Subscribe to download
Bretonnian War Castle (Major Update)

After far too much delay, I'm pleased to announce the mod has been updated to 6.0! The mod has also received a full overhaul. The default War Castle is much more refined as a unit. It now has a protected roof canopy to protect the archers at the top, who now rapidly fire heavy, anti-large arrows instead of the big bursts of arrows they'd fire beforehand.

The version without the canopy isn't gone though - it's been reworked as a siege variant, with a mangonel! The mangonel fires a cluster of rocks to crush enemy infantry, all from the safety of the War Castle.

Both variants have 360 degree armor protection, a new passive ability to protect friendly units on the ground and act as a bastion in the tide of battle, and even have new unit card art. Thanks everyone for your patience, and your support which has made this mod possible!

The War Castle is the pinnacle of Bretonnian engineering. While not as sleek as a Steam Tank or as fast as the Landships of Marienburg, it is a testament to the ability of the Bretonnian people to innovate within the confines of their technology. The War Castle is so named due to its application of castle warfare to the battlefield at large. Pulled by two enormous, mighty Vashland Bulls from the heart of Bretonnia, anywhere it goes will feel the sting of its arrows, launched by its crew of keen-eyed Yeomen archers and the scalding boiling oil stored in its bowels.

The War Castle is an immense tower on wheels, mounted with archers and pulled by two huge oxen. It acts as an anchor in Bretonnia's army, slow-moving but able to launch a hail of arrows in any direction. It's great at shredding clumps of infantry with its many arrows, and it's no slouch in melee as well, thanks to its spiked wheels and sturdy constitution. It's also got the ability to dump boiling oil on infantry in a nearby radius, burning and demoralizing them. It can be built from the Rank 5 Siege Workshop in campaign, the same building where you get the Blessed Field Trebuchets.

This unit has no basis in the lore*, and neither do the big cows that pull it. I made it because I realized that Bretonnia was more-or-less the only faction that doesn't have a big, show-stopping single entity unit, in-game and in the lore. Well, there's the Green Knight, but there's only one of him. I don't mind this, but the poor knights are behind the curve in so many ways, so I wanted to give them something powerful to play with. A big monster or dragon didn't seem to fit them, but then I thought about Chess, particular its Rook or "Castle" pieces, and thought "What if Bretonnia had that on the battlefield?"

This unit should be affected by just about any red-line skill or technology that buffs Field Trebuchets.

* = Fellow modder Urgat did remind me of an unused concept art for Bretonnia that depicted a similar unit, so on that basis it could be considered loreful.

There's some minor clipping on the harnesses of the oxen that pull it. Unfortunately, it's beyond my ability to fix this.

There should be no compatibility issues unless they drastically affect battle performance or how Bretonnia's campaign mechanics operate. I tested it with Lily's Bretonnia Overhaul, and as far as I could tell there were no issues.

If you want compatibility submods for total overhauls like SFO Grimhammer or Radious, I'm afraid I can't help you because I don't use those overhauls. Feel free to make them yourself though!

I'd like to credit Ole, who made all this possible with his excellent Asset Editor tool. I'd also like to credit Dead Baron, who gave me the idea for the unit as a whole, convinced me to add the bulls, and gave me permission to use his mangonel model. Beyond that, I'd like to thank all the good people of the Total War Modding Den and Skeleton Crew discords, especially those who helped me work through the technical issues I faced. I can't name all of you, but I appreciate everything you've done!

Also, the screenshots were taken with Mazisky's Ultimate Lighting 2.0 mod, so credit should go to him for that.

The two beautiful in-game screenshots at the end (prior to the unit card and build location) were provided by Morale on the TW Modding Den. Many thanks to him!

The old unit card art in the mod was provided by hooveric. Thank you hooveric!

Sergeant-at-Arms Hero - By Gorilla and Lily
The Lost Sons of Bretonnia
Gorilla's Bretonnia Tabletop Reskin
Gorilla's Yeomen and Squire Rework