Samurai Taisho · Nippon Expedition

Identity

Rank: Lord (generic, can be recruited any number of times)
Role: Champion: a duelling commander who relies on armour-piercing blows and holds his ground well
Recruited from: The Samurai Taisho tab of the lord recruitment panel; available from the start to the Jade Sea Fleet and the Sanyo and Okumoto Clans
Limit: No cap

Background

Nippon has an old saying: a samurai's blade is not to be bound by its scabbard, but by the soul of him who wields it. The Samurai Taisho is the living proof of that saying. When the war drums sound, the banner guard holds the standard, the gunners take the front, the spearmen form the line and the horsemen ride at the point; the lives of the whole army hang upon the rise and fall of the war fan. To command an army is to set the example for every man in it: where he advances, broken men close their ranks again; where he retreats, even a victorious army scatters into a rabble.

Stats

	On foot	Samurai Warhorse	Kirin
Armour	100	110	80
Melee attack	58	58	58
Melee defence	43	48	48
Weapon strength (base / AP)	150／280	160／300	160／300
Charge bonus	30	50	70
Health	4868	5480	6576
Leadership	80	80	80
Speed	38	78	90

Three separate forms: equipping a mount switches the whole profile, nothing stacks. Magical attacks in every form; on foot and on the warhorse he can hide in forests, while on the Kirin he causes fear and terror instead.

Weapons

Uchigatana · 150 / 280 · magicalOn foot
Wielded one-handed; mostly armour-piercing
Uchigatana · 160 / 300 · magicalSamurai Warhorse, Kirin
The same blade, hitting a little harder from the saddle. On the Kirin he also carries a vermilion cross-bladed spear with a gold tassel (for looks only)

Mounts

Samurai Warhorse (gained automatically at rank 5)
Melee defence +5, armour +10, charge +20, health +612, weapon strength up to 160 / 300; speed up to 78
Kirin (gained automatically at rank 16)
A wingless ground mount: charge +40, health +1708, speed up to 90; armour drops to 80. Causes fear and terror but can no longer hide in forests; gains the Thunder Echo passive and can attack gates as a Siege Attacker

Unit traits

Melee Expert
All forms
Armour-Piercing
All forms
Armoured
All forms
Causes Terror
On the Kirin only

Abilities

BushidoPassive
Triggers when his health falls to 50% or below: base and armour-piercing weapon damage +15%, melee attack +10 for 25 seconds, during which he is Unbreakable (no leadership penalties, never routs). Ends if his health climbs back above 50%
Unity of Blade and SelfPassive
Always on: melee attack +10, melee defence +10; lapses while his health is below 25%
Thunder EchoPassive · Kirin only
Charges up once he is in melee: the first strike falls after 15 seconds, then one every 15 seconds, up to 20 per battle. Each calls down 2 thunderbolts on enemies beside him for 672 pure armour-piercing magical damage apiece, with a small 68 armour-piercing splash. Costs no Winds of Magic and never hits allies
Weapon MasterActive · first unique skill, Weapon Master
On himself: base and armour-piercing weapon damage +25% each, melee attack +10, melee defence +10 for 25 seconds; cooldown 90 seconds
Death Gives LifeActive · final unique skill, Death Gives Life
Replaces Weapon Master: base and armour-piercing weapon damage +25% each, melee attack +12, melee defence +12, bonus vs large +15 for 34 seconds; cooldown 120 seconds

Unit attributes

Encourage
All forms; leadership aura

Traits

Each one recruited gets one of these 9 at random, under Traits on the character panel.

Show all 9

Martial Mastery
- Melee defence: +6
- Physical resistance: 5%
Bow, horse, blade and spear have been his daily discipline since childhood, without a single day's interruption. Even should his sword break and his arrows run out, his own body remains his last weapon.
Magistrate's Talent
- Control: +3 (local province)
- Construction cost: -10% for all buildings (local province)
Ledgers, labour and granaries are, to him, no different from battle maps. Only a well-ordered domain can sustain an army.
Keen Eye
- Corruption: -2 (local province)
- Income from all buildings: +3% (local region)
He believes corruption takes root in the smallest cracks of the human heart, and so he never lets a single evasive word pass unnoticed.
Choleric
- Melee attack: +5
- Passive ability: "Frenzy"
Once his anger catches fire, only the enemy's blood can put it out.
Honourable
- Casualties captured post-battle: +5% (own army)
- Leadership: +10
He keeps every word he gives, and metes out reward and punishment without favour. That is why his men trust him to guard their backs.
Learned
- Character experience gain: +75%
- Magic item drop chance from battle: +15%
Treatises of war, Cathayan classics, charts from foreign seas: whatever can be read, he reads, and whatever he has read, he remembers.
Stout
- Armour: +15
- Melee attack: +10
- Weapon strength: +10%
Half a lifetime spent in heavy armour has made it feel almost part of him; taking it off now feels stranger than wearing it.
Tactician
- Reinforcements supporting this army can have their arrival point adjusted by +500 metres without incurring any time penalty
- Character's aura leadership effect: +4
- Leadership aura size: +50%
- Passive ability: "Tactician"
Before the formation even moves, he has already rehearsed the battle's outcome in his mind.
Unyielding
- Hero self-defence: +10% chance of wounding aggressors
- Attribute: Unyielding Assault
The sea is at his back, with nowhere left to retreat – so he never does.

Skill tree

Only this mod's own skill lines are listed; the vanilla army, campaign and combat lines are left out, and the top row shows only the mod's own nodes.

The Samurai's Path

The path every Samurai Taisho shares. Weapon Master opens at rank 8; the four branches – firearms, samurai, divine beasts and command – can be taken in any order, and Death Gives Life needs all four.

Weapon Master
Unlocks at rank 8
- Melee attack: +4
- Melee defence: +4
- Unlocks the battlefield ability "Weapon Master"
Master swordsmen are not limited to the blade alone. They are well versed in every weapon, and know how to counter any of them.
Three-Rank Volley
Requires Weapon Master
- Missile strength: +10% for Teppo units (Lord's army)
- Reload time reduction: +10% for Teppo units (Lord's army)
- Range: +10% for Teppo units (Lord's army)
Firearms demand not only skill, but discipline above all.
Samurai Tradition
Requires Weapon Master
- Melee attack: +4
- Weapon strength: +10%
- Bonus vs Large: +5
- Weapon strength: +10% for melee Samurai units (Lord's army)
- Bonus vs Large: +5 for melee Samurai units (Lord's army)
- Melee attack: +4 for melee Samurai units (Lord's army)
The samurai tradition lies not in bloodline, but in a single resolve passed down from blade to blade.
Divine Beast Rider
Requires Weapon Master
- Charge bonus: +10 for Divine Beast units (Lord's army)
- Melee attack: +6 for Divine Beast units (Lord's army)
- Melee defence: +4 for Divine Beast units (Lord's army)
Only a hero of great strength can bend a divine beast to their will.
Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain
Requires Weapon Master
- Leadership: +6 (Lord's army)
- Speed: +8% (Lord's army)
- Melee defence: +4 (Lord's army)
- Charge bonus: +10 (Lord's army)
Swift as the wind, quiet as the forest, fierce as fire, immovable as the mountain.
Death Gives Life4 of 4
Requires Three-Rank Volley, Samurai Tradition, Divine Beast Rider, Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain
- "Weapon Master" is replaced by "Death Gives Life"
- Unlocks the battlefield ability "Death Gives Life"
- Attribute: Unbreakable
The Samurai Taisho has made peace with death itself, and finds life by facing it.

Mounts and General

Standalone nodes with no prerequisites; the Samurai Warhorse and the Kirin come automatically at ranks 5 and 16.

Samurai Warhorse
Unlocks at rank 5
The mount of a samurai commander, seasoned in battle and unshaken by the sound of war drums.
Kirin
Unlocks at rank 16
An auspicious beast that appears only within sacred groves, bowing its head to none but those of virtue and renown.
Beyond the Summit
Unlocks at rank 36
Level 1
- Hit points: +1%
… level 100
- Hit points: +100%
Their art has reached its peak; any further training can only harden the body. A sink for surplus skill points.

← Characters