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This is your friendly guide to Rise of Kings: The Unravelling. And ours as well.
Factions & Civs
Factions in The Unravelling are generally based around regions affected by the Greentide in the Anbennar mythos - chiefly, the continent of Halcann. However, peripheral regions - notably Aelantir, divided from Halcann by an ocean, the Lament, as well as the Harimari nations of Rahen are visited by this mod.
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The 24 factions of The Unravelling are thus based on the 24 largest and most powerful factions to walk Halann's surface on both sides of Uelos' Lament on the eve of the Greentide. They are divided into different "races" and then split into individual civs you can pick when playing a game of Rise of Nations and each of them has different perks and traits.
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Of these perks and traits, some are shared - for instance, all Human civ units tend toward a balance between strength and defence (and not to mention affordability). In contrast, Dwarves tip the scales in favour of attack and defence but at the cost of mobility and affordability, while Goblins often are little more than cheap spear fodder, intended to overwhelm opponents through sheer weight of numbers (ground conditions willing). Some do well at sea - Elves, especially - while others are more land-focused like the Orcs. And each of these has their own individual cultural bonuses and unique units (and structures) thus ensuring no one civ is truly alike to another.
Hint: to see this civ's stats, click its corresponding thumbnail flag below.
Stereotypical Human factions, familiar to players of mediaeval or Arthurian-flavoured games and mods - Rise of Kings: Chronicles included. Their approach to war proffers a "middle of road" way, providing a balance between many factors - offensive prowess, cost, and individual resilience included.
Unlike the Elven forces of Fall of Nations: Cormodagor where they are immensely superior to all other races, but costly and difficult to train, Elven units can be typified as "stealthy glass cannons". They are extensively light infantry and cavalry, with many units being capable of becoming stealthed when it serves them to be as such.
An Elvish player par excellence will be one with strong diplomatic skills and an understanding of psychological warfare, using their ability to seemingly pop out of nowhere to keep opponents off balance and locked into a defensive mentality, whilst staying out of reach of their foes' best weapons, especially melee ones: caught out in the open with no support, an Elven warrior usually is a dead one.
Dwarven units may be slow and costly, but they often tend to be better girt if compared with the units of other factions, even if may well mean a higher degree of consumption of resources (most notably Metal) for their heavier units that use them. And they also have discovered a new wonder-weapon that may well turn the tide of many battles: gunpowder.
They are still slow and plodding on the march, regardless - and unless you plan ahead, expect your dwarves to get taken out by the cheaper and faster-moving races. Equally, none of the Dwarven factions of The Unravelling are anywhere near a maritime region, leaving Dwarven fleets mostly easy prey on water for the more adroit vessels of the Humans and Elves ....
Other races
Pure, unadulterated aggression fuels the Orcish way of war and so Orcs are known mainly as berserkers - they sacrifice armour for attack strength. Very few races can come toe to toe with an Orc host and win, unless it's Dwarven Warriors we are talking about. Still, this lack of robustness has its downsides - once an Orc rush is dead and gone, your chances of victory may have died alongside it unless you have a second wave of attackers or more in store. In addition, expect the Orcs to have very little in the way of true artillery, naval vessels or most war machines.
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Like Orcs, the felinid Harimari are also no less formidable but they have one other benefit - and that is speed. Harimari units on foot tend to be as fleetfooted as the Elves. Yet unlike Elves, their units often tend to cost more in resources, requiring more Wealth and Timber. And, in addition, the Harimari do not have horse cavalry, relying chiefly on War Elephants as their only form of cavalry. But when you can run faster than most races, is it really necessary for you to be mounted on horses at all?
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The cynoid Gnolls who across the arid northern reaches of Sarhal, while weaker than the Orcs, tend to have increased mobility and train time. They may not be as robust as Orcs or Humans, having less HP, nor may they be as fleetfooted as any Harimari or Elven marcher, but they can still be trained far more quickly than most other races' units. Make sure you have plenty of ranged weaponry and heavy units on hand if it's Gnolls you're facing down.
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At the lowest end of the robustness spectrum lie the Goblins. Still, don't overlook them - compared to other races, Goblins may well be among the most resilient of races in The Unravelling (if not the most on their own): if Gnolls have good tactical stats, Goblin units tend toward being very cheap, allowing you to train far more units than other races normally would. Even an Orc Lord, Human Knight or Dwarven Warrior must hesitate about the prospect of being surrounded by a whole cohort of Goblins, even if they can be assured of triumph in single combat against one of their number ....
Some notes
The meat and the potatoes of every game. There are upgrades for various functions in Hammurabi, yet resource gathering upgrades aside, the most important track probably is Logistics due to the lack of Supply Wagons. Some upgrades are required to access certain unit, particularly ships.
Governments
The meat and the potatoes of every game. There are upgrades for various functions in Hammurabi, yet resource gathering upgrades aside, the most important track probably is Logistics due to the lack of Supply Wagons. Some upgrades are required to access certain unit, particularly ships.
Woodworking
Name
Cost
Silviculture
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Artisanship
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Prereqs:
-
Leads to:
Paper Milling
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Prereqs:
-
Leads to:
Construction
Name
Cost
Masonry
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Crafts Specalisation
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Prereqs:
-
Leads to:
Monumental Architecture
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Woodworking
Name
Cost
Silviculture
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Prereqs:
-
Leads to:
Artisanship
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Prereqs:
-
Leads to:
Paper Milling
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Construction
Name
Cost
Masonry
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Crafts Specalisation
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Monumental Architecture
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Name
Cost
Name
Cost
Healthcare
Agronomics
Farming Tools
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Land Law
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Brewing
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Alchemical Lore
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Medical Thought
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Pharmacopeia
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Metallurgy
Name
Cost
Blast Furnace
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Mechanised Metalworking
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Callous Exploitation
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Logistics
Name
Cost
Quartermasters
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Supply Network
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Strategy
Pedagogics
Name
Cost
Name
Cost
Scholar-Nobles
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Alchemy
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Arcane Analysis
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Intelligence
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Secret Police
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Operation
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Physiurgy
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Name
Cost
Name
Cost
Evocation
Taxation
State Monopolies
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Customs & Excise
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Credit
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Enchantment
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Psychomancy
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
Necromancy
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
: 80
: 80
Attrition
Name
Cost
Name
Cost
Fortification
Bombardment
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
: 80
: 80
Communalism
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
: 80
: 80
Polygonal Architecture
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Prereqs:
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Leads to:
: 80
: 80
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Prereqs:
: 80
: 80