Battania

Battania
Faction information
Capital	Marunath
Ruler	High King Caladog
Claimant	Gwendian
Ruling Clan	fen Gruffendoc
Minor Factions	Wolfskins
Location
Battania in green

The Kingdom of Battania is a kingdom in Mount&Blade II: Bannerlord ruled by Caladog fen Gruffendoc. It occupies heavily forested lands in the northwest of the continent of Calradia.

Battanian civilization consists of loosely organized clans who originally populated most of the Calradian continent, but has been reduced to a small pocket of free territory after much of their land was conquered by the expansion of the Calradic Empire.

Specialties of the Battanian warrior culture include forest warfare, longbowmen, and two-handed swordsmen. On the overworld map, Battanian armies will suffer 50% less speed penalty from moving through forests.

By the time of Mount&Blade: Warband, 173 years later, Battania no longer exists as an united civilization, with all of their territory conquered and its people assimilated into the Swadian and Rhodok cultures. Some of their descendants have been reduced to surviving off banditry in the forests and mountains of their ancestral lands.

The Battanian nation's position in comparison to Warband is in and around Reyvadin, Knudarr, and Radoghir Castles. But the forests and ruins tell of a once proud forest nation.

Ruler

High King Caladog Initial ruler

Official Description

“

From time immemorial there has been a High King of Battania, crowned with great ceremony on the sacred hill of Dunthanach. Ask any Battanian chieftain, however, whose "kingdom" he lives in, and he will look around at his hall and in his fields and his pastures, his flock and his retainers, and answer "Mine, of course." Only lately, following the example of the Empire, have the High Kings made any effort to exert their authority. "Such unruly cattle as my people require a strong herdsman's hand to steer them from the ravine and protect them from the wolf," said one recent high king, just before he was betrayed by a jealous cousin and taken in chains to the nearest imperial outpost.

”

Lore

"The misty hills of north-western Calradia are dominated by the Battanian clans, the original inhabitants of much of the continent. Their hilltop fortresses have born witness to countless wars fought to resist outside invaders: first the Empire's legions, and more recently the rising Sturgian and Vlandian kingdoms. They are masters of the longbow, the night raid, the sudden wild charge out of the woods. They idolise valour, but especially like it when mixed with a bit of mischief - the cattle thief who can whisk an entire herd into the fog; the champion who dines with a rival tribe, and, regaling his hosts with an anecdote of battle, produces from his bag the skull of one of their kinsmen that he took as a souvenir."

Battanian nobles mention the previous High King, Aeril fen Derngil, disappeared.

Additionally, the Encyclopedia tells us a bit more about Battania. We learn of the existence of an "old Battanian tongue" - in the page for Cantrec, we learn that the village is one of the southernmost regions in Calradia that still speaks the language, highlighting the great amount of territory lost by the Battanians in the past. Since Cantrec lies south of most of Battania, it is likely that most Battanians still speak the Battanian language.

Tactics

Strengths

• Extremely powerful archers in the noble troop line
• Falxmen use powerful weapons with very long reach, making them effective against most infantry and mounted enemies
• Troops possess weapons of good quality and variety, as well as large shields
• Battanian territory is highly condensed and relatively defensible

Weaknesses

• Cavalry options are inferior in comparison to all other nations; complete lack of heavy cavalry and horse archers
• Limited ranged options outside of the noble troop branch
• Some troops are less well armoured than their foreign counterparts
• Battanian territory is surrounded by four other factions, which may lead into a string of wars on multiple fronts
• Battania has the least Castles compared to other factions, making its Lords unable to amass Fian
• The weak and poor economy

Economy

• Low
• 5 towns
• 8 castles
• 33 villages
• Main products: clay (main producer), grapes (quite a lot), wood (main producer)

Summary

Battanian troops are highly specialized in infantry-focused combat. They might struggle to deal with opposing heavy cavalry combined with horse archers, but they are stronger against slower enemies fighting on foot. Protecting their fian champions is important for Battanian forces, since these elite archers are capable of wiping out entire parties on their own if given the chance, but can still become overwhelmed when surrounded by hostile cavalry. They should be covered especially well against fast-moving Aserai Mamelukes, who can engage in close combat with sword and shield if necessary, and other fast-moving cavalry with potential for close combat or throwing weapons.

The Oathsworn and Wildlings are pikemen capable of pike brace. This ability is crucial in Battanian battle strategy; setting up two-row formations of pike infantry to protect the Fians and ordering them to use melee weapons only will force them to brace pikes and provide much desired protection for your Fian troops. Supplement these pike schiltrons with Falxmen rows in the rear, who will deal with the remnants of enemy cavalry once it's stopped and decimated.

Since Battanian infantry possesses a variety of throwing weapons, they are able to launch mixed volleys of projectiles against advancing infantry or cavalry while protecting their valuable longbowmen. In addition to avoiding being peppered with thrown spears and axes, players who go up against Battanians should take care to not become exposed to their falxmen, who can easily reach out and take down a mounted rider with their long blades. Battanian horsemen should also not be underestimated, as although they are much weaker than cavalry of other nations, their long lances and powerful javelins can hit hard in ideal conditions.

Troop Tree

Battania Troops
	Volunteer
	Clan Warrior		Wood Runner			Highborn Youth
	Trained Warrior		Raider	Skirmisher		Highborn Warrior
	Picked Warrior	Scout	Falxman	Veteran Skirmisher		Hero
	Oathsworn	Horseman	Veteran Falxman	Wildling	Mounted Skirmisher	Fian
						Fian Champion

• Oathsworn: The Oathsworn can be okay, in its set, in can have one of two different helmets, one that provides standard tier 5 head armor at about 46, and the other one, strangely only has 26 armor, and can greatly impact their survivability and ability to charge archers.
• Veteran Falxman: A good unit, good against cavalry and infantry, but in the field, recomended to not use this unit as a garrison because of all the tight spaces, can be extremely vulnerable to archers if not protected by shield infantry.
• Falxman: Although only tier 4, it punches way above it's weight, but would recommend veteran falxman in the field, for wider reach, the Falxman can be very good in sieges as it's smaller two handed weapon can pack a serious punch with a smaller risk of it hitting the wall when doing side swings.

Territory

The Battanians are currently known to have at least these towns, castles and villages. Note that these might change during the game, as the Battanians either conquer or lose territory.

Trivia

• The Battanians are based on different Celtic peoples, in particular from the early medieval times. Their settlements have been described as a mixture of medieval and ancient Celtic.
• Some Battanian infantry, like the Battanian Falxmen, use Falxes, which were historically used by the Dacians, but from a design that originated with the Sica, a blade of Celtic origin often wrongly credited to the Thracians. This would be a plausible developement in Celtic weapons.
• It appears that by the time of Warband, the Battanians have been completely wiped out or, more likely, conquered and assimilated by the Vlandians and Sturgians, who would mix with the locals, eventually creating the Swadian, Rhodok and Vaegir cultures.
• It is possible that the Vaegirs "inherited" their good light infantry and excellent archers from the Battanians.
• Heads of Battanian clans bear the title of Mormaer, a nobility title of Pictish origin used in medieval Scotland.

Gallery

Factions