Slave King - Stronghold Crusader 2 AI Lords

The Slave King is a skirmish opponent in Stronghold Crusader 2.

Overview

"The Slave King is a relentless opponent. Right from the outset he will send out his slaves to burn down enemy buildings to cause as much destruction and panic as possible. His lack of a plan B is his Achilles heel though."

– the Slave King's in-game description

Castles & Defenses

The Slave King builds an elaborate snowflake shaped castle consisting of curtain walls and multiple gatehouses. Up to six watch towers manned by Arabian archers provide protection against encroaching enemy forces. Another force made up of Arabian archers, slaves, slave drivers and whirling dervishes make up his personal bodyguard atop the keep. Pitch provides a further layer of fiery protection around the castle. His castles are not very expensive and as a result the Slave King will complete them very quickly.

The Slave King's castles are not difficult to besiege. Even a medium-sized group of ranged units with mantlet support can clear out his towers. Since the Slave King uses only curtain walls, a single catapult can create a breach with after only a few shots. His personal bodyguard isn't too impressive either, with only the whirling dervishes being potentially dangerous to an attacker. A patient attacker can simply use ranged units to take them out first before storming the keep.

Economy

Like most aspects of the Slave King, his economy is also very basic. Five sheep farms and six apple orchards produce his food. Six wood camps and three quarry more than cover his needs in wood and stone. Five pitch rigs gather pitch for his fiery defences.

Raids & Sieges

The Slave King's armies consist of slaves, slave drivers and Arabian archers supported by catapults and mantlets.

The most dangerous aspect of the Slave King is his early aggression and incessant raiding. He will send out large groups of slaves early on, later with slave drivers for support, and try to set anything ablaze he comes across. Sometimes Arabian archers will be included in his raids. The Slave King's sieges aren't too different from his raids, again consisting of slaves, slave drivers and Arabian archers with up to catapults and mantlets for support.

Defending against the Slave King isn't difficult, but he can catch his opponents off guard. A dozen or so archers or crossbowmen, preferably atop towers, are usually enough to deter his early raids and sieges. Some men at arms placed next to the farms can also inflict damage upon his raiders and tie them up in melee. Fortunately, unlike the Caliph, the Slave King adds slave drivers much later to his raids and sieges, making his slaves initially extremely vulnerable to ranged attacks. One should still have enough wells to deal with fire should the Slave King's forces manage to get through.