Foothold in India 1.0: Small Mods Collection
I'm happy to share the collection of small modifications I made. All the mods are created with compatibility in mind, and can work as standalone mods, or in combination with any other mod in the package.
New Caucasus units
The rosters for Crimea, Dagestan and Georgia are now esthetically much closer to their eastern neighbors', but in essence are quite similar to tribal Native American's. Line infantry and artillery are now disabled (except for Crimean Tufekci similar to Isarely) and the factions have to rely on irregular warfare.
Crimean tactics should include mass cavalry harassment with limited support from below average matchlock infantry. Harass the enemy using masses of cheap Tatar horse archers and hit them with your mailed Oglan lancers when the enemy is in disarray. Nogai Cavalry should chase the skirmishers and neutralize the cannons, while the foot Tufekci militia tangles the enemy in melee or ranged combat. Construct a Minor Royal Palace to get access to Mirza Cavalry - heavily armoured horse archers, riding medium mounts.
Georgia and Dagestan have identical infantry-heavy rosters. Amass a huge number of Caucasian Hillmen supported by excellent Caucasian Swordsmen or Khevsur Warriors. Both states are very tight on budget, so do not disdain using armed peasants to amass firepower. Hide the skirmishers and harass the enemy from the cover of difficult terrain. Approach carefully with swordsmen, hiding behind the hills, avoiding musket and cannon fire, and when the moment is right, throw them into melee, and no foe will withstand their fury. Use the swift and capable Jigits and Circassian Horsemen to pursue the running enemies and counter the enemy skirmishers.
New Barbary units and pirates with grenades
Morocco and Barbary States are interesting factions to play, even in vanilla. The key to winning battles using Barbary roster is to consistently outmaneuver the enemy, and the factions of Maghreb have everything to achieve this: home soil advantage against units without resistance to heat, swift moving Desert Warriors and Camel Gunners, which can by numbers and right choice of position deliver the overwhelming amount of firepower to a certain spot at the needed time. Use Fellahin Swordsmen to cover critical spots in your defenses, while moving your Camel Gunners and Barbary Pirates to the flanks of the enemy. When the enemy is softened up, move the Pirates closer, make one pistol volley, throw grenades and charge - if done correctly, the explosion will do enough impact to make the enemy panic on contact. Use Fellahin Musketeers' somewhat higher attack stats to support the Swordsmen, when they run out of ammo. Hit the enemy in the back with Berber Lancers, while keeping away enemy cavalry with your Camel Nomads, denying them the opportunity to exploit combined arms. And when the enemy is crushed, chase them down with the deadly Berber Cavalry.
Here I'd like to make a point about using Maghreb units together with Pirates with grenades mod: if you use the first without the second, Barbary Pirates remain nothing more than just a weak melee unit, only good for flanking or as a meat shield, and is by all parameters worse than Fellahin Swordsmen. However, if you give them grenades and pistols, their utility acquires a whole new dimension.
And more...
The first version of the package also includes bug fixes, small balancing changes, simple modifications for diplomacy, AI and technology trees, adds a Sikh temple, alowing Punjab to spread Sikh faith, and last, but not least - 3 startpos files for early, late and Foothold in India campaigns. I plan to continue polishing the existing mods and adding new ones, while trying to keep them more or less independent.
