Bohemia
The Bohemians have the Power of Liberty.
Although landlocked and somewhat limited in military options owing to subservience to the Germans, Bohemia is perhaps by far the most powerful among all Slavic enclaves in the German-dominated Holy Roman Empire (the others being Mecklenberg and Lusatia, both enclaves of the Slavonic-speaking Obotrites and Sorbs). And given her central position between two major European rivers - the Jihlava (toward the Danube and the Black Sea) and Labe (north across Germany into the North Sea) - the region, now a Duchy of the Empire, may well be on the verge of becoming a force to reckon with in the Latin world, owing not just to the individualistic spirit of the Slavic Bohemians (or Czechs, as they call themselves) but also due to Imperial weakness, especially during the reign of the current emperor, Lothair III of Saxony - only recently did a German army attempt to aid a Czech prince, Ota, to claim the ducal throne from a cousin, Sobeslav, only to be routed, with Ota slain in the battle.
So far, Bohemia now continues to thrive as a Duchy with Sobeslav as the ruling Duke (this being a concession made by the Emperor after having been defeated by Sobeslav) yet his ambitions and a desire to overthrow German rule amongst the local Czech peasants all continue to simmer, especially in the face of continued German weakness, with the German king Lothair III now facing rivals at home - mainly from the Salians who once ruled the Empire, and the Staufens of Swabia, who long feuded with Lothair's house for generations long before his election to the imperatorship of the Empire. Should the cry for independence grow louder and Duke Sobeslav be obliged to obey, Bohemia then can count on cheap infantry and free spawning Spearmen, alongside castles built along the most strategic and forboding high places of the Czech lands to help with map control and expansion. River tolls help the cities of Bohemia generate Wealth on their own, which over time can result in either a faster progression in scientific study, or a larger mercenary army - both being no less important than one another in the establishment of your power base as leader of Bohemia. Still the question now remains - whether to strike now and gain independence, or bide time and maybe even gain control of the German empire? It depends on you, I guess.
Faction overview
- Imperial Garrisons: Castles 25% cheaper and 50% faster to build, and exert +3 National Borders.
- Slavic Spirit: Heavy Infantry created 10% cheaper and 10% faster. Start with one Military research at the Civic Centre.
- Indomitable: Receive 2 free Spearmen whenever you build a new Barracks.
- Strategic Tolls: Settlements gather an extra +15 Wealth.
Strengths:
Strong defence owing to Wealth generation, and more cost-effective Castles. Fast spawning free infantry from the Barracks also lean toward early infantry rushing.
Weaknesses:
Fairly inferior military all around owing to limited choices in recruitment.
Bohemia, starting off in the 1130s CE mostly as a dependency of the Holy Roman Empire, is very much a minor faction as reflecting her past as a Germanised Slavic state, well before her official induction into the Empire in 1002 CE.
There is little to be said of the siege weapons or even the navy of Bohemia - being landlocked, the only naval units you can train are the Dromond (thankfully, somewhat) and the Fire Vessel. Equally, thus far Bohemia has not been able to reach the same level of urban or industrial capacity as the Empire - only the Mangonel and the Scorpion are available.
These units aside, then we have to then touch on the land army - Bohemia has no units at the start, other than Horsemen and Javelin Cavalry from the Corral, and the stock Militia, Archer and Spearman. Although Bohemia does have access to the Nobles' Court, like Poland and Hungary, only Order Knights and Sergeants may be recruited, although with the right research at the Meeting House, a Ministerialis may be recruited as an upgrade from the Feudal Retinue at the same, or be replaced with the Berrovier from the Corral - along with other upgrades, such as Urban Militia replacing Peasant Levy, or Pavise Crossbowmen replacing normal Crossbowmen.
What Bohemia has going for her, army-wise, however, are two things - Spearmen can be spawned quickly and infantry are much cheaper while Castles are cheaper and more effective. More importantly, as a land locked between two rivers, Bohemia's strategic location as mentioned before has made it very profitable to exact tolls on traffic going through this land at the very heart of Central Europe. As a result, settlements can generate Wealth - useful, perhaps. for creating mercenaries although the list of mercenaries Bohemia may recruit is also rather limited - only Slavic Raiders as well as Brigands (and their upgrade, Mercenary Swordsmen) are available from the Outpost. The more effective nature of Bohemian Castles, however, militate for a game of map control, where you use Castles to lock down profitable parts of the map terrain, whilst keeping your rivals out of them.
Thus the Bohemian faction presents an approach to gameplay skewed towards two things: defence and diplomacy on large maps; fast infantry rushing on small maps, and economic growth and map control on both. Their initial free military research and complimentary Spearmen upon erecting each new Barracks provide a significant early-game military edge (as well as an economic one since it also results in a greater pop cap leading to faster civilian pop growth than other factions, perhaps save Khwarazamshah, Goryeo or Hindustan. Enhanced Castle bonuses facilitate aggressive expansion and robust defense, while increased city wealth generation supports both military and economic advancement. The best way forward is simple - carefully choose your strategy in advance, pick the right allies for your team, and then commit to your plans with everything you've got.
Unique units and structures gallery
Feudal Retinue
Elite sword infantry, trained from a Meeting House or Palace by most Latin Christian civs.
Urban Militia
Upgrade of Peasant Levy. Not as effective as Spearmen or Spear Sergeants, but has an anti-cavalry defence bonus.
Springald
Siege machine with a high rate of fire; ideal as an anti-personnel
unit, especially if attacking enemy units such as War Elephants, Archers
or other siege units.
Mangonel
Powerful siege weapon with a a powerful but slow ranged attack, highly useful against defensive structures, but very vulnerable to cavalry.
Fire Vessel
Very powerful anti-ship suicide unit, has a powerful single-shot attack, but very weak armour and hitpoints.
Citadel
As in The Hellenistic Era, the Citadel (alongside its weaker counterpart, the Guard Tower) continues to be the most powerful form of point defence in this instalment in the Kings & Conquerors family of mods.
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
- Vaclav
- Premysl Otakar
- Chancellor Philip of Spanheim
- Duke Děpolt III
- Judith of Thuringia
- Oldrich
- Sobeslav
- Lutpold
- Spytihnev
- Ota
- Bedrich
Settlement names
- Praha
- Brno
- Slaný
- Beroun
- Zatec
- Chrudim
- Uherské Hradiste
- Litomerice
- Znojmo
- Cáslav
- Jihlava
- Mladá Boleslav
- Kourim
- Ceské Budejovice
- Ústí nad Labem
- Hradec Králové
- Olomouc
- Cieszyn
- Jawor
- Glogów
- Loket
- Pilsen
- Ostrava
- Prerov
- Klodzko
- Písek
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.