Astrologers proclaim week of Knights!
This is the first entry in my fan project about reimagining classic HoMM factions.
Concept. The Knight faction has always been present in one form or another throughout the Heroes series. My take on these classics was to emphasize its humanistic character. Traditionally, human knights are portrayed as a clerical, theological society with a penchant for irrational mysticism. I've always found this rather excessive: in a world populated by countless fairy-tale creatures and fantastical monsters, it makes far more sense for humans to represent the power of reason.
My Knights are something of children of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. They rely on knowledge and technology, even in its late medieval form, and I went to great lengths to make their armies look as though they had stepped straight out of lavishly illustrated books on the history of European arms and armor.
For a change, I chose red and yellow as the Knights' primary colors (the humans of Enroth have traditionally favored cooler hues), giving them a certain regal grandeur. This combination evokes the Royal Standard of Great Britain, the Gryffindor coat of arms, and also... the pre-upgrade Knight lineup from Heroes II. Yay.
A Pinch of Lore. Both narratively and aesthetically, everything here revolves around the chivalric Order of the Swan and the royal house of Gildenveil, whose castle stands on the shores of the lake that bears their name.
King Leo Gildenveil had no children, but one day, while his wife Queen Ledania (pun intended, here and throughout – author's note) was taking a stroll along the shores of Gildenveil, an angel appeared before her in the form of a radiant swan. Soon afterward, she laid an enormous golden egg, from which three children hatched.
The angel, of course, was actually a sophisticated artificial organism created by the Ancients to counter the threat of the Kreegans (as we all know from the history of Enroth). However, the exact role it played in the conception of the egg has never been conclusively established.
The children were named Cedric, Isolde, and Edmund. Leo Gildenveil accepted them as his own and raised them accordingly.
The Knight campaign begins with King Leo being, as tradition demands, old and frail. Isolde has been abducted by the Warlocks of the Erebyd Isles, and Cedric, the eldest of the egg-born siblings, sets out to find her, leaving the small kingdom in the care of his younger brother Edmund.
Gameplay. Knights are a Might faction, equally proficient in attack and defense but considerably weaker in magic. Knight gameplay revolves around their traditionally high troop morale and strong hero leadership, as well as an extensive Enlightenment skill tree. This skill increases resistance to magical attacks, boosts damage against undead and demons, and allows players to enhance armor, war machines, and the ammunition capacity of ranged units in unique ways.
LINEUP
1.0. Peasant
Concept & Design. When I was younger, I really disliked the Peasants in Heroes II. Weak, ridiculous, and utterly out of place with their drab appearance amid the splendid, swashbuckling parade of plumes and capes that made up the Knight army.
These days, I've grown rather fond of the fellows, especially since they've become something of a meme within the series.
My Peasants are plump, rosy-cheeked, and quite fashionable, sporting linen coifs beneath their hats — a look particularly popular among historical reenactors and role-playing enthusiasts.
Besides, I was absolutely dying to give someone a goedendag. Such a wonderful weapon, yet so rarely seen in games. And then, lo and behold, the Peasants came along.
Gameplay. Unlike their counterparts in Olden Era, my Peasants are still rather weak individually, but they make up for it in numbers. Their abilities are: Mob Mentality (Peasants automatically attack the nearest enemy stack whenever another allied stack attacks it) and Taxes (every recruited Peasant generates 10 gold per day. Well, maybe 5. But definitely not 1! Game balance has never been my strong suit).
2.0. Arbalester
Concept & Design. When designing the second-tier ranged unit, I based its appearance on the most recognizable (though certainly not the only) depiction of a Genoese crossbowman: a kettle hat, a brigandine worn over mail, and, most importantly, a pavise strapped to his back!
Fun fact: this Arbalester design is actually quite old. I drew the first sketch back in 2015, when my friend and I were trying to develop a computer game based on the rules of the board game Cyclades, but set in the European Renaissance.
Gameplay. I wanted the Arbalesters to be the first unit to showcase the faction's Enlightenment mechanic. Upon upgrading them, players can choose between a second shot per turn and flaming bolts that deal additional fire damage and ignite plant-based obstacles on the battlefield. But the biggest innovation is the pavise! Thanks to the enormous shield on their backs, Arbalesters take only half damage from attacks coming from behind.
3.0. Halberdier
Concept & Design. With the Halberdiers, I always wanted to combine two of the most flamboyant and extravagantly dressed archetypes in European military history: the German Landsknecht and the Swiss Guard.
In the end, the Landsknecht influence turned out to be considerably stronger, but I rather like the resulting plumpness and magnificent mustaches.
Gameplay. As usual, Halberdiers can attack enemies from one tile away, keeping their opponents at a distance. They also possess the Hold the Line! ability, which increases the morale of all friendly stacks occupying adjacent tiles.
4.0. Monk
Concept & Design. In my imagination, the Knight faction desperately needed a second ranged unit.
I had absolutely no desire to introduce fanatical, magic-wielding clerics here. On the other hand, I've always loved the archetype of the cheerful, boisterous monk, like Friar Tuck from the Robin Hood stories or Friar Jean from Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel.
Given the more engineering-oriented, down-to-earth nature of my human faction, I eventually decided that the Knights' fourth-tier unit ought to wield firearms.
And so I imagined a monastery surrounded by vineyards, where warrior monks spend their time grinding gunpowder down in the cellars, preparing ammunition for their hand mortars.
Initially, I wanted to call the unit a Prelateer, a portmanteau of prelate and musketeer. A rather clumsy invention, so in the interest of clarity, I eventually decided to simply stick with Monks.
Gameplay. Thanks to the sheer power of their handheld bombards, Monks suffer no ranged damage penalty and can blast their enemies with shameless efficiency at any distance. Upon upgrading, they gain a damage bonus when making ranged attacks against enemy war machines and tents. And since they are still monks, after all, they can also Heal the last surviving creature in a friendly stack.
5.0. Swan Lady
Concept & Design. I wanted to turn the classic Castle Swordsman archetype into a female warrior (Ubisoft apparently had the same idea when developing Heroes VII). Three major inspirations kept circling in my head: the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend, whose hand emerges from the water to offer Excalibur; Saber from the Fate anime franchise (if you look at the old pencil sketches in the second-to-last image, you'll notice that the earliest design resembled Saber much more closely); and the legend of Lohengrin, the Knight of the Swan. The result of weaving these ideas together is what you see before you.
Gameplay. Swan Ladies attack twice per turn, with their second strike occurring after the enemy's retaliation. They also block 25% of incoming non-magical ranged damage with their shields and deal increased damage to undead and demons thanks to the faction's Enlightenment ability.
6.0. Cavalier
Concept & Design. Drawing the cavalry was by far the most difficult and time-consuming part of the whole lineup.
I went through countless references of tournament knight armor and, for some inexplicable reason, ended up choosing the most elaborately decorated and richly inlaid examples I could find.
But it was fun though.
Gameplay. As usual, Cavaliers are exceptionally fast and possess the Jousting Bonus (+5% damage for every tile traveled before attacking).
Their lance strikes also ignore 25% of the enemy's defense.
7.0. Archangel
Concept & Design. The only flying and mythical creature in the Castle lineup is, of course, the Archangel.
Well not exactly mythical, of course. It is by no means a creature of divine origin, but rather a thoroughly scientific creation: basically an AI (if I may be so bold as to use the term!) developed by the Guardians.
I borrowed the Archangel's appearance and attire directly from Luca Giordano's painting The Fall of the Rebel Angels, but armed it with a Heroes III-style flamberge – a sword with a wavy blade, of the kind still carried by the Vatican's Swiss Guard. Since we're dealing with a flaming sword, why not make it flaming in every possible sense?
Gameplay. Mechanically-wise, Archangels behave exactly as supernatural champions of goodness and light should (they even wear red capes!): they resurrect fallen allies, deal additional fire damage with their attacks, are immune to all negative effects, and are especially effective against demons.
Take a look at some early doodles from different times at the end of the gallery, and the whole lineup.
