Frisian Sea Beta

The four peoples

Four peoples on the North Sea in the early Middle Ages, from about 650 to 1000: the Frisians, the Franks, the Saxons and the Danes. Each one plays differently. Sea, land, forest and raiding: four ways to win.

No people wins by itself. Each has a strong side and a weak side, and another people that does well against it.

What they share

  • Food, wood, iron and silver.
  • The same thirteen buildings. The hall and the roofs look different for each people.
  • The Terp Age, the Trading Age and the Kings' Age.
  • The same keys and the same buttons. If you know the Frisians, you can play the Franks right away.
  • Trade by sea with the hulk. The Frisians get the most out of it.

What each one has of its own

  • Three units of its own, each in place of a regular one. The Franks get a fourth on top: the stone thrower.
  • One rule of its own.
  • Two technologies of its own.
  • A fortress of its own in the Kings' Age.

A unit of its own counts as the unit it replaces. What makes the spearbearer stronger also makes the hirdman stronger.

Playable now

Frisians

Merchants of the sea, quick along the coast.

Around 700 the Frisians traded from Dorestad to London and Ribe, with Frieze cloth and silver sceattas. They lived on terps along the Wadden coast. Frisian horses were known early on.

Now in the game: their own three units, the Merchants rule, Raise the Terp, Frieze Cloth, and Ringburh.

“Leaver dea as slaaf.”

Better dead than a slave, the well-known watchword of Frisian freedom.

The motto of the Frisians
Read the story
A hall with a thatched roof and blue flags on a high grassy terp. Six villagers stand in front of it, and around it are two tidewalkers, two Frisian riders, an axe warrior, and a scout on horseback, all in leather caps, and a bowman without a cap.
The hall on its terp in the Kings' Age, with Frisian units around it.
Three Frisian cogs at the wharf, each with a screen of light linen along its sides, a light band of linen in its blue sail, and a man in a leather cap on the stern deck.
Frisian cogs at the wharf, as they are in the game now.
Three hulks at the wharf, loaded with sacks of food, a stack of wood and bars of iron.
Hulks with their cargo. They sail it to the roadstead and come back with silver.

Their own rule: Merchants

  • A hulk brings back more silver from every trip. With Frieze Cloth, even more.
  • Trade at the quay: at your wharf you swap one resource for another, always at the same price. You get back a little less than you give.
  • That way the silver from the sea makes up for a lack of iron.

Their own units

  • Two tidewalkers on the grass, each with a spear, a dark leather cap with a light band, and a round blue shield with a boss. A villager without a cap stands at the top left.
    Two tidewalkers, with the leather cap and round shield of the Frisians.

    Tidewalker

    Instead of the spearbearer

    Faster than a spearbearer on low land. So he is quick to reach the coast where the enemy lands.

  • Two Frisian riders on black horses, each with a spear, a leather cap, and a round blue shield. A villager stands behind them.
    Two Frisian riders on their dark horses.

    Frisian Rider

    Instead of the horseman

    A wealthy Frisian on horseback: faster than a horseman. He costs more silver and less iron.

  • A Frisian cog at sea, seen from above: a blue sail with a light band of linen across it, a linen screen along both sides, and a man on the stern deck.
    The Frisian Cog, with a linen screen along its sides and a band of linen across the sail.

    Frisian Cog

    Instead of the cog

    Sturdier than a cog, and it shoots one tile farther. That makes it more expensive too.

Their own technologies

Raise the Terp In the hall, in the Trading Age
Your hall shoots farther, sees farther and is sturdier.
Frieze Cloth At the wharf, in the Kings' Age
A hulk brings back even more silver from every trip.

Fortress

Ringburh

In the Kings' Age

Your hall is sturdier and shoots more often, and you can build turfwalls. The ring forts of Zeeland, such as those at Burgh and Souburg, were built in the ninth century against the Danes.

Strong

At sea, with silver, along the coast.

Weak

Deep inland, far from water.

How they play

You grow through the water and through trade, with silver that you swap at the wharf and spend on fast riders. Weak deep inland, on a map with little sea.

How to recognize them

A hall on its terp, of sod and reed. A leather cap or no helmet at all, and a round shield with a boss.

Playable now

Franks

The king's realm: heavy horsemen and counties.

The Franks subdued Frisia and Saxony, last of all under Charlemagne. His armies had heavy horsemen, the scara. He ruled his realm through counts and royal envoys, the missi dominici. The francisca, the throwing axe of the early Franks, was already an old tradition under Charlemagne.

Now in the game: their own three units, the Counties rule, King's Envoys, Vassals, and Palatium.

“Where the king comes, he stays.”

The motto of the Franks
Read the story
A Frankish hall in the Kings' Age: a long house with a steep roof of red tiles and a cross on the ridge, next to a stone tower with a blue banner. Villagers, a horseman, and spearbearers with a conical helmet and a domed shield stand around the hall.
The hall in the Kings' Age, with red tiles and a stone tower, and Frankish units around it.

Their own rule: Counties

  • You may build a count's court as early as the Trading Age. It is a second hall at the usual price: you drop off resources there, and it trains villagers, even while your hall advances to the Kings' Age.
  • But a count's court does not shoot, and it does not keep you in the game. If a count's court is all you have left, you are defeated.
  • In the Kings' Age a count's court becomes a regular hall, and you may build a third one.
  • So the Franks move to the middle of the map sooner, without being twice as hard to beat.

Their own units

  • Two scaras on dark horses, each with a spear, a gray pointed helmet with a narrow brim, and a large domed blue shield. Three villagers without helmets stand behind them.
    Two scaras with the helmet and shield of the Franks, on their heavy horses.

    Scara

    Instead of the horseman

    Heavier and more expensive than a horseman, and a little slower.

  • Two axe throwers with a gray pointed helmet with a narrow brim and a large domed blue shield with a cross of light bands and a pointed boss. A villager without a helmet stands on the left.
    Two axe throwers with the helmet and shield of the Franks.

    Axe Thrower

    Instead of the axe warrior

    He carries the francisca. When an enemy unit comes within a few tiles, he stops and throws his axe once. Then he fights up close, as an axe warrior: hard on buildings and on a gatebreaker. He does not throw at buildings or ships. After a while without fighting, he has a new axe.

  • A stone thrower on the grass with two crew members, and a stone flying through the air toward a hall with red roof tiles on the right.
    The stone thrower throws stones at a hall.

    Stone Thrower

    An extra unit, next to the gatebreaker

    From the barracks, in the Kings' Age. It hits only buildings and walls, from far away, and it does not shoot when it is too close. It is slow, and arrows do little to it. A few stone throwers wear down a hall faster than one villager can repair it, but two repairers keep up. So protect them and chase the repairers away: that is what the scaras are for. It fits on a praam, like the gatebreaker.

Their own technologies

King's Envoys In the hall, in the Trading Age
You see where the other players' halls stand, even in the fog.
Vassals In the stable, in the Kings' Age
The scara costs less iron.

Fortress

Palatium

In the Kings' Age

All Frankish buildings are made of stone: nothing of theirs burns, and the hall shoots more often. An answer to Pitch Arrows and to the Saxon seax fighters. The Franks never get the turfwall.

Strong

In the open field, and in a long game.

Weak

Expensive: lose your scaras and you fall behind.

How they play

Strong in the open field and in a long game, with costly, heavy units and a count's court in the middle of the map. Vulnerable once the scaras fall, and without any strength of their own at sea.

How to recognize them

A hall with a stone base, a timber top and red roof tiles. The other buildings have roofs of wooden shingles, and with Palatium stone walls and red tiles. A pointed helmet with a narrow brim, and a large domed shield.

Playable now

Saxons

The people of the forest: the ambush and the shield wall.

The Saxons lived in forest and heath between the Rhine and the Elbe, without a king. Once a year they met at the thing, an assembly, in Marklo. For thirty years they fought Charlemagne, from strongholds such as the Eresburg. That is also where the Irminsul stood, their sacred pillar.

In the game now: their three own units, the forest, Sacred Grove, the Thing at Marklo, and Folkburh.

“The forest does not forget.”

The motto of the Saxons
Read the story
A Saxon hall in the Kings' Age: a hall of heavy oak posts on a stone base, under a thatched roof with crossed beams on the ridge and blue flags. Around the hall stand villagers, spearbearers with a round shield, woodland archers in green, and a horseman.
The hall in the Kings' Age, with oak posts and a thatched roof, and Saxon units around it.
Six villagers by a pine forest. Above three of them, who stand next to a tree, hangs a light leaf, and a dark green ring lies around them.
Villagers in the forest: whoever stands still next to a tree is hidden from an enemy.

Their own rule: The Forest

  • A Saxon unit standing still beside a tree, or a Saxon building beside a tree, is hidden from enemies. It is not on screen or on the minimap, and you cannot attack it. A hall can always be seen.
  • Whoever moves can be seen. After standing still for a second, they are hidden again.
  • You see it once one of your units, lookouts or halls, or one of your team's, is within three tiles.
  • Whoever attacks from the forest can be seen for ten seconds by the team they attacked.
  • Villagers chop wood faster. But whoever clears the forest around their village loses their cover.

Their own units

  • Three shield guards on the grass, each with a spear, a leather cap with a band, and a round blue shield with a light sun wheel. Pine trees stand on the left.
    Three shield guards close together: that is how a shield wall stands.

    Shield Guard

    Instead of the spearbearer

    Shield wall: with two other shield guards close by, he takes less damage, arrows included. With Linden Shields, even less from an arrow.

  • Two seax fighters on the grass, with a leather cap with a band and a round blue shield with a light sun wheel. Pine trees stand on the left.
    Two seax fighters, with the leather cap and round shield of the Saxons.

    Seax Fighter

    Instead of the axe warrior

    Faster and cheaper than an axe warrior, but not as hard on buildings. A raider along the edge of the forest.

  • Two woodland archers with a dark green hood and a bow, at the edge of a pine forest. A light leaf hangs above each, and a dark green ring lies below each.
    Two woodland archers at the edge of the forest. The leaf and the ring say they are hidden from an enemy.

    Woodland Archer

    Instead of the bowman

    Next to a tree he shoots one tile farther. He has slightly fewer hit points than a bowman.

Their own technologies

Sacred Grove In the hall, in the Trading Age
A Saxon unit next to a tree hits harder. Named after the Irminsul, the pillar in the sacred grove.
The Thing at Marklo In the hall, in the Kings' Age
Free farmers bear arms: your villagers hit harder and can take more.

Fortress

Folkburh

In the Kings' Age

Stakewalls and gates are much sturdier, a lookout shoots one tile farther, and you can build turfwalls, as with Ringburh.

Strong

In the forest, and when their own land is attacked.

Weak

In the open field against heavy horsemen.

How they play

An army you don't see coming, shield walls that catch arrows, and cheap foot soldiers. Weak in the open field against scaras, and on a map with little forest.

How to recognize them

A hall of heavy oak posts with clay between them, under a half-hipped thatched roof with crossed horse heads on the ridge, and other buildings of dark oak. A leather cap with a band, and a round shield in the color of its player, with a light painted sun wheel.

Playable now

Danes

From across the sea: longships and raids.

Around 800 King Godfred built the Danevirke, the wall between Jutland and the realm of Charlemagne. He moved merchants to Hedeby. Then came the raids across the sea, as far as Dorestad. A strandhugg was a quick raid for cattle on the coast.

Now in the game: the hirdman, the berserker and the longship, the Raiding rule, Strandhugg, Hedeby and the Danevirke.

“The sea is our road.”

The motto of the Danes
Read the story
A Danish hall in the Kings' Age: a longhouse under a curved roof of planks, with crossed beams on both ridge ends and blue flags. Around the hall stand spearbearers with a dark iron helmet and a round shield, two horsemen, and a berserker in a bearskin.
The hall in the Kings' Age, with the curved roof of planks, and Danish units around it.
A Danish village: three houses with a curved roof of planks, on the right an open shed with a curved roof and a shooting range, and four villagers in blue.
A Danish village: the other buildings have a curved roof too.

Their own rule: Raiding

  • When an enemy building falls to the last blow of a Danish unit or ship, the Danes get a third of what the building cost, plus some food.
  • A foundation that is not finished yields nothing, and neither does a building of an ally.
  • A Dane who kills an enemy villager takes what the villager was carrying, plus some food.
  • So a raid on five houses and a store barn pays for almost three hirdmen. A barracks or a wharf pays more.

Their own units

  • Two hirdmen on the grass, each with a spear, a dark iron helmet with a light band around the eyes, and a round blue shield of planks. A pine tree stands on the left.
    Two hirdmen, with the iron helmet and round shield of the Danes.

    Hirdman

    Instead of the spearbearer

    Sturdier and slightly more expensive than a spearbearer, still without iron. Just as good against horsemen.

  • Two berserkers on the grass, in a bearskin with the bear's head on top, each with a big axe. At the top right stands a building with a curved roof of planks.
    Two berserkers, in a bearskin and with a big axe.

    Berserker

    Instead of the axe warrior

    A last stand: below half his hit points he hits much harder and moves faster. As hard on buildings as the axe warrior.

  • A longship at sea, seen from above: a long, low hull with a curved prow at both ends, a blue sail with light stripes, a row of round blue shields along the sides, and a man in an iron helmet on board.
    The longship, with its curved prows and the shields along its sides.

    Longship

    Instead of the cog and the praam

    Warship and transport in one: it carries troops, on foot or on horseback, and it is faster than a cog. Empty, it fights like a cog. With men on board, it does not attack by itself.

Their own technologies

Strandhugg At the wharf, in the Trading Age
Whoever comes ashore from a longship moves faster for a while.
Hedeby In the hall, in the Kings' Age
Raiding yields half of what a building cost, instead of a third.

Fortress

Danevirke

In the Kings' Age

You build turfwalls at half the price, and your walls are sturdier.

Strong

Early on, and against a village on the coast.

Weak

In a long game, when the raids fail.

How they play

Fast, early and across the sea. Strong against a village on the coast and in a game that is decided early. Weak in a long game, when the raids fail.

How to recognize them

A longhouse with a curved ridge and a roof of planks, and curved roofs on the other buildings. A round helmet with a spectacle guard, never with horns, and a round shield with its planks showing.

Who is good against whom

  • The scara beats the Saxons in the open field.

  • The Saxons lie in wait for the Danes in the forest.

  • The Danes raid the Frisian coast.

  • The Frisians slip away from the Franks across the water.

That is a direction, not a law. How it really works out, we will see once everything is in the game.