The Jewel - Stronghold Crusader AI Lords

The Jewel is a skirmish opponent in Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition.

Overview

Hailing from a family with military legacy, the Jewel is an enthusiastic ironclad warrior. She is a principled and benevolent lady, who fights with a straight posture and pride, just like his uncle, Sir Longarm. Unlike the old man, the Jewel actually displays more prowess at the arts of both industry and military, and she never rushes into battle without fielding a stream of soldiers marching with sword and shield.

Castles & Defenses

The Jewel builds straightforward, but effective castles. She surrounds her keep with thick crenellated walls, with massive Square Towers and Round Towers at regular intervals hosting tower equipment and Crossbowmen. Additional Crossbowmen guard the few gatehouses. The Jewel's castle has a large interior, safely housing all kinds of weapon production buildings and civilian buildings, with only a select few buildings placed outside. Unlike other more organised lords, the Jewel makes use of no traps or moat. The Jewel guards her outlying buildings with patrolling squads of Pikemen and Crossbowmen, as well as she addresses provocations with them.

The Jewel's castle is sprawling and large, but largely undermanned, save for the Keep, heavily relying on Mangonels and Ballistae to do the heavy lifting. She also makes up for it somewhat by regularly patrolling her buildings, ensuring that there is always some sort of band overlooking her perimeter. While her thick walls can withstand volleys from Catapults for a prolonged time, they simultaneously present a weakness for Siege Towers docking at any point of it. A mass of units then scaling the Siege Tower can easily conquer and run down the enemy garrison, making the bulk of the Jewel's troops sitting ducks on top of the Keep. Fire is also moderately effective, as the Jewel sites his buildings together densely.

Economy

The Jewel runs an extensive and well-developed economy. She gathers both stone and iron, as well as she builds a large number of weapons workshops to self-sufficiently provide equipment on top of buying some. The Jewel produces apples and cheese to feed his population, which is augmented by a limited number of Inns and Churches to gather taxes. Due to the size of the economy, the Jewel takes some time to fully build her might.

Raids & Sieges

The Jewel is said to love to charge on horseback into battle, and she does not let up as the niece of Sir Longarm. Later in the game, when she can afford them, she sends out groups of 6 to 8 Knights to raid quarries and farms. Knights are very durable and agile harassment units, who are considerably hard to put down, as well as a few Catapults may also be sent forward to inflict damage in a similar manner.

When it comes to sieges, the Jewel takes some time to build up, but she will soon unleash an attack force similar to that of the Wolf, featuring large numbers of armored units from the Barracks. She uses the same troops - Crossbowmen, Pikemen and Swordsmen - supported by an assortment of Healers, who are slow to form up. The Jewel also brings a few Engineers who then construct Catapults, Battering Rams and Trebuchets to knock down enemy buildings and create breaches in the fortifications. When her economy is running unscathed, the Jewel can relatively quickly muster another siege force with higher numbers and more siege equipment at her disposal.

As the Jewel packs her strength in her siege attempts and her mass armor, some preparations are needed in advance. Crossbowmen are invaluable to put a dent in the enemy armor, whittling down their health slowly but surely. Mangonels and to a lesser extent, Ballistae can also make quick work of packs of troops and siege equipment, since normal projectiles take a while to kill Pikemen and Swordsmen. Should the Jewel catch you by surprise, placing Killing Pits or using fire near your weak points can also greatly assist your wall defense. The Jewel's Healers are not a factor during battle, and your persistence over time should make you beat back her attempts over and over again. Prepare to meet the Jewel's armored units - while paying special attention to Knights - on the field with heavy troops of your own, such as Heavy Camels, or Pikemen of your own, in order to stall them until the ranged defense finishes them off.