The Surgeon - Stronghold Crusader AI Lords

The Surgeon is a skirmish opponent in Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition (available in The Surgeon and Baibars DLC).

Overview

A truly unexpected character in warfare, the Surgeon has a certain level of aversion to fighting. He also possesses high intelligence, which he uses to build imposing castles alongside extensive castle services to run a developed town, as well as to consider and justify his actions. Despite the circumstances, the Surgeon seems to have adapted very well to the harshness of conflict, and as a consequence he has a tendency of being underestimated by his opponents. A keen observer will find however that the Surgeon has limited offensive capability, making him less of a menace than an all-round defender.

Castles & Defenses

The Surgeon puts great effort in the details, and it shows in his designs. His castles are generally comprised of two rings, with an inner ring being a simple enclosure with a few Gatehouses and a Perimeter Turret, as well as an outer courtyard that has long lines of thicker walls and crenellations, riddled with Round Towers and Large Gatehouses. The "motte" always has a Grand Mosque and a Mosque along with weapons industry, while the centralised "bailey" area has lots of Bakeries, Breweries and small Gardens throughout. Both rings are surrounded with Moat, as well as a continuous line of Killing Pits are added over the course of the game. Towers are usually garrisoned with Crossbowmen and Healers, which house Tower Ballistae and are connected to the walls from the inside. The outer sections and the gates are fortified with Archers and Skirmishers. Pikemen are also found guarding the Lord, as well as digging the moat in the beginning of the game.

Small patrols are fielded early on by the Surgeon, made up predominantly by Skirmishers, with a sprinkle of Crossbowmen and Archers. If there are raiders on the horizon, the Surgeon mobilises a few skirmishers on top of his regular patrols.

Perhaps the forte of the Surgeon are his castle designs, even though they are far from impenetrable. He is really quick building up his walls, and as such, he necessitates a proper siege to be broken. He has multiple layers of Moat on top, meaning you should bring in heavy troops to quickly thin out the moat at a target of choice. The Surgeon's castle in general lacks potent firepower so the diggers can quickly work their way through the outer layer. Even better: a Siege Tower should be docked at the crenellation, allowing a quick way on top of the walls to overrun the bisected defenders with fast infantry, or for ranged units to overpower defenders in range, while the Tower Ballistae can't hurt them. The Keep can also be thinned free of troops once you get control of the outer ring, so much as the Surgeon will have no immediate answer to a big blob of bowmen. His recruitment buildings also lie in the outer courtyard, so you could destroy them and block their location to prevent the Surgeon from rebuilding. With all these precautions in place, the Surgeon is quick to fall in battle.

Economy

Having one of the most productive economies, the Surgeon taps deeply into popularity and production. He builds an abundance of Stone Quarries and Woodcutters to allow building up quickly, with a few Iron Mines to supply his industry. The Surgeon supplies his Granary mostly with bread, which he keeps brimming with some additional supply of a few Apples and Cheese (both of which he also buys). He provides equipment through workshops for his Archers and Pikemen, with Crossbowman equipment being bought exclusively from the Marketplace. The Surgeon provides his population all sorts of goodies, namely full kegs from barrels in the Inn, lots of Communal Gardens to increase morale, as well as the two larger Mosque types are built as pearls of the Castle, allowing really high taxes in return.

Raids & Sieges

Despite his lower preference to fight, the Sergeant uses some tricks in the book to not appear a pushover on the battlefield. In fact, he is more on the annoying side of things, as he likes to send raiders of fast Bedouin units. Camel Lancers backed with Skirmishers are a frequent sight, while some Archers tend to be added later as zoning patrols. The camels have the highest potential to deal damage, who normally target quarries and farms with their high attack and running speed. The Skirmishers and Archers can prove annoying from mid to high-range to workers, even though they rarely destroy buildings on their own.

The Surgeon is interestingly on the higher end of the siege attack frequency, in spite of him bringing considerably few units to one attempt. A rare sighting by other AI opponents, the Surgeon brings Healers in the main force to provide field support, though he uses them rather ineffectively. The main units involved in warfare are heavy-armored Pikemen and assorted Skirmishers, backed up by a few Archers and Engineers, who construct a lone Trebuchet to provide limited bombardment. The Pikemen compose the brunt of the attacking contingent, while some of the Skirmishers will be split to fill in the enemy Moat. Even when deflected, the Surgeon usually has a well-oiled economy to quickly muster and throw another army at his target.

Deflecting the Surgeon's half-baked siege armies is perhaps a challenge initially, however he more or less keeps the same size for each subsequent attempt, so he is only effective in group games at surprising you. A well-placed, extensive Moat system stops the Surgeon dead in his tracks, as up to ten Skirmishers will ever attempt to fill it in, making them a measly leading force. Should you be less prepared or not finished, Pitch Ditches and a nice number of Archers next to Braziers should do the trick, as the Pikemen cannot withstand poking walls in fire, and the Surgeon's armies lack the force of ranged firepower to retaliate. The single trebuchet should usually be no concern to you, as it tends to get up well outside your fortification's range, only causing damage in a concentrated, small area. A foolproof way however is to build a large army of Crossbowmen and Mangonels, whose armor-piercing bolts and incapacitating rocks can make short work of the Pikemen and the opposition of predominantly light troops.