rome, Random
Exploration: (Denmark), Norman, (Byzantium), (Kievan Rus), Shawnee, Random.
Modern: (Sweden), Great Britain, Russia, United States, Random.

Unlocks
Norman (Denmark) in Exploration
Russia (Sweden) in Modern

 

[Ryansinbela]

Isn’t Globus Cruciger one of Charlemagne’s mementos?

 

[CliffCo]

Clement Attlee

Increased happiness in homeland settlements.

 

[Renouf]

Sayyida al Hurra​

No contemporary portraits of her survive, so this image is taken from the Civ V mod made by JakeWalrusWhale & Captain Lime​

Attributes: Economic, Diplomatic
Start Bias: Coastal, Equator

Born of noble Andalusian exiles fleeing from Granada, the last stand of the Reconquista, Aisha bint Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami's family found safety across the strait in Morocco. There she was married at 16 to a man 30 years her senior, the governor of Tétouan. Once he inevitably died, rule passed to her, and her people gave her a new name: Sayyida al Hurra - "our mistress, the free woman". From her strategic position in the Mediterrean, she turned Tétouan into a hub for privateers and pirates. She reached across the sea and allied with the legendary Ottoman corsair Barbarossa, uniting the naval powers against Iberian fleets. Never forgetting or forgiving the fate of al-Andalus, she resolved to steal back the homeland that had been stolen from her, one Spanish galleon at a time. And so history gave her another name: the Pirate Queen.

Ability: Pirate Queen of Tétouan

• Gain the ability to plunder trade routes with nations you are not at war with, incurring a diplomatic penalty with that leader.
• Gain full vision of all trade routes or treasure ships within tiles you've revealed.
• Upon plundering a trade route, gain a copy of each resource being sent along that route.
• +1 charge on stolen treasure ships.
• Unique City-State units cost 75% less to purchase with Gold.

Agenda: Avenger of al-Andalus

• Dislikes the player with the most imported resources.
• Likes the player with the fewest overall resources.

Mementos:

• Barbarossa's Saber: +3 combat strength on all units when in only one Alliance.
• Ribat Map: +1 production per age on Unique City-State improvements from Militaristic City-States.
• Seal of Tétouan: Your 'Bolster Military' and 'Integrate' actions cost no influence for Militaristic City-States.

Playstyle:

Intercept land trade routes in Antiquity and pilfer enough resources to complete the Economic legacy path. In Exploration, take treasure fleets by force, gaining double gold and points towards the Economic legacy path. In Modern, steal key factory resources to ensure your monopoly over the world's resources and secure an Economic victory.
Be wary of making too many enemies with your piracy. Secure a key ally for defense as Sayyida al Hurra did, or become a true exile. Whichever path you take, turn your 'borrowed' gold into a horde of Foederati, a fleet of Corsairs to continue your age of piracy, and fund Partisan uprisings against your ideological enemies.

 

[Hellenism Salesman]

Anyone have any good ideas for a Justinian design?

 

[socratic]

Anyone have any good ideas for a Justinian design?

I was thinking Justinian can be happiness/culture focused and have massive boosts for conquering settlements, but with a major penalty to gold (symbolizing his popularity and expansion, but also how he bankrupt the empire). I’m not sure how to go about it tho

 

[Renouf]

Anyone have any good ideas for a Justinian design?

Justinian I

Attributes: Diplomatic, Militaristic
Start Bias: None

Few rulers walked the razor's edge between ruin and glory like Justinian I, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. He faced riots that burned Constantinople to the ground, a bubonic plague that tore through his realm, and wars that drained the treasury dry. But from this chaos, Justinian forged a legacy of stability: codifying new and old Roman laws into the Corpus Juris Civilis (the basis for modern western law), rebuilt Constantinople into the shining jewel of Christendom, and launched audacious campaigns to restore the lost provinces of Rome. Will you survive these times of crisis, and keep your law eternal? Or will the Imperial City burn?

Ability: Corpus Juris Civilis

• The effects of all Traditions, Policy cards, and Crisis cards in your government are doubled.
• +1 policy slot for each Wonder in the Capital.
• Re-conquered cities do not count against your settlement cap.

Agenda: Renovatio Imperii

• Hates players with captured cities.
• Dislikes the player(s) with the fewest policy slots in their government.
• Loves the player(s) with the most policy slots in their government.

Mementos:

• Imperial Diadem: +2 Happiness per age in the Capital for each tradition or policy card in your government.
• Spatha of Belisarius: Gain +5 War Support in the current war whenever a civilization takes one of your cities.
• Blue-Green Standards: -1 Crisis policy slot.

Playstyle:
Use Justinian's double-yield policy cards right from the start of the game to give you the momentum to race up your unique civic tree and secure your game-defining traditions. Will you use Rome's synergy with traditions to power your military and production? Use Greece to gain half-price suzerainity on city-states and much cheaper endeavours? Or will you go further afield, using Khmer to build Byzantium tall or Maya to supercharge your science? Enjoy your prosperity while it lasts, and make sure your economy and happiness is ready to handle the double-damage crisis headed your way. Will you survive the Nika Riots in the happiness crisis? Will this new Plague of Justinian decimate your empire? Or will Vandals and Goths overrun the last bastion of Rome in the barbarian crisis?
Along the way, make sure you pick up cities conquered by other civs to expand your empire for free. This began as 're-conquered cities that you settled' which is more historical but it's probably more fun for the player if it includes ANY conquered cities (ones with the chain icon) so you can get involved in a bunch of different wars and play world police. The doubled policy cards is fun but entirely passive so it's good to have a bonus that rewards you for doing stuff. The Spatha of Belisarius memento is there if you want to keep it historically accurate, though I suspect this won't align with most players' power fantasies.
He has natural synergy with happiness and culture civs (more policy slots + unlock policies faster) but can go well with any civ and any traditions giving him a lot of replayability and flexibility. Of course he'll have no downside if the player has crises disabled but the downside is less of a balance choice (like Hammurabi) and more of a fun roleplay choice so this doesn't really matter - none of the traditions / policies being doubled sticks out as overpowered. A lot of stacking % bonuses, for example Greece's '50% influence towards city-states', only come out as a '100% influence/gold towards XYZ' which makes them cost half (you can test this easily with Greek tradition and the Diplo attribute tree). The only 'uh oh' areas are specialists (which he might be able to get for 0 maintenance with the Khmer +100% discount being doubled) and combat bonus stacking later on but neither of these strike me as overpowered or particularly ahistorical - building Constantiople taller or conquering more is what he would've done with more money anyway, and we know 0 maintenance specialists aren't inherently gamebreaking thanks to Pachacuti getting buffed 3 times.

 

[Hellenism Salesman]

I love this design! It incorporates the vast majority of his accomplishments and ties them together into something fun and very thematic. I would definitely feel like Justinian while playing with these bonuses.

I like how this reflects both the good and bad of his reign, too! There's his building projects and expansion of the empire, but also references towards the Nika riots and the famine and the plague (doubly impactful Crises encompasses them all). The only nitpick I have is that he would become stronger by turning off Crises (literally disabling his one downside). It can be argued this is no different to picking a map friendly to your leader or Civ- you're still tipping the scales of the game in your favor- but it does sort of irk me how the downside is straight up gone. Skewing the map will simply bring you closer to your strengths, while this deletes a malus without a cost.

I guess that's just the price we have to pay when Crises are toggleable.

One response to this would be to make Justinian experience "mini-Crises" throughout the Age with extra rewards at the end of each, since his reign was full of strife. That way, the player would have to deal with Crisis policy cards regardless of the end-of-Age Crisis being turned on or off.

But of course, that could be me trying to solve a non-issue. If some users are to be believed, Civ VII has enough of that already

 

[Kurtbob]

Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen zu Hornberg

Attributes: Militaristic, Wild
Start Bias: none

Wiki

Spoiler Wiki :

Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen zu Hornberg 1(5 November 1480 – 23 July 1562), also known as Götz of the Iron Hand (German: Eisenfaust), was a German (Franconian) Imperial Knight (Reichsritter), mercenary and poet. He was born around 1480 into the noble family of Berlichingen in modern-day Baden-Württemberg. Götz bought Hornberg Castle (Neckarzimmern) in 1517, and lived there until his death in 1562.

He was active in numerous military campaigns during a period of 47 years from 1498 to 1544, including the German Peasants' War, [besides numerous feuds; in his autobiography he estimates that he fought 15 feuds in his own name, besides many cases where he lent assistance to his friends, including feuds against the cities of Cologne, Ulm, Augsburg and the Swabian League, as well as the bishop of Bamberg.]

His name became famous as a euphemism for the vulgar expression (also known as the Swabian Salute): "Er kann mich am Arsch lecken" (lit: He can lick my ass). This saying was attributed to him by writer and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), who wrote a play based on his life.

Ability: Götz of the Iron Hand

• Grants the "Feud" Independent Power Action. Cost 60 influence. Targeted Independent power immediately becomes hostile, begins sending raids towards your civilization, and cannot accumulate 'befriending points" [from any civ].
• You do not receive Diplomatic or Warmongering penalties when you declare war on or capture a City-State.
• Your units are combat +3 against independent powers and city-states
• Receive +100 influence per age when you disperse an independent power or conquer a city-state. Recieve a wildcard attribute if you disperse an independent power that is a target of the feud independent power action.

Agenda: Swabian Salute

• Dislikes players who are suzerain of independent powers.
• Likes players who are not suzerains of independent powers.

Mementos:

• Iron Hand: +3 combat strength against independent powers and city-states.
• Götz von Berlichingen: Receive +100 influence per age when you disperse and independent power or conquer a city-state.

Playstyle: Use your Feud action to prevent other players from befriending independent powers, accumulate commander experience from the raid the action initiates, and gain influence and wildcard attributes from dispersing said independent powers. Declare war on city-states without angering its suzerain.

*Updated bonus from dispersing an independent power, conquering a city-state from gold to influence. Updated mementos to mirror update to bonuses. Edited July 13.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Genghis Khan

Ability (Khagan): Cavalry units gain extra Movement when starting adjacent to a friendly Commander, and auto-heal when ending turn adjacent to a friendly Commander.

Agenda (Altan Uruq): Extra increase relationship with players who cooperate with his diplomatic offers. Extra decrease relationship with players who rebuff his diplomatic overtures.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Nader Shah

Ability (Sword of Persia): Army Commanders start with the Initiative, Rout and Storm promotions. -30% Gold generation from unhappy cities.

Agenda (Sack of Delhi): Decrease Relationship with players with more cities / larger population / more gold & weaker militaries.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Bùi Thị Xuân

Ability (Five Phoenix): Your first five Army Commanders begin with extra XP. Increased Production towards Cavalry units when an Army Commander is stationed in the city.

Agenda (Tây Sơn Wars): Decrease Relationship with players with unhappy cities. Increase Relationship with players with lots of Cavalry units.