Table of Contents
EA Pyrène, Kingdom of the Bekrydes
Lore
Pyrène is a realm of sprawling caverns beneath a densely forested mountain range. Here the Bekrydes, cave dwelling humans, have formed a kingdom. The Bekrydes live troglopastoral lives, herding Cave Cows and Blind Goats through their vast caverns in search of mushroom meadows and muck fields filled with nutritious mineral. With the aid of ancient giants skilled in crafting and farming the Bekrydes have spread to the mountains and forests surrounding their cavernous realm. The Bekrydes are primitive by most standards, but with the guidance of the Basajaunak and the Jentilak, they have learned how to craft metal and now the Bekrydes field small groups of elite warriors with metal armaments. In the mountains above the Pyrène caverns lies mount Anboto, where the Sorginak gathers. These servants of a primordial storm deity have been allies of the Jentilak since time immemorial. Now they aid the Bekryde kings as a favor to the Jentilak. In the mountains also live the Tartalo, sheep herding cyclopses of limited mental faculties.
"EA Pyrène is a nation inspired by basque mythology and an Ars Magica rpg campaign of mine, set in the Pyrenees. The caves of Ariège and prehistoric cave paintings combined with the Bekryde myth were great inspirational sources for the setting. The giants of basque myth were also incorporated and one of my players played a character of giant descent. In dominions more of the basque myths have been reworked and incorporated, although I would like to add some more stuff." -Illwinter
General Overview
Pyrène is a primitive nation, carried (both in lore and in gameplay) by supernatural aides. Behind in quality of equipment, the kingdom compensates with brute strength and calloused toughness. Amassing large armies is tough for them, with gold and Leadership being their limiting factors, but even the human troops are quite resilient. The Sacred Bebryx Guard are surprisingly cheap for their talents and equipment, while the Bebryx Priest-Commanders can maintain small forces of highly-motivated fellows. Then there are the giants…
Pyrène's giants are sourced from only certain terrains: mountains for the troops and commanders, and forests for the mid-tier mages. The troops are not as well equipped as the giants of Niefelheim, Mekone, or even Fomoria, putting them at a slight disadvantage in early wars; still, a hit from a Mairu can annihilate most human troops from this era, even with buffs on the defenders. These giants approach immortality with the array of buffs available to Pyrène's mages, including Ironskin, Regeneration, Shock Resistance, Enlargement, and even Quickness and Flying.
In terms of magic, Pyrène is tailored towards thug-building and army-buffing. Even with its cheap infrastructure, the kingdom has relatively limited quantities of mages; the mid-tier Basajuanak and Basanderes are only found in forests without forts, the any-fort wizards are also the any-fort priests, and the big capital casters are priced around their wide combat talents. Given their amazing forms, most of the nation's mages are a couple spells and items away from taking on armies, and those who aren't quite to that caliber are still quite good at "fluffing". Pyrène is rather terrible at Research, but the smaller buffing spells for their thugs and smaller armies aren't that hard to reach.
National Features
| Magic Access | Alt. Access | Unit Summary | Core Abilities | Buildings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 3 (rare 4)  3 (rare 4)  2  2  1 | Human infantry Giant infantry Boulder throwing giants Flying witches |  Fire Resistance  Cold Resistance  Mountain Survival  Darkvision  Undisciplined  Gluttony  Forge Bonus |  Standard Forts Temples cost 300  Labs cost 300   Cave forts get extra gold and resources |
Capitol Gems: 2
3
1
The Bekrydes are Size 3 beings (three-to-a-square) who are essentially humans. The average Bekryde has 13 HP, 12 Strength, 1 Natural Protection, and 11 Morale. They also have 16 Map Movement & 13 Combat Speed while naked. Being cavemen has given them 50% Darkvision and Mountain Survival, but also 8 Precision. Being exceptionally-lacking in technology has given them 5 Fire Resistance and 5 Cold Resistance, but also 9 Magic Resistance.
Pyrènian Giants are highly varied. There are the Size 5 Basajuanak, the Size 6 Mairuak, the Size 7 Tartalos, and the Size 8 Jentilak. Only the Mairuak are troops; they lack much of the Bekrydes' traits, aside from Mountain Survival, and they consume more Supplies per turn than their Size suggests. The Mairuak still have immense advantages, though; at least 40 HP, 5 Natural Protection, 22 Strength, 12 Magic Resistance, at least 13 Morale, and 17 Combat Speed while naked.
National Units
Commanders
: Fire Resistance (5), Cold Resistance (5), Mountain Survival, Darkvision (50)
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Bekryde Scout 35  3  1 Cave Recruit |   Stealthy (60) | Commentary here. |
 | Bekryde Champion 35 4 1 Cave Recruit | Undisciplined | Commentary here. |
| | Bekryde Commander 55 14 1 | | Commentary here. |
 | Bekryde Shaman 185 4 2 | 11 1100%    7  Sacred | Commentary here. |
 | Bekryde Shepherd 55 2 2 Cave Recruit Capital Recruit |  Beastmaster (+2)  Summon Allies | Commentary here. |
 | Tartalo 70 3 2  Highland Recruit  Mountain Recruit Capital Recruit | Mountain Survival Gluttony (1) Beastmaster (+2) Summon Allies | Commentary here. |
 | Bebryx 140 16 1 Capital Only | 1 Sacred  Inspirational (+2) | Commentary here. |
 | Mairu Champion 110 7 2 Highland Recruit Mountain Recruit Capital Recruit | 1 7 Mountain Survival Gluttony (1) | Commentary here. |
 | Sorgina 430 1 2 Capital Only | 31111010% 17 Sacred  Shock Resistance (5)  Shape Changer Black Cat  Flying Mountain Survival Forest Survival  Supply Bonus (10) Darkvision (100)  Storm Immunity | Commentary here. |
 | Jentil 495 3 4 Capital Only | 131010% 15 Sacred Mountain Survival Supply Bonus (10)  Resource Bonus (25) Forge Bonus (2) | Commentary here. |
 | Basajaun 320 1 2  Non-fort Forests Only | 211100% 13 Sacred Forest Survival Supply Bonus (10) Forge Bonus (1) | Item-makers and Ironskin-layers. 2 randoms get Personal Regeneration, 1 randoms get Quickness and Mossbody, and 1's get Flying Shield and Personal Flight. In short, they're mini-Jentils. |
 | Basandere 355 1 2 Non-fort Forests Only | 1121100% 15 Sacred Forest Survival Supply Bonus (70) | Better as "fluffers" than as thugs, due to being smaller than Basajuanak, but still pretty good at thugging. (Just look at those paths!) They're Pyrène's best sharers of Regeneration. |
Troops
: Fire Resistance (5), Cold Resistance (5), Mountain Survival, Darkvision (50)
| Sprite | Unit Name | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| | Bekryde 12 2 4 Cave Recruit |  Undisciplined | Commentary here. |
 | Bekryde 12 2 4 Cave Recruit | Undisciplined | Commentary here. |
 | Bekryde Warrior 12 3 4 Cave Recruit | Undisciplined | Commentary here. |
 | Bekryde Hunter 10 3 3 Cave Recruit | Undisciplined | Commentary here. |
 | Bekryde Infantry 12 11 9 | | Commentary here. |
 | Bekryde Heavy Infantry 12 14 9 | | Commentary here. |
| | Mairu Warrior 35 3 15 Capital Recruit Highland Fort Recruit Mountain Fort Recruit | Mountain Survival Gluttony (1) | Commentary here. |
 | Mairu Hurler 35 3 15 Capital Recruit Highland Fort Recruit Mountain Fort Recruit | Mountain Survival  Siege Bonus (5) Gluttony (1) | Commentary here. |
 | Bebryx Guard 20 16 16 Capital Only | Sacred  Bodyguard (2) | Commentary here. |
National Spell and Item
Summons
Ritual
| Summon Spell | Unit | Special Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Send Aatxe (Conjuration 6) 3 and 6 |  Aatxe Assassination | Fire Resistance (25)  Fire Shield (8)  Ethereal  Trample  Spirit Sight | Commentary here. |
Item
- Flying Ointment
(Construction 3)
21 for 105
Commentary here.
Magic Access
See Magic Access. These guides supplement the summaries at the top.
Basanjun and Basandere are useful for climbing up paths. They can only be recruited in non-Fort forests, so be careful building too many forts near forests. You can completely deprive the forests of resources so they cannot produce units.
Fire
No native access. No simple summons.
Air
Sorgina only has a 1 in 40 chance of 4, so most likely it will need to be empowered from 3 in order to break into even higher levels of 
Air.
Water
2 Basandere (1 in 3) is how to start. Its 1 and 1 are useful crosspaths.
Earth
4 Jentil only occur 1 in 30 times, so plan on 3. Either a Basajun or a Basandere with 22 (1 in 3 for both), has a chance to make the unique The Tome of Gaia. Or, with a Thistle Mace created by a Basandere, the Jentil can as well.
Astral
No native access. No simple summons.
Death
No native access. 3 gets Forest Troll Tribe and 
1.
Nature
Either a Basajun or a Basandere with 22 (1 in 3 for both), has a chance to make the unique The Tome of Gaia. Or, with a Thistle Mace created by a Basandere, the Jentil can as well.
Even with The Tome of Gaia, with 2 being the highest 
Nature available, a lot of empowerment will be necessary. Especially since, without 
Fire or 
Blood, EA Pyrène cannot make The Copper Arm or Abominable Arms.
Glamour
No native access. 4 gets Troll King's Court and 
1.
Blood
No native access. 5 gets Awaken Treelord and a 1 in 3 chance at 
1.
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
Early game options.
Mid Game
Mid game options.
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
Add links to guides or other overviews for this nation here.
