Warpath Campaign: Plains

[Monk]

The Plains are one of the new playable factions in the Warpath downloadable content.

[Fisherking]

Faction

As the Plains Nations;

Starting Money: 2500

Starting Regions:

Sioux Regions. Three slot town at Sioux Falls (Hunting grounds built, two slots unbuilt)
Two other settlements; One Farm, One Longhouse

Cheyenne Region, Simple town at Cheyenne (Nothing built)
Two other settlements; One mine, One Farm

Black Hills Region, Simple town at Yankton (Hunting ground built)
Three other settlements; One Furs, One Farm, One Town

Forces

Yankton: One Bowman, One Tribesman

Sioux Falls: One Bowman, Two Tribesmen

Cheyenne: Two Bowmen, One Tribesman

Cheyenne Territory: One Chief (One Star), Three Bowmen, One Warrior, Two Tribesmen


Agents

Cheyenne Territory; One Scout

Cheyenne Territory; One Shaman


Diplomacy

At War with Spain

Neighbors; Great Britain, Huron, Pueblo, & Spain


Overview

The Plains Nations are the quintessential Indians

They appear to have the best selection of units and in my opinion the strongest. Those units are not cheap, however. It will not be a short time before they are available and you have some way to go. To start all you have are bowmen and tribesmen.

Diplomatically; Make friends with all the tribes and Great Britain. Spain and the US are going to be your major enemies under any circumstances.


The Campaigns run until 1813(short), 1823(long), & 1828(domination)

I played short and will cover that.


Trade is your only key to wealth so make agreements with everyone you border and keep an eye open for who is on your borders every turn.


The required regions for victory belong to Spain (Upper Louisiana), The Huron (Indiana Territory ), & Great Britain (North West Territory).

Strategic

You are at war with Spain and they were by far the most aggressive neighbor so I started there.

Your scout should be sent to Upper Louisiana. His ability to sabotage army can keep the Spanish pinned down. It cancels their movement for the turn.

The Shaman needs to be sent to the longhouse in the Sioux Region, he works like a gentleman to aid research.

Money is your first priority so trade agreements and techs that help that are where to start. Decide if your one unbuilt town should be a longhouse or a weaver. I don’t recommend taking the shortcut to wealth by using pioneer settlements, they will cause problems later.

When towns develop build one metal worker in each region. It cuts your recruitment costs. Weavers are the best money producers, however so once there is a metalworking town then turn to the weavers. Two Longhouses or Council houses are all you will need for research but you may need another in regions likely to rebel.

Government Buildings come in three forms. Burial grounds, Hunting grounds, and Counsel grounds. Burial grounds promote happiness, Hunting grounds are basically your baric, and Counsel grounds boost income. In large towns their is a slot for each but in other regions think long and hard about building something other than Hunting grounds.

European building of any type are of no benefit and need to be torn down.


Tactical

At this point Bowmen are your best tactical units. Your leader has enough melee units but build bowmen and send them to him on the way to fight the Spanish. As soon as you can build lancers send at least one along too.

Sioux Falls is nearest so don’t bother building units in the other locations. They are fairly safe to start and if you can win battles they should stay that way.

The battle tactics I used from the first were as follows;

I grouped my bowmen and spread them in as thin a line as possible, placing one in front of the others, that I intend to move and draw units into a trap. I grouped my melee units with the strongest in the center and hidden behind the bowmen. I grouped my horse on one flank behind the bowmen. My leader I placed far behind my line to draw the enemy through my hidden troops.

Bows now only have a range of 70 yards/meters so there is no range advantage over musket troops. If you send a single bowman forward at a walk it should remain hidden until it shoots. Select a unit to engage on the flank, as soon as they shoot, then run to the rear so the enemy follows to engage. This way they can get in several shots without being shot up too badly and you are bringing them into range of your killing force.

Once you have musket men this tactic is even better as they have a 90 yrd/m rang. Their first volley is devastating and if cavalry charges your decoy unit it will likely be obliterated.

Your leader in the rear is the only visible unit and is a magnet for the enemy. Their line will advance oriented on him and cannon will have to move forward until he is in range. If he is threatened by cavalry then he can be moved nearer the line with more supporting troops.

The same principals work on offensive. If troops are walking they are still hard to see. Use ranged units on one enemy at a time. Melee units handle charges and defend the bowmen.

Once you have musket armed cavalry you should be much feared, provided you have the money to build them.

General Play:

Taking Upper Louisiana is your first goal. After that you can reassess. The Spanish moved quickly on the Pueblo and wiped them out. The Americans moved on the Iroquois and Cherokee and the Huron aided in destroying the Iroquois and took on the British. Keeping trade partners was hard.

I traded with the British and the Huron until the Spanish and Americans were no longer a dyer threat. I saved the Northwest Territory until last as it was ungarrisoned and in hope that the Huron would take it from the British. I did have a small force near by for the purpose, however, as it is very far from anything.

Starting out you will need to always field a balanced force and you must be careful of how you use your troops.

In the end, Cheyenne Dog Soldiers, if you can afford them can take on almost anything if the numbers are not overwhelming. Still, your tactics are key, and taking on units one on one should be avoided.

In Closing:

1813 comes quicker than you would think and losing trade partners is not as easy to make up as in the GC.

Regions don’t produce great wealth for you so you must husband your resources and make every buck count.

Always try to out fox the enemy. Never give him an even chance. If you plan on going toe to toe you will loose. If you send 80 men against line infantry they had better be two units of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers.

Don’t trust Auto-resolve.


Happy Hunting!