The Armory system is the Phase 2 schema that replaces fixed-stat unit rosters with an attribute + equipment model. Each unit becomes an instance of (1) a culture's generic human (STR / AGI / INT baseline per culture) + (2) a named template (body archetype + weapons + armor + tools).
The 9-unit-per-culture rosters from Phase 1 don't disappear — they become named template presets. "Bonded Axeman" still exists; its stats just compute from the attribute + equipment math rather than table-lookup.
Each culture has different baseline STR / AGI / INT per generic-human:
| Culture |
STR |
AGI |
INT |
| Fjordborn |
High |
Mid |
Mid |
| Sun Dune |
Mid |
High |
Mid |
| River Crown |
Mid |
Mid |
High |
| Jade Lotus |
Mid |
Mid |
Very High |
| Ironpeak |
Very High |
Low |
Mid |
| Azure Isles |
Mid |
High |
Mid |
| Cairnveil |
Mid |
Mid |
High |
| Condor Crown |
Mid |
High |
Mid |
| Red Earth |
High |
High |
Mid |
| Thunder Lodge |
Mid |
High |
High |
Exact numerical baselines live in armory_system.md §3. The table above is the qualitative shape.
¶ Body archetypes
Body archetypes compose with attributes to define the unit's "what it is":
- Light (low LP, high Spd, AGI-favoring) — scouts, skirmishers.
- Medium (balanced) — line infantry.
- Heavy (high LP, low Spd, STR-favoring) — heavy infantry, elite shock.
- Mounted (high Spd, mid LP) — cavalry.
- Naval (water-only) — ships.
- Caster (low LP, high INT) — faith casters, weather-callers.
- Hero (composite, high LP + INT) — hero-class.
Each unit has equipment slots:
- Weapon (primary)
- Sidearm (optional)
- Armor — body
- Armor — head
- Tool (utility — climbing rope, dig kit, signal horn, etc.)
Plus optional culture-specific slots (Fjordborn Drinking Horn for morale, Cairnveil Druidic Sigil for ritual, Sun Dune Caravan Tag for trade).
The full equipment catalog has 300 items:
- 150 weapons — axes, spears, bows, swords, polearms, fire weapons, ritual weapons. Tier I–V quality.
- 70 armor pieces — leather, mail, plate, lacquer, hide, ceremonial. Tier I–V.
- 80 tools — climbing kit, dig kit, signal horn, healer's kit, navigation tool, etc.
Per-tier costs and per-culture forge sources live in equipment_chain.md.
¶ Forges and crafting
Each culture has a Forge tree:
- Tier I — basic Forge — bronze tools, leather armor.
- Tier II — Bloomery Furnace — iron weapons, mail.
- Tier III — Deep Forge (Ironpeak signature) / Lacquer Workshop (Jade Lotus) / Glass House (Sun Dune) — culture-specific elite gear.
- Tier IV — Wonder-tier — signature equipment locked behind a wonder + Belief V.
Crafting requires raw materials (iron, hardwood, sulfur, etc.), forge tier, and tech prerequisites. See resource chains and equipment chains.
Equipment contributes to a unit's BP via:
- Atk multiplier (weapon).
- Armor M / Armor P (body + head armor).
- Spd modifier (heavy armor reduces speed).
- Special trait (fire weapons bypass shield bonus, etc.).
- Cultural synergy (Sun Dune cavalry + Sefet horse-tack → +mobility).
Some equipment combinations grant compound bonuses:
- Bamboo Pike + Lacquer Plate (Jade Lotus discipline doctrine) — formation-defense bonus.
- Longship Hull + Storm-Forged sail (Fjordborn) — full storm immunity.
- Iron Drum + Age-Grade Banner (Red Earth) — drum-coordination compound.
- Climbing Rope + Llama Pack (Condor Crown) — Elevation Logistics compound.
Equipment has durability:
- Battle damage degrades durability per engagement.
- Once durability hits zero, the equipment slot becomes broken until repaired.
- Repair requires the original forge tier + raw materials.
- Top-tier equipment lasts longer but costs more to repair.
Equipment is also tradeable:
- List equipment on the global marketplace.
- Loot equipment from defeated heroes / wounded units.
- Gift equipment via diplomacy (Tribute Gift contract).
- Cultural fit matters — a Fjordborn axe used by a Jade Lotus pikeman is awkwardly inefficient.
- Phase 1 ships fixed-stat rosters (
units.md).
- Phase 2 ships the full attribute + equipment system (
armory_system.md §12).
- Phase 3 ships equipment-driven Wonder gear and Avatar-class items.
Sources: armory_system.md (69K), equipment_chain.md (51K, 300 items), units.md (Phase 1 baseline).