"... When the whelk will ring out,
I will ride my horse and fight in the name of my sire and lady,
as long as I breathe the lands entrusted to me
they will not be touched by evil.
Honor is everything. Cavalry is everything ... "
Vow of the Knight of Bretonnia
Bretonnia
Bretonnia is a faction of humans strongly inspired by the medieval Arthurian universe of the Breton cycle. Second only to the empire, it is one of the most developed human civilizations in power and prosperity.
The Bretonnian armies have the best cavalry in the game, at the expense of a very ineffective infantry made up of some of the less useful units. This makes their strategies one based on a quick use of expensive units to outmaneuver enemies before they can fully implement their maneuvers.
Strategy in the Campaign
Campaign Special Rules:
- Chivalric conduct:
For the knights of Bretonnia, the chivalric code is everything. The faction has a particular and unique score, based on military progress, character traits and actions performed. Each military victory will raise that score, while negative actions such as raiding, looting and ransoming prisoners of war will result in penalties. On the basis of this score, bonuses or penalties will be awarded for the troops.
To conclude the campaign, it will be necessary to reach a high level of conduct, which will allow the knights to participate in the War of the Errand: optionally, an expedition to the north against a massive army of Chaos or to the south against a fearsome greenskin horde.
- Agricultural economy:
While the most valuable units of knights are feudal lords, the infantry units are made up of commoners, who if recruited will not be able to work in the fields of their lords. Each controlled region will increase by 2 the units of commoners who can be recruited simultaneously, while the capital alone allows for 8. If the limit is exceeded by recruiting hordes of peasants, the economy of some buildings would be affected by drastically lowering the income. If the limit is respected, however, the maintenance of these units will be less expensive than 10%. - Knightly vows:
Each Bretonnian lord has a branch of skill related to the kingdom's three knightly vows. Each of these, if unlocked, allows the lord to maintain certain classes of knight units without incurring hefty penalties for their upkeep. - Special Faction Rules:
Absence of Corruption
Recruiting more armies does not result in a percentage increase in upkeep cost, as is the case with the corruption of the Empire or the dispersion of Vampire Counts magic.
United Bretonnia
Joining other factions to yours does not result in a public order penalty, but a bonus. It is also possible to merge multiple factions in succession without waiting a few turns.
Enclosure
Upgrading a settlement center to level 3 adds walls to that city without the need to build a garrison. The latter only increases the quantity and quality of the troops stationed in that settlement.
Special Unit Rules:
- Blessing of the Lady:
Following a series of victories, an army can gain a blessing from their deity, the Lady of the Lake. This results in a 20% physical damage resistance, capable of strengthening even inexpensive armies.
Should the army choose to withdraw from any encounter in a pre-battle panel, the blessing given to that army would be immediately revoked.
- Living Saints:
Some of Bretonnia's units are made up of incredibly pious knights who have personally drank from the Holy Grail. Such units enjoy total immunity from fatigue, regardless of how much they have spent in battle, immunity to psychology, and the Lady's blessing (standard and irrevocable).
Army Mode:
- Marching
- Ambush
- Assault
- In camp
Recruitment Mode:
- Local
- Global (when in a Settlement or Camp Mode)
Settlement conquest mode:
- Occupies (Regions inhabited by Humans or Vampire Counts only)
- Raid (implies malus in chivalrous conduct)
- Raze (If a non-Human settlement is razed to the ground, there is a bonus in chivalric conduct)
Home
As the campaign begins, Bretonnia is at war with the Skealing faction, bordering other Bretonnian factions to the south, Marienburg to the east, and a Greenskin tribe to the southeast. Continuing the war against the Skaelings will not bring many advantages, especially because the first few turns will be dedicated to not collapsing public order and consolidating your possessions. Look kindly on the conquest of Marienburg: this will lead you to acquire a rich city and unlock trade with the empire.
Due to the commoners' recruitment limit, going to war with other Bretonnian factions may not be the best solution: through technologies you will get huge diplomatic bonuses and the ability to join them, so a conflict is not necessary. Better to unite against the undead faction of the former Duchy of Mousillon, to the southwest.
The wood elves of Athel-Lorien may wage war on you when you arrive at the gates of their forest. They are not a real threat, as most of the time they will just make a formal statement, never sending more than a few agents against you. Furthermore, starting a military campaign within their territory could end in a bloodbath, and at best you will have lost a valiant ally against chaos.
Storm of Chaos
By the arrival of the warriors of chaos you should have managed to consolidate the whole Breton peninsula, and you will have Estalia at your southern border.
Several armies of Norsemen may land from the north, so keeping a lord near the capital may prove wise. From the south you can negotiate peace with the factions you may not be on good terms with, and the only problem could be some barking herd that occasionally shows up at Carcassone, raiding that province before entering Athel-Loren.
When the Empire falls under the blows of the armies of Chaos, they could penetrate your territories through the passes in the gray mountains to the east. If you have high-end units at your disposal, try to neutralize one army at a time before they come to demolish your border towns.
Confronting the Warriors of Chaos could be helpful as they declare war on you, but defeat at Archaon is not a victory condition for Bretonnia.
Age of Peace
Having successfully dealt with the Chaos, you can choose to expand across the continent by colonizing the ruins left by the war, or choose to conquer the southern kingdoms by force. This may depend on the choice you have made regarding the War of the Errance. You will have no natural enemies, and you can devote yourself more or less in peace to upgrading your military buildings to gather an army powerful enough to win the final battle against evil.
Battle Tactics
Strengths:
- Best cavalry, specializing in every function
- Economic infantry units
- Great flying cavalry options
- Good knowledge of magic
Weaknesses:
- No heavily armored infantry units
- Disadvantaged in attacking walled settlements
- Few units of fire, none of heavy fire
Use Bretonnia
Being able to count on all types of cavalry, Bretonnia has the ability to dictate the rules of engagement at will. While the main line of the army can be made up of easily expendable commoners (be they armigers or squires), the assault cavalry can easily take the enemy from behind and break his discipline, before the commoners flee, corroding flanking enemy units and also causing severe damage. Having in addition several flying units at its disposal, it partially manages to obviate the weakness that cavalry has towards shooting: they can easily cross the enemy infantry line and forcefully charge the missile units and slow artillery, neutralizing them first. have time to fire.
For armies that do not make use of the highest level knights, on the other hand, a compact front of squires, with halberdiers at their sides, can act as a diversion to the units of archers and valvassini on horseback, to weaken the enemy troops as much as possible before arrive at a hand-to-hand fight, supported however by mid-range assault cavalry in the enemy rear.
Confronting Bretonnia
Bretonnia will almost certainly have the advantage of the cavalry, so it could try to surround you right away. It is very important not to get their troops in an advantageous position. To this end, it is useful to place anti-cavalry units such as halberdiers or other cavalry on the flanks and also on the back, and support them with all the fire available to immediately neutralize the great mobility available to the enemy. Having artillery units could guarantee you supremacy in the clash between the two main lines, thus creating a break from which the enemy cavalry alone will not be able to recover.
A special mention should be made for siege battles: if Bretonnia declares war on you, one of the best ways to counter it is to let it attack you in a fortified settlement. Cavalry units will be incredibly limited, remaining almost excluded from the fight, and you may be able to get the better of a considerable enemy contingent with ease, before moving on to counterattack.
Best Units
- Commoners archers
Cheap and one-turn recruitable even from global recruiting, these archers are Bretonnia's only infantry firing option. While not having any exceptional characteristics, they are also available without too much difficulty with fire arrows (ideal for countering the undead or the Elves) and with poison arrows (recommended against armored enemies).
- Knights on real pegasi
Perhaps the best of the flying cavalry, made up of Living Saints equipped with a light shield, good armor and magical attacks. It also has a bonus against large units.
- Knights of the Grail
The best non-flying assault cavalry in the faction. Living Saints too, with the game's highest charge bonus, magic attacks and big counter bonuses. They also have the Formation Skill, which grants additional charge bonuses at the expense of lower defense and speed, for a truly overwhelming charge against any enemy formation.
- Guardians of the Grail
Units that we could easily define as "melee cavalry". 120 armor with the addition of a shield and a very high melee defense makes them capable of dealing with almost any type of infantry without sudden losses. As if that weren't enough, it should be noted that they are also Living Saints, so they will never tire of slaughtering enemies and come standard with an additional 20% reduction in physical damage.
- Knights of the royal hippogriffs
The flying cavalry with the highest strength value of the weapon, moreover penetrating. Unfortunately, he has little armor and does not have a shield, so he lends his side to the concentrated enemy fire. If used properly, its volume and cause of fear and terror can be used to break up the enemy formation at strategic points and bring the battle closer to a victorious conclusion.
- The Green Knight
An honorable mention for this hero available only for Bretonnia and only for a limited number of "summons". Whenever the chivalric conduct reaches a given score, you get to be able to summon this mythological figure to your aid. It can be used like any hero and can take part in fights, but will leave after a few turns.
Being ethereal, in combat it enjoys a protection from physical damage of 60%, to which must be added the Blessing of the Lady which goes to give it another 20%. Unlike other "ghosts" it has a light armor of 25 points and a shield, which help to make it very durable in close combat against units without magic attacks. It is also irreducible and encourages neighboring units.
