Heroes
Every player picks one of three starter heroes for their first game — one per victory axis. The hero takes the field at turn one in place of the generic opening unit. More heroes unlock as you play.
Starter heroes — choose one
Hannibal Barca Military
The Tactician
Ambush — the Hero deals +2 attack when striking from forest or high ground.
The general who marched war elephants over the Alps and shattered Rome's legions at Cannae.
Mansa Musa Economic
The Golden
Golden Caravan — +1 gold at the start of every turn.
The Mali emperor whose pilgrimage spent so much gold it crashed the price of bullion across Egypt for a decade.
Hammurabi Civil
The Lawgiver
Code of Law — +2 population cap.
The Babylonian king who carved 282 laws into stone so that the strong could not oppress the weak.
Unlockable heroes
Saladin Military
The Unifier
Rally — friendly units adjacent to the Hero gain +1 attack.
The sultan who united Egypt and Syria, retook Jerusalem, and whose chivalry even his enemies recorded with respect.
Cosimo de' Medici Economic
The Banker
Patronage — +1 gold per turn from merchant trade.
The Florentine who ruled a republic without a crown, financing the Renaissance one loan at a time.
Ashoka Civil
The Enlightened
Edicts — your QG heals +1 HP at the start of each turn.
The emperor who conquered nearly all of India, then renounced war and carved his change of heart into pillars across the land.
source: heroes.json