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7a. Opponents: The Caliph
Monday, December 12, 2011 - 07:24 AM
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Cruel and vindictive, the Caliph is skilled at bringing misery to both his own people and to yours. If he can get his tyrannical act together, his underhand methods of fighting will prove a constant
thorn in your side.
A strategy guide, castle guide, map makers guide, walkthroughs and a lot of pitch awaits you inside...
Submitted by Leto
Opponent overview:
The Caliph (Arabic: خليفة ḫalīfah/khalīfah) is the head of state in a Caliphate. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word خليفة Khalīfah which means "successor" or "representative".
The Caliph is an average opponent (no blue/yellow dots). As is common with Arabian lords, he uses a range of troops but the Caliph especially emphasizes on the use of fire in attacking foes and in defending his castle.
The Caliph is notorious for sending hordes of slaves, even early on in the game, to set alight any building that is exposed and that they can reach. Yet the most notable use of fire is the large amounts of pitch, fire ballista, fire throwers and engineers with oil pots that protect his castle. The Caliph places bad things thus his economy will have a bonus at the cost of his troops morale.
Nicknames:
The Caliph has the following nicknames:
Caliph "The Scorpion"
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger.
Though the scorpion has a fearsome reputation as venomous, only about 25 species have venom capable of killing a human being
Caliph "The Jackal"
Jackals and coyotes (sometimes called the "American jackal") are opportunistic omnivores; predators of small- to medium-sized animals and proficient scavengers.
Although the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of northern Africa and south-central Eurasia.
Caliph "The Camel"
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back.
There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia, and Bactrian camels are native to Central and East Asia. Both species are domesticated; they provide milk and meat, and are working animals.
Caliph "The Vulture"
Vulture is the name given to a group of evolved scavenging birds. Vultures are classified into two groups: Old World Vultures and New World Vultures. The similarities between the two different groups are due to convergent evolution.
A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald head, devoid of normal feathers.
Caliph "The Crab"
A crab is a water-dwelling creature of the infaorder Brachyura within the order Decapoda, characterized by a broad flattened cephalothorax covered by a hard carapace with a small abdomen concealed beneath it, short antennae, and five pairs of legs, of which the anterior pair are large and pincerlike.
Crabs are popular for human consumption.
Caliph "The Hyena"
An hyena is an carnivorous mammals of the family Hyaenidae of Africa and Asia, which feed as scavengers and have powerful jaws, relatively short hind limbs, and coarse hair.
Hyenas feature prominently in the folklore and mythology of human cultures with which they are sympatric. Hyenas are mostly viewed with fear and contempt, as well as being associated with witchcraft, as their body parts are used as ingredients in traditional medicine.
Caliph "The Desert Rat"
The Desert Rat is an old common name for the gerbil group of animals which includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats.
Caliph "The Bad One"
Bad is an adjective of something having undesirable or negative qualities. It has also some other meanings including, but limited to:
Evil; sinful; immoral
Vulgar or obscene
Disagreeable, unpleasant, or disturbing
Military overview:
The Caliph prefers to use the following troops:
Arabian bowmen
Arabian swordsmen
Horse archers
Fire throwers
Engineers with oil pots or man fire ballista or catapults
The Caliph makes use of a thin wall with lookout towers to surround his castle that he mans with Arabian bowmen, fire throwers and engineers with oil pots. In his larger castle designs he will construct a low perimeter wall. More than often, some fire ballista are present in the defence as a substitute for the lack of tower mounted equipment.
By far the most notable feature in his castle is the extensive use of pitch ditch that he surrounds the castle with that dramatically increases his defence against large armies.
The Caliph doesnt need much time or resources to construct the castle but its the pitch that is essential for his defences such as ditches and engineers with oil pots. And this maximizes the effect when coupled with Arabian bowmen with braziers, and fire throwers.
Possibly the most notorious and aggravating trait of the fire use is the large quantities of slaves he sends to torch down buildings that is within grasp. Even a single slave can mess up a well organized economy if allowed to slip through the defences. For this reason, wells or water pots is always a must when dealing with the Caliph.
If unhindered, the Caliph will make around 90 troops before launching his first attack. Consisting out of engineers, Arabian bowmen, swordsmen and horse archers.
If there are multiple allied Caliphs on the map, surprisingly large forces, with even larger groups of slaves, are heading towards your castle at the same time. Fortunately, the Caliph troops have a morale penalty.
Civilian overview:
Population: TBC
Taxation: TBC
Stockpile Levels: TBC
Granary Levels: TBC
Generosity in Skirmish Mode: TBC
Market Manipulation: TBC
The Caliph places up to 10 apple farms and 4 hop farms to supply him with food and ale, respectively.
For his industry, the Caliph places up to 8 woodcutters (not including the ones that are inside the castle), 2 quarries, 1 iron mine and up to 9 pitch rigs. The pitch is critical for him, as he needs it for the ditches he places around the castle, and supply his engineers with boiling oil.
Defending against the Caliph
Defending against the Caliph requires a decent defence at all times that cover as much ground as possible. You cannot allow his slaves or fire ballista to get a free shot at reaching or attacking your buildings.
Do place wells and water pots at strategic locations, for as there a single fire that spreads before any of your firewatcher reach it, your economy could go up in smoke literally.
Like most other opponents the Caliph will send occasionally catapults, but sometimes he sends fire ballista as well so a sufficient defence against both of these engines is necessary. And remember to keep your walls in good shape as well by repairing them when needed.
When the Caliph sends out his siege force it includes Arabian bowmen, swordsmen, horse archers, engineers for fire ballista and even more slaves (when there is a moat). The fire ballista need to be taken out as soon as possible before they do too much damage.
As time passes, the Caliph will gradually become easier to defend against. Although the danger of fire always is a good excuse to keep some firewatchers around.
Attacking the Caliph
One good way to annoy the Caliph is to demolish his pitch rigs, this force him to import his precious pitch for his defences.
In order to safely approach his castle, it would be very wise to destroy as many lookout towers as possible. Bombarding his castle would be an excellent strategy as its very vulnerable to it, just use the attack here function from catapults and fire away!
Certainly another idea would be to sacrifice expandable units to set off the pitch beforehand. This is a nice timesaving option if the Caliph is low on money and has difficulty replacing it.
The most optimal thing to do is to both of the above mentioned strategies.
When you are feeling up to it, start sending in ranged troops for taking out fire throwers and engineers with oil pitch, especially those on the keep as they pose a serious threat to your heavy infantry.
Send in your infantry when the area is mostly safe for them to wander to the keep and kill the Caliph.
Map Makers Tips
The Caliph needs a fair amount of land for his castle. Low quantities of trees, stone and iron will supplant his industry while a decent amount of grass will supply him with food and hops.
As multiple times stated before, pitch is the most important resource of the Caliph for his defences and as extra income. He can do without those but in order to function optimally he needs space for the placing of up to 9 pitch rigs.
Stronghold Crusader and Warchest Walkthroughs:
The Caliph is encountered in the following missions in the first Skirmish Trail:
MISSION NUMBER 2 SETTING OUT
MISSION NUMBER 3 THIS DUSTY LAND
MISSION NUMBER 7 GREEK FIRE
MISSION NUMBER 13 HEAT OF THE DESERT
MISSION NUMBER 14 LAND OF THE ARAB
MISSION NUMBER 20 THE SARACENS
MISSION NUMBER 22 RED BEAK
MISSION NUMBER 26 VULTURES CLAW
MISSION NUMBER 32 THE PLAINS OF ATUM
MISSION NUMBER 34 THE COCONUT GROVE
MISSION NUMBER 37 INFERNO
MISSION NUMBER 41 THUNDER HILL
MISSION NUMBER 48 HADES
MISSION NUMBER 49 THE MOTHER OF ALL WARS
MISSION NUMBER 50 FINAL VICTORY
He is also encountered in the following missions in the second Skirmish Trial:
WARCHEST 20 Mission 70 - Nobles vs Scoundrels
WARCHEST 24 Mission 74 - Unholy Matrimony
WARCHEST 28 Mission 78 - Saladin Alone
WARCHEST 30 Mission 80 - The Big One!
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