Atlas
From Warbirth Wiki
Introduction[edit | edit source]
There are some fundamental differences between the two campaigns supported by this Atlas:
- Rising Tide does not have any Supply Centres or Iron Ore, and is more "open" - players need only destroy or ally with all the major factions, or otherwise gain tribute and colonise the western part of the map as Phoenicia.
- Blood and Iron has both but has a different set of rules. Whereas in Rising Tide there are no additional armies, Blood and Iron contains Iron Ore and Supply Centre territories, and capturing at least 8 of either one will allow for a Strategic victory.
Regions by Geography[edit | edit source]
Hint: Mouse over the map to access the atlas entry for each relevant region. The world of Warbirth: Age of Chariots is divided into 8 continents and 22 regions, being:
- Central Asia: Consists of present-day India and Iran, divided into north and south Asia. Colonised primarily by Mlecchas.
- Eastern Asia: Consists of modern China and her surrounding peripheries. Infested mainly by Yi peoples.
- Western Asia: Asia Minor, Buranun, Arabia
- Northern Europe
- Eastern Europe
- Western Europe
- Southern Europe: loosely based around the Mediterranean and covering 12 terrritories, split between the Adriatic, Aegean and Tyrrhenian Seas, as well as Tarxix.
- Africa: 10 territories, broken up into Egypt (4) and Libya (6)
"Regions" don't produce tribute if unified, but still have different sets of barbarians. There are only 12 supply centres, and each one is based along a riparian area.
Rules[edit | edit source]
Trade routes[edit | edit source]
These consist of:
- Incense Route (Arabia)
- Silk Route (Central Asia)
- Amber Route (Northern Europe)
Campaigns[edit | edit source]
Rising Tide[edit | edit source]
This is your main CtW, with CtW-style rules save for the fact that there are no supply centres, armies must be attained by uniting the larger regional groupings.
- Etruscans are absent from the map.
- Argive nation controls a vast swathe of the Mediterranean: Argos, Kaftor, Epirus, and Sikelia.
BUT....
- Indians, Zhou, Shang and Bach Viet cover only 1 territory.
Blood and Iron[edit | edit source]
A more nuanced experience, set after the Bronze Age Collapse. The map is now dotted with iron deposits, which can be beneficial in your battles.
The following factions are also recast:
Strategic resources (and where to find them)[edit | edit source]
Citrus |
Occurs in: |
Citrus fruits can be traced back to Asia, where they were first cultivated. Oranges and lemons first made their appearance in Mediaeval Europe, following the arrival of Islam which discovered that it was expedient to grow citrus trees in the Mediterranean. Much later, Europeans discovered that citrus could prevent scurvy, and so fleets who could afford it issued citrus to their sailors. For this reason, the British — a major maritime power — were sometimes called "Limeys". |
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Wool |
Occurs in: |
Aside from producing food if slaughtered, sheep also provide valuable milk and wool which is easier to weave than tree bark fibre. Sheep are also of great ritual significance: Etruscan priests were said to have practised hepatomancy — a form of divination where sheep livers were used to predict the future. |
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Papyrus |
Occurs in: |
This fragile but useful material is produced from flattening the fibres of a marsh plant found in Egypt into thin sheets which can then be written upon with ink. |
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Wine |
Occurs in: |
There are many differences between wine and other alcoholic brews, most notably in the content of sugar and alcohol of the drink in question. It is thought that viticulture first took place in Western Asia, before being spread westward by Phoenician and Greek colonists throughout Europe and Africa. |
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Slave Emporion |
Occurs in: |
The best way to dispose of your foes and other undesirables is to sell them off to others willing to endure them. At the drop of a coin — or a few more — troublemakers become the prestige and profit of others, wherever slavers congregate with their grisly traffic in human flesh and misery. |
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Seals |
Occurs in: |
These strange-looking creatures have a hide that is both light, yet resistant and waterproof, making them a prize worth hunting. |
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Spices |
Available only from colonies |
With salt and spices, food could be preserved and kept for longer periods, or at least have the taste of spoilage concealed with strong flavours, with the most desired spices being pepper, cinnamon, saffron and ginger. |
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Silk |
Occurs in: |
Comfortable and resilient, silk bought China much wealth and was the one reason for the existence of the Silk Road until the Late Middle Ages when the Romans managed to smuggle silkworm moths into Greece. |
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Salmon |
Occurs in: |
A voracious predator which lives mostly in the more frigid waters of the world, salmon was considered a delicacy by the Celts of Gaul and Britain. The Irish tale of the Salmon of Wisdom, a fish which upon being eaten could confer all knowledge in the world on whoever consumed it, attests to its importance well into our own times. |
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Obsidian |
Occurs in: |
This precious material, formed from vitrified igneous rock, can hold an extremely sharp blade despite being fragile. For this reason, surgical instruments may be made out of this material. |
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Gold |
Occurs in: |
Malleable yet enduring, gold was the ultimate prize in the classical world: it was, after all, the reasons for the fame of the Egyptian pharaohs and possibly the power of the Argeadae of Macedon as a stable denominator of value. |
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Olive Oil |
Occurs in:
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Olive oil, an edible fat, was used in a variety of ways — it was used with vinegar in salads in Italy, and was also used as grease for machines and joints. |
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Incense |
Occurs in: |
The scent of incense can be of such great strength that it obscures other less desirable odours. For this reason, incense featured greatly in many religious rituals, such as invocations and funerals. |
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Granite |
Occurs in: |
Granite is a coarse-grained, light-colored igneous rock and has been used for thousands of years in both interior and exterior applications, although not as preferable as marble. The most famous use of granite in construction was in Egyptian funerary monuments: the interior reaches of the Pyramids are lined with granite slabs. |
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Furs |
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Exploiting natural animal resources is one of the cheapest and most effective ways of making profit from virgin territory as they are tough enough to hunt their quarry, or fight or trade with the natives for pelts. |
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Horses |
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By virtue of their dexterity and sociability, horses formed the economic and military lynchpins of many empires. Nomadic tribes on horseback were feared for the deadly speed and flexibility their warriors had. Horses also had a vital non-belligerent role as well: the Persians (formerly a nomadic tribe themselves) used of horses in the chaparkhaneh, a courier system which can be considered the world's first postal service. |
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Iron Ore |
Occurs in:
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Despite being the most common metal in the world due to its presence everywhere, it is however harder to find deposits of iron ore large enough for economic exploitation. Nevertheless, there are countless areas in the world where this strange metal can be found, and the ore itself can be ground down to produce an attractive reddish powder for use as a dye. |
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Peacocks |
Occurs in: |
If there was a way of proclaiming one's own worth through opulence, the mere possession of these animals from distant lands would be the ultimate prestige symbol. |
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Marble |
Occurs in: |
A beautiful metamorphic rock, marble has been the dream medium of choice for sculptors and stonemasons everywhere ever since man learnt to build tall walls . |
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Glass |
Occurs in:
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Thought to have been first created in the Middle East during the Bronze Age, glass was used for various kinds of bottles, utensils, mirrors and more. |
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Gems |
Occurs in: |
Apart from being asthetically attractive, gems were also thought to have mystical powers, a belief that has lasted well into our own day. Most gems in the ancient world were mined in Egypt, Bactria and India. |
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Fish |
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Fish and seafood formed a vital component in the diet of beach-dwellers, but not everyone would be content with bland fish meat. The most notorious use Romans had for fish was to ferment it to form garum, a fish sauce which they used to flavour almost everything which was edible to them — but whose production was a smelly process which resulted in laws regulating the location of garum refineries! |
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Sugar |
Available only from colonies |
Sugar — today the bane of dieters and diabetics alike — was once a luxury which could only be imported from India.. |
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Dyes |
Occurs in: |
Although the ancient world could use all sorts of materials for dye including lime, ochre (petrified rust), soot, woad and even human urine, the most prized of all dye was derived from the murex, a crustacean whose bodily secretions contained high levels of iodine, producing a beautiful purple colour. So prized and so difficult was it to extract murex dye that only the extremely rich could afford fully purple fabrics. |
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Diamonds |
Available only from colonies |
Romans regarded diamonds with much reverence, believing it powerful in making its wearer brave and daring, giving him the victory over his enemies. If set in fine steel, it was considered a charm against insanity. |
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Cotton |
Available only from colonies |
Originally cultivated in Persia and India, cotton was more readily available, and it was easier to wash than wool and silken textiles, and could also be used to form quilted armour which was useful against projectiles such as arrows and darts in combination with other forms of armour. |
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Relics |
Occurs in: |
Relics served as a link to a holy personage or to divinity itself. In Homer's Odyssey, the Argives tried to steal the Palladium, a relic which supposed was sent down from heaven, as they thought it would give them victory over the Trojans. The appeal of relics as cultic objects was so robust that it lasted even into the mediaeval era. |
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Silver |
Occurs in: |
While gold often stole the limelight for precious metals, silver was no less significant, although it was liable of tarnishing much faster than gold normally would. Contrary to popular belief, Roman soldiers weren't paid in salt, but were salaried instead in silver. |
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Salt |
Occurs in: |
Equally as vital as gold was salt, which is fundamental to the functioning of the human body as well as for the task of preserving meat and vegetables. So valuable and vital was salt that the term "salary" refers to the practice of frequent payments to Roman soldiers to allow them to buy salt. |
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Dates |
Occurs in: |
While considered a delicacy to most civilised nations, dates are however a vital source of food for those living in the desert. High in sugar and other nutrients, dates are not merely just eaten as they are, but are also fermented to produce a liquor by some desert cultures. |
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Copper |
Occurs in: |
Although the onset of the Iron Age almost two millenia ago effectively reduced the importance of copper, the mining of copper still continued to take place. Copper continued to be the metal of choice for cooking utensils as it was elegant, and tended to resist heat better than iron. Some also believed that cooking with copper pans also improves food's nutritional value. |
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Bitumen |
Occurs in: |
This strange viscuous fluid can be found in abundance in many places in Asia, and has proven to be useful as both a sealant and a waterpoofing agent. The vapours of this material are thought to induce visions from the gods — but nobody takes that seriously. |
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Cattle |
Occurs in: |
Cattle was by the preferred choice for pastoralists in Classical Europe: aside from providing leather and meat, bulls could be used as beasts of burden, and cows would provide milk which was then used to produce butter and cheese. The Celts were known to be expert cattle farmers...as well as rustlers. |
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Brimstone |
Occurs in: |
This strange foul-smelling substance has a variety of uses, most notably in medicine and alchemical operations. |
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Bison |
Occurs in: |
Formerly ubiquitous and native to almost all but the loftiest heights of the world, bison are now confined to the northern reaches of Europe. |
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Beaver Pelts |
Occurs in: |
Beavers were not just hunted for fur but for their castoreum, an oil secreted from glands in their groins, which was then thought to have medicinal qualities. Widespread hunting however decimated the indigenous beaver population, and it is only thanks to vigorous conservation efforts that beavers have begun to return back to Europe's ecosystems. |
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Amber |
Occurs in: |
Amber is fossilized tree resin, usually of a yellow, orange or brown color and of a transparent, cloudy or solid appearance and has been used as jewellery and fragrance alike: if heated under the right conditions, amber becomes a sticky fluid again and produces a light 'pinewood scent', which was used by the ancient Greeks as a form of aromatherapy. |