Table of Contents
LA Andramania, Dog Republic
Lore
Andramania is a republic of Calystrii, civilized and culturally advanced Cynocephalians. The Cynocephalian clans of Gog and Magog once served Magnificent Ind and their barking hordes were released upon the enemies of the Prester King. But when the Khans of T’ien Ch’i defeated the sacred armies of Ind and killed the Prester King himself, the dominion of Ind was broken and all subservient tribes and kingdoms found themselves free from the yoke of the Magnificent Kingdom. The Cynocephalians had become increasingly more civilized under the benevolent rule of the Prester King and when Ind fell cynocephalian magistrates replaced the viceroys of Ind and united the cynocephalian tribes in a nation of virtue far beyond that of the kingdoms of men. They called themselves Calystrii and promised never to fall back into the barbarism and gruesome practices of old. Now most Calystrii regard men with disdain as the inferior beings they are.
"Piconye, Feminie and Andramania are successors to the magnificent kingdom of Ind. They mainly draw inspiration from my previous ideas of Ind and the kingdom of Prester John. I wanted the successors of Ind to split the virtues of the magnificent kingdom and so Piconye inherits the theocratic traditions of Ind, Feminine inherits the magic secrets, and Andramania inherits the order and discipline of the kingdom. Andramania draws additional inspiration from medieval myths on the cynocephalians. While most sources portray them as wild brutes, there are some representations where they appear civilized and peaceful. After some reimagining Andramania became a nation of cynocephalians trying to overcome their barbaric legacy." -Illwinter
General Overview
Andramania is an Animal nation that eats like a Giant nation, though the animals here at least have decent Magic Resistance. Its troops are equipped like the Marignese, but there's little sense in comparing a human to a giant dog with a human's body. There is no contest. Truly, the better comparison is between the Calystri troops and the Size 4 troops of Hinnom and Gath; for the same price, these dogs have lower survivability and strength, but also superior weaponry, superior skill, and an extra attack.
As of the time this overview is being written, many call the typical Andramanian troops far too cheap; for the same price as five common troops, you get four above-average attacks per round from a single square, whereas a square would otherwise yield three average attacks or one-to-two above-average ones. Of special note are the Calystri Pikeneer and the elite Calystri Senatorial Guard, who fit three-to-a-square. Andramania also has higher-end troops than these, if you can believe it; these require additional care beyond a slightly higher salary, however, while their perks might be overkill for typical warfare.
Offsetting the boons to standard combat, Andramania has no mastery (level 3 or higher) in any magic paths, and no 
3's beyond its Prophet. The nation pays a premium for mages whose paths are strewn wide; and while these magi are both tough and versatile, the benefits of versatility slim out in the late game. While any Andramanian magus can have Astral, there is no cheap-and-reliable Astral to be found here, so Communions will be pricey and somewhat slow to assemble.
National Features
| Magic Access | Alt. Access | Unit Summary | Core Abilities | Buildings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 2 (Rare 3) 2 (Rare 3) 2 (Rare 3) 2 (Rare 3) 1 (Rare 2)(Rare  1) (Rare  1) 2 | Cynocephalians Skilled and disciplined infantry and crossbowmen. Conscription |  Darkvision (50%)  Gluttony  Animal  Reduces Unrest Tax Collector Formation Fighter |  Standard Fort |
Capitol Gems: 1
1
1
1
National Special Features
Order Limit + 1
Prefers 
Heat Scale + 1
The Calystrii of Andramania are Cynocephalians, Size 4 Animals (two-to-a-square) with human bodies. Despite being dogs, most of them have been trained to eat as much as Size 4 humans; whatever keeps them domesticated. Their ancestors lived in caves, so they themselves have 
50% Darkvision. Untrained Calystri peasants have 10 Attack Skill and 9 Defense Skill, the latter only being lower due to their biting bonus attack, and trained Calystrii have at least 2 more points in each of those. Other than that, the average Calystri soldier has 18 HP, 3 Natural Protection, 13 Strength, 12 Morale, 2 Encumbrance (naked), 14 Combat Speed (also naked), and 16 Map Movement (also naked).
National Units
: Darkvision (50%), Gluttony (3, effectively 1.5 supply usage), Animal
Commanders
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Calystri Scout  55  5  1 |   Stealthy (60)  Wasteland Survival  Mountain Survival  Forest Survival | More expensive than independent scouts that can easily be found in LA. Stronger than a regular scout, but not enough so to reliably defeat 1 PD without items. |
 | Calystri Magistrate 95 1 1 |  Sacred Darkvision (50%)  Defence Organizer (2) Reduces Unrest (1 per Month) Animal Tax Collector | With an upkeep of 3.17 gold per turn, they're a cost-effective way to raise your resistance to raids with sufficient foresight. Having 19 PD ahead of time also makes PD dumps cheaper, which is useful against crossbow doom stacks that are common in LA. Notably, Andramania's PD is also more cost-effective than other nations as a result of the conscription trait. |
 | Calystri Commander 115 29 1 | | Provides line formations and the most leadership per commander point. Due to your good units not having shields, line formations are exceptionally valuable to keep casualties down. |
 | Calystri General 175 29 2 | | Provides a +1 morale bonus in exchange for costing twice as many commander points as the commander. |
| | Calystri Presbyter 90 1 1 | 1 Sacred | It's your standard priest, but a bit tougher in exchange for 5 gold. |
 | Apprentice Magus 110 2 2 | 1 1100%    9  Supply Bonus (10) | Not only your cheapest research option, but also your cheapest option for point buffs and a variety of support functions. All Apprentices can cast Barkskin to raise your units' protection to 21. 1 Apprentices can cast Body Ethereal and Communion Slave, 1 Apprentices can equip Earth Boots and cast Legions of Steel for small armies, and 1 Apprentices can cast 1 spells the other randoms won't, like Healing Touch in healing communions. Anecdotally, a ratio of 50% Apprentices and 50% Calystri Magus provides a good baseline in the midgame for having enough communion slaves/healers and casters if you don't wish to balance it on a per-fort basis. |
 | Calystri Magus 275 2 2 | 1121100% 10%   15 Supply Bonus (20) | A mage which can cast big battlefield spells with exceptional ease, but is a bit expensive for what it does before sufficient research is available. 2 Magi can Power of the Spheres and cast Antimagic or Howl. 1 Magi can grab two communion slaves and cast Earthpower into Legions of Steel, or cast Strength of Gaia to get 4 and cast Oaken Army and Army Regeneration. 2 Magi are the least useful of the bunch if you don't need fire or cold resistance, as fire evocations are far less effective than buffing Senatorial Guard, but they do get to cast Solar Eclipse for one gem instead of three, which is very useful when fighting nations without darkvision. In case you have excess Calystri Magi available after buffing, the generic option is casting Breath of the Dragon and Swarm, preferably with a big communion. |
 | Presbyter Magistrate 145 11 2  Capital Only | 2 Sacred Defence Organizer (2) Reduces Unrest (1 per month) Tax Collector | If you're expanding with Serene Ones then this is the cheapest option for blessing and leading them at the same time. |
 | Serene Master 260 31 2 Capital Only | 1 Sacred Darkvision (50%) Animal | A Calystri General and Calystri Presbyter in one unit. A bit more reliable in expansion than the Presbyter Magistrate due to having armour and enough stats to fight alone if the independents decide to partially ignore your units, but pays a high price for the privilege. |
 | Magistrate Magus 370 2 2 Capital Only | 2111100% 10%  15 Sacred  Old Age (44/30) Tax Collector | Dreadfully expensive for the same amount of paths as a Calystri Magus, this mage provides the fastest access to 2 and 2, if you're desperate for that. Even then, it competes with the Calystri Senator, with which it compares unfavourably. |
 | Calystri Senator 465 2 4 Capital Only | 211221100% 10% 19 Sacred Supply Bonus (20) | Not much more powerful as a mage than the Calystri Magus, the Senator nonetheless provides a few key options, most notably 1 access. 2 Senators can cast 4 spells without a communion via Power of the Spheres and Strength of Gaia. They can also equip a Starshine Skullcap and Teleport in order to fill gaps in your buff coverage anywhere you need it, for example when a key mage dies in your army and you don't have a spare. 2 Senators can cast Marble Army and Steel Slice Warriors without a communion, craft Earth Boots and Coin of Meteoric Iron and summon Golems. 1 Senators can site search and craft Coral Blades for your communions, but also cast Foul Vapors to make storming your forts a pyrrhic endeavour. With two boosters you can even use Ritual of Returning and Teleport to surprise your enemies with little risk. |
 | Howler Champion 95 7 1  Non-fort Highlands  Non-fort Mountains | Darkvision (50%)  Chaos Recruitment (5)  Animal Awe (+1)  Detested (-1)  Berserker (+2)  Pillager (5)  Causes Unrest (2 per Month)  Corpse Eater (3) Bonus HP per Corpse (1 to Max of 10)  Undisciplined Animal Wasteland Survival Mountain Survival | Only useful as a way to lead Howlers recruited in provinces that may not have independent commanders available. |
Troops
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Calystri Mititia 20 3 15 | | Too costly to serve as patrol chaff and loses too much skill for its cost. Independent units or summons are superior for patrolling purposes. |
 | Calystri City Guard 25 11 22 |  Castle Defence Bonus (1)  Patrol Bonus (1) | Exceptional damage for its resource cost makes this unit situationally useful for clearing the cap circle during expansion so that better units can be recruited faster. |
 | Calystri Crossbowman 25 31 22 | | Worse cost performance as a ranged unit compared to the independent crossbows that are commonly found in LA. Can technically stay in one place while firing in order to absorb more point buffs from your mages, akin to MA Shinuyama's Dai Bakemono, but the loss of skill and damage compared to Andramania's other options makes this suboptimal. |
 | Calystri Footman 25 13 22 | Formation Fighter (2) | Deals 16 damage with its spear compared to the City Guard's 26 damage glaive. Technically superior performance against independents with poor armour and lots of projectiles, but the loss of damage makes it inferior against independents that would actually give your starting army trouble. |
 | Calystri Soldier 25 29 22 | Formation Fighter (2) | Andramania's only armoured shield option, but the spear makes it deal too little damage to be usable, despite Andramania's troubles with crossbows. |
 | Calystri Pikeneer 25 27 22 | Formation Fighter (2) | Pikeneers can situationally be useful with repel against troops with low defence, length 3 weapons and mediocre morale. In all other cases the loss of damage and defence skill makes it inferior, as the next two troops perform better per cost. |
 | Calystri Man at Arms 30 31 29 | Darkvision (50%) Animal | Lacks formation fighter, but the higher attack skill and lower cost makes this unit superior to Senatorial Guard in early fights or when raiding, where point buffs aren't present and square density doesn't impact how many units can hit at one time (100 Man at Arms in a line fill a battefield's width, making it the cutoff point). Notably has worse performance against length 2 units like greatswords (that won't get replled) compared to Senatorial Guard. |
 | Calystri Senatorial Guard 35 30 29 |  Bodyguard (2) Formation Fighter (2) | Andramania's premier unit. Boasts exceptional skill, damage, attack density and gold density per square. This unit will win fights against almost any melee unit in the game without mages being involved, but the low HP per gold makes this unit relatively weak to projectiles, especially crossbows. Takes buffs incredibly well. |
 | Serene One 35 31 29 Capital Only | Sacred Darkvision (50%) Animal | A fine sacred overshadowed by the strength of the Senatorial Guard. Comparatively, gains +3/+2 attack/defence, but loses 4 damage. As the only sacred worth considering in Andramania's roster, this unit can be customized to deal with specific threats like lightning damage or ethereal by taking resistance or magic weapons in your bless. Alternatively, the unit can boost expansion by taking a defence-stacking bless. |
 | Howler 40 7 14 Non-fort Highlands Non-fort Mountains | Darkvision (50%) Chaos Recruitment (5) Animal Awe (+1) Detested (-1) Berserker (2) Pillager (2) Causes Unrest (.4 per Month) Corpse Eater (2) Bonus HP per Corpse (1 to Max of 8) Undisciplined Animal Wasteland Survival Mountain Survival | As a nation that will almost always take order scales, this unit is only usable when raiding opponents with turmoil scales, whereupon Howlers can situationally be recruited to further raid territory. |
National Spells and Item
Summons
Ritual
| Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herd of Elephants (Conjuration 3) 2 and 20 |  Elephant x 5 + [1/2 per lvl] | Animal  Trample | Commentary here. |
| Pride of Lions (Conjuration 3) 2 and 9 |  Great Lion x 15+ | Darkvision (50%) Undisciplined Animal | Commentary here. |
| Ambush of Tigers (Conjuration 3) 2 and 9 |  Tiger x 15+ | Darkvision (50%) Undisciplined Animal Forest Survival | Commentary here. |
| Herd of Buffaloes (Conjuration 3) 2 and 8 |  Buffalo x 5 + [1/2 per lvl] | Berserker (+2) Animal Trample | Commentary here. |
Magic Access
See Magic Access. These guides supplement the summaries at the top.
General Access
Elements
- 2 on Magistrate Maguses (capital-only), and on one-in-three Calystri Maguses off-capital
- No Air magic
- 1 on one-in-three Calystri Senators (capital-only)
- 2 on one-in-three Magistrate Maguses (capital-only), 1 on one-in-three Apprentice Maguses off-capital
Sorcery
- 2 on one-in-three Calystri Maguses
- 1 on one-in-twenty Calystri Maguses, no Death magic otherwise
- 2 on Calystri Maguses
- No Glamour magic
Rites
- 1 on one-in-twenty Calystri Maguses, no Blood magic otherwise
- 2 on Presbyter Magistrates (capital-only), 1 on Calystri Presbyters off-capital
Crosspaths
- 2212/2122: Magma spells, "odd" Fire spells, Healing Light, Gifts from Heaven, Moonvine Bracelet
- 21112: Geyser, Acid spells, Rune Smasher, Mossbody, Foul Vapors
- 2112/11112/1212: Skull of Fire, Bane Fire spells, Nether spells, Manikin summons
- 1221: Shield of the Accursed
- 11121: Illearth summons (with Communions)
Boosted Access
The Copper Arm
22 Magistrate Magus (1 in 3) or Calystri Senator (1 in 3) + 
The Silver Arms Unique
22 Magistrate Magus (1 in 3) or Calystri Senator (1 in 3) + 
The The Copper Arm and The Silver Arms are especially useful in the 
Nature and 
Death paths.
Multi-Path Access
Getting the four 
Astral boosters is tricky, requiring Uniques and/or empowerment.
Ring of Sorcery
2 Prester King (1 in 5) +
Ring of Wizardry
2 Prester King (1 in 5) + Ring of Sorcery +
Fire
Highest Starting: 2 Magistrate Magus, Calystri Senator, or Calystri Magus (1 in 3)
Skull of Fire
11 Calystri Magus (1 in 20)
Air
No national access.
Water
Highest Starting: 1 Calystri Senator (1 in 3)
Contact Naiad
12 Calystri Senator (1 in 3) + 
Naiad has 3
Orb of Atlantis Unique
11 Calystri Senator (1 in 3) +
Earth
Highest Starting: 2 Magistrate Magus (1 in 3) or Calystri Senator (1 in 3)
The Tome of Gaia Unique
22 Calystri Senator (1 in 3)
Astral
Highest Starting: 2 Magistrate Magus (1 in 3), Calystri Senator (1 in 3), or Calystri Magus (1 in 3)
Coin of Meteoritic Iron
21 Magistrate Magus (1 in 3) or Calystri Senator (1 in 3) +
12 Magistrate Magus (1 in 3) or Calystri Senator (1 in 3) +
Death
Highest Starting: 1 Calystri Magus (1 in 20)
Ether Gate
11 Calystri Magus (1 in 20) +
Forest Troll Tribe
2 Calystri Magus or Calystri Senator +
Troll Shaman has at least 1.
Nature
Highest Starting: 2 Calystri Magus or Calystri Senator
Contact Naiad
12 Calystri Senator (1 in 3) +
Naiad has 3
The Tome of Gaia Unique
22 Calystri Senator (1 in 3)
Moonvine Bracelet
12 Calystri Senator or Magistrate Magus +
Glamour
No national access.
Troll King's Court
2 Magistrate Magus (1 in 3) or Calystri Senator (1 in 3) +
Troll King has 
1
Forest Troll Tribe
2 Calystri Magus or Calystri Senator +
Troll Shaman has a 1 in 4 chance of 1.
Blood
Highest Starting: 1 Calystri Magus (1 in 20)
1 on 5% of your Calystri Maguses is enough to do some small-scale blood farming, but bootstrapping will be slow. With all that being said, your 1's also have 2, so they can do Blood Fecundity and craft the Armor of Twisting Thorns if you try.
Strategy
How to win as the nation. Feel free to use the following sections, or delete them, or change them.
Expansion
Different expansion options.
Early Game
Recruit Calystri Apprentices and research Alt3 for Barkskin and Body Ethereal (assuming you're not fighting Abysia) then point buff Senatorial Guard for your first war. Man at Arms should be recruited in moderate amounts to serve as raiding parties led by independent commanders.
Mid Game
Research Alteration 5 for Solar Eclipse and Cat-Eyed Warriors, and start recruiting Calystri Magus as you reach said research in order to be able to deploy both spells. Don't forget Conjuration 3 for Phoenix Power, Summon Earthpower and Power of the Spheres.
Work towards Construction 6 to get Legions of Steel, and spend your earth gems on Earth Boots so you can cast the spell easily. Thistle Mace is also useful, for saving gems when casting Howl from Conjuration 5.
Next is Alteration 7 for Oaken Army. By this point you can cast Solar Eclipse, Legions of Steel and Oaken Army in every single army with just three Calystri Magus, adding in a fourth for Howl if you're up against crossbows or evocations. You can also save gems when casting the above four spells by bringing two communion slaves. Bring a random Apprentice for Heal duty if you're concerned, but the regeneration from Strength of Gaia should be enough to keep the communion stable.
Late Game
Late game options.
Example Pretender Builds
Format for putting a pretender build in.
Chassis: Awake Titan of Crossroads
Paths: 457
Bless: MW/Arcane Finesse, Invuln 10, Regen.
Scales: 
6
2
0
3
1
2
3
Format for putting a pretender build in.
Chassis: Awake Titan of Crossroads
Paths: 457
Bless: MW/Arcane Finesse, Invuln 10, Regen.
Scales: 6203123
Weaknesses
What are the nation's weaknesses?
See More
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