Most Dominions 3 games start with each aspiring pretender's kingdom controlling one or just a few provinces; the remaining provinces are neutral.
Just because a province is neutral, however, does not mean that it is undefended. Each province has a population type; this influences both what troops can be recruited locally (and these will be the only troops recruitable there, until a fortress is constructed to allow recruiting 'national' troops, or a magic site is found that provides other troop types), and what troops are likely to be found fiercely defending their autonomy. A province that offers human feudal troops, for instance, is likely to be defended by a mixed force of human longbowmen, heavy cavalry, and heavy infantry.
There are, of course, exceptions. These tend to be highly interesting provinces. :D In addition, should the force be missing or seemingly highly depleted, this may also be a curiosity...
Some forces are much stronger than others. Their territories may make interesting buffer zones, especially for nations with stealth, flight or other abilities that let them bypass them. Keep in mind, however, that your opponents could be doing the same to you, and that you can't patrol to detect enemy spies in a province that you don't control.
Behavior
Independent forces behave differently than normal AI-controlled sides. For instance, they are passive; they do not recruit additional troops, patrol, build buildings, invade neighbors, or so forth. The province defense of an independent province is normally zero -- this means that their army is not backed by 'free' militia that respawn until province control changes. If broken in battle and they retreat, they vaporize completely.
This passivity and lack of province defense does mean that casualties inflicted on them are essentially permanent. In addition, they lack the free commander of the province defense, which means that it is possible to assassinate -all- their commanders in a province. In this case, their leaderless force will break the next time they are in battle.
Only passive factors such as certain random events will replace any losses.
Passive Effects and Random Events
They are affected by random events; however, as Independents, events that cause independent forces to appear augment their forces rather than force battle.
They are affected by any magical sites that have an impact on all units in the province.
They are also affected by any passive effects of magical items. It has been known to happen that an independent commander starts with an item that automatically summons a free demon every turn...
Indy Descriptions
Amazons
4 possible types, available in all Eras:
- Crystal
- They're typically found in clear terrain and are all proficient archers.
- Amazon archers (Short bow, Dagger, Leather) Att 11 Def 11 Prec 12 - high precision archers!
- Pegasus Riders (Light lance, Hoof, Short bow, Leather cuirass, Buckler, Flying, sacred) Att 12 Def 19 Prot 6 MapMv 3 - sacred flying mounted archers!
- Crystal Priestess (H1 +50%S +10%A, Short bow, sacred)
- Crystal Sorceress (A1S1 +10%S, Short bow)
- Garnet
- Inhabiting the wastelands, they all have Waste Survival skills.
- Amazon warriors (Spear, Scale mail, Shield) Att 12 Def 14 Prot 10
- Gryphon Riders (Light lance, Claw, Bite, Flying, sacred) Att 13 Def 15 Prot 0/7 MapMv 3 - sacred flying naked riders!
- Garnet Priestess (H1 +50%B +10%F, Spear, Leather cuirass, sacred) Prot 6
- Garnet Sorceress (F1B1 +10%B, Spear)
- Jade Amazons
- More magical than the other three tribes, and prefer forests where their common Forest Survival trait is of use. Their casters carry highly accurate Snake Staffs, which are poisonous and grant Poison Resistance 100.
- Amazon warriors (Spear, Scale mail, Shield) Att 11 Def 13 Prot 10
- Jade Maidens (Light lance, Bite, Scale mail, Shield, sacred) Att 12 Def 16 Prot 10/8 - ride large sacred lizards into battle!
- Jade Priestess (N1H1 +20%W, Snake staff, Leather cuirass, sacred)
- Jade Sorceress (W1N1 +25%WEDN, Snake staff)
- Onyx
- Most heavily armored of the amazon tribes. They all have Mountain Survival.
- Amazon warriors (Spear, Chain mail, Shield) Att 11 Def 13 Prot 12
- Nightmares (Light lance, Hoof, Chain mail, Shield, Fear-0, sacred) Att 12 Def 16 Prot 12 - sacred mounts with fear aura!
- Onyx Priestess (H2 +50%D +10%E, Quarterstaff, Leather cuirass, sacred)
- Onyx Sorceress (E1D1 +50%D, Quarterstaff)
Atavi
Yup, these are the Atavi from Bandar Log. Your choice of Markata (dirt-cheap skirmishers), Atavi Archers (Short Bows), or Atavi Infantry (Maces and Bucklers), led by Atavi Chieftains (Falchions and Bucklers, oh my). They are all Animals with Forest Survival and Stealth.
Barbarians
Barbarians are only interesting in that they have a bonus to pillaging, plus Mountain and Wasteland Survival. They get a choice between a cheap Maul, or a more expensive (but better defensively) Great Sword. The Barbarian Chiefs opt for the Great Sword. Not that it matters, since they flee at the drop of a hat.
Cavemen
Just in case you really wanted giant, underequipped humanoids. Basic Cavemen have Fire Resistance 50, Cold Resistance 50, Wasteland and Mountain Survival, and Darkvision 50; they wield Great Clubs, and while their lack of equipment leaves their resource cost low, their not-quite-giant stats leave them demanding large piles of that shiny gold stuff. Caveman Champions are similar, but they managed to pick up Furs armor from somewhere.
Druids
Druidic forests allow for the recruitment of both Woodsmen (with a Short Bow) and their Woodsman Blowpipe cousins. The Druids themselves are N1H1, and also share the Stealth and Forest Survival traits with their Woodsman minions.
Hoburg
The short people can, in times of war, recruit small but stealthy Hoburg Militia. Sadly, they are provided with equally tiny weaponry, and the wielders are short on both morale and armor. Hoburg Priests have H1 +10%N, and the Horticulturists have N1 +20%WE; a rather miniscule amount of magic, but well-suited to the Hoburg fascination with farming.
Bear Tribe
Bear tribesmen combine Mountain and Forest Survival with increased Hit Points and Strength. Their Warriors get to choose between a Spear/Javelin combo or a Hatchet. The Bear Tribe Shaman packs N1 +10%E, and adds Wasteland to its Survival talents; oddly, it is sacred, but has no Holy skill.
Deer Tribe
Deer tribesmen couple Wasteland and Forest Survival with increased Defence Skill. Their Warriors hold the front (poorly) with Spears and Javelins, while the Archers back them up with Short Bows. The Deer Tribe Shaman gets N1 +10%A, and also gets Mountain Survival; it is sacred, but has no Holy skill.
Horse Tribe
Horse tribesmen, obviously, ride their totemic horses into battle. The troop-level Horse Tribe Cavalry packs Spears and Short Bows offensively, and adds a Buckler and lots of leather armor on the defense. Horse Tribe Chiefs are essentially identical - which makes them much better at the light cavalry role than the default Mounted Commander/Light Cavalry combination.
Jaguar Tribe
Jaguar tribesmen might well be considered escapees from the Mictlan, and all have Forest Survival. Their preference is for Slings and Hide Shields, saving the armor for the actual Warriors. Jaguar Tribe Priests have N1H1 +10%(FWSB).
Lion Tribe
Lion tribesmen draw inspiration from the Impi of Zulu fame, and their troops have mapmove 3 instead of the usual 2. Neither the Archer (Short Bow) nor the Warrior (Spear/Javelin) bother with armor, however. The Lion Tribe Witch Doctor gets N1 +10%(FEDN) and Forest Survival, but a penalty to its research ability.
Wolf Tribe
Wolf tribesmen take heart at their totemic namesake's ability to adapt and survive anywhere, and all have Wasteland, Mountain, and Forest Survival. The Archer opts for a Short Bow, while the Warrior prefers twin Daggers. The Wolf Tribe Shaman gets N1 +10%D, and is sacred without having any Holy magic.