Heroes | Factions (Viking Conquest Factions)
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Kingdom of Swadia
Swadia's Banner
A Kingdom of knights and counts situated in central Caldaria, represented by the color orange.
- Boring, but Practical: If you're tired of using complex tactics during battle, you'll find that simply stacking a couple dozen Swadian knights is a very reliable way of playing this game.
- Boss in Mook's Clothing: Swadian knights are infamous for their good equipment, which makes them arguably a bigger challenge than some of their actual lords.
- Decadent Court: A major problem for this kingdom as many of its vassals constantly scheme for more power.
- Elite Army: Swadian Knights are famous LightningBruisers on the open battlefield. To compensate for this, they're much more expensive to maintain than other top level units.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of Medieval England and France.
King Harlaus
King Harlaus
The king of Swadia.- Achilles' Heel: Harlaus is a highly competent opponent in battle, but his equipment is heavy and cumbersome. Chances are he will be taken down by an archer/fast melee character or be thrown from his horse and ganged up on by a group of soldiers.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Generally held to be the most dangerous NPC in the game, bar none.
- Fat Bastard: A reputation Harlaus developed due to his tendency to hold feasts at improper times, including when he's under siege. In reality, it's a uniform AI behavior applied to all Monarchs to try and keep vassal relations above water, Swadia just gets hit with these because they have to fight on multiple fronts.
- It's All About Me: If you are allied with Swadia, be prepared to see "King Harlaus has decided to give the fief of [Town/Castle/Village] to King Harlaus" A LOT.
- Mighty Glacier: The single hardest opponent to kill in the entire game, he has the best armor possible, a good sword, and shield, luckily, he's a bit of a Stone Wall, since he doesn't have a lance.
- Old Soldier: One of oldest monarchs. However, his high level and high tier equipment make him one of the most dangerous.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Like all Calradian monarchs, he's active on the field during campaigns. (Well, sometimes.)
- Screw the War, We're Partying: Memetically infamous for this, as he will often call all of the lords together for feasts, even when the enemy breaks in the doors and starts running rampant. This is a bit unjustified since it's a uniform AI Monarch behavior, one that's *caused* by the enemy gaining ground, and is a desperate attempt to keep vassal relations functional enough to wage war. Swadia just gets hit with this *a lot* because it has to fight on multiple fronts against multiple enemies.
- Stay in the Kitchen: While all other rulers have logical, if a bit selfish, reasons for denying or not acknowledging a claimant's right to the throne, Harlaus' reason is only that "She is a woman, and would not rule well," and gives no other reasons.
- Jerkass Has a Point: He mentions that while there were warrior queens before, all of them end up leading the Swadian army to ruin.
- Knightly Sword and Shield: A Heavy Bastard Sword and Knightly Heater Shield. Combined with his armor and horse, this makes him an absolute monster, especially as Artificial Stupidity makes lances rather ineffective compared to what they'd be for players.
Lady Isolla of Suno
Lady Isolla of Suno
A claimant to the throne of Swadia.- Action Girl: Starts at a high level, and even if she isn't given different equipment to replace her noble clothes dagger, she will take out several high-level troops before being knocked unconscious.
- Fiery Redhead: She has red hair and before she was forced to flee accused Harlaus' supporters of treason. Though she recognizes that this had hurt her chances, she still intends to take back her throne by force.
- Noble Fugitive: Exiled from the Kingdom of Swadia by virtue of being a rival claimant to the throne.
Kingdom of Rhodoks
Rhodoks' Banner
A kingdom of spearmen and counts situated in southern Caldaria, represented by the color green.
- Achilles' Heel: They have no cavalry and their infantry's running speed isn't that high, either. This makes them vulnerable to ambush tactics on the battlefield; hiding behind a hill from their crossbows and charging them down when they get close, before their reinforcements can arrive.
- Elective Monarchy: Unlike their neighbors the Swadian and the Vaegirs, the nobles do elections to elect one of their own as their king. However, their system is hampered by corruption and easily manipulable either through force or blackmail.
- Hard Levels, Easy Bosses: Their foot soldiers are amongst the most difficult units to fight in the game, and most of their castles border on being DeathTraps, but their lords are actually arguably the least difficult ones to put down, not a single one wearing the equivalent of coat of plates armor. Moreover, they're incredibly easy to spot and gang up on the battlefield, since they're almost always the sole mounted unit in their retinue.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of Medieval Spain and Italy.
- Stone Wall: Rhodok Sergeants appear to be this in comparison to other top level units; their war cleavers and battle hammers aren't as strong as the swords and axes used by the other nations, but they use the absolutely best shields in the game, and their armor is exceeded only by that used by Swadian units. They're best used to clog the enemy down, while their crossbow-wielding allies shoot the enemy to bits from behind.
King Graveth
King Graveth
The king of Rhodoks.- Aristocrats Are Evil: According to him, the only "liberty" the lords of Rhodoks truly value is their own.
- Benevolent Boss: Tends to shower vassals he likes (including the player) with castles and cities.
- Come with Me If You Want to Live: A dark example, as he basically blackmailed the electors to vote him King or he would let an enemy force capture or kill them.
- Democracy Is Bad: Is of this opinion. He has nothing but contempt for the Rhodoks' system of Elective Monarchy or the traditional rights of their nobility, and took power through blackmail and threat of force.
- Elective Monarchy: Was elected by the rest of the Rhodoks nobility to his position, although his methods were controversial (to put it mildly) and he has a strong ideological hatred for it.
- A Father to His Men: Claims his close relationship with the army and his soldiers (and, implicitly, with the common folk from whom the levies are drawn) makes him a better king.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Like all Calradian monarchs, he's active on the field during campaigns.
- Knightly Sword and Shield: A Heavy Bastard Sword and Knightly Heater Shield much like his Swadian Counterpart, Harlaus. He falls short of his northern rival in armor and horse however.
Lord Kastor of Veluca
Lord Kastor of Veluca
A claimant to the throne of Rhodoks.- Elective Monarchy: Claims that King Graveth's holding the electors hostage for their votes renders him an illegitimate monarch.
- Hypocrite: Does he proclaim himself a provisional acting king and call for elections after you give his rival the boot? No.
- Noble Fugitive: Exiled from the Kingdom of Rhodoks by virtue of being a rival claimant to the throne.
Kingdom of Nords
Nords' Banner
A kingdom of warriors and Jarls situated in north-western Caldaria- Achilles' Heel: They depend quite heavily on their good quality shields for defense, their armor isn't actually that thick (though they have very high HP). This makes them basically impossible to match when they need to fight in only one direction (read: sieges), but quite vulnerable to being flanked or attacked from behind on the open battlefield.
- Badass Army: They are known for this and they have the best non-armored infantry.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of medieval Scandinavians kingdoms.
- National Weapon: As you can probably guess, their units have a higher than average chance of being equipped with axes. Downplayed in that the Vaegirs also like to use them.
- Proud Warrior Race: Being inspired on the Vikings, this is a given.
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Like their historical counterparts they used to periodically raid the continent's northern shorelines before claiming them for themselves. Matheld in particular came to Calradia for the explicit purpose of doing this.
King Ragnar
King Ragnar
The king of Nords.- Authority Equals Asskicking: Claims it is a necessity as king of the Nords.
- Blood Knight: Takes pride in his martial prowess.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Is very willing to listen to advice from you, so long as he doesn't outright hate you.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Like all Calradian monarchs, he's active on the field during campaigns.
Lethwin Far-Seeker
Lethwin Far-Seeker
A claimant to the throne of Nords.- Badass Bookworm: Ragnar claims he is an unfit leader as he is a scholar and not a warrior. You can help him prove Ragnar otherwise.
- Gentleman and a Scholar: Spent his early life as a scholar rather than a warrior, by contrast with the typical Nord lifestyle.
- Noble Fugitive: Exiled from the Kingdom of Nords by virtue of being a rival claimant to the throne.
Khergit Khanate
Khergit Khanate's Banner
An Autocracy of horse-riders and nomads situated in eastern Caldaria, represented by the color lavender.
- Barbarian Tribe: According to the Khergit Companions, the Khergit Khanate is composed of various Barbarian/Raider tribes with their own culture and sense of honor.
- Born in the Saddle: Their culture revolves around horse-riding due to their nomadic roots.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of the Mongols and Central Asians.
- Fragile Speedster: Pretty much all of them, even Khergit Lancers are more mobile and maneuverable at the cost of hardiness and durability than other heavy cavalry. Given that this game strongly favors Mighty Glacier units, they often get
the short stick from players. - Hordes from the East: Yup.
- Horse Archer: Pretty much their shtick. They are also the only faction to use mounted ranged units in the game, period.
Sanjar Khan
Sanjar Khan
The khan of the Khergit Khanate.- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Claims that this is the inevitable result of Khergit inheritance laws, and that he saved the Khergits a bloody civil war by simply making the stronger brother (himself) king.
- Blood Knight: Places great value on strength of arms.
- Cain and Abel: Played with. He usurped his half-brother, Dustum, but because he did not want to fight him in a civil war for the whole Khanate.
- Decadent Court: Accused of this by Dustum.
- Fragile Speedster: Rides a Courser, and is armed with a one-handed slicing sword. He's not much good head-on as a result and is pretty easy to take down since head on is the AI's only approach.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Like all Calradian monarchs, he's active on the field during campaigns.
Dustum Khan
Dustum Khan
A claimant to the throne of Khergit Khanate.- Cain and Abel: With his half-brother, Sanjar.
- Noble Fugitive: Exiled from the Khergit Khanate by virtue of being a rival claimant to the throne.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Did a lot of the leg work governing the Khanate as a child and believes Sanjar usurped the throne because he had time to do so as Dustum was inspecting the border when their father died.
Kingdom of Vaegirs
Vaegirs' Banner
A kingdom of expert archers and Boyars situated in north-eastern Caldaria.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of medieval Eastern Europe and Russia.
- Glass Cannon: Their units' armor is noticeably inferior to that of most other factions' (excepting the Khergits), and they have a significantly smaller chance of spawning with shields, ironically making them particularly vulnerable to massed arrow fire.
- Grim Up North: Over half of their territory is permanently covered in snow and implied to be rather inhospitable. They specialize in producing trade goods like pelts, iron and tools, and are typically a little short on food wares.
- National Weapon: The bardiche
, a huge poleaxe with a crescent-shaped blade, which is used by both their highest-tiered infantry and their knights. Historically, it was the signature weapon of the streltsky, an elite army unit founded by Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
King Yaroglek
King Yaroglek
The king of Vaegirs.- Evil Uncle: According to his claimant even though they are technically cousins; definitely had one for a father.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Like all Calradian monarchs, he's active on the field during campaigns.
- Sins of Our Fathers: He bluntly admits that what his father did to Valdym was immoral; he simply doesn't think it just to end his reign for his father's crimes.
- Token Good Teammate: He's the most friendly of the six kings initially established in Calradia, and he's also the only king who didn't personally dethrone his kingdom's claimant.
- The Usurper: Is the son of one.
- Knightly Sword and Shield: A Military Pick and Knightly Kite Shield. He's not exactly well-suited for cavalry warfare, especially as his horse is a generic Hunter and weapon that barely reaches infantry while on horseback, but his gear combination makes him suprisingly dangerous in close-in mobs once he's pulled off his horse.
Prince Valdym the Bastard
Prince Valdym the Bastard
A claimant to the throne of Vaegirs.- Heroic Bastard: Invoked but subverted. The illegitimacy charge was malicious slander by The Usurper. Everyone including the latter's son- who is also the standing monarch and Valdym's rival for the throne- seems to disregard it.
- Noble Fugitive: Exiled from the Kingdom of Vaegirs by virtue of being a rival claimant to the throne.
Sarranid Sultanate
Sarranid Sultanate's Banner
A kingdom of expert horseriders and Emirs situated in south-eastern Caldaria.
- 24-Hour Armor: Unlike other Calradian lords, Sarranid emirs wear their armor even indoors and only take off their armored turbans. This is likely due to them being late additions to the game, since the developers probably couldn't be bothered to assign them civilian clothes.
- Black Vikings: Their units use the same face and body models as those of the other factions, which means that a significant number of Sarranids seen will be pale-skinned and have blonde hair. Historically, many Egyptian mamlukes actually did have such an appearance due to being descended from Cumans, a nomadic people living in what today is Ukraine. However, while here most Sarranid nobles look appropriately middle-Eastern, it is the generic soldiers and townspeople that instead mostly look like poorly disguised Caucasian actors.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of medieval Persian Kingdoms.
Sultan Hakim
Sultan Hakim
The sultan of Sarranid Sultanate.- Benevolent Boss: Tends to be generous with fiefs.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Like all Calradian monarchs, he's active on the field during campaigns.
- The Usurper: Arwa claims he illegally usurped the throne from her. Hakim counters that he has the better claim, since he's from a noble family while Arwa is just an adopted slave girl.
- Knightly Sword and Shield: Prefers a Sarranid Cavalry Sword and Elite Cavalry Shield. He's a very good mounted unit, second only to Harlaus.
Arwa the Pearled One
Arwa the Pearled One
A claimant to the throne of the Sarranid Sultanate.- Action Girl: She's a very combat-capable character in her own right.
- Born into Slavery: Presumably.
- Femme Fatale: According to Hakim, she used her feminine wiles to exert control over the realm. Arwa herself claimed it was her superior intellect and managerial skills that gave her the throne. Though those are not necessarily exclusive.
- Noble Fugitive: Exiled from the Sarranid Sultanate by virtue of being a rival claimant to the throne.
- Rags to Royalty: Went from being a slave in the old Sultan's household to being ruler of the Sarranids herself... until she was deposed by her nephew Hakim.
- Wicked Stepmother / Evil Aunt: According to Hakim.
