So, I'll note that in the grand scheme of things, I generally like it when things are more balanced - or at least playing a different option offers an interesting play style to pursue. Right now I feel that some of the Tribes are worth playing - others, not so much. In regards to each individual Tribes starting bonuses:

• Goths - Starts with 100 Gold (vs 40) - Starts Unlocked
  
• Huns - Can Train Horse Archers and starts the game with one (along with the usual 3 Clans). Cannot own Structures.
  
• Vandals - Receives gifts of Food or Treasure from Rome every couple years. Locked in a permanent Alliance with all Roman Factions.
  
• Alemanni - All Clans will have at least one positive Trait and no fully negative traits. Earns -50% Fame.
  
• Picts - Starts food with 30 Food (vs 10) and 8 Clans (vs 3).
  
• Lombards - Starts the game with 40 Food (vs 10) and all Resource Deposits Identified. Unable to train any Clans in Foraging Professions.
  
• Franks - +1 Mood bonus for all Clans. Permanently at war with all Factions which don’t follow the ‘Nicene Christianity’ Religion.
  
• Slavs - Units no longer require Supply except when inside another Faction’s Borders.
  
• Saxons - Starts the game next to the ocean with a free galley (along with the usual 3 Clans). Bonuses provided by Deserted locations doubled.
  
• Avars - +1 Move Point for all Units. Can Train Horse Archers. All Units require 1 additional Supply.

I'll note for that most part that some of the clans are definite winners and losers - which is fine since this is a single player game. But I feel that perhaps the bonuses and detriments for each Tribe could still be discussed as certain Tribes aren't all that fun to play.

Going in depth for each tribe, here are my thoughts:

Goths - The money bonus that the Goths get is quite generic - but quite useful. This tribe is also the sole choice for new players as every other one begins locked.

Personally I think that when the Goths were given a little bit of both Food and Gold they were better. Giving new players a buffer makes it easier for them to delve further into the game. It might unbalance the Goths a little but in the grand scheme of things I don't see this is a bad thing - the other tribes can be made to have interesting playstyles to make them worth playing.

Huns - Currently, the Huns are kind of broken as of the recent version. Changes to the economy have really harmed their ability to function as they can't really sustain themselves on foraging and raiding. In many ways I don't necessarily see anything wrong with this tribe - they just have to be updated to reflect the changes to food.

Most of the changes that might be in regards to the Huns should likely come from indirect changes to the gameplay rather then to the Huns themselves. Maybe readjust Horse Archers to cause more Morale Damage when attacking and make the rewards of raiding help them sustain their food supply more easily.

I will note though that another avenue to consider looking into would be to give the Huns a bonus when it comes to foraging activities. This would help make up for the lack of owning structures and help keep them afloat long enough to form an army to attack Byzantium or Rome.

Also worth noting, it would be nice to see that the clansman who starts as the Horse Archer doesn't have any conflicting traits with that profession - it sort of defeats the purpose of playing the Huns if you have to change the Horse Archer right away.

Vandals - I'm probably going to make my let's play in version 1.4 with this tribe next as the Romans are undoubtedly way to hostile right now. But, that aside...

In my mind the Vandals being allied to the Romans is already a big plus. Them getting free goodies on top of it seems like overkill. I'd like to see perhaps more of a negative inserted here - maybe making it so that those gifts are tied to requests by the Romans for example.

Alemanni - So I've played a bit with the Alemanni and I have to say that despite their clans one positive trait/no negative trait modifier, it is quite lacking as a bonus and just more of 'a feature' for them. It certainly isn't enough to make up for the half fame generation malice that they get alongside of it. Having half as many clans as the other tribes but having the same family generation and food consumption as them, starvation is a big issue with this tribe.

Their could be easy solutions to fixing this tribe though. Adjusting the family growth rate to be 50% less or lowering the maximum amount of families their clans can have would do a lot to help keep their bellies fed.

Removing their half fame generation malice or adjusting it to be less severe could be options too - though I will point out that when looking at the merits for playing this tribe: the half fame generation interests me more on this clan then the one positive trait/no negative trait modifier. I'd actually be happy if the half fame generation was primarily all that was kept too so long as it had an appropriate modifiers to make up for the food problems.

Picts - In many ways the Picts are like an advanced start in this game. One can see what the traits of the first 8 clans are going to be and plan accordingly as what they want their clans to do. That said, I would like to perhaps see this distinction in more clans buffed a bit more.

Specifically in regards to the Picts, they don't really 'get' more clans versus the other tribes overall, they just get their first 8 clans immediately and then after 10 turns they have the same amount of clans as every other tribe - outside of the Saxons and Huns who technically will have one extra due to their starting unit. I'd personally like to see something done to make their advantage in regards to their number of clans more prominent - either by perhaps decreasing how fast other tribes get clans, making the Picts have a greater supply for the number of clans supported, making it so that the Picts will generally have more clans over the course of the game, and so forth.

Lombards - I haven't really played with the Lombards but I sort of feel that the idea behind them seems a little too tied to RNG. You basically have everything identified but you'll need to stem off starvation long enough that structures can be built to get the resources anyway. That might mean having a lucky amount of fish nearby or starting out with some foraging clans to keep you afloat.

Unlike with the other tribes, I think the 'no foragers' rule that the Lombards have really needs to go. The malice should be replaced with something else obviously - the question is whether it should be in line with trying to keep the Lombards to their current playstyle or changing them up a bit.

I'll note that the Avar's supply malice might be an idea to consider as an example of a malice that would work well to cripple the Lombards foraging activities (while not preventing them from doing it). On the Avars, the supply malice dramatically hurts their ability to forage - as their foragers frequently need to encamp every other turn.

In rethinking how the Lombards might work and giving them some other malice entirely, another idea that I think might be worth considering is preventing them from building ships in place of not being able to forage. Eliminating the fishing professions and galleys from the Lombards would prevent them from getting an easy food source and restrict their exploration and movement capabilities.

Franks - Haven't really played with the Franks and I'm not sure how they might actually play. Having a mood bonus sounds like it would be extremely good though, it is just a matter of enemy armies coming down to bear on you I guess. Really with the Franks it seems to be another RNG question of what situation you find yourself in. That sounds like something that would be fine with expert players though.

I think in regards to the Franks it is a matter of how the AI works with their armies. If the Eastern Romans (I believe they don't follow Nicene) come to stomp you as soon as they learn about you then that would make them hard to play. Of course, diplomacy really needs to be adjusted to make them capable of making friends with those of the same religion.

Slavs - In many ways I think the Slavs are kind of like the 'Casual' Mode of this game. You don't have to worry about their units dying off due to lack of supplies and be it winter or summer you can continue activities like mining (as the cold doesn't affect it).

I kind of feel that the supply bonus they get should be limited somewhat - or they should have some sort of negative malice added alongside it. As an idea for adding a malice they could get a negative mood penalty for being outside of a settlement or structure during winter - thus hurting their combat potential in winter and lowering the production obtained from their foragers as well.

If just adjusting the supply bonus though, limiting it to the military units could be an idea - thus making it so that they military units never need to encamp and can campaign pretty well whenever they wish. The bonus could also just be applied to their civilians - thus meaning they can actively produce things so longs as the climate permits the activity they perform.

Saxons - Probably one of my favorite tribes to play, the Saxons have a lot of flexibility in terms of exploration and being able to uncover the map. RNG could be a bit of a factor in regards to what one might find but an experienced player can do well with them if they get lucky and find a good location to exploit or deserted locations to uncover.

I wouldn't change much with the Saxons. I've had runs with them where I've moved my settlement across the water to an island or secluded part of the map where nothing could touch me; or moved armies across the water to invade the Romans.

I might make a suggestion though that when they get their double finds from ruins and the like that they not gain twice the number of clans when getting the additional clan reward. Maybe make it so that they get two different rewards as an idea - though without the chance of one of those rewards being bandits.

Much like the Huns, I'll note that making sure that the traits of the clansman who begins as a Galley don't conflict with his profession. However, probably more important is making sure that they actually begin next to 'an ocean' tile. Starting in a small lake really defeats the benefits of having a Galley unit from the start in the first place.

Avars - I briefly did a Let's Play with the Avars and I have to say they are extremely RNG dependent. You are basically at the mercy of the map generator as being put in an area that penalizes movement will negate your bonus to it, while also destroying your ability to supply your units in such tiles that would simply slow down the clans of other tribes. Trying to forage with them is a curse too - which I already noted as a possible good malice to give to the Lombards.

Unlike with the Lombards, it might be possible to keep the current malice with the reduced supply - but some serious thought needs to be given in how to keep it in. Either the malice itself should be reworked to be less severe or the Avars should be given some other bonus to help them out.

In giving them another bonus, increasing the borders the Avars have could be something to consider. Maybe make it so that their settlement starts with max borders - thus giving them a nice big buffer zone for their foragers to work in without having to encamp every other turn. Their structures could also have improved border rangers too. Another idea might be to make them suffer less attrition damage, thus making it less of a deal to skip encamping for them.

Looking into adjusting the malice itself, making them more like the Slavs and just putting some restrictions on their supply malice so that it isn't as painful might do the trick. Maybe make it so that only their military units suffer from lack of supply - thus leaving the rest of their units alone to go about their jobs and not crippling an Avar players economy; or making it civilian base so that their military units can rampage around (though this will only be possibly when raiding is made better).

The above said though, dropping the supply malice entirely might still be a better solution. It could be replaced with something else, say for example they could have reduced clan capacity. If perhaps their total support for clans was changed from 12 to 8 and maybe the amount of clans they get when increases their support from 6 to 4, that could be an idea. (Note, you might not want to drop it down by 1/3; changing from 12 to 10 and 6 to 5 might be worth looking into first.)

Of course, if I was to offer a preferred solution - I'd just drop their supply malice entirely and just rework how their other bonuses work. Maybe make it so that the Avars only benefit from their additional movement when their units start 'within' the confines of their borders at the start of a turn. This would lend a lot of worth to increasing their border ranges and covering vast territories to get more benefit from their movement.

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These are basically my thoughts on this, but I figure I should note that what mostly triggered this thread was playing with the Avars. I think that having a challenging tribe is fine but the challenge should be fun. The Avars were an example of a tribe that are at the mercy of the RNG - requiring that a lot of dots get connected for them to be played successful. I think the Lombards are like that too - though perhaps more difficult as they will have starvation issues very quickly unless the player can figure out how to feed themselves right away.

Starting up a new game can be quite hit and miss a lot of the time. Quite often I find myself having to starting up a new game due to a bad start resulting from the setup at turn 1. I had a start with the Saxons for example where the Galley clansman was afraid of water AND in a lake! I've already mentioned about how RNG dependent the Avars are and I'm certain the same could be said to some extent for other Tribes too.

While this game is highly RNG dependent, there is a time to know when to cut down on the RNG - and starting out is likely one of those times. I'd suggest making some additionally guidelines that the game should follow on start up for each Tribe; specifically catered to help each Tribe start up their game.

To give a couple of examples:

• The Avars:
  
  The Settlement for the Avars should be spawned in a Steppe Biome - Steppe terrain is usually devoid of trees and brush which gives ample room for the Avars to run around in.
  
  Inside the Settlement the Avars should have access to two clans; one with Nomadic and Independent Traits and the other with Gregarious and Strong Traits - there should be a lot of animals to exploit in Steppe Biomes so Livestock should be worthwhile. Having a powerful clansman to be a 'leader' unit or a potential warrior leads well to the Avars other advantages
  
  Outside of the Settlement they should start with a clan with the Gatherer and Resourceful Traits - a useful profession for gathering food and the resourceful trait helps negate the Avars resource issues
  
  
• The Saxons
  
  The Settlement for the Saxons should be spawned next to an Ocean Biome - if possible, there should be something done coding wise to denote certain ocean tiles as belonging to the 'Atlantic Ocean' so that the Saxons will have lots of use for their Galley.
  
  Inside the Saxons settlement there should be no clans present - who says we have to have anything in the settlement.
  
  Outside of the Settlement the Saxons should have access to three clans; one being a Scout with the Perceptive Trait, one with a Hunter with the Fecund Trait, and the other being the Galley unit with Apathetic and Adventurous Traits - technically the Saxons and Huns start with four clans as opposed to the usual 3 so this resets them back down to the correct amount. The Galley and Scout correspond to the Saxons respective strengths while the Hunter is both a unit that could be used for early combat but also for food.

After the initial setup, the game could proceed as normally with the usual randomly generated traits for clans appearing and so forth.

Originally posted by DFuxa:

Starting up a new game can be quite hit and miss a lot of the time. Quite often I find myself having to start up a new game simply due to the fact that I get a bad setup in the one I start into - I've had a clan who started as the Galley unit in the Saxons for example who was afraid of water, in a lake! I've already mentioned about how RNG dependent the Avars are and I'm certain the same could be said to some extent for other Tribes too.

While this game is highly RNG dependent, there is a time to know when to cut down on the RNG - and starting out is likely one of those times. I'd suggest making some additionally guidelines that the game should follow on start up for each Tribe; specifically catered to help each Tribe start up their game.

To give a couple of examples:

• The Avars:
  
  The Settlement for the Avars should be spawned in a Steppe Biome - Steppe terrain is usually devoid of trees and brush which gives ample room for the Avars to run around in
  
  Inside the Settlement the Avars should have access to two clans; one with Nomadic and Independent Traits and the other with Gregarious and Strong Traits - there should be a lot of animals to exploit in Steppe Biomes so Livestock should be worthwhile. Having a powerful clansman to be a 'leader' unit or a potential warrior leads well to the Avars other advantages
  
  Outside of the Settlement they should start with a clan with the Gatherer and Resourceful Traits - a useful profession for gathering food and the resourceful trait helps negate the Avars resource issues
  
  
• The Saxons
  
  The Settlement for the Saxons should be spawned next to an Ocean Biome - if possible, there should be something done coding wise to denote certain ocean tiles as belonging to the 'Atlantic Ocean' so that the Saxons will have lots of use for their Galley.
  
  Inside the Saxons settlement there should be nothing - who says we have to have anything in the settlement.
  
  Outside of the Settlement the Saxons should have access to three clans; one being a Scout with the Perceptive Trait, one with a Hunter with the Fecund Trait, and the other being the Galley unit with Apathetic and Adventurous Traits - technically the Saxons and Huns start with four clans as opposed to the usual 3 so this resets them back down to the correct amount. The Galley and Scout correspond to the Saxons respective strengths while the Hunter is both a unit that could be used for early combat but also for food.

After the initial setup, the game could proceed as normally with the usual randomly generated traits for clans appearing and so forth.

Jon won't fix this so there's no need to worry about it. just do what i do. start a game, save on turn 1, then play out about 30 turns to see the lay of the land. then if you can make the adjustments, restart on turn 1; otherwise start a new game and rinse/repeat.