Carcassonne

Carcassonne is a playable subfaction of Bretonnia introduced in Total War: Warhammer. It is led by The Fay Enchantress and can be found in southern Bretonnia.

Bretonnia is the largest and most powerful nation of men in the Old World, after The Empire. They are less technologically advanced than their neighbours, but are sheltered and protected by their geography. Carcassone is the seat of the Fay Enchantress, a spiritual leader for the people. Bretonnian society has a strict division between the nobles and knights, and the lowly peasants who often live in squalor. The race is strongly based on arthurian legends and medieval France. Their armies consist of more numerous, cheaper peasant units fighting alongside a variety of powerful knights.

How they play
A summary of Bretonnia gameplay:


 * Units: Strong knight cavalry, backed up by cheap peasant infantry. Plenty of flying units.
 * Regiments of Renown: These are unique, more elite versions of regular Bretonnia units.
 * Chivalry: Noble actions provide faction-wide bonuses, while acting unchivalrously incurs penalties.
 * The Green Knight: A unique hero unit that becomes available to summon after reaching certain thresholds of chivalry.
 * Peasant Economy: Peasants both work the land, and also fight in armies. Recruiting too many peasant units hampers your economy.
 * Lance Formation: This special formation, unique to Bretonnia, allows their cavalry to pierce through enemy lines.

Background
"We keep the Orcs from the rest of Bretonnia. It is our duty, and we ask no reward but that we be allowed to do it. We are Carcassonne, and we will fight!"

The Lady of the Lake is the principle Bretonnian deity, said to embody the pure, noble, courageous spirit for which the Kingdom is known. Her earthly representative is the Fay Enchantress, who watches over Bretonnia from her tower in Carcassonne and upon whose wise counsel King Louen depends. In fact, during times of dynastic crisis, the Enchantress is empowered to choose the next Royarch from amongst the Dukes and has, on at least one prior occasion, stripped a tyrannical or cruel ruler of his throne and commanded his own Knights to forcibly expel the oppressor from the Kingdom! Whilst undoubtedly ancient – some say thousands of years old even – the Enchantress appears to all as a beautiful young woman and is reincarnated instantly as soon as her host body wears out. Although undoubtedly a fearsome sorceress more than capable of defeating her enemies by herself, the Fay Enchantress is served by her loyal body of Grail Knights, whose lives are sworn to protect her person and obey any and all commands. She is also served by the Damsels and Prophetesses of the Lady, who are called into her service as children and become her acolytes, eventually having not insignificant magical powers of their own.

The Enchantress is the one who rouses the usually competitive Dukedoms of Bretonnia into united action when the Kingdom is threatened by evil forces from without. It has even been known, at times of mortal peril, for her to ride into battle ahead of an army of her fiercely-loyal Grail Knights. On the battlefield, she uses magic to both protect Bretonnian forces from attack or weaken and strike down the foe – sometimes with a single, furious stare!

It was Duke Lambard of Carcassonne, one of the famed Companions of Gilles the Uniter, who first adopted the image of the sword for his nation’s Heraldry. Although Carcassonne was one of few Bretonnian provinces that did not see a Great Battle on its lands, Lambard rode out to fight victoriously in nine of them. The blade symbolises Carcassonne’s warrior-culture, attested by their centuries-old tradition of gifting every newborn son a freshly-forged sword, which they are made to touch as soon as they enter the world. It is then ornamentally placed above their cots until it can be wielded.

Lord choices

 * The Fay Enchantress - A powerful spellcaster who uses the Lore of Life.

Faction effects

 * [[file:peasant.png]] Image of the Lady: +5 peasants available to the faction
 * [[file:replenishment.png]] Casualty replenishment rate: +15%

Lord effects
See Fay Enchantress

Additional starting units
See Fay Enchantress

Start position
Carcassonne start in Carcassonne (province):



Starting agreements

 * War with Dreadfleet

Diplomatic traits

 * Aggressive - Belligerent and wermongering, their armies reach far with little regard for defence.
 * Unreliable - Agreements hold little sway. This one is not to be trusted.
 * Underdog - Instead of trying to get to the top of the food chain, this one prefers joining a worthy faction in confederation.

Trivia

 * They also appear as a minor, non-playable faction in the Season of Revelation campaign.