The Sultan - Stronghold Crusader AI Lords

The Sultan is a skirmish opponent in Stronghold Crusader.

Overview

Being a peaceful poet, the Sultan likes to take care of his domain and populace in a humble enclosure. As he enjoys the serenity of life, far away from the clank of armor and swords, he occasionally ventures out with a band of troops to try his luck, barely giving a thought to plan his moves out. While the Sultan does not intend that his deeds are sung in heroic epics, he values his friends to high esteem, who would defend him and each other with tooth and nail.

Castles & Defenses

The Sultan's enclosures can be perhaps best described as camps, which are very small, featuring one courtyard with assorted hovels and Fear Factor buildings within. The Keep is surrounded with a humble, continuous line of walls that have double thickness and crenellation, running in a circular shape. Each design features one Small Gatehouse to provide access to the outside world, as well as one Lookout Tower for show. Slingers are placed in small groups in the entire section of the walls and the tower, while the main defense can be located around the Lord. 

The Sultan has a static guarding group of Arabian Swordsmen and Slingers, which he sends to guard his Stone Quarries. When his estate is under threat, he sends out three Arabian Swordsmen and a few Slingers to remove the opposition.

As seen in the snippet, the Sultan's castles are less than imposing. The compact nature of the castle provides good area coverage overlooking the Keep, however the range disadvantage of Slingers compared to other standard missile units means that the Sultan can fall virtually any attack. The Arabian Bowmen gathering on the Keep can output some serious firepower, but the plenty blind spots around the walls make them easy stationary targets to other ranged units. Do not overlook the fact that some starting Fire Throwers may rain on your heavy armor's day around the Keep.

Economy

The Sultan's economy is very barebones and humble. He does not produce food at all, instead he relies on the semi-extensive Wood and Stone production to fund his Granary stocks and military. He also garners income from some taxes thanks to the various Good Things littered around the enclosure.

Raids & Sieges

The Sultan's offensive efforts are very limited, relegating to semi-regular Slinger patrols between the enemy territory and his own. When he sets out for an attack, he sends out two groups of units: a band of heavy-armored Arabian Swordsmen, as well as some Arabian Bowmen that tend to stay behind the swordsmen. Using a one-sided strategy like this one, the Sultan is bound to try time and time again despite his slim chances at success.

Defense against the Sultan requires little preparations, though depending on the match settings it can be problematic, because the Sultan may contribute with high frequency attacks in a team effort. On his own, the Sultan's army is of little threat, as invalidating it is possible with a few Crossbowmen and some armor of your own. Digging a line of Moat around your castle can also almost completely block off his armies.

Note: In vanilla Stronghold Crusader, the Sultan has no units which are capable of filling in the Moat, resulting in the army being blocked in case the target is completely surrounded with water. The Definitive Edition eliminates this issue by adding some Slaves to the siege armies.