Khmers
The Khmers have the Power of Majesty.
At the southeastern reaches of continental Asia lies the Khmer empire, one of the most powerful nations of Asia in terms of land, wealth and influence: while rice farming and other forms of resource extraction are the main form of economic activity in Khmer lands, Khmer control of the Great Gulf coast to the south also allows for a modicum of trade between the ports of northern Asia and the lands further south, most notably the Spice Islands - a process made easier through the alliance of the Khmers with the Chola kingdom, a vassal of the Hoysala in India - and one proven profitable through the destruction of the Srivijaya pirates who once contested trade in the seas between mainland Asia and the Spice Islands.
Ever since the breaking of the Srivijaya by the doughty seamen and brave warriors of the Chola, trade resumed with India, unimpeded, and now great wealth and splendour have become commonplace in the upper echelons of Khmer society - yet these riches have proven so bedazzling that they breed corruption in the nobility, and conceit amongst the Khmer kings (who have always stylised themselves as living gods ever since the reign of Jayavarman II). Such is the great tragedy of the Khmers - and most wealth loving human beings: despite living in some of the most spectacular cities in all of the world, true stability and military glory yet elude the Khmer empire - countless Khmer kings - the latest one being Suryavarman II - have attempted to wrest control of the lands to the east, most notably from the Chams with their access to the South China Sea - but to no avail.
So perhaps it is time that the Khmers subordinate themselves to your leadership, with their war elephants, war barges and lightly armed men - most notably their phkek warriors. May they be enlightened and prosper through your own personal guidance.
Faction overview
Cultural bonuses
- Flair for Architecture: Non-Settlement buildings do not rise in cost except for Wonders, Towers, Lookouts, and Forts, which rise at half normal rate.
- Urbanisation: +4 to economic radius of all Settlements.
- [Note] In Nomad games, this bonus will not apply until activated by certain triggers, such as researching Level 1 Administration.
- Mandala System: +15% Caravan income. Asian Elephants are 15% cheaper.
Strengths
Strong early rush/forward building potential, fair economic bonuses owing to cheaper construction and more profitable caravan trading.
Weaknesses
No good mid- to late-game units, mediocre navy and siege support, economic bonuses need micromanagement. Very easily anticipated and countered.
The Khmers are like Dai Viet good as a support faction in alliance with another nation, but otherwise they are weak particularly at long range warfare or even in the mid- to late game when their lack of fast cavalry begins to become more apparent. While they do get Scorpions and Springalds, and can forward build with little stress, the Khmer are still weak in the siege department, owing to their lack of Mangonels and Trebuchets. And as regards to Wonders, they have only one available - the Angkor Wat complex. Although it has a very high Wonder Point value - eight points, to be precise - it is the only Wonder available for construction - the lack of a secondary or third Wonder hurts the viability of the Khmers being able to unilaterally win a Wonder race, or convince other players to form an alliance with them.
As with most Indianised nations, the Khmers rely mainly on two things - war elephants, and light infantry. While they tend to have inferior cavalry - even sporting war chariots, a unit that disappeared from most parts of the world by the time of this mod - the Khmers however have several units of note. The first, obviously are war elephants. While the Khmers only have two, in contrast to others like Dai Viet or Hoysala, who have as many as three, one unit stands out - the Ballista Elephant or Damri Sangkream (Khmer, "war elephant"). This unit is essentially a siege weapon that can attack without the need to unpack - clearly, it has lower range, but it has a very high rate of fire, thus making this unit a menace to most units within range, unless attacked with lots of light infantry units - preferably crossbows or javelin men.
Infantry-wise, the Khmers do not have much, other than the ability to train Suicide Soldiers from the Barracks, and both Longbow Levy and Levy Crossbowmen from Peasant Hovels. This latter option allows them access to some cheap but weak missile infantry, albeit a cohort whose weapons can far outrange - and outshoot - the levy units of most other nations, especially Muslim ones, but their poor HP levels make them fair game for more robust ranged units, eg Heavy Archers. Another unit line of note is the phkek line, consisting of men whose main weapon is the phkek - a traditional Khmer axe resembling a hockey stick. This weapon very much functions like a polearm, allowing them to deal splash damage, albeit at close range, so they aren't as effective in combat, unlike the Zhanmadao of Nansong. HOWEVER, there's a crucial difference - while the heavier Pesadek infantry have some armour and can be used to defend against infantry, the Pon (or levies) despite being weaker, have one advantage - they can become invisible when not moving, allowing them to function as ambush troops in defence.
Still, the near-lack of good heavy units and limited numbers of merc units (mostly infantry being Nanyang Spear Levy, Brigand bowmen, Renegade Longbowmen (shared with many south Asian civs, including Muslim Hindustan) and Mercenary Swordsmen) means that unilaterally, the Khmers are not that viable, aside from being able to perform infantry and elephant rushes or variants thereof, thus dooming them to a niche role on small-sized land maps, where their units function best in an aggressive manner.
Unique units and structures gallery
Damri Sangkream
Essentially a light scorpion mounted on the back of this unique Khmer elephant unit. The range of this war elephant may well be lower than what you expect from the original (and heavier) siege engine, but the devastation caused by the bolts this pachyderm-borne ballista is NOT.
Rtiseh
Khmer unique light cavalry unit: a charioteer with a fast, javelin-based attack. Very useful against slow-moving targets, particularly war elephants, but must be protected from cavalry and archers.
Phkek Pon
The phkek (an axe shaped like a hockey stick) may not look like much, but it still has enough reach to cause devastation to more than just one recipient at a go. This Khmer unique light infantry unit does not have much to go by in terms of HP and armour, but being able to cloak (become invisible when not moving) make this unit excellent as ambush skirmishers.
Phkek Pesadek
Khmer unique medium infantry unit, again armed with the phkek-type axe. Somewhat slower to build and move compared to its lowborn pon subordinates, but has better armour and HP
making it capable of holding a line, or functioning as an assault unit thanks to its devastating melee splash attacks.
War Barge
Khmer unique naval unit - the weakest but cheapest of all heavy shipping.
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.
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.
Fortified Barracks
Stronger than a normal Barracks,
this building may be weaker than most point defence structures, but it
is nevertheless a useful way to quickly set up and reinforce a forward
building operation against any enemy counterstrike.
Peasants' Hovel
Trains levy units for sedentary agrarian nations. Not available for Outremer, Qara Khitai, Khamag Mongol, or Polovtsy.
Leader names
- Dharanindravarman
- Jayavarman
- Tribhuvanadityavarman
- Yasovarman
Settlement names
- Yasodharapura
- Angkor Thom
- Angkor Borei
- Banteay Kdei
- Pre Rup
- Lovek
- Viangchan
- U Thong
- Udong
- Sukhothai
- Krong Chaktomuk
- Prey Nokor
- Wat Phu
- Sambor Prei Kuk
- Phnom Da
- Battambang
- Chok Gargyar
- Lavo
- Preah Vihear
- Phanom Rung
- Muang Tam
- Beng Melea
- Prasat Bakan
- Chalieng
- Nakhon Pathom
- Luang Prabang
- Ayutthaya
- Vijaya
- Lingapura
- Suryaparvata
- Mahendraparvata
- Aninditapura
- Isanapura
- Shrestapura
- Bhavapura
- Sambhupura
- Amarendrapura
- Indrapura
- Vimayapura
- Jayendranagari
- Vyadhapur
- Hariharalaya
- Nagara Jayasri
- Rajavihara
- Isvarapura
- Prasat Andet
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.