Manta Ideas

Traditions
+100% Army Tradition From Battles
-0.1 Yearly Corruption

Pechuketema PactIn 1368, the lord of Simegasfan marched upon Mewojala, sacking the city and annexing its lands. He then headed inland, raiding the hinterlands of the 4 cities. He then returned to his capital, vowing to come back next year and sack even more.\n\nThis brief period of time was just enough for the rulers of the 4 cities to come together, forming an at-first temporary alliance. For years, the Simegasans would invade, the cities would mobilize their armies, and the Simegasans would retreat with their loot.\n\nThis changed in 1384, when a new king ascended in Simegasa. He chose to finally conquer Manta. He gathered his great army and marched upon the city. The warriors of Manta chose to hide behind their walls and wait for the alliance. And the armies of the alliance came, and engaged Simegasa’s forces at the battle of Manta, where an unexpected attack by Manta’s warriors in the rear proved decisive. The besiegers were forced to flee, a great victory dealt to the Simegasan aggressors.\n\nIn the aftermath of the battle, the kings of the cities decided to forge the alliance in blood and ink, creating the Pechuketema Pact.
+1 Diplomats

The Martial CityManta, or in common, "Old" has been around for millenia, allegedly dating back to the time of Adimya-That-Was, although the city’s earliest records only date to 200 BA. Throughout its long existence, the settlement has focused primarily on honing the martial strength of its warriors. Every Mantan child, no matter their sex, is trained from birth to be an excellent warrior. The training process is brutal, with weaker children often dying in the process. But those that endure become some of the finest warriors of the Mengi, each one said to be able to take a troll down on their own.
+10% Infantry Combat Ability

Manta StyleThe Manta Style of martial arts uses great-axes, and involves liberal amounts of intimidation and deception. Warriors are encouraged to be as unpredictable as possible, utilizing feints, quick jabs with the ax handle, and illusion magic to confound the enemies' mind. Any sense of honor will be thrown out the window in order to achieve victory; what others consider a "dirty move", a Manta warrior would consider common practice.
+10% Morale Damage

Sarhaly Chi CultivatorsIn 989, a wanderer entered the town of Manta. Unlike other wanderers, however, he was clearly not from Sarhal at all. When a few locals tried to duel him, he beat them into submission with a strange energy, as though his visually weak body was much stronger!\n\nWhen our skilled warriors questioned him on his origins, he revealed himself to be a wandering master from the legendary lands of the Xianjie, a man named Shivaji, of the Xiaken of Vidvakohka. Every single one of our top fighters challenged him, and all were defeated. Strangely, Shivaji had a habit of sparing those he defeated, and instead offered to train our warriors to use the special energy he harnessed, which he referred to as "Chi".\n\nHe would move on from our city 5 years later, leaving behind a new tradition of Sarhaly chi cultivators in Manta, a tradition we practice to this day."
+25% Army Drill Gain Modifier

Hotspot Of WanderersThe lands of the Mengi are full of wandering warriors. They travel from kingdom to kingdom, offering their services for a campaign or two before moving on. By some strange coincidence or as if guided by Amilak himself, every wandering warrior seems to find themselves in Manta at some point along their journey.\n\nIn 1461, another one of these wanderers entered our town, a humble warrior named Kajen. While he was nothing particularly special in combat, he had a keen tactical and strategic mind, such that he quickly rose through the ranks in our army. He impressed the king with his genius, and he was given the opportunity to lead an army of his own in the upcoming campaign against the Simegasans.\n\nKajen performed brilliantly in the war, and although the campaign ended in a stalemate, he shined brightly. Kajen’s example proved to the rulers of Manta the untapped potential the wanderers had to offer, and so they instituted policies designed to encourage them to join Manta’s army.
-15% General Cost

Keeping An Open MindThe history of Manta is one of foreign fighting techniques being incorporated into our own, making our warriors even better in combat. From Shivaji to Kajen and the world beyond, these innovations have shaped our society in beneficial ways, such that we’d be completely irrelevant if we had rejected them. Thus our leadership has become very open to foreign ideas, which helps keep our society up to speed with the modern world.
-20% Institution Embracement Cost

A Combined ArmyWhen the Pechuketema Pact united into the Pechuketema Kingdom in the 1530s, the king sought to centralize the armies of the former member states. His military advisors were given free reign to craft a new, modernized army, ready to take on the new threats the kingdom faced. The tactics of all Pechuketema cities would be incorporated into this new army, which focused on an all-volunteer professional military. The Combined Army of Pechuketema was far ahead of its time compared to contemporary conscript-based Mengi armies, and was an example which the later Melakmengi army would emulate.
+0% Yearly Army Professionalism

Ambition
+100% Prestige from Land battles