Tatar Civ Concept

I'm back, hopefully to bring about more civ concepts, which I feel get less respect than they might deserve... the good, carefully crafted ones I mean. At least respect the effort that went in!

What was I talking about?

Oh right, Tatars! There are two distinct, but similar in style Tatars: those bordering Mogolia and Manchuria, and a name for Golden Horde based tribes that weren't quite Mongols, even as far as in Eastern Europe. The name first appeared in the 700s, but would take on greater definitions as Steppes people conquered the lands. The Golden Horde, after the Mongols lost control, fell into mostly Tatar hands, and they held it until its fall in the early 1500s.

I suppose this is a catchall for Steppes folk that aren't Khazars, Bulgars, and others that could be their own civ.

Their lasting trait was their ability to understand biological disease warfare, which the Genie Engine simply cannot do any justice.

Tatars (732-1502) Cavalry Archer and Monk Civ

• CA/HCA +1/1 armor.

The heart of Steppes armies was in its cav archers. Whether this bonus extends to Genitours is up for debate. In combat, it certainly has great value, although mostly from the pierce armor. A cav archer being meleed is in a world of trouble as is. In CA vs. CA, there is a definite edge, but not to the degree that +3 pierce boosts Malians so I dunno, it might be not good enough. In Imp, with Ring Armor and Parthian Tactics, it makes worlds of difference as +6 to +7 could be quite significant.

• Start +300f/250w/175g/100s but -1 villager. Receive 1 villager starting Castle OR Imp (mostly so you're not screwed in DM)

Controversial, and likely the biggest talking point this civ will have, the numbers are far from final. You can do a lot, sure. But if you trap yourself into Aging up early, you're still many villagers (expondingly so if you age up with say, 15 instead of the usual 20-23.)

I trust the friends and balance people to help balance this out. We all benefit if we work together

• Husbandry, Herbal Medicine and Hoardings free

Free husband sounds nice, but it'd be like giving free Squires: Celts laugh at you for waiting 2 ages, and getting less bonus. That's why I tacked free Herbal Medicine and Hoardings. Husbandry is the main thrust here, and we all know it, as it encourages more CA play, or even Knight rushing. Free Hoardings is because steppes people hoarded loot and Herbal Medicine staves off Black Plague.

• Trebs +20% damage and building damage

This translates to +40 damagee and +50 building damage. Thats a guaranteed +90 damage vs. buildings per shot. With Siege Engineers, that building bonus goes from 250 to 300 per shot! Tatars shrek your Castles and Wonders! I could lower to 15% if too stronk.

Team Bonus: Cav Archers +2 LoS

Don't underestimate. Your CA seeing a surprise Castle or forwarding army can save your troop's lives, or kill theirs.

Disabled Technologies: * Barracks: Eagle Scout, Arson * Archery Range: Arbalest, Hand Cannon * Stable: Paladin, Battle Elephant * Blacksmith: Blast Furnace * University: Heated Shot, Bombard Tower * Siege Workshop: Siege Tower, Siege Ram * Dock: Fire Ship(Gets Galley) * Economy: Stone Shaft, Two Man Saw * Castle: Sappers

A civ without Fireships? Well, it has the galley, but you better pivot into War Galley asap. Those bonus resources can come in handy, but is it enough? Let's look at the Uniques...

UU1: Uhlan - A Tatar in service sometimes in Eastern Europe, these are Cav archers with great range, and fast RoF, but weak base damage for its gold cost. Has minor archer and infantry damage bonus.

Ulan	Stats	Elite
Hit Points	50	55
Armor	0/1	0/2
Attack	3	3
Attack vs. Archers and Infantry	1	2
Attack vs. Spears	2	2
Range	6	6
Line of Sight	8	8
Accuracy	70%	70%
Rate of Fire	1.3	1.2
Movement	1.425	1.425
Cost	60w,80g
Train Time	17s	17s
Elite Upgrade	1100w/500g	40s

So this is probably one of the most bizarre units you'll ever see. Does it serve a purpose? Maybe... it's fast? It moves fast, fires fast, fires fire, but mostly just tickles things. Your main force will still most definitely be regular Cav Archers with Siege, but these might be your best bet vs. archer civs and pierce heavy infantry.

UU2: Plaguebearer - A specialized Monk unit. Can heal allies and grab relics, but damages enemies lightly at range. When killed, releases a very wide area explosion that does 15 (too much???) damage to living units in a decent radius. To prevent a spam of 30 of these ending every 4 vs 4 in your favor, there's a max of 5 living Plaguebearers at a time.

Statwise, they're monks with 2 pierce at a cost of 115g and train at the monastery at monk speed.

Castle UT: Golden Horde - Scouts +2 damage. They, Ulan and CA regenerate slowly. Cost: 600f/400g 45sec

The power of the Horde is in its mobile cavalry. Simple here. The +2 scout damage is mostly to circumvent a lack of Blast Furnace. Let's face it, you're not going Castle Age Light Cav.

Imperial UT: Biological Warfare - Increases Plaguebearer max to 7. Mangonel like +20/25/30 damage based on which upgrade it's at. Cost: 1200f/800g

Is it too bloated with bonuses? I dunno, but the idea of catapulting diseased corpses starts and ends here!

So does this civ have its niche? Well, yea! It's a very unconventional civ with wacky play styles that are unseen. I'm almost afraid it's too different from the norm that people might not like it as much as I'd want them to. Is it bad with its -1 villager or too good because they'll never have Idle TC and can Drush/Trush almost instantly? Keep in mind, they wind up having less villagers than their enemies if this fails and every villager the Tatar player loses is out and out damning more than any other civ!

I want thoughts here, because I'm very unsure about this. I beseech the very warm community to come to a friend's aid.