Old World: Behind the Throne

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Old World - Behind the Throne introduces the machinations of the royal court with new mechanics, rivalries, and the ability to leverage your power with opulence projects that bring you closer to victory.

New historical characters take center stage in the role of advisors, viziers, aristocrats, and courtiers. These rising stars bring their own ambitions, desires, and drives with them. Will your statesmen change allegiances multiple times throughout their lives or will you be able to put an end to their double-dealing antics? Will you let the throne of Babylon be usurped by pretenders? Or will your greatest general betray you after a long life of service? Let others manage your cities and befriend them, or watch as they turn into dangerous rivals fueled by a thirst for power.

Old World - Behind the Throne includes:

350+ new events centering around court politics, intrigue, and personal ambition. The world behind the throne is a complex web of deceit, personal goals, and opportunities.
New historical characters
- Alcibiades, Athenian statesman, and notorious political double-crosser.
- Enlil-nadin-shumi, usurper of the throne of Babylon.
- Harpagus, Kingmaker of Akkad.
- Bardaisan, scientist, scholar, and philosopher of Assyria.
- Mago the Author, Carthaginian writer on agriculture.
- Avicenna, famed philosopher from Persia.
New projects and improvements
- Estates, expensive new, improvements with a wide variety of benefits.
- Opulence, a new project made possible by Estates. Use your wealth to generate additional victory points.
- Slums, which balance faster population growth with risk of rebellion.
New Gameplay mechanics
- Rising Stars - Powerful non-leader characters who present dangers and opportunities as they accumulate experience, triggering a wide range of events with both negative and positive effects. If they become too much of a nuisance, there’s always ways of “dealing” with them.
- Stress & Revelry - Stymied ambitions, jealous lovers, raging barbarians, and much more can all take their toll on a ruler. Will your ruler indulge in hedonistic pursuits to escape the stress?
- The Grand Vizier - Take the minutiae of managing your cities off your plate, handing control to Viziers who will manage based on their personalities. Wise Viziers will focus on culture, courageous ones will recruit military units faster, while disciplined ones create specialists and special projects faster. Be warned, though – power corrupts, and a trusted Vizier might turn their gaze towards your throne.
- New Political Eras - Civil wars, grand reforms, and periods of corruption and decadence will bring forth new challenges for your empire as a whole.
Fall victim to the schemes of the court, or wield them to your advantage – with rising stars, budding rivalries, and ample revelry, anything is possible both upon and behind the throne.