Lion
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Background
The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. The lion is the second largest cat, after the tiger. The male lion, easily recognized by his mane, weighs between 150-225 kg (330-500 lb) and females range 120-150 kg (260-330 lb). In the wild, lions live for around 10–14 years, while in captivity they can live over 20 years. While once found throughout much of Africa, Asia and Europe, it is presently encountered in the wild only in Africa and in India (where it is found only in the Sasan-Gir National Park).
In historic times the habitat of lions spanned the southern parts of Eurasia, ranging from Portugal to India, and most of Africa exept the central rain forest-zone and the sahara-desert. Now, most of the population lives in eastern and southern Africa, and their numbers are rapidly decreasing, estimated as between 16,000 and 30,000 living in the wild, down from an estimated 100,000 in the early 1990s. The lions preferred habitat is savannas, grassy plains, open woodlands and scrub country.
Lions are the most social of all the felids, and live in organized groups called prides which can hold four to forty members. Lions usually hunt at night or dawn. Their prey consists mainly of large mammals, such as antelopes, Gazelles, warthogs, wildebeest, buffalos and zebras. It is reported that in cases of extreme hunger lions have even taken on fully grown Elephants. Lions are predatory carnivores with two types of social organization. Some are residents, living in groups, called prides, while others are nomads, ranging widely, either singly or in pairs. The European lion was a very popular object of hunting among Romans, Greeks and Macedonians. Barbary lions were kept by Roman emperors to take part in the gladiator arenas. The lion is also a common charge in heraldry, traditionally symbolizing bravery, valor and strength.
Role in play
In random map games lions are typically found in pairs or alone. They represent a danger to villagers especially to explorers in the very early stages of the game. In Nomad games it is vital to avoid predators, as the player only has one villager. Though one villager can defeat a lion, they often appear in pairs side by side. They provide a small stock of meat when killed, but are at best an opportunistic or last resort food source due to their low yield and fast rotting rate, and the danger in hunting them.
Mechanics
Lions will attack almost all land units that approach within a few tiles, though they do not always attack immediately. Whether the unit is moving or not has no effect on their tendancy to attack. Their responsiveness also decreases with difficulty level. They have the added property of chasing Gazelles, which they will hunt and kill, then stand over the body of the cadaver until it has rotted completely. The lion has two modes of movement - sprinting and walking, though walking can only be achieved by a human player using the cheat Gaia.
Like most other Gaia animals in AoE, the lion cannot travel over shallows terrain.
Use in scenario design
The above property regarding shallows terrain has commonly been used to make puzzles in custom scenarios. The shallows terrain presents a safe haven from which units are safe. See for example the final scenario of Budionian Tales (The Red Demon). Their property to chase gazelles is also useful for puzzles, presenting an opportunity to distract and bypass otherwise deadly obstacle. Hunting a lion may be one of the objectives - for example see scenario 1 in The David Saga I and Gilgamesh and the Quest for Immortality in A Short History of Lost Sumeria. Designers often place lions hidden behind trees as an unexpected trap - their growls may be a clue, or a tail moving behind the trees. Lions are also used to represent other similar animals like a panther, tiger, wolves or even mythical beasts (e.g. wargs). Designers should also keep in mind that lions were more widespread in ancient times, so appearance in European and Asian areas is perfectly plausible.
Lion king
The lion king is a stronger 'king' version of the lion available in the scenario builder only. It is a much more powerful version of the lion with double the hitpoints and over double the attack of a lion, so will be five times more effective in melee combat. They can therefore be used as a more substatial obstacle.
Unit stats
- HP: 20 (40 for lion king)
- Attack: 2 (5 for lion king)
- Rate of fire: 2
- Range: 1 (Melee)
- Speed: 1.1, 0.6 (Walking/running)
- Food: 100
- Rate of decay: 1 food/second
- Other: Can't move on shallows
