Monad has 5 playable cultures. Each culture offers unique military ships and land units, different starting conditions, and a few unique technologies.
The cultures that are playable in Monad build on the legacy of the old nations: Templecast, Krow, Elfen, Ominiya, and Valhalla. Some nations are still around but their importance has been marginalized or irradicated. Remaining are mega corporations, reigning the everyday lives of people. Many of these mega corporations share the same culture, making them traditional allies - or direct rivals.
Krow
Playstyle: The Krows are flexible. Combining their unique technology "Difficult times", which enables their population to consume Wine as Food, with cheap units, often allows the Krow to expand more quickly than other cultures.
Appearance: The Krow carry what we would call a "Soviet resemblance", with an art deco romanticism. What they lack in progressive technology, they make up for in physical strength and numbers.
Biome Preference: Arid, barren worlds.
Background
Home, to you, are the lands beyond Thrachea and Khanastra, engulfed in the Krow Marshlands and on the precipice to the Deadlands.
The now decrepit Krow has never at the forefront of technology or civil advancements but has made up for this in other ways. As a Krow, you have always valued family, camaraderie, and communal identity. Aside from this, the people you grew up with likely infused you with a healthy dose of mystic beliefs - dark, pagan traditions with roots dating back to the ancient reaches of the Old World. You sometimes refer to yourselves as “blackbirds”.
The Three Lords of Krow are significant icons from the past, the cultural founding fathers, revered even by the most secularized fringes of contemporary Krow society. And how could they not be revered? Most Krows alive today can trace their genetic origins back to them. You are most likely a descendant of the Lords yourself: Gurn, Jakim or Zolir.
Jakim, the Passionate Lord. He was described as of reptilian tongue, a Lord whom with ease could fire a person up and with equal ease burn them down. Above all, he loved beauty and all that shimmered - silver, gold and rubies alike.
Gurn, the Principled Lord, was a rhetorical master and, although it was not discovered until much later, a woman. She was attributed a strong moral compass, a sense of justice, and championship of the destitute and disenfranchised.
Zolir, the Great Lord, had limbs of silver and was the eldest of the three. He was ascribed wisdom and strength and was considered the balance of power.
These three leaders were responsible for creating unity among hundreds of warring tribes. Not only did they establish the city of Krow, but they also developed important communal services, logistical fundamentals, and a sense of community. Although it is speculated that genuine altruism preceded all other agendas, they were known for their weakness to wealth. The accumulation thereof grew to become a perilous vice that put the people of Krow at odds with many.
The silver mines of Khanastra are known across the world even today, and the abundance of silver has influenced your art, fashion, and even technology.
Today, mega-corporations rule in Krow. RSK (Railway Supplies Krowa), Kantor (at core a biotech company), and Elboroc (a weapon’s manufacturer) are three of the largest.
Military
The blueprints for Krow ships are not very hard to come by for those who seek. RSK, Kantor, and Elboroc, and even smaller players like Kraz, all produce these tin box ships. They normally incorporate minor differences, unique trademarks, to signify their respective brand.
The aesthetic combines the raw brutalism of pure metal with utility and, in some larger designs, there is a clear flirt with the insect kingdom.
Eldritch Class - a cruiser designed for hundreds of crew members. A slow, clunky ship, and although it has a lot of canons mounted on mobile turrets, they are of poor quality and difficult to use. It was built to combat the heavier cruisers of other cultures, intended to both intimidate and be able to attract a lot of enemy fire.
Krow equipment is often directly taken from the Old World, scavenged in old Eastern and central Eunian weapons caches, and adapted to the reality of the new world. Many cost-saving measures have been taken to enable large volumes of weapons and armors to move through the ranks. The Three Lords were the first to standardize Krow equipment, introducing the iconic Preussian-esque helmet carried by the basic Gutterwolf infantry. The Gutterwolf is a regular, decrepit troop type that carries the gear it finds, often scurrying about in trenches, dark alleys, and dirt to recover and reassemble old bits and pieces into something that functions at least somewhat normally. Very few are in as good of a shape as the reference troops walking the streets of Krow during the annual military parades.
Their weapons are often outfitted with tubings and advanced gears that reflect recent technological advancements in pragmatic packaging.
The Goliath heavy infantry is extra armored. It is, in fact, one of the most armored regular land units of the world.
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