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The desert wind blows hard towards your home.
— The Sultan, taunting before an attack
Sultan

The Sultan is a protagonist in Stronghold 3 and an AI character in Stronghold Crusader.

Overview[]

The Sultan is a benevolent but easy-going Lord, who puts entertainment and happiness above all duties. He always keeps his soldiers and friends motivated with exhibits and colorful gardens, making them extremely loyal. The Sultan's Achilles' heel is his ignorance of military affairs however, causing his fire to snuff out quickly as he uses up his stocks.

Information[]

The Sultan comes off as an average desert fighter. He has an unusually large nose, with a thick brown mustache below it. His kind-heartedness and hospitality is expressed by his cheerful face, which is decorated by a white turban. Accomodated to the hotness of the desert, he wears standard chain armor, in addition to lamellar armor on the chest and two brown belts across his shoulders. The Sultan prefers to always enjoy the moments of life and therefore he is not seen wielding any weapons.

Refuge in Britain[]

By about 10 years after the First War, the Sultan has established himself as a wealthy trader somewhere in the East. However, he is forced to move out with his entire family by the Jackal and to flee to England on his flagship.

Having landed in an impoverished land in the eastern side of Britain, the Sultan starts to invest in bringing prosperity to the area by establishing trade routes overseas. The commitment pays off, as the settlements quickly start growing and standards of life increase. The Sultan also transports goods with his ship.

Rodent's eyes[]

The flourishing city catches the attention of Greytail, one of the Rat's sons, who takes control over the city by invasion, killing the Sultan's staff and imprisoning his family in the process. The Sultan is forced to flee outside city limits with the remnants of his wealth. Greytail then uses the Sultan's ship to ferry enslaved people instead of goods.

The desperate Sultan is met by the Boy and his army, who offers him to become his ally. The Sultan agrees on supporting them with siege engines and reasonably priced goods, if the Boy can remove Greytail from his seat of power and rescue his family. The two come to an accord.

Saving grace[]

The rebels with the Boy on the fore get access to the Sultan's personal weapons stockpile that is unknown to Greytail. With the new equipment, Greytail's castle is besieged and is successfully conquered. As a result, the Ratling is forced to flee into the unknown and the Sultan's family is saved.

With order restored, the Sultan reclaims control over the Eastern lands, while the Boy marches forward. The Sultan bids farewell to the rebels and ensures them to always offer his goods for a reasonable price.

The Sultan is unique in being more like a poet than a lord, and in much preferring the pen over the sword. His speech is very poetic, and his face is very expressive as though he were an actor. He is often happy, and only becomes saddened when he is attacked or failed in an attack of his own. His voice, however, always remains calm.

He is a kind person to his people, to the point that his army is willing to die protecting their lord, indicated by their usual army bonus. He's also kind to his allies, and never speaks rashly to his enemies. He sometimes will agree to attack an enemy or defend the player when requested to, although he often declines as he can struggle to build up an attack force. He also may give some goods to the player, but when he declines it is always for reasons of practicality.

He has a keen interest in astronomy, often observing the stars and the moon. He also likes feasting, much like the Pig does (although unlike him, he shares the food among his men), often funded from his own personal coffers. He often does not seem angry when taunting an enemy, he often has a very deep masculine Arabic accent that slurs and gets even deeper when he talks.

The Sultan prefers to build humble circular settlements, building a large courtyard surrounded by thick crenelated walls and periodic lookout towers with a small gatehouse in the perimeter. He scatters slingers at regular intervals around the area. The interior features numerous good things and basic buildings without any significant defense.

The Sultan's easy-going nature is reflected in his production. His mainline income is generated from sold surplus resources, thanks to an abundant quantity of woodcutters and a few stone quarries. He also gains additional money from taxes that come from fear factor. The Sultan has no food production whatsoever, and the constant burden on his granary starves him from troops, but also makes him one of the few lords capable of functioning at full capacity on maps with no farmland.

As an Arabic lord, the Sultan prefers mercenaries to do the heavy lifting for him. His main units are the slinger and the Arabian swordsman, who take part both in the castle's defense, as well as in the offensive to harass the player and kill off vulnerable workers. Though not used extensively, the Sultan also starts with fire throwers that defend the lord himself.

The Sultan's main army is comprised of expensive Arab swordsmen and Arabian bowmen, which serve well in the keep's defense until deployed. He deploys no moat diggers or siege equipment though, which tends to greatly stall the Sultan's efforts in breaking through the enemy's castle, and bars him from entering a castle that is surrounded by moat.

Defense[]

Not much defense is needed against the Sultan's army. His large groups of slingers, which target workers on farms, quarries and mines as well as woodcutters may prove an annoyance, but a few small groups of archers or horse archers scattered around your industries should be able to deal with them. With regards to his main attacks, the Arab bowmen he sends can be killed easily.

Arabian swordsmen may prove more troublesome, but a decent number of crossbowmen may handle them very well (a swordsman needs 3-4 crossbow bolts to fall). Moreover, they will be busy destroying walls (which is done very slowly), making them further vulnerable to projectiles. Needless to say, the Sultan's first rush is the most devastating out of all his attacks, unless he is doing particularly well and has built up a large army.

Offense[]

Like the Rat, the Sultan can be dispatched with anything. He only has Arab bowmen on the keep, so you can kill the slingers out of their range with horse archers, normal archers or crossbowmen. All the slingers need to be killed, even those behind the keep, as slingers can deal a lot of damage to melee troops. Then you can either scale the walls without capturing the gatehouse (although marching swordsmen may attempt to advance via the stairs) or pick off troops with fire ballistae or crossbowmen.

When most swordsmen are removed, move in for the kill.

Action Quote Sound
Added to roster Oooohhh!
Removed from roster Oh dear!
Prepares for siege My loyal tigers are ready to pounce! Last night, I dreamt of sweet victory.
Taunt 1 The desert wind blows hard towards your home.
Taunt 2 Dove is resting, the falcon takes flight.
Taunt 3 I watch the stars and they do not look kindly down on you.
Taunt 4 The camels are restless. A bad omen for you, I think.
Defeats another player A swift passage to heaven... for the Sultan's enemies!
Player's buildings are destroyed The serpent bites... those who wear no shoes!
Deflects player's attack The lion has roared! He will speak again.
Defeats player The Sultan sings and the jackal falls in the forest.
Player deflects attack The sky was not bright for the Sultan today.
Player destroys buildings The olive branches weep at the Sultan's loss.
Player closes in with an army 1 The red sky approaches the Sultan's fortress.
Player closes in with an army 2 The pond is dying in the Sultan's oasis.
Defeated As all must sleep the sleep of the ancients, so must the poor Sultan.
Requires goods We are in need of that, which you must surely possess.
Sends goods Yes, yes! I have what you need!
Receives goods Oh, bounteous joy! Your ship has arrived!
Refuses to supply Sand is sand and bone is bone. My camels will stay tethered.
Agrees to attack If you will it.
Refuses to attack (casual) Maybe tomorrow... or another day... but not now, my hero. Not now.
Refuses to attack (besieged) Alas poor Sultan is afraid... he cannot move...
Requires help The vultures fly high over my fortress. Turn your gaze towards me!
Sends help I am told my men are fierce. May they fight like tigers for you!
Refuses to help (casual) The omens are poor, yet I cannot help. The Sultan weeps for you.
Refuses to help (besieged) I sleep the sleep of the ancient ones. And I am too deep in slumber.
Predicts victory as ally I see the moon is bright tonight! How long may we reign?
Predicts defeat as ally The moon grows dull! But who will save us now?
Kills common enemy The lamb has fallen to the Sultan's beak!
Player kills common enemy Your fire burns bright. Ride on, my trusted ally!
Falls as ally The Sultan will rest tonight with the stars. I will watch kindly over you!

Trivia[]

  • If the player uses only gatehouses (with drawbridges) and moat for surrounding the keep, the Sultan will be unable to attack, since he lacks moat-digging units.
Stronghold Crusader / Stronghold Crusader Extreme Characters
Stronghold Crusader The RatThe SnakeThe PigThe WolfThe SultanThe CaliphSaladinRichard The Lionheart
Stronghold Crusader Extreme Emperor FrederickKing PhillipThe SheriffThe AbbotThe MarshalThe WazirThe EmirThe Nizar
Stronghold 3 Characters
Good characters The BoyLady CatherineThe King of EnglandThomas BlackstaffThe Iron DukeThe SultanSir Longarm
Antagonists The WolfThe JackalRupert SilverbackGreytailRoger ScabcoatBishop RedhamEarl Swinefoot
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