Beowulf - Stronghold Legends AI Lords

Beowulf is a skirmish opponent, available in Custom Scenarios only in Stronghold Legends.

Overview

A Geatish hero, Beowulf goes out of his way to fight mystical beasts and prove his strength. Drawing his power from the abyssal depths, he also enlists the Saxons endlessly to fight for his course. Many have underestimated Beowulf's tenacy only to be burned to crisp by his hand and his creatures.

Castles & Defenses

Beowulf builds an elongated castle with double Walls. Two Gatehouses allow passing through to the courtyard on one side, while Lookout Towers housing Archers are placed at regular intervals. An Engine Tower is placed in close proximity of the Keep, with a Dragon Harpoon installed on it. Beowulf adds most necessary buildings in the inside and he fortifies his front walls with Fire Drakes and Oil Tippers. A few Saxon Warriors are on the lookout atop the Keep to address immediate threats.

Beowulf's castle may prove relatively easy to siege, thanks to his fairly exposed walls and the lack of strong garrisons. Ladder attacks, as well as concentrated catapult fire can quickly create breaches and allow friendly troops to stream in. Even though Beowulf has very centralized defenses and patrol groups to a lesser extent, they are not high enough in number to effectively tackle a well-sized besieging army. Bringing Cats can minimize damage from Archers and scaling Towers adds invaluable vantage points for ranged troops to fire away with impunity.

Economy

Beowulf has a straightforward and simple economy focused on Gold generation. He forgoes accruing Honor, buying only a few of each Food type in the Granary next to Meat, and not bothering building a Pantry at all. Beowulf erects four Iron Mines along with two Stone Quarries and Pitch Rigs to convert raw materials to Gold, as well as an Inn with modest Ale production to get a little extra popularity. The weapon industry of Beowulf is relaxed, consisting of three Fletchers and Poleturners each.

Mirroring his production needs, Beowulf only keeps stocks of raw materials, Hops and Ale. He also tends to stockpile Bows and Spears for batch recruitment, but otherwise sells everything not needed. Beowulf's granary can also contain high quantities of Meat.

Raids & Sieges

Much like other Evil lords, Beowulf prefers to be on the offensive. Most of the time he is seen sending varying groups of Saxon Warriors and Hellhounds, hoping to stall enemy advances and destroy a few outlying buildings swiftly. When he has the funds for it, he also fondly prepares a Black Dragon and hatches it in the right moment to fly above enemy territory and set it alight, whether it is a concentration of troops or a large batch of clumped up buildings. Archers and rarely a large squad of Demons can also be seen from Beowulf, targeted directly at the enemy. Demons have some potential to start fires, but against a well-prepared range force they have little to no chance to prevail.

Beowulf is known to attack quite often, frequently along with a raid attempt. Initially sends very small armies, which grow quickly however with each successive attempt. Beowulf deploys a combination of light and bruiser units, namely Archers, Men-at-arms and Saxon Warriors, who are very quick to arrive and unleash the assault. Mostly it is the Archers and Men-at-arms that are responsible for guarding the Siege Camp, but soon enough Saxons will take the helm and strike swiftly. After setting up the Siege Camp, Beowulf creates siege engines that help him take over walls and protect his personnel until it is done so. He enlists a squad of Laddermen and creates two Siege Towers that attack the enemy fortification in waves, searching for vulnerable wall sections. Beowulf also builds up to 5 Mantlets and 2 Cats to serve as temporary shielding against enemy ranged attacks. A lone Catapult can also be seen strolling, causing superficial but valuable damage over time.

The apt reader may have come to the conclusion that Beowulf's sieges are repelled with relative ease. Since the only quality troops Beowulf brings are the Saxon Warriors, the rest of the attack force can be killed quickly by Archers and Crossbowmen stationed on towers. He brings in a lot of Laddermen though and he may be successful at setting up ladders, so a vigilant defender should deploy troops wherever Beowulf breaks in. Wall mounted attachments can be moderately effective at removing or stalling the incoming waves, and once the Laddermen are held back consistently, the attack is effectively dead in its tracks. Beowulf also has no immediate means to create a hole in the walls due to the severe lack of Catapults, Trebuchets and Rams, so his sieges are relatively short-lived.