Present in every unclaimed area are "barbarians" or rebels, whose insolence must be ended. As formidable as they may be, barbarians have several handicaps:
Early Campaign Barbarians[]
- They are confined to the Power of Nomadism, so while some factions like the Celts are higly vulnerable, other factions such as the Persians and Khitan are terrible foes to deal with.
- Barbarians can't build heavy ships, Nobles' Courts, or temple-type buildings, so religious units are not available.
Late Campaign Barbarians[]
In the Late Campaign, many barbarians have been replaced with different factions, and are based on actual factions:
- Britannia: Celts
- Iberia and Africa: Moors (based off the same, the player faction is either the Almoravids or the Almohads).
- Italia: none, they are based off different factions, but while the Magistracies of Sardinia and Corsica have Dark Age technology only, the Lombards are a totally different matter.
- Franconia: German nobles (HRE) but Vreizh is independent and has its own scenario
- Varangia: Vikings (based off Norse Danish)
- Eastern Asia: Chinese rebels - but the Koreans are depicted as being Chinese-influenced
- Northern Asia: Chukchi - they share an architectural design with the Indians
- Western Asia, Bedouin
- Southern Asia: Indians - they have a unique architectural design shared with the Chukchi
Rebel factions are mostly to be found in the more lawless parts of the world such as Germany, Scandinavia, Africa and the Middle East, although some other areas are often the homes of great civilisations such as Bagan, Cham and the Indian states.