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French (House of Valois)

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French (House of Valois) Empty French (House of Valois)

Post by peugeot407 Fri 31 Jul 2015 - 19:44

French (House of Valois) Header%20French_zps9orxbzcu

The Militia Civilisation

Historical Information
The French civilisation in Knights and Barbarians represents the royal domains of France, as ruled by the House of Capet and later the House of Valois, in the Middle Ages. Being the most direct successor state to Charlemagne and his Carolingian dynasty, the French were without doubt the most prestigious people in Western Europe at the time. The actual power they wielded however, wasn't always as great as they made it out to be. Following the collapse of the Frankish Empire, France descended into the most extreme example of feudalism ever seen in history; regional counts and dukes were theoretically subservient to the French monarch, but since these petty rulers often ruled over parts of France that were significantly larger than the royal domains, they were more powerful than the king was in reality. Especially precarious was the relationship between the French kings and the kings of England, because the latter also held the title Duke of Normandy, making the English monarchs at the same time both equal (as kings) and subservient (as dukes) to the French king. As the Middle Ages progressed however, the strong and uncontested rule of the Capetians returned the balance of power in France to more healthy proportions. Conquests in Occitania and the Provence vastly expanded the royal domains, and the French royal army became an example to all of Europe in its sheer effectiveness.

This, however, would not last, as the French AI personality in K&B, Jeanne d'Arc would be able to attest to. When the Capetian dynasty finally came to an end in the 14th century, the French throne was claimed by both the Valois, who held the majority of France proper, including K&B's French Home City of Paris, and the Plantagenets, who held the French fief of Gascony (modern-day Aquitaine) as well as parts of Normandy, and who were also in possession of the English throne. On top of that, the Plantagenets also had allies in Burgundy, arguably the most powerful of the French fiefs, and Flanders. It does not take much imagination to see which way this conflict would go. What would later be called the Hundred Years' War was a disaster for the French; vast swathes of territory were lost, including the city of Paris, leaving the Valois in control only of some parts of south-central France, and the area around the traditionally important city of Reims. Under the skillful leadership of Jeanne d'Arc however, the French would slowly reconquer their homeland, ultimately ousting the English from all of France, excepting a small exclave at Calais. The campaigns of Jeanne d'Arc also showed the great vested interest that the French peasantry had in the survival of their country, a fact that had until then been either unknown or ignored by the French aristocracy.

After the expulsion of the English, France did not become an egalitarian paradise of the peasantry, as one might expect given how much they gave up to win the Hundred Years' War. Instead, the country went back to being its former self, a country of great international prestige, that relied on aristrocrats to fill the ranks of politicians and military men alike. This did not make France unsuccesful however, as the Valois dynasty, and their successors the Bourbons, long envied with Spain over the position of being the most powerful country in Europe, a fight that would ultimately see the French come out on top, halfway into the seventeenth century. Alongside their preeminent position on the European continent, the French also built for themselves an extensive colonial empire, the remnants of which are visible to this day. Ultimately, this position of power would be rivalled by their old enemies the English, who had by this time joined themselves with Scotland to form Great Britain. In the early eighteenth century began what historians have since started to call the "Second Hundred Years' War", a period of intermittent warfare between France and Britain that led to the ultimate reversal of French fortunes, as they had to admit British superiority in global affairs. This was not, however, before the French gave the world their finest hour, the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. Basing his reign upon the very peasantry that had helped Jeanne d'Arc reconquer France four hundred years earlier, Napoleon would go on to conquer most of Europe, and leave a vast cultural legacy all over the continent. Today, France is arguably the most important country in Europe, one of the most powerful military powers on earth, and paradoxically also a staunch friend and ally of their old-time foes: Britain.

Gameplay Information
Civilisation set
The French are part of the European civset, which means they get the Town Square and its Feudalism system, as well as the possibility to fire up a Revolution, and access to Royal Guard upgrades. The French start each game with 4 Peasants, 4 Crates of Wood and 2 Crates of Coin.

Religions
The French have a choice of the following three religions:
  • Catholicism (main religion): + Priests have more hitpoints, - Priests move more slowly.
  • Conciliarism (reformed religion): + Church techs research more quickly, - Priests and Bishops train more slowly.
  • Paganism (outside religion): + all units do more damage, - all gather rates are slightly lower.

Feudalism
The French can choose any of these three cities in the Feudalism system:
  • Bordeaux, Anglo-Aquitaine: benefits coin gathering and the effectiveness of ranged units.
  • Orleans, Heart of the Loire: benefits resource gathering in general, as well as the strength of fortifications.
  • Toulouse, Crucible of the Cathars: benefits the combat strength of both military and religious units.
Revolution
The French can revolt to either of these three late medieval powers:
  • Burgundy: sends Highwayman mercenaries.
  • Florence: unlocks the recruitment of gunpowder units.
  • Guelders: sends a Bombard and improves the strength of siege units.

    * = Training gunpowder units is unlocked by the Black Powder tech, which can only be done in Age V. Since it is impossible to advance to Age V after a revolution, revolting to Florence is the only way to attain these powerful units as a revciv. For the French this is extra significant, as they have a gunpowder unit, the Ribauldequin, as one of their unique units.

Bonuses
The bonuses of the French serve to make them very much a civilisation focused on military matters, both at the low and high end of the power Spectrum. Their extensive usage of Militia make them more than deserving of being called The Militia Civilisation, while all the while having very powerful but expensive options to augment said Militia in their armies, and make them truly one of the most powerful booming civilisations in the mod.

  • Whenever the French construct a building, it spawns one or more Militia
    This bonus rewards the French for expanding their base by providing them with free units to defend the base, should that need arise. It also makes it feasable for the French to gain a solid basis for an army simply by relying on these spawned Militia while they build the Houses and military buildings needed to train other military units.
  • The French get free Militia with every Home City shipment
    This bonus has largely the same effect as the previous one, but goes at it from a different angle. Whereas Militia spawned from a newly constructed building rewards the French for expanding their economy, as well as their military infrastructure, this bonus rewards the French for fighting battles or gathering at the Town Square, reflecting the historical idea of French military power increasing as the people become more invested in the survival of France.
  • French Militia are weaker but do not lose hitpoints over time, and get shadow-upgraded with every age-up
    This bonus solidifies the previous two, and transforms them from nice gimmicks into bonafide powerful bonuses. The ability of the French to make their Militia last, instead of seeing their hitpoints slowly dwindle, make Militia useful as actual baseline military units, instead of just emergency base defense units.
  • French Peasants get spawned automatically from the Town Center
    To allow the French to focus completely on military matters, and to stop them having to bother gathering resources with which to train more Peasants, this bonus gives Peasants to the French for free, albeit more slowly than what would be achievable were they trained in the regular manner.
  • The French start with fewer Peasants, but with more resource crates
    This bonus gives the French more options at the start of the game. Instead of having to immediately set their Peasants to gather resources, they actually start out with a number of resource crates that allows them to instantly start constructing useful buildings (which in turn spawn Militia) or researching technologies.

Unit Roster
Infantry
- Man-at-Arms (Barracks, II)
- Voulgier (Barracks, II), unique to the French. Much more of a general-purpose unit than the Spearman it replaces
- Halberdier (Barracks, III)
- Archer (Archery Range, II)
- Crossbowman (Archery Range, III), becomes the Arbalète with a Royal Guard upgrade
- Skirmisher (Archery Range, II)
- Hand Gunner (Barracks, V), becomes available after researching Black Powder

Cavalry
- Light Cavalry (Stables, II)
- Chevalier (Stables, III), unique to the French, becomes the Gendarme with a Royal Guard upgrade. Altogether more powerful than the Knight it replaces
- Cranequinier (Stables, III), unique to the French. Even more powerful against cavalry than the Cavalry Archer it replaces

Artillery and Siege Units
- Sapper (Siege Workshop, II)
- Ballista (Siege Workshop, III)
- Catapult (Siege Workshop, III)
- Ram (Siege Camp, II)
- Mantlet (Siege Camp, II)
- Siege Tower (Siege Camp, III)
- Ribauldequin (Siege Workshop, V), unique to the French. Becomes available after researching Black Powder

Other Land Units
- Militia (Town Center, I)
- Lord (I)
- Peasant (Town Center, I)
- Farmer (Manor, I)
- Priest (Church, II)
- Bishop (Church, III), first has to be unlocked through the HC
- Dog (Manor, I)

Ships
- Fishing Boat (Docks, I)
- Cog (Docks, II)
- Galley (Docks, III)
- Carrack (Docks, IV), becomes replaced by the Gun Carrack after researching Black Powder
peugeot407
peugeot407
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