The Nomad race is one of the 14 different humanoid Races found in the world of Master of Magic. Nomads originate from the plane of Arcanus.
The term nomad may suggest more about this race's origins than its present condition, for as matters now stand, the Nomads are relatively advanced. Their Gold Bonus and useful racial units require anything but a temporary settlement to develop, and would seem to encourage a vertical building strategy.
The Nomads can expand through battle or dig in with perfectionist city building, but are not inordinately strong or weak in any department. Unlike the desert warriors of Dune on which this race is likely based, Master of Magic'sNomads lack "spice." It will fall to the Wizard to give them clear-cut goals, and perhaps some flair, through his magic.
To this end, Nomads offer good variety with their urban tech, economy, military options, and diplomatic outlook; flexibility may be the one word that describes them best. Their forces range from cheap garrison infantry to kiting ranged units and flying shock cavalry. Their definitive, PathfindingRangers can be a godsend for lumbering armies.
One of the human races along with Barbarians and High Men, the Nomads are a swarthy desert people. They range in complexion from tan to black, owing to their equatorial origin, and are usually lean and hard. Nomads robe themselves completely to protect against the elements and, when necessary, go incognito. It is said among the other inhabitants of Arcanus that no one travels lighter and bargains harder than a Nomad.
Society[]
Nomads are serious and quiet. In their decentralized society, words have to carry the weight of honor and consequence; whereas High Men only feel obligations to contracts written-down, Nomads keep verbal oaths and handshakes. This actually gives them a huge edge in financial dealings and matters of trust with rampantly illiterate races, and makes Nomads strong candidates for a Wizard's government to ease interracial Unrest— second only to Halflings for this purpose.
Nomads held themselves, not surprisingly, to a nomadic existence— herding, trading, and raiding until recent centuries. Permanent Nomad settlements have been springing up in stride with the many other changes afoot on Arcanus and Myrror. The most successful Nomad cities are ruled by the wealth of merchant princes, fierce nobles with lavish tastes.
As they became more civilized, the Nomads cultivated a tradition of honorable conduct towards rivals. In exchange for jizyah, a special tax levied on towns they have subjugated, they guarantee military protection, local political autonomy, and religious freedom. For their own part, Nomads are such widely-traveled, commercially-minded people that they can insert themselves readily into the power structure of an empire which has conquered them.
Rank-and-file Nomads and fighting men still retain old habits, though. The old desert raiders practiced forced marches over difficult terrain, culminating in unannounced hit-and-fade strikes with extensive maneuvering. Rangers, Horsebowmen, and the high-end Griffins are statted-up to recommend these tactics.
Army[]
The Nomads have some highly-mobile mid-tier units. These specialists are at their best playing second fiddle to a real military race's armies, or even accompanying packs of Fantastic Units, where they will have a supporting niche in all stages. Assets like Flight, Pathfinding, and missile attacks make them rather expensive standalone forces.
With Pikemen, Priests, and baseline Production Costs, Nomads are not slacking on their ordinary garrison troops either.
Army List[]
Below is a comparative list of all NomadNormal Units. This list shows all units at their first Experience Level, with no additional modifiers or magical effects.
The Nomad army has a good selection and offers good units to garrison a town or for attacking towns or encounter areas. A strong force will likely have Rangers and Griffins with a couple of Nomad Priests for added support and healing.
Nomad Settlers may be created from a Nomad town, for the Construction Cost of 60. Creation of a Settlers unit reduces the town's population by 1. Lacking virtually any combat capabilities, this unit's only real purpose is to create a new NomadSettlement, by traveling to the desired location and giving it the "Build" command. Nomad Settlers require an Upkeep Cost of 2 and 1 to maintain.
Nomad Spearmen may be created from any Nomad town, for the Construction Cost of 10. Like all Spearmen, Nomad Spearmen are a very basic combat unit which doesn't pose much of a threat to any serious opponent, though they can become a little stronger through Experience. As with all units belonging to the Nomad race, Nomad Spearmen possess no special racial bonuses or abilities to elevate them beyond the basic Spearmen template. As a result however they are cheaper to produce, so large armies of them can be created fairly easily. Nomad Spearmen require an Upkeep Cost of only 1 to maintain.
Nomad Swordsmen may be created at a Nomad town, for the Construction Cost of 20. The town must already contain both a Barracks and a Smithy for this to be possible. Like all Swordsmen, Nomad Swordsmen are a fairly basic combat unit, capable of holding its own in a fight with other Normal Units, especially after gaining some Experience. It also enjoys a Large Shield bonus which gives it some protection from Ranged Attacks. As with all units belonging to the Nomad race, Nomad Swordsmen possess no special racial bonuses or abilities to elevate them beyond the basic Swordsmen template. As a result however they are cheaper to produce, so large armies of them can be created fairly easily. Nomad Swordsmen require an Upkeep Cost of 1 and 1 to maintain.
Nomad Pikemen may be created at a Nomad town, for the Construction Cost of 80. The town must already contain an Fighters' Guild for this to be possible. Like all Pikemen, Nomad Pikemen represent the epitome of infantry. They possess a very powerful Melee Attack, whose strength is greatly increased thanks to this unit containing 8 figures. Furthermore, this attack has the Armor Piercing property, which makes it very difficult to defend against. This unit also stands up very well to enemy Cavalry and other First Strike units. As with all units belonging to the Nomad race, Nomad Pikemen possess no special racial bonuses. Nomad Pikemen require an Upkeep Cost of 2 and 1 to maintain.
Nomad Bowmen may be created from a Nomad town, for the Construction Cost of 30. The town must already contain both a Barracks and a Sawmill for this to be possible. Like all Bowmen, Nomad Bowmen provide a basic Ranged Attack capability, along with similarly basic Melee Attack and Defense properties. While unlikely to cause damage at most ranges, Nomad Bowmen do become more deadly with Experience, and are useful when massed. As with all units belonging to the Nomad race, Nomad Bowmen possess no special racial bonuses or abilities to elevate them beyond the basic Bowmen template. As a result however they are cheaper to produce, so large armies of them can be created fairly easily. Nomad Bowmen require an Upkeep Cost of 1 and 1 to maintain.
Nomad Priests may be created from a Nomad town, for the Construction Cost of 100. The town must already contain a Parthenon for this to be possible. Nomad Priests provide a somewhat-powerful Magical Ranged Attack as well as a slightly-weaker Melee Attack - though the unit is normally too fragile to participate in direct combat. More importantly, Priests attached to an army can quickly heal damaged units after any battle, and can also cast the Healing spell during battle to heal friendly units. They also have the innate ability to PurifyCorrupted tiles. Nomad Priests are also somewhat resistant to Curses and other maledictions. Nomad Priests require an Upkeep Cost of 2 and 1 to maintain.
Rangers are unique to the Nomad race, and may only be created at a Nomad town, for the Construction Cost of 120. The town must already contain both a Barracks and an Animists' Guild for this to be possible. Rangers are very dangerous mobile units, but they are too expensive to develop and mass-produce simply for firepower.
The Pathfinding ability is what really sets this unit apart from the crowd. Consider deploying a Ranger with any existing landbound, 2-Speed army, be they Heroes or mainstream mounted units (such as the more economical Horsebowmen), to enable it to cover distances overland at breakneck speed. Solitary Rangers are also useful, being able to harass or kill infantry and hold strategic points out of their reach.
Horsebowmen are unique to the Nomad race, and may only be created at a Nomad town, for the Construction Cost of 60. The town must already contain both a Barracks and a Stables for this to be possible. Horsebowmen are similar to Cavalry in many ways - a light, fast-moving Melee Attack unit. Against weak enemy units (like Bowmen) it will charge in for a swift kill, just like Cavalry. However, Horsebowmen do not possess a First Strike ability, but instead have a Ranged Attack. It uses its speed not to charge at enemies, but to get close enough to them to use this Ranged Attack without risking itself. When the enemy is sufficiently weakened, other units, including the Horsebowmen themselves, can swoop in for the kill. Horsebowmen require an Upkeep Cost of 2 and 1 to maintain.
Griffins are unique to the NomadRace, and can only be built in Nomad towns, for the Construction Cost of 200. The town must already contain a Fantastic Stable for this to be possible. Griffins are airborne shock-cavalry, and are some of the most powerful Normal Units in the game. They are both strong and sturdy, allowing them to effectively do combat with a wide range of units, including some Fantastic Creatures. Griffins utilize their speed and Flying ability to pick out their targets and eliminate them. Voluntary Melee Attacks initiated by Griffins utilize First Strike, possibly wiping out an enemy unit before it can even react. Griffins are exceptionally useful against well-armored targets, as their attack is Armor Piercing and can make short work of such targets.
Griffins will almost always have at least one Experience Level by default ("Regular"). This makes them even stronger than described above, and they'll just keep getting stronger as more and more Experience is accumulated. Griffins require an Upkeep Cost of 4 and 1 to maintain.
Catapults have a Ranged Attack that can be used to damage even highly-armored enemy units, but is primarily used for destroying walls during siege combat at an enemy town.
The Trireme is a Ship which can transport up to 2 Walking units across bodies of water, and can travel at a fairly good rate. Early in the game, Triremes can help empires expand rapidly across short continental gaps or large inland seas. This is very important for Nomad empires, particularly when looking for suitable races to conquer before the mid-game phase occurs.
Triremes are not very effective in combat. If one is lost, and units it was transporting at the time will sink with it, so it is important to avoid combat. Try not to rely on these for long trans-oceanic journeys.
The Galley is a strong transport Ship, which can carry up to 5 Walking units across Oceans quite rapidly. This is a good ship to have in the later game, when an empire is expanding into or has gained a foothold on another continent. This will be important for more Nomad empires as they run out of races to conquer on their home continent, or for rapid colonization across the water.
Galleys are fairly good in combat, is quite tough, and can be relied upon to transport troops over larger distances. Nonetheless, if a Galley does sink, all units it was transporting will immediately drown.
Citizens[]
All NomadTowns contain Nomad citizens. These match the output of most other citizens, at 2 Food, 0.5 Production per Farmer, and 2 per Worker. However, Nomads also produce an extra trade bonus.
Being closely-related to the High Men, the Nomads have a comparable level of technology, but their culture assigns them a different role in the game. This race's military blooms earlier and is not so heavily focused on strength. The Nomads' economy is also shifted a bit from magic to money.
There is great incentive to reach deep into the urban development trees (just as with High Men). Nomads can build every structure associated with citizens' per-capita productivity. This, in addition to the racial trade bonus that matures with city size, *and* full access to the religious path, makes a large Nomad city a worthy prize.
The following table compares the total potential output of Nomad citizens to how they begin initially, taking into account the full extent of the race's Town Building development branches, and assuming a Tax Rate of 2 Gold.
Trading in isolation: the Nomads draw the starting village's full possible trade bonus, +12%, without the need for roads and waterways.
The above chart does not account for the race's trade bonus. The trade bonus enjoyed by Nomads can make a drastic difference in a large NomadTown. Nomads usually raise their town's Road/River/Ocean Gold earnings to the maximum allowed for a city of its size.
All cities' Road/River/Ocean Gold bonus is capped at 3% of its Tax and Mineral income, times the population of the city. So the maximum limit for Road/River/Ocean Gold is +3% for a size 1 settlement, and +75% at size 25. Normally, the city doesn't automatically get this. It has to be situated on the Shore (+10%), River (+20%), or lay roads (+½ to 1% per connected population unit) to obtain all or part of this bonus wealth. Not so with Nomads. Nomads get +50% and so are automatically able to gain the maximum Road/River/Ocean Gold bonus allowed until their city reaches size 17 or more (17 * 3% = 51%), after which point roads and waterways will start to matter.
Considering this forté and the availability of Rangers, the Nomads need not bother with capturing a race that can train Engineers until they gain access to Myrror.
The Building Chart[]
The chart below shows all Town Buildings that can be constructed in Nomad towns, as well as the buildings that cannot be constructed. It also shows the requirements to construct each building.
Key:
= Available
= Not available
= Available only if the town is constructed next to a Shore
= Has no prerequisites.
Interracial Relations[]
With their upright mercantile nature, Nomad diplomatic relations come in behind Halflings and just ahead of High Men. They make a strong choice of governing race, and their towns are good targets for conquest.
Nomads suffer no tensions with Barbarians, Dwarves, Halflings, High Elves, High Men, Orcs, and their fellow Nomads. While a Wizard's Fortress is inside a town belonging to any one of these races, Nomad towns belonging to this Wizard feel no racial antagonism toward his government, and accordingly suffer no adverse effect to their Unrest levels. Similarly, these races will suffer no additional unrest under a Nomad government. The level of Unrest in any such towns is based only on the current Tax Rate and other external factors.
Nomads are no exception to the universal inability to communicate with the Klackon hivemind, and the dread of Dark Elves, but they are nonetheless able to comport with many races considered difficult to deal with.
The table below breaks down all race relations regarding Nomad empires. The same values are used for Nomads governed by other races.
If you possess the Move Fortress spell, or come into a situation where you are allowed to relocate your Fortress at will, this can be useful if Nomads figure into the issue. Unless the planes are lopsidedly populated by Klackons or Dark Elves, a Nomad town makes a good target for a diverse empire's new Fortress, to minimize the Unrest in each of its other towns.
Gold Bonus and useful racial units require anything but a temporary settlement to develop, and would seem to encourage a vertical building strategy.
Flight, Pathfinding, and missile attacks make them rather expensive standalone forces.
Production Costs, Nomads are not slacking on their ordinary garrison troops either.
Experience Level, with no additional modifiers or magical effects.
1
4
1
2
10
Nomad Settlers[]
8 figures. Furthermore, this attack has the Armor Piercing property, which makes it very difficult to defend against. This unit also stands up very well to enemy Cavalry and other First Strike units. As with all units belonging to the Nomad race, Nomad Pikemen possess no special racial bonuses. Nomad Pikemen require an Upkeep Cost of 
Nomad Farmer
Nomad Worker
Nomad Rebel
