Bulgaria
Bulgaria have the Power of Defence.
So it would seem, Roman rule of the Thracian Bulgars is here to stay.
Or is it?Even as the Roman Themes garrisoned old great Bulgaria's cities, they could not break her spirit. Persecutions of Bulgar culture and the use of Old Church Slavonic - the main tongue of Christian Orthodoxy in Bulgaria - have failed to stamp out any memories of the old empire, and all too often over the past century, Bulgaria has been roiled by revolt after revolt, as foreigners - Serbians, particularly (who once paid tribute to the Bulgar khans) - interfere in the running of Bulgaria by the Romans. Only the rise of the more liberally-minded Komnenoi - themselves being based out of Byzantine Thrace - has prevented an utter breakaway of Bulgaria from the Roman Empire, through more inclusive policies to keep Bulgar despots content and in check, rather than dreaming of secession.
Now a new barbarian tribe has come, settling the old Roman region of Dacia - a group of Asiatic riding barbarians whom the Slavic-speaking subjects of Rome call the Polovtsy (in the Russian fashion). As disparate and disunited they may be, the Polovtsy are said to dream of a new home, and have cast their eyes toward the Bulgar lands - and possibly toward the Byzantine capital, the Golden City. Whisper abound too, of new plots and schemes being hatched involving the invitation of Polovetsian fighters to support a new Bulgar rebellion, like what happened in distant Russia, where a renegade noble is said to be gathering Polovtsy to advance his claim on mastery of Kyiv, the greatest city in all of Russia. So it would seem, then, that the time of independence for Bulgaria is nigh. There are plenty of Bulgar despots, now well versed in the art of Roman statecraft and the leading of men - the question then is this: which one of them will be fated to restore the old Empire?
Faction overview
- Architectural Mastery: Buildings 20% tougher and and all non-Wonders built 20% faster.
- Stoneworks Mastery: Buildings except Wonders, and military cost 20% less Timber.
- Border Guards: Stationary defences like Towers, Forts fire without garrisoning and fire extra projectiles.
Strengths:
Early to mid-game dominance, owing to access to superior low-tier heavy infantry, and low- to mid-level shock cavalry.
Weaknesses:
Somewhat mediocre siege weapons - only Siege Towers are available for use as a replacement for Battering Rams later on. Only one Wonder available for construction.
As an emergent faction very much fated for statehood by the end of this mod's timeline, the Bulgars start of early on with a Byzantine influenced army - there are Scolarioi, trained from a Meeting House, and the Bulgars also run a Byzantine-style fleet, albeit with only the Dromonas as the "main" or capital unit that a Bulgarian fleet can hope to despatch. But there the similarities end. In contrast with the Byzantines, who have the benefit of hardened infantry units, the Bulgarian army has the inferior stock units used by most other factions, save one: the Kopienoszti. This unit isn't as tough as the Byzantine Kontaratoi, yet can still very much outclass most other factions' Spearmen using a mix of added damage, armour as well as better LOS, making this unit far more responsive in combat as well as providing better line of sight for others. Much later, Bulgaria can like Kievan Rus' turn the Scolarioi into Boyarniky, increasing their heavy cavalry's tactical parameters, albeit at the cost of greater Metal consumption - but also at reduced Wealth cost. So the Bulgars like the Russians need to keep an eye on their Metal production and use. The Wealth you can save from training these units, though, doesn't do much in the way of mercenaries: only the Brigand, Mercenary Swordsman (an upgrade of the Brigand) and the Kipchak Nomad are available as Outpost Mercenaries - but this last unit may well be useful, given that it can be trained more quickly than the stock Horse Archer available at the Corral.
Because Bulgaria has the ability to save Timber from construction, there are several avenues open to you. The most obvious one, it would seem, is to simply build more buildings - but there is a limit to how many you can build and how much the bonus resources you will receive for constructing a new civilian building. On the other hand, these Timber savings mean one thing - and that is expanding your army, either by going for the construction of Scorpions, or reinforcing your army with more Archers and Militia - or make a beeline for Commerce techs to increase your resource gathering. Still, if you see enemy knightly cavalry approaching, it may simply be better to withdraw your forces around the Kopienoszti and unpack your Scorpions for firing. On the other hand, having no good ranged units (Bulgaria does not get crossbow infantry of any kind) leaves them vulnerable, if attacking, to entrenched spears with Crossbow Infantry available to take out Bulgar Horse Archers. Land armies and fleets aside, the Bulgars suffer from having only Siege Towers - a very inefficient form of siege weapon - alongside Scorpions and Mangonels for use against enemy fortifications - being outranged by Trebuchets means that the Bulgar siege train can easily be broken by the enemy at further range, while the lack of Wonders constrains the ability of the Bulgars to be a viable ally apart on the merits of the Bulgarian army and its early- to mid-game flexibility. The best way forward, thus, without allies, is to keep an enemy guessing as to when and where you may attack at long distance, and to use your early starting infantry (including Kopienoszti) to protect and facilitate quick raids on your enemy.
Unique units and structures gallery
Kopienoszti Spearmen
Bulgarian unique spear unit. Is slower than normal Spearmen, but is tougher, stronger and is more motivated, resulting in greater LOS. The long spears used by Kopienoszti can help in fending off war elephants in a pinch.
Scolarios
Classic heavy Byzantine-style cavalry trained from a Meeting House or Palace by both Bulgaria and Eastern Roman Empire; can be upgraded to Boyarnik for Bulgaria later on.
Boyarnik Cavalry
Slavic style knightly infantry available to Kievan Rus' and Bulgaria. Is more powerful than the Byzantine-style Scolarios but costs more Metal in ramp as you train more of them.
Scorpion
Cheap yet effective, the Scorpion is a simple torsion device intended to function like a giant crossbow, and is ideal for defending against ranged units, siege weapons and cavalry.
Battering Ram
Basic siege weapon meant to level buildings at close range. Mostly impervious to most missiles, but easily dismantled by siege weapons, war elephants, swarming by melee units ..... or explosives, for that matter.
Guard Tower
The ultimate light point defence structure, being an upgrade of the Watchtower. Not as strong as a Castle or a Citadel, but can be built in vast numbers wherever so required.
Nobles' Court
Sumptuous and stately yet
foreboding, the Nobles' Court is the ultimate expression of regnal
power, consisting of a vast castellated estate around which the nobility
of the land must rally around. It is not as cheap as a Mansion nor as
easy to come by, but its ability to boost the size of your Territory
around it, and the fact that it is immensely powerful as a point defence
structure means that a Nobles' Court can be more than capable of
defending your borders, whilst training some of the most powerful land
units available in all of this mod.
Peasants' Hovel
Trains levy units for sedentary agrarian nations. Not available for Outremer, Qara Khitai, Khamag Mongol, or Polovtsy.AI leader names
- Ivan Asen
- Peter of Tarnovo
- Kaloyan
- Boril
- Kaliman
Settlement names
- Tarnovo
- Lovech
- Nikopol
- Ongala
- Strumica
- Zagora
- Karnobat
- Varna
- Sillistra
- Ohrid
- Pliska
- Preslav
- Skopjle
- Bitola
- Vidin
Other chapters:
Wolf Among Lions [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Rise of the Barbarians [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Imperivm Invictvm [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Hammurabi: [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Other mods:
Rise of Kings: Chronicles [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
New World Empires: Swords of the Prophets [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Warbirth: The Crucible [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Like this mod? enjoyed this page? please visit our page on Patreon.