Explorer (Age of Empires III)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For the similar unit in Age of Empires: Return of Rome, see Explorer (Age of Empires).

Explorer
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Hero Infantry Ranged infantry Gunpowder infantry
Civilization(s)	Europeans (except the Maltese)
Statistics
Hit points	400
Resistance	10% Ranged
Speed	4.5
Line of Sight	18
Ability	Claims Treasures Builds Town Centers and Trading Posts Trains War Dogs (Spanish) Reveals stealth enemies
Special ability	See Special abilities
XP kill bounty	45
Hand attack
Damage	6 Hand
Bonus damage	×3.0 vs. Treasure guardian ×0.25 vs. Villager
Rate of Fire	1.5
Ranged attack
Damage	12 Ranged
Bonus damage	Same as melee
Range	16
Rate of Fire	3.0
Siege attack
Damage	15 Siege
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0
Notes
The Explorer will collapse instead of dying when his hit points reaches 0 and can be revived by having a friendly unit or building around him once he regenerates at least 100 hit points, or paying a ransom of 100 coin at the Town Center, in which case the Explorer will appear there with full hit points

“	The leader of your colony. Explores, fights, builds Town Centers and Trading Posts. Cannot die. If he falls unconscious, he can be rescued.	”
—In-game description

The Explorer is a hero in Age of Empires III. It explores uncharted areas of the map and has some special abilities to help itself and its colony. In standard random map games, all European civilizations, except the Maltese, start with an Explorer. The Maltese start with a Grand Master instead.

Overview

The Explorer can build Town Centers and Trading Posts. This allows the player a second attempt at rebuilding if their original colony was destroyed, provided that they have enough resources to build one and train Settlers (except for the Ottomans, who get Yörüks for free). He builds a Trading Post faster than regular Settlers, nearing that of a Coureur des Bois or a Settler Wagon.

The Explorer can explore and fight longer if he has a few units accompanying him. He can regenerate hit points, which increases as the player Ages up. Explorers are very ineffective at raiding enemy settlements early in the game, as they only deal 25% damage against villager-type units. They are also very weak against Spies and Ninja.

Unlike other units who simply die when their hit points reach 0, the Explorer will collapse. While the Explorer is in this state, the player can either pay 100 coin as ransom to whoever dealt the final blow (including Mother Nature) or help him back up on his feet with an allied unit or building (this also includes projectiles fired from friendly units); in order to rescue the Explorer, he must have at least 100 hit points.

Some treasures, such as "El Pollo Guapo", provide additional stats, such as a speed boost or hit point boost, which stack with other treasures and technologies.

Every European civilization has a unique Home City Card for their Explorer, which improves his fighting ability and sends him a companion Explorer Dog. The Spanish Explorer, already having War Dogs of his own, does not get an Explorer Dog; instead it boosts the hit points and attack of his War Dogs.

Special abilities

• Sharpshooter Attack: The Explorer fires a shot that does 750 ranged damage to the target treasure guardian. 60 seconds cooldown.
• Eye of the Assassin (available on the Industrial Age): The Explorer fires a shot that does 475 (with a ×0.01 multiplier against MercType2) ranged damage to the target enemy infantry or cavalry. 90 seconds cooldown.
• Spyglass: The Portuguese Explorer reveals a radius of 18 (24 if the "Navigator" Home City Card is sent) centered on the target location for 5 seconds. 90 seconds cooldown (shared across all Portuguese Explorers if the "Bandeirantes" card is sent).
• Hot Air Balloon (requires the "Hot Air Balloon" card in the original Age of Empires III or The Inventor Commerce Age politician in the Definitive Edition): The Explorer spawns a Hot Air Balloon that remains for 20 seconds. 240 seconds cooldown.
• Swashbuckler Attack (requires the "Captain" card): The British Explorer performs a sweeping hand attack that does 100 (with a ×0.25 multiplier against villagers and MercType2) hand damage to the target enemy and other enemies in a radius of 3 around the Explorer. 90 seconds cooldown.
• Heavy Strike (requires the "Duelist" card): The Swedish Explorer lands a powerful blow with the sword that does 30 (with a ×20.0 multiplier against treasure guardians) hand damage to the target enemy. 30 seconds cooldown.
• Heal (requires the "Voyageur" card): The French Explorer restores 400 hit points to friendly units in a radius of 10 centered on the target location. 120 seconds cooldown.
• Health Regeneration: Regenerates hitpoints when idle (0.25% per second after 3.5 seconds idle).

Upgrades

The Explorer is automatically upgraded on each Age starting from the Commerce Age.

• +25% hit points and attack
• +30% hit points and attack
• +40% hit points and attack
• +50% hit points

The attack increase also applies to the Explorer's special abilities.

Civilization differences

At the start of the game each civilization has a small bonus:

• British: +2 Line of Sight and +1 range.
• Dutch: Can train Envoys.
• French: Builds Trading Posts 33% faster and has +1 ranged attack.
• Germans: +15% regeneration.
• Italians: +0.25 ranged attack multiplier and +0.5 hand attack multiplier against treasure guardians and pets.
• Ottomans: +5% hit points.
• Portuguese: Has the Spyglass ability.
• Russians: +3 siege attack.
• Spanish: Can train War Dogs.
• Swedes: +1 hand attack.

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Treasure guardians
Weak vs.	Villagers, cavalry, MercType2
Improvements
Hit points	Aztec Initiation (+100%) Sikh Gurus (+50%) Flint Lock (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%) Knighthood (+1,000) Peerage (+1,000)
Attack	Aztec Initiation (+100%) Haudenosaunee Lacrosse (+10%) Paper Cartridge (+10%) Smokeless Powder (+10% attack) Yoga (+5%) Clenched Fist (+25% hand attack) Peerage (+100% melee and ranged attack)
Resistance	Somali Oryx Hide Shields (+5% ranged resistance)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+3)
Speed	Tilly's Discipline (+20%; Germans only) Military Drummers (+10%) Quechuan Mountaineering (+10%) Akan Fontomfrom (+5%) Apache Endurance (+5%)
Other	Carib Ambush Party (train Carib Ambushers) Loyal Nootka War Chief (train Nootka War Chief) Tupi Animal Lore (train Pet Cougars)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Explorer

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Red	Shipment that can be sent twice
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

• Definitive Edition
• The Asian Dynasties

All

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Senegalese Riflemen	Ranged infantry get +10% attack; French and Hausa-only ranged infantry get +15% attack instead

• "TEAM Senegalese Riflemen" is available to the French and Hausa.

British

Card	Description	Age
Captain	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer can use Swashbuckler Attack; also ships an Explorer Dog

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Yongle Infrastructure	Ships 1 Mongol Scout; infantry, land villagers, healing units, Envoys, and Disciples get +5% speed

• "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" does not stack with the Inca "TEAM Inca Bridges" card.

Dutch

Card	Description	Age
Stadhouder	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; Town Centers cost -50% wood; also ships an Explorer Dog
TEAM Infantry Hitpoints	Infantry get +10% hit points; Dutch-only infantry get +15% hit points instead

Ethiopians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Coffee Consumption	Ranged infantry get +5% speed

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
Bandeirantes	Ships 1 additional Explorer; removes cooldown for ransoming Explorers
Hot Air Balloon	The Explorer can summon a Hot Air Balloon to explore the map for a limited time
Castrametation	Ships 1 Fort Wagon; Fort build limit +1; the Explorer can build Outposts and Forts
Corsair Captain	Ships the Corsair Captain; Corsair Marksmen, Corsair Captain, Barbary Warriors, and Explorer are able to gather crates, get greater resource rewards from treasures and yield coin from destroyed ships and buildings (instead of kill XP)
Turku Academy	Ships 1 additional Explorer and 4 Surgeons; Explorers can use the Heal ability, build Field Hospitals, and train Surgeons
Wanderlust	Land units get +5% hit points; land villagers and wagons get +5% speed
Hero of the Two Worlds	The Explorer can act like an Inspiring Flag; allows the General to receive Home City shipments

• "Bandeirantes" is available to the Portuguese, and also Dutch and Italians upon revolting to Brazil.
• "Hot Air Balloon" is not available to the French.
• "Corsair Captain" is available to the Italians, Ottomans, and Portuguese upon revolting to the Barbary States.
• "Turku Academy" is available to the Russians and Swedes upon revolting to Finland.
• "Wanderlust" is available to the British and Dutch upon revolting to South Africa, and can be sent 3 times.
• "Hero of the Two Worlds" is available to the British, Dutch, French, Italians, and Swedes upon revolting to the United States.

French

Card	Description	Age
Voyageur	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer can use Heal; also ships an Explorer Dog
Aerostatic Corps	Explorer gains the ability to use a temporary Hot Air Balloon for reconnaissance; Hot Air Balloons can be called more often and can stay longer in the air; Hot Air Balloon grants +100 XP build bounty

• "Aerostatic Corps" is also available upon revolting to Revolutionary France.

Germans

Card	Description	Age
Buergermeister	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer build Town Centers and Trading Posts 100% faster; also ships an Explorer Dog

Haudenosaunee

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Scout Infantry	Ships 1 Native Scout; infantry get +8 Line of Sight

Inca

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Inca Bridges	Ships 1 Chasqui; infantry, land villagers, healing units, and Envoys get +5% speed

• "TEAM Inca Bridges" does not stack with the Chinese "TEAM Yongle Infrastructure" card.

Indians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and attack

Italians

Card	Description	Age
Machiavellianism	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer gets +25% speed and now picks up treasures nearly instantly; also ships an Explorer Dog
Schiavoni Swords	Infantry and cavalry get +15% hand attack

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Ships 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center owned by the player; all units get +2% hit points

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military buildings work 400% faster and units get +10% speed

Ottomans

Card	Description	Age
Agha	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer gets +1.0 speed; also ships an Explorer Dog

Portuguese

Card	Description	Age
Navigator	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer's Spyglass ability gets +6 Area of Effect; also ships an Explorer Dog
TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints	Gunpowder infantry get +15% hit points

Russians

Card	Description	Age
Polar Explorer	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer gets +2.0 attack multiplier against treasure guardians; also ships an Explorer Dog
Ransack	Infantry get +50% siege attack

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
Conquistador	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; War Dogs get +20% hit points and attack
TEAM Fencing Instructor	Heroes get +20% hit points and attack (except Shaolin Masters' Roundhouse Kick attack and Sohei Archers' Sabotage attack)
Peninsular Guerrillas	Ranged infantry get +20% attack, musket infantry get +10% attack instead; Skirmishers now see the Line of Sight of enemies they attacked for 3 seconds
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Ships 1 Inquisitor; all units get +10 Line of Sight

Swedes

Card	Description	Age
Duelist	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer can use the Heavy Strike ability; also ships an Explorer Dog

British

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Captain	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer can use Swashbuckler Attack; also ships an Explorer Dog		1

Dutch

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Stadhouder	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; Town Centers cost -50% wood; also ships an Explorer Dog		1
TEAM Infantry Hitpoints	Infantry get +15% hit points		10

Europeans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Hot Air Balloon	The Explorer can summon a Hot Air Balloon to explore the map for a limited time		10

French

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Voyageur	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer can use Heal; also ships an Explorer Dog		1
TEAM Ranged Infantry Attack	Gunpowder infantry and archers get +15% attack		10

Germans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Buergermeister	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer build Town Centers and Trading Posts 100% faster; also ships an Explorer Dog		1

Indians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and attack		25

Iroquois

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Scout Infantry	Infantry get +8 Line of Sight		10

Ottomans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Agha	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer gets +1.0 speed; also ships an Explorer Dog		1

Portuguese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Navigator	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer's Spyglass ability gets +6 Area of Effect; also ships an Explorer Dog		1
Bandeirantes	Ships 2 additional Explorers		25
TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints	Gunpowder infantry get +15% hit points		10

Russians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Polar Explorer	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; the Explorer gets +2.0 attack multiplier against treasure guardians; also ships an Explorer Dog		1
Ransack	Infantry get +50% siege attack		25

Spanish

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Conquistador	Heroes get +50% hit points and attack; War Dogs get +20% hit points and attack		1
TEAM Explorer Combat	Heroes get +20% hit points and attack (except Shaolin Masters' Roundhouse Kick attack and Sohei Archers' Sabotage attack)		1
TEAM Inquisition	All units get +10 Line of Sight		10

Random names

When playing against the CPU in the original vanilla version of Age of Empires III, each of the civilizations had a set name for their Explorer that represented actual historical figures. These names remain the default for human players in custom scenarios.

• British: Francis Drake
• Dutch: Peter Minuit
• French: Jacques Cartier
• Germans: Alexander von Humboldt
• Ottomans: Piri Reis
• Portuguese: Ferdinand Magellan
• Russians: Vitus Bering
• Spanish: Cabeza de Vaca

In later versions of the game, an Explorer belonging to an AI player will have a random name from a list of names. For every European civilization, except the Swedes, the name is constructed from a random first name and random last name, taken from famous historical figures. The Swedes use a list of full names. If an Explorer belongs to the Maltese or a non-European civilization, the name is taken from the same list used for the civilization's Explorer equivalent (e.g. War Chief). An Explorer that belongs to Mother Nature or a campaign-exclusive civilization will receive a random hero name from Age of Mythology.

Click for a non-exhaustive list of random names and the historical people they were based on

British

• Sir
• Duke
• Lord
• Allan Cunningham
• Arthur Pet
• Arthur Phillip
• Christopher Newport
• David Livingstone
• David Thompson
• Edmund Kennedy
• Francis Drake
• George Vancouver
• Heinrich Barth
• Henry Hudson
• Henry Kelsey
• Hugh Willoughby
• Humphrey Gilbert
• James Ross
• James Cook
• James Weddell
• John Cabot
• John Davis
• John Franklin
• John Hawkyns
• John Oxley
• John Rut
• John Smith
• Joseph Banks
• Martin Frobisher
• Matthew Flinders
• Richard Chancellor
• Richard Lander
• Sebastian Cabot
• Stephen Burrough/Borough
• Walter Raleigh
• William Dampier
• William Hovell
• William Jackman

Other possible random names include:

• Arthur Jackman
• Christopher Borough / Christopher Burrough
• Hugh Jackman
• John Lander
• John Ross
• William Borough

Dutch

• Sir
• Duke
• Earl
• Lord
• Abel Jantszoon Tasman
• Adriaen Block
• Cornelius Evertsen
• Cornelius Mey
• Cryn Fredericksz
• Dirck Hartog
• Henry Hudson
• Henry Dirrecksen Jolinick
• Jacob Benckes
• Jacob Heemskerck
• Rup
• Jan Carstanz
• Jodocus Hondius
• Michiel de Ruyter
• Nicolas de Wassenaer
• Oliver Brunel
• Pieter Minuit
• Pieter Plockhoy
• Pieter Stuyvesant
• Jonassen
• Willem Barents

Other possible random names include:

• Jan Jantszoon
• Willem Jantszoon

French

• Duc
• Sieur
• Aime Bonpland
• Andre Michaux
• Antoine de Cadillac
• Charles de Condamine
• Jacques Cartier
• Jacques Marquette
• Jean Benard
• Jean Nicollet
• Jean Ribault
• Jean du Sable
• Jean de la Perouse
• Julian Dubuque
• Louis Jolliet
• Louis Aury
• Medard des Groseillier
• Nicholas Baudin
• Pierre Radisson
• Pierre de Charlevoix
• Rene de Laudonniere
• Rene de la Salle
• Samuel de Champlain
• Thomas Aubert

Germans

• Baron
• Count
• Alexander von Humboldt
• Ambrose Alfinger
• Augustin Hermann
• August Kappler
• Carl Ritter
• Dietrich Pining
• Eduard Dallmann
• Friedrich von Bieberstein
• Gebhard von Blucher
• Gerhard Mercator
• Georg Müller
• Georg Wilhelm Steller
• Gustav Nachtigal
• Hans/Johann Cromberger
• Hans Pothorst
• Hendrick Christiansen
• Heinrich Barth
• Heinrich Schliemann
• Johann Georg Gmelin
• Johann Herder (?)
• Johann Georg Kohl
• Johann Lederer
• Karl Mauch
• Johann Ludwig Krapf
• Ludwig Leichardt
• Martin Behaim
• Martin Waldseemüller
• Maximilian of Wied
• Nikolaus Federmann
• Peter
• Robert Hermann Schomburgk
• Salomon Müller
• Wilhelm von Humboldt
• von Buchau

Italians

Unlike most of the Explorer names for other civilizations, many of the historical figures represented by the Italian names were not explorers but scientists and other notable Italian people.

• Amerigo Vespucci
• Giovanni Caboto
• Marco Polo
• Christopher Columbus
• Antonio Meucci
• Galileo de Galilei
• Eugenio Barsanti
• Cesare di Beccaria
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Antonio Genovesi
• Giovanni da Verrazzano
• Pietro Paulo de Brazza
• Amedeo Avogadro
• Luigi Galvani
• Guglielmo Marconi
• Evangelista Torricelli
• Alessandro Volta
• Giuseppe Mazzini
• Giuseppe Garibaldi

Ottomans

• Abhaz
• Ahmad ibn Majid
• Ankarali
• Arslan
• Avsar
• Bagdatli
• Baltaci
• Bosnali
• Demirci
• Eflakli
• Evliya Çelebi
• Giritli
• Giuseppe
• Halepli
• Hayreddin
• Kara
• Kilic
• Kinik
• Kirimli
• Koprulu
• Leo Africanus
• Majid
• Malemo Canaqua
• Muhammad
• Pargali
• Peçenek
• Piri Reis
• Rodoslu
• Selanikli
• Shams
• Sofu
• Sokullu
• Sulaiman Al Mahri
• Çepni
• Çerkez
• Ahmet
• Akinalp
• Ali
• Çelebi
• Cem
• Cihangir
• Evliya
• Fazıl
• Giray
• Kılıç
• Kürşat
• Mehmed
• Mehmet
• Muhammed
• Murat
• Mustafa
• Orhan
• Reis
• Rüştü
• Selim
• Semşi
• Tuğrul

Portuguese

• Don
• Captain
• Afonso/Alfonso de Albequerque
• de Vespucci / Vespucci
• Antonio Fernandes
• Bartolome Ferrello
• Bartolomeu Dias
• Fialho
• Diogo Cam/Cao
• Diogo Dias
• Diogo Gomes
• Estevao Gomes
• Ferdinand Magellan
• Gaspar Real
• Gil Eannes
• Goncalo Coelho
• Henry
• Joao Afonso de Aveiro
• Joao Alvares Fagundes
• Joao Fernandes
• Joao Rodrigues Cabrilho
• Jorge Alvares
• Manuel
• Pedro Alvares Cabral
• Pedro Fernandes de Quiros
• Sebastian Rodrigues Cermenho
• Tristao da Cunha
• Vasco da Gama

Other possible random names include:

• Estevao da Gama
• Joao Real
• Jorge Cabral

Russians

• Alexandr Baranov
• Alexandr Suvorov
• Andrej Glazunov
• Alexei/Alexsej Chirikov
• Dmitry Laptev
• Fyodr Luhzin
• Gavril Sarychev
• Gerasim
• Grigory Shelikov
• Ivan Fyodorov
• Ivan Kuskov
• Ivan The Terrible
• Ivan Yelagin
• Ivan Yevreinov
• Khariton Laptev
• Mikhail Gvozdev
• Mikhail Kutuzov
• Mikhail Lavrov
• Mikhail Levashef
• Mikhail Lomonosov
• Mikhail Vasiliev
• Petr/Pyotr Bagration
• Petr/Pyotr Krenitzin
• Semyon Dezhnev
• Stenka Razin
• Stephan Glotov
• Timofei Tarakanov
• Vasily Chichagov
• Vladimir Atlasov
• Vitus Bering
• Yermak Timofeivich

Spanish

• Don
• Alonso Alvarez de Pineda
• Alonso del Castillo Maldonado
• Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
• Andres Urdaneta
• Andres Dorantes de Carranza
• Antonia de Berrio
• Bernal Diaz del Castillo
• Cristobal Colon
• Diego do Ordaz
• Domingo de Vera
• Tristan de Luna y Arellano
• Estevanico
• Eusebio Kino
• Fortun Jiminez
• Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba
• Francisco Pizzaro
• Francisco Garces
• Francisco Vazquez de Coronado
• Tomas
• Gaspar de Portola
• Gaspar de Quesada
• Hernan/Hernando de Cortez
• Hernando de Soto
• Juan de Anza
• Juan Cartagena
• Juan de Fuca
• Juan de Onate
• Juan Diaz de Solis
• Juan Perez
• Juan Ponce de Leon
• Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
• Junipero Serra
• Lope de Aguirre
• Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon
• Luis de Mendoza
• Marcos de Niza
• Martin Alonso Pinzon
• Martin Fernandez de Inciso
• Panfilo de Narvaez
• Pedro de Ursua
• Pedro Fernandez de Quiros
• Pedro de Aviles
• Sebastian Melendez Rodriguez
• Sebastian Vizcaino
• Juan Sebastian del Cano
• Silvestre Velez de Escalante
• Vasquez Nunez de Balboa
• Vicente Pinzon

Other possible random names include:

• Francisco Fernandez
• Francisco Pinzon
• Hernan Perez / Hernan de Quesada
• Hernando Pizzaro
• Juan Pizzaro
• Juan Vazquez / Juan de Coronado

Swedes

• Nils Matsson Kiöping
• Andries Stockenström
• Adolf Nordenskiöld
• Sven Hedin
• Carl Linnaeus
• Carl Gustaf Ekeberg
• Fredrik Hasselqvist
• Lorenz Lange
• Louis Palander

Other

• Arkantos
• Ajax
• Amanra
• Brokk
• Eitri
• Kastor
• Reginleif
• Gargarensis

Changelog

Age of Empires III

• The Portuguese Explorer's Spyglass has a 120 second cooldown.
• Hot Air Balloon requires the namesake Home City Card.
• Eye of the Assassin deals 5000 damage.

Definitive Edition

• The Portuguese Explorer's Spyglass now has a 90 second cooldown.
• Hot Air Balloon now requires the player to advance to the Commerce Age with The Inventor.
• Eye of the Assassin now deals 475 damage (still scales with Age to be an instant kill on all but the highest HP units, e.g. Mahout Lancers).
• The "Castrametation" Home City Card now allows the Explorer to build Forts.

Trivia

• When the Explorer collapses, a text box appears near him that quotes the Toad-Prince Creature from the 2001 The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror XII": "Every moment I live… is agony."
• No in-game Explorer model resembles the Explorer's unit portrait. However, the images on each unique Home City Card for the Explorer (see Home City Cards) resemble each respective civilizations' Explorers.

History

“

Explorers set out for the New World with a variety of backgrounds and missions. Some were nobles seeking fame and wealth; others were slaves forced to accompany their masters. Some wanted to claim new lands for the nations that sponsored their voyages; others wanted to explore the lands, their peoples, and the flora and fauna. Estevanico was a slave from Morocco, sold to the Spaniard Andres de Dorantes. Dorantes joined an expedition to explore the Gulf Coast from Florida to Mexico. The ill-fated venture ended with only eighty of the original crew floating on makeshift rafts, only two of which landed on the shores of Texas near Galveston with neither food, nor water. Dorantes and Estevanico set out on their own, traveling west and south. They were captives for five years, faith healers, and legends amongst the Native Americans of the area. They eventually reached Mexico City where the viceroy refused to allow Dorantes to search Texas for the Seven Cities of Gold. Dorantes sold Estevanico to the viceroy and left for Spain. Estevanico accompanied a missionary, Father Marcos de Niza, north ranging ahead and speaking to the Native Americans he encountered about the white men following in his wake. Estevanico had runners carry crosses back to Father Niza, their size indicating the promise of the region. Each new cross that Father Niza received was larger than the previous cross, and then he received one that was massive. Estevanico had discovered a Zuni pueblo; it is unknown whether he thought this pueblo was one of the Cities of Gold, but he spent an evening camped outside the town. In the morning, the Zuni attacked and killed him, fearing his presence was a bad omen.

”

Gallery

An in-game Spanish Explorer

All Explorers, presented clockwise by civilization: Spanish, British, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, German, and Ottoman

Concept art for the Spanish Explorer

Spanish Explorer stats

British Explorer model

Dutch Explorer model

French Explorer model

German Explorer model

Ottoman Explorer model

Portuguese Explorer model

Russian Explorer model

Spanish Explorer model

Swedish Explorer model

Spanish Explorer model in the Definitive Edition

British Explorer model in the Definitive Edition

French Explorer model in the Definitive Edition

Portuguese Explorer model in the Definitive Edition

Dutch Explorer model in the Definitive Edition

Russian Explorer model in the Definitive Edition

German Explorer model in the Definitive Edition

Ottoman Explorer model in the Definitive Edition

Swedish Explorer model

Italian Explorer model

Explorers in the Definitive Edition

Spyglass being used in a Carolina game.

Skins

Thor skin for the Swedish Explorer

See also

• War Chief – fulfills the same role for Native American civilizations
• Monk – fulfills the same role for Asian civilizations
• General – fulfills the same role for the United States and the Mexicans
• Ras – fulfills the same role for the Ethiopians
• Emir – fulfills the same role for the Hausa
• Grand Master – fulfills the same role for the Maltese