Polovtsy
The Polovtsy have the Power of Nomadism.
But regardless of what they are called, the Polovtsy are still first and foremost a confederacy of equestrian nomads, ever since the decline of the Pecheneg hosts in the Pontic Steppes. Since then, so great has their reputation as fearsome horseborne fighters been that they now control a vast tract of land, ranging from the banks of the Danube in Europe all the way across northwestern Asia to the northern shores of the Caspian and Aral Seas, with the small Christian kingdom of Qartvelia in the Caucasus now effectively a Polovetsian protectorate. Even smaller clans and bands of Polovtsy have managed to migrate into the Middle East and manipulate the politics of Islam, albeit from the level of mamluks or slave-warriors and/or viceroys in Darul Islam - to bolster their somewhat disorganised forces - the Khwarazamshahis of Khorasan to the south have also contracted Polovetsian tribes to supply them with fighters to maintain their independence against the Qara Khitai and the Selçuk Turks. As much as there are Polovtsy serving in the ranks of foreign armies, control of the Pontic Stepppes and so many Asian lands too have resulted the princes of these horse-borne warriors being able to draw on so many different peoples to bolster their ranks - be it Balts from the far northern reaches of Europe, or footmen from the countless tribes inhabiting the haunted mountains of the Caucasus.
All this have served to bolster the prestige and wealth of the Polovetsian tribes, and made them even more dangerous foes - as the Kievan Rus' mortal foes as they are, can attest. Yet, despite the vast numbers of lands and nations shocked by their awesome might, the various Polovetsian tribes have yet to form a proper state - and this may yet be their undoing. For all the great power and wealth they can obtain through tolls, tribute and terrorising weaker states, the Polovtsy still very much look not to a centralised leader to coordinate their affairs, but rather instead look only to the princes of each tribe for authority, and with so much territory comes a distance so great between the different tribes that most Polovetsian princes prefer to concentrate on immediate local concerns (and capitalise on the squabblings between foreign kings and emperors far greater than them) rather than attempt to form a single unified whole - and that may prove to be their undoing. If a great unified power were to suddenly form in the world, and turn its attention on Central Asia, there may actually be very little a disunited group of separate tribes may do to resist it from taking their lands and their flocks ... and it would seem that with the arrival of the Khitans, that time is nigh ....
Faction overview
- Nomadic Diaspora: Have no National Territory. Farms and Granaries in newly captured settlements are instantly razed
- Pastoralism: Instead of building Farms and Granaries, receive Food for each Peasant, Horseman, and Cavalry unit (except when garrisoned).
- Horsemanship: Ranged Cavalry upgrades are free.
- Steppe Raiders: Can construct buildings in any territory not held by another nation
Strengths
Variegated cavalry roster alternating between fast light units, and brutal shock units. Good early game expansion potential; very suited to areas with open terrain
Weaknesses
Weak navy and siege, weak native infantry component, very dependent on mercenaries (and Wealth). Not good at booming or defence, viz "turtling", thus very weak in the late game.
Like their historic counterparts (and their predecessors) the Central and North Asia-based Polovtsy are a highly equestrian faction, depending mainly on light cavalry raids for military success. This is especially useful, given that they have one strong advantage - the ability to build almost anywhere not claimed by any other player. Polovetsian cavalry are not necessarily the best - against, say the heavier ones used by European Christians or North Asian civs, most notably Dajin's Tiefutu, or the Lay Knights of Outremer - but they have several advantages: they are cheap, quick to train, and are usually available early on with little to no further research other than what is required for their host recruitment buildings.
Thus like most civs with good early cav units, the Polovtsy can be said to be a "high risk, high reward" faction meant for early raiding, but nothing else - they do get good infantry units as mercenaries (eg Merc Swordsmen, Balt Spearmen) as well as Barracks hires (with Caucasus Huntsmen and Steppe Warbands being noteworthy infantry units native to that building) but beyond that the Polovtsy suffer greatly from a dearth of heavy units, advanced siege systems as well as a lack of a proper naval component. Having no naval units beyond War Canoes and Fire Vessels leaves the Polovtsy at the mercy of factions who build more powerful fleets on blue water maps, while being confined to the use of Battering Rams very much compromise the ability of the Polovtsy to take down fortified settlements. This is further made worse by the near-lack of economic bonuses and even access to Farms, which often forces the Polovtsy to invest heavily in creating an archer cav-heavy faction, or in market manipulation just to obtain the Food required by a Polovetsian player to effective expand, since Settlements all require Food outlays in order to be built, even as tinkering with the Market requires Wealth ... which in turn impedes merc recruitment and slows down a Polovetsian player through the need for micro-management to manage the Polovetsian economy.
Yet the gains from map control can often be said to outweigh the benefits, especially on a map of medium to large size with four or fewer players, which plays well into the Polovtsy's play style of fast early rushes and expansion to keep opponents off balance. Map control is the main theme of a Polovetsian game - let
your opponents begin to restrict where your units and your Peasants can
go (and build) and you will soon find yourself gradually losing
especially since the Polovtsy, along with most Nomadic and Christian
civs are not suited to Wonder rushes.
it would seem thus, then, that for the Polovtsy, Food is forever a challenge, so reaching Level 3 Military and Level 2 Commerce is necessary - the one to obtain Corrals, and the latter to obtain access to the Market, and more importantly, Merchants. If there is water, consider building Trawlers but be wary of enemy fleets that may seek to destroy your fishing and trade. Besides continuously pumping out Peasants and cavalry - who in theory can also generate food by destroying enemy Farms (except those of the Kievan Rus'), Taxation should not be neglected either since the upgrades also increase the effectiveness of your Tradesmen (who generate Wealth as they return back to their host city) and Merchants, who in turn should prioritise resources that generate Food (eg Sugar) or reduce Food costs (eg Dyes which reduces the costs of Administration research - this includes Food too).
Unique units and structures gallery
Kipchak Nomad
Ranged cavalry mercenary unit, available at the Outpost for Polovtsy, as well as Khwarazamshah and Bulgaria. Tactically identical to Horse Archers but trained faster and for high prices in wealth.
Kipchak Cavalry
Toughened medium cavalry unit trained from a Nobles' Court for Polovtsy and Bulgaria.
capable of knocking out other light cavalry units, and swarming heavy cavalry.
Bek Cavalry
Turkic light cavalry unit trained from a Corral, available to all Nomad civs, as well as a few non-Christian ones, most particularly Dajin. Has good speed and attack, and has a lower base cost but a higher ramp cost.
Steppe Nomad
Ranged cavalry unit trained from the Corral and shared across nomadic factions, particularly Khamag Mongol, but also among several other factions with links to Central Asia, eg Dajin or Khwarazamshah. Tougher, faster and stronger than Javelin Cavalry or Horse Archers.
Caucasus Huntsmen
Consisting mostly of semi-mercenary bands of native men from the Caucasian lands under Polovetsian rule, Caucasus Huntsmen function as a form of "heavy archer" - being slow to move, but definitely much more resistant than normal Archers. These missile infantry aren't just found in Polovetsian employ, but can also also travel far, often being found in the armies of Hungary, as well as Crusader and Byzantine hosts - the latter two being their most prominent employers, who often refer to them as turkopoloi or turcopoles, "sons of Turks".
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.
Warrior Hall
A waypoint for some more
professional mercenaries and irregular fighting men, the Warrior Hall
may be costlier than a Mansion or a Noble Residence, but it is capable
of defending itself, should raiders come into its host city.
Leader names
- Sevinch
- Boniak
- Danylo Kobiakovych
- Yurii Konchakovych
- Köten
- Sharukan
- Otrok
Settlement names
- Sarai
- Sygnak
- Saksyn Taraz
- Sarysu
- Kara-kum
- Arys
- Bilsk
- Tiflis
- Chu
- Bedbaht
- Nura
- Byan
- Sytasty
- Bugun
- Qapal
- Aral
- Solokha
- Myriv
- Atyrau
- Tengiz
- Ajaguz
- Lukina
- Ayat
- Ryn
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]
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