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"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.
If you are considering picking this nation to play, what should you know?
| Magic Access | Alt. Access | Unit Summary | Core Abilities | Buildings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hero Summons way too many | Archers, from small apes to large ape Light infantry, from small apes to large apes Elephants Sacred Tiger Cavalry | | |
Capitol Gems: 3
2
Order Limit +1,
Heat Limit + 1

Prefers Heat Scale + 2
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 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.
summons, mounts, co-riders
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Markata Scout | | A cheaper, stealthier Scout. Excellent value, but costs fort turns to recuit. |
| Vanara Captain | | 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 | | Capable of leading stealthy raiding parties with its modest 50 leadership, and recruitable outside of forts. |
| Bandar Commander | | 100 leadership commander, capable of putting squads into formations with +1 morale. |
| Bandar Noble | | 150 leadership commander, capable of putting squads into formations with +2 morale. |
| Brahmin | | 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 | | 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 | | Gurus are a good deal more expensive than Yogis, but have much better access to astral battle magic, and their |
| Rishi | 10% | 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. |
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Markata | | 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 Archer | | Markata Archers are basically identical to Markata, but with less defence skill and a very weak ranged attack. |
| Atavi Archer | | 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 | |
|
| Vanara Archer | | 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 | |
|
| Vanara Infantry | |
|
| Vanara Swordsman | |
|
| Light Bandar Archer | | 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 | |
|
| Bandar Warrior | | 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 at close range. 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 | |
|
| Light Bandar Warrior | |
|
| Royal Swordsman | |
|
| Elephant Rider | 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 | Mobile Archer |
|
| War Elephant | |
|
| White One | | 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 | 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 | |
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandarjuna - Tathagata | 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). |
For the purposes of readability, Bandar Log's ritual summons are organised by theme.
| Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herd of Elephants (Conjuration 3) | Elephant × 5 + [1/2 per lvl] | | 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) | Tiger × 15+ | | Tigers are fairly fragile but have two decent attacks. |
| Herd of Buffaloes (Conjuration 3) | Buffalo × 5 + [1/2 per lvl] | | 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. |
Naga units share some 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.
| Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summon Nagas (Conjuration 3) | Naga Warrior × 9 | | Naga Warriors are heavy (albeit helmetless) infantry sacreds who are amphibious, allowing Bandar Log to get underwater. |
| Contact Nagini (Conjuration 4) | Nagini | Female | 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. |
Nagini | Female |
||
| Contact Nagaraja (Conjuration 5) | 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. |
Nagaraja | |
||
| Contact Nagarishi (Conjuration 6) | Nagarishi | 10% | 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. |
Nagarishi | 10% |
| Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summon Angiri (Conjuration 3) | Angiri × 5 + [1/2 per lvl] | | 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) | Apsara × 5 + [1/2 per lvl] | 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) | Vidyadhara | | 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) | Yaksha | 10% | Yakshas are powerful earth mages, singlehandedly granting access to basically all the earth magic Bandar Log really needs for both 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) | Yakshini | 10% 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) | Gandharva × 6 | | 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) | Kimpurusha × 6 | | 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) | Garuda × 6 | | 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. |
| Summon Maruts (Conjuration 6) | Marut × 3 | | 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) | Kinnara | | 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 with their holy magic. |
| Summon Siddha (Conjuration 7) | Siddha | | One research level up from Kinnaras, Siddhas are teleporting |
| Summon Devata (Conjuration 8) | Devata | | Devatas are more expensive than Siddhas, the cost going towards better melee skills, high awe, and basic gear. They lose out on the significant utility from the teleport ability that Siddhas have. |
| Summon Devala (Conjuration 9) | Devala | Female | Devalas are much more expensive than Siddhas, but the increase in cost is not necessarily matched by an increase in utility. With their |
| Summon Rudra (Conjuration 9) | Rudra | Eyes (3) | 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 point Rudras arrive, countermeasures to single supercombatants are usually easily available. |
| Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host of Ganas (Conjuration 2) | Gana × 20 + 2/level | | Commentary here. |
| Summon Vetalas (Conjuration 5) | Possessed Corpse × 15 | | Commentary here. |
| Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summon Rakshasas (Blood 1) | Rakshasa × 3 | | Commentary here. |
| Feast of Flesh (Blood 2) | Praghasa × 18 | | Commentary here. |
| Summon Asrapas (Blood 3) | Asrapa × 3 | Female | Commentary here. |
| Summon Rakshasa Warriors (Blood 4) | Rakshasa Warrior × 5 | | Commentary here. |
| Summon Sandhyabalas (Blood 5) | Sandhyabala × 3 | | Commentary here. |
| Summon Dakini (Blood 6) | Dakini | Female | Commentary here. |
| Summon Samanishada (Blood 7) | Samanishada | | Commentary here. |
| Summon Danavas (Blood 8) | Danava × 3 | | If turned into a commander, gains 50% 50% 50% |
| Summon Daitya (Blood 8) | Daitya × 3 | | If turned into a commander, gains 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% |
See Magic Access. These guides supplement the summaries at the top.
The Bandar Log has some of the narrowest and shallowest off-capital magic access in the entire game:
2
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.
(for Kailasa)
No recruitable access.
5 can Summon Rudra, which has
3.
No recruitable access.
4
1 can cast Faerie Court in Cold and have a 1 in 2 chance of
2. It can also cast Faerie Court not in Cold and have a 1 in 3 chance of
2.
2 can Summon Vidyadhara, which has
1.
3 can Summon Kinnara, which has
2.
4 can Summon Siddha, which has
2.
5 can Summon Devata, Summon Devala, or Summon Rudra, all of which have
3.
4 Yakshini (~1 in 5) starts high up in
Water.
4 Yaksha (~1 in 5), with a
Nature booster, can create The Tome of Gaia.
Ascending
Astral with EA Kailasa while minimizing empowerment is complicated. Between a
2 Guru and a
1 Yaksha (1 in 5), they can create a variety of boosters and work their way up the path. The Guru can make a Starshine Skullcap and then the unique Dimensional Rod. Without the Dimensional Rod, empowerment is necessary on the Yaksha to get the Coin of Meteoritic Iron.
Glamour boosters may help the Yaksha create the unique The Trapped Dreams of Hruvur. Similar with
Earth and the unique Atlas of Creation.
EA Kailasa can't easily forge The Copper Arm or Abominable Arms.
No recruitable access.
4
1 can cast Faerie Court in Cold and have a 1 in 2 chance of
2. Also, Summon Fay Prince in Cold to get
1.
3 can cast Forest Troll Tribe to get at least
1.
5 can Summon Rudra, which has
3.
2 Yaksha (1 in 5) can get the unique The Tome of Gaia. With two
Nature boosters, an
Astral Yaksha can forge a Moonvine Bracelet.
EA Kailasa can't easily forge The Copper Arm or Abominable Arms.
You can't recruit any, but roughly half of your Rishis can summon
1 mages (with a chance of
2 mages).
2 Yaksha (1 in 5) will need to be empowered to
3 to get a Gossamer Veil and a Mirage Crystal. With enough
Glamour and
Astral boosters on a different,
Astral random Yaksha, it can create the unique The Trapped Dreams of Hruvur.
No native access.
5 for Awaken Treelord gives a 1 in 3 chance of
1.
How to win as the nation. Feel free to use the following sections, or delete them, or change them.
Different expansion options.
Early game options.
Mid game options.
Late game options.
Chassis: Awake Titan of Crossroads
Paths:
4
5
7
Bless: MW/Arcane Finesse, Invuln 10, Regen.
Scales:
6
2
0
3
1
2
3
What are the nation's weaknesses?
Add links to guides or other overviews for this nation here.