Horde is a gameplay mechanic introduced in Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion and featured in later games such as Medieval II: Total War and Total War: Attila.
Overview[]
When some factions uproot or lose their last settlement, they become a Horde. This is a state in which everyone becomes a warrior, and thus a single settlement can yield upwards of five stacks of units, almost all of which being "elite" units. Their gameplay changes slightly as they only have two options after attacking a settlement: settle down, during which a fraction of the horde will disband and add to the settlement's population. On the other hand, they can "sack" a settlement, in which they effectively raze the city to the ground and take a large portion of money.
This feature is unique to Barbarian Invasion and Medieval II, but is only available to two non-playable factions in M2TW, the Mongols and the Timurids.
Videos[]
Total War ATTILA - Let's Play Hordes and Migration ESRB