At first I made this suggestion as a joke, but the more I think about it, the more it seems like a good idea to make a Monophysite Holy Order. As the game is currently set up, occasionally you will be surprised and see Abyssinia or Axum rise up against the raging infidel masses all around them. But that is rare (and usually brief). Usually they are just quickly crushed.
There is not much love for the Ethiopians:
A Monophysite Holy Order would add some strategic depth and make playing Abyssinia more than just an exercise in the tragic. (See my AAR for a blow-by-blow example of such an exercise.) Having an Ethiopian HO with heavy cavalry like knights in armor would be absurd, of course, but why not just have it be light infantry, light cavalry, and archers? (Maybe horse archers too?) Basically, the head of one of the last Monophysite rulers calls up a summons of all the people capable of picking up a weapon to fight against infidel invaders. The strength then would not be in the type of troop, but in the sheer numbers that answer the call--I'll throw out 15,000 men, just for kicks. They come pouring out of the mountainous and arid countryside, eager to defend their faith or die trying.
Possible objection: wouldn't this unbalance the Muslims, because now Ethiopians can easily sack Egypt? In order to prevent this, we could have the HO carry massive maintenance costs... which of course wouldn't have to be paid if you are defending against infidels.
As Monophysite ruler, ensuring your heirs are very pious would be of the utmost importance (make them humble, chaste, zealous, etc. through tutoring). And this would also add strategic depth and flavor.
A Monophysite HO would seem to help, then, ensure the Ethiopians could stay in the game longer and be a viable player option.
There is not much love for the Ethiopians:
- Except for Nubia, they are are heretic Orthodox, so no help from others.
- No available mercenaries to hire.
- Their tech starts at 0 surrounded by Muslims with very high tech.
- Muslims in Egypt have lots of horse archers, which easily destroy the light stuff the Ethiopians have at their command.
- The biggest problem is that there are massive numbers of infidels all around, just waiting to do an easy Holy War on helpless Monophysites.
A Monophysite Holy Order would add some strategic depth and make playing Abyssinia more than just an exercise in the tragic. (See my AAR for a blow-by-blow example of such an exercise.) Having an Ethiopian HO with heavy cavalry like knights in armor would be absurd, of course, but why not just have it be light infantry, light cavalry, and archers? (Maybe horse archers too?) Basically, the head of one of the last Monophysite rulers calls up a summons of all the people capable of picking up a weapon to fight against infidel invaders. The strength then would not be in the type of troop, but in the sheer numbers that answer the call--I'll throw out 15,000 men, just for kicks. They come pouring out of the mountainous and arid countryside, eager to defend their faith or die trying.
Possible objection: wouldn't this unbalance the Muslims, because now Ethiopians can easily sack Egypt? In order to prevent this, we could have the HO carry massive maintenance costs... which of course wouldn't have to be paid if you are defending against infidels.
As Monophysite ruler, ensuring your heirs are very pious would be of the utmost importance (make them humble, chaste, zealous, etc. through tutoring). And this would also add strategic depth and flavor.
A Monophysite HO would seem to help, then, ensure the Ethiopians could stay in the game longer and be a viable player option.