History Main / StartingUnits

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'': Skirmish missions start you off with one builder and the main building. If the "assassinate" victory condition is active, you also get your race's hero free of charge (with the caveat that if he dies, well, GameOver). Leads to particularly hilarious examples when the AI attaches the hero the the first available squad as a meat shield but never changes it when there are better options. Campaign missions start you with the builder, building, hero, and in Dark Crusade and Soulstorm, whatever honor guard units you've acquired (they can't be replaced if killed on that mission, but you can buy new ones in between missions). In the first game, orks get a squad of Slugga Boys in addition to the other units.

* ''Videogame/EndlessLegend'' starts the player off with two of their faction's basic infantry, a settler, and a HeroUnit. The infantry and settler can be quickly replaced once a city is built, but hiring a new hero requires some research and a heft sum of [[PracticalCurrency Dust]]

* ''VideoGame/LordMonarch'': You and other players starts with king and worker in their castle. Depending on map, they start with few numbers of houses, which they may immediately spawn worker as soon as you start the game.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Starter Pokémon are more powerful than the average Pokémon at the start of the game and evolve into some of the strongest. There is only one of each outside of breeding and trading and players can only choose one at the start. This is explained as them belonging in a rare species. Later games provide a defense against the newcomer mistake of releasing their unique starter Pokemon by making them instantly come back, having apparently become too attached to the trainer to leave.

** In ''VideoGame/ShogunTotalWar'', one of the starting provinces of the Shimazu clan is said to be famous for its No-Dachi Samurai and any such unit trained there will get a +1 experience bonus. Thing is, none of the factions have such troops at the beginning of the game and you will not be able to construct the building that trains them until one of your existing units have reached a certain experience level. In other words, the province is famous for something that will only conditionally be found there.
** ''VideoGame/MedievalTotalWar'' is full of these. The Holy Roman Empire start off with some Vikings they can never train more of, the Byzantines start off with a unit of Varangian Guard (which they can't build for several decades, until they build the needed buildings somewhere) and a non-mercenary unit of Alan Mercenary Cavalry (which they can't build at all, and can only hire as mercenaries). The Sicilians also start off with a pair of Barques, which they can't build at all, being limited to the Galley/Dromon line of ships, same as the Italians, Papacy, and Byzantines. Aragon has a valor bonus to building Gungalleys, which neither the Aragonese nor Spanish can build at all. Tripoli starts off (depending on era) either owned by the Egyptians or French, yet it has a valor bonus to building a unit only the Turks can build. Several provinces have valor bonuses to units NO ONE can build, such as Chivalric Foot Knights in Ile de France, Gothic Foot Knights in Brandenburg, and Hospitaller Foot Knights on Rhodes.

** In ''Warcraft II'' skirmishes you start with a town hall and a peasant. There's even an option to start with just the town hall.

* ''VideoGame/WarlordsBattlecry'' has the hero's retinue. These units are (usually) carried over from previous battles and can be from any race, more than likely making them unreplaceable in mid battle.

* ''Videogame/VictoriaAnEmpireUnderTheSun': Some nations have among their starting armies some unit types that can't normally be recruited until you've researched certain military technologies, which these nations haven't researched yet at the start. Particularly Guards and Engineers are fairly common among some of the great powers even though they require one or two additional military technologies before they can be recruited normally.

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'': In the first game, the Mobile Construction Vehicle could only be built in the last missions (or in multiplayer, with the tech level set to the highest value) and required the most advanced structures of the game to be built. Later ''Red Alert'' games lowered the requirement, such as only requiring a repair depot, and by ''Red Alert 3'', a new MCV can be built from the start, albeit at a prohibitively high cost.

** ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': Each legendary lord starts off with a few high-tier units in their army that they won't be able to recruit more of until the game has progressed enough to build the mid- to high-tier buildings needed to do so. These units tend to be themed around the lord in some manner and tend to become centerpieces in your army for as long as their unique status last. Karl Franz, for instance, begins with a unit of Reiksgaurd heavy knights; Volkmar the Grim gets flagellants and Knights of the Blazing Sun; Teclis has a phoenix; Malekith gets a unit of Black Guard normally restricted to the late game; Grimgor starts with a unit of black orcs, the Greenskins' most elite infantry unit; and so on.

!!Examples:

* This goes at least as far back as ''VideoGame/DuneII''. You always started off with just your construction yard, and had to build every other facility necessary to create new units. As a result you always started off with units you couldn't build immediately, and thus couldn't replace until later if they were lost. Justified because in the game the units had been sent with you to help you fulfill your mission.
* In ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' skirmishes, you start out with 5 workers, or, if you're playing as the Undead, you get 3 Acolytes and a Ghoul. The Ghoul, while also a basic melee unit, is needed to chop lumber (which the Acolytes can't do), and you can't build more until your Crypt has been summoned. In campaign missions, you typically start off with your heroes, some workers and a handful of combat units, which vary by mission.In skirmish games, you can choose to start with one of four heroes at random.
** In some missions in ''Warcraft III'' and both ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'' installments, you start with unique units that cannot be replaced from buildings, usually stronger than standard units.
* The ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' games are full of these:

** ''VideoGame/MedievalTotalWar'' is full of these: The Holy Roman Empire start off with some Vikings they can never train more of, the Byzantines start off with a unit of Varangian Guard (which they can't build for several decades, until they build the needed buildings somewhere) and a non-mercenary unit of Alan Mercenary Cavalry (which they can't build at all, and can only hire as mercenaries). The Sicilians also start off with a pair of Barques, which they can't build at all, being limited to the Galley/Dromon line of ships, same as the Italians, Papacy, and Byzantines. Aragon has a valor bonus to building Gungalleys, which neither the Aragonese nor Spanish can build at all. Tripoli starts off (depending on era) either owned by the Egyptians or French, yet it has a valor bonus to building a unit only the Turks can build. Several provinces have valor bonuses to units NO ONE can build, such as Chivalric Foot Knights in Ile de France, Gothic Foot Knights in Brandenburg, and Hospitaller Foot Knights on Rhodes.
** In ''VideoGame/RomeTotalWar'' the Julii faction had some starting archers they could only build more of if they upgraded their barracks. Probably similar cases for other factions too.
*** The worst of these by far were the Greeks, who started with a single unit of Spartan Hoplites, a top-tier unit that won't show up for a long, long time and even then can only be recruited in limited numbers in one city. Perhaps justified by them being the best unit in the game.

* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresI'', the Town Centre is the only building able to construct peasants, and you can't build another one until you reach the bronze age. In ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'' you start the game with a single scout cavalry, and you cannot build another until you advance an age.
** ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'' works in a similar fashion, but the starting units vary depending on your civ; Greeks have the same as in Empires (except the scout can't be replaced), Egyptians start with a priest (and their Paraoh soon after) and the Norse start with an ox cart, some gatherers (dwarves if you choose Thor) and an ulfsark (light infantry scout who also serves as a builder and repairman).
* All factions in ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'' start with a Colony Pod or two (unit that transforms into a base), depending on difficulty level ("easy" levels "Citizen" and "Specialist" get one; "normal" and "hard" "Talent" and above get two) and one additional unit. If you use the default rule, one pod will automatically turn into a base at the beginning of your first turn, so you don't so much get a pod as a base, and can start building right away. On the other hand, if you activate the "Look First" rule, you can, um, "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin look first]]" for a better base site. If "Look First" is on, you can't build ''anything'' at all until you've found that good base site and set up shop there, and therefore ''any'' unit you have is a Starting Unit--even the lowly Scout Patrol most factions get and the Scout Rover the Spartans get because they start with Doctrine: Mobility.
** Also, the alien factions in the ''Alien Crossfire'' expansion start with an Ogre [=Mk1=], a powerful unit that you can never construct yourself, or even repair. They sometimes turn up in capsules, though. Justified since the aliens are both survivors of two warships that crashed on Planet.
** The Cult of Planet starts with a brood of Mind Worms--the native life forms which [[MindRape psychically stun enemies with fear]] and then [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong burrow into the subject's skulls to lay their eggs]]. Since the Cult worships Planet and thus has a positive Planet rating, it can ''capture'' wild worms from the beginning, but cannot breed them until researching Centauri Empathy.
* By the same token, in most forms of ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', you start with a Settler (city-building unit) and a Warrior or other basic military unit. This might be obvious, but you cannot build any Settlers or Warriors or anything else for that matter until you order that first Settler to build a city.[[note]]Well, in theory, you could have your Warrior capture the city of an enemy civilization before you have your Settler build a city, but (1) that's extraordinarily rare (and usually only done as a desperation move when your Settler is killed and your game settings don't end the game after that), and (2) the point remains that you need a city to build things.[[/note]]
* In campaign mode, some missions in games like ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'' would start you off with such units, or in one case, units you couldn't EVER build, like the Dark Templar in Starcraft, as well as other Hero units, who often had to be kept alive.
** The first game actually considered Dark Templars "expendable hero units". The map editor for the expansion, in which Dark Templars are ordinary units, even allows ''both versions'' to be created, and they have some slight differences in stats.
** In ''VideoGame/WarcraftII'' skirmishes you start with a town hall and a peasant. There's even an option to start with just the town hall.
* The Mobile Construction Vehicle (MCV) in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer''. In the first game, it could only be built in the last missions (or in multiplayer, with the tech level set to the highest value) and required the most advanced structures of the game to be built. Later ''Red Alert'' games lowered the requirement, such as only requiring a repair depot, and by ''Red Alert 3'', a new MCV can be built from the start, albeit at a prohibitively high cost.
* In ''VideoGame/GalacticCivilizations II'', you start with a flagship with a medium hull and a survey module, neither of which you have the tech for at the start of the game.
** In the first game, your starting flagship has a good chance of becoming the most powerful warship in the game by exploring anomalies and getting better weapons, defenses, and speed, despite starting out with none of the above.
* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'' is allowed to avert this trope since they make it clear that this is your race's first interstellar program. They have just finished the Mothership, have an orbital construction frame, probably a few ships required to perform the zero-gravity construction, and fighter-class vessels. Everything else they have to engineer on the spot during their campaign, basing it on the craft of their enemies.
* ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'' features an interesting example: While Giacomo can build [[HumongousMecha Clockwork Men]] in the Vinci campaign, he always starts a scenario in the Alin campaign with a few Clockwork Men, which he cannot retrain.
** Similarly, one of Giacomo's passive abilities in the Cuotl campaign is getting some non-retrainable Hybrid Clockwork Men.
* ''VideoGame/LordsOfMagic'' is an extreme case. You're given points to buy various units before the start of the campaign, and can pick units from any faction except that of the BigBad. Once the campaign starts, however, your main base of operations can only recruit units of your own faction. There's not even a HandWave for this.
* The ''VideoGame/WarlordsBattlecry'' series has the hero's retinue. These units are (usually) carried over from previous battles and can be from any race, more than likely making them unreplaceable in mid battle.
* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'': Skirmish missions start you off with one builder and the main building. If the "assassinate" victory condition is active, you also get your race's hero free of charge (with the caveat that if he dies, well, GameOver). Leads to particularly hilarious examples when the AI attaches the hero the the first available squad as a meat shield but never changes it when there are better options. Campaign missions start you with the builder, building, hero, and in Dark Crusade and Soulstorm, whatever honor guard units you've acquired (they can't be replaced if killed on that mission, but you can buy new ones in between missions).
** In the first game, orks get a squad of Slugga Boys in addition to the other units.
* The Starters in ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. All are more powerful than the average Pokemon at the start of the game and evolve into some of the strongest. There is only one of each outside of breeding and trading and players can only choose one. Handwaved with them belonging in a rare species. Later games provide a defense against the newcomer mistake of releasing their unique starter Pokemon by making them instantly come back, apparently too attached to the trainer to leave.
* In both ''Videogame/BattleZone1998'' games, the [[BaseOnWheels Recycler]] [[MobileFactory mobile factory]] unit is irreplaceable, as the Recycler cannot be constructed [[RidiculouslyFastConstruction using standard bio-metal shaping techniques]]. [[DecapitatedArmy Losing your Recycler results in a mission failure]], while destroying the enemy Recycler results in an [[InstantWinCondition instant win]]. In Instant Action mode for ''Battlezone II'', the player can set the starting force for the AI and for himself - a "large" force will give the player three Sabers / Warriors, plus a pair of Rattlers / Guardians. Sabers and Warriors normally require the player to build a Factory/Kiln and a Relay bunker (Saber) or Forge (Warrior)
* A no-video game example is ''TabletopGame/StarRealms''. Each player starts off with weak Scouts (which provide 1 Trade) and Vipers (which provide 1 attack). As the game goes on, the players want to get better ships, and try to get rid of the weaker units that clutter their deck.
* ''Videogame/EndlessLegend'' starts the player off with two of their faction's basic infantry, a settler, and a HeroUnit. The infantry and settler can be quickly replaced once a city is built, but hiring a new hero requires some research and a heft sum of [[PracticalCurrency Dust]]
* The fantasy real-time strategy game, ''Videogame/ArmiesOfExigo'' often has untrainable units at the start of a campaign level. They range from units that are just improved versions of a standard unit (such as the crossbowman that's just an upgraded archer) to units that are unique in their abilities (such as the Nightmares which are Dark Elf cavalry that can use ice magic).
* Some nations in [[Videogame/VictoriaAnEmpireUnderTheSun Victoria II]] have among their starting armies some unit types that can't normally be recruited until you've researched certain military technologies, which these nations haven't researched yet at the start. Particularly Guards and Engineers are fairly common among some of the great powers even though they require one or two additional military technologies before they can be recruited normally.
* In the ''War of the Chosen'' expansion for ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', if you disable the ''Lost and Abandoned'' story mission in the pre-game options, you'll start the opening ''Gatecrasher'' mission with a special faction hero from one of the three resistance factions in the game (the Reapers, the Skirmishers or the Templars) in addition to three rookies. While you can recruit new rookies at any time for a cheap price, you won't be able to get another faction hero until you've constructed the Resistance Ring facility on the Avenger. Even if you rush it right away it will still take a while to get it up and running, and even then you might have to wait a while before the right kind of covert action that allows you to recruit new factions heroes becomes available.

** Also, the alien factions in the ''Alien Crossfire'' expansion start with an Ogre Mk1, a powerful unit that you can never construct yourself, or even repair. They sometimes turn up in capsules, though. Justified since the aliens are both survivors of two warships that crashed on Planet.

** ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'' works in a similar fashion, but the starting units vary depending on your civ; Greeks have the same as in Empires (except the scout can't be replaced), Egyptians start with a priest (and their Paraoh soon after) and the Norse start with a wagon, some dwarves and an ulfsark (light infantry scout who also serves as an initial builder).

* The Mobile Construction Vehicle (MCV) in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer''. In the first game, it could only be built in the last missions (or in multiplayer, with the tech level set to the highest value) and required the most advanced structures of the game to be built. Later ''Red Alert'' games lowered the requirement, such as only requiring a repair depot, and by ''Red Alert 3'', a new MCV can be built from the start.

** In ''VideoGame/NapoleonTotalWar'', France starts out with a single unit of Old Guard, much like the Spartans above, pretty much the best unit in the game. Due to the new reinforcement mechanics the unit can be reinforced endlessly (unlike most previous games where every lost ''soldier'' was LostForever unless you could recruit the unit), but if that unit is wiped out, it's going to be a loooong time before it can be replaced. Same goes for the Russians and their unit of Pavlovsk Grenadiers. Then the British start out with some King's German Legion units, which can't be recruited ''at all'' in the main campaign.

* This goes at least as far back as ''DuneII''. You always started off with just your construction yard, and had to build every other facility necessary to create new units. As a result you always started off with units you couldn't build immediately, and thus couldn't replace until later if they were lost. Justified because in the game the units had been sent with you to help you fulfill your mission.

* ''Lords of Magic'' is an extreme case. You're given points to buy various units before the start of the campaign, and can pick units from any faction except that of the BigBad. Once the campaign starts, however, your main base of operations can only recruit units of your own faction. There's not even a HandWave for this.

* The Starters in ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. All are more powerful than the average Pokemon at the start of the game and evolve into some of the strongest. There is only one of each outside of breeding and trading and players cna only choose one. Handwaved with them belonging in a rare species. Later games provide a defense against the newcomer mistake of releasing their unique starter Pokemon by making them instantly come back, apparently too attached to the trainer to leave.

* The ''TotalWar'' games are full of these:
** In ''Shogun'', one of the starting provinces of the Shimazu clan is said to be famous for its No-Dachi Samurai and any such unit trained there will get a +1 experience bonus. Thing is, none of the factions have such troops at the beginning of the game and you will not be able to construct the building that trains them until one of your existing units have reached a certain experience level. In other words, the province is famous for something that will only conditionally be found there.
** ''Medieval'' is full of these: The Holy Roman Empire start off with some Vikings they can never train more of, the Byzantines start off with a unit of Varangian Guard (which they can't build for several decades, until they build the needed buildings somewhere) and a non-mercenary unit of Alan Mercenary Cavalry (which they can't build at all, and can only hire as mercenaries). The Sicilians also start off with a pair of Barques, which they can't build at all, being limited to the Galley/Dromon line of ships, same as the Italians, Papacy, and Byzantines. Aragon has a valor bonus to building Gungalleys, which neither the Aragonese nor Spanish can build at all. Tripoli starts off (depending on era) either owned by the Egyptians or French, yet it has a valor bonus to building a unit only the Turks can build. Several provinces have valor bonuses to units NO ONE can build, such as Chivalric Foot Knights in Ile de France, Gothic Foot Knights in Brandenburg, and Hospitaller Foot Knights on Rhodes.
** In ''Rome'' the Julii faction had some starting archers they could only build more of if they upgraded their barracks. Probably similar cases for other factions too.

** In ''Empire'', France starts off with light infantry they must research and upgrade barracks in order to build more of. Same for the navy: without several turns of research and expansion of shipyards you will not be able to build more of the fifth-rate frigate your lone starting admiral commands from, much less more powerful vessels.
** In ''Napoleon'', France starts out with a single unit of Old Guard, much like the Spartans above, pretty much the best unit in the game. Due to the new reinforcement mechanics the unit can be reinforced endlessly (unlike most previous games where every lost ''soldier'' was LostForever unless you could recruit the unit), but if that unit is wiped out, it's going to be a loooong time before it can be replaced. Same goes for the Russians and their unit of Pavlovsk Grenadiers. Then the British start out with some King's German Legion units, which can't be recruited ''at all'' in the main campaign.
** ''Shogun 2'' has all the clans start with a unit of Yari Samurai despite most of them not having the required building that trains them in their starting provinces. In the ''Fall of the Samurai'' expansion, the factions typically start out with kachi and line infantry they cannot recruit yet.

* In campaign mode, some missions in games like ''WarCraft'' and ''StarCraft'' would start you off with such units, or in one case, units you couldn't EVER build, like the Dark Templar in Starcraft, as well as other Hero units, who often had to be kept alive.

** In Warcraft 2 skirmishes you start with a town hall and a peasant. There's even an option to start with just the town hall.
* The Mobile Construction Vehicle (MCV) in ''CommandAndConquer''. In the first game, it could only be built in the last missions (or in multiplayer, with the tech level set to the highest value) and required the most advanced structures of the game to be built. Later ''Red Alert'' games lowered the requirement, such as only requiring a repair depot, and by ''Red Alert 3'', a new MCV can be built from the start.

* ''RiseOfLegends'' features an interesting example: While Giacomo can build [[HumongousMecha Clockwork Men]] in the Vinci campaign, he always starts a scenario in the Alin campaign with a few Clockwork Men, which he cannot retrain.

* In ''{{Warcraft}} 3'' skirmishes, you start out with 5 workers, or, if you're playing as the Undead, you get 3 Acolytes and a Ghoul. The Ghoul, while also a basic melee unit, is needed to chop lumber (which the Acolytes can't do), and you can't build more until your Crypt has been summoned. In campaign missions, you typically start off with your heroes, some workers and a handful of combat units, which vary by mission.In skirmish games, you can choose to start with one of four heroes at random.
** In some missions in ''Warcraft III'' and both ''{{Starcraft}}'' installments, you start with unique units that cannot be replaced from buildings, usually stronger than standard units.

* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresI'', the Town Centre is the only building able to construct peasants, and you can't build another one until you reach the bronze age. In ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'' you start the game with a single scout cavalry, and you cannot build another until you advance an age.

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'': Skirmish missions start you off with one builder and the main building. If the "assassinate" victory condition is active, you also get your race's hero free of charge (with the caveat that if he dies, well, GameOver). Leads to particularly hilarious examples when the AI attaches the hero the the first available squad as a MeatShield but never changes it when there are better options. Campaign missions start you with the builder, building, hero, and in Dark Crusade and Soulstorm, whatever honor guard units you've acquired (they can't be replaced if killed on that mission, but you can buy new ones in between missions).

* The Starters in ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. Handwaved with them belonging in a rare species.