Traders, explorers, and adventurers, the Roving Clans are nomadic and mercantile. Traversing Auriga on their great beasts of burden, the Clans bring commerce and hard-headed negotiation to the far corners of the world. The Roving Clans can relocate their cities at will. They tax every market transaction and can ban other empires' use of the marketplace. However, as wise merchants, they will also never decide to go to war.
Lore[]
Plying roads and sea lanes with skill and courage, they are ever on the lookout for new resources, new products, new markets, and new customers. Wherever the Clans pass, markets spring up, commerce blossoms, and the strange and wondrous goods from the many strange and wondrous peoples of Auriga are traded. The Roving Clans are so entwined in the business dealings of Auriga, that a tiny piece of every transaction somehow makes it into their coffers.
While their preference is for peace and trade, the Roving Clans should not be underestimated in war. With rapid, mounted units giving them an advantage in speed, they make difficult targets and frustrating enemies. Even their great cities can move, perched on the backs of giant Setseke scarabs -- an exploit unmatched by another nation.
Patient, clever, and wily, the Roving Clans bring sophistication -- and manipulation -- to the peoples of Auriga.
Faction Specialties[]
| Name | Type | Effect | Lore |
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| Nomadic Cities | Affinity | Can relocate Cities and ground Districts at will. | By gaining full control of the giant scarabs upon whose backs many tents of the great caravan cities rest, the Roving Clans can move their settlements at will. |
| Setseke Infusion | Dust Eclipse Effect | During eclipses, provides 20% more health regeneration on units standing on city tiles, and massively buffs Setseke attributes | Setsekes, the giant scarabs that underpin the Clans culture, become invigorated during Dust Eclipses leading to even greater reverence for their powers. |
| Mercenary Comforts | Trait | -33%  on upkeep of privateersDoes not apply to mercenaries spawned by converted villages 2x  Life on Mercenary+1  Movement on Mercenary |
By furnishing their sellswords with opulent digs, mouth-watering delicacies, and extra coin, Roving Clan mercenaries are that little bit extra motivated to perform. |
| Peace and Prosperity | Trait | Commercial and research agreements are free | Once a peace treaty has been signed, Roving Clans can enjoy Commercial and Research agreements with their newfound partners for free. |
| Brace Yourself | Trait | +50% Dust from City upkeep during Winter -25% Trade Route Bonus on City Trade Routes during Winter +15% Trade Route Bonus on City Trade Routes during Summer |
When the ice and snow come, caravan movement is slowed and the tents of the Roving Clans are exposed to the frigid winds. It is a difficult time; Trade route revenue drops and it is more expensive to maintain cities. |
| Cuts Both Ways | Trait | Receives 8% Dust of every transaction fee paid by other Empires |
Whether another empire buys or sells, the Roving Clans traders will always take a slice of the transaction. |
| Insider Trading | Trait | Additional information on Marketplace use | In exchange for small "donations", traders in the Roving Clans' marketplaces will give up information on who's buying and selling. |
| Keys to the Market | Trait | Can use the Market Ban option Prevents being targeted by the Market Ban option |
Another empire getting too big for their boots? Perhaps we should ban them from the market and see how they fare then! |
| Make Trade Not War | Trait | Cannot declare War | The Roving Clans believe that warfare is only for desperate fools; they do not view it as a viable option. |
| Imperial Coinage | Technology | Unlocks the Imperial Coinage Technology. | |
| Mercenary Market | Technology | Unlocks the Mercenary Market Technology. |
Nomadic Cities[]
Roving Clans cities are able to take the Setseke Ho! action, which takes 1 
turn to do, similar to the Salting the Earth action. Upon taking this action, the city and all its districts will be converted to a Setseke unit. This unit functions similarly to a settler in that it can place a city on a designated tile, even one in a different region than where the original city was. After doing so, any districts that were picked up can be rebuilt using the Happy Decampers construction, which requires no industry and only 1 turn to build, but can only be used once per turn, making large cities take some time to resettle. Additionally, special districts such as the Altar of Auriga will also be picked up and need to be redeployed, but will appear as themselves in the available constructions list, and also require no industry to build.
It should be noted though that non-district expansions, such as resource extractors and watchtowers will not be picked up by the Setseke Ho! action, and will instead remain in place. So long as you do not have a city built in the region where these kinds of expansions are, you will not benefit from them, and it is possible for a rival faction to settle in that region and take over the already-built expansions.
Setseke Infusion[]
During a Dust Eclipse, the Roving Clans gain two main benefits. First, their cities provide a health regen area - similar to that provided by Watchtowers - that grants 20% health regen to friendly units adjacent to their cities. Additionally, the Setseke unit created from Roving Clans cities gains a massive boost to its base attributes: +430 Life , +80 Attack 
, +80 Defense 
, +45 Initiative 
, and +70 Damage 
. This boost effectively makes the Setseke one of the most powerful units in the game, and easily the most powerful unit that can be attained in the first three technological eras, due to lack of access to the technologies unlocking the Guardians and higher-tier weapons and armor.
Unique Technologies[]
High Towers (Technology)
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Expertise obtained from the Wild Walkers in matters of architecture and construction materials boosts Science, and the towers themselves increase Vision range. | |||||||||||||||||
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Unlocks for Construction:
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Freelance Guards
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The idea of turning troops not needed for caravan defense into flagless mercenaries is logical. After all, they are needed to protect the Clans' long-term commercial interests. | ||||||||||
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Effects:
Unlocks Privateers | ||||||||||||
Traders' Tents
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The Roving Clans' canny knowledge of goods, merchants, and markets is aided by their specially made tents, within which every whisper and gesture is observed and recorded. | ||||||||||
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Effects:
+50% | ||||||||||||
Well of Dust (Technology)
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Part magical and part mercantile, this partially submerged treasury accumulates Dust from whatever source is available. Ruins, ancient mechanisms, markets, caravans, and even the air all contribute something to this storehouse of wealth and magic. | |||||||||||||||||
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Unlocks for Construction:
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Money Talks
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Masters of the manipulation of goods and currencies, Roving Clans traders can induce inflationary tendencies in other empires, reducing their trade income. | ||||||||||
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Effects:
Unlocks the Inflation and Inflation Nullification diplomatic declarations. Inflation:
Inflation Nullification:
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Military Units[]
Dervish
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Base Attributes:
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A mainstay of the Roving Clan's hordes, the Dervish excels in rapid and devastating charges that take advantage of its mobility and mass. |
Kassai
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Base Attributes:
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Perhaps the most rapid military unit on Auriga, the Kassai move with exceptional speed both in and out of battle. |
Yirmak
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Base Attributes:
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Though the fast and powerful Yirmak is technically a cavalry unit, its fearsome claws and aggressive nature make it quite effective in melee. |
Heroes[]
Note: Base Attributes reflect the unit's attributes before bonuses from equipment or capacities.
All Roving Clans heroes are able to wield Longbows, Crossbows, and Shields as weapons.
Bazi Safar Bahas
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Base Attributes:
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Bela The Bat Syrav
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Base Attributes:
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Illegra Mordicant
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Base Attributes:
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Jasah Murdap
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Base Attributes:
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Master Neqra Zeban
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Base Attributes:
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Siryi Alastra
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Base Attributes:
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Faction Quest[]
Is Dust the goal of life, or merely the best way to keep score? Whichever it is, you are ceaseless in your efforts to understand and acquire it. What better way than to dig into the secrets of the past, and those who first mastered it? The task will be difficult, requiring effort and sacrifice. But then, if it was easy, it would hardly be fun...
| 1. A Merchant's Tale | |||
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Description | ||
| It has been said, by women and men wiser than myself, that only the gods can know the beginnings and the ends of things, and in claiming to recount a tale one steps upon their all-powerful toes. I dare to say that I have a tale, however, and in the telling of it I hope to offend neither the listener nor the gods, for though there is a beginning, it is you who will see it through until the end.
Blessings, then, on the infinitely wise Ràdàt, Mistress of Tered and goddess of Numbers, and the quick-witted Tebadel, Master of Words and god of Commerce, and on their families and on their children, and on you, and on yours. | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| It is best to be undisturbed when seeking truths, particularly when they are not underfoot. First pacify the [Minor Faction] villages in the region with the ruins indicated by the Rays of Dust. | 1. Make sure all the [Minor Faction] villages are pacified in the region where the indicated ruins lie.
2. Now to delve a bit deeper: Inspect the [Ruins] located in [Region]. |
Thus the city was founded and my first efforts came to glorious fruition. For, if I was not mistaken, the object that I had discovered would lead me to even greater treasures... | |
| Reward | 1. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1 | ||
| 2. Past, Present, and Future | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said by the sages that any undertaking must balance the influences of the past, the present, and the future. With a city established and troops at my command, I felt the present was more secure than it had been for some time. As for my plans for the future, they depended very much on what I had discovered in the ruins, from the past. For upon Auriga, the past is a weighty thing indeed.
The relics I had recovered hinted at something truly enormous - a great complex of wonders and wizardry, hidden somewhere beneath our very feet. Curse me thrice if I did not weep with joy at the discovery! For Dust is not merely our tally and currency; it is stuff that has great power on its own. And should I amass it in the quantities that I saw in my dreams, I was sure that I could shape the very stuff of which our world is made. The ancient whispers and legends I had heard held some grain of truth. But, ah! How much? | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| The relics indicate that a specialized building is needed to investigate the vast riches left beneath the surface of Auriga. And the Wild Walkers have secrets of construction not known to other factions... | 1. Get a Wild Walkers hero, equip them with the Roads of Dust manuscript, and them as governor in a city.
2. Build the High Towers City Improvement in the city ruled by your Wild Walkers hero. |
As the Clans say, there are too many skills for one person to gather. Gather Dust, instead, and bring those skills to you! And so the Hero was hired, and the building built... | |
| Reward | 1. High Towers
2. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1 | ||
| 2(Alt). Past, Present, and Future | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said by the sages that any undertaking must balance the influences of the past, the present, and the future. With a city established and troops at my command, I felt the present was more secure than it had been for some time. As for my plans for the future, they depended very much on what I had discovered in the ruins, from the past. For upon Auriga, the past is a weighty thing indeed.
The relics I had recovered hinted at something truly enormous - a great complex of wonders and wizardry, hidden somewhere beneath our very feet. Curse me thrice if I did not weep with joy at the discovery! For Dust is not merely our tally and currency; it is stuff that has great power on its own. And should I amass it in the quantities that I saw in my dreams, I was sure that I could shape the very stuff of which our world is made. The ancient whispers and legends I had heard held some grain of truth. But, ah! How much? | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| The relics say one must obtain specialized knowledge of the powers of Dust to understand the vast riches beneath the surface of Auriga. And Ardent Mages master Dust in ways unknown to other factions... | 1. Make sure you have an Ardent Mages hero in your Empire. Equip them with the Roads of Dust manuscript, and assign them to an army.
2. Search 3 “Temple Ruins” with an army led by an Ardent Mage Hero who is equipped with the Manuscript. |
As the Clans say, there are too many skills for one person to gather. Gather Dust, instead, and bring those skills to you! And so the Hero was hired, and the building built... | |
| Reward | 1. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1
2. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1 | ||
| 3. The Wealth of Auriga | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said that the open mind profits more than the closed one. Indeed, studies and indications that were brought by these heroes from other nations increased my knowledge of Auriga. And as always, with knowledge, came power.
Next we had to divine, and test, and excavate, to understand more of this world and the ways that Dust has enhanced it. For Dust has always been the rhythm and lifeblood of Auriga, as the market is the rhythm and lifeblood of the Clans. And those marvelous resources, the fruit of a world touched by Dust and ancient gods, would certainly have more to tell me... | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| Dust is not the only thing worth studying on Auriga. Gather Strategic and Luxury Resources - both for the wealth they bring, and for the knowledge they may reveal. | Obtain 50 of one Luxury Resource and 50 of one Strategic Resource in your empire. | Laid out like ares on a table, I could feel the Dust resonating through those treasures. The sages map out the ley lines of the world, and the powers that coursed below us. | |
| Reward | Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 2 | ||
| 4. The Power of Politics | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said that blind greed leads to blind decisions. If I was to be accused of any weakness, it would most likely have been that one. However, regardless of what the rumors whispered, I did not then look kto gather Dust solely to increase my own treasury.
Scientists and mystics have always been excited by one curious goal - bringing together enough Dust to create what they called a “critical mass”. It sounds more like a weight problem than a glorious discovery, but they assured me that if sufficient volumes of Dust could be assembled, the magic within it would awaken sufficiently to unlock the echoes from the great Dust labyrinths of the past. But I must not forget my people in my rush to amass this Dust; it would be wise to increase the prestige and influence of my empire at the same time as I increase its wealth. | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| Collect a critical volume of Dust to trigger readings in the sages’ mechanisms and resonate with the ancient Dust sources inside the planet. But think of your public image; raise your Influence as well. | For a period of 5 turns, produce 60 Dust and 40 Influence  within your Empire.
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The power that I brought together inspired fear as much as greed. I dreamed that all of Auriga would be unlocked; the world a great cavern of treasures with the keys in my hand. | |
| Reward | Traders' Tents | ||
| 4(Alt). Exploiting Auriga | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said that blind greed leads to blind decisions. If I was to be accused of any weakness, it would most likely have been that one. However, regardless of what the rumors whispered, I did not then look to gather Dust solely to increase my own treasury.
Scientists and mystics assured me that the physical anomalies so common across the world were in fact produced by an overabundance of Dust and its marvelous magics. By mastering and exploiting anomalies and gaining prestige, secrets of the planets origin could be unlocked - so they promised - as well, perhaps, as the secrets of my own future. | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| Seek out magical Anomalies to learn more of Dust, and gain Influence to more easily execute the next steps. | For a period of 5 turns, exploit 7 Anomalies and produce 50 Influence within your Empire.
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The knowledge hinted - as knowledge often does - of greater mysteries. I dreamed that all of Auriga would be unlocked; the world a great cavern of treasures with the keys in my hands. | |
| Reward | Traders' Tents | ||
| 5. When All Else Fails | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said that all things come to he who has patience. That, alas, was hardly my most obvious trait. I was learning patience, however, as the unfolding of my great plan had taught me as much about myself as about my world. I urged my followers to move onward, ever onward, as the Clans do. From other people's we had learned of Dust and Auriga, from resources and anomalies we had learned of the hidden magics of the past, and next I determined that we would bring these things together and unlock the greatest secrets of all. The Academy of Teneb stated, without hesitation, that the greatest resonance of Dust from across Auriga lay somewhere beneath our feet. What great labyrinth of the ancients had been built? What strange lode or mine of Dust might exist there? Feverish ideas crossed my mind as my body tossed sleepless during the hot nights.
Patience required that I wait, and watch, and observe. But when finally I would once more be able to act, I resolved that I would fall like the fury of a desert storm. | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| A region, [Region], is the source of the Dust-laden emissions and resonances measured by your sages. If your dreams of wealth and power are to come true, that region must be under your control | 1. [Ruins] have been localized in the region [Region]. Find a way to capture the region city or make sure that it has been destroyed.
2. Raise a Hero to Level 7; they will then have the experience necessary to decrypt the [Ruins] in [Region]. 3. It seemed that something defends this ancient place of power - but that is unsurprising. Destroy the defenders! |
I cannot say if it was luck or wit that brought me there, but I found a region echoing with power and magic, full of the strange reverberations of ancient civilizations and abundant Dust. | |
| Reward | 1. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1
2. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1 3. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1 | ||
| 5(Alt). The Unfortunate Option | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said that all things come to he who has patience. That, alas, was hardly my most obvious trait. I was learning patience, however, as the unfolding of my great plan had taught me as much about myself as about my world. I urged my followers to move onward, ever onward, as the Clans do. From other people's we had learned of Dust and Auriga, from resources and anomalies we had learned of hidden magics of the past, and next I determined that we would bring these things together and unlock the greatest secrets of all. The Academy of Teneb stated, unquestionably, that the greatest resonance of Dust from across Auriga lay somewhere beneath our feet. What great labyrinth of the ancients had been built? What strange lode or mine of dust might exist there? Feverish ideas crossed my mind as my body tossed sleepless during the hot nights. Patience required that I wait, and watch, and observe. But when finally I would once more be able to act, I resolved that I would fall like the fury of a desert storm. | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| A region, [Region], is the source of the Dust-laden emissions and resonances measured by your sages. If your dreams of wealth and power are to come true, that region must be under your control | 1. [Ruins] have been localized in the region [Region]. Find a way to capture the region city or make sure that it has been destroyed.
2. Raise a Hero to Level 7; they will then have the experience necessary to decrypt the [Ruins] in [Region]. |
I cannot say if it was luck or wit that brought me there, but I found a region echoing with power and magic, full of the strange reverberations of ancient civilizations and abundant Dust. | |
| Reward | 1. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1
2. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1 | ||
| 6. Going Boldly | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said that before beginning any project one should be well supplied with logic, prayer, and luck. Yet only the first two can be controlled by us and for the third, the gods must intervene. And so it was, for me; in one of the old places of Auriga we discovered an ancient mechanism that we called the Well of Dust. It was a thing of glorious complexity; equal parts motionless and mechanical, energetic and inert, enormous nad seemingly simple.
The great question, however, was this: Could its functions be reproduced or rebuilt? For if we were to build this mechanism that filtered Dust from the air and the ground, the fortunes that I could have amassed would go beyond the wildest ravings of our most avaricious sellers. In fact, to rebuild this in the mercantile heart of my empire would give me nothing short of a mercantile miracle... | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| In order to understand and reproduce the Well of Dust, our sciences must be highly advanced and the Trade Routes that bring Dust maximized. | 1. To begin with, we must research at least 10 technologies from Technology Era III.
2. Develop Trade to identify the best location for the device by having at least 3 Cities bringing each a minimum of X |
We narrowed the possible locations for our Well of Dust. It was time to build, challenging the ancients on their own terms. If the mythical “Dust Fever” existed, I was certainly under its spell! | |
| Reward | 1. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1
2. Mad Fairies Droplist, picks 1 | ||
| 7. Warm Bodies | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said that if willing hands cannot be found, unwilling ones will do. That was the set of my mind at this point in my quest; I refused to be dissuaded or derailed. Perhaps it was indeed Dust Fever; perhaps one day I would be found chattering mad amid ledgers and scrip, seeing thieves and swindlers in every shadow.
If that was to be my fate, I though, so be it! At least, first, I would give my people a wonder the likes of which had never been imagined since the days of the ancients. But to build a wonder required effort and time... and labor. | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| Your dreams require hands - go and find them among the Minor Factions | Assimilate 3 minor factions with at least 2 villages pacified for each of them. None of these villages must be destroyed. | At that moment my will almost failed. Was I creating the mechanism of my own destruction? Would the Fever take me? Bah! Either it already had, or it never would. I gave the order. | |
| Reward | Well of Dust | ||
| 8. Dust from the Wind | |||
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Description | ||
| It is said that dreams are dangerous things, for they drive one to fulfill them at any cost. One could argue that this was indeed my fate; I had forsaken my family and given over much of the ruling of the Clans to others while in the pursuit of my goal. But I saw the final stretch laid out before me, waiting like a well-irrigated caravanserai at the end of a long road of dust and desert.
I was prepared to do whatever it would take to reach that terminal step. That, I suppose, is where the ambitions of youth can take you if they are not tempered by wisdom! Though by now my hairs were gray, my beard long, and many rings of gold decorated my scarves and my fingers. Still, I would not stop, nor relinquish my goal. | |||
| Summary | New Objective | Outcome | |
| To gain the most benefit from Well of Dust, you must build it in a city in the center of your economic empire. The more Dust and Trade Routes it touches, the greater your windfall! | Construct the City Improvement "Well of Dust" in a city that has the "Right of Way" improvement already built, and generates at least 30 Dust
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And so, at last, we arrive here. My machine, my legacy, is complete. Now I retire, and place the future of my people in your capable hands. May Ràdàt and Tebadel guide you! | |
| Reward | Money Talks, Temple of the Earth's Core | ||
