Playing Man (Tower of Avalon)

This guide covers Man in the middle age, the Tower of Avalon. The plain text states what the nation file and the unit and spell pages say. The shaded Opinion blocks are one player’s advice.

At a glance

Man’s mages reach Nature 3 and Glamour 2, with Earth 1 and Holy 1 as well. The nation file lists its recruits as longbowmen, spearmen and knights, with the Logrian people recruited outside fortified provinces. It describes Man’s priests as weak. Temples are cheaper for Man than the standard price, and the Forts page lists Man as paying half.

Most of the army is hired only in a province with a fort. The Logrian units can be hired anywhere: the Logrian Slinger, the Logrian Warrior and the Logrian Cavalry, along with the Monk and the Logrian Wise Man.

How the nation wins

Man fields archers, spear infantry and a ladder of mounted troops. The Longbowman carries a Long Bow. The Knight of Man wears full chain mail and carries a lance, a broad sword and a kite shield. The commanders of Avalon, the Daughter of Avalon and the Mother of Avalon, carry Nature and Glamour into the army.

Early turns

Fort-only troops need a fort in the province where you hire them (Forts). The Logrian troops need no fort, so they can be hired in new provinces. The Forester is a missile unit with a Short Bow, and the Tower Guard carries a broad sword, chain mail and a shield. The Castellan is a commander with a leadership of 100 for ordinary troops, and the Royal Forester commands from a Short Bow and axes. Upkeep is paid every turn for as long as a unit lives (Economy).

Army and commanders

The Castellan, Royal Forester, Bard, Daughter of Avalon and Mother of Avalon need a fort. The Monk and the Logrian Wise Man do not. The Mother of Avalon leads 50 ordinary troops and 20 magic beings, and carries Nature 1, Glamour 1 and Holy 1, with random extra levels. The Daughter of Avalon carries Nature 1 and Glamour 1, and the Bard carries Glamour 1. Each of the three has the spell singer ability. The Monk carries Holy 1 and is sacred and divinely inspired. The Logrian Wise Man carries Earth 1.

Troop leadership is covered in Army management. On the unit pages, the Landless Knight and the Logrian Cavalry move 10 on the map, and the Knight of Man moves 8, the slowest of Man’s troops. An army moves at the speed of its slowest member (Map movement), so knights slow any stack they join.

Magic and research priorities

Man’s national spells are Chorus Master, Chorus Slave, Geas, Herd of Unicorns, Summon Black Dogs, Summon Cu Sidhe and Summon Barghests. Chorus Master and Chorus Slave are level 1 Thaumaturgy spells needing Glamour 1, and only spell singers can cast them. Geas is a Thaumaturgy spell of level 3 that needs Glamour 2 and compels its target to attack friends. Herd of Unicorns is a Conjuration spell of level 4 that needs Glamour 2 and Nature 1 and costs 10 Glamour gems. Summon Cu Sidhe needs Glamour 2 and 5 Glamour gems. The two Death summons need Death 2 and 5 or 7 Death gems. Research is on Research, path levels on How magic paths work and spell fatigue on Fatigue. The research page names the Monk as a unit that can research without magic skill.

Pretender ideas

The nation file lets Man choose from a long list of pretenders, including the Arch Druid, the Great Mother, the Monolith and the Lord of the Forest. How points are spent is on Pretender design. The Daughter of Avalon, the Mother of Avalon and the Monk are sacred, so a blessing and your god’s bless effects reach them (Blesses).

Weaknesses and counters

The nation file says the infantry is limited and lacks heavy troops. It lists Man’s priests as weak. The troops lean on archers and knights, and the Knight of Man is the slowest of them on the map. If every commander on one side dies or flees, that whole side flees (Combat), which makes a lone Castellan a risk.

Against which neighbours

The map decides who the neighbours are, and the nation file does not say. Their pages are under middle age nations.