Two walled towns above rocky cliffs in a green valley in Stronghold 4, with an army marching up the road between them

CPU opponents in Skirmish

Stronghold 4 AI Lords: The CPU Opponents

Stronghold 4 has 8 AI lords, the CPU opponents of the Skirmish mode, when Early Access starts on December 7, 2026. You can fight three of them in the free demo today: Penryn, The Snake and Sir Longarm. Here is who each one is and how to survive a fight against all three.

Last updated October 31, 2026Game version: Pre-launch (demo and official info, October 2026)

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The AI lords in the Stronghold 4 demo

Lord	Who they are
Penryn	The hero of the story campaign, Penryn of Wethel, a shepherd who rises to become a lord. In Skirmish he is one of your rivals.
The Snake	A villain from the original 2001 Stronghold, back as a CPU lord. He goes on the attack in the demo Skirmish, so put up walls and archers early.
Sir Longarm	On the player's side in the original 2001 Stronghold, and the lord you helped rebuild Bruckdale in the June demo. In Skirmish he is a rival.

Firefly calls The Snake and Sir Longarm classic characters: both were in the first Stronghold. Penryn is new, and he is the same Penryn you play in the campaign. The other 5 lords of the 8 have not been named; they come with Early Access on December 7, 2026, and the Stronghold 4 release countdown shows how many days are left.

How many AI lords does Stronghold 4 have?

8 at launch. That is fewer than the 20 lords in Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, a remake that added 4 new lords to the cast of the 2002 original; our page on Stronghold 4 and Stronghold Crusader 4 compares the two games. Stronghold 4 is in Early Access for about six months before version 1.0, and Firefly says it will shape the rest of the game with its players.

How to beat three AI lords in the demo

Feed your people first. An Apple Farm is the cheapest food in the demo, and a fed, happy village gives you the gold and peasants an army needs. The Stronghold 4 buildings page lists every food chain with its wood cost.
Wall up early. The Snake goes on the attack, so get walls, towers and archers in place before you build big.
Break their castles with catapults. A Catapult costs 100 gold, 2 peasants and is built to break stone and wooden walls. Price your whole army in the Stronghold 4 army cost calculator.
Let them fight each other. It is a fight to the last castle, so every lord is everyone's enemy, not just yours.

The Skirmish is in the free Stronghold 4 demo next to Free Build; the Stronghold 4 gameplay guide walks through a whole game from the first farm to the first siege.

Questions

How many AI lords are in Stronghold 4?

8. Firefly lists 8 CPU opponents for the Skirmish mode when Early Access starts on December 7, 2026. Three of them, Penryn, The Snake and Sir Longarm, are already in the free demo.

Which AI lords are in the Stronghold 4 demo?

Penryn, The Snake and Sir Longarm. The demo Skirmish puts you against all three at once, in a fight to the last castle.

Is The Snake in Stronghold 4?

Yes. The Snake, a villain from the original 2001 Stronghold, is back as a CPU lord, and you can already fight him in the demo Skirmish.

Who is Penryn in Stronghold 4?

Penryn of Wethel is the hero of the story campaign, a shepherd who rises to become a lord. In Skirmish he is also one of the 8 CPU lords you can fight.

Official sources

Last checked October 31, 2026. Before launch this page follows Firefly's own description and the demo; after launch we add what is confirmed in the game.