MA Bandar Log, Land of the Apes

Lore

"Bandar Log, the nation of the monkey people, is inspired by Hindu myths, ancient India and Rudyard Kipling. The Vanara comes from the Ramayana, an epic in which the monkey people aid prince Rama in his struggle against the demon king Ravana. The hierarchical division of the different species of monkeys has parallels in the Hindu caste system. I wanted the Bandar to use the alleged colors of the Indo-Aryan castes: white for priests, red for nobles and black for commoners. Markatas are exempt from the hierarchy and society at large and might be seen as untouchables of earlier times, although I imagine them less vulnerable. Important to the development of the Bandar Log were the semi-divine beings of Hindu myth. With a slight breath of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Yavanas and Devatas became lords of the monkey people." -Illwinter

The Bandar Log is an empire of primates who have evolved with uncanny intelligence. Once fostered by Yakshas and awed by Rakshasas, the rainforest realm is home to the warlike Bandar, the lanky Vanara, the chittering Markatas, and the quiet White Ones. When the caretakers and demons left, the Bandar took charge to form the next society; some already had governing experience as Rajas (kings) beneath the Rakshasas, but the chosen order is closer to that of the Yakshas.

There are three properly defined castes in the Bandar Log, drawn by racial or special lines, and two unofficial castes borne of lifestyle; these are roughly based on the varnas in Hinduism. The newest of these castes is that of the Vanara, who remained in their tribes in the previous age and reproduced bountifully; the urban Vanara wear black, the supposed color of the Shudra laborers, while the tribal Vanara name themselves "the Atavi" and wear no colors. The Markatas, while found in the urban centers and occasionally given jobs, also wear no colors; they appear based on the Dalits, written off from society. Above the black-wearing Vanara are the red-wearing Bandar, probably based on the Kshatriya warrior-governors since they set the rules in stone. Above everyone else are the White Ones, who are expected to wear white (the color of the Brahmin priests) and entrusted with all intellectual affairs. Such is the high status of the White Ones that they may break the caste conventions if they so choose, adding the colors of other castes to their outfits and assuming similar roles.

General Overview

MA Bandar Log has perhaps the most straightforward game plan amongst the monkey nations. The monkey troops of the Middle Age are more reliable than their Early Age counterparts, having learned how to use armor, and they are not yet as outclassed as they will be by the Late Age. Tiger Riders provide early game strength, giving Bandar Log time to breathe before its powerful sacred summons come online. The demon summons inherited from Lanka give Bandar Log the opportunity to create a blood economy. The fantasy of Bandar Log lies in blitzing through enemy armies using hordes of high-quality, sacred summons that are quickened with Celestial Music, supported by excellent summoned mages.

Bandar Log's main weaknesses lie in its extremely narrow and shallow path access, giving it relatively few options for dealing with early threats before its summons can improve its magic diversity, and the low magic resistance of much of its recruitable roster.

National Features

Magic Access	Alt. Access	Unit Summary	Core Abilities	Buildings
4 (rare 5) 3 (rare 4) 1 (rare 2) 1 (rare 2) 1	Hero 2 Summons way too many	Archers, from small apes to large ape Light infantry, from small apes to large apes Elephants Sacred Tiger Cavalry	Animal Forest Survival Reincarnation	Standard Forts

Capital Sites

The Lotus Gardens

Enables recruitment of
Rishi
Tiger Rider
Produces 3 astralpearl 2 naturegem per turn

Scales Preferences

Order scales Order Limit +1, Heat scales Heat Limit + 1

Heat scales Prefers Heat Scale + 2

Races

The Bandar Log are three kinds of intelligent primates. There are the Size 4 Bandar, the Size 3 Vanara or "Atavi" (three-to-a-square), and the Size 2 Markatas (five-to-a-square). All are still considered Animals, and all are adapted to Forests.

The Markatas have only 5 HP & Strength, 7's in Magic Resistance & Morale, and 8 Precision; however, they also have 2 Encumbrance, and 14's in Defence Skill, Combat Speed, and Map Movement naked.
The Vanara are very similar to humans, except that they have 1 Natural Protection, 8's in Morale & Magic Resistance, and 10 Combat Speed & 16 Map Movement while naked.
The Bandar also have 8 Magic Resistance and 10 Combat Speed, but the average ones are distinguished with 18 HP, 3 Natural Protection, 15 Strength, 11 Attack Skill, 9's in Defence Skill & Precision, and 12's in Morale and Map Movement while naked.

The White Ones are enlightened Vanara, newly important in the absence of magic beings. While largely the same as Vanara, they live ten years longer and have 11 Magic Resistance. Notably, White Ones may Reincarnate upon death, promptly returning shortly after dying; depending on their grand deeds, they may come back in the same form with all of their memories, in a different form with only some of their memories, as a Dominion candle somewhere, or even as newly-found magical skill within their Pretender.

National Units

Commanders

Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
Markata Scout 25 1 1	Stealthy (60) Animal Mountain Survival Forest Survival	A cheaper, stealthier Scout. Excellent value, but costs fort turns to recuit.
Vanara Captain 50 17 1	Animal Forest Survival	A fairly cheap 75 leadership commander, but otherwise unremarkable. The Bandar Commander is a more efficient way to turn fort turns into mundane leadership.
Atavi Chieftain 60 8 1 Forest Recruit	Stealthy (40) Animal Forest Survival	Capable of leading stealthy raiding parties with its modest 50 leadership, and recruitable outside of forts.
Bandar Commander 105 22 1	Animal Forest Survival	100 leadership commander, capable of putting squads into formations with +1 morale.
Bandar Noble 160 19 2	Animal Forest Survival	150 leadership commander, capable of putting squads into formations with +2 morale. Costs 2 CP to recruit.
Brahmin 60 2 1	1 Sacred Reincarnation (50%) Animal Forest Survival	A weak and fragile priest. This is Bandar Log's only recruitable option for blessing sacreds, aside from your prophet. Wider AOE or battlefield-wide blessing has to be provided by summons, which fortunately Bandar Log has in abundance.
Yogi 80 1 2	17 Sacred Reincarnation (50%) Animal Forest Survival	The Yogi's low cost and halved upkeep from being sacred makes it an excellent research mage. The single path in astral offers a surprising amount of utility: Yogis can point-buff, join communions, or be boosted by Light of the Northern Star to cast basic damage spells.
Guru 225 1 2	2111 Sacred Supply Bonus (10) Reincarnation (50%) Animal Forest Survival	Gurus are a good deal more expensive than Yogis, but have much better access to astral battle magic, and their 1 provides some flexibility to access spells like Barkskin and Web, or Personal Regeneration in communions.
Rishi 450 1 4 Capital Only	32171100% 10% Sacred Supply Bonus (20) Floating Reincarnation (50%) Animal Forest Survival	Rishis are powerful astral mages, and can much more easily cast high level nature magic in combat compared to Gurus. Their randoms provide some much-needed magic diversity in Bandar Log's otherwise extremely narrow set of paths, including being able to cast many of Bandar Log's national summon spells.

Troops

Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
Markata 5 1 3 Forest Recruit	Undisciplined Animal Forest Survival	Fragile, undisciplined infantry with low morale, the Markata's primary redeeming features are that it is cheap, has relatively high defence skill (14) and fits 5 to a square. This means that squads of Markata are somewhat functional as meat shields, though their morale means they will not last long if they start dying. Markata have a very weak, low-range sticks and stones attack which they will pelt enemies with upon initiating combat.
Markata Archer 5 2 3 Forest Recruit	Undisciplined Animal Forest Survival	Markata Archers are basically identical to Markata, but with less defence skill, no mace, and a weak ranged attack (8 damage compared to the human standard of 11) instead of sticks and stones.
Atavi Archer 7 3 3 Forest Recruit	Stealthy (40) Animal Forest Survival	Cheaper, stealthy, and naked versions of human infantry and archers, Atavi can function as stealthy raiders but have trouble standing up to any serious province defence due to their total lack of armor, mediocre stats, and low morale. Still, their stealth provides utility that Bandar Log's roster otherwise lacks, and they can be recruited outside of forts.
Atavi Infantry 7 3 3 Forest Recruit	Stealthy (40) Animal Forest Survival
Vanara Archer 8 14 3	Animal Forest Survival	Vanara have slightly higher morale than Atavi, and have moderate protection, but are not stealthy. Vanara Archers are better at absorbing arrow fire than their Atavi counterparts, but the damage of their bow is identical and they are more expensive. Vanara Chakram Throwers have what is essentially a javelin with higher damage. Vanara Infantry are better than Atavi Infantry in the line of battle, but very mediocre by the standard of human infantry. Vanara Swordsman are the "elite" of the group, though again they are pretty mediocre by human infantry standards.
Vanara Chakram Thrower 8 15 3	Animal Forest Survival
Vanara Infantry 8 14 3	Animal Forest Survival
Vanara Swordsman 11 17 3	Animal Forest Survival
Light Bandar Archer 16 6 8	Animal Forest Survival	Bandar Archers use the long bow, which combined with their strength results in a fairly high damage (16) ranged attack compared to the human archer standard of 11. These units are very cheap and present a deadly ranged option when massed, though Bandar Log's recruitable mages lack some of the paths that would make them really deadly. Light Bandar Archers are very resource-cheap but have low protection, while regular Bandar Archers are more durable.
Bandar Archer 16 21 8	Animal Forest Survival
Bandar Warrior 16 18 8	Animal Forest Survival	For their cost, Bandar Warriors have reasonable protection, good hitpoints and decent morale, making them significantly more capable as a generic frontline troop than Bandar Log's other options. Due to their high strength, Bandar Warriors also deal a lot of damage. Their pretty average attack/defence skills mean they will struggle when fighting enemy elites without magic support. The two Bandar Warrior versions give you a choice between a very high-damage two-handed cudgel and a merely high damage mace/shield combo with a bit more defence skill. The Light Bandar Warrior loses the head protection, but can throw 12-damage sticks and stones with a much greater range than Markatas. Royal Swordsmen cost 50% more gold than other Bandar Warriors, and gain the bodyguard ability and +1 attack/defence skill for the cost. Their falchion attack deals a bit more damage than the shield Bandar Warrior's mace, as well.
Bandar Warrior 16 18 8	Animal Forest Survival
Light Bandar Warrior 16 11 8	Animal Forest Survival
Royal Swordsman 24 22 11	Bodyguard (2) Animal Forest Survival
Elephant Rider 90 18 28	Animal Forest Survival Mount: War Elephant	War Elephants are a powerful tool in Bandar Log's roster; their ability to trample can deal a lot of damage and disrupt enemy formations. However, the Elephant mount itself has very low morale and only light protection, meaning it is prone to routing or dying as it tramples into the middle of the enemy. The former issue can be mitigated with spells like Rage of the Cornered Rat, while the latter requires protection/defensive buffs to fix. Massed, and if necessary buffed, Elephants are a menace to fight, but in smaller numbers and against deadly enough opponents, they might not be worth the cost. The Elephant Archers this unit is packaged with are functionally identical to Atavi Archers.
Elephant Archer × 2	Stealthy (40) Animal Mobile Archer Forest Survival
War Elephant	Animal Trample
White One 23 17 31	Sacred Reincarnation (5%) Animal Forest Survival	White Ones are medium infantry sacreds with reasonable attack/defence skill, a decent weapon, and perhaps most significantly an average MR stat (11) compared to the 7-8 MR more typical of Bandar Log's units. They are not spectacular in any one respect but can be recruited in all forts, allowing Bandar Log to benefit more from a bless, and their higher MR allows them to stand up a bit better to mid/late-game magic than the rest of the roster. Keep in mind their very high recruitment point cost if mass-producing these.
Tiger Rider 60 31 61 Capital Only	Sacred Skilled Rider (2) Reincarnation (10%) Animal Forest Survival Mount: Armored Sacred Tiger	Tiger Riders are a conventionally powerful cavalry sacred. They have moderate protection, good melee skill, and high quality attacks from both the rider and Sacred Tiger mount. They are not quite as powerful as the best cavalry sacreds of the era, like MA Man's Knights of Avalon, but they are also less expensive. Their primary weakness compared to their peers is their relatively low protection. With a moderate bless, Tiger Riders make expansion much more straightforward and provide early game power before Bandar Log's magic and summons come online. Note that, unlike horses, Armored Sacred Tigers are size 4, meaning that Bandar Log can take a Larger bless while maintaining two Tiger Riders to a square.
Armored Sacred Tiger	Sacred Darkvision (50) Smart Mount (100) Undisciplined Animal Forest Survival

Heroes

Sprite	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Bandarjuna - Tathagata	2 Sacred Reincarnation (100%) Animal Forest Survival Inspirational (1) Spreads Dominion (1) Reduces Unrest (5) Dominion Attracts: Seeker of Truths	Tathagata is not very special on a tactical or strategic level, but his ability to spread dominion and reduce unrest is a nice bonus. He is at least an inspirational leader, though his leadership score isn't especially high either (100).

National Spells and Items

Rituals

For the purposes of readability, Bandar Log's ritual summons are organised by theme.

Animals

Summon Spell	Unit	Special Attributes	Comments
Herd of Elephants (Conjuration 3) 2 and 20	Elephant × 5 + [1/2 per lvl]	Animal Trample	The same comments from the recruitable version apply. Whether gems or gold are more valuable determines the viability of this spell, though Bandar Log has a lot of spells that compete for nature gems.
Ambush of Tigers (Conjuration 3) 2 and 9	Tiger × 15+	Darkvision (50%) Undisciplined Animal Forest Survival	Tigers are fairly fragile but have two decent attacks.
Herd of Buffaloes (Conjuration 3) 2 and 8	Buffalo × 5 + [1/2 per lvl]	Berserker (+2) Animal Trample	Buffalos are significantly less expensive tramplers than Elephants, and solve the routing problem with their berserker ability. However, their low protection makes them vulnerable when trampling into enemy formations, and their smaller size means they don't do quite as much damage when trampling.

Nagas

Nagas cannot be summoned with Bandar Log's recruitable mages, barring an extremely lucky Rishi. They can summon each other, however.

Naga units share the following traits in common, which will be omitted for brevity.

In naga form: Poison Resistance (10), Magic Being, Cold Blooded, Amphibious, Swamp Survival, Swimming, Spirit Sight

In human form: Poison Resistance (10), Magic Being, Spirit Sight. They also lose a level of water magic in this form.

In both forms, all Nagas are size 4.

Summon Spell	Unit	Special Attributes	Comments
Summon Nagas (Conjuration 3) 21 and 15	Naga Warrior × 9	Sacred	Naga Warriors are heavy (albeit helmetless) infantry sacreds who are amphibious, allowing Bandar Log to get underwater.
Contact Nagini (Conjuration 4) 21 and 25	Nagini	21111100%15 Sacred Unsurroundable (1) Female Shapechanger (Nagini)	Naginis offer good magic diversity, including glamour access, and are able to summon the other Naga units. In human form, they can seduce enemy commanders.
Contact Nagini (Conjuration 4) 21 and 25	Nagini	11111100%13 Sacred Stealthy (+40) Seduction (Morale vs. 9) Female Shapechanger (Nagini)
Contact Nagaraja (Conjuration 5) 21 and 30	Nagaraja	211213 Sacred Unsurroundable (1) Shapechanger (Nagaraja)	Nagarajas are slightly worse mages but better priests than Naginis. In human form, they are excellent army leaders with 150 leadership and 40 magic leadership.
Contact Nagaraja (Conjuration 5) 21 and 30	Nagaraja	111211 Sacred Shapechanger (Nagaraja)
Contact Nagarishi (Conjuration 6) 31 and 40	Nagarishi	3211111100% 10%23 Sacred Supply Bonus (+10) Unsurroundable (1) Shapechanger (Nagarishi)	Nagarishis are powerful mages with diverse paths. In human form, they have 90 magic leadership but are not otherwise good generals, being incapable of using formations or granting morale bonuses like Nagarajas.
Contact Nagarishi (Conjuration 6) 31 and 40	Nagarishi	2211111100% 10%21 Sacred Supply Bonus (+10) Shapechanger (Nagarishi)

Celestial Beings

Bandar Log can easily cast most of these summon spells with its recruitable mages, so they can be pretty reliably be incorporated into any strategy.

Almost all of these summons are size 4.

Summon Spell	Unit	Special Attributes	Comments
Summon Angiri (Conjuration 3) 2 and 5	Angiri × 5 + [1/2 per lvl]	Sacred Fire Resistance (15) Awe (+1) Magic Being	Angiris are cheap, naked, sacred infantry; essentially Yavanas from Kailasa with fire resistance. Bandar Log lacks the means to summon Angiris in their recruitable mage lineup, and their lack of protection makes them very fragile, but they are at least very cheap.
Summon Apsaras (Conjuration 3) 2 and 3	Apsara × 5 + [1/2 per lvl]	Sacred Awe (+4) Standard (1) Magic Being Praise (3) Female	Apsaras are mostly notable for their standard ability, which grants a morale bonus to their squad. Otherwise, they are fragile units that deal little damage, with only awe for defense.
Summon Vidyadhara (Conjuration 4) 2 and 15	Vidyadhara	1211 Sacred Awe (+2) Magic Being Ethereal Flying Storm Immunity	Essentially the little siblings of Kinnaras, Vidyadharas are very mobile mages that add air magic into communions. While boosting or communioning up to very high air magic is a challenge, even medium air magic offers great utility to Bandar Log.
Contact Yaksha (Conjuration 4) 12 and 25	Yaksha	31111100% 10%17 Sacred Awe (+1) Supply Bonus (+10) Magic Being	Yakshas are powerful earth mages, singlehandedly providing the earth magic Bandar Log needs for most combat magic and rituals. They are vital for gaining access to buffs like Steel Slice Warriors, Marble Warriors, Giant Strength Warriors and Legions of Steel.
Contact Yakshini (Conjuration 4) 12 and 25	Yakshini	31111100% 10%17 Sacred Cold Resistance (5) Awe (+2) Supply Bonus (+10) Magic Being Amphibious Female	Similar to Yakshas, Yakshinis provide enough water magic for most of the important combat magic and rituals. Highlights include Wave Warriors, water evocations, and the fire/cold resist spells.
Summon Gandharvas (Conjuration 5) 2 and 15	Gandharva × 6	Sacred Awe (+2) Standard (1) Magic Being Praise (3)	Gandharvas are relatively affordable heavy sacred infantry, coming in at 2.5 astral pearls each. Both durable and fairly deadly, they are excellent all-round units to include in the front line of a mid-to-late game army - as long as you have the pearls.
Summon Kimpurushas (Conjuration 5) 12 and 15	Kimpurusha × 6	Sacred Darkvision (50%) Awe (+2) Magic Being Forest Survival	Kimpurushas are very similar to Gandharvas, but focus more on offence, losing the helmet and 2 defence skill to gain +1 attack skill and an extra attack.
Summon Garudas (Conjuration 6) 2 and 21	Garuda × 6	Sacred Poison Resistance (15) Awe (+2) Magic Being Flying	Garudas are poison-resistant Gandharvas who can fly. They are more expensive at 3.5 astral pearls each, but can be excellent shock troops to force enemies to guard their rear. Unlike other Celestial beings, Garudas are size 5 due to their wings.
Summon Maruts (Conjuration 6) 2 and 18	Marut × 3	Sacred Fire Resistance (15) Shock Resistance (15) Storm Power (1) Magic Being Flying Storm Immunity	Maruts are very expensive at 6 astral pearls each, but come with an AN lightning ranged weapon, making them essentially really pricey Storm Demons or Shedim. Lightning that doesn't come from mages is nice, but it comes at a premium for Bandar Log.
Summon Kinnara (Conjuration 6) 3 and 25	Kinnara	22213 Sacred Awe (+3) Inspirational (1) Praise (5) Magic Being Flying	Kinnaras have slightly more skill in air magic that Vidyadharas, allowing them to reach higher air magic more easily. They can also communion up to cast battlefield-wide Divine Blessing due to having both astral and holy magic.
Summon Siddha (Conjuration 7) 4 and 35	Siddha	23315 Sacred Awe (+3) Ambidextrous (4) Magic Being Teleporter Spirit Sight	One research level up from Kinnaras, Siddhas are teleporting 3s, allowing Bandar Log to have Divine Blessing wherever needed, or claim thrones with ease.
Summon Devata (Conjuration 8) 5 and 45	Devata	32315 Sacred Shock Resistance (5) Awe (+5) Ambidextrous (5) Magic Being Spirit Sight	Devatas have good combat stats and abilities, but are very expensive for just their combat ability. Their main utility lies in being great army leaders - their 150 mundane and 80 magic leadership allows them to lead plenty of Bandar Log's sacred magic being summons by default. A much cheaper option for leading armies of magic beings, albeit one that is difficult to access for Bandar Log, is the Sleeper at 4 for just 10.
Summon Devala (Conjuration 9) 5 and 55	Devala	3411 Sacred Awe (+4) Inspirational (1) Spreads Dominion (1) Praise (8) Magic Being Spreads Magic Spirit Sight Female	Devalas are very expensive, but the high cost is not necessarily matched by an increase in utility. With their 4 path, Devalas can naturally cast Fanaticism for a battle-field wide morale boost, but this capability is also available to Siddhas in communions. They don't even have arm slots, as all of them are devoted to playing instruments. Finally, unlocking at Conjuration level 9 makes them prohibitively expensive to reseach, meaning they are unlikely to be relevant in most multiplayer games.
Summon Rudra (Conjuration 9) 5 and 55	Rudra	33313 Sacred Fire Resistance (20) Shock Resistance (20) Storm Power (2) Fear (+8) Ambidextrous (5) Forge Bonus (-5) Eyes (3) Magic Being Flying Storm Immunity Spirit Sight	Rudras are unlikely to be relevant in most multiplayer games due to coming in at research level 9, but are very nice if Bandar Log ever makes it there. They have excellent magic paths for self buffs, 4 hand slots, fear, and great mobility with flying and magic-phase capability. Properly geared, they are capable of destroying entire armies - though by the time Rudras arrive, countermeasures to single supercombatants are usually easily available.

Undead

Bandar Log needs independent mages to cast these undead summon spells.

Summon Spell	Unit	Special Attributes	Comments
Host of Ganas (Conjuration 2) 1 and 9	Gana × 20 + 2/level	Cold Resistance (15) Poison Resistance (25) Poor Amphibian Undead Ethereal Need Not Eat Spirit Sight	Ganas are not particularly deadly on their own, but can tank slightly better than mundane units due to being ethereal and can be summoned in large numbers relatively cheaply.
Summon Vetalas (Conjuration 5) 2 and 10	Possessed Corpse × 15	Cold Resistance (15) Poison Resistance (25) Poor Amphibian Undead Inanimate Need Not Eat Never Heals Spirit Sight Wounded Shape (Vetala)	Possessed Corpses are actually fairly reasonable in terms of combat stats, being essentially Bandar Warriors with a bit more attack skill. If they die, they revert to a second Vetala form that can cause the feebleminded affliction with one of its attacks. If this second form manages to survive to the end of the battle, it returns to its Possessed Corpse form.

Demons

Due to a complete lack of blood hunting ability in its roster, the demon summons Bandar Log inherits from EA Lanka are largely relegated to the mid-late game. However, they provide great tools if Bandar Log can start a blood economy. See the Bootstrapping section of the Blood Hunting page for more details.

Summon Spell	Unit	Special Attributes	Comments
Summon Rakshasas (Blood 1) 1 and 8	Rakshasa × 3	Sacred Fire Vulnerability (5) Chaos Power (1) Gluttony (4) Need Not Eat Demon Forest Survival	Rakshasas are sort of the baseline Lanka demon summon, with many of the traits common to these units. They are sacred, have high hitpoints, strength, morale, and attack skill, and their magic resistance is reasonable at 13. Due to being demons, they have 100% darkvision. However, their demon tag and fire vulnerability makes them vulnerable to certain types of magic, and while they do not need to eat, their gluttony can easily starve out your units that do eat food if Rakshasas make up a significant part of your army. The basic Rakshasa unit suffers from being totally naked, and its claw attacks do not make the best use of its high strength. They are very cheap, though.
Feast of Flesh (Blood 2) 11 and 50	Praghasa × 18	Sacred Fire Vulnerability (5) Chaos Power (1) Gluttony (7) Demon Forest Survival	Praghasas are similar to Rakshasas but are a bit stronger, have more hitpoints, and wield a mace instead of two claw attacks. They come in huge numbers per cast.
Summon Asrapas (Blood 3) 2 and 8	Asrapa × 3	Sacred Chaos Power (1) Berserker (+3) Demon Female	Like basic Rakshasas and Praghasas, Asrapas are still totally naked, but have even less natural protection. Their lower strength means they deal less damage, but they do go berserk and have a life-drain attack. They are also not vulnerable to fire damage. If turned into a commander, Asrapas gain 11.
Summon Rakshasa Warriors (Blood 4) 2 and 21	Rakshasa Warrior × 5	Sacred Fire Vulnerability (5) Chaos Power (1) Gluttony (4) Need Not Eat Demon Forest Survival	Rakshasa Warriors put the excellent base stats of Rakshasas to better use with basic armor and an immensely hard-hitting iron cudgel attack (33 damage!). They are fairly efficient to summon, coming 5 per cast at only 4.2 blood slaves each.
Summon Sandhyabalas (Blood 5) 12 and 25	Sandhyabala × 3	Sacred Fire Vulnerability (10) Stealthy (+40) Dark Power (1) Chaos Power (1) Gluttony (4) Need Not Eat Demon Forest Survival	Sandhyabalasa are the luxury end of Lanka's size 4 demons, costing almost twice as much per unit (8.3 blood slaves) as regular Rakshasa Warriors. For the cost, they gain stealth, dark power, even better melee skills and a high-damage moon blade attack that does extra damage to magic beings. They could serve as a specialised task force for stealthy raiding or killing magic beings. Note that they are extra vulnerable to fire compared to regular Rakshasas.
Summon Dakini (Blood 6) 14 and 81	Dakini	313219 Sacred Shock Resistance (5) Chaos Power (1) Fear (+6) Damage Reversal (12 vs. MR) Flying Demon Spirit Sight Female	Dakinis are powerful mages with a host of neat abilities: fear and damage reversal make them hard to kill, and they are highly mobile due to being able to fly. High air magic opens up a lot of versatility, from coveted buff spells like Fog Warriors to direct damage with lightning evocations. They can even do their own blood hunting to fuel subsequent Dakini summons! For Bandar Log and Patala, Dakinis are the most obvious route for starting a blood economy. They do not come terribly late in the research tree, and they are effective blood hunters without any items. That said, researching Blood as a non-blood nation is of limited immediate value, meaning this is more of a mid-late game pursuit.
Summon Samanishada (Blood 7) 13 and 35	Samanishada	Sacred Fire Vulnerability (10) Stealthy (+60) Dark Power (2) Chaos Power (1) Ambidextrous (2) Gluttony (4) Assassin Need Not Eat Demon Forest Survival	A commander version of the Sandhyabala, the Samanishada trades the buckler for an AN duskdagger attack, and has the ability to assassinate enemy commanders.
Summon Mandeha (Blood 8) 25 and 133	One of three unique Mandehas	Common Attributes: Sacred Fire Vulnerability (10) Dark Power (3) Chaos Power (2) Cause Unrest (+5 per Month) Sleep Aura (15) Gluttony (10) Flying Need Not Eat Demon Forest Survival Spirit Sight Reanimator Priest Casts each battle (Battle Darkness)	Mandehas are powerful super-mages. Their fear and sleep aura are excellent defenses against counter-thugs, and they auto-cast Darkness in battle to boost their own stats (dark power) and debuff non-darkvision units (all demons have darkvision). This is not to mention their skill in air, death and holy magic, giving them access to great battle magic and battlefield-wide Divine Blessing. In summary, Mandehas are the capstone of a Lankan summon army, strong mages in their own right who come packaged with excellent utility abilities. They do come late in the research tree, though! For Bandar Log and Patala, the Mandeha's ability to autocast Darkness is perhaps less useful as they have a smaller blood economy than Lanka and are unlikely to be able to field as many demon summons with darkvision.
	Mandeha or	332321 Shock Resistance (5) Fear (+8)
	Mandeha or	323321 Shock Resistance (5) Fear (+7)
	Mandeha	233321 Fear (+8)
Summon Danavas (Blood 8) 5 and 70	Danava × 3	Sacred Fire Vulnerability (5) Chaos Power (2) Fear (+5) Ambidextrous (8) Need Not Eat Demon Spirit Sight	Danavas are ultra-elite units that deal a lot of damage, have a lot of hitpoints, paralyze sacreds, and even come with a fear aura. However, their protection is pretty low and they are very expensive at 23.3 blood slaves each. Danavas could perhaps be used to add fear auras into an army's front line, but unless blood slave economy is absolutely no concern, they are probably too expensive to be anything other than special forces. They also come very late in the research tree. If turned into a commander, Danavas gain 2250% 50% 50% 50%9.
Summon Daitya (Blood 8) 5 and 45	Daitya × 3	Sacred Fire Vulnerability (5) Chaos Power (2) Need Not Eat Demon Spirit Sight	Daityas are cheaper but much less threatening than Danavas. Unlike their larger cousins, they have only one melee attack, and they have no fear aura. They do have a plague bow ranged attack that diseases anything it damages, however. If turned into a commander, Daityas gain 2350% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50%11.

Combat

Celestial Music (Thaumaturgy 6)
3 and 1
Battlefield-wide Quickness is absurdly powerful if an army includes a good number of sacred magic beings, which all Nagas and Celestial Beings are. This spell is also very easy to cast: even Gurus can boost up to it with an extra gem.

Items

Headdress of the Bull (Construction 5)
1 and 5
A free buffalo is useful on both ends of an assassination battle, and provides a bit of chaff otherwise.
Vajra (Construction 5)
2 and 10
Allows any commander to cast Lightning Bolt. A bit expensive for this ability and costs a gem type that is in high demand for Bandar Log's summons.

Magic Access

General

The Bandar Log has some of the narrowest and shallowest off-capital magic access in the entire game: astral 2 2 nature 1 1 holy 1 1. It's worse than Ulm's, even, unless you value Astral over the other paths. At least there's more Astral than Sceleria, and a wide variety of diversity summons for the lategame.

Elements

No fire magic
No air magic
1 on one-in-four Rishis (capital only)
1 on one-in-four Rishis (capital only)

Sorcery

4 on one-in-four Rishis (capital only), 2 off-capital
No death magic
3 on one-in-four Rishis (capital only), 1 off-capital
No glamour magic

Rites

No blood magic
1 on Brahmins

National Summons

Base paths as well as randoms have been included as summons are more expensive to acquire than recruitable mages, making rolling for specific random paths more difficult.

Elements

3 from Rudras (Conjuration 9, 5 - difficult to research)
1 from Vidyadharas (Conjuration 4, 2), 2 from Kinnaras (Conjuration 6, 3), 3 from Dakinis (Blood 6, 41 - likely needs pretender intervention), Rudras
3/4 from Yakshinis (Conjuration 4, 21), Nagarishis (Conjuration 6, 31 - likely needs pretender intervention)
3/4 from Yakshas (Conjuration 4, 21)

Sorcery

4 on one-in-four Rishis; no higher access from summons
1 from Dakinis, 3 from Mandehas (Blood 8, 52); both likely need pretender intervention.
3 on one-in-four Rishis; no higher access from summons
1/2 from Yakshas, Yakshinis, Naginis (Conjuration 4, 21), and Nagarishis.

Rites

3 from Dakinis and Mandehas.
2 from Kinnaras (can be 3 in combat due to communions), 3 from Siddhas (Conjuration 7, 4), 4 from Devalas (Conjuration 9, 5 - difficult to research)

See Magic Access guide for further details on how to boost to higher levels of magic.

See More

Dominions 6 National Overview MA Bandar Log by ChazzyBurger
Dominions 6: Bandar-Log Overview and Guide - Going Ape by CairnBuilder

Nations
Early Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Ulm • Pyrène, • Marverni • Sauromatia • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Mictlan • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Agartha • Tir na n'Og • Fomoria • Vanheim • Helheim • Niefelheim • Muspelheim • Rus • Kailasa • Lanka • Yomi • Hinnom • Ur • Berytos • Xibalba • Mekone • Ubar • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Therodos
Middle Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Sceleria • Pythium • Man • Eriu • Ulm • Pyrène • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Asphodel • Vanheim • Jotunheim • Nidavangr • Vanarus • Bandar Log • Shinuyama • Ashdod • Uruk • Nazca • Xibalba • Phlegra • Phaeacia • Ind • Na'ba • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Ys
Late Ages	Arcoscephale • Pythium • Lemuria • Man • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Jomon • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Midgård • Utgård • Bogarus • Patala • Gath • Ragha • Xibalba • Phlegra • Vaettiheim • Feminie • Piconye • Andramania • Pyrène • Zemaitia • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Erytheia