Sima Liang is a Chinese name; the family name is Sima.
Sima Liang is a playable and historical character featured in chapter pack Eight Princes of Total War: Three Kingdoms. He is the default faction leader and one of the Champion class heroes in his faction.
Description[]
His campaign starts in a very precarious position, and indeed, Sima Liang’s starting situation is deemed “Very Hard”. This is because the game begins with Empress Jia having declared Liang a traitor. As such, you will start already at war with Sima Wei. Moreover, Sima Liang has a highly restrictive play-style thanks to Jurisdiction, his unique resource.
Overview[]
Sima Liang has access to the Imperial Guards, a heavily-armoured sword infantry unit with defensive shields. He also starts with two noteworthy characters; Sentinel-class Sima Cui and Commander-class Sima Ju. Finally, his character traits help him to amass forces quickly and support armies without a huge territory. His entire faction benefits from a -1 mustering turns bonus, as well as a -10% retinue upkeep cost. Finally, his faction has -15% corruption than normal.
Sima Liang has a very different play-style to any of the factions in the base game. Essentially, he has a limited cap on the number of commanderies he can control. This is due to his “Domain” style of government. This mechanic represents his loss of influence due to the actions of Empress Jia. He can increase his maximum domain size by gaining Jurisdiction, which he can generate in two different ways. Firstly, he can gain it through his unique Judiciary building chain. Secondly, he can gain it by convincing other factions to join him in a unique “Cooperation” vassalage deal. This latter aspect forms the core of Sima Liang’s playstyle. Although he may not have many commanderies himself, he will ideally sit in the centre of many vassal factions operating under his control.
General Information[]
- name: Sima Liang
- Legendary character: Yes
- Unique character: Yes
- Background: Yes
Attributes and Traits[]
Main article: Attributes (total war: Three Kingdoms)
Pending for finalized Attributes and traits data
Skills[]
Main article:Skills (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
Pending for finalized skills data
Retinues[]
Main article: Retinues (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
Pending for finalized retinues data
Ancillaries[]
Main article: Ancillary (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
Pending for finalized ancillary data
Game Progression[]
Starting position[]
The Prince of Runan presides over his lands south of Luoyang, the local mines providing a steady stream of industrial income. His lands are under threat however; in the wake of his branding as a traitor, he now finds himself beset from the west by the princes of Nanyang, Shunyang and Jiangling, and with Sima Wei only a short march away. As such, he must look eastward for support: Cao Huan, the last emperor of Wei and now Prince of Chenliu, is a man of honour who may be eager to support Sima Liang’s restoration.
Playstyle[]
Sima Liang is the rightful imperial regent, as decreed by the late Emperor Wu, but at every turn has had his efforts to establish peace and order thwarted by the ambitions of others. Now accused of treason by Empress Jia and hunted by his kinsman Sima Wei, he must re-establish his lawful jurisdiction over the people, thereby allowing him to expand without reprisal. Similarly to Liu Biao, he can achieve this by maintaining a small but well developed domain, growing tall whilst securing the cooperation of vassal princedoms to support his claim.
Biography[]
When Emperor Wu died, Sima Liang – fourth son of the great Sima Yi – was denied the regency by the scheming Yang Jun, eager to maintain control over Emperor Hui for himself. Honourable and eager to avoid conflict, Sima Liang retired to his estates until, following a coup, Yang Jun was overthrown. Sima Liang was finally given an opportunity to help restore order. It was not long before the ambitious and fearful Empress Jia issued false orders to Sima Wei – Sima Liang’s great nephew – declaring Sima Liang a traitor and ordering his capture. Tragically, the tempestuous Sima Wei had Sima Liang executed after his capture, the first casualty of the War of the Eight Princes. One cannot help but wonder what might have been had Sima Liang made a stand.
Guanxi[]
Sima Liang’s family cannot stand idly-by as he faces the repercussions of Empress Jia’s accusations of treachery! He is joined in his campaign by his two sons, Sima Ju – his heir – and Sima Cui, both eager to help restore their father’s reputation and oust the corrupt from power.
What kind of players is he for[]
Sima Liang’s playstyle is suited to those who wish to grow tall, preferring slow expansion and a focus on establishing one’s lawful right to rule and developing one’s domain whilst creating a network of vassals to help establish a strong position in the world.
Gallery[]
Total War THREE KINGDOMS - Eight Princes Reveal Trailer