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frogbeastegg
10-19-2004, 22:02
frogbeastegg’s Guide to Rome: Total War and the Barbarian Invasion


This guide is entirely the work of frogbeastegg unless otherwise indicated. You may not alter this document without my permission, make money from it, or claim it as your own work. I worked long and hard to write this; don’t steal. If you want to translate this guide to another language, convert it to a printable format, add it to your website or anything else please ASK. I almost always give permission and I like to know what is happening to my work, if only because I might get comments or feedback based on a version I don’t know exists.

Written for: Rome: Total War version 1.5 and Barbarian Invasion version 1.6

A note on terminology: City, town, settlement, province – it’s all the same thing. Also when speaking of campaigns, RTW means the Imperial campaign of whatever version of the game; BI means the Barbarian Invasion campaign, also in whatever version. It doesn’t refer to the game, just the map you are fighting on and the factions available.

The screenshots in this guide require refers to be enabled in our browser and firewall; if refers are not enabled you will see little totalwar.org logos instead of images. The setting varies from program to program, and some firewalls (including zonealarm pro) call refers ‘private header information’. I can’t really offer much help in finding the setting if you find the pictures aren’t displaying, but a quick web search should find you some instructions for your particular browser or firewall.

This is the final version of this guide. I will not update it, expand it, or otherwise continue to work on it. I don’t have time, or, to be honest, the interest in the game necessary to support the several hundred hours work these guides take me. I freely admit this guide has errors and gaps; it’s a choice between a guide with those failures or one which still covers RTW 1.1. I thought this was the better way.

Gardibolt has put together a PDF version of the guide, which is available here: https://totalwar.org/Downloads/Rtw_Uploads/RTWupload/frogbeasteggrtwguide_pdf.zip.




Index.

1……………..Introduction.
2……………..Getting started, including veteran’s 101.
3.…………….Choosing your faction, difficulty and all those other options.
4……………..Your main aims (taking over the world and enslaving the populace to your evil whims, hahahaha!!)
5……………..Bread and Circuses: city management (and a bit about the map.)
6……………..Gold, beautiful gold! Running your economy.
7……………..Meet the family (but watch out for Lupus, he’s a little strange…)
8……………..A handy dandy guide to agents of all varieties.
9……………..Armies, the building and care thereof.
10……………Paddling on the big boating lake (navies, duh!)
11……………Bash for cash: how to use mercenaries for fun and profit.
12……………Extortion for beginners: aka diplomacy.
13……………Pretty in purple: The Senate.
14……………The Gentle Art of War: being a battlefield guide.
15……………Iz da r0x0rzz!!!1! I w1nn3d da camap1gnz!!11 Or in English: I’m not a newbie any more, now what?
16……………Assorted Bits On the Barbarian Invasion Which Don’t Fit anywhere Else (really good title, I know)
17……………Appendix A: A guide to the temples.
18……………Appendix B: A complete listing of retinue characters and their effects.
19……………Appendix C: Assorted stuff which doesn’t fit anywhere else.
20……………Credits.

All chapter headings are in large, red text and feature nice little Roman numerals to make them easier to find.

Since this guide is getting so big I will insert a small search tip near the beginning. Depending on your browser you should be able to hit ctrl+f to call up a search box. Type in the chapter name you want and it should take you to it, after first stopping on the main index. You can also use this to search the guide for specific terms if you want to find something smaller.

The BI bits and bobs are included in the main text, where relevant. I have clearly marked them all, so there should be no confusion, and a simple search for ‘BI’ should take you to each of them in turn. The rest is contained in a specific BI chapter near the end. It’s just not worth doing a separate guide, or even a separate section; BI is too closely tied in to its parent game. Unless specifically flagged as BI material most (maybe all) things I talk about will apply to BI too. However, all this said, BI is a separate … entity from the RTW Imperial campaign. While much is the same, some things are different. Troop balances, for example, the effectiveness of missiles. I’ll have to point out the differences as I go.



https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Introduction


This guide is intended to help the bewildered newbie find their feet and understand the basics of Rome: Total War. Well, it was intended solely to do that but it has now grown far beyond that initial aim to become quite comprehensive, with something for all levels of play. That’s why I changed the name from “A Beginner’s Guide to Rome: Total War”. Please note that this guide is for singleplayer only; that is important and I shall repeat it – singleplayer only. While there is a section on the battlefield, and while many tactics and tips will work in multiplayer, this guide is written solely for singleplayer unless otherwise very clearly stated. I had plans for a MP section but they are dead and buried for assorted reasons, and will not be revived. Don’t ask.

Now for the obligatory rundown of the Total War series so far, for those of you who have just joined us. The Total War series is made by Creative Assembly, a British company.
* Shogun: Total War (2000) The very first game in the series, set in Sengoku Japan. A revolutionary masterpiece.
* The Mongol Invasion (2001) Shogun’s add-on pack, featuring the Mongol Invasion of Japan.
* Shogun: Warlord’s Edition (2001) This is a bundle containing both the original Shogun and the Mongol Invasion add-on. The contents are identical to what you get if you buy Shogun and Mongols separately.
* Medieval: Total War (2002) The second full game and sequel to Shogun. It is set in medieval Europe, but you already knew that because the name is a bit of a giveaway, right?
* The Viking Invasion (2003) The add-on for Medieval; it covers the Viking invasions and factional in-fighting of Britain in the 9th – 11th centuries AD.
* Rome: Total War (2004) The third full game and quite the departure from the previous games due to its brand new engine.
* The Barbarian Invasion (2005) The add-on for RTW, covering the fall of the Roman Empire, the appearance of the hordes, the conquest of Britain by the Saxons, and other such goodies.



https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttps://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Getting Started


Patch 1.5 fixes a great long list of bugs, issues, grumbles and adds a few tweaks. You can download it from the official site (https://www.totalwar.com/). If you want to play multiplayer the patch is compulsory.

I would suggest you read the manual; while it is lacking rather a lot of information, and can be sketchy at times, it does give you the basics and there are some amusing jokes in it. This guide is not a replacement for the manual, nor is it a replacement for the tutorials; it is intended to compliment them.

Now fish out that lavish map and tech tree that came with your game and take a good look at it. Get a feel for the world you will be fighting in; I found it very helpful to note the locations of the various cities to speed my early game exploration and diplomacy. Being able to go straight to the city of Dimmidi is much better than wandering around the Sahara for several years trying to find the place on your own. Veterans of the previous Total War games will be right at home with the tech tree; newbies can find an explanation of how it all works in chapter 5. You will quickly notice that there is only a Roman tech tree included on paper; the other factions have their tech trees available in-game. As of yet there are no printable versions of the other faction’s trees but I hope this will change shortly.

The official CA FAQ can be found here (http://p223.ezboard.com/fshoguntotalwarfrm7.showMessage?topicID=11188.topic); I recommend taking a look.

RomeWiki (http://www.kanwei.com/romewiki/) is a very handy resource for the RTW player and worth at least one visit. It is a kind of RTW encyclopaedia where anyone can contribute information.

I shall add a note about the Prima Official guide here; everything I have heard about it is bad. I didn’t buy a copy myself; I do own both guides for Shogun and Medieval and I was going to get a copy of the one for Rome until I saw all the complaints. It does not match the quality of the previous works and has a lot of wrong information, especially in the units section. Apparently many of the unit costs are wrong. I haven’t heard anything good about the BI guide either.

Obviously you need to tweak the game options to get good performance and nice eye candy; that’s your problem. A small note on screen resolutions: If you wish to use a resolution not in the game by default you need to open up your preferences.txt file in your main RTW directory, find the lines relating to resolution and edit them to whatever you wish to use. The change you edited into place will not appear in the game menu itself, so if you alter any in-game graphics options you will have to redo your resolution edit.

Now your choice is a little more limited; when you start the game up you are forced to do the Sons of Mars tutorial campaign. Playing the tutorial is a good idea; it acquaints you with the basics of the game. Sadly, and most frustratingly in my experience, you are forced to use the RTS style camera throughout the tutorial. If you hate using this camera you will hate the tutorial. Once the tutorial is completed (Victoria will tell you when you have finished, then give you the option of quitting or continuing to play) you can access custom battles, multiplayer, the Imperial campaign and all those other fun bits. Alternatively, if you are feeling sneaky and don’t mind missing all the lessons, you can just start the tutorial then immediately quit. This will also unlock all the other game modes.

If you played out the full tutorial then you are probably ready to begin a campaign, as long as you feel comfortable. If you don’t it would probably be a good idea to play a few custom battles to get accustomed to the controls, how units move and react, learn some basic strategies and so on. If you skipped the tutorial I do recommend playing a few custom battles, even if you are a veteran of the previous games. The new engine has changed the way cavalry behave for a start, and the interface is completely different. If you can’t fight effectively on the battlefield you will lose your campaign battles or have to rely on auto-resolve; neither option is much fun. Auto-resolve can be a bit wacky, generating poor results with a lot of losses on your side. It also has a penchant for getting your big, expensive units (such as elephants) killed. Finally it is very risky if you have a good general or family member involved in the battle; don’t be surprised if your general ends up dead or collects bad vices like coward.



Argh!! They changed everything!!


That’s the heartbreaking wail of many a Total War veteran on discovering the new camera, interface and so on. This is often closely followed by “How do I get the old controls back!?” So here we go, a section for all those disoriented vets who, like me, loathe the RTS style camera, green arrows and all that. We old timers are allowed to be crotchety; it’s our aching bones, tiny pensions and the disrespect of the younger generations that drives us to it. Why in my day we didn’t have fancy 3D men in our battles! No, we had 2D sprites and we were grateful for it. We fought our battles uphill, in the snow at 5AM, unlike you softies with all your sunny Greek islands and plains and other degenerate namby pamby rubbish! Back then we were real men (except for those players who are, like myself, female. We were real women back then) and we weren’t afraid of a bit of hard work. You youngsters don’t even know you’re born! Gah!

The spinny bits of this new cameras makes me feel sick
This one is easy; just go to options either in-game or from the front end menu and choose control options. Then click on the arrow next to the words RTS on the camera controls screen, et voila.

Left click, right click, I’m so confused.
There is no way to bring back the old left click select, left click move system. You have to use the left click select, right click move system. This is not a bad thing; it is now impossible to accidentally order a unit to move when trying to select another one. It only takes a short time to adjust and once you do you will never want to use the old system again.

Green arrows must die!
And die they shall. Simply open the RTW main directory, find the text file called ‘preferences’ and open it. Now look for the line “DISABLE_ARROW_MARKERS:False” and change it to read “DISABLE_ARROW_MARKERS:TRUE”. Now save and close the file. Done.

I hate the new banners! Feed them to the lions!
They don’t bother me, but I have seen others complaining. Open the preferences file (same as in above tweak) and look for the line “SHOW_BANNERS:TRUE”, change it to “SHOW_BANNERS:FALSE”. Save and exit. Done.

Cutscenes!? We don’t need no steenkin’ cutscenes!
I hate the assorted cutscenes the game spits in my face in battles, you know ‘general’s death’ cutscenes, ‘big gaping holes in city walls’ cutscenes, ‘opened gate’ cutscenes and other stuff which I ALREADY KNOW THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! There is an audio cue for all these events anyway, and I don’t appreciate having my controls disabled at key points so I can watch some rebel general drop dead. In case you have not got the idea yet I really do hate those cutscenes. This is why patch 1.2 is a God send; it’s worth installing for this one teensy little tweak alone. After installing the patch and running the game once a few new command lines are added to your preferences.txt file, including this gorgeous little line here: EVENT_CUTSCENES:TRUE Simply change the ‘TRUE’ to ‘FALSE’, save, and celebrate the death of the general’s death cutscene.

I also want that fancy pants intro movie dead and buried! NOW!
Yes, no matter how fancy the intro FMV of a game you only ever watch it a couple of times. Past that it becomes a minor annoyance. Right click on the shortcut to RTW on your desktop, choose properties and add “–nm” to the end of your shortcut, including a space between the ” which is already there and the -, e.g. "D:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War\RomeTW.exe" -nm

All this unlocking stuff is console crap and I refuse to do it!
Honestly it’s probably easier to just play an easy/easy short 15 province campaign, but if you insist on modding I shall quote Steppe Merc’s short modding guide:
“1) Find the file "descr_strat" in ...\Rome - Total War\ data\world\maps\campaign\desc_strat.txt

2)Open it up.

3)cut the faction you want to play as from the section its under (either unlockable or nonplayable, and copy it into the playable section, that should do it.

Also on that same file for those who wish to play a very long campaign, you have the start date and end date that can be modded there, it says start_date -270 summer and end_date 14 summer.”

Note: You really don’t want to unlock the Senate with this method. They aren’t a proper faction; they are a fancy pseudo faction covering over a lot of fancy coded trickery responsible for generating the senate missions and so on. The game always crashes if you try to play the Senate, and always will. They are unplayable.

The technique described by Steppe Merc also works for the BI factions. Don’t try to make an emergent faction like the Romano-British playable. It doesn’t work as you might expect.

The interface sucks!!!!
Yes, this one can now be altered thanks to the general loveliness of 1.2. The chunky, view blocking interface can be swapped for the svelte old version which featured in the old TW games. Simply open up preferences.txt and find the line MINIMAL_UI:FALSE and change it to true. Then go and sacrifice one small goat and a chicken in gratitude for this absolutely huggable change. For those who never played the old TW games I say give it a go. Once you try it you’ll never go back.

It’s too fast, it’s hard to see morale and fatigue, and other common vet complaints
I’m not going to deal with this kind of problem in this guide; half of this can’t be changed, and the speed issue is heavy modding.

There are several old Total War features that are dead and buried; sadly many of these features were useful. The time slider has gone; you are now limited to preset battle speeds. Remember how you used to break your fingers assigning units to numbers using ctrl+alt+[number], and again when recalling them with ctrl+[number]? The good news is that you no longer need to do this; the controls are now both customisable and sane. Use ctrl+[number] to assign and [number] to recall. Patch 1.2 has also brought back the ctrl+shift+number system for the sadists amongst you. The old right click battlefield unit menus are also gone, but honestly I don’t miss them. All the commands you need are on the interface and can be assigned to hotkeys of your choice. I never used the right click battlefield menus anyway. There is now no way to make all the units use identical ranks, so if one unit is smaller than the others it will deploy in a thinner formation. Hold formation and hold position have been merged into a new command called ‘guard’. Wedge is now a special formation limited to certain units only. Rally is also a special ability that only a bare handful of units (just generals, the Sacred Band cavalry had the ability in the demo but I haven’t used them in the full game) get. You cannot save replays in SP campaign battles. I think that covers everything important.

Patch 1.2 has also resurrected another feature from the old games, and again it’s quite simply a handsome little tweak that makes a world of difference. It certainly made this frog smile. They brought back alt+move. There; that will have got all the old TW vets jumping up and down with glee, but for the newbie it needs a little explaining. You know how you set up your nice pretty army, all neatly grouped with delightful unit arrangements and split into several hotkeyed groups? And then you need to move a bit because the dastardly enemy are not going to obligingly walk right into your front? So you try to move everyone at once while getting them to keep the exact same deployment and facing but somehow it all goes horribly wrong, and people end up backwards, scattered in strange locations, stood on top of each other and generally Buggered Up Royally? Not so any more! Just select all the units you want to move, hold down the alt button and give your move order. The units will deploy where you clicked facing in the exact same direction they were and deployed in exactly the same formation they were. Even if ordered to move backwards. Even if the units are not grouped at all. Even if you told them to move a long way sideways.

BI has brought back the little explanation of why a unit has whatever morale state, for example ‘Steady: Encouraged by the general’. Which is nice.





https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttps://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttps://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Choosing your faction, difficulty and all those other important options


If you wish to turn off the battle timelimits there is a checkbox on the faction selection/campaign settings screen, but only if you have version 1.2 or higher.

To access the BI campaign you must use the BI shortcut on your desktop, in your start menu, or however else you start your game. If you use the plain RTW one there will be no trace of it.



Faction

Upon selecting the Imperial campaign for the first time you will notice you only have three factions to choose from, unless you modded your game in which case I will ignore you until much later. It is much easier to write a guide aimed squarely at the Romans than one which tries to cover all the different factions, and much of this advice will work perfectly for the non-Romans. There will be some notes and tips on the non-Roman factions near the end; these factions are generally considered to be harder than the Romans for various reasons. So, you can play as the Julii, the Scipii or the Brutii. All the Roman factions start with two cities and a bunch of preset main foes. The Roman factions start off in an alliance with trade agreements and they will keep this state until the civil wars start late in the game. All Roman factions answer to the senate, and will receive missions from them. They have the same units available to them, with the sole exception of gladiators; each of the three factions have their own unique kind of gladiator unit. Building wise they are identical with the sole exception of temples and shrines; each family has their own trio of Gods. While their long campaign goals are identical (hold 50 provinces, occupy Rome, and destroy or outlast the Senate) their short campaign goals are different.

The Julii are the red Romans. They start in northern Italy and are intended to fight the Gauls above all other foes. Their Gods are Bacchus (large bonuses to happiness), Ceres (small bonus to happiness, increased population growth) and Jupiter (small bonus to happiness, small bonus to law). Their gladiator is the Samnite; you can recruit them when you build an amphitheatre. Their short campaign goals are to destroy or outlast the Gauls and capture 15 provinces. Their game is quite easy; the Gauls are numerous but on a man to man basis they are inferior to Rome’s legions. The Julii will mostly be conquering inland provinces and this hurts their potential trade income as, shockingly, you need to be on the coast to build a port. However this does not mean they will be perpetually bankrupt; once you have five or so cities you can, with careful planning and construction, rake in significant piles of cash.

The Scipii are the blue Romans. They start in south-western Italy and Sicily. They are intended to take on the might of Carthage and the Numidians above all others. Their Gods are Vulcan (small happiness bonus, bonuses to armour and weapons of troops), Saturn (small happiness bonus, small law bonus), and Neptune (small happiness bonus, eventual ability to build the corvus quinquireme). Their gladiator is the Mimillo and you can recruit them when you have built a coliseum. In their short campaign their goal is to destroy or outlast Carthage and Numidia, and capture 15 provinces. The Scipii will be engaging in a lot of naval warfare, and Carthage is a tougher foe than the Gauls. However because many of their provinces will be coastal they will really rake in cash from trade.

The Brutii are the green Romans. They start in south-eastern Italy and they are intended to crush the Greeks and Macedonians under their hobnailed sandals. Their Gods are Juno (small happiness bonus, small city health bonus), Mercury (small happiness bonus, small trade bonus), and Mars (troop experience bonus). Their gladiator unit is the Velite; you’ll be able to recruit them when you construct an arena. In their short campaign you must destroy or outlast the Greek Cities and Macedon, and hold 15 provinces. The Brutii represent something of a middle ground between the other two factions. They will engage in some naval warfare and take quite a few coastal cities; they will also have quite a few in-land provinces. Their enemies can field strong armies but they do not have to contend with war elephants.

To unlock the other factions you need to finish any of the Roman campaigns on any difficulty; even an easy/easy short campaign will do. I did it on normal/normal with the Julii short campaign.

For the BI campaign your choice is far from simple. You have more factions to choose from, and some of those factions are quite difficult. I’ve only played a couple of BI games, and campaigns do turn out very differently indeed (I had one as the Saxons so easy I quit in disgust, wishing I hadn’t been talked into buying the add-on. I started another as the Saxons for experimental reasons, and found myself struggling to survive from turn 2 in the best game RTW/BI has given me) so I can’t advise too much. Generally the Western Roman Empire is the hardest, though it can be tamed within a few turns by an expert with a careful plan. The Eastern Roman Empire is said to be quite easy, and certainly the game I started with them was so tediously peaceful I quit. The Northern barbarian tribes like the Franks and the Saxons start with good, concentrated positions and easy rebel targets nearby. However, if the WRE turns its attention in force to these two factions they can have an incredible time surviving as hordes of superior troops from a far more populous and wealthy faction turn up at their gates turn after turn after turn. Most of the horde factions, like the Huns, are supposed to be fairly easy, I think. The Goths are, I think, another faction which can either thrive or be pasted to death early on, depending on how the horde factions do.

But really it shouldn’t matter so much. The BI campaign is not for beginners. Give it a go after completing several RTW campaigns.



Difficulty


Difficulty is split into two categories; campaign map and battle map. Explaining exactly how difficulty works is … complicated. See, there are unknown factors, there is the known set of factors CA themselves told us, and there are the things players have guessed at.

Battle map
Normal is a level playing ground with no advantage to either side. I shall quote CA developer JeromeGrasdyke on the effects of difficulty on combat bonuses: “The combat bonuses are easy; they apply to attack only, while on Easy the human player gets a +4 bonus, on Hard the AI is given +4, and on Very Hard +7. The morale bonuses are much more complex, as they work on a series of sliding scales.” Unfortunately the very hard bonus is rather ridiculous and it allows the AI do crazy things, such as smashing a phalanx head on with plain hastati. The AI achieves results which should never happen, and the general attitude I have seen expressed towards this difficulty is one of frustration. So for now I recommend sticking with normal; it might be rather easy for veterans but at least your phalanx works …

Campaign map
Given that I only play with this set to very hard a true comparison is a tad difficult. This does seem to differ depending on whether you play a BI or RTW campaign, for example you starting money in BI is always the same, regardless of the setting, whereas in RTW you start with less money on the higher levels. The AI in both should be more aggressive on higher levels, and will use agents more to bribe your armies and cities on very hard. On the lower levels I’m told the AI will only target diplomats.

The readme for the 1.1 patch says that campaign map difficulty affects the results of auto-resolved battles. Although it does not actually state what changes are made for each difficulty it seems logical to assume that on easier difficulties the battles are most likely to give you favourable results, whereas on the harder levels you will take more losses and lose more battles.




Other options


Advice level
This controls the advisors, Victoria and Marcus. Unless you want them nattering away at you like in the tutorial leave them on the default – off.

Arcade battles
According to CA developer Mike B arcade mode “turns off morale, fatigue and ammunition effects in battle.”

Manage all cities
Now this one is interesting, important and will have a big effect on your game. If the box is checked you will be able to manage the details of all your cities regardless of whether they have a governor or not. If you de-check the box you will have to have a governor present to give your cities orders. In a way it’s a case of picking your flavour of micromanagement; shuttling governors about and queuing orders, or handling all your cities each turn. Note that if the option is selected you can hand cities over to the AI to manage anyway, but if it is not selected the only way to gain control of your cities is to install a governor. I like to leave this one selected so I can manage all my cities personally all the time, and hand the less important ones over to the AI when I get too many.

Follow AI characters
If you want to see what the AI is doing leave this checked; if not de-check it. Default is on.

Short campaign
I outlined the Roman factions short campaign goals in their blurb above. Basically on this mode you will have to take 15 provinces and destroy or outlast set faction(s) to win, regardless of who you are playing as.

There is no short campaign for the BI game.

Unit size
A lot of people have asked me about this, and a lot of people have asked on the assorted forums I read. It’s actually an option under the graphics main menu, just check the ‘advanced settings’ box to reveal it. Unit size can ONLY be altered at the start of a campaign. It doesn’t matter what you get your options to after starting a campaign; you will be stuck with the unit size you had selected when you started. Larger units have more men (Oh golly!) and this has several …. Impacts. Firstly it makes them that little bit harder to control on the battlefield; they take longer to react to orders, especially when altering facing by 90 degrees. This is a Good Thing in my opinion. Secondly they take more men from settlements when being built; a Bad Thing. You see the starting populations of cities in the campaign are the same for all unit sizes, and so the AI tends to drain cities of people trying to build an army. That means it’s slower and harder to tech up, and so you tend to run into crappy units a lot. This can also happen to you, the super smart human player person thing, if you are not careful. Thirdly, and most obviously, larger units require more oomph from your PC. I use the largest unit size and point blank refuse to drop below the second largest size. Small units are not fun to me.




https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttps://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gif Your main aims (taking over the world and enslaving the populace to your whims, hahahahahah!!)


Yes, I can hear you saying “Look, you kill enough people of the right type, and capture enough provinces of the right type to fulfil your campaign victory conditions – it’s easy, you silly frog!” Shut up and stop throwing popcorn, you ingrate! If you want to conquer the world you must work in bite sized stages, achieving certain goals along the way. Alexander the Great didn’t go straight in India, did he? No, he united Greece under his size 7 boot, then went off on a foreign holiday.

Everyone always divides this kind of game up into three phases; early game, mid game and late game. I could revolutionise this and invent my own froggy division system but I’m lazy; I shall use the standard.

Early game
This is where you start. You have barely any resources, crappy units, very little cash or income, and generally everything needs doing.

Mid game
You have expanded a little and stabilised your situation. Your cash flow is healthier and you can now use better units. You still have some way to go, but now you are less likely to be smushed into pulp if you make a tiny mistake.

Late game
If you are playing the long campaign then this phase includes the Civil wars, and Senate killing, as well as collecting those final provinces with your high tech troops. If you are in a short campaign you will most likely just need to tidy up the last couple of provinces belonging to your specified enemy(s) and reach the fifteen province count. In the BI game you are probably just tidying off those last few provinces to reach your specified target while keeping the other factions from blasting your doors down. The BI early and mid games feel far longer to me than the same stages of the RTW game, and the endgame far shorter.

Roughly in order of priority you need to:
-Stabilise your existing lands.
-Secure your borders, by expansion if necessary.
-Sort out your finances so you have a positive income.
-Grow your finances so your incomes is larger.
-Tech up by building army related buildings when affordable and convenient.
-Organise your armies, which will probably be battered after the initial phase of expansion and battling.
-Slowly begin to expand, taking strategically chosen targets.

I will now bore you with a quick discussion of those points.

Stabilise your existing lands
This does not necessarily mean being all nice and building schools and kissing babies; it can mean kicking seven shades of hell out of the nearest threat. Basically in this category you need to identify anything that could do significant harm to you in the initial turns and this can include unhappy cities, ambitious neighbours, rebel armies or perhaps even badly placed family members who are either vulnerable to attack/bribery or are not helping you at all.

Secure your borders, by expansion if necessary.
Build however many armies you need to guard your lands. There is a snag with this one: money. Usually in the beginning you will be making a loss and only have a few thousand denarii in the bank. For this reason I usually use a more roundabout approach to getting my armies – I use the initial troops thoughtfully scattered throughout the territory. If a unit of decent troops is in a city then I pull it out. If it is required to act as a garrison I train a unit of peasants to replace it. I have found that I can usually get one or two decently mixed armies with around 7 units each this way. The exception to this being in BI with the Eastern and Western Roman Empires; there I end up with something like five armies, or more. It’s also worth noting that in the hostile world of BI (:sigh: hostile except when it is tediously peaceful at the start for reasons which remain a mystery to me) getting those armies up and ready ASAP is vital to your survival. Some factions in some games will be attacked in force before the third turn. Also in BI you need 2 units of peasants for every one normal unit you remove; peasants have a halved effect as garrison troops.

“By expansion if necessary” yes, this means that if the enemy has a city located in such a place as to be a real and significant threat you should do your best to capture it, removing the threat and boosting your situation. By threat I mean cities which are splitting your lands up, or are deep in your territory, or are very strong and likely to grow into a powerhouse pumping out army after army right into your back yard. A good example of this kind of threat is the city of Patavium at the start of a Julii campaign. This city is large and, if left for a short while it will send hordes down to attack the Julii on a regular, highly irritating basis. Look it up on your paper map and you should begin to see why the Julii really need to take Patavium ASAP.

Note that you don’t have to kick everyone all of the time; try to use your diplomat(s) to set up a few alliances with neighbouring factions so you will not be ganged up on.

Sort out your finances so you have a larger positive income.
Well, this takes several different kinds of approaches and you will find a more in-depth discussion in the economy section. For now suffice it to say you should consider building basic roads everywhere, ports wherever possible, and perhaps the odd trader in cities making the most money from trade. You may also need to be more proactive than that; you may need to capture an additional city or two. Unless you need to take another faction’s city to secure your position try to look for rebel held cities as you can capture those without starting a war. While your diplomats are doing the rounds trying to collect alliances try to get trade agreements as well. As outlined in the diplomacy section trade agreements are easier to get than alliances.

In the more advanced world of the BI campaign this takes a slightly different form. There are already roads aplenty, and ports, and a goodly number of very advanced cities. Basically you either have rich lands or you are out in the cold. Depending on which applies to you, you will either want to:

-Cut costs! This can involve some real slash and burn work. This is the sort of thing the ERE and WRE want to be doing, and probably other large factions too. Check each city’s religious status (double click the city, then call up the settlement details with the little scroll button), and then check the temple. If the temple does not match the dominant religion (the one with the largest percentage of followers, naturally) demolish it. Then queue up the first level building of the matching religion. This will reduce unrest immediately, and reduce it still further next turn, meaning you no longer need such a large garrison to hold that city. So get looking at those troops – any you don’t need to send to your armies, disband. Take it slowly though; check each unit can be done without before deleting it. You can do this by ordering it to move outside the city. When you find you do need a unit to act as garrison, train 2 units of peasants to replace it. This is far, far cheaper, usually less than half the upkeep cost of the single good unit, and provides exactly the same effect in terms of population control. If the city’s happiness stays within acceptable levels then you can get rid of the unit. Doing this across an entire 17 city empire can make one heck of a difference.

-Raid! This is for the smaller factions out there, the ones who don’t have the resources. It’s a bit slower to get going, because you need to have sufficient forces to reliably take whatever vulnerable, nearby settlement you can see without too many losses. Just capture the place, exterminate it, and retreat, moving on to the next target. Do this a few times and you end up richer than Richard Branson.

Grow your finances so your income is stronger.
At this point you being adding more trade buildings, upgrading roads and ports anywhere you can, seeking trade agreements and building mines. Again you can find more in the economy section. This applies to the land of BI-dom as well. Even those raiding barbarian thugs need to be adding in the infrastructure necessary to support standing armies.

Tech up by building army related buildings when affordable and convenient.
What is says on the tin. This one goes quite low on the priority list because you can often get by with your initial facilities for a short while, and by the time you require more advanced troops being trained in more locations you should have a steady cash flow.

Organise your armies, which will probably be battered after the initial phase of expansion and battling.
Again precisely what it says on the tin. You will probably need to merge and retrain units, as well as bring out a few freshly raised reinforcements. Since the retraining versus merging argument is a long, old, rambling topic I shall cover it later in the army section.

Slowly begin to expand, taking strategically chosen targets.
Right, you have money in the bank and a profit each turn, your armies are sorted out and capable of fighting, your cities are slowly improving and your initial position is safe. Now you can begin expanding out to take on those foes you deem most worthy of your attentions (clue: you will probably have several potential target factions to choose from. Try the ones who will either give you a real benefit now, such as rich cities, or ones who will get nasty if left to tech up.)

When campaigning against your faction’s main foes in the early game you can give yourself a boost and cripple them by targeting their best cities first. Here’s a few examples from Maltz:
Armania: Parthia
Dacia/Thrace: Macedon -> Greek cities -> Rome
Germania: Julii -> Rome
Numidia: Carthage -> Brutii -> Scipii -> Rome
Carthage: Brutii -> Scipii -> Rome

In BI this is much less possible. Either the faction in question is very big, with several important cities all well built up, defended, and stuffed safely away in the heartlands of their empire, or the faction will turn into a horde and punish you for your arrogance. Just because you can wipe out some of the barbarian factions by taking their single starting city doesn’t mean you should. Your half stack army is going to look pretty wimpy when four or more full stacks of displaced, furious natives turn up to ask where they are meant to live now. Constantinople may be the city of all cities, but it has epic walls, and they alone can (and do) mince sizeable armies without need for the big garrison of advanced Roman troops usually found relaxing and enjoying the sights. In BI you must be far more careful, and perhaps settle for lesser targets until you have reached a stage where you can field larger, more advanced armies.



https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gif Bread and Circuses: City management (and a bit about the map)


Rome: the eternal city, the beacon of culture, the centre of the world, the jewel in the crown – you get the idea. Well, sorry folks but Rome isn’t for you, not until you have grown inordinately powerful. Instead think of Backus Waterus: the eternal mud pile, the beacon of yokels, the maggot in the apple – yup, it really is that bad. You have heard the saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day”? Well sadly it is true; to get Backus Waterus up to the level of Rome will take years, hundreds of them.

Because CA didn’t see fit to include Backus Waterus in the game, thus ruining my joke (shakes fist at CA), we shall have to scrutinise another city instead. Let’s look at Arretium, the capital of the Julii er, … tiny, cutely sized mini empire. Oh ok, the Julii two province backwater with empire potential and a nice view of the Alps. Why Arretium? Because I think red is a nicer colour than blue or green, so we use the Julii capital instead of the Scipii or Brutii, that’s why!


https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/Arretium.jpg

Side note: While we have this convenient screenshot I will record a piece of information that is very handy. You see those four tabs labelled army, town, agent and blank? Right clicking on the first three tabs will bring up an overview for the relevant section. Army will bring up a list of all your armies, their locations and their leaders. City will bring up a lost of all your cities, their governors and civil order. Agent will drag up a list of all your agent (spy, diplomat, assassin) characters, their locations and mission, if any.

This screenshot shows Arretium on the map. Because the city has been selected it has a green hoop thing around it and the city information screens have popped up. Let’s start at the beginning, with the city itself on the map. The graphic shows the culture of the city; in this case Roman. If it were a barbarian culture the city would be made up of mud huts, if it were Egyptian it would be mud brick, and so on. Because these people are Roman they have nice tiled stone houses. Unfortunately you can’t tax them extra for that. The huge red banner sticking up from the city (which I would expect to be very unstable, and to blow over in even a mild breeze killing hundreds of innocent civilians) shows that this city belongs to the Julii; it is their colour and has their symbol on it. Notice how part of it is a nice red, while the rest is an unpleasant pink? That shows the size of the garrison. More red=more men.

Below the city is a little box with the city’s name (Arretium, for those of you with very short attention spans), a few numbers, and several funky icons. From left to right, the pile of coins with –19 next to it is the amount the city is making each turn. Right now it is losing money to the tune of –19 denarii per turn. Actually, to be pedantic, it is not losing money at all; more on that later. The little green face represents the city’s mood. Green is good; green is where you want all your cities. Yellow means there is some discontent but it’s not really a problem. Blue means people are very unhappy and are on the verge of becoming rebellious, so you should do something to turn opinion immediately, if not sooner. Red means they are going to storm your posh mansion, trample the flower beds and do unspeakable things to your pet kittiekat. The third symbol, the man with a plus sign next to him, means that the city’s population is growing. If population grow stabilises the man will turn yellow and the plus will vanish. If growth goes into a decline the man will turn red and a minus sign will appear next to him. There are several other possible icons that can appear which are not present in this screenshot. A little yellow man waving a sword means the city is recruiting or retraining a unit of some kind; military or agent. A yellow hammer and saw crossed icon means the city is building or repairing a building. A pitchfork on a flaming background means the city is currently rioting. A symbol with walls and flames means the city is under siege; this is also visible on the map as a ring of sharp stakes around the city and an enemy army waving a sword imposingly. A skull means the city has the plague. A gears symbol means the city is being auto-managed by the AI.

Looking around your city at its province will reveal details about trade and construction. Any roads present will be shown, with each upgrade visible. Plain roads, as in this picture, are brown dirt tracks. Paved roads are grey lines. Highways are deep grey lines. The roads will have little wagons travelling along them; these represent land trade. The more wagons you see the more trade is taking place. You will notice icons like giant pottery cups, jugs, chunks of stone and so on scattered about the map. These are trade goods. A good must be present in a province for that province to export it. Some goods are worth more than others and some provinces have more trade goods than others. If you look above the flag in the screenshot you can see a white block; this is the marble trade good. If you hover your cursor over a trade good it will tell you what it is. You can see pottery trade goods just across the border, between Arretium and the rebel city just disappearing off the edge of the picture. It is a very sound idea to look for trade goods on the map when deciding where to conquer next.

I should probably tell you about the slave trade good now. This good appears on the map as a pair of silver manacles. It is not permanent, instead it has a chance to appear when you capture and enslave a city. The good will last for approximately 20 turns and will increase population growth in cities receiving the slaves. According to thee 1.1 patch’s readme Roman factions and Roman allied factions will have 25% of the enslaved population go to the capital of the senate faction.

Just near the bottom left corner you can see a stone walled blob; this is a port. If you see this on a map you know the city has a port and can conduct sea trade. I think every coastal province can eventually build a port.

The thick red line snaking its way through the middle of the map is the border of the province and, since you don’t own any provinces beyond this one, of your empire.

Right, that’s it for what you can learn from just looking at the map; time to move on to the city information screens. If you look at the right hand side of the screenshot you can see a parchment; if you can’t see it you should probably get glasses. The grey box near the top (the one with the picture of the man and scroll icons) is the governor. If there is no governor in the city the box will be empty. The picture is not important; the other details are. Age is displayed in the top right corner; the older the guy is the more likely he is to expire and become a small pile of ash in a ceremonial urn. Dead governors are not replaced automatically; you have to send another family member out yourself, assuming you have a spare. Below this you can see the chap’s name; Lucius Julius. Command is battlefield leadership; this mewling infant only has one star so you’d better hope he never has to fight anyone with more skill than he has, i.e. anyone who is more skilled than a damp piece of canvas. Management indicates his ability to manage a city, to do the job you have given him. While he might be an utter moron on the field of battle this guy is seriously skilled at taxing people and oppressing the masses. Below that is influence, rated in snazzy laurel wreaths. He has three of them, quite good really. Most characters have low influence if they are not faction leaders/heirs or in a senate office. Influence helps a governor keep control over his citizens; a little awe really does help prevent riots.

Below that box is another labelled settlement details. This is your one-stop shop for the critical information about how your city is doing. Income is a simple repeat of the same figure on the map; to get the real meat you need to go to the detailed city information screen; more on that later. Public order represents how likely the city is to riot. Anything under 100% is bad; it means there is unrest. Ok, to be honest you can survive with slightly below 100% but it is really skating close to the edge of thin ice and any small problems will push you over into the happy little land of trouble. Having your governor die and your city revolt because public order was already close to danger point is severely not fun. Because this city is at 150% it’s as stable as a very stable thing. Population is the current number of souls stuffed into your taxation hellhole. Population growth is represented as a percentage; each turn the displayed percentage is calculated for the population, and then added on. In this case 2% of 4,000 is 80, so at the beginning of the next turn the city will have 4,080 people. Larger populations grow faster; such is the arcane magic of percentages. “Population required for next level of settlement,” means just that; when the current population hits the indicated amount (6,000 in this case) the city will grow to the next level. This is a Good Thing; larger cities allow you to build more advanced structures. Below that is a box labelled auto manage; if you get tired of managing the city yourself check this box and the AI will manage the city according to priorities you assign.

Next is a blurb labelled tax rate with two arrows next to it; click them to change the tax rate. Higher taxes slow down population growth and bring in more money; they also make people unhappy. Strangely people don’t like handing their money over to the government. Weirdoes. Low taxes increase population growth and happiness but hurt your income. You will have to choose your tax level according to a bunch of factors discussed later in the guide.

Below that is a box showing a bunch of buildings with the word ‘construction’ above it. Astonishingly this is where you choose what buildings you want the city to construct. If you right click on a building it will display a page telling you what it is and what it does. Very handy. The tabs behind this, recruitment, retrain, and repair, as well as how to build and queue items were explained in the tutorial, so I won’t repeat.

Down the bottom left hand side of the parchment are 4 buttons. From top to bottom they are:
-Tech tree for your faction. If you aren’t playing a Roman this is the only way you can see your tech tree, as there is no printout included in the game.
-Victoria’s advise on what to build next.
-Show detailed information on the city.
-Go to the city’s location on the main map.

Phew! Done. Anything else you need to know about this screen was mentioned in the tutorial. Now, on to the next screen; the advanced settlement details.


https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/Arretiumdetail.jpg

Thankfully for my fingers, and your eyes, this screen will not take nearly as long to explain as the previous one. Population growth has three icons; a house with corn (farming), an ear of corn (er, general foody stuff), and rats (squalor). Foody stuff plus farmed food add up to give a boost to your population, given in a percentage. You can see an individual total by hovering your cursor over the little pictures; that applies to all the items on these screens. Squalor detracts from the total; people living in their own filth generally don’t want to breed for some very strange reason. If squalor gets too bad you can probably get negative population growth.

Public order is a breakdown of how likely the city is to riot. Factors are: prestige of the governor (laurel wreaths, assuming there is a governor and he has prestige), balancing scales (law, affected by certain temples and governor traits), garrison (the soldier, simply place military units in your city and they will act as garrison troops), and again you can see the squalor icon. Squalor is a big issue; it affects quite a lot of city aspects and is hard to pin down because it arises from several factors.

Below that is income. The scroll represents bonus income from the governor’s management talent; skilled governors can really bring you some money. The wheeled cart represents trade of all types; you can get a detailed breakdown on the trade screen. The bags of money are taxes; the higher your population and tax rate the more tax income you will get. The little house with corn represents farming income. The lower bar contains expenditures for this city. The little bit of paper is the upkeep of your armies; the total sum is divided amongst all your cities according to their wealth and population. The portrait bust is the pay for your agents and family members.

The length of time a city can hold out in a siege is dependant on its food stores. Food stores are influenced by the level of wall and governor’s building in the settlement; more advanced buildings enable a city to hold out for longer.

If you want this screen to open up automatically every time you click on a city tick the ‘always show city details box’. Down the bottom left side you can see three icons; from top to bottom they are:
-View this city in all its 3D glory on the battle map.
-Make this city your capital city.
-Show detailed trade information. And that leads me to the next screen …


https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/Arretiumtrade.jpg

Trade is a marvellous thing; it supplies the lion’s share of your income and doesn’t cause any long term problems, unlike farming and taxation. But more on that later. In this screen you can see how much your city is making and which other cities it is trading with. Because trade needs roads or ports connecting the cities (you also have to know the city exists; you can’t trade with places you haven’t discovered yet … we think), Arretium is currently only trading with a handful of places, mostly by road. This screen is not glamorous or vital, but I find it handy to check how much a city is making from trade before building trade related buildings like the forum.

Right, now we have covered the various aspects of your city it is time to discuss what to do with them. Simply put you want your cities to grow, because then they make more money and you can build more advanced things in them. However you do not want them to grow too big or too fast, because squalor will get out of hand and things will get … messy. Cities max out in terms of what you can build at 24,000 people, and at that size they can get hard to manage, and the population keeps on growing. But in many ways getting to that size is a distant problem for most new players; instead the question is what to do with your dunghill 2,000 population town to get it growing and making money.

Population growth
The major population growth factor is food. All of the farm line of buildings increase the amount of food available, and that in turn increases population growth. Seems simple then, just whack down farms as quickly as possible, then upgrade them often, right? Er, not, not quite. You see you can never demolish farms; once they are built you are stuck with them permanently. Imagine the kind of population growth you can get with 5% of 24,000 and you will see why paving the world in big farms is a poor idea in the long run. Your population will run rampant, expanding faster than you can keep it happy and requiring larger and larger garrisons to kept revolt at bay, until eventually you can no longer keep pace and the city explodes. So, maximum farm upgrades are often a bad idea in the long term. However no farm upgrades can be as problematic; your population will grow at a crawl. This leaves you technologically, and financially, stunted. Also you will be using a small band of cities to recruit your armies from, and this reduces their population. You will need those cities to grow back fast enough to keep supplying bodies for your wars, but not so fast you end up with rioting. So far I have found building the first farm (land clearance) early on in each and every settlement is a good idea. If I plan on using a city to recruit a constant stream of troops I might build the second, but only if I am going to be recruiting constantly. So, most places have the most basic farms and no more. Farm upgrades also bring in a bit more cash, but farming income is never much compared to trade so it is not worth building them for financial reasons, especially when you think of the extra garrisons you may require to handle the booming population. The terrain of the province itself affects how much food is grown; some lush provinces have a naturally huge population growth while others barely grow at all.

Farms are not the only buildings which affect population growth; certain temples and other buildings increase population growth. Some people suggest building the population boosting temples to grow your cities quickly, then demolishing them in favour of a temple which boosts happiness and/or law. I haven’t tried this strategy personally yet, but I do wonder if you might have problems with unhappiness when rebuilding the temples. I also don’t like wasting cash and building time, but that’s stingy old me. The other population boosting buildings, such as the trade building family (trader, market, forum etc) are useful and they do not provide such a massive boost to growth. I always build them.

Taxes also affect population growth, as mentioned earlier. If you want your population to grow swiftly give them low taxes; if you need to arrest growth (with high unhappiness as a side effect) then stick taxes to the maximum. Note that if your city is about to revolt due to squalor pumping your taxes up may halt growth but it will also probably tip the city over the edge into rioting. Normal tax rate strikes a balance between income, happiness and population growth. I find it makes a good middle ground unless you urgently need to alter one of those factors.

Squalor will negatively affect population growth; if it gets bad enough then it will counter all the positive growth factors and halt growth. I think it is also possible to end up with a famine, which makes population decline. If you push your taxes high enough when the city is already experiencing slow growth you may push growth to a negative.

There is a final, rather abstract way to make your population grow: slaves. When you conquer an enemy city you are offered a choice between occupying, enslaving and occupying, or exterminating and occupying. If you choose enslave a certain amount of the cities citizens will be removed from that location and divided up between all your other cities that have a governor; no governor, no slaves. This is quite handy; it allows you to boost your core cities and makes the new city easier to control. You can also get some new characters for the enslaving general’s retinue this way. Beyond that initial burst of slavery there is a steady, on-going +1% growth bonus for any city connected to the newly captured settlement by road. This extra bonus lasts for 20 turns, until the slave resource on the map disappears.

Religion
This feature only appears in the BI campaign. The BI manual has a good section on this; I suggest you read it.

There are three religions in the game: Pagan, Christian, and Zoroastrian.

On the settlement details scroll in BI you will find a new bar added: religion. It’s simple enough to understand. It represents 100% of the population, and each religion present in that city will be followed by a percentage of the population. The more visible on the bar a religion is, the more followers it has. The dominant religion is the one with more followers, obviously. The important thing is it does not matter if your population is 49% pagan and 51% Christian – the city will still be happy with a Christian shrine. Put in a pagan shrine, and the city will start to get restless until there are more pagans than Christians or any other religion. The dominant religion is the only one which really matters.

Religion is affected in a few ways:

-Shrines. More advanced shrines have a bigger influence; where a small shrine might convert 5% of the population each turn, the largest could do 20%.

-Buildings. There are a few non-shrine buildings which have a conversion bonus, usually a small one. One example is the Christian hermitage.

-Governors and family members. Nearly all family member has a religion (they cannot convert to another one. Once they find their faith they stick with it. Faith is assigned along with the other starting traits, and is probably influenced by the father, the settlement the child is considered to be growing up in (i.e. the one daddy is based in), and maybe by the religion of the faction leader) and will exert a 5% conversion bonus at all times in a settlement. This bonus stacks; if you send enough people of the same religion it is possible to convert cities in a single turn.

-Agents. Nearly all agents also have a religion, and they also will never convert to another. They have a small conversion effect.

-Neighbours. Cultural exchange does not end with swapping recipes.

-Gladiatorial games. According to the manual throwing games can have a pagan influence. This makes sense, historically speaking.

The official religion of the settlement is determined by the shrine present. If it is a 99% pagan city and has a Christian shrine then it is still a Christian city. In the absence of a shrine of some sort then the governor’s religion is the official one. Lacking a governor, the faction leader’s religion is used.

As far as conversion, those percentages, and influences go, all you really need to worry about is making sure the religion you want to be dominant keeps the largest percentage. A city will only convert towards the largest bonus each turn, so if a city is subjected to a 5% Zoroastrian, 10% Christian and 15% Pagan, only the Pagan religion will gain citizens that turn. However, if the percentages changed so Zoroastrian went up to a 20% influence while the others stayed the same, say because some characters arrived in the settlement, then the Zoroastrian religion would be the one gaining.

If a city has a different official religion to its governor then there will be some unhappiness. Characters with extreme faith cause more unhappiness, and characters can grow more extreme when forced to live amongst the ‘heathens’.

Squalor and happiness.
Squalor is a major issue in Rome: Total War. Squalor makes your population unhappy; if unhappiness gets too high they will riot. Squalor is the main cause of unhappiness in many cases. Squalor represents the general ills and upsets of a city; think crime, inequality, poverty, overcrowding and so on. On the most basic level squalor increases in proportion to your population; if you have a large population then you are more likely to have squalor. Getting slightly more complex, a large population is not just one that is a big number. A city can have problems with squalor shortly before it reaches the required population to grow to the next size. A city can also begin to have problems with squalor because of the governor’s traits and retinue, but more on that in a bit. But if squalor has to be generalised I suppose it is fair to say that squalor is more common, and generally more of an issue, in larger cities with big populations.

The government buildings, such as the Governor’s villa, affect squalor and you should always build them the instant they become available. The government buildings also have the nice benefit of enabling you to access the new level of buildings that arrives with your new settlement size. You seem to receive a fixed squalor penalty when you do not have the appropriate level of governor’s building in a city. The government family is the only family of buildings which affect squalor. Other families may counteract its penalties, but only this family reduces the penalty itself. Certain character traits and retinue characters will also affect squalor, both positively and negatively. A governor with one of the stingy family of traits will increase squalor with his miserly spending, but a governor with a prim and proper family trait will reduce squalor. There are other traits and trait families which affect squalor but you don’t really need to know what they are unless one of your governors gets them. Just keep an eye on what traits your governors pick up and send them to high/low squalor cities accordingly. The same applies to retinue members; try to transfer squalor boosting characters to family members in a city where squalor is not a problem.

Happiness can act as a counter to squalor, so build temples and entertainment (arena etc) family buildings to help combat the effects of squalor. Garrisons help keep a lid on rebellions, so if your city has high squalor you may need to increase the garrison, but remember that the garrison effect maxes out at 80%. Health increasing buildings are a bit of a double edged sword; the health bonus increases happiness in the city, but it also increases population growth. The happiness will help counter the effects of squalor, but the population will grow faster meaning squalor will increase faster too.

Squalor inflicts a population growth penalty. You can counter this directly with farms, and indirectly with buildings that increase public health. Remember that squalor grows in proportion to your population, so it may not be a good idea to try and regain positive growth in a city where the population has stabilised or begun to decline.

The best way to handle squalor involves careful management and construction. 8% population growth is a magic number; by the time a city reaches 24,000 people that 8% growth will have been completely countered by the squalor growth penalty, reducing growth to zero. To get this magic 8% you need to take your city’s natural growth rate (i.e. the one it starts with when there are no farms or growth boosting buildings, governor traits and retinue characters in play) and carefully find a combination of buildings which will add to (you can find the bonuses they give on the in-game tech tree) that base figure to reach 8%. If there are already some farms and growth boosting buildings present just work from that number instead; so long as the end number reaches 8% it doesn’t really matter how you get there. As your city will stop growing at 24,000 people the assorted happiness boosting buildings, along with a garrison and a decent governor should be sufficient to keep everyone happy.


https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/pop%20growth.jpg
Note: It is the clumsily circled figure in this screenshot you want to reach exactly 8%, not the number given on the main city information screen, and not the number added up at the end.

24,000 people is an important number because it is the last population level you need for a city to upgrade; basically if the city goes much beyond that then you will not be able to get big enough boosts from your temples and other happiness boosting buildings to counteract the unhappiness caused by squalor. At 24,000 or under you should be able to manage, except in a very few cases.

When squalor gets so far out of hand it becomes uncontrollable (such as if you have planned badly and growth continues after 24,000 people) some people like to pull the entire garrison from the city, park an army next door and push the city into rioting with high taxes. Then they simply roll in with the army and recapture the city. The deaths caused by this take the city down to a manageable population level while leaving the buildings intact. In this way you can end up with a highly advanced city with a relatively small population.

As of patch 1.2 squalor is capped at 100% public disorder penalty instead of the previous 125%. This makes life a lot easier when dealing with huge cities. Anything past 30,000 people will no longer inflict an extra penalty so long as the Imperial palace is in place.

Some people just don’t appreciate how good life is!
Some provinces are inherently more rebellious than others. Epistolary Richard has created this map to illustrate the problem provinces:

https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/unrest2.jpg

Health.
Health is an unassuming but important thing. If city health is poor it is more vulnerable to the plague; plague is officially Not A Good Thing. Healthy citizens are happy citizens, and this alone makes the health line worth building. Good health can boost city growth; this can be good or bad, as discussed earlier. Logic would suggest that health related buildings would reduce squalor; this does not appear to be true, but as they also increase population growth any benefits will be temporary at best.

Game for a laugh
The Roman factions can host games in their cities when they construct an arena (or the upgrades) in a city. The games cost money but improve the host city’s happiness for a short space.

What’s that flashing!?
You may notice icons flashing on your city information screens, usually trade icons flashing. I can’t explain this any better than the official FAQ, so quote time: “These represent effects that are about to disappear in the next turn. It might be that a trade route no longer exists, a building has been demolished, the garrison has left town, or you've just conquered the place. Think about what has changed for the settlement, and you should soon see a connection.”

How transparent!
To follow on from the point about flashing icons, you may also note semi transparent looking icons in the same screen. These represent the effects buildings you are constructing will have when completed. For example if you are currently building a farm you will see a faded out looking food icon in the population growth sector. Hover your cursor over it to find out exactly what effect is about to be added. I love this effect, it’s great for working out which money making building will give the best return. I queue one building up, look at the increase, cancel it and put in the next building, check the figure, and so on until I have tried them all. I’m probably very sad …

[begin fake comedy British accent]That is a capital question, old thing, what what. [end fake comedy British accent]
Cities that are a long way from your capital receive a happiness penalty. There does not seem to be much you can do to relieve the penalty, so make sure your capital is in a central location in your empire and when your empire starts to get very big try to counter the penalty in your outermost cities with happiness buildings, good governors, garrisons and the like. Don’t be afraid to move your capital about as much as is needed; it has no bad side effects, unless you go and park it too far away from some cities, boosting their happiness penalty by a lot in one go and pushing them into revolt.

There are two distance to capital tools out there that I am aware of, d0t's (http://bbb.unknownnet.com/rtw/bestcap.htm) and Ravenous Bugblatter Beast's (http://www.ravenousbugblatterbeast.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bestcap.htm). They are very handy if you wish to place your capital just so.

Garrisons do have a limit
I said it before but I will repeat it now: garrisons max out at 80% happiness increase. If you add more troops when you already have 80% you will gain nothing except a larger maintenance bill.

I will also repeat that in the BI game peasants are only half as effective as any other unit when it comes to garrison duty. You need 2 peasant units to have the same effect as one normal one. This doesn’t matter anything like as much as you may think – BI peasants are cheap, really cheap. You can have the 2 units of them and still be paying less than half as much in upkeep and initial build costs than even the simple low level infantry.

Military or trade?
It’s a simple question; do you build your city for military (troop and agent production) or trade (raking in cash)? You should only need a couple of troop producing cities, probably in your heartlands. Your fist few cities are excellent candidates for military settlements because you will have longer to build them up, they should remain well protected until/unless your empire collapses or the civil war begins, and finally they should have larger populations than all those towns you enslaved or exterminated. If you use your starting cities to produce troops you will be able to pour out units close to the other Roman faction’s homelands, and so when the civil war arrives it should be easier for your to strike and cripple their own core provinces. In my short, 15 province games 3 troop producing cities was enough to fuel an batch of active wars on several fronts without problems. It did take a few turns for the new troops to get to the front, but if I had recruited from newly conquered lands I would have been using town watch instead of principes and hastati. In longer games it can be nice to select a few large, nicely located cities near your assorted frontiers to provide troops for that area if your main troop recruiting cities are some distance away. These outflung cities will probably not be as advanced as your core ones, but sometimes using some less advanced units is far better than sitting about waiting for your elite to slowly dribble in.

That leaves almost all your other cities to trade, and trade is easy. Simply build roads, the trader family of buildings, and a port if applicable. Sit back and enjoy the cash. Military cities might pump out the troops, but it’s the trade cities that pay for them. A balance between the two is vital.

One note: All cities should have walls, regardless of function. Proper walls, not flimsy wooden ones. Large stone wall and epic stone walls I rarely bother with, but the massive defensive boost ordinary stone walls gives over wooden ones is not to be dismissed. Walls are one of those things you either don’t need or need desperately, and if you don’t have them then it is usually too late to do anything when you reach the desperate stage. This applies even more so in the BI game; the world is far more dangerous, and walls give out nice bonuses to law and happiness.

Bums on saddles.
Every unit you recruit takes population from the city; if you recruit a 200 man unit 200 people will be taken from the city. If you are recruiting a constant stream of large units from the same city the population is going to suffer; it may even go into decline. If the population is too small you will not even be able to recruit units. This means you need to tread a fine line between draining your military cities dry and letting population growth get so out of hand they become uncontrollable. Ideally you need to set things up so there is a tiny growth even when you are recruiting unit after unit after unit. Finding this balance is up to you; it will depend on existing population size, the natural population growth, city growth as effected by buildings, and all those other factors discussed previously.

Unit, dis-miss!
This is the opposite of the previous point. When you disband a unit the soldiers will head to the nearest city and add themselves to the population. If you disband inside a city then that city is guaranteed to get the people. Sneaky people may be spotting something here; good for them. If you recruit a unit of, oh, let’s say peasants from city A which has a large population and problems with squalor, then send them on a nice route march to city B which is newly conquered and has a small population, then disband the unit inside the city then city A has reduced population and city B has gained population. Think about this: a way to reduce overcrowding and build up those newly conquered cities that little bit faster. Yes, it does cost some money in recruitment and maintenance costs, and you do have to micromanage a bit but the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

This works even better in BI – peasants are far cheaper.

Strangely, disbanding mercenary units adds to the city’s population.

We don’t need no stinking foreigners!
Again, this point builds on the last few. So, your mighty Roman army under the command of general Julius had captured a settlement of Gauls. Gauls are nasty people; they tend to be hairy and they wear trousers. It is clear to any good civilised Roman that these people are undesirable. The fact they have happiness penalties due to cultural differences is merely the final straw – they must go! When general Julius marches into the Gaulish settlement for the first time you can occupy, enslave or massacre the inhabitants. Occupying the city will leave the population intact, along with all their nasty hair and Roman hating ways. Enslaving will take a proportion of the population and distribute them to all your other cities which currently have a governor in place. This is good; it boosts your other cities while making the new one easier to control. Finally exterminating the population will kill off a significant number of the Gauls and make the city easier to control because it’s hard to have a good revolt when everyone is already dead. Personally I usually go for number 2, enslaving. Now, remember those peasant units you were going to send from your core cities to other cities to boost their populations? Why not raise a few from your new ex-Gaulish countryside residence (assuming anyone is left alive to go …) and send them off to a nice Roman city. There they will settle and be classed as good Roman peasants, and good Roman peasants shave, wear tunics and love being ruled by Roman factions. Unrest from culture is tied to the buildings in the city, not the people, and sending the people away while you work to replace the buildings which give foreign culture is one way to help keep the chances of revolt down. The downside is that it will take that little bit longer for the city to grow to higher levels.

So I conquered this nice little place in Hispania …
Any conquered city will be harder to manage if it is not of the same culture as the new owners; this applies to the non-Roman factions every bit as much as the Romans. There are several things you can do to reduce the culture shock and make the city easier to hold. The first is discussed above: killing/enslaving part of the native population. The fewer people there are in a settlement the easier it is to control. The next most important thing is to destroy or replace as many buildings constructed by a different culture to yours. Each building from a different culture gives a culture penalty. Buildings from the same culture create no unrest, even if you did not construct them yourself.

CA developer JeromeGrasdyke gives a nice explanation of the culture issue here: “Culture penalty has a maximum of 50%. As a general rule of thumb, the amount is determined by the proportion of buildings in the settlement which have been built by factions of your culture - for example, if you're playing the Julii, and you take over a Greek city which is split 50% between buildings built by the Greeks and the Brutii, you should see something like a 25% culture penalty. Then when you replace the buildings built by the Greeks, the culture penalty disappears. Who last built a building-of-governance has a substantial influence as well.”

So there you go, any buildings not constructed by your culture cause culture problems. The penalty will disappear when you ‘overwrite’ the old building with your own culture’s version of the upgrade, for example replacing the palisade walls with your own wooden walls. Temples cannot be upgraded in this manner unless the city already had temples belonging to your faction’s group; this is why they need razing to the ground. Sometimes you are stuck with the penalty, usually in the case of roads and farms; you cannot demolish them and if they are already at the maximum level of upgrade, or if you are one of the factions which cannot build the higher levels of these structures, you can do nothing but leave them be.

You can find out which culture group a building belongs to by hovering your cursor over it on the little panel which displays the buildings present in the selected city.

Here’s a neat list of what culture group each faction belongs to, provided by Maltz.
Group I: Romans. SQPR, Julii, Brutii & Scpii.
Group II: Greeks. Greek cities, Macedon, Thrace, the Selucid empire.
Group III: Barbarians: Gauls, Germania, Britania, Dacia, Spain, Scythia
Group IV: Africans: Carthage, Numidia,
Group V: Easterns: Parthia, Armania, Pontus
Group VI: Egypt

I don’t have a comparable list for BI. Sorry.

Military service is good for the nation.
Queuing up units deducts the cost from both your treasury and from the city’s population immediately, even if it will be many turns before the unit is built. So filling your build queue with peasants can be a very good last ditch effort to control unrest, because it lowers the population with instant effect.

Damaged buildings.
Buildings damaged in a siege or by an assassin do not function until repaired, no matter how slight the damage might be. Repair buildings as a priority. Note that you can repair multiple buildings in the same turn, as well as begin construction on a new building. Repair cost is dependant on the damage, more damage costs more to fix up.

Bribing cities.
If you bribe a city, and this is far harder to do then bribing an army especially if there are enemy spies or family members in the city, you have precisely one turn, the turn you bribed them in, to bring a large enough army to quash the resulting unrest in. If you do not get that army in, or if the army is too small, then the city will revolt back to its former owners or to the rebels.

The plague.
I don’t really know much about the plague. All I can say is keep city health high and hope you never catch it. Do keep family members, agents, navies and armies away from cities with the plague or they will catch it themselves. If you have a family member, agent or army in a plague ridden city leave them there; moving them about will only spread the plague. Yes, this does mean you can deliberately infect a spy or assassin with the plague and then send them to infiltrate an enemy settlement, potentially spreading the plague there too. You evil person you. The plague reportedly burns itself out after around 6 turns as long as no new infection source is added, and units take 15 turns to be free of the infection, so quarantine, quarantine, quarantine!

The original capital of Macedon will always be hit by the plague sometime around 255BC.

Those of a … crueller persuasion may like to note that deliberately infecting an overcrowded city is a good way to reduce the population a little. You will lose a few people from your garrison too, but they can be retrained.

It’s like talking to a stone wall!
Walls are vital if you want your city to withstand an assault. Wooden palisades are flimsy and will be battered down in seconds, but epic stone walls will require dedicated siege equipment and time to break through. All three varieties of stone wall allow you to place troops up on the walls. Missile units gain more range because of the extra height and melee troops will be able to push off ladders and fight attackers as they pour out of siege towers. Note that any unit which requires space and/or good, disciplined formations to fight effectively will not work too well on a wall. Keep those phalanxes on the ground. Also any lazy unit which uses some poor animal to get around instead of walking on their own two feet will not be able to climb onto a wall. Walls also add to the number of turns a city can withstand being besieged. If you think a city is likely to be attacked, or if you want to secure a key city, then build walls. I try to get at least wooden walls in all my cities; I build the walls when I have run out of other options, unless the city is likely to need them sooner.

In BI walls give bonuses to law and happiness.

My city is making –256 denarii!! Help!
Actually, no it isn’t. Yes, I’m going to cop out and quote the official FAQ again: “They aren't 'earning' negative amounts of money. When a settlement is shown with a negative cashflow it's a sign that it is not 'pulling its weight' in your economy. If possible improve its trade income (improve the markets and ports), look at the governor's vices very carefully, or reduce the size of your military forces. Military upkeep is divided between your cities according to their population, so just reducing the settlement garrison won't have a direct impact.”

froggy’s rough build order for low tech cities.
1.Roads. Regardless of what and where this city is roads are number 1 if they are not already there. Roads allow your units to move quickly, bring in basic trade income, and best of all they are cheap. Plain roads only take a single turn to complete.

2.If the settlement has been recently captured or already has problems with unrest a shrine is a must because of the happiness bonus. If you conquered the settlement make sure any existing shrines are razed to the ground (right click on them in the city information screen, then click the hammer icon in the bottom left corner to destroy them) and replace them with your own. This reduces the culture penalty. If a shrine is not needed at this point I build a basic farm (land clearance) to get my population growing sooner.

3.Mines, if they are available. Money is nice. Reliable income at a preset level is nice. Mines are nice. Build mines wherever you can.

4.Trader or barracks, depending on what function the city is going to have. If I build a barracks I build the trader next.

5.I build whatever I have not constructed out of the items I have just listed. Walls are the final item. Now I wait for the city to grow.

6.When the city grows to the next phase I immediately built the new government building; this combats squalor neatly. From there the cycle repeats; upgrade roads then build trade or military depending on the city. I never build any more farms, so the level 2 farms are left off the list.

7.Repeat until you run out of stuff to build and need to wait for the city to grow, then repeat step 6 with the new building selection. Keep doing that until the city is maxed out.

The build order is quite flexible, for example if I am in a heavy attrition war and I need more troops than my military cities can supply I will build barracks in my trade cities instead of trade buildings. I also tend to add the occasional military building to trade cities anyway, just in case. I always build the trade buildings in military cities; you can never have too much money.

No such recommendations are possible for BI. The difference between factions starting conditions is too vast, and many of the cities are already developed decently.

Hit the road! (what did the poor road do to you anyway?)
Roads deserve a bit more in-depth coverage. There are four levels of roads: none, dirt, paved and highways. Only Romans can build highways. Barbarian factions can only build dirt roads. Civilised non-Roman factions can build paved roads as well as dirt ones. The effects of roads are best split in two:

On trade: dirt roads add nothing to trade. Paved roads give a 100% trade income bonus to all land routes. Highways give a 50% income bonus to all land routes.

On movement: This does not fit into neat, precise increases because there are some extra variables at work the research team working on this topic haven’t been able to isolate yet. Also different types of units (infantry, cavalry, artillery, agents) all have different movement rates, and so roads give slightly different bonuses to each type. The movement bonuses apply to all units using roads, friendly and enemy. To try and sum up concisely I shall borrow the results tables created by therother:

% Increase from dirt

Progressive increase

So, to tackle the conclusion in a slightly more advanced way: dirt roads are high priority items; they are cheap, beneficial and very quick to build. Construct them ASAP everywhere. Paved roads are also very high priority items as they give a big trade boost, a big movement boost, are still quite cheap and fast to construct. Highways are less important, more a midlevel priority. They are very expensive and take a long time to build, and their bonuses are smaller, making all this fuss too much for them to be honestly worth it the instant they are available.

Automanage.
Be careful in the priorities you set if you let the AI manage a city; you can end up with it pumping out loads of crap units and wasting your money. I have no experience with automanage, and I would not recommend using it.


A bit about the map
Nice title, no? Since I have already covered aspects of the map like trade goods and roads in this section I may as well finish it off and bung the last few details here too.

Watchtowers.
Watchtowers cost 200 denarii and are permanent; there is no known way to destroy them. They appear instantly; there is no build time. Watchtowers can only be built by generals. They act like upkeep free, stationary spies, revealing a portion of the map around them. If they are placed on hills or in clear areas they can see further than if they are plonked down in an area surrounded by tree and mountains. Use logic in placing them; if something would block your view in reality then it will do so in the game.

Contrary to popular enduring rumour, watchtowers do not reduce or prevent rebel stacks spawning. They can and frequently do spawn in an area not covered by the fog of war. They do, however, possess a strange attraction to rebels; stacks will often move to stand on watchtowers and camp there.

Forts.
Forts can only be built by generals and they cost 400 denarii. They also appear instantly, but they will disappear if they are left unoccupied by any unit of any faction for one turn. I have seen people saying that forts are bugged because the AI will never attack them. I can attest to my cost that this is wrong; I had an army of 500 wiped out by a massive marauding force of Gauls. I have also seen it said that the AI might attack some forts but never one in the Alps; well I can prove that wrong again. Guess where my army was located …

The idea behind forts is to give your army some extra protection in the case of attack; I find them to be death traps. Sallying out of a fort is extremely hard, the walls are very flimsy and the towers don’t put out nearly enough arrows to be of real aid. If you decide to be brave and wait for the enemy to come through your walls then you might die of old age first; if the AI had no units capable of knocking the walls down then they will stand outside and do nothing. Now I can confirm that the AI really does not seem to think of bringing some kind of siege equipment with it when attacking forts, and unlike cities there is no option for them to build machinery outside the walls. Remember how back at the beginning I told you about that option to remove the time limit? Well here is the one kind of battle where the time limit is handy. If I hadn’t disabled the timer I could have sat in my fort, listening to the shrieks of the Gauls picked off by my towers until the time expired and I won. Well darn; instead I had to try and sally forth, and that got incredibly messy. But anyway who wants a 25 minute battle involving sitting around doing nothing at all? Even at full speed that is tedious.

Famous battles.
Sometimes when you win a battle you will find a little crossed sword marker on the map. It appears being outnumbered makes it more likely that you will get a marker, and I personally have found I tend to get them when my battle is labelled ‘a heroic victory’, but the exact details of how the markers are assigned are still mysterious. If you hover your cursor over it then you will find a few details about the battle which took place there. It’s a neat little feature but nothing important; you gain nothing from it except a warm, fuzzy feeling every time you scroll past the marker on the map.




https://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gifhttps://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Gold, beautiful gold! Running your economy.


Money, without it your empire is doomed. Making money seems to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks new players encounter. It really is quite easy when you know how.

Money is spent on many things; the only on-going expenses each turn are wages for your armies, family, and agents. You will probably lose a bit of money to corruption as your underlings decide to give themselves a well deserved bonus without bothering to ask you; well you are busy conquering the world so it’s quite thoughtful of them, really … kind of. Money is forked out as a one off sum each time you order a building or unit to be constructed. Note that queuing up items takes the money from your treasury now, even if the item will not be built for another 20 turns. Retraining or repairing a building costs money; the amount is proportional to the work needed. Retraining a unit from 1 man back up to 160 and equipping them with better weapons and armour costs much more than just re-equipping a 160 man unit in need of no new men.

The Big 50k
As your treasury hits a certain preset limit you will find your family members becoming more corrupt. That limit is 50, 000 denarii. It’s a good idea to try and keep below this figure to limit the vices, unless you have a real passion for seeing your might empire run by a family of gambling addicts, embezzlers, collectors of expensive vases, and dirty old men who spend entire fortunes on dancing girls. Every night. For the rest of their lives.

The not so big 13k
In BI the preset limit for corruption is much lower, just 13,000 denarii. This was actually raised from the original even tighter limit by the 1.6 patch. The patch also made the corruption traits a bit harder to gain by making it necessary for a governor to be in a forth level city before the game starts rolling that virtual dice to see if any traits from these lines are gained. The chances of gaining each trait are also much lower than in the original BI release.


Farming.
Farming provides a small part of your income, but you don’t have to do anything to start tapping into it. Your cities will farm automatically, although you can upgrade the farms yourself to bring in more cash and boost your population growth. As we discussed earlier this is seldom a good idea. Farm income depends on the quality of the farm land; provinces like the Nile delta have great farmlands and naturally make more money than the Sahara. It is important to know that farm income is not stable; a bad harvest will reduce your profits and a good one will boost them. You will not be notified of the harvests your cities are getting; you can find out by calling up the city’s trade information screen. As with so many things to do with farming you cannot influence the kind of harvests you get.

Basically farming is a nice, steady earner with no input or expenditure required. Just sit back and let the cash trickle in. You will not be able to rely on farming income alone; you must supplement it with other forms.

The exact formula for farming income, courtesy of Zukarakox:
Farming Output = % gained from base farming x 200 + Numbar gained from farms. (Its listed in the info of farms)
Farming Income = (72 + 4 x Level of Town(Town = 1, Large town = 2)) x Farming Output


Taxes.
Taxes can be summed up essentially as more people=more taxes. Breaking it down further than that requires some rather unpleasant looking maths and it’s really not important for anyone but the numerically minded stat loving player. If you really want to know more check this thread (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=37831). Increasing your tax rate gets you more money, decreasing it gets you less. How shocking. Your difficulty level also appears to affect tax income; harder difficulties get slightly less then the base rate (normal) and easy gives slightly more.

Taxes are a steady flow of cash; you probably won’t pay much attention to them as they hum along in the background nicely.



Mining.
Mining is simple; if a province has mining resources then you can build mines to exploit them, if there are no resources there can be no mines. Mining resources can be spotted on the map; they look like little nuggets of metal. There are two different kinds of mining resources: gold and silver. I think that they bring in the same amount when mined, although in previous Total War games the amount was dependant on the resource type. There are two levels of mines; mines and mines +1. Mines +1 will bring you more money than simple mines but you have to build the plain mines first and the city the province belongs to must be at size 2 or more. You outlay more and bring more back, trading cash in hand now for extra cash at the start of each subsequent turn. I find that to be a fair exchange.

Mine income is stable, unlike the other forms of income. Mines never have bad harvests, they do not get blockaded and war does not put an end to the income. If a mine says it will generate 200 denarii per turn it will do so until it is destroyed or upgraded. Small but steady are the key words when talking about mining income. I always build mines when I have the opportunity, usually as a matter of some priority just behind roads, basic ports and any buildings I need to get the city happy.



Trade.
Ah, now we are talking about real money. Trade is more expensive to set up and gets more expensive as you try to make it more efficient. It is unreliable; roads and ports can be blocked by enemy or rebel armies and this will hurt your income. You cannot trade with people you are at war with so it is easy to trash your economy with a badly timed war. Trade really requires you to send diplomats to pester people for trade agreements. Those are the downsides, now the upside: huge quantities of cash.

Salivating yet? Probably, the prospect of huge piles of cash to spend on cities and armies can have that effect. I would ask that you try to dribble into a bucket or something instead of making a mess on the floor; I only just had the slaves polish the mosaics.

Roads and land trade.
Roads carry out land trade. Land trade is represented by little caravans rolling along the roads on the campaign map. More caravans = more trade = more money. The better road types can take more caravans; therefore it is a great idea to always upgrade your roads. This also boosts your army and agents move speeds inside your empire, so that’s a win-win situation. Froggy loves roads; you should love them too. Um, ok if froggy is honest roads do have a single downside: they speed enemy movement too, so if someone invades you will have less time to react. However I do find this to be a tiny fly in a very big, pleasant smelling tub of ointment. Any enemy or rebel army parked on a road will halt the flow of caravans, cutting off part of your trade. Smack the army with extreme prejudice to restore the cash flow.

Land trade appears to take place between all of your cities automatically, as long as they are linked by a road. This nets you a small income which appears to grow depending on how good the roads are between the two places. It also seems that land trade will take place with neutral or allied factions if you have a road connection even if you do not have a trade agreement. It is suspected that you have to know about a city (as in you can see it on the campaign map, even if it is currently under the fog of war) before you can trade with it. Problematically you will not trade with all the cities you know about. Trading partners are selected automatically each turn by your merchants; they will select the partner who will bring in the most profit.

Ports and sea trade.
Each level of port can sustain one trade route up to a maximum of three when a dockyard is built. You will see a blue dashed line with tiny ships sailing along it flowing between your port and the trade partner. Trade partners are chosen each turn according to how much profit they will bring you; your merchants automatically select the best partner. You do not need to build any ships to trade. You may find the AI blockades your trade ports when you are at war; you will need warships to lift the blockade and restore your sea trade income to the targeted province. Shorter sea trade routes will make more money than longer ones. If an importing city is too far away no trade will take place, i.e. Londinium is not keen on selling to Alexandria because it’s a slightly long trip, especially when there is that nice Tara place right nearby. This does mean that cities tend to trade with the same partners, game after game.

Trade agreements.
A thorny subject and the main source of mystery. According to the manual a trade agreement boosts the amount made from trade between the two partners. Trade agreements increase the number of markets you can sell to, according to CA’s FAQ. I suspect this means potential markets you can sell to, as opposed to letting you trade with more people at once. Since your merchants will automatically trade with the most profitable market each turn having more to chose from is a good thing. Collecting trade agreements is generally easy and acts as good training for your diplomats.

Trade buildings.
The trade family of buildings (trader, market, forum etc) increases trade income in their home province. Thanks to the researchers over in the Ludus Magna we now know that the first trader building adds 10% to the trade income from land trade (the local settlement only), and 10% to all exporting routes. A further 10% is added for each increased level. So build trade buildings as and when you can, and rejoice in the extra benefits they bring, such as trainable agents like spies. Do note that these buildings increase population growth very slightly. The distance between land trading partners has no affect on how much the routes make, unlike sea trade.


So, to sum up trade: build roads and ports everywhere as quickly as possible. Upgrade them whenever possible. Get trade agreements, and try to remain at least neutral with most factions as war prevents trade. Build the trade family of buildings to boost profits. Keep your roads clear and an eye on your ports to spot those rare blockades. Combined with your farms and mines this should make you plenty of money, even if it is a bit vague and arcane.

frogbeastegg
10-19-2004, 22:02
http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Meet the family (but watch out for Lupus, he’s a little strange)

Your family, a bunch of wastrels, drunkards, fornicators, perverts, and a general drain on your economy. I’m sorry, but if your family has ended up like that then it is your own fault for the most part. Discipline! Iron discipline! You are the head of the family, you are, in essence, the paterfamilias and you should damned well get off your backside and get on with paterfamiliasing!

In Rome: Total War your family collect vices and virtues to represent their personality, deeds and abilities. They are collected in a logical manner; if your general fights in each and every battle personally (he doesn’t have to lead the charge, just make sure he kills someone at some point, even a fleeing peasant is better than nothing) he will develop a reputation for being a hero. The more people he kills at once the more likely he is to be seen as a hero. If he keeps on behaving like a hero in battle after battle he will grow in stature, becoming a more famous hero. Conversely if you leave the same man to rot in a no hope frontier town with just a temple of Bacchus and the locals for company don’t be surprised if he takes to drinking, orgies and other less than desirable pastimes.

The best way to forge your family into a beacon of Roman virtues is to use your logic and make them do things likely to result in good traits, while steering them away from anything likely to give them bad ones. All your menfolk should get military experience from time to time, even your governors. You don’t have to send them into pitched battle against 10,000 screaming Germans with just a small knife and no army. No, a simple battle against 200 rebel slaves backed by an army of 500 veteran soldiers will more than suffice. You don’t need your governors in the field constantly, just the odd battle every now and then to stretch their legs and let them prove their Roman military prowess and general manliness. Make sure they kill a few people personally; you wouldn’t want them accused of cowardice, would you? Swap out governors of your frontier backwaters occasionally, spread the boredom and lack of decent toilet facilities fairly and you are less likely to end up with a handful of hate filled individuals and a bunch of soft plushies with a thing for over-eating. Make sure your generals kill someone in every battle they fight; this cannot be repeated enough times. Cowardly generals really hurt your army’s morale, and the traits fighting generals pick up are often very good.

One interesting fact is that many traits are not gained by a family member if he has moved in that turn, so if your governor pops out of the city and immediately returns he will not gain certain traits at all, good or bad. You don’t need to move much, just enough to deplete the movement points by a little. This does not affect those traits gained in battle; if your general fights well, or ‘fights’ like a coward, he will potentially gain a new trait even if he had exhausted his movement limit. Some traits do require your character to have moved in his turn, such as the harsh lifestyle family of traits. The traits which are blocked by moving seem to mostly be those exacerbated by buildings, such as the drinker line, and those to do with government, such as the farmer line. This is quite logical when you think about it; a chap sat around dealing with tax collectors for a full turn is more likely to gain some new skill, or lack thereof, in dealing with them than a chap who has been travelling for part of the turn, and has therefore spend much less time with his tax collectors. On the battlefield you are more likely to gain command stars and good traits if the numbers are even or against you. Vastly outnumbering the enemy hampers your general’s growth. Of course this does not take quality into account, so if you have 200 well equipped veterans against 500 peasants fresh from the fields …

When you reach the corruption thresholds (discoussed above, 50,000 for RTW and 13,000 for BI) your governors are more likely to pick up bad financial traits. This is officially a pain. It can be a good idea to give huge piles of cash to other factions when your treasury gets near the limit, at least in the RTW campaign. In BI the limit is too tight.

Every good Roman needs a family, as in wife and children, not as in pesky brothers to come over at 2AM and ask if they can borrow your chariot, only they’ve met this nice girl … Your male characters will marry on their own; you cannot control this. When they finally decide to take on that good Roman responsibility you will receive a special announcement at the beginning of the turn telling you. Typically they only tell you after the wedding, so you don’t get to go along and eat all the cake. Bah!

I have seen many people asking how you get children. :sighs: Well you see when there’s a mummy and a daddy and they love each other very much …oh, go ask your own parents! Yes, it works like that in the game too, but without the love. These are political marriages and love is an added bonus, not a prerequisite. Both your characters know what is expected, so just leave them to it. No, posting viagra pills into your PC via the CD ROM drive will not help matters, nor can you consult a wise woman, give them an educational puppet show, or anything else like that. There are some things your characters have to do themselves; and this is one of them. Note that, as in real life (what?! You mean the game isn’t real life?!), characters can be barren or have a hard time conceiving. It also takes time; generally your characters are not prolific bunny rabbit types popping out a child every turn. Look, it takes 9 months and each turn is only 6 months, so do the maths. What I am trying to say in a funny way is, don’t expect hordes of children and don’t panic if it takes time, even a long time. I had to wait 20 years for one couple to finally do something other than stare resentfully at each other at breakfast each morning. Hehe, whatever they had been arguing about for those 20 years must have been a real doozy; after the first child they had two more almost immediately.

Let me repeat once again for emphasis that breeding is slow, you will probably only get a couple of children from each couple, if that, and it will probably take them years to get that far. Don’t get impatient or worried if there are no children within ten years of the marriage. You know it’s all a bit perverse; in RTW older women seem more likely to have children when in real life it is the other way around. Confusing, no?

Now I lied when I said there was nothing you could do to help, well only slightly so put that axe down and stop menacing the frog! If you keep your general out in the field fighting away it seems less likely he will marry or have children. Well, you can hardly expect a good, respectable Roman matron to tag along into the middle of a muddy battlefield, can you? It quite simply is not proper. Family members in cities tend to have more children; this is quite logical. Actually, there is something else you should know about those prolonged campaigns. Well, you remember how I said this was not a love match? Well, just think of poor wifey at home, alone and married to some berk she might not even like. Now that berk is not in Rome, he is in Libya and doesn’t that present a marvellous opportunity to get a wee bit closer to that gorgeous Marcus who gave you a lift home in his chariot last week? Yes, it does. No, this is not the fevered imagination of a frog at work; it does actually appear characters are more likely to get the unfaithful wife series of traits if they are away from home, day after day, year after year, decade after decade. Actually I guess those who get the traits are only the ones who are unfortunate enough for their wife to be indiscreet in her indiscretions. Not all characters who are away from home get this trait, and not all characters who stay at home are immune. This one does actually swing both ways, and male characters who are away from home seen slightly more likely to pick up vices about their best friend’s wives, female slaves, and so on. Well, you know what they say about the Romans … Ahem, let your generals visit a city occasionally, even if it is one they are occupying; this does seem to reduce the likelihood of these kind of reputation destroying discoveries. Let me stress that the at home/out all day thing is not huge, it does not guarantee that your field generals will never have children or will end up with a bunch of bad family vices; it only makes it very slightly more likely in my own experience and letting them sit in a town once in a while did seem to help.

Certain traits and retinue members increase fertility. The retinue members can often be found by staying in a city with one of the population growth boosting temples.

The number of family members is possibly tied to the number of cities you control and the number of family members you already have. This is why sometimes you experience a massive baby boom shortly after taking a load of new cities or after a lot of deaths. The game seems to like you having enough people to play with, not too few or too many.

Children often either take after their parents or rebel and turn out their polar opposites. Picture young Gaius, “Gosh, Pater! They way you drank the whole wine cellar dry in one go was so impressive! Can I have a go?” or “Pater, you are a disgusting drunken lout and I hate you!” One version of Gaius will turn out to be a drunk; the other will have no drinking traits or will have sober traits. That’s not a cast iron guarantee though; sometimes young Gaius will say, “Oh Pater, I am afraid your drinking makes no impression on me at all; I just can’t be bothered to care.” and then not get any drink related traits. It does seem more common for children to react to their parents then blandly ignore their existence full stop. I wish the same applied to those noisy brats in my local shopping centre …

Daughters: these strangely dangerous creatures deserve special mention. They have no traits; you can never do anything much with them, er actually like all female characters they are almost non-entities. The one time you do actually get to do something with them is when they approach you about a husband. Usually they chose the first scumbag they meet … actually I think someone must choose for them - what sane 12 year old girl picks a 72 year old man with a bunch of pervert vices and no talent in anything? Now, you can turn down their choice or accept it. If you accept you basically never see your daughter again, outside of the occasional birth/death announcement. If you refuse the hunt goes on, and next time she might bring home someone a little better. Only let your daughters marry nice men, ones with some talent and good character. Their husbands will become part of your family; they will become your governors and generals, and fathers to your next generation.

And yes, I am serious about the 12 year old girl getting married; this is historical, if not entirely palatable to a modern audience. If you don’t like it keep refusing permission until she’s older.

Widows will never remarry, so if your darling girl marries someone at the tender age of 12 and he dies the next turn that’s it, she’s condemned to a singleton’s life. Don’t worry; I’m sure she’ll find something to do to pass the time and someone to keep her from getting too lonesome, but you won’t benefit at all from it.

Rebel without a clue
After 1.2 the rebels now appear to get many more family members, newly generated ones instead of just sad remainders of destroyed factions. In addition to these rather random chaps it also appears that if you turn down a suitor requesting your daughter’s hand in marriage he has a small chance of taking the refusal a bit hard and running away to join the rebels. Quite what he hopes to achieve by this I don’t know; perhaps the pain of rejection is so great he wishes to die, perhaps he hopes to impress you, perhaps he just can’t stand the humiliation. Whatever, he’s never going to be able to marry the girl, so it’s probably kindest to just kill him and crush his little army. Alternatively you could bribe in into your family and make him live the rest of his miserable life next to the woman he loves, watching her marry and live with someone else. Oooh, that is evil.

Adoption and training family members
In the RTW campaign you can adopt people into your family. In the BI one you can train new generals. These are exclusive details; you can’t adopt in BI, and you can’t train generals in RTW.

You can adopt characters into your family in two ways:
1.Bribe an army led by a family member, either from another faction or rebel. You will only get the troops if you can train that kind of unit yourself, but you will definitely get the family member and his personal guard.

2. Let an army lead by a captain win a few battles so the captain gains some rank stars, When he reaches around two stars you will be offered the chance to adopt him into your family. I keep encountering conflicting reports on what happens when you adopt a captain; I’ve never been offered the chance myself. Some say that the captain appears in your capital, leaving his army behind. Others say that he remains with his army and becomes a general without any travelling.

Adopted characters will be added to your family tree under a sponsor from your own family, as if they were that character’s child. I have seen people claiming that adopting someone will break your game and make it impossible for your characters to have children. This is FALSE; in all my games I have adopted people and had children born afterwards. Actually, in one (brief, for testing purposes and soon abandoned) game I had no children until after I had adopted someone.


Gaining family members by training is simple. Take a look at whatever unit serves as your general’s bodyguard. When you have constructed the highest level of stables in a city then, if your family is not too large, you will receive a unit headed by a family member each time you train a bodyguard unit.

Loyalty
In BI family members have loyalty. Only the two Roman factions have this attribute. When loyalty gets too low a general may revolt, taking all the men in his army with him and starting a civil war. Low loyalty generals may join in another’s revolt. Traits affect loyalty; some increase it, some decrease it. Winning battles also affects loyalty: it lowers it. Several battles may leave your general feeling overconfident and deserving of more than he presently has.

Titles also affect loyalty, increasing it nicely. Titles can be moved around in the same way retinue characters are (put the two family members in the same stack then drag and drop the title onto the person you want to have it). If a titleholder dies then the title will be given to another character who meets specific requirements laid out in the games files; sometimes no one meets the requirements, and sometimes the random chance factor of the trigger means it takes a few turns for the title to be given out, but titles cannot be destroyed. Even if one is dormant for 50 turns it is still there and can still return if its requirements are met. At this point it would be useful to give a list of what the titles are, their effects, and how you trigger their return. I don’t have that information, so sorry.

Making use of the useless.
Bad family members with rubbish traits do have their uses. Gather them up into one army and send them off alone into enemy territory. It’s a win-win situation. If they die then you save money on their upkeep and have an empty family member slot which should eventually be filled by someone who might be more useful. If they don’t die then they are mauling your enemies, possibly even to the extent of capturing cities and becoming decent fighters.



Retinues

Your characters will pick up retinues as they travel about the empire doing whatever it is they do. Generally those followers will be useful, and relevant to the character’s work. Generals tend to pick up drillmasters and other soldier types, governors pick up cooks and other peaceful types. Each character can have up to 8 retinue members at any one time, and the retinue members vanish without trace when their character dies. This means it is actually a good, but not nice, idea to strip elderly characters of all their close friends and leave them to die alone. You can swap retinue members between characters if they are in the same location, i.e. when it looks like they are in the same army. Simply open the character information screen for the character who has the retinue member you want to move, then drag and drop that member onto his new master’s portrait at the bottom of the screen.

Try to keep retinue members where they will do the most good; for example give those who gift a reduction in troop costs to the governor s of your military cities.

Academies and other education buildings have an effect on retinues, as described by CA developer JeromeGrasdyke: “The Academy generates ancillaries for characters which are inside a settlement which contains an Academy. If you examine export_descr_ancillaries.txt you will be able to spot them, together with a lot of other ancillaries which are linked to the presence of buildings.”

To find a complete list of retinue characters and their effects as taken directly from the game files check appendix B. The list was compiled by Ebannon.




http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif A handy dandy guide to agents of all varieties.


The diplomat.
This section, dealing with the diplomat, is written by Tamur and taken with his kind permission from his diplomacy guide.

The Birth of a Diplomat

Diplomats are trained from cities that have a Governor's Villa, and take one six-month turn to train. They become available to you with only their name, possibly some traits, and a rating called "Influence" (which we'll discuss in great detail later). To see these details about a diplomat, simply find a diplomat on the campaign map, and right-click on the diplomat's unit card in the unit card section of the screen.

When a diplomat is trained, he does not immediately appear on the map. He appears in the special "Agents" tab when you have a city selected.

You can also gain diplomats by bribing cities in which there are diplomats, or if you assault and take a town that has a diplomat inside it. The enemy's diplomats (as well as spies and assassins) become yours to do with as you wish.

The Cost of a Diplomat

Diplomats aren't expensive, but they do cost denarii both to train and to keep working for you. A diplomat costs 100 denarii to train, and costs 50 denarii per turn thereafter (presumably to pay for expensive nights out while schmoozing).

The Life of a Diplomat

For a diplomat, influence is everything. At the start of the game, your diplomats will be starting from nothing – he will come out of training with no Influence beyond what he might have from an inborn trait.

The way for a diplomat to gain influence is for him to find a faction to negotiate with and stick with the negotiation. Diplomats gain in Influence more quickly by plying their craft successfully. They can gain influence in unsuccessful negotiations, but it takes considerably longer.

Diplomats can have retinues, just as family members can. A retinue member adds to the diplomat's abilities in very specific ways. For example, a diplomat who has a Translator as part of his entourage can negotiate with greater fluency, giving him a bonus (+2) to his Influence rating.

When a diplomat has been around for a while and participated in many successful negotiations, he may become renowned throughout the world. This is the sort of diplomat who can bribe powerful armies into non-existence, force tribute payments from otherwise recalcitrant factions, and generally rule the game for your faction.

However, such a man will become a target. Diplomats can and do die at the hands of assassins. Although there is no way to completely stop this from happening, you can protect your diplomat by (1) getting him to be as skilled as possible (Influence helps avoid assassination), and (2) having him travel along with a spy, whose sharp eyes can keep a watch out for enemies. To have a spy and a diplomat travel together, simply click on a spy, and then right-click on the diplomat. If needed, you can use the Agents tab to separate them after clicking on the diplomat.

Retinues

As with other named agents, diplomats can pick up retinues as they live their lives. One very important point to bring attention to: retinue members can be swapped between diplomats until a diplomat is dead. If a diplomat dies, any retinue members he had are gone. Following are the known possible retinue members for a diplomat, with their bonuses.

Translator
The ability to speak to foreigners in their own tongue is very useful to a diplomat. +2 to Influence. (note: cannot have a Translator and a Linguist both as retinue members of the same diplomat)

Rhetorician
A man who speaks with honeyed words is likely to teach his master some helpful techniques. +2 to Influence.

Linguist
+2 to Influence. (note: cannot have a Translator and a Linguist both as retinue members of the same diplomat)

Foreign Hostage
+1 to Influence. (note: cannot have both a Foreign Hostage and Foreign Diplomat as retinue members with the same diplomat)

Foreign Dignitary
Foreigners can be trusted, mostly, to do the right thing – for their own people. They do understand funny foreign ways, though. +1 to Influence. (note: cannot have both a Foreign Hostage and Foreign Diplomat as retinue members with the same diplomat)

Retinue Management

therother has written up an excellent summary of techniques for managing the retinues of your diplomats, quoted below:

Having ancillary characters spread across a number of diplomats is generally not such a good idea. It is better to concentrate them. For instance, combining a Rhetorician (+2), a foreign dignitary/hostage (+1), and a linguist/translator (+2), can turn even the most ordinary diplomat in one whose "counsel is listened to with respect." And if you have diplomat who was born with the Diplomatic Genius trait, he speaks with the "force of law for many people". And this is before he get any merited traits!

The better you can make the new diplomat, the greater the chance he has of developing to Expert Diplomat (+5) and even the double edged Foreign Tastes line.

It also makes sense to transfer ancillary characters from aged diplomats who are about to die to younger diplomats. This should give you an elite cadre of highly skilled, forceful, virtually impossible to assassinate, diplomats who can negotiate just about anything from your allies and enemies alike!

Traits

Following is a list of all known traits that help a diplomat with his profession. They fall into five categories (the last of which, Foreign Tastes, affects only Romans).

Many thanks to therother from the Org, who provided almost the entirety of this section. A thousand blessings on his wife, his cattle, and his citadel walls!

Natural Abilities

Diplomatic Talent
+1 to Influence

Natural Born Diplomat
+2 to Influence

Diplomatic Genius
This man is simply filled with the powers of wit, reserve, and strength of mind needed to coolly focus on achieving in difficult situations. +3 to Influence.

Good Diplomat Traits

Tactful
Diplomacy is a strength of this man's character. +1 to Influence.

Courteous
This man is the essence of manners. +2 to Influence.

Diplomatic
There are few diplomatic niceties that elude this man. +3 to Influence.

Polished Diplomat
This man has the makings of a figure for generations to remember. +4 to Influence.

Expert Diplomat
This man's words hold the wisdom of the Gods. +5 to Influence.

Bad Diplomat Traits

Tactless
-1 to Influence.

Discourteous
-2 to Influence.

Undiplomatic
-3 to Influence.

Foreign Tastes

Foreign Interests
+1 to Negotiation, -5 to Popular Standing.

Dresses Like A Foreigner
+2 to Negotiation, -10 to Popular Standing.

Vulgar Foreign Tastes
+3 to Negotiation, -15 to Popular Standing.

Awful Foreign Affectation
+4 to Negotiation, -20 to Popular Standing.

The Death of a Diplomat

As with all named agents in RTW, diplomats can die of old age or, as just mentioned, by an assassin's blade. Replacing an eight-Influence diplomat is a painful thing. A key part of using diplomats is to have more of them coming up through the ranks at all times. They require low-level management to become successful, but are very much worth the time.

And that ends Tamur’s section on diplomats. To keep the guide nice and homogenous I shall nick his format for the other two agents.



The Spy.
The Birth of a Spy
The spy is trained in the level 2 trade building; for the Roman factions this is the market. Spies are rated in sneakiness, represented by a little eye icon. Brand new spies will probably have somewhere between one and three icons depending on their natural ability.

The Cost of a Spy
Spies cost 150 denarii to train and 100 denarii in upkeep each turn.

The Life of a Spy
Spies fresh out of training will not be very sneaky. The best way to improve their sneakiness is work experience. Send them to infiltrate enemy cities, preferably low level ones without enemy spies in them. If your spy dies while trying to infiltrate a city avoid sending any more novice spies to that city as it is probably guarded by an enemy agent and you will be wasting your agents trying to infiltrate it; at the same time you will also be boosting the enemy spy’s experience and making him more dangerous. You can also spy on enemy armies for a boost; armies led by general’s will probably have better security than those lead by simple captains. The more important the general the harder it is to spy successfully. Each level of the talent trait gives a bonus to sneakiness and line of sight; expert spies make better scouts than novice ones. It does take longer to get the higher level traits, so keep on spying.

Spies have several main uses:
Scouting. Spies have the largest line of sight in the game and can spot other sneaky agents, like assassins and enemy spies. You should always scout ahead of your armies with at least one spy; you will avoid ambushes and have a better tactical picture of the situation this way. It is best to use several spies to scout for each army, especially when you are working in an area paved with decent roads. Believe me it is highly embarrassing, and costly, when two massive enemy armies appear from ‘nowhere’ right on top of your invading army and annihilate it because you didn’t scout far enough ahead.

Counter spying. Put one spy in each of your cities to make the infiltration of enemy agents much harder. Attach one spy to each and every army, especially those lead by a family member, to make bribing that army harder. This also makes it harder for the enemy to assassinate the army’s leader.

Active spying. This involves infiltrating enemy cities and finding out what is inside them. When your army attacks a city your spy has infiltrated there is a chance he might open the gates during an assault. The better the spy the more likely he is to be successful in opening the gates. It appears the more advanced the walls negatively affect your spy’s chance of success; this makes taking the more advanced cities harder. Opening the gates does not automatically give you the city, but it does make your assault a lot easier. Spies in enemy cities also cause unrest; if you place enough of them in a weakly garrisoned city you may be able to provoke a revolt. There is some evidence, however, that the AI has a special cheat which prevents cities from rebelling even with very low loyalty and minor garrisons.

Spies do not help control unrest in your own cities; they only make it harder for enemy agents to infiltrate the settlement.

Retinues
Monkey It’s surprising how useful a monkey can be – a cover, a distraction, a trained thief … +2 to agent’s skill

Poisoner The wise ruler knows that no resource should be squandered, and that dinner guests should always be left wondering about the fish course … +2 to agent’s skill.

Courtesan The attentions of a courtesan who has skill and refinement are a welcome relief at the end of a long day’s brutal conquering. +1 to agent’s skill.

Retinue Management
No idea about optimal retinues or how to collect the various members.

Traits
Spying talent This man has shown a natural talent for spycraft since birth. +1 to agent’s skill.

Natural born spy This man was born with a talent for getting into places he should not be, and not getting caught. +2 to agent’s skill.

Superior spy The art of espionage is no mystery to this man, and neither are the secrets of his enemies! +3 to agent’s skill, +3 to line if sight.

Expert spy This man is a natural in all the skills useful to a spy, and has contacts in all sorts of places. +4 to agent’s skill, +4 to line of sight.

Plotter Plots and schemes come naturally to this man. +1 to agent's skill

Spy This man has a taste for reading other people's correspondence. +2 to agent's skill, +2 to line of sight

The Death of a Spy
Spies can expire if their infiltration mission goes badly wrong; you will get a little message and the spy will fall over dead on the campaign map. Spies will be more likely to fail, and therefore die, if you send them after well guarded, difficult targets. If you have a spy you really want to keep don’t send him on missions with low success percentages.

Spies also die of old age sometime around the ripe old age of 65.



The Assassin.
Assassins are the last agent type characters you get.

The Birth of a Assassin
Assassins are available when you build a level 3 trade building, a forum if you are playing a Roman faction.

The Cost of a Assassin
An assassin costs 500 denarii to build and 200 denarii per turn in upkeep.

The Life of a Assassin
Assassins have two primary roles: killing people and sabotage.

Sabotage is only as useful as the target will allow; there is not much use in damaging a small town’s shrine, but knocking the advanced barracks out in an huge city that is constantly pouring troops out to fight you can give you a turn or two of breathing space. You can only sabotage buildings you know about, so it is useful to operate an assassin with a spy as a team. Send the spy in to infiltrate the city, then send your assassin in afterwards. Because your spy has found out the settlement details you will be able to target all the buildings in that settlement. If a building is only listed as a question mark then you can do nothing with it. Sabotage does not have to totally destroy a building to be useful; a building with even 1% of damage stops working and its effects disappear. The size of the target city, as well as the presence of any enemy spies or assassins affect your assassin’s chance of success. More experienced assassins will have an easier time sabotaging.

Killing people works as you would expect; more important targets are harder to knock off because they have better security. Generals are harder to kill than captains, and some traits and retinue members make a general harder or easier to kill. Also each command star makes the general slightly harder to kill. A 1 star general is relatively easy to remove; a 8 star is nearly impossible. The experience aspect of assassination works both ways; as your assassin becomes more experienced he will find it slightly easier to kill people. If you manage to get a very experienced assassin killing that 8 star general suddenly becomes slightly more doable.

Assassination is not always about killing the high profile targets. If you are playing on very hard campaign map difficulty the AI loves to try and bribe your people. Assassins are very handy for ‘cleaning house’ and removing other faction’s diplomats from your territory before they can do any harm. The AI also bribes occasionally on the lower difficulties. Finally having a load of diplomats stood around cluttering up your empire looks ugly and they can block the movement of your own units.

Just like any other unit assassins get experience by doing their job. Train low level assassins by getting them to kill low influence diplomats belonging to another faction. Captains are relatively easy targets for low skill assassins. You can also send them to sabotage an easy target in some small nowhere town. Sabotage is easier for low level assassins to perform successfully, so focus on that for a while. Sneakily you can also kill your own agents, so if you have cash to waste and no heart you can pump out diplomats for your assassins to practise on.

Retinues
Monkey It’s surprising how useful a monkey can be – a cover, a distraction, a trained thief … +2 to agent’s skill

Courtesan The attentions of a courtesan who has skill and refinement are a welcome relief at the end of a long day’s brutal conquering. +1 to agent’s skill.

Retinue Management

Traits
Talent for assassination This man has shown a disturbing natural talent for quietly killing and getting away with it. +1 to agent’s skill.

Cutthroat People die. Sometimes this man helps them to die. +1 to agent’s skill.

Inept Poisoner This man shows little appetite for the business of assassination as his victims show little inclination to die! -1 from agent's skill

Natural Born Assassin This man was born with a talent for morning in and out of places without trace, and leaving fresh corpses in his wake. + 2 to agents skill

Murderer Killing has become second nature to this man. He has no qualms about removing 'targets'. +2 to agents skill

Assassination Genius This man is a born genius when it comes to moving unseen, getting close to people, and killing silently. With experience he could become a true master. +3 to agent's skill

The Death of a Assassin
Assassins can die if their mission goes badly wrong in exactly the same way as spies. They also die of old age at around 65.





http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gif Armies, the building and care thereof.

Both the manual and the tutorial teach you how to build and use your armies so I won’t bother reiterating. Instead I shall highlight the finer points and give a few suggestions on make up. And no, I do not mean lipstick and mascara. Mercenaries are handled in their own chapter.

Retraining versus merging.
CA developer Dutch has this to say on retraining:
“Retraining can do two things:

1) if the settlement can produce that type of unit, it will replenish the unit with new soldiers *at the units average experience level*; these soldiers are subtracted from the settlement population as normal
2) if the settlement can produce armour or weapon upgrades for which the unit is eligible and which it does not already have, retraining will add these to the unit being retrained

If the settlement can do both, it will do so. Replenishment costs a proportion of the unit's cost in denarii, while retraining for upgrades costs a nominal amount per upgrade. You can retrain as many units as will fit into the recruitment queue in one turn, although you end up paying for all of them. Hence it is often better to retrain a lot of old units if you need troops quickly, rather than recruiting new.”

Clearly at the moment retraining is the better proposition, especially if you have veteran troops.

Ill starred omens
Your generals and captains will collect command stars as they win battles. These stars make them more effective. I shall quote CA developer Jerome Grasdyke on how stars work:
“It currently affects both morale and combat ability - we tried it for a while with just morale, but it ended up being not enough of a bonus. The combat calculations have changed so much from Rome to Medieval as to be unrecognisable, so it's no longer easy to equate stars to experience.

As a rule of thumb it's one point of attack per command rank, up to a maximum of 10, and this can become negative for very bad generals. Experience is one point of attack and one point of defence per chevron, plus a morale bonus.

The general's command also controls his radius-of-effect, which is set to 30 m + 5 m * command + 2 m * influence. This is used to award morale bonuses only, and is calculated between the actual general's position and the centre-point of nearby units.”

Experience is a handy thing to have.
Experience is represented by those tiny bronze, silver and gold chevrons. Experience gives one point of attack and one point of defence per chevron, plus a morale bonus.

Bribery.
When you bribe an army you will only keep units you can potentially train yourself, so if you as a Roman faction bribe an army made up of two hastati you will keep both of those units. If, as the same Roman faction, you bribed a Greek army made up of hoplites then the soldiers will simply disappear. If you bribe an army lead by a family member then that family member will join you as an adopted member of your family.

Captain, general.
Generals are family members; they are better than captains because they can gain traits and retinue members which give battlefield boosts. They are also harder to bribe. Captains will lead your army if there is no general present and if they win enough victories to earn a couple of rank stars you will be given the option of adopting them into your family. For some reason I have found it harder to gain rank stars with captains than with generals; one particular captain won something like 5 battles and captured a settlement and remained at zero stars, whereas no star generals (the pimply youths straight out of school) who have done the same typically gain two stars.

It is important to note that only generals can hire mercenaries; captains cannot. Only generals can built forts and watchtowers; captains cannot.

They call him Marius, Marius the Reformer.
The Marian Reforms alter the Roman faction’s tech trees dramatically, making an entire set of units obsolete and replacing them with new ones. You will lose your ability to build and retrain hastati, principes, triarii, equites, Roman archers, and cavalry auxilia. You will be able to train auxilia, early legionary cohorts, legionary cohorts, urban cohorts, Roman cavalry, and archer auxilia instead. The post Marian units are significantly stronger. Your existing units of the old type will not disappear or transform into new units.

The Reforms take place after 220BC, with 220BC being the absolute earliest the reforms can happen. In addition to this a city with the hidden resource ‘Italy’ must reach huge size. You may assume that any of the Roman cities in Italy contain this hidden resource while all others do not.

First cohorts.
After the Reforms take place you may find the Senate offers you a mission with a first cohort as a reward. First cohorts come in two flavours: early first cohort and first cohort. The early first cohort wears mail armour and has slightly weaker stats than the plate wearing first cohort. First cohorts have more men than the usual legionary units; they also have a golden eagle as their standard. In battle this eagle can prove a bit of a problem; if the eagle bearer is killed then the eagle is dropped and lost. This is a huge disgrace and morale will suffer badly. I do not know if the eagle is replaced, or if it can be picked up by another of your soldiers on the field. I only know it is possible to lose it, and that losing it is a Very bad Thing Indeed. The first cohort gives a morale boost to all nearby legionaries, so this can make them a real key unit on the battlefield. Despite the fancy blurb in their description about leading the assault you are better off keeping them as reserves, behind the front line boosting morale and then moving to support where needed.

You can build first cohorts in the RTW campaign [I]only[I] if you control Rome. Rome must have the prerequisite buildings to construct the relevant ordinary legion type (early legionaries for early first cohorts, for example).

In the BI campaign you can build first cohorts at the highest level of barracks.

Make up.
You need to play to your faction’s strengths when building your armies. I would go into detail on all the factions particular strengths and weaknesses, giving recommended armies for all of them but honestly I really can’t be bothered and I don’t entirely see the point. If you play as the Romans first then you should learn everything you need to know about how to put together a good army; when you shift to the other factions you will only need to examine the unit information and work from there. Also, for the Romans, you will sadly have to forget any ideas about historical army make ups; you can’t built hastati or principes right off the bat. Instead you are stuck using hastati for much of the early game, then swapping to a mix of hastati and principes when principes become available. You will probably never get to use triarii unless you begin the campaign with some, due to the Marian Reform issue mentioned above.

So, for the Romans. The Romans have excellent heavy infantry, and some reasonable cavalry. They are a bit weak on the missile front as they can only build some rather crappy archers and velites (javelin skirmishers). At the beginning you have quite a limited choice but your hastati are great line infantry and should form the bulk, and backbone, of all your armies until you can replace them with principes. Support your infantry with a couple of units of cavalry, probably equites and your general’s bodyguard. I find two cavalry, including the bodyguard, is usually plenty but you might like to use more depending on who and what you are facing. You probably shouldn’t try to use a lot of ranged units in each army; too many missiles and not enough infantry can lead to you being cut apart very easily if the enemy manage to get close.





http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gif Paddling on the big boating lake (navies, duh!)

Navies are quite simple in Rome: Total War. They are only used for two things; transporting troops or naval combat. When transporting troops one ship can hold up to a full stack. Sending out unescorted ships is a recipe for disaster; troop carrying ships can be sunk by a larger enemy fleet, killing everyone on board. Also, for each victory an admiral wins he gains rank stars, just like a general on land. High star admirals are a pain to kill, and small fleets are easy pickings which help build enemy admirals up with cheap victories. An admiral is most likely to gain a rank star if he has a very decisive victory which sinks the enemy instead of forcing them to row away. Ships will generally escape after a defeat unless they are opened in either by land or by other enemy fleets. Wolf pack tactics are the way to go if you want that fleet to visit Neptune. Ships will, just like land based troops, gain experience in battle. They also benefit from any weapon and armour upgrades that the city where they are (re)trained can offer, just like normal soldiers.

You cannot bribe navies.

You can blockade ports by selecting a navy and then clicking on the target port. You know when you have your cursor in the right place because a little blue circle appears under the port. Blockading ports cuts off their trade income. The AI can do this to you, but it is rare.

If you wish to keep your fleet safe from attack there is a neat little trick. If a province has a port in it then it will show up on the strategy map. Put your cursor over the little representation of the port and a little blue circle will appear on the map. This is its safe zone. Move your fleet so it is sat on that circle and the AI will not attack it. I guess this counts as the ships being docked.





http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Bash for cash: how to use mercenaries for fun and profit.

Mercenaries are quite a bit more complex than they were in Medieval: Total War, and this is a very good thing indeed. Firstly, as previously noted ages ago, only generals can hire mercenaries. Mercenaries are unique units; they cannot be trained by any faction, for example mercenary hoplites are different to the assorted hoplite units the Greek factions get. Mercenary units cost one dollop of cash to hire, then a set amount each turn in upkeep. Mercenaries are more expensive than normal units but the advantages are that you get them instantly, and that they fill roles and functions your own units may not be able to meet. This is the primary use of mercenaries: filling the gaps. If your faction has no decent heavy cavalry then find some mercenaries to fill this role, and so on with the other unit types. Some mercenaries are better at what they do than ‘normal’ units; Balearic slingers are the best slingers out there bar none.

Mercenaries vary from region to region, for example mercenary hoplites are usually found in Greece. Each type has their own frequency (how often they appear to be hired) and regeneration rate (how quickly more of that unit type will appear to be hired); some types of mercenaries are simply much more common than others. This does mean you can raise armies tailored to the local nature of warfare, buying hoplite to counter hoplites, or horse archers to counter horse archers. Course, this is not always the ideal tactic, and some local armies fare better than others when turned back on their own kind. Hoplites will do well against other hoplites, but there’s really not so much point in turning peltasts back on peltasts, not when you can just send in the cavalry and mow down the enemy skirmishers with much less fuss and fewer casualties. The mercenary peltasts will do a nice job of turning enemy hoplites into imitation hedgehogs though … It’s also worth remembering that some terrains give bonuses or penalties to units, for example barbarian mercenaries receive bonuses when fighting in forests. You can use local mercenaries to take advantage of the local terrain, gaining bonuses if you use them sensibly.

Mercenaries remain on your payroll as long as you choose to keep them. It is possible to hire them, instantly use them in a battle and then dismiss them all in the same turn. This makes them very good cannon fodder for those tricky situations like storming gatehouses. Obviously if you have a prized unit of mercenaries you won’t want to use them in this manner, but if you hire some people in specially then it can be very handy indeed. Sometimes it is cheaper to send the mercs in to die in situations like this; retraining and/or replacing your own damaged units can become costly as well as time consuming and inconvenient.

Retraining mercenaries is possible, but by slightly different rules to ordinary troops. You can retrain them in cities which have buildings giving bonuses to armour and weaponry to improve their equipment. You cannot, according to the Res Romanae, retrain them to replace dead men. You can replaces losses by merging mercenary units of the same type together, just like ordinary units.

Mercenaries used in assaulting a settlement will take a share of the plunder. Being materialistic scum who fight for no cause but their own gain, they are the first to the looting. Your troops only get what is left when the mercenaries are done. (This is a fancy way of saying that mercenaries will take a large share of your loot from capturing cities, an unfairly large share too)

Suladan has compiled this list of mercenaries in the RTW game and kindly allowed me to use it.

updated 3/5/05 by Suladan (Noel Anderson - noel@vexed.org)

This information was extracted from the following two files from the 1.2 version of Rome - Total War. The initial and maximum number of units available is also listed in these files, as well as the replenishment rate of unit availability. Note that in a few cases, the hire cost of a unit varies depending on the province it is recruited in. Also note that in a few cases, units hired from specific provinces start with a higher experience level. Example: Mercenary Hoplite units hired in the province of Laconia start with an experience level of 3 and cost 950 instead of the normal 850. Provinces with an experience bonus will be denoted with a corresponding number of asterix in that unit's province availability list.

c:\program files\rome - total war\data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign\descr_mercenaries.txt

c:\program files\rome - total war\data\export_descr_unit.txt

unit hire cost / upkeep cost

province availability



Barbarian Mercenaries 800 / 200

Britannia_Inferior Tribus_Silurii Britannia_Superior Hibernia Tribus_Saxones* Germania_Inferior* Tribus_Chattii* Agri_Decumates* Germania_Superior* Locus_Gepidae Locus_Gothi Pripet, Hyperboria Regnum_Marcomannii Boihaemum Tribus_Iazyges Dacia Belgica Armorica Central_Gaul Aquitania Lugdinensis Transalpine_Gaul Narbonensis Cisalpine_Gaul Venetia Noricum Gallaecia Celtiberia Taraconenis Lusitania Hispania Baetica Liguria Galatia**

Mercenary Hoplites 850-950 / 170

Tribus_Sakae Tribus_Alanni Tribus_Sarmatae Maeotis Scythia Bosphorus Thrace Propontis Tribus_Getae Bithynia Paionia Macedonia Thessalia Epirus* Aetolia* Attica* Peloponnesus* Apulia Campania Bruttium Sicilia_Poeni Sicilia_Romanus Sicilia_Graecus Sardinia Laconia*** Africa Tripolitania Cyrenaica Libya Byzacium Rhodos Crete Lycia Phrygia Ionia

Bastarnae Mercenaries 1700 / 170

Regnum_Marcomannii Boihaemum Tribus_Iazyges Dacia Thrace Propontis Tribus_Getae Bithynia

Eastern Mercenaries 650 / 150

Colchis Atropatene Armenia Pontus Cappadocia Media Elymais Assyria Syria Babylonia Coele_Syria Phoenicia Judaea

Thracian Mercenaries 800 / 130


Thrace* Propontis* Tribus_Getae* Bithynia* Paionia Macedonia Thessalia Rhodos Crete Lycia Phrygia Ionia

Spanish Mercenaries 750 / 170

Gallaecia Celtiberia Taraconenis Lusitania Hispania Baetica

Samnite Mercenaries 750 / 170

Etruria Umbria Latium Apulia* Campania* Bruttium*

Cilician Pirates 620 / 200

Cilicia Cyprus

Illyrian Mercenaries 650-700 / 130

Regnum_Marcomannii Boihaemum Tribus_Iazyges Dacia Illyria* Dalmatia* Pannonia* Paionia Macedonia Thessalia

Mercenary Peltasts 550-600 / 170

Thrace* Propontis* Tribus_Getae* Bithynia* Paionia Macedonia Thessalia Epirus* Aetolia* Attica* Peloponnesus* Assyria Syria Babylonia Coele_Syria Phoenicia Judaea Sicilia_Poeni Sicilia_Romanus Sicilia_Graecus Sardinia Laconia Rhodos Crete Lycia Phrygia Ionia

Libyan Mercenaries 350 / 100

Mauretania Numidia Gaetulia Sahara Africa Tripolitania Cyrenaica Libya Byzacium Nile_Delta Middle_Egypt Thebais

Balearic Slingers 750 / 200

Gallaecia Celtiberia Taraconenis Lusitania Hispania Baetica Baliares** Sicilia_Poeni Sicilia_Romanus Sicilia_Graecus Sardinia Mauretania Numidia Gaetulia Sahara

Rhodian Slingers 750 / 200

Rhodos* Crete* Lycia* Phrygia* Ionia*

Cretan Archers 750 / 200

Epirus Aetolia Attica Peloponnesus Rhodos* Crete* Lycia* Phrygia* Ionia*

Barbarian Cavalry Mercenaries 450-800 / 100

Tribus_Saxones** Germania_Inferior** Tribus_Chattii** Agri_Decumates** Germania_Superior** Locus_Gepidae Locus_Gothi Pripet, Hyperboria Belgica Armorica Central_Gaul Aquitania Lugdinensis Transalpine_Gaul Narbonensis Cisalpine_Gaul Venetia Noricum Galatia


Sarmatian Mercenaries 1200 / 170

Tribus_Sakae Tribus_Alanni Tribus_Sarmatae Maeotis Scythia Bosphorus Regnum_Marcomannii Boihaemum Tribus_Iazyges Dacia Colchis Atropatene Armenia Pontus Cappadocia

Arab Cavalry 750 / 120

Assyria Syria Babylonia Coele_Syria Phoenicia Judaea Regnum_Palmyrae* Arabia* Nabataea* Sinai*

Bedouin Warriors 700 / 110

Assyria Syria Babylonia Coele_Syria Phoenicia Judaea Regnum_Palmyrae Arabia Nabataea Sinai Nile_Delta Middle_Egypt Thebais

Numidian Mercenaries 750 / 130

Mauretania* Numidia* Gaetulia* Sahara* Africa Tripolitania Cyrenaica Libya Byzacium

Scythian Mercenaries 800 / 120

Locus_Gepidae Locus_Gothi Pripet, Hyperboria Tribus_Sakae* Tribus_Alanni* Tribus_Sarmatae* Maeotis* Scythia* Bosphorus* Colchis Atropatene Armenia Pontus Cappadocia

Bedouin Archers 750 / 110

Assyria Syria Babylonia Coele_Syria Phoenicia Judaea Regnum_Palmyrae Arabia Nabataea Sinai Nile_Delta Middle_Egypt Thebais

Mercenary War Elephants 4000 / 490

Assyria Syria Babylonia Coele_Syria Phoenicia Judaea Mauretania Numidia Gaetulia Sahara

I have no such list for BI, unfortunately.

There is one small thing worth noting about mercenaries and the BI game. When mercenaries are employed by a faction which has gone into horde mode they still expect to be paid, even if your other units work for free until you capture a settlement.

frogbeastegg
10-19-2004, 22:04
http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Extortion for beginner’s: aka diplomacy.

This entire section is the work of Tamur. Rather than repeat his excellent diplomacy guide I decided to include it, with his kind permission. So, until otherwise noted this is Tamur’s work. This version of his guide dates from October 10th and is out of date on some points. He has also added some more advanced information to his later versions. Please find his topic, along with a download of the latest version of his guide, here (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=36993). I think that the version in this guide is better for beginners, while the latest version is perfect for intermediate and advanced players who want to go the extra mile.


Introduction

Rome: Total War offers a challenging new dimension to the Total War series – deep diplomacy. Your diplomatic agents now have many possible offers and demands they can tender toward any faction in the game. As the game describes it, "A diplomat is an individual trained in the arts of flattery, cajolery, smooth talking and sometimes even bullying who is sent out to deal with rival factions. It is his job to strike bargains, cement peace treaties or even demand a surrender. Diplomats also act as the eyes and ears of their factions in the places they go."

This guide is by no means complete. As new or corrected information comes available it will be updated. Because of the depth and complexity available on the campaign map, the Diplomatic Strategies section will be constantly added to as players find new ways to utilise this tremendous dimension of the game.

Although I would like to claim that all the words are mine, there are many others who have contributed to this document. Parts of the descriptions have been taken from the game itself, and someone (or some few, more likely) at CA deserve a big thanks for making this part of the game as robust as it is. Players have contributed a great deal with their insights. I'd like to thank Thoros of Myr for being the catalyst to the project with his understanding of the diplomatic side of the game, and all the great people at the Org who express their views eloquently and with passion.

Note: Text in dark red points out areas where the information available is questionable, incomplete, or otherwise in need of more research.

If you read something incorrect, find missing information, or have answers to questions raised in this document, please feel free to contact me (Tamur) directly via email: cicero3558@yahoo.com



Conducting Negotiations

The Mechanics of Haggling

To open any negotiation, you need someone to negotiate with, and you need a goal. For a quick list of possible goals, see the Senate Missions section later. For now, though, we'll assume that you want to open your first negotiation with the Gauls, who are neutral to you. You want to gain trade rights, which allows commerce to flow between your towns and the towns the Gauls occupy.

First select one of your diplomats, and move him into Gallic territory. It's often best to send a spy in before your diplomat so you can see where the faction's family members are, and where cities are. Although some say it makes no difference, there are those who claim to have gotten better results from negotiating at cities, or better yet from negotiating at the faction's capital.

Once your diplomat is in Gallic territory, right-click on any agent, or a city, belonging to the Gauls. The negotiation screen will open up. Note: you don't need to be in a faction's territory to negotiate with them – you simply need to be able to right-click on a faction's agent.


On the negotiations panel, there are two main parts.

The left half contains all your diplomatic options. These change based on your standing with a faction. A faction to which you are neutral will have different diplomatic options available than one with which you are at war, or allied.

The right half contains all the current proposals. When you first open up negotiations, this will be empty. If an emissary from another faction has sought you out, then this will be full with their offers and demands.

The offers section, as well as the demands section, is split up into two (well, three, but Bribes are different) sections: Offers, and Demands. The Description of Offers & Demands section lists and describes all possible offers and demands (so far discovered anyway).

With this screen open, you can Offer something by clicking on one or more of the items under Make Offer. These are things you are proposing to do. In our example, we want to gain Trade Rights from the Gauls so our towns can start sending goods to their towns, and vice versa. We find "Trade Rights" under the Make Offer section, and click it. "Trade Rights" has now moved to the right side of the negotiations panel. You can cancel that offer by simply clicking on it in the right panel, and it will move back into your possibilities and be removed from your current offers.

You can Demand something by clicking on one or more of the items under the Make Demand heading. These are things that you are proposing that the other faction do. In our example, we don't want to demand anything because "Trade Rights" is an offer-only proposal. See the Offers & Demands section for more information about offer-only proposals.

Some options have further information you need to provide. For example, if you click "Attack Faction" under the Make Offer header, then you'll need to specific which faction you're offering to attack. If you demand "Regular Tribute", then you'll need to specify how much per turn, and how many turns (half-years) you want them to pay that amount.


Propose, Give as Gift, and Inform

Once you've finished adding offers and demands, you need to "table" the proposal. There are three buttons on the bottom right corner of the negotiation panel.

Propose simply sends the proposal you've crafted to the faction you're negotiating with. They consider it and reply (which we'll cover later).

Give as Gift will simply give whatever you're offering to your negotiating partner. Any of your Make Offer options that are not by nature reciprocal (such as Trade Rights or Alliance) can be given as gifts.


An earlier version of this guide reported that factions cannot turn down gifts – this is not true. Factions apparently can turn down gifts on occasion, most often stating, "We cannot match this offer." The reasons for this are unclear.

If you give a gift, it means that the faction in question has no obligation to repay your generosity. Giving a profitable province to a faction as a gift is probably not a good idea. The friendliness of the gesture is likely to be cancelled out by the greed it generates.

Gifts can tip the balance in negotiations with a faction. However, you can either give gifts in a negotiating session, or offer/demand in a standard fashion. You cannot combine both in the same negotiating session.

It is possible to give a gift and follow that gift up immediately with a request for something like Military Access or Alliance if the faction has been reticent before to give in to these requests previously. But again, the gift-receiver has no obligation to return the favour.

Inform is an option only when you are making a "Cancel" offer, such as Cancel Alliance. Offers such as these have no bargaining involved. You are cancelling the agreement, and your word is final.


Accept, Reject, and Counter-Offer

When an offer has been tabled, the other faction has the option of accepting it, rejecting it, or giving you a counter-offer. If you are receiving a diplomat, then when the negotiations open you will have these three options immediately to reply to their proposal.

Acceptance is simply giving the thumbs up to an offer. At that point the negotiation becomes "legally binding", though of course treaties can fall apart rather quickly sometimes.

Rejection puts an end to the current set of proposals. This doesn't mean that negotiations are necessarily over – a new proposal can be tabled by you or the other party. But it does mean that the proposal as it stood was entirely unacceptable to the party who rejected it.

A counter-offer is the position between acceptance and rejection. Receiving a counter-offer (or giving one out) is a very encouraging sign. It means that your negotiating partner is serious about your proposal, but they feel that it's unfairly weighted toward your side. Most often they will counter-offer something weighted to their side, and the position closer to the middle of the two is where an agreement will be reached.


Bribes

Bribes fall into their own category. You can bribe neutral or enemy units of any type. Bribe an enemy army, and they melt into the countryside. Successfully bribe a faction family member, and they turn traitor and join your cause. Bribe another diplomat, spy, or assassin, and they are yours for the using.

When bribing, you simply need to approach the unit you want to bribe with a diplomat (right-click). Click Bribe above the Make Offer header, and sit back to watch the fun. The bribed unit will either outright refuse, or will demand a certain number of denarii. You can haggle with them on the amount. If your bribe is accepted, you will see their faction flag change to yours. In most cases, if you bribe an army, it will simply disappear.

There are two cases where this is not true. First, if you are playing one of the Roman factions, and manage to bribe the army of another Roman faction, then the army doesn't melt away – it becomes yours to use.

The second case is when you bribe another faction's family member. If you successfully bribe a family member, they are by default adopted into your family (no option to not adopt them). They appear as "sons" under a sponsoring family member. The mechanics of who is given the privilege of sponsoring a bribed family member is currently not understood.


Threats

One special case in the Make Offer section needs some explanation. Accept or We Will Attack is in the offer section. This translates any demand it's attached to into a threat.

The successful use of this option is restricted to the case where you have marched in enemy lands, beaten them repeatedly in battle, and know via spying that they have been severely weakened by your onslaught. The negotiating partner who receives a demand with Accept or We Will Attack tagged must have been recently attacked, and beaten, before acceding to this threat.

When it works, it can get you the largest diplomatic prizes in the game (such as Protectorate Status or Region Giving). If it doesn't, you've probably killed off diplomatic possibilities with this faction for a good while to come.


How Do I...
This section functions as a FAQ about the larger-scale mechanics of diplomacy, and as such does contain a lot of spoilers. If you're interested in digging through the diplomatic engine yourself and discovering what works and what doesn't it'd be best to skip this section entirely and move in to the next!

That said, those who struggle with the diplomatic engine should find many of their questions answered here in easy-to-find form. This information is scattered throughout the guide in different places.

... secure a treaty of Military Access?

If you've tried, you know it's near impossible to simply demand Military Access with an open-ended "you name the price" approach. Even gifting regions will not work in most cases.

Make Single Payment is your friend here. Approach the faction whose lands you want military access to, and demand Military Access, then offer a single payment of around 4000 denarii. If they don't go for that, or make a counter-offer, then open a new proposal and offer them 6000 denarii. You can keep going up by 2000 denarii until you get an acceptance or a counter-offer.

If you have to go above 12000 denarii it's often not worth the price, but that depends on your situation in the game.

... pad my treasury using my diplomats?

There are a number of ways to do this.

First, if you've got a good map to offer, you can make anywhere between 2000 and 8000 denarii each time you sell your map. Remember, though, that each faction will probably only buy your map once. You'll also get a better price for your map the farther away you travel from your own lands.

Second, securing trade rights with as many factions as possible gives you a much better chance that the goods from your regions will find buyers happy to fork over the denarii. Your ports especially will appreciate this, since they switch their trade lines to the most affluent ports available to them.

Third, a good diplomat in combination with a large army or invasion force can get you a lot. If you are attacking a faction and have been winning all your battles against them, then you can use the "Accept or We Will Attack" threat to coerce tribute, single payments, settlements, or protectorate status out of a faction. Of course, tribute and single payments are the only way to make some quick cash.

... add to my diplomat's influence?

Station diplomats near all of your ally's capitals, and keep pestering them for this or that little thing. The more you use your diplomats, the more influence they will gain.

Travel is a big help as well. Some traits and retinue characteristics come only from going well outside your faction's boundaries. Picking up a Foreign Hostage, for instance, can only happen if your diplomat is in a war zone or recently conquered territory. Becoming a Linguist requires going into foreign lands. Don't keep your diplomats in safe places their entire career, or you'll have a lot of very uninspiring diplomats to work with.

... use "Accept or We Will Attack"?

See the description of Accept or We Will Attack in the Offers & Demands Description section. Basically you need to pummel a faction thoroughly, then back off for a round or two, then send in a good diplomat to start demanding things with this threat as the only offer in the negotiation.

Squeamish diplomats will not like doing this, but if those @#$^@! who became your worst enemy thirty years ago finally give in to an Accept or We Will Attack demand, it's a great feeling of fulfilled revenge!


Diplomatic Strategies

This section is a rough-and-ready guide to strategies on the diplomatic level. These are listed in no particular order.

1. The Caesar Maneuver

Summary Quote:

"We could destroy you, but..."

Description:

Move a diplomat around in enemy territory with a large and well-seasoned army. The army defeats anything in its way, and lays siege to a rich settlement (or even the faction capital). Then the diplomat moves in to offer a better alternative.

Offer/Demand Combos:

Ceasefire / Regular Tribute
Ceasefire / Give Region
Ceasefire / Become Protectorate
Ceasefire / Military Access

When To Use:

* When a faction has refused any offers more than an in-word alliance and you need to force an issue, such as Military Access.
* As punishment when a faction breaks an alliance or cancels Trade Rights.
* Anytime you don't mind being seen as a bully.

2. The Cleopatra Maneuver

Summary Quote:

"Here, we know you'll like this..."

Description:

Station a diplomat at a faction's capital, and as much as you can afford it, gift cash, provinces, etc, to them. Wait a turn, then ask about what you're really after.

Offer/Demand Combos:
(all offer-only gifts)
Give Region
Make Single Payment
Regular Tribute
Attack Faction

When To Use:

* When a faction has refused demands for Military Access or Alliance.
* When you're working to move a recent Ceasefire to an Alliance.
* Anytime you want to be seen as a generous, kind-hearted faction with altruistic motives.

3. The Pompey Maneuver

Summary Quote:

"You idiots need this more than I do."

Description:

Fulfill another faction's Senate obligation by taking a settlement when they're unable to take, then give the settlement to the faction who should have taken it. Optionally, try swapping this region for one more suited to your geographic preference. A variation is to give the region to the Senate.

Offer/Demand Combos:

Give Region (as Gift)
Give Region / Give Region
Give Region / Make Single Payment

When To Use:

* When you want to gain standing with the People (giving to SPQR faction).
* When you want to be seen as an insufferable snot by the other factions.
* When you need cash. You can raze the settlement (Exterminate Population), then give it to another faction to repair, but sell it at a high price.

4. The Caelius Maneuver

Summary Quote:

"I'm sure you'd all rather just go back home and farm a bit, right?"

Description:

Prepare a large siege army on the border of a province you want to take. Send a spy and your best (or at least a four-Influence) diplomat into the province. Bribe every single one of the armies in the province, then walk your seige army in and take care of anyone who wasn't bought off.

Offer/Demand Combos:

Can be followed up with
Give Region / Make Single Payment

When To Use:

* If you spy out a province you want to take, and find that the enemy have swarms of small or large armies that you don't want the expense and hassle of mopping up for two or three years.
* If you want a quick quick way to beggar a faction (i.e. take a settlement with this maneuver, then offer it back to them at a high price).
* When you have a large treasury and not much patience for battles.
* If you want to quickly stun an enemy's military, and know that a significant portion of their military forces are stationed in or near this province.

5. The Robin Hood Maneuver

Summary Quote:

"These saucy varlets need a good drubbing, and we will all share in the tasty proceeds."

Description:

Prepare a large siege army, and place them in a province that fulfils the following conditions:

* You can get to it without crossing territory that isn't yours or isn't Military Access-ible, and...
* The province borders a faction who you have an alliance with, and whose land you want military access to, or whom you want to have as firmly-bound allies, and...
* The province also borders a faction with whom your ally is at war

It may seem like a lot, but these are all over the map most of the time.

After you have picked out this province, move one well-skilled diplomat to your ally's capital, and one to the capital of the faction about to be pounced on.

Once you have your army and agents in place, besiege and capture a settlement of the faction with whom your ally is at war. Exterminate the populace, and as soon as you've got it, offer the region to your ally faction, with a generous sum of denarii (6000 or up, depending on how skilled your diplomat is) – but couple these two offers with a demand for Military Access. If they refuse outright, up the Single Payment amount until they do accept.

Once Military Access is secured, move onward to smash the faction you took the settlement from. After you've defeated any major forces, especially if you're able to kill one of their faction members, give them a Ceasefire proposal with either Protectorate or Regular Tribute attached. Let them tribute for a couple of turns, then end the tribute early and offer an Alliance. Use the tribute money to buy Military Access.

This most often results in having vast regions of land in which you can move your armies. It also results in a stable section of the world from which you don't have to worry about invasion.

Offer/Demand Combos:

Too much to break out, see Description.

When To Use:

* When you need to secure a troublesome border area so you can focus on matters elsewhere.
* When you want to test out the diplomatic prowess of your best agents.



Diplomatic Disasters

Sometimes things don't go exactly the way you expect them to. Sometimes it's not even close. This section aims to cover the basic diplomatic problems that happen, and how to recover from them.

1. The Wandering Army

Description:

An army from a faction who have no Military Access treaty with you moves into your territory but doesn't attack anything. This also happens when you mistakenly (or intentionally) move your army into a territory of another faction from whom you have not secured Military Access.

Results:

If you are playing a Roman faction, you will receive notification from the Senate telling you to move your army out of that faction's territory or suffer the consequences. The consequences of not moving are that the Senate will probably investigate your family's finances, and (if the Quaestor that year is not part of your family) will likely levy a whopping fine on you. Fines as high as 90000 denarii have been reported by players. They may also bar your family from Senate office for a period of two to four years.

Recovery:

If you are the perpetrator, then you need to immediately move your army back into your territory, or territory for which you have gained Military Access. This will avoid any retribution from the Senate and the neutral faction in question.

If you are on the receiving end of such a move, and you have a diplomat in the area, then you can try bribing the army (if you have the cash, of course). There are no diplomatic options currently for demanding that an army to whom you are neutral move their wandering army out of your lands. Hopefully this scenario does not happen too often, though up in the steppes of Scythia and Pripet it's bound to happen.

2. Refusal on All Offers

Description:

A faction refuses all of your offers, even Region gifts.

Results:

You should prepare for an attack from this faction. If they will accept nothing from you, it is likely that they are preparing for war. The old MTW engine would accept peace treaties the round before it launched a major invasion. In RTW, this happens rarely (though it still happens).

Recovery:

Simply leave the faction alone, and move armies to the border to build forts and defend against incursions. Leaving one of your diplomats in their area is a good idea, because then you at least have the possibility that this faction will use your easily-accessed diplomat to get messages to you. However, your diplomat should be on the watch for assassins.


Description of Offers and Demands

The following list is a complete list of all possible offers and demands you can use in a negotiating session.

Alliance (offer only)
Stances: neutral only

Description:
If you offer an alliance, you are offering to solidify relations with a faction. These solid relations will be demonstrated by you by (1) not attacking the allied faction, (2) leaving trade routes open between yourself and the allied faction. Additionally, the alliance can be made stronger by not attacking your new ally's own allies. It can also be made stronger by expanding the trade routes between you and your new ally by building better roads between your cities and the allies' cities, or expanding ports which service your ally's harbours.

Clarification:
No additional info needed.

Tips:
Alliances are most often accepted when there has been some previous history of contact between two factions. The most common negotiated lead-in to a successful alliance proposal is to exchange map information and cement trade rights. Let trade flow for a little while (a year or two). Also important is to consider the question, "Who are the allies and enemies of this faction?" If their enemies are your allies, your diplomat is likely to walk away empty-handed unless he's got a large treasury behind him, as well as a good influence rating. It's still possible to cement an alliance in this situation, but there is no possibility for stronger ties than an in-word alliance. If you want to move from a state of war to an Alliance with a faction, you must first negotiate a Ceasefire, then work to fulfil the qualifications above to secure an alliance.

Cancel Alliance (offer only)
Stances: ally only

Description:
If you are currently allied with a faction, you can offer to cancel the alliance. If this offer is simply placed out on its own, then the cancel is unilateral – no matter what they think, your faction will cease all formal ties to that faction. If, on the other hand, there is a Demand associated with this offer, then this offer translates into a threat, with the demand side being "protection money".

Clarification:
No additional info needed.

Tips:
Although this is a simple diplomatic maneuver, in can have far-reaching consequences. If the faction you're cancelling the alliance with share other allies with you, then there's the possibility that you will lose more than one alliance by doing this. Be sure you can handle the sudden loss of those ties, with the resulting drop in trade income. It may not happen, but best be prepared.

Trade Rights (offer only)
Stances: neutral or ally

Description:
You can offer to give a faction trade rights. This is bilateral – if they accept, then trade is allowed to happen between your cities and theirs, and your ports and theirs. Trade rights can be granted with or without an alliance. They are vital to the economic and growth ability of any faction who aren't world powers. Trade rights benefit both your faction and the faction you are giving rights to. If you want to make life difficult for a faction, cancel or do not give trade rights to them, and encourage other factions to attack your target faction, thus cutting off trade to other factions as well.

Clarification:
No additional info needed.

Tips:
Besides Map Information, this is the most basic relation any two factions can have. Since, as said above, it is mutually beneficial, expect little resistance when proposing a trade agreement. If they turn it down, however, it's likely that an examination of the web of alliances and enemies will show that you've severely ticked off one of their strongest allies. If that's the case, and really do want trade with a faction that has denied it, then patch up relations with that ally of theirs, then propose it again.

Cancel Trade Rights (offer only)
Stances: neutral or ally

Description:
You can offer to cancel trade rights, with or without a Demand associated with it. This works in exactly the same way as Cancel Alliance.

Clarification:
No additional info needed.

Tips:
Again, take care to examine the web of alliances and enemies to make sure that this cancelling will have handle-able side effects.

Military Access (offer & demand)
Stances: ally only

Description:
If you offer Military Access to a faction, you are offering that faction the ability to move their armies into your provinces without fear of reprisals. Conversely, if you demand Military Access from a faction, then you're asking for the ability to move your armies on their land safely. An alliance with reciprocal military access is probably the strongest form of alliance in the game. This allows them to aid you against enemies in your lands, and allows you to aid them against their enemies. A side benefit of this is that you can march through an ally's provinces to attack another faction without having the constant pressure of a border to maintain. Your ally's provinces act as the buffer zone between you and your enemy in that situation. Your ally will be grateful for the help, and you will be grateful not to have a large border to fortify.

Clarification:
No additional info needed.

Tips:
To successfully negotiate for Military Access, you must be either neutral to or enemies with a faction's enemies. Alliance with a faction's enemy will almost completely eliminate the possibility of successfully negotiating for Military Access. Also, if you currently have a Military Access treaty, then making an alliance with that faction's enemies will almost certainly spell doom for your Military Access. Since Military Access is a level of trust beyond the standard, you may be required to give more than offering bilateral Military Access. If you've assured that there are no alliance conflicts, and a faction turns down a request for bilateral Access, try again but offer a single payment, or tribute over a couple of turns. If you're desperate for Military Access, you can try offering a settlement.

Attack Faction (offer & demand)
Stances: any

Description:
Offering to attack a faction, or demanding that the faction you're negotiating with attack a faction, can be done without an alliance. You either offer or demand the attack, specify which faction is the target, and hope for the best. See tips on the nuances of using this negotiating chip.

Clarification:
When either offering or demanding an attack on a faction, you need to specify which faction should be the target of the attack. If you offer to attack, then the faction you specify is the one that you promise to launch an attack on. If you demand an attack, then the faction you specify is the one who you want your negotiating partner's faction to attack. There is no year or turn limit set. This makes the process of judging whether a faction has fulfilled this obligation rather abstract. Couple this with the fact that you cannot effectively see where any AI faction moves it's armies, and you have a completely untraceable promise. So, take this one with a grain of salt.

Tips:
When offering to attack another faction, you are throwing in a bargaining chip to gain something with a demand. Your demand will come either with the offer to attack, or later, and the faction you're negotiating with know this. They know there are no free gifts in the world of diplomacy. If you go into a negotiation knowing this, then you can understand that, if you demand that a faction attack another faction, then you will be expected to pay up. This either means you need to pay them enough to recover any possible losses (this could add up to a large amount), or you need to offer at the same time to attack one of their enemies to whom you are currently neutral.

Give Region (offer & demand)
Stances: any

Description:
You can offer a region to a faction as part of negotiations (or as the entirety of a negotiation), or you can demand that a region be given to you. In game terms region translates into province. When you give a region, it means that you must move your armies out of the province's main settlement during the turn in which you negotiate the region transfer. If you don't, you'll likely receive a message calling you a liar and possibly breaking off diplomatic relations with you. As should be obvious, giving a province to another faction is a big step, for which you should expect a large reward. If a province is near rebellion, has large squalor problems, etc, then expect the same payback as if you were trying to sell a rust-pitted vehicle with no engine. You can offer multiple regions at one time.

Clarification:
You will need to specify the region(s) offered. This consists of going through a list of all the provinces that you own (except where you've specified your capitol to be) and putting a check beside the one(s) you want to offer.

Tips:
Provinces mean revenue, population, and unit production power all in one nice package. This can be a very powerful bargaining chip. It won't work in the most severe cases (such as if you are negotiating for Military Access with someone whose enemy is your ally), but the giving of a region can be a huge economic and social benefit to a faction. Use with care. You can couple a Give Region offer with a Give Region demand, effectively swapping provinces with another faction. Depending on who you talk to, this is an effective way to cement an alliance, though the cases in which it is rejected are unclear.

Make Single Payment (offer & demand)
Stances: any

Description:
This is simply the giving of a single one-time lump of cash to another faction, or the demand of a one-time lump sum from another faction. Often this is used to balance out what would otherwise be an unfair negotiation. For example, if you give a region like Attica, which has huge income potential, for a region like landlocked Tribus Iazyges, you will probably also tag in a Make Single Payment to balance the transaction.

Clarification:
You will need to specify the amount which you will give (offer), or which you expect to receive (demand).

Tips:
This is the single most flexible tool in your negotiations toolkit. Use it to balance your own proposals, counter-propose to the AI faction's requests (which are often weighted on their side quite a bit), buy large favours for your faction, and so forth. If you have a vast treasury, this is the tool to use to accomplish what would otherwise be impossible.

Regular Tribute (offer & demand)
Stances: any

Description:
Like Make Single Payment, demanding and offering a regular tribute is a purely financial transaction. However, demanding tribute is demoralising to anyone receiving such a demand, and is often viewed as a hostile action. Demanding and getting Regular Tribute damages the enemy's ability to create an army, build defences, make city improvements, and recover losses from any ongoing wars. Being under such an arrangement is often intolerable, and will often lead to renewed battle.

Clarification:
When demanding tribute, you will need to specify the amount per six-month turn you wish to be given, and the number of turns that this should continue.

Tips:
Demanding Regular Tribute is often the sign that a faction is near the end of its lifespan. If accepted, it can put a tremendous strain on the resources of a faction, thus weakening it in all areas. A strong enemy will never accede to a request for Regular Tribute. A weak or recently beaten enemy will accept it simply for survival's sake. A strong ally may accede to a Regular Tribute request if you've given over a lucrative province in exchange for nothing but cash, and you want to avoid hitting them up for a mountain of cash with Make Single Payment.

Map Information (offer & demand)
Stances: any

Description:
This is the most basic form of interaction between factions. In a unilateral Map Information negotiation, one side gives their Map Information to another faction either as a good-will gift, or for cash. The side that buys the map gets to see all city, resource, and infrastructure information the map holder has seen. In a bilateral Map Information transaction, they give you their map of the world, and you give them yours. When you do, you gain the ability to see all the cities, resources, infrastructure, etc, that your negotiation partner has seen, and they have the same privilege with your information. Once you have bought the Map Information of another faction, your campaign map changes to reflect the changing ownership of settlements that were on the map at the time you bought it. So if Themiskyra happens to be on a map you bought from the Parthians, you can keep an eye on who owns the place for an indefinite length of time without needing agents in the area. Map Information is a nice prelude to a request for Trade Rights, sometimes coming in as a necessary prelude.

Clarification:
No more information needed.

Tips:
The simplest use of a Map Information offer is to offer it and leave your demand open (blank). This allows your negotiation partner to name their price for your map information. This is a great way to pad your treasury early in the game. You can make anywhere from 2000 to 4000 denarii per transaction by offering your map information in this way. Coupled with a Map Information demand, a Map Information offer is a simple exchange, as described above. They will appreciate the shared knowledge, and you gain some information you likely lacked about city ownership and province infrastructure. Map exchanges like this can help lead to friendly relations such as Trade Rights or Alliance. When you initially find another faction, a map offer or exchange is a good way to break the ice. Later, or even in the same negotiation session after they've accepted a map from you, bargain for Trade Rights. Even if the faction in question is much to far away to be an effective trading partner, this agreement can only help. With these two in the bag, you're well on your way to gaining an Alliance and everything that's possible after that.

Accept or We Will Attack (offer only)
Stances: neutral or enemy

Description:
If you add this chip to a negotiation, you are threatening your negotiating partner with painful consequences if they don't accept. This works when you've had a string of victories over a faction and you know they're hurting. Time this threat badly, there is a very good chance that the threat will be rebuffed, and you will find yourself out of diplomatic possibilities with this faction for several years.

Clarification:
No more information needed.

Tips:
When you've been pounding a faction into the dust and want to exert your diplomatic control over them, back off for a round or two, then send in a skilled diplomat. Demand a settlement, or that they become a protectorate, or any number of other demands, and for offer simply click the "Accept or We Will Attack" option. If you do this right, this may be the best way to gain a faction as a Protectorate.


Ceasefire (offer only)
Stances: enemy only

Description:
Simple – you promise to stop butchering the other faction, and if they accept, then they promise to stop trying to attack you.

Clarification:
No more information needed.

Tips:
There are basically three situations in which to use Ceasefire: when you're getting your tail whipped and you want a break, when you're in a fairly even but long-running conflict and need the resources to deal with another problem, or when you're decimating an enemy and they are down to their last drop of life. In the first case, you'll need to offer something big, like Give Region or Regular Tribute to have any hope of a Ceasefire being accepted. If they refuse with one of those two, then throw in a single payment if you can afford it. In the second case, the other side may be in the same situation, and you can simply offer the Ceasefire. They may demand more – if so, go for Make Single Payment to balance out the difference if it's not too much. In the third case, offer a Ceasefire in conjunction with a large demand – Regular Tribute, Give Region, or Become Protectorate are all in the realm of possibility here. Players have reported receiving over 12000 denarii in Regular Tribute from this Ceasefire scenario.

Become Protectorate (demand only)
Stances: neutral or enemy

Description:
When you demand that a faction become your protectorate, you are offering several things at once:

* All hostilities cease
* You have full Military Access to their lands
* Alliance and Trade Rights are guaranteed
* The length of the Protectorate status is unspecified

You get no cash by default from gaining a faction as a Protectorate, nor can you use or disband their troops.

Clarification:
No more information needed.

Tips:
Players report that having a Protectorate seems to do no good for the conquering faction, while actually Becoming a protectorate is great... you can worry less about invasion, you pay no taxes to your conquerors, and you can use the time to recoup losses and build your economy. Protectorate status breaks down if you do anything to harm your status as Allies of the other faction.

There is not enough player experience with this option to know much more. It would be helpful to know, for example, if a faction who are in Protectorate status can be bled for cash more easily (by repeated demands for Make Single Payment, or Regular Tribute).


Senate Missions & Policy

The Senate keeps a list of its current policy toward all factions in the game. This can help you to plan your diplomatic activity, either to coincide with the wishes of the Senate or to subtly thumb your nose at the Senate's agenda. To see this policy screen, simply click on your faction's circular icon in the lower right section of the screen. The screen that opens up is the Faction Policy listing. Click on any of the faction icons to see a detailed description of current Senate policy toward that faction.

The Senate will sometimes tell you to send your diplomats on very specific missions. A list of these follow, with a description.

There are reports of players having never seen any of these in any of their games. The conditions behind their appearance remains a mystery akin to those of the Good Goddess.

Send Emissary
The Senate asks you to send an emissary to a specific faction, with no goal in mind besides diplomatic contact.

Demand Tribute
The senate feels that a faction needs to recognise the superiority of Rome. It requests that you send a diplomat to demand a regular tribute payment. You will be rewarded depending on the size of the tribute you obtain.

Obtain Surrender
The Senate feels that a faction has been weakened enough to make forcing surrender a realistic option. Send a diplomat and demand that they become a Protectorate under Roman control.

Negotiate Return of Legionary Eagle
The Senate would like to send a diplomat to negotiate the return of the Legionary Eagle a faction holds. The loss of the Eagle standard is an ongoing source of shame to the Legion that lost it, and there seems to be little chance of getting it back by military means.

Negotiate Settlement Handover
The Senate feels that there is a realistic prospect of persuading the current owners to hand over a settlement by offering them an exchange for one less valuable to us. Send a diplomat and attempt to get them to hand it over.

Obtain Map Information
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and negotiate a treaty to obtain map information to extend Rome's knowledge of the world.

Get Trade Agreement
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and negotiate a treaty to get trading rights for Rome.

Appease Faction
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and get them to agree not to attack. Offer tribute or anything else that seems reasonable. As a short term measure this is most important.

Provoke Attack
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and see if you can provoke them in to making an attack against us. Rome wants to be at war but does not want to appear to be the aggressor.

Peace Talks
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and try to improve relations with this faction. No particular result is expected - just sending the diplomat and getting agreement on an offer is enough as a first step.

Make Alliance
The Senate asks that you send a diplomat to a faction and make an alliance with them.

Give Cash
Allied friends sometimes need financial support. The Senate asks that you make a single payment of at least one tenth of your annual income to a faction.

That’s the end of Tamur’s section on diplomacy. Now for a few froggy notes, mostly emphasising some of Tamur’s points and giving my own experience.

Selling maps.
You can sell your map for a nice profit each turn; I find I can usually get around 1,000 denarii per sale in the early game. I keep a diplomat near a city belonging to each faction I have contact with and sell them my map each turn. This is great training for the diplomats, and it keeps contact open and thereby seems to make alliances last longer. Finally it gives me more spending money in the early, lean days while cutting back on my enemies spending money and hampering their growth. Selling maps is so powerful I wouldn’t bother if it didn’t keep my alliances alive for longer.

Bribery.
This is so powerful I don’t use it any more. Bribery is dirt cheap in terms of both money and tactics; a couple of thousand denarii will remove a large, quite good army from the equation.

Keeping your alliances going.
As I noted above I find my alliances will last much, much longer if I have repeated, sustained contact with that faction. Before I read Tamur’s guide my alliances lasted around five turns at the most; now I have had alliances last for more than twenty turns.

Protectorates.
Having a faction as your protectorate gives you all the advantages of an alliance and military access, and some security; protectorates don’t seem to rebel. Regions owned by a protectorate count towards your controlled region count, getting you closer to victory without needing to conquer and manage the settlements yourself. You get tribute too, which can be very considerable if the protectorate is a rich faction.

Extort, bargain, negotiate.
Never accept the AI’s first offer, and never ask for what you really want the first time. You can often bargain, getting a little more or reducing the price of what you want. If you want 1,000 denarii for your map start by asking for 1,500 or more, then work your way down. You may even get the AI to agree to your outrageous request first time.





http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Pretty in purple: the Senate.

Ah, the Senate. A bunch of old men in togas with the feebleminded and insulting delusion that they can order you about, that they are the true heart of the Roman Empire. What do we do with old men in togas, everybody? :everyone yells “kick their asses!”: No we do not, and Wayne, stop eating crayons! We are far more devious than that, oh yes, far more devious. Allow me to lapse off into my fictional writing and quote a character of mine, a spymaster by the abnormal name of Trempwick, here: “Love, fear, control of something or someone they care about; those are the three main ways to gain control over a person. Pick a person apart to see how they work, then apply that proverb and they are yours.” My Trempwick is one smart, sly, crafty, shifty beggar indeed and he has just summed up our dealings with the Senate in one bit of catchy dialogue, or at least I like to think so. The catchy, not the aim – I know about the aim, it’s the catchy that’s an issue. Maybe.

Love, ah yes, sweet, sweet love. You want the senate to love you; you want them to hang off your every word, to look after your interests, and to bend over backwards for you. What do you get if the Senate love you? Money, positions for your family, nice missions, support. If you are in good graces with the Senate then your job will be easier. How do you get the Senate to love you? There are two main ways:
1) Successfully complete at least some of the missions they give you. This also nets you a reward which can range from cash in hand, to a unit, to a guaranteed position in the next elections.
2) Conquer nasty people. To check who the Senate want bashed look at your faction screen (click on the round thing with your logo on it), then on the senate screen, finally on policy. Work your way through the factions that are convenient for you to attack and note the ones which the Senate has a hostile policy towards. Of course the old men like any conquest, so you can just pulp the lot nearest to you.

When you are in good grace with the Senate then you are more likely to have your family assigned Senate offices. These offices are a Good Thing; they give assorted bonuses depending on the post, but even the least of them gives a bit of prestige to the recipient. You have to work your way up the ladder; you can’t just jump right in to consul.

When the Senate like you they give you easy tasks, ones which are useful for you to accomplish and often have good rewards at the end of them.

Fear; now we are turning things up a notch. As your family expands and becomes more powerful the Senate’s love will begin to fade, festering away under suspicion and fear. This is a delicate phase; if you keep a low profile you can easy go back to being loved; if you push the envelope you will become truly feared. You can tell when the Senate fear you because it will say so on the Senate floor screen; check this often to find out public and Senate opinion of your family. Now, the Senate will begin to fear you for two reasons:
1)You are growing large and powerful. They hate seeing power concentrated in the hands of but one family.
2)You have become very popular with the people. Popularity with the plebs means they may offer you a chance to become emperor; the Senate fear this more than anything, an emperor is a king by another name and Rome hates kings.

When the Senate fear you then they begin to give you difficult, dangerous or downright impossible missions. They want you to fail. Yes, when they ask you to capture Londinium (London for those who don’t know) in 5 turns when all your armies are in Greece they want you to fail; they want to bring you down a peg or two and re-establish who is boss. If you actually manage to do the impossible and teleport your armies to Britain the Senate will be glad Rome has gained but they will hate you for being good enough to pull it off, so expect to see your rating with them get worse.

Note that the Senate can hate you; this is actually a different thing to fear. Hate is gained when you repeatedly fail missions and ignore the Senate completely; often you can counter this by conquering the odd place or two which you will probably be doing anyway. However if you do not conquer and do not accomplish the missions, essentially just sitting their picking your teeth, you have nothing to counter the growing dislike. Hate has nothing to do with you being strong or beloved of the smelly populace, and everything to do with you being a total loser.

Control of something they care about; ah yes, this one is the real jackpot. What does the Senate care about most? Rome. Control Rome and the Senate need no longer bother you. Well, usually. You see in my games the Senate has always been quite passive, supporting the other factions but never actually conquering any cities; it was just in control of Rome itself. Now in some games the Senate may go and conquer a bit, or they may be given a province or two as a gift. Even if they have more than Rome they will be essentially broken without it, so the point still stands, even if you have a little more tidying up to do after your triumphal entry into the city.

Generally speaking the average player will work their way from ambiguity to love, then slowly to fear. The civil war will begin (details later) and end, hopefully, with your faction victorious and in control of Rome. How do you deal with the Senate? Make them love you until you no longer need that love, then make them fear you until they play into your hands and begin the civil war. Then finally, and so very sweetly, wipe them out.

In my experience so far all I had needed to do to keep on the Senate’s good side is keep expanding slowly, taking down my designated enemies (e.g. the Gauls in my Julii game) and accomplishing the occasional mission. And my rating steady rose until they loved me, and then began to fear me a little. My rating with the people never did too well with this approach; the best I got was them swearing at me in the street. I shall kill them liberally for that later.

The Plebs.
Rumour, and logic, has it that the plebs will like Roman victories and expansion so conquering should help your rating. If this is so then the boost is very minor, to the tune of two faction icons for a 15 province empire and several famous victories. I suspect that holding games in any arenas you might own will boost your popularity; people always love a good gladiator show with plenty of split blood and freebies for scroungers. Certain Senate missions offer a set of free games in your honour if you succeed in the mission; these games will boost your standing amongst the plebs.

The Civil War (RTW style).
Because I have only played short campaigns thus far (something, such as this guide, has been sucking up my free time so a long game is impossible) I have not actually hit the civil war myself. This is all based on reading. :winces:

Ok, the civil war will begin when the Senate outlaws one of the three other Roman factions. If they really fear you they might ask for your faction leader to commit suicide. If you comply then they will calm down for a bit; if you refuse they will outlaw you. You do not have to let your leader commit suicide unless you want to avoid the war. There is usually a very good chance that the senate will request the suicide of the man who replaces your recently departed leader, and then the man after that, and the man after that, until you run out of people to kill. So suicide can only buy you a little bit of time at rather a high cost.

The civil war ends when only one Roman faction is left, and that had better be yours unless you want to lose.

Quite interestingly you can actually sometimes negotiate peace treaties with the individual Roman factions after the civil war begins. If you are very fortunate you can even be at peace with all the Romans while the civil war is officially still in progress.

The Civil War (BI style)
This doesn’t really belong here, but I guess this is as bad a place as any to put it (it gets next to impossible to decently compose a document this long with just MS Word and no way to actually look at what you are doing without the aid of a computer. My apologies), and it does have some relation to the RTW civil war. There’s no senate in BI, and the civil wars you encounter there are caused by disloyal Roman generals and/or cities rebelling. The wars can involve as little as one breakaway army and as much as most of your empire.

Mission Impossible.
Some Senate missions are pre-programmed and will always happen; these are the missions you are assigned right at the start of the campaign. After that I think it is a mix of pre-programmed and random, depending on the world state and your popularity with the Senate. Potential rewards are varied in their worth. If the reward is something like preferential consideration for an office then it may not be worth the effort, well not if they ask you to conquer a huge, dangerous city belonging to a neutral faction. However sometimes the Senate offer big rewards for easy missions, such as ‘will be well rewarded’ for blocking a port. Yes, you can get a huge pile of denarii for sailing a ship to the designated port and leaving it there for a turn. So, make sure you read the small print carefully and fully consider the implications of what they request before deciding what to do about the mission.




http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gif The Gentle Art of War: being a battlefield guide

This chapter is dedicated to the battlefield half of the game; I bet you couldn’t guess that, could you? In both of my previous Medieval: Total War guides I went into some detail on the battle side of the game; I won’t be doing the same here, at least not in such depth. You see we don’t know the combat calculations, the unit stats are only just being discovered, the bonuses are mostly hidden, and generally it is all very vague. I will pass on what I can and note a few dos and don’ts.

RTW is a more dynamic game than MTW, to me at least. It relies more on logic. I find that on normal difficulty, without any bonuses to either side as given by difficulty, that logic and historical knowledge provide plenty of basis for what really happens on the field. Of course there are some exceptions to this rule, but overall what you thin should happen does. If you think of a cavalry charge against a ragged, strung out unit you expect the cavalry to mow the infantry down. That’s what happens in RTW. If you think of a cavalry charge against a solid, well formed and disciplined infantry force you expect them to get bogged down and killed. That’s what happens in RTW. I am sure you are getting the picture now.

One very small yet oh so important note on difficulty and battle: On harder difficulties the AI gets bonuses, to the tune of an extra +7 to attack on very hard. That means that when playing on any difficulty except normal you should expect to see odd outcomes, such as cavalry riding over your phalanx as if they were not there.


Rank and file.
A quick intro in terminology for those of you not already acquainted:

http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/unit%20parts.jpg
Say hello to our happy little Roman cohort. As you can see I’ve clumsily labelled the various parts of the unit. The front and rear are obvious. The flanks go on both sides, predictably, and are also obvious if you are familiar with the word in a military context. The rank is a little less easy to point out on this diagram; it’s a row of soldiers standing side by side. For more on flanks and the rear of the unit read the next little section.

Rank is a less … concrete concept then in MTW. In MTW I could, and did, say how to optimally deploy each and every unit in all situations. In RTW rank is so different that’s not really possible. Instead I get to tell you general guidelines.

The deeper a formation is the larger its flanks become and the less ground it covers with its front. The thinner a formation is the more fragile it is. It is a balancing act, playing depth and coverage off against each other, and the needs vary quite a bit depending on what unit you are using and what is about to happen with that unit in the battle. I can offer one firm bit of advice here: using a unit in just one rank is asking for trouble; your enemy will tear right through the heart of the formation and destroy it faster than you can blink. Ok, two firm bits of advice. Some units have nice, orderly formations, such as the legionaries in the picture above. Others have looser, more ragged ones, especially barbarian units and missile units. The solid formations are more effective at resisting charges than the more disorderly ones. That out of the way it is time to go to the vaguer bits.

For infantry (not phalanx).
When facing cavalry or a strong infantry charge rank is key; four ranks is a very good depth for infantry to repel charges with. If you are facing chariots or elephants five, even six ranks can be needed to stand solidly and dispatch the charge. I would say that the absolute minimum you want to use in any situation is three ranks; I myself have settled into using four ranks almost all the time, with the exceptions being when I need to cover a lot of ground (drop to three ranks) or need to repel a very dangerous charge (increase to five or six).

For cavalry.
Depth is a little less important for cavalry, and they tend to be charging, not receiving charges. I like to use my cavalry in three ranks for smaller units, and four ranks for larger ones. This makes the formation sturdy (thinner formations collapse on impact) and gets the maximum number of men slamming into the enemy as the charge hits. Sometimes I use five ranks, generally when I need the unit to be more mobile.

For missiles
Since there is no line of sight accuracy penalty in RTW I have taken to deploying missiles in short, squat blocks about five ranks deep, sometimes more. It makes them easier to position, and this way they are a little better at pulling back on their own without human intervention if left to skirmish.

It is also good to remember that unlike MTW the advantages of a few of your men wrapping around the enemy formation are minor. In MTW this would cause the enemy unit to crumple quickly; in RTW more often than not a few men will simply turn around and start fighting on the flanks while the others fight on the front. That means there is no longer a very good reason to string your formation out to be a little longer than the enemy’s.

For advice on phalanx units read on; they have their own special section.

Front, flanks and rear.
Hitting a unit in the flanks or rear gives you an advantage, and probably a small attack bonus. Hitting any unit in the rear with something will be devastating; if you manage to charge heavy cavalry into the rear of an engaged unit you will cause tremendous damage and possibly even cause an instant rout. The flank of a unit seem less vulnerable then they were in previous TW games. This is because the men on the flanks do a better job of turning and fighting, in effect allowing the unit to fight on two or more fronts at once. Note that men will turn and fight on any front, so you can actually surround a unit and see it fighting on four fronts. Obviously dividing manpower up like this is a bad thing, and so being flanked, hit in the rear or surrounded is still a powerful and dangerous thing. The phalanx deserves special note; it is practically invulnerable from the front unless they lose cohesion and start using their swords instead of spears or pikes. Hit them from the rear for best effects. Hitting the flanks is also good.

Missiles in general.
There is one big change to the established system that TW veterans generally have an issue with. This is not a grumbling ground, so I will simply log it quickly and informatively for the newbies and those just making the transition from the older games. Your units can now fire with no accuracy penalty if they are in more than two ranks; the old line of sight penalty has been dropped. This means you can deploy your archers in ten ranks without any loss in performance. I repeat, the old line of sight penalty is gone.

If your missile units are left on fire at will and given no orders they will shoot of their own accord at any enemy units in range, unless they are likely to hit their own friends in doing so. Note that if you order a unit to shoot at a specific target they will keep on shooting regardless if any friendly casualties they may cause.

Missiles of all types are more effective in RTW than in BI due to higher armour and shield values. Shooting the flanks or rear of a unit is far more important in BI.

Height is still an advantage to ranged units, increasing the damage they do and the range at which they can fire.

Rain and snow still dampens bowstrings, reducing both accuracy and range.

Armour reduces the effectiveness of missiles; heavily armoured units will only suffer a few casualties per volley as their armour protects them. Lightly armoured units will take heavy losses per volley.

Shields also protect men for missiles effectively; the larger the shield the better the protection. You can bypass the shield’s protection by shooting from the side or rear of a unit. You only need a 45 degree angle from the front to bypass the shield, so you do not need to stand right off to one side.

Shield and armour values do stack, so shooting head on at a heavily armoured, shielded unit will probably do no damage at all beyond the odd man killed every other volley.

Archers.
Archers are the basic ranged unit most people will understand instantly. They come in infantry and cavalry flavours; the cavalry version is covered a bit later on. They shoot in an arc so you can position them behind your line and they will fire over the people in front. They have good range, and some elite archer units like archer auxilia and Pharaoh’s bowmen have extra long range compared to other bow units. Surprisingly arrows seem to be the most effective missile against heavily armoured enemies; I would have expected them to be the least effective. You can send archers forward to skirmish and rely on the skirmish mode to bring them back to safety because their range is long enough to allow them to shoot a few volleys before the enemy close enough to force them to pull back. Note that your archers may pull back reliably but they may also move to a stupid location, such as in the middle of your heavy infantry line, and then continue shooting. If your archers stand in the middle of your infantry line and shoot you will suddenly notice half your front line is dead. For this reason I never leave archers to skirmish, preferring to control them myself or to keep them safely behind my front line firing overhead. Arrows are not armour piercing.

Sling units.
Sling units are the only unit in the game which will not shoot in an arc; they release their shot in a mostly flat trajectory, just like a gun. This means you should never place them behind another unit and leave them on fire at will or give them an order to shoot – they will very often mow down the unit in front of them without a single bullet making it to the enemy. They have good range, though lower than archers, and because of their unique trajectory they cause a lot of deaths per volley. This is because any bullets which miss are likely to hit the man behind the original target. Slingers can be devastating. They have enough range that you can send them out in front of your lines to skirmish, but due to their trajectory problems it’s best to control them yourself; if you don’t you might turn your attention back to your skirmishing slingers only to find they have wiped out half your army for you. An alternate line of skirmishing, the only one you should drop to using after the battle lines have joined, involves running your skirmishers around to the flanks and rear of the enemy line and unloading on them as they melee with your own front line. Slingers often have loads of ammo, in the form of bullets, so you can rely on them keeping up a sustained barrage for quite some time. You may like to know that sling bullets are not armour piercing.

Javelin units.
Javelin units are short range skirmishers. They come in infantry and cavalry flavours; you can also find some units of heavy infantry (mostly Roman, in both BI and RTW) who have a special variety of javelins called pilums. The heavy infantry version is covered in the section called ‘Roman infantry and the pilum’ further down.

Javelins are more damaging per volley than arrows, as in they cause more deaths on average assuming all things are equal. They do have a short range, shorter than the skirmish range so you will probably find your men run away without throwing so much as a single javelin if skirmish is on. Therefore most of the time you want to turn skirmish off, either turning it back on when you want the unit to pull back to safety or withdrawing them manually. You get fewer shots per man with javelins than the other missile types; the actual number varies from unit type to unit type. The dedicated skirmishers have more missiles than the heavy infantry with javelins. Javelins are thrown in an arc so you can position javelin using troops behind your front line and they will throw over the heads of the other units. Occasionally I find this courses problems with friendly fire, but not often as long as your javelins are not on a backwards slope and so lower down than your front line.

Most javelin skirmishers are fast, so you can actually skirmish with them. Send them running out to throw a few volleys at the enemy as they advance, then pull them back before the enemy reach them. Beware of cavalry when doing this; even the AI won’t miss the chance to mow your skirmishers down and unlike the other missile units javelins have such a short range they have to get very close to the enemy to work. This means you don’t usually have time to pull them back before the cavalry hit and wipe them from the face of the planet. Cavalry based skirmishers are usually fast enough to nip back out of the way, but they probably won’t have time to throw many javelins before the AI sends its cavalry to intercept. You can also send your javelin units around to throw into the flanks and rear of an enemy once battle is joined.

Ordinary javelins are not armour piercing. Pilums are.

Crossbows
A few units in BI are equipped with crossbows. These have a flat trajectory, and so can’t fire over other units or terrain features like hills. Otherwise … it’s pretty much business as usual.

Spears.
Spear equipped units have a bonus against cavalry; the bonus is added on to the spear unit’s attack when facing cavalry of any type. Spears do not receive a rank bonus in RTW, unlike in MTW. There have been some big changes to spears since BI appeared, meaning my advice for them must change to almost the opposite. Now I say don’t charge when facing cavalry! Er, well, it’s not entirely so simple as that.

When a unit is left standing still (doesn’t even need to be on guard mode) and an enemy unit comes close enough, the unit will assume a ready position, raising shields and settling weapons. If a spear unit does this then it receives an extra bonus against cavalry, a new bonus for braced spears. This bonus can only be gained if the unit is not moving and has had time to brace itself. Note that the bracing cannot be ordered by you; it must be left to the little virtual captain of the unit. This, combined with the general spear V mount bonus (also increased a bit) should be enough for you spear unit to make some nice horse kebabs. Bulk is necessary; four ranks at the least, or the unit will be swept away by the impact of the charging cavalry.

Life, sadly, is seldom so happily simple. The AI may be rather moronic, but it won’t often send cavalry onto your waiting spears. So often you have to go and attack, forfeiting that brace bonus. In which case my old advice still seems to hold true: counter charge, preferably hitting the unit in the flanks or rear while it is engaged with another unit, and attack with the unit formed up into three ranks so maximum men get into battle right from the start.

Spear units can and will beat sword units with similar stats. However my testing has revealed that the results of any such match ups are unpredictable; one time the spears will win, another the swords, and seemingly no clear reason for either outcome. Again, three ranks and counter charging really did help the spears out a lot. So remember your spears are not helpless little bunny rabbits; they can fight very effectively, although you should probably keep a close eye on them and ensure that they are adequately supported.

The Phalanx.
The phalanx is a tricky unit to use properly, although it is now much easier to get along with than in the original versions of the game thanks to changes made in the patches. All the same it takes a little more practise and work to use these units to their best, but they can be rewarding if you do master them.

The phalanx is practically invulnerable head on, so long as it maintains discipline and uses its special ‘phalanx formation (it’s the unit’s special ability). When the special ability is turned off the phalanx will convert, for all intent and purposes, to an inferior unit of swordsmen. They may use their spears/pikes for a little while, but not effectively and not for long before they draw swords. In this mode you can also hold alt and right click to order them to go straight to their secondary weapons, just like you can with missile and cavalry units. You probably don’t want to do this very often, and you should try to get at the enemy from an advantageous spot, such as the rear, when doing this. Most phalanx troops are quite weak when out of phalanx mode.
With phalanx mode on the unit will use the long spear or pike and only drop to the weaker sword if the enemy manage to force their way past the spear points.

I suppose now is a good time to mention a few quirks related to the statement “The phalanx is practically invulnerable head on.” Well, firstly I have seen quite a few people saying that cavalry can beat a phalanx even if they charge head on into the spear points. I have spent hours testing this in both single player and multiplayer and found it to be untrue. Cavalry lose about 98% of the time, and their victories were freak accidents. As long as the phalanx is in phalanx mode, in good formation, and hit head on they will slaughter the cavalry. Many times I even found the phalanx could see off cavalry when charged in the flanks or rear, times when I fully expected the phalanx men to be slaughtered. This is because the phalanx managed to turn around and start fighting the cavalry effectively very quickly. If the phalanx is occupied to the front when the cavalry hits the flanks or rear then the chaps on horses do much better. Secondly I have seen it said that spear using hoplites (as in short weapons) can beat pike using phalanx (as in much longer weapons) head on, even though the spears have the shorter range and need to push past the pike points. This one is … true. To a certain extent. Heavily armoured spear phalanx can push their way past the pike points of the weaker pike phalanxes. Given equal match ups stats wise and the spear phalanx dies. So both of these points are worth bearing in mind.

Thanks to the alterations made in the 1.2 patch giving advice for phalanx units is much simpler than it used to be. Take guard mode off unless you intend to stand still and need to hold your position. Guard mode makes the phalanx less dynamic; it reduces the pushing effect and ability to reform to get more men into combat. It is … quite hard to explain, but with guard mode on the little men don’t wander forwards to take up their positions and attack quite so well. Also some very odd things can happen, such as the formation redressing its ranks so it ends up backwards to the enemy it is supposed to be attacking.

With guard mode off … click once to attack. It’s really quite simple. Phalanx units can’t charge and they can’t run if in phalanx formation. They will march up into range, pull up their shields and begin to advance, pushing the enemy back and stabbing with their spears. Alternatively you can stand still and hope the enemy walk into the spear/pike points.

As far as depth goes it depends which type of phalanx you are using. Both types need depth in addition to cohesion to function well; these two factors make it harder to disrupt the formation and thus rob the phalanx of their best weapon. Spear phalanxes can have the first two ranks of the formation fighting at once when in phalanx formation. They also have fewer men than pike phalanxes. I find that four ranks suits them nicely, keeping a balance between frontage and depth. Pike phalanxes can have the first four ranks fighting at once, and they are some of the largest units in the game in terms of manpower. I find that six ranks is good; again, a balance of frontage, combat power and depth.

While in phalanx formation the unit cannot run; it is also very slow when turning. If you urgently need your men to run turn off phalanx mode, tell them to run and then turn it back on as they arrive at their destination and begin forming up again. To get your phalanx to turn properly issue the order, then turn off phalanx mode, turning it back on just as the unit finishes the manoeuvre. I say issue the move order first because the unit can get underway that little bit quicker and be on their way while you give the exit phalanx mode order. Always, always remember to turn phalanx back on if you turn it off or you will get a nasty surprise because your unit will not fight as you expect them to.

How to deploy your phalanxes; this one is a rather long and important topic.

http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/bad%20phalanx.jpg
This is from what I call the “Please, I want to die!” school of phalanx deployment. There are large gaps between the units, exposing their flanks. Remember it’s the front of the phalanx you want to be fighting, not the rest! Always guard your flanks; never leave them exposed like this.

http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/good%20phalanx.jpg
Now this one is right from the school of “I’m here to kill you.” Notice how all the phalanx units are in a single line with only tiny little gaps between them? That’s as close as the game will easily allow you to deploy them. This phalanx is strong. You will notice an array of other units scattered about; this is because you should never use phalanx units unsupported. They need some other unit types to guard their flanks, in this case units of cavalry. Peltasts (javelin units) are deployed out front to skirmish and break up the enemy before they reach the phalanx; they will need to draw out of the way to the sides, not straight back. Why? Because if they go right back they will disrupt the phalanxes and that does not help your cause much. It’s usually possible to run your skirmishers about to the sides, then support with cavalry if the enemy pursue them. Behind the phalanx line are some archers; they will fire over the heads of the phalanx and keep on disrupting and demoralising the enemy even when melee is joined. Make sure you turn skirmish off for them though, or they will scuttle back when the melee begins. You can also send the archers forward if you are on the offensive, to pummel the enemy before sending in your infantry. The cavalry are there to support the flanks over and above all else. They are not rout chasers, not unless the flanks are safe and will continue to be so. If the enemy hit the flanks of this line then things will more than likely go to hell in a hand basket. The general and his bodyguard take a central position, nice and safe, ready to support if needed.

When you have a big line of phalanx units like this it is … not so good to click on the targets you want the to attack. This is because they tend to lose that single, close line as they advance, making themselves more vulnerable. Instead try selecting your entire phalanx line, holding down the alt key and then clicking behind the enemy. This will get the line to advance in perfect order and position, maintaining the same facing as before. As the units run into the enemy they will begin to fight, and they will do so, if you got the command right, in the same single line that they set out in.

Cavalry, how to use it and how to stop it.
Cavalry is made to charge; in melee it will usually die quickly, but on the charge it will cause much pain and suffering. Any ragged, strung out unit will be swept over by the charging cavalry, mown down as if it were never there. This makes cavalry devastating against most missile infantry. The key to real cavalry use is motion; keep them moving as much as possible. Let them charge; the unit will usually pull away slightly and recharge of its own accord. When they finally stop and become stationary pull them back by double clicking on some empty ground, let them regroup as they run away from the enemy, then send them back to charge again. Rinse and repeat. Note that if your cavalry has fragile morale pulling them back may cause them to rout. This is highly irritating.

Never, ever charge your cavalry at a phalanx head on unless you really want to see them turned into little horsemeat kebabs. Even charging into the rear of a phalanx is dangerous if you do not pull your cavalry back before they have change to enter melee. Charge, pull back quickly, then charge again. Phalanx units eat horses for breakfast. Charging into the front of any well formed infantry is a risky proposition and should only be attempted by heavy cavalry in an emergency. Spear units will also give your cavalry a headache. Chariots, well just keep your cavalry away from chariots if you are attached to them in any way. Chariots mince horses. Oh, and elephants – elephants tread on horses and laugh evilly while scraping the ex-cavalryman off the soles of their big feet. Use your cavalry primarily to tackle vulnerable missile infantry, to harry the enemy’s flanks, and to charge home into the rear of an engaged unit. Never, ever hang around in melee; that cannot be stressed enough.

The key to killing cavalry is stopping them, then mobbing them. Use deep units to take their charge, and then hit them with more infantry in the flanks or rear. Don’t let them withdraw for another charge; get them bogged down. You can also shoot them to soften them up a bit. I suspect horses are big targets and therefore easier to hit than infantry. Once cavalry are stationary they are very vulnerable, as I’ve been saying repeatedly throughout this section.

Camels have an advantage when fighting horses; keep your horses away from camels and send your camels after horses.

http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/cav%20charge.jpg
A good demonstration of how best to use your cavalry against infantry: in support. The Roman infantry is slugging it out with the Carthaginian infantry; the cavalry charge is just about to hit the Carthaginians in the back. Because they are already tied up with will be less capable of fighting back against the cavalry, and they will also take a lot more damage when the charge hits. This in turn inflicts quite a blow to the Carthaginian morale, both because of the losses and because of being surrounded.

http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/cav%20recharge.jpg
The same scene a little later. The first unit of Carthaginian infantry is routing with only a handful of survivors. The cavalry is just beginning its second charge, having pulled out when the momentum of the first charge was lost.

Horse archers and mounted javelin throwers.
Horse archers can fire on the move; they can also pull off the famous Parthian shot and shoot backwards. They might be large targets but they will be able to beat infantry archers most of the time in a shooting match. If they use their cantabrian special ability (assuming they have it) then the infantry archers will barely be able to touch them. They are vulnerable to nearly anything in melee; with a few exceptions missile cavalry are very light. The heavier variety can melee like any other cavalry. You should use most missile cavalry to charge into the rear of enemy units if you have to sent them into melee. They also make very good rout chasers due to their speed, although be aware that they will shoot routing enemy if they have ammunition left.

Horse archers are great at nipping behind units and bypassing their shields, robbing them of the significant anti-missile defence bonus they impart. They can draw off enemy units, leading them away from the main army so they can be fallen upon and killed safely, or simply to keep them out of the way for a bit.

Javelin cavalry have a shorter range but they pack more of a punch per volley. The same general principles apply to using them, you just need to be a little more attentive.

Roman infantry and the pilum.
If you just click once to attack with Roman infantry you will find they rarely, if ever, get the chance to use their trademark pilum throw before drawing swords and getting stuck in. If you want them to use their pilums you will need to turn fire at will on; note that this option is off by default. Draw your unit up in a reasonable depth and wait for the enemy to close. Don’t give any orders at all. Your men will now throw their pilum into the charging mass, then draw swords and charge into the disordered, reeling mass.

A small, related note: All pilum using Roman infantry is set to use their pilums as their default attack. This means they will always pause and begin to go through the throwing animation even if they have no pilums left. To get them to charge properly, and remove the annoying delay, hold alt and right click.

Pilums are great in a multitude of situations; the only real time you do not want to be using them is when you need to get into a melee quickly. A chance to cause damage without letting the enemy hack at your men is almost always great, and the casualties you inflict on the enemy with the pilum volley make them a little easier to break. If your legionaries are about to be charged by cavalry draw them up in four ranks, turn fire at will and guard mode on and simply stand still. The cavalry will get a lot of pilums in their face, their charge will make little impact, and your legionaries will begin to fight the demoralised survivors. I’ve seen off many cavalry charges with little damage this way. Do note that it really works best if you have a line of legionaries, rather than a single unsupported unit.

When facing pilums, i.e. when charging Roman legionaries and their clones as used by other factions, speed is the key. If your men run in (double click when giving the attack order) then most often they will hit the legionaries before they have chance to throw. Once melee is joined only the men at the very back will throw their pilums.

Pilums are armour piercing.

Size matters! The importance of a big pike.
This kind of ties into the phalanx blurb but hey, I’ll put it separately for emphasis. Spears will engage with the front ranks only. Spear using phalanxes will engage with the front two ranks. Pike using phalanxes will have the first four ranks fighting all at once. As you might imagine the more ranks fighting at once the more devastation the unit puts out.

Also note that size matters in another regard; long weapons will keep the enemy at bay. Units with swords cannot even get close enough to attack a pike or spear using phalanx from the front, not until the phalanx loses formation and starts to use swords as well. So, part of the advantage of big weapons is being able to fight when the other guys can’t.

War dogs.
War dogs regenerate automatically after each battle as long as the handlers survive, as in the dogs will regenerate, not the handlers. The handlers have to be replaced by retraining just like any other soldier. War dogs are fast enough to be excellent rout chasers; they have trouble keeping up with some of the faster light infantry and cavalry but otherwise they can give chase and bring men down. War dogs are very effective against phalanx units because they get past the spears and start shredding the men who are not very well equipped to handle dogs. Aside from phalanx units war dogs are most effective against rabble type units; heavy infantry will usually see them off without too many problems. They are also quite effective against stationary cavalry. It is impossible for you to issue and attack order targeting the unleashed dogs themselves; you can only give orders to attack the handlers, and that does not help much one the dogs are loose. If a unit is being eaten by dogs about all you can do is leave them to fight alone, perhaps ordering another friendly unit to stand in the same spot with the hopes that those men will also begin to attack the dogs.

Ballistae.
Ballistae can shoot down the gates of wooden and palisade walls. This saves you a turn or two building siege equipment.

Alternate attacks, getting missiles to melee and so on.
All missile units have a melee weapon of some sort; usually it is a crappy weapon but better than nothing in a tight pinch. You can order them to melee by holding alt and right clicking. Note that you do have to turn skirmish mode off if you want your unit to melee, otherwise they will keep dodging back and the whole thing begins to resemble a farce.

Most cavalry has two weapons, usually a lance or spear of some sort and then a sword, mace or other short weapon. The lance or spear does more damage on the charge, but in melee it is not as effective. Sometimes that secondary weapon is very powerful, or has an armour piercing effect; check the unit’s stats to see what is what. You can hold alt and right click to attack; this causes the cavalry to charge with the spear/lance and then draw their secondary weapon, if they have one. Heaven knows why they don’t do this automatically ...

Skirmish mode.
Skirmish mode is actually useful this time, as long as you keep an eye on skirmishing units and steer them out of any trouble they may be working their way towards. Generally it is quite reliable at keeping your units out of enemy reach. Do remember that chaps on foot can’t outrun horses.

Cantabrian circle.
This special ability is used by some missile cavalry units. It enables them to keep up a constant, morale sapping stream of missiles on a target unit. It also makes them very hard to hit with missile weapons. It does tire them out rapidly though, and it is a reasonable target for hostile cavalry to charge.

Wedge.
Wedge is a special formation certain units of cavalry can use, usually heavy cavalry. As you might guess from the name your cavalry will form up in a wedge shape with one man at the front, two men behind him, and so on. Because the guy at the front is the unit’s leader you should avoid using this formation if your general is in the unit – Alexander the Great may have survived leading many cavalry charges but chances are your own generals will not share his luck.

In my experience wedge formation is best when facing a thinly strung out enemy formation; the wedge will punch through the centre of the enemy unit and keep going before wheeling around to charge into the unit’s back. Against denser formations the wedge will stall before more than a handful of men have started fighting. When charging dense formations it is best to use a line; you get more men into the fight right from the start and therefore do a lot more damage. Once your cavalry charge has halted you will want to take your unit out of wedge so it can fight more effectively or you will want to order them away from the melee to charge again. Don’t let them melee in wedge; it’s not too effective.

The shield wall
This formation is BI only. Units with this special ability will form up into a tightly packed form presenting a continuous row of shields to the front, rather like a phalanx but without the pikes and phalanx bonus. It’s quite hardy in most respects; able to resists charges very well if 4 or more ranks deep, and not too bothered by any missile weapons except javelins unless said missiles are coming from a direction other than the front. One great feature is that if you select two or more units in shield wall mode, group them, and order them to use the group formation ‘single line’ they will form up into a single line with no gaps between them at all. This is amazing for presenting a solid defensive line with no weaknesses to be exploited. The formation does not kill quickly, it is defensive in nature, with the emphasis on outlasting the foe and wearing them down.

The shield wall is very vulnerable to flanking attacks, and to attacks on its rear. Protect it well. While the formation can move it is slow, and unwieldy.

The schiltrom
Another BI exclusive formation. This one belongs to some spear armed troops. When the order is given the men in the unit will form up into a sort of circle, with spear points presented in a bristling hedge. It cannot move at all. It is horrifically vulnerable to missiles, because missiles not hitting the men and shields in front tend to hit the backs of the men standing behind them. It’s a very good formation for repelling attacks of any sort, and impossible to flank. It can do plenty of damage in melee.

Guard mode.
Guard mode makes a unit keep its formation as best as possible and remain on the same spot as far as it possible. It prevents a unit from chasing routers. Giving the unit a move or attack order will override the stay put function of guard, but they will still try to keep their formation. If you have given an attack order they will chase the routers. Guard mode is good in some circumstances, such as holding a defensive line, but in melee it can be a real pain. I often find units with guard on don’t engage properly and then slowly rotate and reform after the charge so their back is facing the enemy. Yes, that means the enemy gets a huge advantage.

You’re test(udo)ing my patience!
The testudo formation that the post Marius reform legionaries use makes them quite immune to missile fire … small missile fire, catapult boulders still squash men flat. It is terrible for melee, men tire quickly in the formation, and the transition to and from testudo is slow. It’s really only useful when you need to advance under heavy missile fire and don’t need to fight or defend yourself at the end of it all.

Pulverising problematic pachyderms.
I shall quote Mike B in CA’s official FAQ: “Burning pigs and siege artillery are the classic counters. Defeating elephants depends on the circumstances where the elephants are used, but usually fighting head-to-head with them will result in a lot of casualties before the elephants drop. We favour hanging back and hitting them with as many missile weapons as possible, as quickly as possible. Sometimes you might have to sacrifice a unit as a 'speed bump' to delay the elephants and give your missile troops more time but nothing in Rome: Total War is invincible or undefeatable.”

I will also add that phalanx units will kill elephants quite nicely so long as the phalanx keeps formation and engages the elephants head on. If the bit grey lugs get to the phalanx’s flanks or rear expect Pain with a capital P. For this reason it’s a good idea to try and get a line of several phalanx units to tackle elephants.

The wheels on the chariot go round and round, round and round (a children’s song from 2000BC)
Chariots are a bit of a problem. One rule of thumb I now obey as far as possible is to keep my own cavalry and other quite loosely formed units away from chariots. I try to shoot them as much as possible to cause what damage I can. When melee is forced I try to hit them with densely formed, disciplined infantry. Once the chariots are stopped they are dispatched reasonably easily. It’s the stopping them which is hard.

Flaming ammo.
All archers along with catapult based siege equipment can fire flaming ammunition. Flaming ammunition is less accurate than conventional ammo but it causes a bigger morale hit when (if!) it actually does hit its target. The flaming pots fired by onagers will cause more casualties than normal ammo if it hits down in the centre of a tightly packed mass of men, but it is so inaccurate this effect is rare. Flaming ammo can also set fire to buildings; burning buildings will take constant, steady damage.

Fatigue.
When a unit is doing something, be it marching, running or fighting, it will steadily get tired. The rate it tires at depends on the unit, climate (hot weather is more tiring for heavily armoured units), and the activity. Walking up hill is more tiring than marching down hill, for example. It’s all very logical. When a unit is standing idle it will slowly regain stamina. It is a good idea to rotate troops if you can, using a few units to fight while others rest and recover. This is mostly possible in battles on a limited front, such as bridge defence.

Height.
Height accords a significant advantage to the man who is highest up, and a penalty to the one who is lower down. Fighting up hill is a bad idea and should be avoided wherever possible. Charging and fighting downhill is a great thing to do, just make sure you remain on the slope or you will lose your advantage. As noted earlier missile units can shoot further and do more damage when they are higher up. Height is great; love it and use it to your advantage.

Trees.
Some units get bonuses when fighting in forests. You can also hide troops in forests to spring ambushes on unsuspecting enemy units. Cavalry perform badly in trees; it’s hard to ride, fight and watch out for branches all at the same time. Keep your cavalry away from trees and try to lure enemy cavalry in. Trees also intercept missiles, giving shelter to units being shot at or hampering the effectiveness of any missile unit shooting out from forests.

Long grass.
Some kinds of infantry can hide in long grass and spring ambushes.

Bridges.
I’ve not fought many bridge battles so far. Note that some units have problems crossing bridges, especially when they are crowded. Chariots should cross only when the bridge is empty or they will possibly fall off and drown. Yes, any unit can fall off a bridge and drown in the river.

Defending a bridge is quite simple.
http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/bridge%20defence.jpg
I have my legionaries (or other good, solid infantry) arranged to block the mouth of the bridge. One main unit is set to block the bridge; that unit has guard mode turned on so it will not move out of place. Other units stand ready to reinforce as needed, and in clear spells one of the other units stood behind that bridge blocking main unit could swap places with it, cycling in fresh troops quickly. I have my missiles arrayed behind; they can provide a constant stream of fire support until they run out of arrows. Note that using slingers like this is really not recommendable; they will probably kill more of your own men because of their trajectory. My general is safely out of the way, and a unit of cavalry stands by ready to gallop across the bridge when the enemy completely rout, mowing them all down. Since my infantry in this picture have pilums they are all set to fire at will. If the enemy have a lot of missile units it is advisable to set up slightly further back, safely out of range. As long as you can attack the units pouring off the bridge before they have chance to regain their formation and cross in bulk you should do well.

Attacking a bridge, now that is harder! No fancy pictures this time, just general tips. Do as much damage as you can with missile units first. Send some units with good morale and good armour across first; they will survive longer and hold the bridgehead while the rest of your units begin to cross and add their own weight. Using units with fragile morale or poor protection to lead the assault usually leads to them routing back into the rest of your crossing troops, spreading panic, slowing the crossing and achieving nothing at all. Expect a lot of casualties when attacking a bridge.

Charging, running and that old debate.
It appears that right click once is still attack, right click twice is run to attack, and charge is a completely separate thing you cannot order. Know that all infantry and cavalry, at least the ones I have tried, have automatically begun to charge when they get in range of an enemy when I single click. Reiterated: single click=walk, double click=run. Yes, I do know what the tutorial says, but the tutorials in MTW and STW said the same thing and it was proven wrong.

Now I am assuming that the old need for a good run up to reach full speed, and therefore full charge bonus, is present and correct in RTW. This means that if you only have a short distance between your unit and their target it might be beneficial to order them to run to the attack, giving them more impetus. Cavalry in MTW benefited greatly from running for a bit first, because their charge threshold (the distance at which they began their charge) was too low for them to reach full speed. If they were travelling faster when the charge began they gathered more of a bonus.

Um, in summery this is still under investigation and none of this should be taken as 100% fact, but in my experience charging is still automatic and double click is still only run. I order units with a double click if I need them to close quickly, if the enemy are already close, or if they are cavalry. Two of these three are motivated by the desire to get them moving quickly now so as to stand more change of hitting that full bonus, one is motive solely by the desire to get close quickly for some reason, such as a vulnerability in enemy lines, or incoming missile fire.

Sieges.
In the set up phase on the campaign map the siege equipment you will be able to build depends on the level of fortifications present in the city. Wooden walls only need battering rams, and so this is all you will be able to build. Stone walls require tougher equipment so you can choose from siege towers, sapping points and a few other bits and pieces. Note that while the more advanced types of stone walls look as though they have exactly the same siege equipment this is not exactly the case; siege towers will be taller, tougher and armed with more effective weaponry (including ballistae) with which to cover the assault. You can also bring your own portable siege weaponry, such as onagers. Elephants can also ram doors down. Your army will have a certain number of build points, depending on what units make it up. Each item of siege weaponry costs a certain number of points to build; most of them take one turn but I have hear it is possible to build some in less than a turn if your army has enough build points. At the least large armies can build several bits of weaponry in one turn because they have more points than small ones. Make sure you use as many of your points as possible, and don’t skimp on siege weaponry. There is little worse than turning up with just two battering rams, only to find they are both destroyed and you can’t get in past the walls. When faced with stone walls and a lack of onagers I like sap points. I use a cheap, expendable unit to do the sapping, and then mob the dirty great hole in the wall with my shock troops. Several holes are better than one, so set up several sap points.

The central square, marked by those nice faction related flags, is the objective of the attacking army; if they have men in the central square and there are no defenders present a countdown of three minutes will begin. Unless the defenders manage to get some men back into the central square before the time runs out the attacks will win regardless of how many defenders are left. The siege will also end with victory for the attackers if there are no defenders left alive, or if the last few defenders are routing. The central square gives units infinite morale; they will steadfastly fight to the death and any routing units will head for the square. However if the last few men are routing towards the square but are not actually in the flagged area the attackers will win.

Never, ever go in through the front gate in stone walls – your troops will be boiled with oil! This includes gates a spy has opened for you; the daft idiot opens the gate but leaves the boiling oil intact. Spies must get some sick pleasure from seeing their compatriots being burned alive. Bash a hole in the walls or use siege equipment to get on top of the walls, then capture the gatehouse, then you can send your men in through the gate because the oil is disabled.

On stone walls towers will only stop shooting arrows if you capture them. Select a unit of infantry and click on the wall top near the tower; the infantry should enter the tower and climb up onto the walls, capturing the tower in the process. If your infantry are already on the walls just tell them to walk to the walls on the other side of the tower; they will then pass through the tower and capture it.

Siege towers have their own weaponry mounted on them, as I briefly mentioned before. They can only attack if you turn fire at will on. Do so; having repeating ballistas sweep the top of that epic stone wall you are assaulting really helps your men out.

Reinforcements.
All armies adjacent to the attacked party will participate in the battle, unless it is a night battle, in which case only those led by generals with the night battle trait will join in. When more than one of your own armies is involved, you may choose whether to have your other armies led by the AI or standing by to act as reinforcements under your own control. If you let the AI have a bash the result is fairly predictable: the army marches on the field and then behaves like any other AI army. You can’t give it any orders, and it makes no attempt to coordinate with you. Under your own control one of two things will happen. If you have less than 20 units in the army you are controlling the extra units will march on from the correct direction and immediately come under your control. If you have 20 units then the units will have to be summoned using the reinforcement button on the interface; summoning will only become possible when one of the twenty unit slots is empty. You can order a unit to withdraw; once it has left the field its slot will be empty. It is a good idea to withdraw badly mauled units during lulls in very long, big battles so fresh troops can be brought out, assuming you have any.

The battle timer.
The more units you have in a battle the longer the time you will be allotted. With patch 1.2 (and all later versions) you can turn the timer off in the options at the start of a campaign.

Unit guide
I have not produced my own unit guide for RTW, and as far as I know there are no guides by other people in the same style as my unit guide for MTW and STW. However I have been given a link to Soulflame’s unit guide (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?linkid=506) which contains all the unit stats and unit availability.

frogbeastegg
10-19-2004, 22:04
http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gif Iz da r0x0rzz!!!1! I w1nn3d da camap1gnz!!11 Or in English: I’m not a newbie any more, now what?

So you finished your first Roman campaign and feel you know and understand everything in this guide; lucky you. Now you might want to try playing as one of the other factions in campaign mode; they will provide a very different experience and you will have to use everything you learned to adapt and tackle their unique challenges. You might want to try a longer campaign, if you played a short one before, or perhaps a short one if you did a long campaign. You can try ramping up the two difficulties. You could go and give multiplayer a go. You could try the BI campaign, if you have it available. Really from here on you have plenty of options.





http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifAssorted Bits On the Barbarian Invasion Which Don’t Fit Anywhere Else. (really good title, I know)

Night battles
In BI it is possible to fight night battles if your general, or the one leading the army attacking you, has the relevant trait. This trait is quite hard to gain: you need a general with the level 3 general ability (the one which gives 3 command stars), or your general needs to be attacked by someone who does have the trait and then win the battle with a good result. A common mistake is thinking that three command stars total gives the ability; it does not. The three stars must come from the basic general trait, and so it must reach level 3.

All armies not led by someone with the night battle trait (except for the one being attacked) cannot take part in the battle, so it is possible to isolate and destroy one army without needing to fight others at the same time.

Command stars
In BI command stars are far harder to gain, which is a very good thing in my opinion. Now most command increases come from the more specialised traits (such as good attacker, infantry commander of worth, etc), titles (Roman factions only), or retinue members. This is why night battles are so rare – it’s very hard to get someone up to the necessary level for the night battle trait to be awarded. So if your generals are no longer 8 star supermen, don’t worry. But you might want to pay more attention to shuffling battle related retinue members (and titles!) around from very old generals to younger ones.

To stand the most chance of gaining stars in the ‘good commander’ family (the basic, baseline general trait which eventually gives the night battle ability) you should fight a normal field battle (not a night attack, or a siege, or an ambush) with your army’s numbers equal to or smaller than your enemies. No longer will you win points for crushing rebels with a far larger, better equipped force

Hordes
There is quite a bit on hordes in the manual, so I suggest you read it.

Certain barbarian factions can turn into hordes, either automatically when their last settlement is captured, or on the player’s command (when you only have one settlement open up your settlement details screen. There should be a little wagon/hut/thing icon which is not normally there. Click it to go into horde mode.). On entering horde mode all existing units stop charging upkeep, excerpt mercenaries. Extra units are generated, the numbers of which are dependant on the population of that last city; more people in the city means more people for your horde. Generally at least several full stacks will be generated, often more. Factions in horde mode have a little wheel on their faction banner.

Because all the faction victory requirements specify the holding of provinces, factions in horde mode cannot win the game. They must settle down.

Hordes have different options after attacking a city. They are offered a choice between settling or sacking the city. Settling will take the city as yours, putting you back into normal faction mode; sacking is like extermination but with more death and loot, plus the destruction of buildings.

When you choose to settle a city you will begin paying upkeep for all your units as per normal rules! You can bankrupt yourself easily this way if you are not careful. There are several main options.
-You can build up a very large treasury via looting, and hope you gain more income before you run out.
-You can take a very lucrative province and hope that the income will be enough.
-You can use up most of your ‘free’ horde units in battles and city attacks to weaken your enemies while padding your treasury and gaining experience for your generals and core troops. This requires great care, because if your horde gets too weak you will find it very difficult to capture a new home, and may even be destroyed.
-You can arrange matters so you have armies in place to capture several cities in one turn, settling the lot of them. This, combined with a treasury built up from sacking, is probably the best way to go.

When you settle a city you lose 1/3 of your total horde units. This means you lose fewer men for each successive city, but all the combined losses from battle and settling mean you will probably only get about 3 cities before you run out of horde units. There is no way to choose which men you lose; you could end up losing a good unit and keeping peasants, or vice versa.

Horde units are randomly generated. They contain the word ‘horde’ in their name, and tend to be slightly weaker versions of normal units. Most horde units are of the low level variety, or even peasants. Turning into a horde might give you numbers, but it does not give you an invincible army.

Going into horde mode is a viable, even powerful strategy for the factions which start with just one settlement. Image: a huge army, no need to defend or build up a home, no upkeep to pay, and the chance to bust up your neighbours to your vast gain. If you don’t like your starting location, then you can move on to somewhere you do, perhaps to face enemies you find more interesting, to take better lands, or to occupy a more defensible position.

The factions capable of turning into a horde are: Franks, Goths, Huns, Sarmatians, Vandals, Burgundii, Lombardi, Ostrogoths, Roxolani, and Slavs.

The Romano-British.
The Romano-British will emerge when both Eboracum and Londinium are taken from the Western Roman Empire. It does not matter who captures them, even if one province is controlled by one faction and the other by another. I have heard that the faction can also emerge if either of those two provinces rebels from the WRE.

Tech trees and maps
No version of BI came with a printed tech tree or map. I don’t know of any available online either. You can find a faction’s tech tree in-game by opening the city screen, going to the buildings page, and clicking on the little icon with the compass and set square. This was mentioned earlier but it bears repeating given the add-on package’s lacks.

Changing my name
In BI you can change the names of settlements. It’s a rather hidden option, not included in the manual. Open up the city screen, click on the city’s name, hit backspace, type the name you prefer, then exit the screen. The city should now be renamed.

Legendary weapons and religious relics
They appear in a character’s retinue listing. Once lost they cannot be regained, unlike titles. There are not many of them, and they are very rare; relics seem to be easier to find than weapons. If you want to find out what items are available and what triggers them, check your export_descry_ancillaries file in activions/rtw/bi/data. The assorted titles are contained in the same file.

End date
The BI campaign ends in summer 476AD.




http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Appendix A: A guide to temples in RTW

This section is entirely the work of Sinner. Many thanks to him for letting me use this. This information came from 1.2 but should still be accurate.

JULII

Ceres (Fertility)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population growth bonus 0.5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Population growth bonus 1%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population growth bonus 1.5%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Population growth bonus 2%
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 35%
Population growth bonus 2.5%
Public order bonus due to law 10%


Bacchus (Fun)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 30%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 40%
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 50%
Population growth bonus 1%
Public order bonus due to law 10%


Ancilliaries: Comedian (Temple or greater), Cook, Courtesan
(Temple or greater), Dancer (Temple or greater), Drinking Companion (Temple
or greater), Gourmands Chef (Temple or greater), Titus Maccius Plautus
(Awesome Temple or greater)

Jupiter (Leadership)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%
Arcani
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 35%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Population growth bonus 1%
Arcani


Ancilliaries: Fasces (Temple or greater), Pontifex (Awesome
Temple or greater)


BRUTII

Juno (Healing)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population health bonus 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Population health bonus 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population health bonus 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Population health bonus 20%
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Population health bonus 25%
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Experience bonus to troops +2


Ancilliaries: Druid - healing type, Master Embalmer (Temple
or greater), Physician (Temple or greater), Wise Woman, Witch, Nicander
(Awesome Temple or greater)

Mercury (Trade)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Increase in tradeable goods 1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Increase in tradeable goods 3
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Increase in tradeable goods 4
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Increase in tradeable goods 5
Population health bonus 10%
Experience bonus to troops +1


Ancilliaries: Freeman Clerk - trade type (Temple or greater),
Idiot Savant (Temple or greater), Numismatist (Large Temple or greater),
Procurator (Awesome Temple or greater), Wise Man

Mars (Violence)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Experience bonus to troops +3
Arcani
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Experience bonus to troops +3
Morale bonus to troops +1
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Population health bonus 10%
Arcani


Ancilliaries: Wrestler


SCIPII

Vulcan (Forge)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1
Experience bonus to troops +1
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1
Experience bonus to troops +2
Public order bonus due to law 10%


Ancilliaries: Brilliant Inventor (Temple or greater),
Geometer (Temple or greater)

Saturn (Law)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%
Arcani
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Public order bonus due to law 25%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1
Arcani


Ancilliaries: Astrologer, Crooked Judge (Temple or greater),
Magician (Temple or greater)

Neptune (Naval)

Shrine Requires a Port to build
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Corvus Quinquireme
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1
Corvus Quinquireme
Decere



SENATE

None


MACEDON

Demeter (Farming)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Improved farms and food production 1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Improved farms and food production 2
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Improved farms and food production 3
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Improved farms and food production 4
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Improved farms and food production 5
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Experience bonus to troops +2


Ancilliaries: Agriculturalist (Temple or greater), Herbalist
(Temple or greater)

Zeus (Governors)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Public order bonus due to law 25%
Improved farms and food production 2
Experience bonus to troops +2
Upgrades missile weapons +2


Ancilliaries: Freeman Clerk - tax type (Temple or
greater)

Artemis (Hunting)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Upgrades missile weapons +1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Upgrades missile weapons +2
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Upgrades missile weapons +3
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Upgrades missile weapons +4
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Upgrades missile weapons +5
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Improved farms and food production 2


Ancilliaries: Beastmaster (Temple or greater), Pet Hunting
Dog (Temple or greater)

Ares (Violence)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Experience bonus to troops +3
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Experience bonus to troops +3
Morale bonus to troops +1
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Population health bonus 10%


Ancilliaries: Wrestler


EGYPTIANS

Isis (Fertility)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population growth bonus 0.5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Population growth bonus 1%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population growth bonus 1.5%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Population growth bonus 2%
Temple City
Public order bonus due to happiness 35%
Population growth bonus 2.5%
Public order bonus due to law 10%


Osiris (Fun)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 30%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 40%
Temple City
Public order bonus due to happiness 50%
Population growth bonus 1%
Public order bonus due to law 10%


Ancilliaries: Comedian (Temple or greater), Cook, Courtesan
(Temple or greater), Dancer (Temple or greater), Drinking Companion (Temple
or greater), Gourmands Chef (Temple or greater), Titus Maccius Plautus
(Awesome Temple or greater)

Imhotep (Healing)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population health bonus 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%

Population health bonus 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population health bonus 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Population health bonus 20%
Temple City
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Population health bonus 25%
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Experience bonus to troops +2


Ancilliaries: Druid - healing type, Master Embalmer (Temple
or greater), Physician (Temple or greater), Wise Woman, Witch, Nicander
(Awesome Temple or greater)

Set (Justice)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%
Temple City
Public order bonus due to happiness 35%
Public order bonus due to law 25%
Population growth bonus 1%
Population health bonus 10%


Ancilliaries: Crooked Judge (Temple or greater), Judge
(Temple or greater), Pet White Cat (Awesome Temple or greater)

Horus (Law)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%
Temple City
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Public order bonus due to law 25%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1


Ancilliaries: Astrologer, Crooked Judge (Temple or greater),
Magician (Temple or greater)


SELEUCIDS

Hephaestus (Forge)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1
Experience bonus to troops +1
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1
Experience bonus to troops +2
Public order bonus due to law 10%


Ancilliaries: Brilliant Inventor (Temple or greater),
Geometer (Temple or greater)

Dionysus (Fun)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 30%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 40%
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 50%
Population growth bonus 1%
Public order bonus due to law 10%


Ancilliaries: Comedian (Temple or greater), Cook, Courtesan
(Temple or greater), Dancer (Temple or greater), Drinking Companion (Temple
or greater), Gourmands Chef (Temple or greater), Titus Maccius Plautus
(Awesome Temple or greater)

Asklepios (Healing)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population health bonus 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Population health bonus 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population health bonus 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Population health bonus 20%
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Population health bonus 25%
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Experience bonus to troops +2


Ancilliaries: Druid - healing type, Master Embalmer (Temple
or greater), Physician (Temple or greater), Wise Woman, Witch, Nicander
(Awesome Temple or greater)



CARTHAGINIANS

Tanit (Farming)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Improved farms and food production 1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Improved farms and food production 2
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Improved farms and food production 3
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Improved farms and food production 4


Ancilliaries: Agriculturalist (Temple or greater), Herbalist
(Temple or greater)

Baal (Justice)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%
Sacred Band


Ancilliaries: Crooked Judge (Temple or greater), Judge
(Temple or greater), Pet White Cat (Awesome Temple only)

Milqart (Trade)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Increase in tradeable goods 1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Increase in tradeable goods 3
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Increase in tradeable goods 4


Ancilliaries: Freeman Clerk - trade type (Temple or greater),
Idiot Savant (Temple or greater), Numismatist (Large Temple or greater),
Procurator (Awesome Temple only), Wise Man


PARTHIANS

Zoroastra (One God)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%
Temple Complex
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Public order bonus due to law 25%



PONTUS

Zeus (Governors)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 10% (Should be 15%?)
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%


Ancilliaries: Freeman Clerk - tax type (Temple or
greater)

Aphrodite (Love)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population growth bonus 0.5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Population growth bonus 1%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population growth bonus 1.5%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Population growth bonus 2%


Hercules (Violence)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Experience bonus to troops +3


Ancilliaries: Wrestler


GAULS

Teutatis (Battleforge)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Experience bonus to troops +1
Naked Fanatics
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Experience bonus to troops +2
Naked Fanatics (Exp 1)[/b]


Epona (Horse)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%

Experience bonus to troops +1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +3


Abnoba (Hunting)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Upgrades missile weapons +1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Upgrades missile weapons +2
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Upgrades missile weapons +3


Ancilliaries: Beastmaster (Sacred Grove or greater), Pet
Hunting Dog (Sacred Grove or greater)

Esus (Justice)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Druids


Ancilliaries: Crooked Judge (Sacred Grove or greater), Judge
(Sacred Grove or greater)

GERMANS

Freyja (Fertility)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population growth bonus 0.5%
Screeching Women
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Population growth bonus 1%
Screeching Women
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population growth bonus 1.5%
Screeching Women


Donar (Violence)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Berserker


Ancilliaries: Wrestler

Woden (Viking)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Naked Fanatics
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +3
Naked Fanatics
Gothic Cavalry



BRITONS

Brigantia (Healing)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population health bonus 5%
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Population health bonus 10%
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population health bonus 15%
Druids


Ancilliaries: Druid - healing type, Master Embalmer (Sacred
Grove or greater), Physician (Sacred Grove or greater), Wise Woman,
Witch

Britannia (Trade)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Increase in tradeable goods 1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Increase in tradeable goods 3


Ancilliaries: Freeman Clerk - trade type (Sacred Grove or
greater), Idiot Savant (Sacred Grove or greater), Numismatist (Sacred Circle
only), Wise Man

Andrasta (Victory)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Woad Warriors
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Woad Warriors
Head Hurlers
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Woad Warriors (Exp 1)[/b]
Head Hurlers (Exp 1)[/b]



ARMENIA

Vahagan (Battleforge)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Experience bonus to troops +1
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Experience bonus to troops +2
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Experience bonus to troops +2
Upgrades armour +1


Anahit (Fun)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 30%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 40%


Ancilliaries: Comedian (Temple or greater), Cook, Courtesan
(Temple or greater), Dancer (Temple or greater), Drinking Companion (Temple
or greater), Gourmands Chef (Temple or greater), Titus Maccius Plautus
(Awesome Temple only)

Armazd (Leadership)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%


Ancilliaries: Fasces (Temple or greater), Pontifex (Awesome
Temple only)


DACIANS

Hebeleysis (Battle)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Morale bonus to troops +1
Naked Fanatics
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Morale bonus to troops +2
Naked Fanatics (Exp 1)[/b]


Ancilliaries: Druid - militant type, Menhir Carver (Sacred
Grove or greater)

Bendis (Farming)


Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Improved farms and food production 1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Improved farms and food production 2
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Improved farms and food production 3


Ancilliaries: Agriculturalist (Sacred Grove or greater),
Herbalist (Sacred Grove or greater)

Zalmoxis (Forge)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Upgrades heavy weapons +1
Upgrades armour +1


Ancilliaries: Brilliant Inventor (Sacred Grove or greater),
Geometer (Sacred Grove or greater)


GREEKS

Athena (Leadership)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 35%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Population growth bonus 1%


Ancilliaries: Fasces (Temple or greater), Pontifex (Awesome
Temple or greater)

Aphrodite (Love)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population growth bonus 0.5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Population growth bonus 1%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population growth bonus 1.5%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Population growth bonus 2%
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Population growth bonus 2.5%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Experience bonus to troops +1


Hermes (Trade)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Increase in tradeable goods 1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Increase in tradeable goods 3
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Increase in tradeable goods 4
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Increase in tradeable goods 5
Population health bonus 10%
Experience bonus to troops +1


Ancilliaries: Freeman Clerk - trade type (Temple or greater),
Idiot Savant (Temple or greater), Numismatist (Large Temple or greater),
Procurator (Awesome Temple or greater), Wise Man

Nike (Victory)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Experience bonus to troops +3
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 25%
Experience bonus to troops +3
Population growth bonus 1%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Increase in tradeable goods 2



NUMDIANS

Tanit (Farming)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Improved farms and food production 1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Improved farms and food production 2
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Improved farms and food production 3
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Improved farms and food production 4


Ancilliaries: Agriculturalist (Temple or greater), Herbalist
(Temple or greater)

Baal (Justice)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Public order bonus due to law 20%


Ancilliaries: Crooked Judge (Temple or greater), Judge
(Temple or greater), Pet White Cat (Awesome Temple or greater)

Milqart (Trade)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Increase in tradeable goods 1
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Increase in tradeable goods 2
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Increase in tradeable goods 3
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Increase in tradeable goods 4


Ancilliaries: Freeman Clerk - trade type (Temple or greater),
Idiot Savant (Temple or greater), Numismatist (Large Temple or greater),
Procurator (Awesome Temple only), Wise Man


SCYTHIANS

Papay (Law)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%


Ancilliaries: Astrologer, Crooked Judge (Sacred Grove or
greater), Magician (Sacred Grove or greater)

Api (Love)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Population growth bonus 0.5%
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Population growth bonus 1%
Head Hunting Maidens
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Population growth bonus 1.5%
Head Hunting Maidens
Scythian Noble Women


Kolaksay (Horse II)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +3



SPANISH

Teutatis (Battleforge)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Experience bonus to troops +1
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Upgrades light weapons +1
Experience bonus to troops +2


Epona (Horse)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Experience bonus to troops +1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Experience bonus to troops +2
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Experience bonus to troops +3


Abnoba (Hunting)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Upgrades missile weapons +1
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Upgrades missile weapons +2
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Upgrades missile weapons +3


Ancilliaries: Beastmaster (Sacred Grove or greater), Pet
Hunting Dog (Sacred Grove or greater)

Esus (Justice)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Public order bonus due to law 5%
Sacred Grove
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Public order bonus due to law 10%
Naked Fanatics
Sacred Circle
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Public order bonus due to law 15%
Naked Fanatics
Bull Warriors

Ancilliaries: Crooked Judge (Sacred Grove or greater),
Judge (Sacred Grove or greater)

THRACIANS

Ares (Battle)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 5%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Morale bonus to troops +1
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 15%
Morale bonus to troops +2
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Morale bonus to troops +3
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 35%
Morale bonus to troops +4


Ancilliaries: Druid - militant type, Menhir Carver (Temple or
greater)

Dionysus (Fun)

Shrine
Public order bonus due to happiness 10%
Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 20%
Large Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 30%
Awesome Temple
Public order bonus due to happiness 40%
Panatheon
Public order bonus due to happiness 50%
Population growth bonus 1%
Public order bonus due to law 10%


Ancilliaries: Comedian (Temple or greater), Cook, Courtesan
(Temple or greater), Dancer (Temple or greater), Drinking Companion (Temple
or greater), Gourmands Chef (Temple or greater), Titus Maccius Plautus
(Awesome Temple or greater)


http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_v.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gif Appendix B: A complete listing of retinue characters and their effects in RTW.
This entire appendix is the work of Ebannon. It is taken from the 1.2 version of the game, but should still be mostly accurate.

/* Notes: Ancillary = Retinue
/* Files used: export_ancillaries
/* I have left the entries in the original order except where new ancillaries were added at a later date, those I placed alphabetically.
/* On several entries I have placed the game variable name in { } next to the ancillary’s name. This was done for clarification purpose. Some entries appear out of alphabetical order or seemingly duplicate entries appear, also, when the entry name differs from the game variable.
/* On priests/priestess; It appears that priest are grouped by faction.
/* I have tried to denote Spy and Assassin entries as so.
/* Spelling and grammatical corrections where appropriate.
/* Some of the names of specific persons have had (of Location) added to the entry to correlate to the game variable.

/* Which factions can gain which ancillaries can be found in descry_agent_ancillary.
/* Certain Ancillary characters will not be available to your character if they already have a certain ancillary. For exclusion list, view the file export_descr_ancillaries.

/* Layout:
/* Ancillary Name
/* Ancillary Description
/* Ancillary Effects




---------------

Actor

"An Actor?! An Actor? I, sir, am a thespian! I bestride the stage in a manner - nay a fashion, sir, a fashion - like unto Colossus himself!"

+1 to Influence

---------------

Aged Retainer

Loyalty cannot be bought in some men, but when earned must be treasured and respected.

+1 Management, +1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts)

---------------

Agriculturalist

Good land, worked well, is the root of much wealth.

+1 to farming output

---------------

Animal Trader

The Games demand a constant supply of new animals, and a man who controls such a supply will gain friends...

+1 Influence

---------------

Architect

Great architecture can be a statement of power and prestige, designed to awe a subject people into obedience.

10% discount on construction costs, -1 from squalor (increases public order and population growth)

---------------

Armourer

A skilled craftsman, able to oversee repairs and refurbishment of armour.

+1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield

---------------

Artist

The images of the mighty need to be captured for posterity. Repeatedly.

+1 Influence, 10% decrease to cost to bribe

---------------

Astrologer

"The stars are most auspicious for this new venture…"

+1 Command, -1 Management

---------------

Barbarian Slave

"Just a little something I bought up on the frontier… "

+1 Command when fighting against Barbarians, 1% bonus to cash gained from looting

---------------

Barbarian Turncoat

Some men are willing to turn against their own kind for all sorts of reasons.

+1 Command when fighting against Barbarians

---------------

Bard

A great man's great deeds need to be properly celebrated in epic poetry!

+1 Influence

---------------

Beastmaster

A servant who can handle any animal may be useful on campaign.

+1 Command when commanding cavalry, 15% discount on animal unit training costs

---------------

Biographer

A great man's great deeds need to be properly celebrated!

+1 Influence

---------------

Body Slave

Great men have better things to do than dress themselves and clean their own armour.

+1 Influence, -1 from personal security (increases the chances of falling victim to assassination)

---------------

Bodyguard

Personal security never has too high a price.

+2 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts), +2 to the valour of your general's bodyguards

---------------

Brilliant Inventor

Invention is a delicate art, and rushing ahead will only result in a failed idea. Thought is needed.

+30 Build Points (required for the construction of siege equipment), +1 to farming output, 20% bonus on mining income

---------------

Cackling Crone

"The bones hold many secrets... of the past... of the future!

+1 Influence, -1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield

---------------

Carnifex

Law requires punishment, sometimes severe punishment, lest anarchy overwhelm the state.

+2 to public security (improves the chances of detecting and capturing enemy agents), +2 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Carthaginian Turncoat

Some men are willing to turn against their own kind for all sorts of reasons.

+1 Command when fighting against Carthaginians

--------------- SPY

Catamite

"Who would suspect such a man...!"

+1 to agent's skill

---------------

Charioteer

A popular hero can be a useful friend to those in public life, for fame tends to rub off…

10% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Chief Eunuch

The safety of one's person must be guaranteed by every means to hand.

+2 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts), +1 to the valour of your general's bodyguards

---------------

Chirugeon

Good field surgery can save many a life after a battle.

Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Civilized Slave

"Just a little something I bought to remind me of those decadent fools…"

+1 Management

---------------

Comedian

"Nay, nay and thrice nay! No, mistress, no, listen… oooh, titter ye not, oh no… Oooh! Where was I? The prologue..."

+1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield

---------------

Cook

Good food is a civilized accomplishment.

+1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts)

--------------- SPY

Courtesan

The attentions of a courtesan who has skill and refinement are a welcome relief at the end of hard day's brutal conquering.

+1 to agent's skill

---------------

Judge {crooked_judge}

Justice, however flawed, can help create an empire, as long as the right palms are greased along the way.

20% discount on agent training costs, +1 to unrest (decreases public order), +2 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Judge {crooked_judge2}

Justice, however flawed, can help create an empire, as long as the right palms are greased along the way.

20% discount on agent training costs, +1 to unrest (decreases public order), +2 to law (improves public order)

--------------- SPY

Dancer {dancer}

Lavish and stimulating amusement after work is important, even for the most dedicated of men.

+2 to agent's skill

--------------- ASSASSIN

Dancer {dancer2}

Lavish and stimulating amusement after work is important, even for the most dedicated of men.

+2 to agent's skill

---------------

Decorated Hero

A clever leader knows how to use the fame and bravery of others to his own best advantage.

20% discount on unit training costs

---------------

Desert Scout

Reading any ground for signs of the enemy is an art learned only by experience.

+1 Command when ambushing, +1 to line of sight (increases the range at which enemies are spotted)

---------------

Doctor

Medical care is always a sound investment, at least until the patient dies…

Increases the chance of having children, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Drillmaster

Battles are less frightening for new soldiers if they have been cowed by learning drill from a fierce taskmaster.

+25% to Movement Points (gives armies the ability to forced march), 10% discount on unit training costs

---------------

Drinking Companion

Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we'll do it all over again!

---------------

Druid {druid}

The gods must be appeased or the sky will fall on our heads!

+1 Influence, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Druid {druid2}

The gods must be appeased or the sky will fall on our heads!

+1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield, +1 Command when attacking

---------------

Drunken "Uncle"

Even in the greatest family, there is always someone who specializes in causing embarrassment.

-1 Influence

---------------

Easterner Turncoat

Some men are willing to turn against their own kind for all sorts of reasons.

+1 Command when fighting against eastern enemies

---------------

Editor

The skilled individual who can organize bread and circuses is not one to be lightly cast aside.

+2 Influence

---------------

Egyptian Turncoat

Some men are willing to turn against their own kind for all sorts of reasons.

+1 Command when fighting against Egyptians

---------------

Elder Senator

Political connections to the supremely powerful are more than useful - they can be vital!

+1 Influence, +1 Management, Improves the chances of getting elected to senatorial offices, 15% bonus to your popularity with the Senate

---------------

Elderly Spinster "Aunt"

"Now, dear, I am sure your mother wouldn't like that…"

-1 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Equestrian

Political connections to the powerful and wealthy are always useful.

10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Evil Mother-in-Law

"And look at the state of you! A disgrace, that's what you are! To think that my daughter ever took up with the likes…"

-1 Influence, -1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield

---------------

Exotic Slave

Slaves don't have to be useful. Sometimes they are for show.

+1 Influence

---------------

Famous Courtesan

To retain the services of a famous - or notorious - courtesan brings its own social distinction.

25% discount on agent training costs

---------------

Famous Warrior

The leader who can attract great warriors to his cause increases his own stature in the eyes of the people.

+1 Command, +1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield, 10% discount on unit training costs

---------------

Lictor {fasces}

Law and order are two sides of the same coin. Without one, the other would fail.

+1 to public security (improves the chances of detecting and capturing enemy agents), +2 to law (improves public order)

--------------- SPY

Skilled Courtesan {femme_fatale}

Some women are irresistible, but just not safe to have around!

+2 to agent's skill

---------------

Floozy

Every truly great man deserves the companionship of a cheap floozy at some point in his career!

-2 from personal security (increases the chances of falling victim to assassination)

---------------

Foodtaster

Death can come in many forms, and even the dining table requires a guardsman of sorts.

+1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts)

---------------

Foreign Dignitary

Foreigners can be trusted, mostly, to do the right thing - but for their own people. They do understand funny foreign ways, though.

+1 to Influence (improves negotiation skills)

---------------

Foreign Hostage

This man is hostage to another's good behaviour, but favoured thanks to his own skills and good conduct.

+1 to Influence (improves negotiation skills)

---------------

Freeman Clerk {freeman_clerk}

An able and loyal assistant in the day-to-day business of government.

+1 Management, 10% bonus on tax income

---------------

Freeman Clerk {freeman_clerk2}

An able and loyal assistant in the day-to-day business of government.

+1 Management, 10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Galloper

Command and control on the battlefield relies on orders getting through.

+1 Command when attacking

---------------

Geographer

Maps are a key to all great military campaigns, and jolly useful when collecting land taxes!

+15% to Movement Points (gives armies the ability to forced march), 10% bonus on tax income

---------------

Geomancer

The auspicious positioning of new buildings is a thing that no governor should ignore.

10% discount on construction costs, 10% bonus on mining income, +1 to squalor (decreases population growth and public order)

---------------

Geometer

An expert in the accurate measurement of distances and angles, and a boon to any construction work.

+1 Command when defending walls, 10% discount on construction costs

---------------

Gladiator

Life and death in the arena prepares a man for many surprises and dangers.

+1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts), +1 to the valour of your general's bodyguards

---------------

Goldsmith

Foreign tastes in gold work can be so crass, so it's useful to have someone on hand to melt down captured gold and then make something pretty…

10% bonus on all trade income, 10% decrease to cost to bribe

---------------

Gourmand's Chef

Good food is a civilized accomplishment. Very good food is even better!

+1 Influence

---------------

Grain Merchant

This merchant specializes in grain importing. If there's a bushel to be had he'll find two.

Increases the rate of population growth

---------------

Greek Turncoat

Some men are willing to turn against their own kind for all sorts of reasons.

+1 Command when fighting against Greeks

---------------

Haruspex

"I have never seen a liver so troubled…" A diviner of entrails and the omens within.

+1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield

---------------

Herbalist

Potions, poultices and preparations for all ailments may be needed at any time.

Increases the chance of having children, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Heroic Saviour

A true man remembers one who saves his life in battle… and favours him with friendship.

+1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts), +1 to the valour of your general's bodyguards

---------------

Historian

If history is to be written, perhaps it should be done under the watchful eyes of those making it…

+1 Command

---------------

Honest Man

It's a remarkable thing to find an honest man: remarkable and sometimes uncomfortable too.

200% increase to cost to bribe, +1 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Herald

Having someone else blow one's trumpet is infinitely more pleasurable!

+2 Influence

---------------

Pet Idiot {idiot}

Dribbling can be very unattractive… but funny - well, when it's not a relative!

-2 Influence, -1 from personal security (increases the chances of falling victim to assassination)

---------------

Idiot Savant

Supreme talent in one small area comes at a cost in other abilities.

+1 Management, 10% bonus on tax income

---------------

Pet Sheep {inflatable_sheep}

Being away from home and loved ones… can be a lonely life.

-2 Morale for all troops on the battlefield, +2 Command when fighting against Barbarians

---------------

Intrepid Explorer

A man who knows what's over the next ridge or across the next stream is always useful.

+15% to Movement Points (gives armies the ability to forced march), +1 to line of sight (increases the range at which enemies are spotted)

---------------

Jeweler

Plunder needs to be properly valued! These people will rob you blind, otherwise…!

10% bonus on all trade income, 10% decrease to cost to bribe

---------------

Judge

Justice, while never absolute or perfect, helps mould diverse people into a single empire.

+1 to public security (improves the chances of detecting and capturing enemy agents), +2 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Lanista

Slaves and prisoners of war are always needed for the Games.

10% discount on unit training costs, +2 Command when fighting against rebels

---------------

Librarian

Knowledge is power, and finding the correct knowledge is the key to that power.

+1 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Linguist

Shouting at foreigners gets a message across, but talking their strangulated language is more use.

+2 to Influence (improves negotiation skills)

---------------

Magician

"All the world, all of the afterlife to come, all can be yours! But only through me…"

+2 Influence

---------------

Magistrate

Justice, however flawed, helps mould a people into an empire.


+1 to public security (improves the chances of detecting and capturing enemy agents), +1 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Master Embalmer

"Correct preparation for the afterlife is a wise investment. And now, about the right casket…"

+1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield, +1 Command when attacking

---------------

Master Hunter

The man who can track, find his way across rough country, and bring down his prey can do the same to other men.

+1 Command when ambushing, +1 to line of sight (increases the range at which enemies are spotted)

---------------

Master of Archers

An expert in training and leading archers.

+1 Command

---------------

Master of Assassins

This man has a knack for spotting talent: the talent to commit murder.

+1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts), 20% discount on agent training costs

---------------

Master of Horse

An expert in all aspects of training and leading cavalry.

+1 Command when commanding cavalry

---------------

Master Smith

A highly skilled man, able to look after all the weapons of an army with his assistants.

10% discount on unit training costs

---------------

Mathematician

The esoteric art of mathematics brings practical benefits to the business of government.

+1 Management

---------------

Menhir Carver

The Gods need to be honoured and sacred sites properly marked.

+1 Influence, 10% discount on construction costs

---------------

Mentor

An older, wiser man can be a useful guide, and a sounding board in times of trouble.

+1 Command, +1 Management

---------------

Mercenary Captain

Years of hard times dealing with hard men make a mercenary captain a wily advisor on tactics, recruitment and pillage.

+1 Command, 10% discount on unit training costs, 2% bonus to cash gained from looting


---------------

Merchant

Trade is a sure road to wealth, even for the already powerful, as long as trade routes are kept open and safe.

10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Military Engineer

Any and all military construction tasks - siege engines, roads, fortifications, benefit from the oversight of an expert.

+2 Command when assaulting walls, +50 Build Points (required for the construction of siege equipment)

---------------

Military Tribune

Military experience is a key to political advancement for friends and oneself.

+1 Command when defending, Improves the chances of getting elected to senatorial offices, 10% bonus to your popularity with the Senate

---------------

Mining Engineer

Muscle may dig out the ore, but without skill mining is just digging holes.

25% bonus on mining income

---------------

Mistress

A man with a mistress is one who has all the appetites of a man - and in abundance!

+1 Management

---------------

Musician

Entertainment at the end of a day's labours is important, even for the busiest general or governor.

+1 Influence

---------------

Natural Philosopher

Natural curiosity about the world can often be of great use to a patron.

+1 Management, 10% discount on construction costs

---------------

Navigator

To know the seas, the tides and the stars takes years. To know them well can take a lifetime.

+2 Command at sea

---------------

Numismatist

Coinage carries the symbols and the names of the powerful. No man can buy or sell without realizing who is his overlord.

10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Oracle

"Hear, then, the words of the Oracle..."

+1 Influence, +1 Command, +1 Management

---------------

Orator

Oratory can be defined as the skill of getting people to listen in spite of themselves. The message can be whatever the paymaster requires...

+2 Influence, +1 Command

---------------

Over-Protective Nanny

"Nanny knows best…"

-1 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Overseer

Strong backs are useful in working the fields, but proper 'encouragement' is also needed.

-1 Influence, +1 to farming output

---------------

Pet Hunting Dog

"Woof!"

+1 to line of sight (increases the range at which enemies are spotted)

---------------

Pet Lion

Many a happy hour can be spent in teaching a lion to enjoy the pleasures of human flesh…

+1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts), +1 Command when fighting against rebels

--------------- SPY

Pet Monkey

It's surprising how useful a monkey can be - a cover, a distraction, a trained thief…

+2 to agent's skill

--------------- ASSASSIN

Pet White Cat

"And when Bast the cat gets angry, people die!"

+2 to agent's skill

---------------

Philosopher

Regular exercise of the reasoning powers aids any man in good governance.

+1 Management

---------------

Physician

"Prayers, three times a day, and then a thorough examination for elf-shot. All disease is caused by elf-shot…"

Increases the chance of having children, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Playwright

Plundering the classics for good stories is one route for a playwright. The other is to use the life of a great man…

+1 Influence

---------------

Poet

The deeds of the great are surely worthy of an epic poem or two…

+1 Influence

--------------- ASSASSIN

Poisoner

The wise ruler knows that no resource should be squandered, and that dinner guests should always be left wondering about the fish course…

+2 to agent's skill

---------------

Pontifex

By Jupiter, asking for the help of the Gods is better when it is done with the voice of authority.

+1 Influence, +1 Command, 10% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Praetorian Guardsman

A visible symbol of Roman authority, and a sign that the one guarded is constantly in the thoughts of the Senate and people of Rome.

+1 Influence, +1 Command, 20% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Problem Mother

"Mother isn't quite... Herself... Today."

-1 Influence, +1 Management, Reduces the chances of being elected to senatorial offices

---------------

Procurator

Money and legal ways to separate individuals from their money are always of service to the state.

10% bonus on tax income

---------------

Quartermaster

No soldier can march or fight for long when his belly is empty.

+15% to Movement Points (gives armies the ability to forced march), 2% bonus to cash gained from looting

---------------

Rhetorician

"The point, sir, is not simply to argue, but to make your case with logic and - dare I say it? - a certain panache…"

+2 to Influence (improves negotiation skills)

---------------

Roman Turncoat

Some men are willing to turn against their own kind for all sorts of reasons.

+1 Command when fighting against Romans

---------------

Runner

Command and control on the battlefield relies on orders getting through.

+1 Command

---------------

Satirist

Mockery, as a rule, is best employed to humble one's rivals rather than make oneself look like a great man.

+2 Influence

---------------

Scribe

A sure grasp on administrative detail creates paperwork in abundance!

+1 Management, 10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Scout

The first step in avoiding a trap is to see there is a trap.

+1 Command when ambushing, +2 to line of sight (increases the range at which enemies are spotted)

---------------

Sculptor

Glory is pointless without a record of the one who achieved it.

+1 Influence, 10% discount on construction costs

---------------

Seamaster

An expert in ship handling and in reading the sky, the wind and the water.

+2 Command at sea

---------------

Senatorial Horse

And why can't my horse be a senator? You'll hurt his feelings denying him the chance to better himself!

Reduces the chances of being elected to senatorial offices, 10% penalty to your popularity with the Senate, 10% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Shieldbearer

A great general needs supporters and aides on the battlefield.

+1 to the valour of your general's bodyguards

---------------

Shipwright

This man has a talent for seeing the shape of a ship within the wood itself.

+1 Command at sea

---------------

Siege Engineer

Sieges are a tricky business, and demand patience and a good eye for ground - and for the weaknesses of a defender's walls!

+1 Command when assaulting walls, +60 Build Points (required for the construction of siege equipment)

---------------

Silk Merchant

Silks from the east are always profitable, no matter what the market. And power always follows profit.

10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Slave Trader

Slaves are a vital trade, for who else will do the work that is needed?

Increases the rate of population growth in regions where slaves are plentiful

---------------

Slubberdegullion

Some people just can't hold their drink, but rarely know when to leave - possibly because they are too far gone to find a door!

-1 Influence, -1 from personal security (increases the chances of falling victim to assassination)

---------------

Soothsayer

"Grant me a vision, Oh Gods…"

+2 Morale for all troops on the battlefield

---------------

Spice Merchant

Trade in exotic spices requires long years of experience if it is to turn a profit.

10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Spymaster

This man is an expert at collating information and persuading others to spy for his superiors.

+1 Command, 20% discount on agent training costs

---------------

Surveyor

The accurate laying out of ground plans, roads and even whole towns saves money, time and effort.

20% discount on construction costs, +1 to public health

---------------

Swordbearer

A true warrior needs aides and guards on the battlefield.

+1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts), +1 to the valour of your general's bodyguards

---------------

Tax Farmer

An expert in the enforced separation of people and their money, but perhaps not so skilled at passing the gains to a government.

-1 Influence, 5% bonus on tax income

---------------

Tender of the Royal Backside

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

+1 Influence, -1 from personal security (increases the chances of falling victim to assassination)

---------------

Torturer

A little light torture is often enough to loosen the stubborn tongue, and thereby ease the path to justice.

+2 to public security (improves the chances of detecting and capturing enemy agents), +1 to unrest (decreases public order), +3 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Translator

The ability to speak to foreigners in their own babble is useful in one's servants.

+2 to Influence (improves negotiation skills)

---------------

Treasurer

For some, the pleasure of counting money can be enough…

+2 Management

---------------

Tribune of the Plebs

Political power must be used whatever the source and wherever it is found.

+1 Influence, 20% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Trusty Steed

Such a fine animal makes one never want to plod around on foot again…

+1 Command when commanding cavalry, -1 Command when commanding infantry

---------------

Turncoat Slave

Some men are willing to turn against their own kind for all sorts of reasons.

+1 Command when fighting against rebels

---------------

Tutor

Learning to learn can only be of benefit to a statesman.

+1 Management

---------------

Veteran Centurion

A grizzled veteran of many campaigns, loyal and true, constantly alert to dangers around his general…

+1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts), +1 Command when commanding infantry

---------------

Veteran Warrior

A grizzled veteran of many campaigns, loyal and true, constantly alert to dangers around his warlord…

+1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts), +1 Command when commanding infantry

---------------

Wilderness Prophet

In a wilderness there is no place to hide from your Gods, but afterwards getting others to listen is the real test.

+1 Influence

---------------

Wine Steward

"Hmmm. Fruity, yielding, with just a hint of oak… from the southern valley I think…"

+1 Influence

---------------

Wise Man

"Wisdom is knowing when to shut up and listen carefully, young man…"

+1 Management

---------------

Wise Woman

"Slap that poultice on and you'll feel better in no time. And yes, it's supposed to smell like that!"

Increases the chance of having children, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Witch

"The bones hold many secrets... of the past... of the future!"

Increases the chance of having children

---------------

Wrestler

A man who can tear arms off is useful, from time to time.

+1 Influence, +1 to personal security (improves the chances of detecting and foiling assassination attempts)

---------------

Priest of Vahagan

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Command, 10% discount on unit training costs

---------------

Priest of Anahit

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Priest of Armazd

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Influence, +1 Command

---------------

Priestess of Brigantia

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Priestess of Britannia

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Priest of Andrasta

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Command, +15% to Movement Points (gives armies the ability to forced march)

---------------

Priestess of Tanit

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, +1 to farming output

---------------

Priest of Baal

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

20% discount on agent training costs, +1 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Priest of Milqart

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Priest of Hebeleysis

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command when attacking

---------------

Priestess of Bendis

{priest_of_Bendis_desc}
A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 to public health, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Priest of Zalmoxis

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 10% discount on unit training costs, 20% bonus on mining income

---------------

Priestess of Isis

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, Increases the chance of having children, +1 to public health

---------------

Priest of Osiris

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Priest of Imhotep

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Priest of Set

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 20% discount on agent training costs

---------------

Priest of Horus

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, +1 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Priest of Teutatis

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Command, 10% discount on unit training costs

---------------

Priest of Epona

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command when commanding cavalry

---------------

Priest of Abnoba

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, +2 Command when ambushing, +1 to line of sight (increases the range at which enemies are spotted)

---------------

Priest of Esus

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 10% discount on agent training costs, +1 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Priestess of Freyja

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, Increases the chance of having children, +1 to public health

---------------

Priest of Donar

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command when attacking

---------------

Priest of Woden

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command when commanding infantry, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Priestess of Athena

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Command, +1 Management

---------------

Priestess of Aphrodite

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 20% discount on agent training costs, +1 to public health

---------------

Priest of Hermes

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Priest of Nike

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Command, +1 Management

---------------

Priest of Ceres

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, +1 to farming output

---------------

Priest of Bacchus

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Priest of Jupiter

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Influence, +1 Command, +1 Management

---------------

Priestess of Demeter

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, +1 to farming output

---------------

Priest of Zeus {priest_of_Zeus}


A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Influence, +1 Management, +1 Command when defending walls

---------------

Priestess of Artemis

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, +2 Command when ambushing, +1 to line of sight (increases the range at which enemies are spotted), 20% discount on animal unit training costs

---------------

Priest of Ares

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command when attacking

---------------

Priest of Zoroastra

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Influence, +1 Command, +1 Management

---------------

Priest of Zeus {priest_of_Zeus2}

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Influence, +1 Management, +1 Command when defending walls

---------------

Priestess of Aphrodite {priest_of_Aphrodite2_desc}

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 10% discount on agent training costs, +1 to public health

---------------

Priest of Hercules

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command when attacking

---------------

Priestess of Juno

A priestess spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to her god. She can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, +1 to public health, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Priest of Mercury

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Priest of Mars

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command when attacking

---------------

Priest of Vulcan

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 10% discount on unit training costs, 20% bonus on mining income

---------------

Priest of Saturn

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Influence, +1 Management, +2 to public security (improves the chances of detecting and capturing enemy agents)

---------------

Priest of Neptune

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command at sea

---------------

Priest of Papay

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, +2 to public security (improves the chances of detecting and capturing enemy agents), +1 to law (improves public order)

---------------

Priest of Api

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, Increases the chance of having children, +1 to public health

---------------

Priest of Kolaksay

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command when commanding cavalry

---------------

Priest of Hephaestus

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+1 Management, 10% discount on unit training costs, 20% bonus on mining income

---------------

Priest of Asklepios

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

Increases the chance of having children, +1 to public health, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Priest of Dionysus {priest_of_Dionysus}

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Priest of Dionysus {priest_of_Dionysus2}

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Priest of Ares

A priest spends half a lifetime studying subjects related to his god. He can spend the other half putting it to good use…

+2 Command when attacking

---------------

Appolonius of Perge

An eccentric mathematician and astrologer who believes the planets revolve in epicycles and eccentric orbits around us. Loony.

+1 Management

---------------

Appolonius of Rhodes

Writer of the great epic "The Argonautica". Use of this man's skills in writing will help increase your profile.

+1 Influence

---------------

Archimedes

Some say "the greatest mind alive". An outstanding mathematician, inventor of siege weaponry and devices for everyday use. It's a shame he's so argumentative.

+2 Command when assaulting walls, +1 Command when defending walls, +100 Build Points (required for the construction of siege equipment)

---------------

Aristarchus (of Samos)

An astronomer and mathematician who thinks the Earth revolves around the sun! However mad he is, he can provide accurate measurements of distance and perform complex calculations.

+1 Command at sea, 10% bonus on all trade income

---------------

Aristophanes {aristophanes_of_byzantium}

Librarian and Scholar. A philologist working on the systematized, punctuation, pronunciation, and accentuation of Greek.

+1 Management

---------------

Ariston of Chios {ariston_of_chios}

A man who dispises the use of logic and refutes the philosophy of nature. He is both a Stoic and somewhat of a Cynic. No fun at a party.

100% increase to cost to bribe

---------------

Ariston (of Cyrene) {ariston_of_cyrene}

Peripatetic Philosopher and Poet. The deeds of the great are surely worthy of critical examination and, perhaps, a poem or an epigram?

+1 Influence

---------------

Agatharchides (of Cnidus)

Peripatetic philosopher, geographer, historian, traveler and naturalist. This restless individual is working on several books describing the world and all that lives in it. A useful man on campaign.

+20% to Movement Points (gives armies the ability to forced march), +1 Command when fighting against Barbarians

---------------

Callimachus of Cyrene

Librarian, Poet and Scholar. A learned man can always be of use to a man of power.

+1 Management

---------------

Carneades

"The Academic" can argue the hind legs of a donkey, persuade it to run and then convince onlookers that the donkey did this without encouragement. A useful man to have on your side.

+1 Command

---------------

Lutatius Catulus {quintus_lutatius_catulus}

Roman writer, philosopher and tactician.

+2 Command

---------------

Valerius Catullus {gaius_valerius_catullus}

Romantic Latin poet and writer, of the elite patrician classes, with many powerful connections.

+1 Influence, Improves the chances of getting elected to senatorial offices, 10% bonus to your popularity with the Senate

---------------

Chrysippus

Tutor and Stoic philosopher. This man teaches that a knowledge of Physics and Logic are required for a person to know the difference between good and evil.

+1 Management

---------------

Ctesibius

Inventor, mathematician and engineer. Responsible for such contraptions as the Water Clock and "Hydraulis" musical device. Perhaps his knowledge of hydraulic hoists, siege engines and suction pumps may be of some use.

+30 Build Points (required for the construction of siege equipment), +1 to public health

---------------

Quintus Ennius

A great writer of Poetry, comedy, satires and epigrams in Latin. A fluent speaker of Greek and Latin, some say that he wishes to rival Homer. A witty turn of phrase will always win votes at the Rostra

+1 Influence, 10% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Erasistratus (of Ceos)

Greek anatomist and physician. Known for his studies of the circulatory and nervous systems. Make sure he has a steady supply of condemned men to practice on.

-1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield, +1 to public health, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Eratosthenes (of Cyrene)

Gifted Philosopher and Polymath. A man with broad knowledge that can be applied to many subjects.

+1 Command, +1 Management

---------------

Fabius Pictor

Rome's first annalist of note and grandson of the famous Caius Fabius Pictor who painted the Temple of Salus, in Rome. Quintus is well connected with many eminent Roman Senators.

+1 Influence, Improves the chances of getting elected to senatorial offices, 10% bonus to your popularity with the Senate

---------------

Herodas

Poet and author of Mimes. Herodas has a knack of using the language of the common man to liven up his bawdy comedy. A useful skill when writing speeches that appeal to the masses.

+1 Influence, +1 Morale for all troops on the battlefield

---------------

Hieronymus (of Cardia)

A rather dull but well regarded old historian. Perhaps this is due to his ability to at least write some semblance of the truth, mostly.

+1 Management

---------------

Iunius Pennus

"I don’t mind if they fight and die for us. Just don’t allow the foreigners a vote" A true Roman who wishes to keep the citizenship exclusive.

+1 Management, -2 Morale for all troops on the battlefield, Improves the chances of getting elected to senatorial offices

---------------

Lucilius

The founder of Roman Satire. An unusual literary artist as he is both rich and of high rank. A friend and a foe of some of the greatest men of our time, Lucilius issues scathing opinions on even the more humble members of Roman society.

+2 Influence, 10% penalty to your popularity with the Senate, 10% penalty to your popularity with the People

---------------

Porcius Cato {m_porcius_cato}

Tribune. Publicly austere, humorless, puritanical, incapable of compromise, a fanatic in defense of liberty and the Republic.\n A bitter foe of the Julii. Known to be a legendary drinker with some peculiar habits.

+1 Management, +1 to unrest (decreases public order), +3 to law (improves public order)

---------------

M. Tullius Cicero

Philosopher, Orator and Rhetor. Marcus Tullius Cicero's main abilities are his powers of persuasion and political nous. He thinks himself a protector of liberty and of Rome. He believes you may help save Rome from the "Populares".

+2 Influence, Improves the chances of getting elected to senatorial offices

---------------

Gnaeus Naevius

This latin dramatist and satirist is well known for his translations of Greek plays in to Latin. He seems to have some talent of his own, perhaps he will develop some original plays in his native Latin?

+1 Influence, 10% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Nicander

A most learned Physician and wise Priest of Apollo. He has great knowledge of the body, poisons and much of the world we inhabit. His poem on "Antidotes to the Bites of Wild Creatures" is rather dull though.

Increases the chance of having children, +2 to public health, Improves the chances of casualties recovering from their wounds

---------------

Panaetius

Stoic philosopher and Tutor. His thoughts on ethics are interesting. Very interesting. ZZZZzzzzzzzz. Sorry, where were we?

+2 Management

---------------

Titus Maccius Plautus

Comic playwright, soldier and traveling miller. Titus the 'splay-footed clown' is a comic genius. Even the miserable old Senate think he's funny. Mostly. And they've even given him the right to use three names, like a noble Roman.

+2 Morale for all troops on the battlefield, 10% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Polybius {polybius_of_megalopolis}

A biographer and historian of outstanding ability blessed with great insight and a disarming ability to ingratiate himself with anyone.

+1 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Posidonius of Rhodes

Gifted Politician, Stoic, Geographer, Astronomer and Geologist. Always useful to have around.

+1 Influence, +1 Management, 20% bonus on mining income

---------------

Publius Clodius

This cross dressing pretty boy has many political connections. Just keep an eye on him, and your wife, during the festivals of Bona Dea.

Improves the chances of getting elected to senatorial offices

---------------

Strato

Tutor, physicist and philosopher. Knowledge is power and the tool by which men rule.

+1 Command, +1 Management, +10% to Movement Points (gives armies the ability to forced march)

---------------

Terrence

Comic dramatist. Making the masses laugh is a good way to divert them from their problems and ease the flow of money from their purse.

+1 Management

---------------

Theocritus of Syracuse

A most talented poet whose prose can ease the worries of the most troubled mind.

+1 Management

---------------

Sempronius Gracchus {ti_sempronius_gracchus}

Tribune of the Plebs. This popular young firebrand has the makings of a demagogue. Many conservatives in the Senate feel this young man needs to be taught a lesson. Permanently.

Reduces the chances of being elected to senatorial offices, 20% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Caius Gracchus

Tribune Of the Plebs. This young man wants to change the way the Republic is run. For ever! Many "Optimates" in the Senate feel he needs to be persuaded otherwise.

+2 Influence, Reduces the chances of being elected to senatorial offices, 20% penalty to your popularity with the Senate, 20% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Tiberius Gracchus {ti_sempronius_gracchus_the_elder]

A patrician with some liberal values. A rare bird indeed. Many watch his sons with interest.

+1 Influence, 10% bonus to your popularity with the Senate

---------------

Timaeus (of Tauromenium) {timaeus_of_tauromenium}

If history is to be written, perhaps it should be done under the watchful eyes of those making it. Especially when some are likely to distort the facts.

+1 Influence, +1 Management

---------------

Titus Livius {livy}

This scholar is well versed in the history of Rome and warns us of the dangers of avarice and complacency. He may have a point.

+2 Management, 50% increase to cost to bribe, 25% bonus to your popularity with the People

---------------

Virgilius

"Love conquers all things. Let us surrender unto love" Eclogues.

Increases the chance of having children, +1 to public health

---------------

Zeno (of Cittium) {zeno_of_cittium}

An honest and upright man can always be trusted to give sound advice. As long as he gets a steady supply of figs and red wine, in this case.

+2 Management

---------------

Lucretius Carus {t_lucretius_carus}

A knowledge of nature and its forms as well as a skill with verse make this Epicurean a likeable companion to the thinking man

+1 to farming output, 20% bonus on mining income




http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_i.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifAppendix C: Assorted stuff which doesn’t fit anywhere else.

Mount Etna will always erupt sometime around 261BC. The lava flows kill any agents nearby, as well as causing heavy casualties to any nearby army.

To set a rally point for newly constructed units on the campaign map, select a settlement with left click, then hold alt and click on the place you want the troops to gather.

Mods
I am not going to list and advertise mods here, however I will note a few unofficial patches. These do not attempt to alter the game, but to fix errors and bugs in the vanilla game, just like an official patch. I shall clearly state that not a single one of these patches is official or linked with CA. Use them at your own risk. I cannot provide support or advice on any of them; they are not my work and nothing to do with me.

Player1’s BUG-FIXER patch for RTW and BI (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=55464)




http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gifhttp://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/roman_x.gif Credits
Unlike Oscar night speeches I shall try to make this short and relevant. I also promise not to cry and thank my non-existent pet cat.

Keeping a list of individual credits for all those handy titbits I have collected on the org and official forums has proven to be nigh on impossible, as well as very time consuming. If I credit every single person who has said even one line of vaguely helpful text I will have literally pages of credits and it will take me longer to write than the economy section! Instead I shall just say my grateful thanks to the communities of both those forums for playing, posting and researching.

A second general thanks goes to all those who have answered my questions; again it’s quite a long list and I am sure people would rather I spent time writing the guide rather than the credits. Thank you all for your help.

A respectful bow to those who made this guide possible, namely CA for making the game, and TosaInu for the usual help battering the forum into cooperating with this massive document and for arranging the picture hosting space.

Finally specific, named credits for people I have directly quoted or who have done something which is actually here in the guide in raw form.
Duke John for my nice, snazzy title.
Ebannon for providing the ancillary and Vices and Virtues lists.
Epistolary Richard for the unrest map.
Maltz for a few handy quotable bits and pieces.
Sinner for the kind loan of his temple guide.
Steppe Merc for the brief quoted guide on modding playable units.
Suladan for providing the mercenary list.
Tamur for the kind loan of his diplomacy guide.
therother for a bundle of miscellaneous aids, including a few tables and quotes I have included.

frogbeastegg
10-19-2004, 22:06
Phew! One beginner’s guide to RTW. It doesn’t feel very complete; there is so much missing, so much speculation. Well, I have only had the game for 18 days now and in that time I have finished Brutii and Julii short campaigns, played a very little bit of MP, and messed about quite a lot. However, as you will know if you read the guide, much of this is drawn from my reading on the forums.

The useful resource section is very empty; I’m hoping that will fill up with a bit more time. I didn’t really have time to look around much.

The credits section is rather small; sorry. It really was far too much work cataloguing each and every person for every tiny little bit of information. Even cataloguing just those who answered my threads proved lengthy in pages and time consuming.

This is 89 pages long as of this moment; part of that mass is contributed by the two borrowed guides. Not that impressive compared to the MTW unit guide, but it is very skeletal just now.

Right, the usual bit. Comments, suggestion and corrections are welcome. I expected plenty of the latter two. I am not going to update this constantly or frequently; I am aiming for several biggish updates, then ignoring it until the patch, then several updates before ignoring it some more.

Printable versions, PDF conversions, websites, translations and any of the other usual requests can wait until this is a bit more finished.

Er, there is probably more but I can never think of exactly what I want to say when I launch one of these things. So, um, there you go, one guide.

I’m going to abuse my moderator’s powers and pin this :gring:

son of spam
10-19-2004, 23:17
Brutii have to outlast Greece and Macedon, not Carthage and Numidia.

It was in the "Factions" section.

frogbeastegg
10-19-2004, 23:25
No idea how that slipped in. Fixed.

Big King Sanctaphrax
10-19-2004, 23:37
You've said that the Brutii's short campaign objectives are to conquer Carthage and Numidia-you might want to fix that

*Correction mode OFF*

This is a truly spectacular guide, Froggy. You're a credit to the .Org.

motorhead
10-19-2004, 23:51
Excellent guide as usual FBE :rtwyes:

Addition for campaign mode:

from the readme file on disc 1
Auto Resolve Battle Difficulty
When choosing difficulty settings at the start of a campaign, changing the difficulty setting for the campaign will affect the way the game auto resolves battles. The difficulty of the auto resolve inherently affects the difficulty of the campaign game, and so determines the level of challenge on the campaign map. The battle difficulty is solely used to determine the level of difficulty when the player is playing on the 3d battle map.

Enslavement (also from the readme)

Population Enslavement
After a settlement is conquered, and "enslavement" is chosen as the option to occupy the settlement. Roman factions and Roman allied factions will have 25% of the population go to the capital of the senate faction.

therother
10-20-2004, 00:31
Excellent work, quite an accomplishment.

However, I have a few additions/corrections:


Squalor is a major issue in Rome: Total War. Unfortunately we do not yet know exactly how it works... See this thread for some more info on squalor (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=37586). Also included are rules of thumb for calculating the garrison effect based on garrison strength/settlement population.


Finally it is possible that health buildings might decrease the cultural differences penalty…Culture and Unrest Public Order penalties (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=38089) – Info from Jerome Grasdyke. Edit: Which I now see you've already included!


What’s that flashing!?This is a confirmed bug, to be fixed in patch 1.2, although it does work as advertised as long as you don't have a shipwright.


Cities that are a long way from your capital receive a happiness penalty. Roads might reduce this; we have no concrete information but it does seem logical.Roads don't affect it, see this thread: Distance to Capital PO penalties (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=38085)

You also might want to say something about tax income: Tax Income (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=37831)

And devastation (caused by hostiles in your territory): Devastation (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=37831)

Also, the diplomatic section appears to be from an older version of Tamur's guide.

From what I've learned, the campaign map difficulty level affects income levels from farming and tax (possibly more?). The amount by which they affect these are given in the tax income thread here (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=605030&postcount=12). It doesn't affect the corruption effect, although as corruption is dependent on the total income of a settlement, it will in fact be indirectly affected. More info on Corruption can be found here: Corruption (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=38146)

Population levels affect taxes, as per the above thread, and trade income. The core 400 men appear capable of doing all the mining and farming in the province come what may.

Difficultly level may affect admin income -- the income from a Governor's Management ability, but my hunch is that it doesn't.

Blodrast
10-20-2004, 00:40
great work, froggy (nothing new about that, either). ~:cheers:

wanderingblade
10-20-2004, 01:10
Uhm, aren't Assassins 500 to recruit?

Also, its possible to tack other things on to the map advice to drive the price up if selling it (i.e. trade rights, alliance etc.etc.)

edit: Merc Hoplites can be found outside Greece as well. Anyway, I'll stop poking at the holes in what was a very nice read.

therother
10-20-2004, 08:18
Sorry, me again. A few extra things:


The slaves resource can make a significant difference to growth rate. I've seen it up to 2.5%. Strangely it doesn't seem to impact the trade income of the source city; not entirely sure about the neighbours yet, still looking in to it.
The siege times are very strongly dependent on the walls and the governors residence. Each upgrade appears to add a year to the siege time. The size of the garrison also has some effect. There does seem to be some variability beyond these factors, but there doesn't seem to be a correlation to basic/improved farming.
You don't need trade agreements to trade with any faction. They do, however, increase the value of the trading with them (by a factor of 3 in some cases).
Roads are useful for blocking the advance of armies; it's an especially good idea to lay ambushes in the forests adjactent to them (within the "red zone").
The thing about not moving to get traits is not entirely true, e.g. the harsh_lifestyle3 trait needs the General to have completely depleted his MPs, and end the turn outside of a settlement. BTW, he also needs 3+ management ability. For all that, he gets +1 to his logistical skill.
Spies, as with other agents, definitely die around the age of 65. They can also be assassinated, or killed by plague. Others have said that assassins can themselves be assassinated, but I've never been able to do it. Perhaps you can only do this when they are in cities.
Spies also allow you to see enemy spies and assassins.
Assassins are used for killing people (shock!) and for sabotaging buildings in a settlement - good for stopping the enemy training units, reducing public order in a settlement, inhibiting trade, and so on.
Whilst the sabotaging is pretty easy for even a poor assassin (assuming their is no spy protecting the enemy city), assassinating even the most worthless diplomat will be a tricky prospect for the raw assassin (1-3 subterfuge ratings, depending on their natural ability). Captains are usually easier. Generals will be nigh on impossible until you reach 5-6. Faction leaders/heirs, unless they have personal security reducing traits, will be considerable task for even a rank 10 assassin, but not impossible.
A rank 10 assassin can cause havoc for your enemies, if you can get one up that far, by killing generals, spies, diplomats and destroying buildings at will.
Management of retinues in a similar manner to how I describe in Tamur’s diplomacy guide above is very helpful in achieving high valour spies, diplomats, and assassins, as you can turn raw recruits with some natural ability into unstoppable killing/negotiating/sneaking machines by transferring various characters to them.
Family members: there are both character traits and ancillary characters that enhance fertility. There are also inherited traits, so having these characters in the retinue of your top generals/governors should reap benefits.
There is a good list of Traits here (http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?mod=44). I also have a Excel called VnV_List.xls, which I downloaded from somewhere, but I've now forgotten where. Which is about as useful as a bacon butty at a Jewish vegan's wedding.
The mercenary captain gives: Command +1, Training Unit costs -10%, and Looting income +10%. There’s an 8% chance of getting it when hiring mercenaries.
The likelihood of gaining stars through traits/characters depends on the battle odds. If you vastly overpower your enemy, and you win, you won't get any good traits. You need to choose a more balanced/experience army than your enemy, and then outfight him fair and square. Of course if you somehow manage to lose, it'll probably greatly affect your General's command ability by giving him bad command traits.
Can you actually retrain (replenish) Legionary First Cohorts, or simply retool them?
Best way to sink ship is to surround them and cut off any retreat, similar to what you can do on land.
Not only do mercenaries have specific regions, they also have different frequencies and regeneration rates. For instance, in North Africa, you will normally always have a chance to recruit Libyan infantry or Numidian cavalry, but elephants will be 10 times rarer and will take 10 times longer to come back after you recruit them. You will never be able to recruit more than 1 unit of Elephants at a time.

This is merely a personal request, but could we have a little section on the advantages of having as high a population as possible, and not slaughtering it every so often? Yes, it requires more effort, management, and planning (especially of public order buildings and the like) but it is worth it in the long run, especially with your core cities around the capital, where you won't get so large penalties due to distance from capital. I've got a cluster of 30,000+ cities that have only minor garrisons, and they are all 100%+ Public Order. I'd lose ~10,000 Denarii (in taxes and trade) a turn if I reduced them by 75%. Yes, they would regenerate very fast (~25 turns), but not fast enough to make it worthwhile sacking the city.

Whew. Hope all this helps!

frogbeastegg
10-20-2004, 09:25
Urk! Ok, no updates now but I'll answer/calrify a few points in the hopes it helps. Excuse me if this snotty sounding and typo ridden, but my fingers are so damned sore from writing this (30 pages yesterday alone!) and I don't have much time. Taking an assortment of comments from everyone we end up with:

"You don't need trade agreements to trade with any faction. They do, however, increase the value of the trading with them (by a factor of 3 in some cases)."
I have no exact numbers, but I remember writing that trade agreements boost income. Unless that section has vansihed it's in there.

"Roads are useful for blocking the advance of armies, and are especially good places to lay ambushes in the forests next to them (within the "red zone")."
Bits of advice like this are way too vague - I can't do a thing with it. Blcok how? Ambush how, and yes I know about putting an army in the trees - the AI often avoids roads in my games. Be very specific or I'll ignore it.

"Assassins are used for killing people (shock!) and for sabotaging buildings in a settlement, good for stopping the enemy training units, reducing public order, trade, and so on."
Yes, I know, that is obvious. I want details, like Tamur has for the diplomat.

"Management of retinues in a similar manner to how I describe in Tamur’s diplomacy guide above is very helpful in achieving high valour spies, diplomats, and assassins, as you can turn raw recruits with some natural ability to unstoppable killing/negotiating/sneaking machines by transferring various characters to them."
I know. I have no idea what those characters are, so I can't give advice on organising them. Tell me the full details of the characters, please.

" There is a good list of Traits here. I also have a Excel called VnV_List.xls, which I downloaded from somewhere, but I've now forgotten where. Which is about as useful as a bacon butty at a Jewish vegan’s wedding."
No good, doesn't list the effects or how you get them.

" Can you actually retrain (replenish) Legionary First Cohorts, or simply retool them?"
I said you can do all the usual retraining tasks, and that is how I assume I works. Unless someone tells me otherwise with proof it's staying as it is. I never even had the Reforms in my games; I didn';t get to play muhc becasue I was writing this.

"Uhm, aren't Assassins 500 to recruit?"
Possibly; I've never used them. Anyone got a definite cost?


This one deserves sopecial mention: "Also, the diplomatic section appears to be from an older version of Tamur's guide."
You are joking, please say you are joking? He said he would send a new version if he updated it, and it took me the best part of an hour to edit it into place! I've had no other versions...



Ok, I think that gives a general gist - please be very specific when asking for additions or alterations. I am not going to spend my time chasing up vague things, not when I can insist people suggest them in a clear, detailed manner in the first place. If you say a retinue character can do something provide the characters name and, perferably, description/stats. Also please make absolutely certain you are not suggesting something that is already in there.

I am not going to spend hour after hour updating this thing; it took me longer to update the two MTW guides than it did to write them and I will not repeat that this time. I don't have the time; if I have to do this as I did the old guides it will never get done at all.

CA quotes are great; if CA confirm something is broken, or comment on anything get me the quote.

Let me give a few examples of the kind of thing I am after:
"Best way to sink ship is to surround them and cut off any retreat, similar to what you can do on land."

"The siege times are very strongly dependent on the walls and the governors residence. Each upgrade appears to add a year to the siege time. The size of the garrison also has some effect. There does seem to be some variability beyond these factors, but there doesn't seem to be a correlation to basic/improved farming."

This one especially: "The mercenary captain gives: Command +1, Training Unit costs -10%, and Looting income +10%. There’s an 8% chance of getting it when hiring mercenaries."

" Population Enslavement
After a settlement is conquered, and "enslavement" is chosen as the option to occupy the settlement. Roman factions and Roman allied factions will have 25% of the population go to the capital of the senate faction."

Ok, I think that illustrates my point.

I may be able to update this this afternoon; I shall include anything that is clear. If I can't update this afternoon it will have to be tomorrow.


EDIT: D'oh I forgot to say thanks to everyone who put something forward.

therother
10-20-2004, 11:55
Well, as quite a lot of this was directed at me, I suppose I'd better clarify my clarifications. These were just meant as little additions and asides, perhaps suggesting new avenues for your guide to be taken down. I was also trying to expose the reader to the greater depths of the game by posting links to research threads, which are probably beyond what your average beginner would be interested in. Oh, and I wanted to correct the impression that not much headway had been made on a number of key topics, including squalor. At no time were any of these points intended to be lifted directly into the guide.


"You don't need trade agreements to trade with any faction."
I have no exact numbers, but I remember writing that trade agreements boost income. Unless that section has vanished it's in there. It was more the first part that was the clarification. You mention that you can land trade, but there is no direct mention of sea trade without an agreement.


"Roads are useful for blocking the advance of armies, and are especially good places to lay ambushes in the forests next to them (within the "red zone")."
Bits of advice like this are way too vague - I can't do a thing with it. Blcok how? Ambush how, and yes I know about putting an army in the trees - the AI often avoids roads in my games. Be very specific or I'll ignore it. Blocking in the sense that no enemy army can enter and leave your zone of control, so to advance down the road they either have to go around you by 2 tiles -- losing a number of MPs as they go off-road -- or fight you. This effect is magnified if you are blocking a mountain pass, for instance.

The ambush thing was about improving your chances of ambushing, as many people are finding it difficult to trap the AI. If you are at war with a neighbouring city, they will often send units to attack you by the shortest route. This is usually by the road connecting the settlements. If there is a spot on the road than is adjacent to a forest, you can place your men in there. If the enemy passes through your zone of control (the red box that appears around enemies units when you approach them) it will trigger the ambush automatically during their turn. This doesn't have to be by a road, of course, and if you spot the AI often taking a specific route, you set your trap there.

"Assassins are used for killing people (shock!) and for sabotaging buildings in a settlement, good for stopping the enemy training units, reducing public order, trade, and so on."
Yes, I know, that is obvious. I want details, like Tamur has for the diplomat. Well, in a desperate bid not to sound overly tetchy, I did give quite a lot of detail that wasn't in the guide. Tamur spent hours putting together his guide, and I spend a fair few fetching minute little details for him, so I can attest that what you are asking is not a straightforward task.


"Management of retinues in a similar manner to how I describe in Tamur’s diplomacy guide above is very helpful in achieving high valour spies, diplomats, and assassins, as you can turn raw recruits with some natural ability to unstoppable killing/negotiating/sneaking machines by transferring various characters to them."
I know. I have no idea what those characters are, so I can't give advice on organising them. Tell me the full details of the characters, please. As I say above, this is a non-trivial job, as it involves hunting down not only the traits/retinue characters, but also their individual triggers, and perhaps even their descriptions.

" There is a good list of Traits here. I also have a Excel called VnV_List.xls, which I downloaded from somewhere, but I've now forgotten where. Which is about as useful as a bacon butty at a Jewish vegan’s wedding."
No good, doesn't list the effects or how you get them. Which is why I mention the VnV_List.xls file, which does, at least for the first part. Unfortunately, I can't remember who posted it, and I can't upload it without permission from the author. I was hoping that someone here might know where it's from.

" Can you actually retrain (replenish) Legionary First Cohorts, or simply retool them?"
I said you can do all the usual retraining tasks, and that is how I assume I works. Unless someone tells me otherwise with proof it's staying as it is. I never even had the Reforms in my games; I didn';t get to play muhc becasue I was writing this.Well, as I've never had Legionary First Cohorts either -- I've been compiling a great deal of data myself -- I was relying on the word of those who asked how they could mod the game to retrain them. The implication being that one couldn't in the basic game. Like mercenaries, there is no combination of buildings that can train Legionary First Cohorts. As such, I would expect that you couldn't add men to the unit. I was asking, in essence, for you to give your evidence that you could!


This one deserves sopecial mention: "Also, the diplomatic section appears to be from an older version of Tamur's guide."
You are joking, please say you are joking? He said he would send a new version if he updated it, and it took me the best part of an hour to edit it into place! I've had no other versions...It is not the latest version. For a start a number of the strategies are not there, and the mistake about a spy and a diplomat travelling together has not been corrected. I would guess that this is version 3 or 4 of the guide, which would mean that it is about 2 weeks old (version 5, was published on 8 October).

As for the trade blinking bug, a post by MikeB was highlighted in this post ( https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=602946&postcount=26). It seems that the post itself is now no longer available, but it was there.

As for the other clarifications, I'm afraid you're going to have to directly ask me for specific clarifications if you need them. I simply don't have the kind of time to go through and thoroughly explain everything that I posted (and within the links) to some seemingly arbitrary level. Such a post would easily dwarf the guide itself. If you don't want to add them to the guide, then that's your choice; I won't be offended in the slightest.

Kekkonen
10-20-2004, 12:19
Dear Froggy,
are you God?

Yours,
a slick, debauched spin doctor

Pellinor
10-20-2004, 12:53
One minor bug in the Arrgh! I'm so confused section:

"Left click, right click, I’m so confused.
There is no way to bring back the old left click select, left click move system. You have to use the right click select, left click move system."

Are you sure you meant to say it like that? It could make adapting from MTW to RTW just that little bit harder :-)

Superb guide, though.

Cheers,

Pell.R.

R'as al Ghul
10-20-2004, 13:57
Excellent work. Thank you.
For the next game CA should consider letting you write the manual.


Population growth has three icons; a house with corn (farming), an ear of corn (er, general foody stuff), and dark clouds (squalor)
Funny, those "dark clouds" always looked like rats to me. ~;)

R'as

frogbeastegg
10-20-2004, 16:39
therother, I think we have a slight misunderstanding here, or at least I hope so. I know very well what I am asking because I look into this stuff myself; I did the same for both my MTW guides and I will be doing so for Rome. There is a reason I was updating those guides for months, and a reason I have changed the contribution request slightly this time. If you have to spend a long time and a lot of effort looking into say three areas because I asked, well I have to spend a lot of time and effort looking into each and every area mentioned, and then writing it up into the guide. I know the effort involved; I truly do.

All I ask is that people provide detail instead of vague things, and that is not arbitrary, thank you. You have some very good points, and good additions, but since you are suggesting I add in things like road blocking you can surely write a few lines to explain what you mean? If I don't understand you what newbie will? If I don't understand what you mean I can't even try to explain it to the newbies, so I will have something in the guide I don't understand and suspect other people will not understand. Beginner's guide, as in very basic, as in starting right from the bottom. It can go advanced; the medieval version did with great success, but I always work to keep things simple and easy to understand.

I will not repeat the manual, nor will I add in text simply to faff around instead of admitting I do not know something. For example your bit on assassins can be found in the manual; there is absolutely no point in repeating it. It is far better to leave it as a blank, then find out the real, useful information and put that in the guide.

All I am trying to do is ask that people contribute their information and corrections in a manner that saves me hours of asking for clarification, researching, hunting around the forums and heaven knows what else. Been there, done that, not doing it a third time.

Most of that was directed at you because you put forth a lot of points in one go, many of them good ones, but a lot of it I can't really work with.

I hope you understand my stand on this now, and why I have taken it; working together would be far more beneficial. I shall add in what I can for now; the rest I will return to later.



Kekkonen, not the last time I checked.

Pellinor, thanks. :blushes: Er, oops.

R'as al Ghul, you're the second person to mention rats. They look like black clouds with a white underbelly to me. Hmm, odd. I might alter that; the rats seem more common.


No update today after all; I don't have time now, not unless I do another one meal day again. I can make a few minor changes to the text but no big ones, and no update to the web version.

Slaists
10-20-2004, 16:53
regarding formations: the old "hold ALT" and left click does not work. nonetheless, arranging your units into whatever formation, then grouping them and right-clicking-dragging them on the battlefield preserves the formation. even after the units have been fighting for a while and are all over the battlefield: right click and drag results them in returning to their respective formation positions. the problem is: at times it's really hard to determine where your group formation starts...

Ulstan
10-20-2004, 17:16
Very nice! ~:cheers:

"Their Gods are Bacchus (large bonuses to happiness), Juno (small bonus to happiness, increased population growth) and Jupiter (small bonus to happiness, small bonus to law)."

Should not Juno be Ceres? Maybe Juno is the name of Ceres or something, but the temples in game (or at least, the American version I have) are called Ceres. If your version says Juno then nvm :)

"Green is good; green is where you want all your cities. Yellow means there is a chance the citizens will riot, red means they are going to storm your posh mansion, trample the flower beds and do unspeakable things to your pet kittiekat"

Actually I think yellow never riots. I have many yellow faced citizens living peacably in my lands. Blue is riots I Think, and red outright revolts.

ah_dut
10-20-2004, 19:11
Very good Froggy as per usual ~:cheers:

Nelson
10-20-2004, 20:36
dark clouds (squalor).

Regarding the bit about squalor, this made me laugh because I thought the image was a steaming pile of ahh, refuse. My son pointed out that the hi-res icon is in fact a rat! I had to remove my spectacles and squint closely at my 19" Sony Trinitron to appreciate this but verily, he is correct.

Hardly worth an edit really but after the grief my second born inflicted upon me for exhibiting, as he put it, "such geezerly eyesight", I'm glad I'm not the only one who couldn't tell a rat from excrement (or a dark cloud) ! "Hey, at 1024x768 things can get right tiny!", I sheepishly told him. Then, gathering up some remaining dignitas, I packed him off with an order to fetch me a cup of tea. Impudent but obedient, he complied. :grin:

Anyway, thanks for all the work, Froggy.

Bhruic
10-21-2004, 00:58
You actually can adjust the facing of your units by using alt-right click, it's just not as easy as it was in MTW. You have to move the mouse around a little (while holding on to alt, and continuing to right click). The little green arrows will appear to let you choose the direction the unit is facing. I use that method instead of the ./, method, as it is significantly faster to rearrange them.

Bh

wanderingblade
10-21-2004, 02:00
Have to admit, I thought they were rats.

An Assassin definitley costs 500 gold to recruit and 200 to retain in my game.

SwordsMaster
10-21-2004, 13:59
Hey all,Ive been reading thru this great guide for a bit (congrats froggy :bow: ), and spotted something that I think isnt quite true:

I.E. : You CAN retrain mercs if you have the facilities available to train that unit (usually an armourer and a swordsmith). At least it worked for me with the merc hoplites. I hired them to take Carthage, they did and got reduced to 24men, they appeared in Carthage in the RETRAIN tab and they were back to 80 men in a turn or 2.

It also happened with the Barbarian mercs in several occasions in my codename "Gaulzkrieg" campaign.

Regards
SM

Morat
10-21-2004, 14:42
Just finished reading this. It is a great guide! Thanks to all involved. it's amazing how you can have such a complete guide up when the game is only a few weeks old. thanks again from this 'beginner'!

frogbeastegg
10-22-2004, 14:44
Right, guide is split into four parts instead of the previous two; it was so long it was causing problems with the search log.

All points sent to me by email have been addressed.
Most points from the thread on .com have been addressed.
Some of the points sent to me by PM have been addressed.
A bare handful of the points in this thread have been addressed.
Tamur's diplomacy guide has been er, addressed for lack of a better word.

Basically I have handled the points most likely to get lost, either in my inboxes or on the busy .com, first. These are also the smaller corrections and additions. There are far too many to log individually, but a big thanks to those who sent them in.

I shall try and get the small points from this thread done for tomorrow, along with some of the larger alterations and additions. Big things, such as redoing the squalor section, will have to come second to last I'm afraid, with my own alterations and additions coming in last place.

Thanks :bow:

frogbeastegg
10-23-2004, 13:24
Another update. I have covered most of the small additions/corrections from this thread now. I have also put in a list of all the retinue characters I have seen in my two games, along with a quote of the blurbs. If anyone wants to submit more retinue characters in the same format (e.g. Artist The images of the mighty need to be captured for posterity. Repeatedly. +1 influence, -10% to cost to bribe.) please feel free.

I'm going to take the rest of the day off. Updating will resume tomorrow.

frogbeastegg
10-26-2004, 18:52
"Updating will resume tomorrow." Famous last words; I've barely been able to get on the org these last few days and when I have it's take several minutes for each page to load. Without most of my 'to do' list and without an easy to navigate version (you do not want to see the Word documents that make this thing up!) of the guide my progress has been virtually nil. On the plus side I did get to rest my bruised fingers, leisurely wrote loads of fiction, played a whole two hours of RTW, and got more than four hours sleep each night.

I have managed to locate several sections I wanted to alter and fix them up; these are mostly in the battlefield section. It's not much, but at least the phalanx finally has a decent entry. If the org stays up I should be able to get back to work tomorrow.

Axeknight
10-27-2004, 12:22
Yay for the Frog! I've read a bit, the rest is on hard drive so I can read at leasure.

Hate to be pedantic, but Arretium, not Arrentium. Um... yeah, that's all. Once again, great guide Froggy ~:thumb:

frogbeastegg
10-28-2004, 13:00
Thanks, Axeknight. Fixed.

Right, that should be everything from this thread that does not require a new section of some sort. Anything requiring a new section is in the next update, along with most of my own changes. The guide should be mostly error free now. Should. :crosses fingers and hopes: A lot of the vague bits have been cleaned up too; there are a few left, but nowhere near as many as before.

The guide is actually worth reading now, unlike the unfihsed mess it was before. I am willing to bet this means patch 1.2 will appear shortly, say within a week or so, making half of this invalid. ~:mecry:

The beginner's part of the guide is met, so now I'm looking to add in the intermediate and advanced type stuff I had in the MTW guide. That should begin appearing from the next update onwards.

I'm going to take the rest of the day off :zzz:

HopAlongBunny
10-28-2004, 15:47
Great guide!

Chimpyang
10-28-2004, 19:27
Here's something for the wedge formation :

Cavalry when put into wedge formation stay in wedge formation even after they enter combat, so as soon as the initial charge is over, take them off wedge and then

1. Take them OUT of combat
2, Leave them there.

I've had just the point guy of the wedge fighting off all of the enemy unit because of the wedge formation, i'm not too sure about what kind of bonus this gives the cav, probably the charge bonus to the tuneof +1 or +2 or summat.

Btw try it.........i havent played RTW for a day now and since it's half term i'm not remmbering much.....

HopAlongBunny
10-30-2004, 02:56
A bit of an update about trade.

It seems (at least) some cities are hard-wired to trade with certain other cities.

Upgrading the port will not do you any good if you are at war with the port citys' trade-partner. I noticed this while at war with the Romans; capture a town with dockyard and check trade; one trade route listed where there is supposed to be three...the other routes did not come "on board" until I captured the proper cities from the Romans.

I have checked through some of the files in RTW, but cannot find anything that tells me what cities will trade with each other.

Another thing...distance seems to have no relationship to profit of trade routes.

sapi
10-31-2004, 09:58
Excellent guide.....now, i just need another day of my life to finish off the next 75 pages.....:)

frogbeastegg
11-02-2004, 15:40
Thanks for the latest corrections, suggestions and comments. I've beentaking a semi holiday from working on this guide so I have been neglecting this topic for a bit. When you start seeing coding for chapter heading in your sleep you know it is time for a break :dizzy2:

The more I hear about the 1.2 patch the more I think leaving any real updates until after that patch arrives is a good thing. AI overhauls, squalor alterations, working protectorates, plus many tweaks, fixes and alterations - that's going to change an awful lot. The patch is also supposed to be out relatively soon, according to a CA post on .com.

I think I shall let things hang until after 1.2; I shall fix up a few errors I have spotted, block out some new sections and add in the information I have found but aside from that I will do nothing much. I can't see much point in fine tuning things for 1.1 when 1.2 is probably going to arrive within a month, if not sooner.

Owen
11-08-2004, 18:34
A superb guide yet again Frogbeastegg. Nice. I especially wish I'd read this before I decided to choose to just take Carthage rather than enslave it.

After my first weekend of playing RTW, I came up with a a few points, which you can change if you feel like it once 1.2 is out (number refers to the section number in your guide):

4. (Stabilise your existing lands) "bring" should read "bribing"

5. If your population change goes negative, the symbol goes red and has a minus sign. This usually happens when plague hits a city

7. Adoption. Adopted captains stay at the head of the army where they just won a battle and became "The man of the moment", they don't appear in your capital

14. Missiles. With deep ranks, inexperienced Hastati (and Principes etc.) will take a lot of losses from friendly fire. Use their alternative attacks (so that they don't use the pila) or spread them out. Against outnumbered armies of Gallic clansmen, who can rout without being charged, the Hastati can sometimes take fewer casualties from the Gauls than from a javelin the back.

War dogs are better than cavalry for chasing down infantry routers. They seem to be even quicker, and the new moves for cavalry mean they aren't quite as good chasing infantry from the field. EDIT: After a bit more testing, I find that war dogs aren't always quick enough to take down routing fresh light infantry. They are otherwise excellent though.

Siege items can take less than one turn to make, it depends on how many build points your army has per turn. (Sorry I can't be more definite than that).

Oh, and the screenshots don't seem to work for me.


Given quite how exhaustive this guide is, I think that's a pretty short list. Thanks. ~:)

mfberg
11-08-2004, 19:55
Navies:

Retraining in cities with blacksmith/armourer gives armour/weapon bonuses
Ships with fewer than 6 men sink instead of retreating from battle (just like the disappearing small units on land, but with a nice little gurgling sound and a circular wave surrounding the sinking ship if it is the only ship left).

Admiral Command Bug

The bug is that unlike Generals, Admirals don't gain/lose Command rating for winning/losing battles. You need to edit a text file to fix the bug as described in this thread (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=39016). ~:)

I hope they fix this in 1.2

mfberg

frogbeastegg
11-09-2004, 22:58
Owen, mfberg, thanks. As ever I'm working on the suggestions slowly.

What do the screenshots look like to you, Owen? Are they little totalwar.org logos? If so then you need to enable refers; either your browser or your firewall have them blocked. The location of this setting varies from program to program and I know some, like zonealarm pro, call refers 'private header information' instead. I shall add a note about this to the front of the guide.

If that's not your problem then please let me know.

Maltz
11-09-2004, 23:52
There are so many good tips across so many forums, and I tried to collect some of them. Hope they are not too repetitive, and some of them are actually useful to this guide ~:cheers:

1. Army/Town/Agent List

Right click on the Army/Town/Agent tab (center down of the screen) brings you a list of them. You can also sort the army by its size, towns by its public order, and agent by its type. Useful to identify free agents who hasn't moved.

2. Sell maps

Selling maps (offer map information + demand single payment) brings in very good cash at the early game. Every clan will buy it. Map sale and can be done every subsequent turn with a small amount as well - more than enough for diplomat's own salary.

3. Double Tribute Duration

When the AI offers to pay a certain tribute for 2 turns, ask the same amount for 4 and it usually agrees.

4. Navy

In higher difficulties there is no point even to attempt naval dominance. AI builds so many ships and they can easily win in auto-calculation anyways. While AI does not blockades ports often, and never attacks ships docked in their own port (unless being in the vincinity of another battle), we can just use ports as jump points for safe army transfer.

5. Primary target at the beginning

Small rebel towns are good to grab at the beginning, but not as sweet as your neighbor's BIG towns. This way, you not only beef up yourself with capital-grade cities, but also cripple your most significant enemy in the immediate future. Advancing the rich lands/city early makes your faction strong way faster. Here are a list of not-so-obvious primary target for some factions:

Armania: Parthia
Dacia/Thrace: Macedon -> Greek cities -> Rome
Germania: Julii -> Rome
Numidia: Carthage -> Brutii -> Scipii -> Rome
Carthage: Brutii -> Scipii -> Rome

Get ready to leave cross-swords on the ground!

6. Garrison

Garrison maximally contribute to 80% public order. The quality of garrison troops does not matter. Peasants are the most cost-effective garrison in rather peaceful regions.

7. Squalor

Squalor is only related to population number (6000, 8000, 12000, etc.), not to population growth rate. A fast growth only makes squalor problem emerge faster. To cut squalor you need to plan your city carefully early on - i.e. if it has a high growth rate, you want to start with a low population when you occupy it. You know what that means.

If your city already has a fast growth rate, don't ever bother build farms and health buildings.

The most important factor affecting growth rate is the farming factor. Some cities also import food adding to the food supply. There are some known cities with HUGE growth rate like 7% plus:

- Carthage city
- All Egyptian towns

Extermination feels great - they will grow back in no time anyways.

You can see how many people you will exterminate when you get to choose occupy/enslave(50% gone)/exterminate(75% gone), by moving the cursor on the option. If you can exterminate 6000, the city currently has 8000. Exterminate is the main way to go in mid-late game.

8. Cultural penalty

Cultural penalty exists in any 2 incompatible cultures. Here are the compatibility list (0 cultural penalty):

Group I: Romans. SQPR, Julii, Brutii & Scpii.
Group II: Greeks. Greek cities, Macedon, Thrace, the Selucid empire.
Group III: Barbarians: Gauls, Germania, Britania, Dacia, Spain
Group IV: Africans: Carthage, Numidia, Egypt(? not sure)
Group V: Easterns: Parthia, Armania, Scythia, Pontus

For cultures that are compatible it is not really necessary to exterminate their towns especially in the early game. You will not have public order trouble.

Max. cultural penalty is 50%. This penalty is calculated by the ratio of buildings of the previous culture and buildings of the current culture. Government building counts for 25%, though. Temples are not the only factor that contributes to culture penalty, and is only a tiny bit of the solution. If anything can be built is built and there are still cultural penalty, you might want to hammer down some previous buildings and rebuilt them in your own model.

9. Retinue transfer

You can transfer retinues when family members are in the same place at the same time. Simply hold the left botton and drag them to the picture of the recipient family member. There is a maximum of 8 retinues one can have. Categorize your retinues to maximize the ability for the military commander and influential huge city manager can be very beneficial. Governer's influence raise public order 5% per influence point.

When your family member gets old, you might want to retire them into a city and transfer their retinues to the next generation. Retinues never die, but they are buried alive with their dead host.

10. Virtue and Vices

A governer gains virtue and vices from whatever they do and don't do: on the battlefield, the presence or a new building in their city, or the lack thereof.

Now comes the rumor on the street: If the movement of the governer is not full, he will not gain any virtue/vice in that turn. I haven't verified it personally though.

11. 50k treasury

After your treasury exceeds 50k, your family member starts to receive negative financial traits.

12. Cavalry charge

Cavalry charge is best used to charge as a support unit, on the flank/rear. This way the cavalry will face little casaulty and cause huge moral penalty.

13. Luring the enemy

On the battlefield it is useful to "back off" to lure a small portion of enemy units deep into your formation. This way, by the time you surround and kill them, the rest of the enemy troops can't rescue them in time. Then you can proceed the charges and rout the rest of the enemy.

14. Movement & funny fast motion

Hold the space bar to make agents/army move fast. If they have depleted the movement and you still click on them, you can see funny fast-motion agents.

15. Stone castle siege

Ladders won't appear in castles with large/epic stone walls, only on regular walls. Never go through the front gate without occupying it first - the oil will burn you badly.

16. Sally cheats (don't use it if you don't like cheating :p)

(a) When you sally from the castle and you have a significantly weaker army than the AI, you can simply lure the AI to rush towards the gate. They will stay there to become neat body rows. AI will retreat as a whole when its power becomes significantly weaker than yours.

(b) As a defender you can sally many times in a given turn. Replenished arrows!

(c) As an attacker(sieger) you can "refuse" to fight a sallying army by "Esc" then "Exit Battle" right after the battle starts. This way you can starve out any city with any kind of army.

17. Occupy settlement in 1 turn

If there is a free stack just outside the enemy, just attack this free stack and elminate the reinforcement that comes from the settlement garrison. Then you can simply occupy the empty settlement in the same turn.

18. Agents blocks path

You can sit an agent on any narrow path to block enemy army. It would be also possible to "stuck it" with 2 of your agents from both sides. (evil)

Another way to block path is to use forts, but it has been reported that AI do attack forts sometimes.

19. Hostile ally

If you see an ally march an army into your territory, it is going to attack you 100%. Bribe it early if you want to avoid breaking alliance, or just kill them.

20. Dealing the alliance

Sometimes the AI will not accept an alliance easily. This is because they don't feel the urgent need to ally with you although it might be obvious to you. The following conditions makes it easier to deal an alliance:

- You constantly have friendly & successful diplomatic relationship with them (such as selling them updated maps every turn). I suppose this increase the "friendship factor" over time.

- Their enemy is also your enemy.

- You don't share a long border with them, so you are not their primary target.

- Your diplomatic reputation is good. You don't attack neutral clans often and don't break up alliances.

Sometimes you can't ask for alliance if the target clan is at war with one of your allies. Sometimes you can. Perhaps it matters who is the war declarer?

21. Income from tax

Trade is important, but especially for the poor nations in the higher difficulty, it is TAX that brings in 70% of the income in the critical early game. So you probably don't want to over exterminate at the beginning.

22. Mercenary Crete archers / Rhode slingers

They are very good shooters - long range and high attack. You can hire them in the vincinity of Crete island (just below the Aegean sea) and Rhode (right east of Crete, below present-day Turkey). Excellent for sieges!

23. Stamina recovers in battle

All units recovers stamina slowly when leaving idle in battle. (In STW they will eventually become tired even if standing idle.) As the attacker it is sometimes useful to first wipe out the enemy reinforcement in a rush, rest a while and then go for the rest.

Oh yes - divide and conquer. If you always create a local advantage you can never lose any battle.

24. Wardogs & keepers

Wardogs will keep attacking the next victim once set loose by their keepers. If the keepers survive the battle, they will immediately regenerate new dogs after the battle. Each keeper is responsible for 4 dogs. You can retrieve the keepers after the dogs are loose to protect their lives.

25. Grouping

At the moment the grouping key/button is pressed, the units in the group will maintain the same conformation at this moment. Therefore, it is desirable to select them first, choose its destination and conformation, then press group bottom. Or you will end up with awkward formations.

While issuing orders in groups during a city assault, the units in the group usually move outside the gate - very annoying. It is better to issue orders to individual units no matter what.

26. Space bar to see the projected army conformation

You can press the space bar any time to see where the units will go and face during a battle.

27. Pause & Right click to bring up unit stats.

During a battle you can pause and right click on the unit card to see unit information. Before the battle starts, a simple right click will do.

28. Unfriendly Diplomats

Enemy diplomats love to bribe your diplomat, army and even city if they are rich enough. To prevent this from happening, either (a) bring a good assassin to the front line and kill them all (b) prepare some cash to bribe them before they bribe you.

29. Avoid friendly fire

Friendly fire kills a lot, especially if you leave missle units on "fire at will" and ignore them for too long. You can avoid most friendly fires by:

(a) Turn off fire at will right before the melee units engage. You won't continue the morale penalty on enemy this way - so depends on how good your chances are. If you have a slim chance and routing the enemy fast is your only hope, then leave them firing.

(b) Don't overlap another unit on a firing missle unit, or let them stand right in front of one. They will be shot in the back.

30. Phalanx

(I am not at all a phalanx expert so these are just opinions I collected.)

(a) Phalanx are best used in vast quantity and advance like a long wall. This way the enemy has to come to your spears.

(b) Must have flanking troops to rout the enemy and chase down the routers.

(c) Turn off the guard mode to make phalanx fight better.

(d) When moving, turn off the phalanx mode so they move fast and tire slowly.

(e) Always issue a command way before the melee engagement so soldiers have time to lower their spears.

(f) VH difficulty gives enemy units +7 bonus in melee attack, so your phalanx wall can't necessarily stop anything, even a cavalry charge head-on. I personally prefer to ignore phalanx as a whole to avoid frustration.

(g) When issue the attack, don't give group orders because they will all turn and face that particular target unit. Instead give orders to each unit.

31. Mt. Etna eruption

Always happens on 261BC, on Sicily. Any army & agent close to the erupting volcano will be killed.

32. Plauge in Macedon

The starting capital of Macedon will contract a plague no matter what in about 255(?) BC.

33. More about Plague

Plagues will extinguish itself in about 6 turns, provided no new source has entered the city in the period. New source includes any agent or army that contradicted a plague, leaves and re-enters the city. So watch out carefully. Rumor is that health buildings shorten the plague period but there is no proof yet. They do help the population recover faster.

Plague can also be spread purposely by a spy who has the ability to infiltrate another faction's settlement. All of the army/agent currently in the settlement will get the plague immediately.

Any new unit, including ships, will contract the plague when they are trained in a plagued city. Rumor is that ships can never recover from plagues until all crews onboard die. It is possible to send a plague ship to another friendly port to spread the plague there, too.

Plagues are actually GOOD when the population is growing out of control. You might want to purposely plague your huge cities to reduce squalor.

34. Missle units stuck on the street

You might sometimes find your missle units unable to move at all on the street. If you take their "skirmish mode" off they will be able to move again.

35. Army upkeep

Army upkeep is very expensive. If your finance is not going well, stop building soldiers at once.

***

If I have more I will keep posting. ~:cheers:

frogbeastegg
11-10-2004, 14:32
Edited, revised etc. All suggestions added, all my extra bits and pieces added and so on.

Thanks, Maltz. Some of that was new. Nicely layed out too, I could work from it at a glance.

Aside from the currently missing new appendix B this is the completed guide for 1.1. No further changes will be made until the patch. I just have to finish editing the currently 64 page long new appendix ~:mecry:

Owen
11-10-2004, 16:49
What do the screenshots look like to you, Owen? Are they little totalwar.org logos? If so then you need to enable refers; either your browser or your firewall have them blocked. The location of this setting varies from program to program and I know some, like zonealarm pro, call refers 'private header information' instead. I shall add a note about this to the front of the guide.

If that's not your problem then please let me know.
To be honest, I'm not sure what the problem is. I can see the title jpg and I can see the picture with the grain circled showing population growth due to farms, which I'm not sure I could see before, but everything else has the big red X. If the files haven't changed address on the server (which you might not notice since they would have remained in your cache), the only thing I can think of is that my browser is timing out too quickly, not giving the server long enough to send the files. I have no idea which it is, so I'd ignore me unless other people who haven't read the guide before complain as well.

frogbeastegg
11-11-2004, 15:25
Owen, it is possible your browser is timing out. The guide takes about 20 seconds to fully load for me and I have a broadband connection. Well, to be honest you aren't missing much anyway, the pictures aren't that interesting.

Owen
11-11-2004, 16:35
Owen, it is possible your browser is timing out. The guide takes about 20 seconds to fully load for me and I have a broadband connection. Well, to be honest you aren't missing much anyway, the pictures aren't that interesting.
Assuming you've got 512kb/s, then downloading the page is probably at the forum end. I find it hard to believe that page with images is 10MB. I was trying to load it on a shared 2mb/s line, I think.

Most likely the forum was just running slow at the time for some reason.

Thaum
11-17-2004, 15:22
Great guide. A really great guide. Thanks a lot. To all you guys who contributed.......

frogbeastegg
12-06-2004, 16:05
There is definitely a problem with the pictures; after clearing my cache out a few times they have vanished for me too. A few other people have also PMed me about this. I have no idea what is causing this, but investigation is under way with the aid of TosaInu.

TosaInu
12-06-2004, 22:58
http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/title_beginnersguide.jpg

frogbeastegg
12-08-2004, 21:37
Problem is fixed; so simple, so easy to overlook. When I corrected the Arretium typo I used Word's find and replace function and it altered the coding from the missing screenshots despite the fact it should not have. Heh, that's the problem with proofreading something you have written; you tend to read what you know you wanted instead of what you actually wrote.

MrWhipple
12-24-2004, 06:54
Great job!!! (as usual)
Any chance of getting a printable version, like you did with MTW, when you get the kinks worked our? (please, please, please). This thing is so good, you could most likely sell adverts in it. Think about it.

sbeering
12-28-2004, 02:29
brillant guide!
I just got the game yesterday and its helping me so much!

sapi
12-28-2004, 02:29
No, dont' think about it. Adverts are bad. Guide is good.

pukey123
12-29-2004, 02:11
Dear Frogbeast: I have just completed 50 odd pages of your fantastic Guide to Rome: Total War. Congratulations on a job well done. It is most enlightening and helpful - BUT - how does one remember everything, considering that I have yet another 30 or more pages to consume! I have only played first person shooters and this game will be my first attempt at what I call a truly strategy game.
Do you have any suggestions on how to proceed in the game, given the wealth of information that I have to digest and remember.
I will be most grateful for your advice. Thank you in advance.
pukey123 :help:

frogbeastegg
12-31-2004, 17:53
~:mecry: I have to keep up with this topic better!

Printable version is planned after the 1.2 update. This version still needs that final appendix, but editing 64 pages of dense text is proving very slow and tiring. Nearly every single line needs some work. Adverts aren't planned, but I did toy with the idea of setting up a paypal account so people could 'pay' me for my work if they wanted to. The idea never really got going.

The best advice for a complete beginner is to start small and take things slowly. Practise your battle skills and get familiar with the units and interface in custom battles. You might find it helpful to play the tutorial campaign again, just for slow practise. Start your campaign games on normal/normal, as easy gives you bonuses that might actually make it harder for you to learn, and very hard stacks things very heavily in the AI's favour.

Remember that RTW can be a very slow moving game; it is perfectly acceptable - common even - to have turns where you do very little. Unlike FPS type games you do not need to be constantly doing something.

Each turn try to run through a mental checklist: check and use agents, check cities and set up any new build orders you might need, then finally check and use armies.

Don't get discouraged if you lose a few battles or feel lost, or make so many mistakes things go pair shaped. It happens; it's the same kind of thing as accidentally fragging yourself with your own grenades.

Perhaps start a campaign as the Julii (I find them easiest; Gaul has weaker armies on a per man/stat basis than you) and play around with no intention of winning. Then, when you feel you have a good understanding of how everything works and what you want to be doing start over, this time with serious intent.

Mouzafphaerre
01-01-2005, 21:37
-
Great work as always, from the resident amphibian of the ORG. Reading thrugh it was almost listening to good music.

http://www.thelib.com/gallery/albums/userpics/strqrtt.gif

One stupid question from a MTW semi-vet who has not yet touched RTW: What about victory conditions? AFAICT from what I've read, this game is GA by default. (Great if so!)

:bow:
-

frogbeastegg
01-02-2005, 12:14
Hehe, nice smilies.

Victory conditions are not similar to GA, but nor are they as simple as the old conquest victory. You have a choice of major or minor difficulty at the start of your campaign. Minor is more goal oriented than major.

On major victory all factions must hold 50 provinces and Rome to win. The Roman factions must wipe out all the other Roman factions in addition to this.

On minor victory all factions must hold 15 provinces and wipe out certain designated faction(s). The targets are unique for each faction, so the Julii need to wipe out the Gauls while the Brutii need to remove the Greeks and Macedonians.

With major victory you can keep on conquering way past the 50 province target as long as you do not take Rome. If you leave Rome until last you can conquer the entire world. In minor you can leave one of your designated targets alive and ignore them to prolong the game.

Throughout the game the Romans get missions given to the by the senate; this adds a bit more ... aim to their games.

Mouzafphaerre
01-02-2005, 14:08
-
Thanks. http://www.thelib.com/gallery/albums/userpics/sambow.gif

Both ways sound interesting to me.
-

HopAlongBunny
01-02-2005, 15:50
I have one game where I am playing after 50 areas including Rome.

I saved before taking Rome; you get a pop-up that says a few things (incl: :do you wish to continue?"; with no "yes/no" choice) at that point I hit escape and saved. Returned to Main Menu; only choice available and reloaded. Game continued on ~:)

Minimus
01-04-2005, 16:46
In another forum - from the RTW site I saw a sceenshot that had units exceeding the size they are made in - i.e. in one of the 20 slots that an army is composed of there were 108 cav - I will post a link on my next post - how do you get larger units

Minimus
01-04-2005, 16:47
photobucket.com/albums/v2...rebels.jpg

the third screenshot shows the units

frogbeastegg
01-04-2005, 19:06
When you start RTW up go to 'options' in the main menu, then 'video settings'. Check the box labelled 'advanced options' and a lot of extra options will appear. There is a drop down menu labelled something like 'unit size', click on the arrow and select a larger unit size from that menu. On the largest setting some units have as many as 240 men in them.

Note: The new unit size will take immediate effect in custom battles and new campaigns, but any existing campaigns you have going will keep the smaller unit size. Having more men in each unit also demands a lot more from your PC, so you may find it gets very jerky.

Minimus
01-05-2005, 10:34
Note: The new unit size will take immediate effect in custom battles and new campaigns, but any existing campaigns you have going will keep the smaller unit size. Having more men in each unit also demands a lot more from your PC, so you may find it gets very jerky.[/QUOTE]

thanks for the advice -
re - is this a presentational change then rather than the ability to build more units and merge them - i.e. will cav units costs the same but I will get 100+ for my money - or will I have to build 4/5 units and then merge them?

frogbeastegg
01-05-2005, 12:09
You still build just the one unit, but now instead of having 80 men it will have 160 (or whatever the numbers are; it varies a lot). The costs are the same ... I think; certainly in custom and MP modes they are. The larger units DO draw more population from your cities when they are recruited; this makes it harder to grow your cities and you must think carefully about what you recruit. If you swapped from default to the largest size each unit will take apporximately twice as many men from your cities on recruitment. This makes it very easy to depopulate your cities in short order.

Minimus
01-05-2005, 13:31
~:) cheers for the advice

Lee

Minimus
01-06-2005, 13:11
started to play the quick battles -
is there a progression to these - or are they generated randomly - I would say it is the former as I have gone away and come back and am stillon the same one

which incidently I could do with some help with

have loads of horse archers - with a bit of heavy cav + minimal ground troops (2 spearmen 2 archers)

cannot seem to beat phalanx / heavy cav opposition - mainly because they have elephants that I cannot destroy

please help

Emren
01-06-2005, 13:49
Minimus, I would suggest that you ask your question in the Entrance Hall forum, in your own thread. This thread should ideally only contain questions or comments directly relating to frogbeasteggs excellent guide. You will likely get more response if you ask your questions to a bigger audience, such as the people who visit the Entrance Hall. ~:)

frogbeastegg
01-09-2005, 13:32
I haven't played the quick battles in RTW. If they are like the quick battles in MTW they are randomly chosen from a pool of predefined battles. In MTW the random choosing thing was broken so the same battle always appeared first.

I can give a few general tips for the battles you are having trouble with but nothing definite. The foot archers can use fire arrows; this kind of arrow is more likely to frighten elephants and make them run amok.

Horse archers are good against phalanx type troops if you keep them mobile and safely out of melee range. You can bypass the shield defensive bonus by running your HAs around to the sides and rear of a phalanx. This allows you to kill more men per volley. You should try to lure a few units at a time away from the rest of the aermy, shoot them up until they are weakened, then mob them with your heavy cavalry to quickly and efficiently destroy them.

You should only engage in melee on your own terms with a mobile army like this. Never let the enemy decide when you enter the melee.

Callensius
01-12-2005, 12:56
Very nice! ~:cheers:

"Their Gods are Bacchus (large bonuses to happiness), Juno (small bonus to happiness, increased population growth) and Jupiter (small bonus to happiness, small bonus to law)."

Should not Juno be Ceres? Maybe Juno is the name of Ceres or something, but the temples in game (or at least, the American version I have) are called Ceres. If your version says Juno then nvm :)

"Green is good; green is where you want all your cities. Yellow means there is a chance the citizens will riot, red means they are going to storm your posh mansion, trample the flower beds and do unspeakable things to your pet kittiekat"

Actually I think yellow never riots. I have many yellow faced citizens living peacably in my lands. Blue is riots I Think, and red outright revolts.


Hi, yellow is that the ppl are satisfied and that their pretty happy
Green is that their feeling incredibly happy, but aslong as you keep your population in yellow everything is gonna b allright ~;)

Jim Boyd
01-17-2005, 11:36
I have another diplomacy cheat for you: When playing a Roman faction, post diplomats to pester your allies for cash to attack factions. Each time you are about to attack a rebel army, ask the other Romans for huge payments. I have gotten 6000 from each ally, with no upper limit in sight yet, just to trounce a mangy little band of rebels.

Eldritch
01-25-2005, 20:29
Hi.
I think you did a very good job and I ask for your permission to translate it in french for a french forum (i'm french :D)
I give you the link if you want : www.lavigie.org
Thanks.
Eldritch

frogbeastegg
01-27-2005, 11:17
V quickly; the org has been plagued by tech problems maknig it incredibly hard for me to actually get to the forums, and the forum usually breaks within minutes of my arrival. Minutes is if I am lucky; seconds is if I am not.

Yes, feel free to translate to French as long you you keep the credits intact and all those other logical things. I'm going to do a big update when 1.2 finally arrives, so you may be better waiting until then.

Callensius, Jim Boyd, thanks.

L`zard
01-29-2005, 15:49
I don't know about you peeps, but don't ya just wish Lady FrogBeastEgg lived next door?

FinestKind, Milady, waiting for the pdf ver........

May you never die! ~D (hoping that you'll be around to do the guide for the expansion, lol)

Calmarac
02-04-2005, 16:52
http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/title_beginnersguide.jpg

Remember how you used to set your army up in a nice, pretty formation, then select them all with ctrl+a then hold alt and click to move them, and they kept that nice, pretty formation and facing? Well, not any more. Tragically the ‘move but retain facing’ command is gone and there is no substitute.

The 1.2 Patch has brought it back! Alt-Right-Click works again, just as it used to in the previous TW games - and I`m very happy to see it restored (especially as it wasn`t even mentioned in the Patch readme) ~:)

It`s especially useful if you`ve drawn up parallel to the enemy line but not quite close enough. You can now pick individual units (or the line) and Alt-Right-Click to move them forward into Pilum range say, without them ending up at odd angles if you click slightly off centre. That will prove to be very useful. You can also move directly backwards without losing facing. The men will turn round, march to the new position and turn to face the front again. Pity we don`t have a "withdraw while facing forwards all the time" command - but this is close enough, especially if you move a little at a time...

Lord Hornburg
02-05-2005, 11:08
Now the Patch is out have any date for an update?

frogbeastegg
02-05-2005, 14:26
Thank you, L`zard. I will consider the PDF when the 1.2 version of the guide is posted, unless CA announce they are working on a 1.3 patch.

Cloudnine, you lived up to your name - thank you! I had not even thought about trying the old alt+move command to see if it had been reinstated in 1.2. Wohoo! I'm one very happy frog.

Lord Hornburg, well not really. Say ... a couple of weeks to really get to grips with how 1.2 plays and what has been changed, maybe a week to write new sections and make the required changes to this version ... so around three weeks to a month, maybe. It also depends how much time I have.

master of the puppets
02-05-2005, 17:41
well i beat the campaign befor i found this but i wish we had more imformed individuals such as you froggy

only shame is that now you have to write a even longer 2.1 version speciying the changes HAHAHAHA

that is of course if i have the athority to say such to such an astudius moderator

Es Arkajae
02-10-2005, 08:55
I hadn't realised that Frogbeast was so well known for her guide, I hadn't even known you were a lady, I suppose I should have caught on with the 'frog in her pad' thing, talk about ruining my the mental image I had of you.~D


And the point of this post is for me to ask a quick question, are you planning to do another unit guide?, there seems to be a distinct lack of them around (that is ones that do more than just copy/paste the game description), and the last one you did for MTW I found very valuable, it gave me some new pointers I hadn't considered before hand and some new information I hadn't known.

Oh and not to be presumptuous, I'm assuming these guides are a labour of love on your part, but if its so time consuming as I imagine it would be you should probably get some help writing them up. Not offering my own of course, I'm an insensitive jerk who shies from such things on the internet, but one does feel symapthetic to the amount of effort you must put into these things.

Partly why I felt the need to express my appreciation for the work you have done before at the same time as asking when/if you would be completing more~;)

Guildenstern
02-22-2005, 22:25
Many thanks for this marvellous guide from a real beginner. I've a problem veterans like you can surely solve. :help: I'd like to practise a bit by doing the Prologue campaign but unfortunately I can't save my progress, so every time I have to start all over again. At a certain point advisor Victoria says one cannot save the Prologue until 10 turns have elapsed, but I played for more than 20 turns and the Save option remained disabled. I always
accomplish the two main objectives of the tutorial campaign (defeating the rebel army of Gauls and conquering the settlement of Tarquinii) and construct all the buildings following Victoria's advice, but this seems not to be enough to unlock the Save feature. Shortly after Victoria tells me I've learned the basics of the game and gives me the option of quitting or continuing to play
(the Senate give me the mission to capture another settlement, whose name I don't remember) but I can't save the game yet. Maybe I always fail to do some vital actions... ~:confused:
Before leaving the Prologue definitively, I'd like to know if the Save option can be enabled somehow or it is permanently off during the tutorial campaign.
My last question: I've played version 1.0 so far; can I apply patch 1.2 directly or must I fix the game with patch 1.1 first?

Thank you very much for paying attention to the marginal uncertainties of this bewildered newbie.

frogbeastegg
02-23-2005, 16:26
Sorry, yet more delays and general froggy tardiness in relation to this topic. I'm having a lot of problems with my firewall and this site; I thought they were fixed but life fools us like that.

Unit guide: not sure. Yes, these guides are labours of love and take probably 100 hours or more just for the initial draft, playing, writing, researching, reading, formatting, checking, screenshot grabbing and editing, and probably more. I don't know if I will have the willpower left to do another RTW guide after the 1.2 update of this guide; the more I work on a game in this kind of detail the more I begin to get sick to death of it. This RTW guide was much more intensive and time consuming to produce than the MTW ones, much more.

Saving: I have only played the prologue once, and I didn't try to save at all. I had no problems at all saving in the main campaign, and moved over to play that as soon as I could. You could try starting an imperial campaign with some random faction and then immediately opening up the options menu to see if you can save or not. If you really want to play the tutorial some more and save your game you could also try hitting ctrl+s on the campaign map screen; this should produce a quick save. Be aware you can only have one quick save at a time; any new save done this way will replace the old one. I don't think that feature was disabled in the prologue. There may also be some autosaves from the tutorial; normally the game saves at the beginning of every turn. Again, I have no idea if that is disabled in the tutorial or not.

Patch: It should be fine to apply 1.2 straight onto 1.0 without bothering with 1.1

Guildenstern
02-25-2005, 16:51
Thank you for your suggestions about patch application and saving options.
All three of them (normal save from the options menu, end-of-turn autosave
and quick save) work correctly in the imperial campaign. On the other hand,
they all seem to be disabled in the tutorial: options menu save can't be clicked on, no tutorial-related autosaves appear on the saved games list, and
hitting ctrl+s on the campaign map screen always produces a 'save failed' warning. All things considered, and to put an end to this question of minor interest, we can conclude that the prologue cannot be saved.

I will now move over to play the imperial campaign to enjoy this great game and see if I can put into practice what I've learned from your excellent work.
Your guide proved to be an essential tool that allowed a Total War games beginner like me to understand the mechanisms and dynamics of the game (at least I hope I did!).
I think the key feature of the guide is clarity, that is its (your) ability to provide the inexperienced reader with the basic detailed instructions to tackle practically every situation, even the most complicated ones. None of the guides or faqs for RTW I ran up against before yours manage to do that.
You produced a really exhaustive work, with no remarkable obscure points and useful at a glance. Most importantly in my opinion, it's being sincerely appreciated by lots of gamers, newbies and vets, expressing their gratitude to you in this forum every single day. Well then, in the long hours of intensive work while you're refining and updating this admirable labour of love, think about that, feel proud of yourself and... hold on! ~;)

silverballz2002
02-26-2005, 07:04
I can't tell you ,how much I am enjoying your guide. I bought my copy of RTW in Thailand,all nicely boxed. When I got Home,NO MANUAL. Duh!

So,I have been feeling my way through the Campaign. Sorry you couldn't help me with the Cival War,which is fast approaching.

Beautiful Website,Congratulations.

therother
02-27-2005, 22:04
I don't know if I will have the willpower left to do another RTW guide after the 1.2 update of this guide; the more I work on a game in this kind of detail the more I begin to get sick to death of it. I can certainly sympathise with that. Just give us a yell if there is anything we over at the Ludus Magna can do to help you out.

frogbeastegg
02-27-2005, 23:15
I'll make a note about the lack of saving during the prologue and try to remember to include something about it in the next update. My to-do list is pages long, and even with things written down I think there will be bits I will forget. There's simply too much.

It is always good to hear when the guide has proven useful; it's the closest thing to pay I get ~:)

The civil war ... well, much will depend upon your situation as the war begins, what cities you own, what armies you have and where, that kind of thing. I would recommend a series of quick strikes against Rome and the other two faction's core cities in Italy as soon as is feasible; this should weaken them significantly and give you a boosted power base of strong, upgraded Roman cities to work from. I have found the AI to be very easy to cripple if you can take its core cities; it will continue to send armies against you but they will be low tech and easy to defeat. Perhaps too easy; it very quickly gets boring stomping on pathetic armies.

therother, thank you. There are times when this guide is too much for my slender shoulders to bear, and slowly being crushed does nothing for my already quite often tetchy temperament. I'm sure I had lots I wanted to look into, but now my mind is so filled with things I have to do with this guide I can't even remember what they were. I've a written list; it's so long I can't find anything any more. If I ever remember what they were I'll let you know. I’m sure one of them was about combat factors and what has survived from the old games …

Lochar
03-01-2005, 10:15
Just wanted to say very nice guide, picked up alot of very useful info in this thread and from the guide.

One thing I noted while messing with the controls was I accidently used ctrl+r mouse click in the middle of my cavalry and the formation had them all facing outward in a circle. After playing with the ctrl key some more I still couldnt figure out its complete function but it does make some formations form up very oddly, wether this is a bug or something I missed here, I am not sure.

This game sure is odd tho and I still cant figure out how the CPU has soldiers that basically sit around all their turns yet when spy them out alot are silver ranked or at least 3 ranks. I seem to only get experience when my unit takes heavy losses. My generals seem to gain ranks good tho. Started a long campaign and so far doing decent with barely green troops versus more experienced enemy, I love my onagers, even tho they miss alot they can wreck some havoc when they hit. I usually try to have 2 for every attacking army and thus I never bother building siege equipment, I take down the gatehouse and door, and if ammo permits maybe another hole in a wall, but this is hard to do against good walls sometimes.

The casualty/healing rate is kinda whacky too, I used my javelin cavalry to do a suicide melee attack on the enemies onagers and they did manage to take them out but they were routed and down to 2 men, at the end of the battle I almost had a full squad healed. Meanwhile some units never got 1 casualty restored and they were never in the thick of battle.

Using roads and walls as the first item to build in every settlement I captured , I was able to speed my army thru territory and leave the garrison with some defense enough to let me come back if needed. I started out with no enslavement but it was taking too long to pacify settlements so started enslaving , have not tried killing as wasn't sure if take any bad hits on my generals.

Ballistae IMO is a waste of coin, I have yet to find a good use for them as a unit of archers can take out more enemies in 1 volley than a ballistae can. Maybe for elephants, but seeing 1 big arrow take down 1 trooper if I get a hit just wasn't worth it, not to mention they reduce travel.

I am still trying to find a good counter to mobile missile cavalry as they seem to be my bane. So far only good tactic I had was using cavalry to try to keep them on the move and hopefully drive them within a melee unit.


Anyways sorry for the ramble, I am eagerly waiting the printable version so can make sure didn't miss anything.


BTW not sure if saw this covered or not but if you have settlement detail screen up and construction tab open, you can see the changes a particular item will do to the settlement, usually the food or trade items.

Also you can make a red settlement blue or yellow just by recruiting troops, even tho they haven't been made yet. It seems to take from the population pool even when queuing as it does the coin so reducing the population can bring it into a non red condition. This helps if already have low taxes and nothing to build right away. Sometimes tho just queuing certain structures can have same result.

Maestrofiglio
03-06-2005, 22:33
Sections 12. Extortion for beginner’s: aka diplomacy, 13. Pretty in purple: the Senate and 14. The Gentle Art of War: being a battlefield guide



Battlefield Guide for Beginners

Hi

I read with interest the various battle tactics posted by members and all of them had their merits and quite a few of them were very good indeed.
Frogbeastegg’s section 14. The Gentle Art of War: being a battlefield guide was found to be particularly comprehensive, very useful, provided many excellent tips and inspired me to put this down.

There is much that has been written and could be written regarding this aspect of the game, with my own advice to beginners in MP mode is to keep it basic and simple in the early stages of learning.
This makes the grouping of units easy to deploy, move, attack and defend.

4 or 5 groups at most and the General on his own should be grouped. With the General selected for mobility, horse or chariot for all non Roman factions.

Grouping
Units are grouped as:-
1) Infantry
2) Missile (archers)
3) Left flank (Usually horses or elephant)
4) Right flank (horse or elephant also)
5) Onagers (If chosen)
and the General.

Deploying -The Basic

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
Left Flank MMMMMMMMMMMMM Right Flank
OOO G
Moving
Before moving anywhere, take a good look at the oppositions forces.
Look to see the units selected and how they are deployed.
Have they been selected for a defensive strategy or are they already moving, to a better location to fight, or towards you to attack? Are they walking or running?

Whenever possible, move Infantry first, then the Missiles, Left flank, Right flank, then the General, who should mostly be positioned from mid point and slightly to the right.

Try to always walk your own units - single left click, instead of running everywhere - double left click. Only run when necessary, the last part of an attack or to help other units out if they are in trouble.
Moving with ease shows confidence and ability, and is perceived as experience by an opponent.

When moving and repositioning, I think it is always best to redraw each group on the battlefield, for a couple of reasons. One reason being so as you know exactly were they will move to. Another is that the redrawing allows for you to make changes to the frontage and depth of the units within the group, which is useful when you are making a counter-move to an opponents troop movements. This also allows you to be able to react quickly to an attack and allows you to send help to an ally that could use some assistance or take out a few stray men. This can mostly only be done by knowing where your own troops are and where you have requested them to go to.

This comes with only a wee bit of practice and eventually becomes second nature.
For me this usually goes like:-
select a group of units
redraw on battle field
press and hold down the space bar
select another group of units
redraw this group in relation to the first group and so on.

To make minor adjustments or to turn individual units around, use the < and > keyboard keys of the selected unit.

Defending
Onagars are really only good to force an opponent to attack you if you have a good defensive position with units selected for the purpose, usually mostly Phalanx.
Almost always attempt to have your forces in an elevated position to the opponent.
Keep your forces close by each other and in formation, but not too tightly packed together, as Onagars and Missile troops can and will wear them down.

Attacking
This is probably the most difficult part of the strategy except in "Grassy Flatland" (" Mythical Roman Heaven" - this name tag becomes obvious when you have played this map a few times).
As a beginner, never attack up hill, as there is a distinct likelihood that you will lose.

Camera Work - Make Your Own Sword and Sandal Epic Movie
This is one of the most fun aspects of the game that I enjoy.
Learning early how to control the battle camera, very well, is one of the keys to successes.
Particularly moving it from a low battle level to the highest. (a wheel mouse is good for this, or keyboard keys) Spinning it around at the different available levels and across the battle field quickly.
Also, at the height of a battle, keep an eye on units that are not fighting that should be. Spot the you unit that is standing around, decide who best to attack and attack them. You would be surprised how many fairly experienced players overlook this simple tip and which have cost them a win in the past.

be on double clicking on units that are not attacking anyone at the height of the battle, and making them attack,

When the battle is over - review the successes, and study the failures.
After the battle and when you win, review the moves that brought the victory,.
When you lose, study all of the moves, that everyone made, as this will eventually make this sentence obsolete with perseverance
You need to always remember, that no matter how good you think you are, you cannot win them all, and how long would it be before you stopped playing if this were possible?

There is more that can be written regarding faction selection based on your allies and opponents own faction selection, as well as specific unit choices that would complement your allies and be most effective in fighting as a team. A very good tactic used by the Clans that fight.

A possible suggestion to the Web Site Administrators would be to allow links within these postings of saved Replay games that would show the offered advice in action.
I hope this is of some help to someone.


It's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick

Kihon
03-07-2005, 06:36
Nice post Maestrofiglio ... but did you have to include frogbeastegg's complete guide from section 12 as a quote ~:)

@frogbeastegg, is 1.2 nearly ready !!! ~;)

Don't know if it's a good thing reading these forums as I've read so many complaints regarding bugs in the game that its kinda put me off it, e.g. AI seige bug, horse archer bug, etc, etc see here

http://p223.ezboard.com/fshoguntotalwarfrm7.showMessage?topicID=21423.topic

I'm gonna stop looking at forums and just play the game ~:wave:

frogbeastegg
03-07-2005, 15:21
Very, very quickly; I'm still a busy frog:

The circular formation will be one of the preset group formations. Select two or more units, group them (hit 'g') and you should notice a small button light up on the interface ... it looks sort of like a flag and an eagle. Click on this newly lit up button and it will give you a list of group formations. Some require quite specific quantities of certain types of troops to work neatly.

Solder experience ... might come from temples, buildings or similar. Units also seem more prone to gathering experience in autocalced battles, and the AI has to autocalc all battles between non-player factions.

Casualty/healing. I've been looking into this a little, and I've found nothing too solid. It seems as if men are more likely to recover from missile wounds than melee ones.

Ballistae (and other siege weapons) are next to useless as antipersonnel units on larger than default unit settings because the number of engines in each unit does not scale up accordingly, only the number of operators. They are best reserved for sieges only. [mental note: add stuff about siege weapons to next update]

Mobile missile cavalry ... try using two units of fast cavalry to put the missile unit in a pincer. The AI won't pull them back if you don't target them directly or get too close, so get neatly into position before attacking. Or you can shoot them to death with archers.

Effects of buildings about to be constructed showing up in details, noted. Thanks. Will try to add. Not sure if the bit about population being removed immediately when a unit is set to build is already in or not; will check.

Maestrofiglio, that is some very good advice. I'm not sure if I intend to add a MP section of my own or not yet; I do actually play MP occasionally. If I don't would you mind if I added yours in and gave you credit, just like the diplomacy section?

As long as a replay is hosted somewhere it can be linked to in any topic here, just use the [URL= address of file for download here [/URL] tags, but remove all the spaces. The org does do some file hosting but it is ... tricky.

The endless bug reports in SP are one of the major reasons I lost interest in SP mode, but the frog's thoughts and review of RTW is a whole new topic. Suffice it to say I see potential, but I am not the least bit happy with how broken the game is in SP mode. I am attempting to mod it into something I can enjoy, but I can’t do a thing about most of the bugs so I’m not convinced my efforts will work to my satisfaction.

The 1.2 update is being written, very slowly in what little time I have available for the project. It's slow work; there's a lot in need of changing, and a lot I want to add.

Lochar
03-09-2005, 09:05
Very, very quickly; I'm still a busy frog:

The circular formation will be one of the preset group formations. Select two or more units, group them (hit 'g') and you should notice a small button light up on the interface ... it looks sort of like a flag and an eagle. Click on this newly lit up button and it will give you a list of group formations. Some require quite specific quantities of certain types of troops to work neatly.



Appreciate ya taking time away to give some info, altho I never saw the circular formation as one of the group options. Its mainly just column, line, and then a few variations with archers first or melee units. What I encountered was just a single unit of cavalry, an I think the control key messes with their trying to get into formation but what resulted was a single unbit of cavalary with everyone facing outward in a circular pattern. Actually was playing with it again, the dont form a perfect circle but do face away almost 360 degrees, but the strange part is u cant move them this way and sometimes after a time the revert to a normal formation. The ctrl key gives a shield and I wonder if this is a quick guard formation, or it could be just a silly bug.

I use the ingame formations alot mainly to clump the same type together and then customize from there.

I have seen that most other factions get temples or other buildings that do boost exp when training, I guess starting as scipii (sp) just doesnt have any. From what been reading tho , I really shouldnt use their temples as they contribute to the culture penatly.


I did finally find out tho that traits can be decreased, never saw it before but had a cowardly one go away after had my general in a out and dirty fight. But I guess its limited to which traits to decrease as dont see how to counter a general who's an alkie..:)


Anyways thanks again for the useful info, I refer to this post alot..:)

Suladan
03-09-2005, 23:38
I have seen that most other factions get temples or other buildings that do boost exp when training, I guess starting as scipii (sp) just doesnt have any. From what been reading tho , I really shouldnt use their temples as they contribute to the culture penatly.


Scipii's temples of Vulcan boost the experience of troops. Awesome Temple adds one level of experience. Pantheon adds two levels of experience.

The Building Browser is useful for comparing the stats of the highest level temples when deciding which temple to build in which cities.

Lochar
03-09-2005, 23:42
yeah I just realized that I wasnt scipii but julii, and they just have bonuses to public and law.

I kinda wondered if they are given sonmething else to make up for this lack, but so far dont see anything, altho havent built any pantheons yet.

B1ueBa11
03-11-2005, 20:46
Well, the parthenon of Bachus is perfect for those far flung provinces as it provides a 50% bonus to happiness. Check the guide at the top of this thread and you will get the effects of all religious buildings.

Dromikaites
03-13-2005, 19:29
Anyone playing as one of the 3 Roman factions can use several diplomatic dirty tricks to cripple the future competitors for the imperial throne. All need money, but not that much.

1) Prevent the other factions from achieving their Senat-given missions by bribing their armies. Since we bribe Romans while being ourselves a Roman faction, we also increase the size of our armies at a lower cost than the cost of training the same troops. You can also park your diplomats near the cities of the barbarian factions and bribe any Roman army closing in for a siege.

2) Block the chokepoints with the newly acquired troops We can add insult to injury by using the troops we've bribed for blocking bridges, mountain passes or narrow coastal areas. The other Roman armies won't be able to pass in order to achieve the missions in time. We may need most of the newly-acquired army for our own conquests, so we don't need to leave more than an unit to block the chokepoint and take the rest to where it is needed.

3)Ally with the traditional ennemies of the other Roman factions. This will instantly prompt a ceasfire. For instance a large Julii force was beseiging the Gaul city of Alesia and there was 1 turn left before the garrison's surrender. My diplomat (me playing as Brutii) offered an alliance to the Gauls, who were extremely keen to accept. The siege had to be started allover again. Eventualy a Gaulish relief force arrived and forced the Julii to withdraw.

4) Pump money into the traditional ennemies of the other Roman factions This will increase their chances to resist against your "cousins".

6)Stop unnecessary wars between the "barbarians". Why should barbarians fight each other when they have to fight the other Roman factions? Ally with both parties would prompt a ceasfire between them. If they happen to be at war with the Romans, they might not start fighting each other again immediately. I'm not sure if they follow the ceasfire with trade rights, but at least some trade would flow betwen them, giving them more money to fight your other Roman rivals.

7)Enforce an Open Seas policy Surround the key ports of the barbarian factions with your own ships. The other Roman factions won't be able to blockade them. Julii fleets can be contained in the Adriatic sea, and Julii or Senate fleets between the continent, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicilly and Western Italy.

To some extent the above-mentioned tricks can be used by non-Roman factions.

sogu
03-14-2005, 02:47
Eh, sorry to burst your bubble. But the first three suggestions there will not work for 1.2 (or just the first two and the third one will not work for VH but that's not important for a begginer).

Heh... signed up to a forum just for that. Anyway, been watching teh begginers guide post for a while, read it a while back and I must say it's beautiful work. @frogbeastegg great job, hope you get the time to update it for 1.2. Also for the traits section, you might wanna talk to kessel here's a link to his excelent post on the subject: kessel's traits guide (http://rtw.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=ct&f=1,1851,0,10)

ChewToy
03-16-2005, 04:59
I have played this game a lot, and think I am pretty good at it, in particular the battle side of things. I have a couple of things to add to the guide.

One: You have not given javelin guys a fair chance. They seem to suck, but I was forced to fight with large numbers of javelin guys once, and now always find room for at least a couple of units in my army. LARGE (note the emphasis) numbers of javelin guys will decimate infantry if they are allowed to retreat before them, or flank them. They also make a nice charge to break a wavering unit in a pinch. Note: the deciding battle was me vastly outnumbered with a couple units of poor quality cavalry and a couple units of hastati plus lots of javelins against them with lots of hastati and principes, but in the desert.

Javelins also have bonuses against two of the problem unit types, chariots and elephants. Unlike most other troops, they don't get instantly mown down. I usually charge chariots with javelin guys, or get them in the way.

Elephants are harder, but not insurmountable. Artillery is too slow and seldom hits. I usually take lots of casualties and just mob the elephants with lots of infantry until they die. I haven't yet sorted out how to deal with them properly, but then I have hardly faced them.

Two: Chariots are easy to kill once they stop moving. If you can stop them, they get wiped out. Javelin guys are particularly good at stopping a chariot unit dead, without taking many casualties or breaking. If need be, you can then send in some better quality troops to finish them off without having your quality troops slaughtered. This is also a good strategy for any cavalry, but works best versus chariots. And best of all, javelin guys are so cheap that you don't care if they all die anyway.

Three: I think that the emphasis on heavy infantry is too strong in the guide. An army of heavy infantry is strong, but does not provide the tools to break open an enemy army cheaply. You take more casualties than necessary, and heavy infantry casualties are expensive. My strong armies have at least four units of cavalry, often a couple of units of dogs, a couple of javelins - maybe none if I have lots of archers and won't face chariots, maybe some archers, maybe a couple of spearmen, and the rest is heavy infantry. This depends on what you want to do with the army, as heavy infantry are by far the best troops for going through walls, and cavalry is almost dead in a siege. Heavy infantry is the core of the army, but it is not all of it.

Four: basic strategies for crushing enemies.

Deal to their best units first, then worry about the dross. This may not mean destroy, but nullify (destroy is still better). Convince them to chase your horse javelins with their cavalry, so that you don't have to worry about them for a bit. Bog their chariots down with javelin guys or peasants, so they can't attack your good units. The reason for this is that these are the units that will break you. Elephants, chariots, cavalry, heavy infantry. If you let them use them freely you will get punished.

This seems at odds with the manual and advisors who say to crush their weak units and the strong will break as well. It is not. When everyone is all fighting in a big mass, the first to break will cause the rest to follow. So focusing on breaking their weakest and easiest to break units is a good idea. However, when you get in this situation, the enemy strong units are as dangerous to you as yours are to them. If they break one of your weak units then your whole army may break. By neutralising their best units you prevent this.

Use your units where they are strongest. If you must attack an enemy unit that is stronger, or in unfavourable circumstances, gang up on it with several of your own units. If you cannot gang up now, be planning to later. Or, use a poor unit to hold back a good enemy unit, but expect it to get devastated.

Do not recklessly commit your own crack troops. These are the troops to use to selectively destroy key enemy units or break them at the crucial point. Don't let them waste their energy and lives to no good gain.

Weaken strong enemy units with missiles before combat. You might kill more peasants with your archers than you would principes, but what is more likely to have an effect on the end result of the battle? You kill a whole unit of peasants that you could have broken easily, or a third of a unit of principes, that you can now break easily, but would have spent many lives to break before?

Break their formation if you can. Fix directional units with poor units, then hit them in the flank with strong ones. In fact, fix then flank works on anything, and is generally good practice.

It is counter-intuitive, but cavalry are ineffective against missile units. Missile units have loose formations, and can absorb the shock of the charge, then your cavalry can take heavy losses. If you must, follow the cavalry with foot troops. Of course, cavalry will still probably win, but will take high casualties. I use cavalry to stop them running, then infantry to finish them off. And because I always leave them till close to last, I always have extra guys to spare for this. If they have lots of missile units then I sometimes chase them off with cavalry, but do not really try to engage and destroy them, just stop them from shooting my guys.

Use your cavalry against the flanks of the enemy cavalry first. This fits into deal with their best units first. Then fix the enemy core of heavy infantry with your own heavy infantry. Flank them with the cavalry and charge their flank or rear, hopefully breaking them. Withdraw, rinse, repeat. Then deal to the enemy missile units. Then chase down their survivors and kill them. This is where having lots of cavalry can be really useful, as you want to kill as many as you can while they are running.

Cavalry are best used to outflank, then break enemy units, or against weaker cavalry, or to run down fleeing enemies.

Elephants and Chariots do a fantastic job of crushing cavalry. They are better for this task than a phalanx, but only because not even the computer is dumb enough to charge the front of a phalanx, but will counter-charge chariots and get cut down like flies. Killing cavalry is my preferred first use of chariots, because cavalry won't bog them down and stop them, so they do not die quick. Otherwise chariots are best used as shock troops to convince enemies under pressure to break.

But yeah, you may have guessed I can go on and on about this. Sorry. But maybe I should mention that I tend to win (against the computer, I can't play online because internet too slow, and not on easy and normal difficulty settings) every battle, and the casulaties tend to be 7 - 10 to one in my favour. I even win when I am heavily outnumbered by superior quality troops, but usually the casualties are about even in this case. And I do need to have a couple of good units. But yeah, this isn't bragging, it is just "proof" that I am not a complete moron and do know a little about what I am talking about.

WesW
03-19-2005, 17:47
Thanks for such an in-depth, informative guide, Lily. (Frog just seems wrong.)
If one hasn't written something like this oneself, you have no idea just how much time and effort per sentence it takes to put down this type of precise, technical information; far more than just conversational posts, and even more than advisery posts such as tips and observations. Just wanted you to know how much you're effort is appreciated.

Also, for the vets out there, I had been playing MTW for a solid year, and heavily modding it for half that time when I finally read Lily's guide to that game, and I still found a lot of stuff that I either didn't know about, or didn't understand clearly, so I wouldn't place too much emphasis on the word "Beginner" in the title. I consider the word "Comprehensive" to be closer to the truth, but then undervaluing one's own production is a common trait of those who demand, and produce, truly excellent work.

There have been some good posts here which I think would enhance the guide. I have pasted in some of the ones, with some editing for readability, which stood out to me as being particularly helpful or interesting. You can view this as an endorsement or seconding of their info if you like, and hopefully the editing can save you some time.


From Lochar (2)-
"I had the crtl key pressed and left-clicked on a cavalry unit, and they formed a circular pattern with everyone facing outward. Well, actually, they don't form a perfect circle but do face away almost 360 degrees. However, you can't move them this way, and sometimes they revert to a normal formation after a time. The ctrl key gives a shield and I wonder if this is a quick guard formation, or it could be just a silly bug."

Comment on above-
It's my guess that this was a formation that the either the AI couldn't be programmed to use properly, or that turned out to be less useful than the ones chosen for the Shift key slots, or both. Developers spend a lot of time trying out new things, and what is chosen to include in the finished product is usually decided upon right before shipment. If space is limited, it's like paring down a term paper to fit into the page limits set by a professor, so you can end up with undocumented features like this that weren't disabled for one reason or another.

"BTW not sure if saw this covered or not but if you have settlement detail screen up and construction tab open, you can see the changes a particular item will do to the settlement, usually the food or trade items.

Also you can make a red settlement blue or yellow just by queuing certain structures or troops, even though they haven't been made yet. It seems to take people from the population pool even when queuing, just as it does with the production cost."

Comments-
I have played the game heavily for a couple of weeks now, and I didn't know about right-clicking the production tabs, much less the changes info described here. Now if I could figure out how to change the city display to show the trade total rather than the profit....
I had noticed that sometimes queuing structures or troops changed the happiness score, but I am sure most people would appreciate having it definitively stated somewhere.
I don't understand why the developers decided to go away from the MTW method of assessing costs when actual building/training begins, but at least this little "cheat" can help alleviate some of the aggravation with achieving that magic 85% happiness score. Btw, mentioning that the riot threshold has been lowered from 100% to 85% would also be helpful to beginners. I know it made things easier for me once I realized it.

Cloudnine-
"Lily- 'Remember how you used to set your army up in a nice, pretty formation, then select them all with ctrl+a then hold alt and click to move them, and they kept that nice, pretty formation and facing? Well, not any more. Tragically the ‘move but retain facing’ command is gone and there is no substitute.'

The 1.2 Patch has brought it back! Alt-Right-Click works again, just as it used to in the previous TW games - and I`m very happy to see it restored (especially as it wasn`t even mentioned in the Patch readme)

It`s especially useful if you`ve drawn up parallel to the enemy line but not quite close enough. You can now pick individual units (or the line) and Alt-Right-Click to move them forward into Pilum range say, without them ending up at odd angles if you click slightly off centre. That will prove to be very useful. You can also move directly backwards without losing facing. The men will turn round, march to the new position and turn to face the front again. Pity we don`t have a 'withdraw while facing forwards all the time' command - but this is close enough, especially if you move a little at a time..."

Lochar
03-19-2005, 19:44
a quickie

Siege towers - depending on the type of wall being attacked will determine the tower type and also a tower CAN attack, but the fire at will needs to be turned on, and if using ranged units in towers, I was told but not confirmed that first the unit needs their fire at will disabled then once attached to a tower, enable it.

I spent a month playing and not once knew that these towers did anything other than provide a better avenue than ladders. Now that my first campaign is over, I havent been able to mess with them since I started over and no one has stone walls yet.


Also by using that city detail screen I noticed adding troops caused my corruption to drop a teeny bit.

frogbeastegg
03-20-2005, 17:17
You’ll forgive me I hope if I skip over the comments for now; I’ve just finished 7 hours straight of work on the guide and I’m completely exhausted.

The big 1.2 update has begun; the entire first post except the index should now be complete and accurate for 1.2, incorporating not only the new patch but also the research, corrections and so on. I estimate this will be a 6 part update; one post at a time and then one last to tidy up before the guide is signed off as complete and converted to a printable version. There are probably typos and errors; to be honest the manuscript for this guide is so big, split into so many different documents and filled with so much forum codinhg it's damned hard to read. So if you spot anything in post 1 only please let me know.

You may notice a name change. The guide was not exactly for beginner’s only before, as has been said in assorted places by quite a few people, and once this update is done it will be even less so. So I decided it was time for a slightly different title.

EDIT: oh yes, my tired mind forgot to tell my aching fingers that the credits are in the last post and will be updated when I update that part of the guide. I'm adding people and sources as promised, so if you're not listed yet don't panic. If you're not listed when I say the whole update in complete then panic and tell me to add you. This way cuts my workload down a little and reduces potential for confusion in playing with posts and manuscripts, so I'm sure you will understand.

I’m off to put my feet up and read a bit more of Steven Saylor’s Roma Sub Rosa series.

frogbeastegg
03-21-2005, 19:05
Post number 2 is updated. The most obvious change here is the inclusion of Suladan's mercenary list, but there are numerous other little changes, additions and corrections.

Post 1 has been edited again, and should have addressed all misc dodads people have sent me messages about.

As before if you find any errors in the first two posts let me know.

Again, I've been working for hours and I'm exhausted. I think for now I'll just have to say a generic thank you to everyone who commented, add that I am addressing everything that has been brought up since my last post cateloging this fact, and say I will come back to answer any specifc questions later once the updating is done.

Part 3 may be here tomorrow, maybe a little later. It's going to have a lot changed in it, and I'm not sure how my time is going to plan out.

But for now I'm going to go read for a bit, read and relax.

Craterus
03-21-2005, 19:13
that's a great guide, it must have taken you many hours of work!
well done ~:cheers: ~:cheers:

Dromikaites
03-22-2005, 15:07
The young ladies of RTW seem to have sometimes a rather strange taste in choosing their husbands. So we might have to reject some of the candidates. What I've discovered (first when playing Pontus, but it seems to happen for all non-Roman factions) is that some of the rejected suitors won't take no for an answer very well. So we might find them leading rebel armies. This leaves us with 3 choices: crush them, bribe them or push them into the enemy lands.

Crushing is self-explanatory. It helps our generals to get stars.

Bribing might look like a waste of money because we didn't want that guy for free as part of our family in the first place. However many times the reason for rejection was simply zero command stars or zero useful traits or old age (it seems the young widows won't marry again). But even a 60 years old guy can build some forts (or towers) if we need them, not to mention that his rebel army might be worth hiring. Sometimes an enemy general with a full stack can pop-up on our light-defended territory. We have no general of ours to do emergency mercenary recruiting. But the diplomat we happen to have finds out the rebel suitor is much cheaper to bribe than the enemy. Suddently the situation is not that desperate anymore...

Pushing the guys into enemy lands means that we have a very strong army to do the push. It also means that the disgruntled suitor doesn't have too many crack units under his command (otherwise he'll stand and fight). So such a rebel army cannot be used as a really effective plug for chokepoints (bridges, mountain passes or coastal areas). But the enemy would have to lose some men fighting the rebels before meeting our army. And sometimes he might lose a few valuable units in the process (like an elephant out of 6). And keep in mind rebels create devastation in any land, weakening a little bit the economy. So we can use them to harm our alies or neutral factions without going to war with them.

frogbeastegg
03-22-2005, 17:35
Post 3 updated with a lot of changes to the battle section. Posts 1 and 2 updated to display my new chapter headings and title, courtesy of Duke John.

You know my usual: exhausted, hours of work, going to go away and rest, thanks for comments, will adress newly raised items, and please bring forward anything that needs adding/correcting in the first 3 posts. But for now the frog is :sleeping:

player1
03-22-2005, 20:58
About bugged difficulty:

It's pretty simple where is bug.
Instead giving bonuses/penalities only to AI, the bug gives them to player too, making battles faster instead of more difficult. Quicker kill rates and quicker routing.

So, easy battle difficulty gives slower battles, more difficult routing for both factons, while harder difficulties give quicker battles, faster routing.


You could try some tests too.
Try 1:1 phalanx fight on easy and on very hard, and you'll see difference in speed.

B1ueBa11
03-24-2005, 22:52
Hey Frog. Just a little correction for your FAQ: You seem so adamant that the player is unable to train first cohort. That's not true. If you take Rome in the long campaign and you haven't yet conquered your 50 provinces (thereby ending the game) you can actually build both type of first cohort from Rome. Of course Rome needs to have the prerequisite infrastructure to build the regular unit (early or regular Legionary Cohort) to do so, but they can be built by roman factions other than S.P.Q.R.

The reason I don't have 50 provinces in my current game is that I went the way of the protectorate. Macedon, Pontus, Egypt and Armenia are all protectorates and I am a good allies with a few others.

frogbeastegg
03-25-2005, 12:47
All posted/messaged additions for the first 3 posts addressed. I'm still writing the MP section and general update for post number 4. I'm slowing my pace down a bit; I was beginning to feel ill thanks to working too hard.

Can I get confirmation that you can now train first cohorts in 1.2 vanilla RTW, please? In 1.1 this was not possible, and I know at least one mod made it so first cohorts were buildable in Rome only. I wouldn't be surprised if 1.2 had changed the original situation, but I've not seen anything on this until now. First cohorts seem to be one of the sections I am frequently wrong on, so I'd like to get it undoubtably correct and final this time ~:)

Dromikaites
03-27-2005, 13:45
The Roman factions get the "Transgression" warning when their armies march through neutral territories. Playing as a barbarian faction I am yet to receive such a message because of my armies trips (version 1.0). However if my diplomat makes too much money out of a maps deal, I get plenty of "Transgression" warnings.

Using the tips from Tamur's excellent guide on diplomacy I've decided to experiment with 2 things:
1. When I sell a map with "name your price" option, can I get more than double of what AI offers?
2. Can I get more than twice the number of the turns AI offers to pay tribute?

The answer to the first question is "depends!" It depends on the state of their finances. Anyway, it doesn't hurt to ask at least 5 times the initial offer. We'll know we asked more than they can really afford if they accept but the we receive the "Transgression!" message. For instance once the Egyptians offered 200 denarii, my diplomat asked for 1000 and the deal was done at 800.

To the second question I can say that on Medium (strategic map), no matter how many turns they offer to pay tribute (usually 2 - 4 times) and how much that tribute is, they'll accept at least 12 turns. Now, how about having each Roman faction paying to us 3k each turn? Of course, our diplomat will get transgression every time.

Craterus
03-27-2005, 18:35
good research Dromikaites,
you get the "Transgression!" message with all civilised factions, not just the Romans..

Lochar
03-29-2005, 09:31
Can I get confirmation that you can now train first cohorts in 1.2 vanilla RTW, please?


Yes its possible, there are actually 2 eagle bearers that I saw when I captured Rome, I think it was early first cohort and then the first cohort, both could be trained and built in rome long as it had the capable tech buildings.

B1ueBa11
03-29-2005, 15:20
I'd love to give you a screenshot Frog, but I'm at work right now. You'll have to take Lochar and mine's word for it. I assure you it is possible if you have 1.2 version. I even tried some moding and you can make it so they can be built in Rome only, on the Italian peninsula only or anywhere.

If you need a screenshot let me know and I'll send you one once I get home.

frogbeastegg
03-29-2005, 15:33
Not, it's ok, I'll believe. Thanks, both of you. I'm just really keen to get this point exactly right this time. I've never seen the Marian reforms in the SP game, so obviously I've never been able to tinker with first cohorts outside of custom and MP modes.

I haven't had much time to work on the guide these last few days; hopefully that will change soon and I can get this finished.

Dromikaites, I shall look at revising my own notes for the diplomacy section when I can. Thanks.

sogu
03-30-2005, 06:53
In my experience the AI doesn't really pay attention to the tribut length. So long as you don't edit the quantity they offer you they'll be willing to accept ridicolous lengths for the tribute.

Try it, if for some reason they offer you a tribute for any length of time, add a zero (or a few zero's even) to the tribute time and they'll accept, so long as the quantity per turn doesn't change. Of course doing this to an excess does count as a transgression, just like taking too much of their money in a single go.

[seminoles]shadow
03-30-2005, 15:40
wow m8 great guide must have takin u days

Craterus
03-30-2005, 20:00
In my experience the AI doesn't really pay attention to the tribut length. So long as you don't edit the quantity they offer you they'll be willing to accept ridicolous lengths for the tribute.

Try it, if for some reason they offer you a tribute for any length of time, add a zero (or a few zero's even) to the tribute time and they'll accept, so long as the quantity per turn doesn't change. Of course doing this to an excess does count as a transgression, just like taking too much of their money in a single go.

Thanks for the tip Sogu, I've only just got the hang of selling map info for decent amounts... ~:cheers: ~D

Lochar
04-01-2005, 03:19
I may have missed a guide somewhere but I am still having trouble trying to figure out why my allies distrust me, when I have never broken any agreements or was never the first to break a ceasfire. I watch my allies get pounded but I am helpess because they wont grant me military access, because of my treacherous/dishonorable ways, and the only way to help them is by marching thru their territory, which then makes them think I broke an alliance.

sogu
04-01-2005, 07:18
Starting wars will make you untrustworthy, even if you're starting wars with neutral nations. So if you want to expand it's best to use your dimplomats to make them angry and have them attack you.

Edit:

@Craterus

Lol, you're quite welcome... glad someone finds what little I know useful.

Lochar
04-01-2005, 07:39
thats just it, I never started a war, unless you count rebel factions. Most everyone I went to war with attacked me first, of course I had to attack their cities afterwards but I never was the agressor. Heck with the first 10 turns of the game I had 3 factions attack me, when they offered ceasefire I honored it til they attacked again. I even send cash gifts to my allies but to no avail. Heck I think I have funded my allies expansion, they didnt grow til I was funnelling them cash.

frogbeastegg
04-01-2005, 09:51
Work is (very) slowly going on, but nothing worth posting yet.

[mental note: must add bits to my diplo section comments]

Thanks, [seminoles]shadow. I'd estimate hundreds of hours work now, something like 800 I guess as a very rough estimate. Writing, researching, reading, updating, dealing with msc. guide related correspondance ...

Lochar, by any chance do you have quite a large empire? Often that makes people fear and hate you. Or are you holding cities those troublesome factions want? I know I've had factions hate my guts because I have one of the cities they consider to be theirs, e.g. Greeks and Thermon.

Craterus
04-01-2005, 16:28
Thanks, [seminoles]shadow. I'd estimate hundreds of hours work now, something like 800 I guess as a very rough estimate. Writing, researching, reading, updating, dealing with msc. guide related correspondance ...

800 hours?? That's over a month of your life (I had to work it out, I was curious). I see you have been really really comitted to your guide and it's turned out great! ~:cheers:

Brittanicus
04-02-2005, 16:34
Fantastic guide FBE!

I am a newbie but something I didn't see was this: When in Numidia I got hit by an earthquake which wiped out quite a lot of my troops. Not happy about that as you might imagine!

I have also failed a couple of senate missions to blockade Corinth, because my path to the port has been blocked by allied navy until it is past the number of turns....which is irritating.

Before I read this guide I read the manual. The manual tells you what things do but doesn't give you any advice on what it is advisable to do, and your guide is exactly what I needed so thanks for all the hard work.

Lochar
04-04-2005, 05:29
Lochar, by any chance do you have quite a large empire? Often that makes people fear and hate you. Or are you holding cities those troublesome factions want? I know I've had factions hate my guts because I have one of the cities they consider to be theirs, e.g. Greeks and Thermon.


I wouldnt say large, but I did take over egypt and a few others. I can understand fear or hate but nothing was dishonest, I got attacked so I took it to the next level. Now after spending 40k gifting they decide to attack me as well. I just figured the phrasing for them not liking me would be different over them calling me dishonest.

Franconicus
04-04-2005, 10:10
I am looking for some info:

Can I get the map in an electronic form?
Are the tech-trees available somewhere?
Are there any proper descriptions of the units? (Not just: phalanx - good against cav)

Thanks!

:help:

Atreides
04-04-2005, 12:55
Map: http://bbb.unknownnet.com/rtw/bestcap.htm

You can find tech trees in the game. (in the cities, just like you can find trade) --> see Guide.

A genaral more basic guide including general use of units: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/rome-total-war/551582p1.html

So enjoy: copy and past the url's .

B1ueBa11
04-13-2005, 16:25
I've found that a surefire way to get protectorates and military access is to give provinces. Especially those that used to belong to the nation you're dealing with. Lothar... What I would recommend for getting Mil access is that you load your army onto a ship and attack your ally's enemy's provinces (if at all possible) and then give those provinces to your ally in exchange for a military rights agreement. In my last game, I managed to get 3 protectorate nations and 4 military rights agreement using this technique. I think the AI sees provinces as having huge diplomatic value so they are more likely to accept if you offer one to them.

Braden
04-15-2005, 13:49
Another tour-de-force from you Froggbeast! I’m sure in time it will build to be just as comprehensive as the Medieval guide you produced (which was a complete Godsend to me for that game) and to be honest the only thing it really lacks is unit stats and breakdown.

Things you might want to add:

Troop Rally Point / Campaign Map:

Select a Settlement with left click & then hold Alt and Right Click elsewhere on the map nearby. This sets up a rally point for all trained units from that Settlements (Combat units and Agents). It’s possible to “stack” this at the same point (a map feature perhaps) as that from another nearby settlement so you can build an army in half the time with some micro-management.

It actually tells you this from the box that comes up from your pointer if you leave it stationary.

Keeping formation / Battle Map:

The guide states that you can’t move groups of units without them becoming a complete mess and I thought this at one point BUT I’ve found that if you don’t change the initial formation (which are usually quite good) you can advance an entire army forward by selecting all the units or groups of units and then simply single right clicking where you want them to go – check using spacebar and you’ll find the units remain completely in formation and do not clash.

I thought at first I’d have to move units individually as I was adjusting opening set-ups in line with my Medieval experience but as you don’t need to have archers spread thin and the like I stopped doing it.

This doesn’t help if you want to do fancy flanking moves but helps no-end on getting your army at least part way to a combat zone.

Shrines / Campaign Map / Settlements:

It might be worth also noting that once you’ve selected a type of deity you cannot change this unless you destroy that temple and you cannot add another deities temple in the same settlement. It appears that whatever shrine you use you are stuck with as the Settlement becomes dedicated to that deity. Example: If you erect a shrine to Bacchus the option to erect one for Jupiter and Ceres disappear and you must progress with temples etc of Bacchus only. This means that careful selection must be made from the very start when choosing a Deity for your settlements – and Bacchus isn’t the best for Julii long term.

Viriato
04-15-2005, 21:56
Congratulations for the guide.. It's nice and very useful. But I've a question. I don't understand really how I can debug the problem with Horse Archers ¿Could you help me?

Franconicus
04-18-2005, 08:24
I have a question:

How can I save game when I am in a running battle. Last night I was just about going to bed when those :furious3: Macedonian attacked me. It was a huge battle and it took hours!! I am so tired today. :dizzy2:

:help:

Raijer
04-18-2005, 18:55
Frogbeastegg, I just wanted to thank you with the deepest of gratitude for this guide. It has really helped me dig deep into the game, which in turn, has helped me enjoy it!

Thank you!! :bow:

Franconicus
04-19-2005, 09:21
I have a question about population; Is this just the male population (I know that in the old times women did not count)? I play with huge units and so there is a significant reduction of population in some of my production towns. And it seems that the populations goes to zero. What if I built female units (screaming women...). Does this reduce the population as well?

frogbeastegg
04-19-2005, 10:50
Yipes! More than past time I dropped by and answered a few things here. How time flies when you are insanely busy :dizzy2:

Brittanicus, thanks. I shall try and remember to include a note about earthquakes somewhere.

Lochar, I think it is one of those 'game' things; the developers perhaps stretching one line of text a little too far because of lack of time/resources/space/whatever to add more suitable ones.

Franconicus, I'm a bit late on the first set of questions (thanks, Atreides), but I can field the more recent ones. It is not possible to save in a battle, only on the campaign map. It is a long standing grumble with the series, although there are people who like and support the current set up. Now, in the last itineration of the series (MTW's add-on, VI) CA added a little icon to the popup you get on the campaign map before a battle begins, the same one where you choose to fight yourself or hand over to the AI. Basically it was a save option; you could save your game just before the battle began. I do not know if this feature carried over into RTW, but logically it should have. Take a close look at the assorted icons on that battle pop-up next time you get one; you might find one offering you the chance to save.

Population is a very abstract figure; I'll spare you my rambling thoughts on what exactly it represents. Basically people come in one flavour: human. Each unit you build takes a certain number of people from a settlement, and regardless of the sex of that unit the people are subtracted from the same pool of population. So there are no seperate male and female recruiting pools. The amount of people taken from the population pool usually matches the number of people in the completed unit, so if a unit of peasants is 240 people on the battlefield it will take 240 people from the city when built. Population cannot drop to 0; you are not allowed to recruit any units if it would take the population below 400. That ensures there is always a pool of people from which the population can grow back. If you are recruiting so heavily you are encountering population problems (easy to do in some cities with the largest unit sizes) all you can really do is try to boost population growth. If the problem is getting very bad you can try spreading out your recruitment across several cities instead of just a few.

B1ueBa11, more to add to my diplomacy notes when I can. Thanks.

Braden, thanks.
Troop rally point: will add.
Moving units: this was altered significantly, and the for better, in 1.2. The first 3 posts of the guide have been edited to match this, but the last parts are still work in progress.
Temples: will add.

Viriato, I'm not much of a modder myself, and I have not edited my own copy of RTW to fix the problem, so I can't really explain any better. There were some topics with good instructions, but with the search function disabled I can't find them. So I recommend you head over to the RTW modding general forum (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=73) and ask there. People will be happy to walk you through what is required.

Raijer, thank you.

therother
04-19-2005, 11:01
I don't understand really how I can debug the problem with Horse Archers ¿Could you help me?See here: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=687682&postcount=66

If you don't fancy doing that by hand, I'd suggest installing player1's Bug-Fixer (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=44795) which fixes a number of confirmed bugs including the Horse Archers issue.

Franconicus
04-19-2005, 12:07
Mylady frogbeastegg,
thank you once again for your help. We are all in your debt! :bow:

If you ever need some help from the Barbarians, please do not hesitate!

Braden
04-22-2005, 15:06
Froggy my dear girl!

Ship capacity –

“It is possible to put 10,000 men in one ship” is misleading, if you clarify it by stating that “one full stack” will fit in one ship. Number of actual troops depends on unit size settings and if you have non-troop based units in the stack (siege weapons for example).

Basically, no more than one full stack will fit on one ship. Weather it is the same no matter how many ships you have in a “fleet” I cannot confirm yet (i.e. will 10 ships carry 10 stacks of troops?).

Also:

Previously in Medieval you could place a “string” of ships and get instant transport for troops or agents – this no longer applies. All troops/agents etc need to board a ship at a port or beach then be actively transported where they need to go. This is a much more realistic feature but needs to be pointed out as it differs greatly from the previous TW games.

Franconicus
04-26-2005, 07:28
Hello out there,

I have a questions! I play Skythia and I try to sell Campus Sarmatae. It is just too big and I cannot prevernt riots. I offered it to the Spanish, the Gauls, Germania, Greek and even the Brutii. Noone was interested. What is wrong with that region. Did anybody has better experiance with that? :help:

player1
04-26-2005, 07:53
Maybe they realised it was trash too? ~D

Craterus
04-26-2005, 16:05
Is it in the centre of your empire, no-one likes an annoying little region out of the way.. Won't it turn rebel the next turn if there's no men in there?

Franconicus
04-26-2005, 16:13
So noone tried before? ~:confused:

If I find a way to sell regions I am going to file a claim ~D

Olorin I
05-02-2005, 15:07
@Frogbeastegg:

I know that you are busy and that this body of work is a gift to the community. I appreciate the amount of time you have put into this and am grateful you chose to share your product with us. If it is not too much trouble, I was wondering whether you were working on the Multiplayer section referenced in the index and, if so, when might that be completed. Thank-you.

Olorin I

DarqueRayven
05-02-2005, 17:55
sometimes you just need to let the little ingrates revolt
then terminate them completly and the ones that are left
they'll love you for it

DarqueRayven
05-02-2005, 18:29
hello i like the guide its very helpful ~:)
bye

frogbeastegg
05-03-2005, 10:10
:runs in, a speedy amphibian blur: I'm sure you know the disappointing usual: busy froggy and all that. Gah!

Thanks for all the thanks and kind words :bow:

Braden, I shall clarify the first point. The second point is already in there, and always has been.

Franconicus, no idea about selling cities; it's not something I have ever tried.

Olorin I, yes, I'm still working on the MP section. It's the main source of this long hold up; writing a new section from scratch in an area like this is not easy. There's a lot of ground to cover, and MP provides plenty of scope for contradictory advice. Obviously I don't want to produce a confusing, contradictory mess of a section, so I have to try and cram in as many viewpoints as possible without it all going to hell in a hand basket. "Take a large army of decent level troops; small armies of elite troops tend to get dragged down by superior numbers, except when .... and if .... but a larger force can ... and that can help if ... but then you might find that it all gets too much for you to control and .... so in conclusion take an army containing some units!" :dizzy2:

As for when it's likely to be finished, no idea I'm afraid. I'm only managing about 10-15 minutes work on the guide at present anyway.

Olorin I
05-03-2005, 14:49
Thank-you, madam Frog. I appreciate the update and confirmation that you were still planning to complete it. I quite understand that you cannot give any firm completion date or even a target date. Real life always trumps gaming.

Olorin I

Mount Suribachi
05-04-2005, 17:53
Unless I missed it, is there a printable version of the guide available somewhere Froggy? I'm trying to get a head start for when I can finally play RTW :book:

frogbeastegg
05-05-2005, 14:53
:tears through so quickly she looks like a blur, calling as she goes, "No printable yet; there'll be one when the 1.2 update is done. I have all the details arranged; I just need to finish writing the confounded thing!":

Viriato
05-16-2005, 18:22
Now I'm playing a campaign with the seleucids, a short one. Perhaps I'm not very good with the phalanx (at least with the militia phalanx), but I've lost three or four generals. (Before I've played one with the julii and I only loosed one of two, and they were controlled by the AI)...

Well, what I discovered (I don't read it in the guide) is that when you loose a general, and you win the battle, automatically apears the man of the hour (with two or three stars...). It sounds logic to imagine that there was a man who asume the leadership when the generals dies in combat. Perhaps, It could be a good idea when you have a bad general with great vices, involve him in a battle with good troops (against rebels, for example), send him to the death, win the battle and have a new general. I didn't do it, but perhaps it works.

Garvanko
05-16-2005, 21:58
Good way to kill off an old general, and get a new one in the process.

Junkertubs
05-17-2005, 18:38
I'm a newb, and I've been reading around. This is the best guide I've seen... awesome. Now If only I can find a guide of non-well-known control tips... (I wish I could select one unit to a numberic shortcut). Also, if someone could help a newb, I read that in order to change the army size (to 200 which sounds good), I have to do it in the options menu before beginning the campaign. I looked around, how do I do this, I don't see an option for it.

Anyway, put that thing into a PDF file and it'll be awesome, ASAP!

:book:
~:cheers:

Great Job.

Enderel
06-14-2005, 13:17
Yes thanks frogbeasteggs and all those who contributed. This is a completely awesome guide which has really helped me during difficult periods of play.

sockerconny
06-14-2005, 14:13
Hey, I can`t find out how to change the unit number of ranks, how do I do it? Now all of my units deploy in deeper formations than I would like.

gardibolt
06-14-2005, 17:45
I had the same question which someone else answered in another thread. I'm told that you right click on the unit and drag. I haven't had a chance to confirm but that's what they tell me. :) Frog, if this is indeed correct you might add this little poorly-documented point to the relevant part of section XIV in your next revision.

Hey, I just got an edit button and figured I should use it. :)

furball
06-15-2005, 11:29
Froggy, I know this is really late. I'm only a casual RTW player and I found your guide humorous and informative. Thank you VERY much!

Please know that these efforts are *definitely* appreciated.

"You're English. . . aren't you?" he said quietly.

"What, like that's a shameful thing? Why did you lower your voice?"

"No," he whispered. "I'm just in awe of you."

Sid Arthur
06-23-2005, 18:22
I don't think anyone's mentioned it yet, so...

I believe it is possible to train the Early Legionary First Cohort or Legionary First Cohort. While playing the Julii in the long campaign, I happened to invade Rome a little bit "pre-emptively," so when I took control of Rome I didn't have the 50 cities needed to win the campaign. On the recruitment list for the city of Rome only, the First Cohorts appeared as options to recruit. I'm not quite sure what the combination of buildings required is, as they were already available after I'd conquered it. I didn't try to recruit them, since I didn't find it necessary at the time, so I don't know what exactly happens when you do.

Emperor declares jihad
06-26-2005, 22:21
Hi, Ive downoaded RTR (up through 5.1) and the game starts, but it only lets me choose the prologue. THis was fine, but it doesnt let me actually PLAY the prologue, just sends me back to the startup screen. needless to say, i cannot travel onward to play RTR's campaign...any help would be appreciated, thanx.
:help:

SMZ
06-30-2005, 12:51
I have wanted to post a small (long) rant weighing the pros and cons of each Roman faction for some time. This seemed a good place to do so as it may be helpful to you. Your guide was very useful to me and included a great deal of information I was not aware of.

Firstly when asked this question one must consider the differences between the factions beyond them each wearing different color tunics. (Although it bears note that the red Julii tunics are much sexier than blue or green.) These differences can be summarized as follows:

1. Economic Position.
2. Strategic Military Position.
3. Temple Bonuses.
4. Gladiator Type.

I have listed these in descending importance according to how I view them.

"Economic Position" refers to the provinces a faction starts with and will conquer most easily. Denarii are the basis of your empire, without them you will be a mild nuisance to be swept aside by a greater power. No matter how strong your armies, you must have the infrastructure to support them. Thus having a strong economy is one's first priority. Sea trade is by far the most profitable form of collecting capital. Land trade and farming are adequate for survival but not to thrive. Mining is a dependable source of income but will always be the icing on the cake not the means of filling your treasury. Sacking cities will also gain you a tidy sum if you avail yourself of the "Exterminate" option. However, depending on this can become problematic as it becomes a circular quandary. (You will need to take a city to fund your army, you will need an army to take the city.)

Finally you can barter state secrets (map information), trade rights and alliances to the highest bidders for another nice boost to your cash flow. Once again however this method should not be your central strategy towards gaining wealth. Firstly, because there are only so many factions to sell these goods to and once sold you must wait for a change in the political currents before they may be sold again. Furthermore as the game progresses and factions are eliminated you will find fewer and fewer potential customers. Secondly, the computer controlled factions will spend their denarii as fast as they can get it, meaning that usually any prospective negotiations will be marked by them asking you for money and not the reverse.

So with these principals in mind it becomes obvious that the Brutii occupy the favored position with their missive to conquer the extremely prosperous Aegean Sea provinces. In general the eastern provinces as a whole are more profitable, as civilization has existed for many years in Persia, Egypt and Greece. Thus the Brutii, seeing as they lie the easternmost of the Roman factions, have the advantage in capturing these provinces. Second, the Scipii also have a good position in that they are tasked with subduing Carthage which is well known for it's trading empire. Where there is wealth for one, there will be wealth for another. By securing Iberia, the various western islands and perhaps moving across Africa into Egypt the Scipii can easily become an economic juggernaut as well. Lastly the Julii. While there is great fame to be gained in beating back the barbarian peoples there is certainly less monetary reward. The Gauls, Germans, Britons, Dacians and Spaniards are mostly poor peoples with underdeveloped settlements due to their stunted technology trees. This is not a recipe for disaster however! With careful planning and diligence the Julii can still have a healthy treasury. The Romans as a whole have an advantage in their use of highways, automatic trade rights with each other, Senate rewards, etc... By combining the above listed strategies into a strong economy the Julii will be able to support a powerful war machine.

Lastly, it bears note that as mentioned earlier once a faction begins to maintain a treasury in excess of 50,000 denarii from turn to turn, their governors begin to exhibit deviant and poor moral traits. Thus while in the early game it will certainly be your priority to squeeze every last coin out that you can, by the mid-game you should be in a strong financial position. Before reading frog's guide I often kept treasuries above 500,000 denarii by the time I had about 15-20 provinces. So while this point is vastly important, with proper management it soon vanishes into obscurity. Any of the factions can do well financially and should.

Conclusion: Advantage Brutii, Second Scipii, Third Julii

"Strategic Military Position" refers to the enemies you will face and your ability to hinder your rivals expansion while pursuing your own safely.

The Brutii will face the Greeks and Macedonians initially, followed by a push thru Thrace, Pontus and the Seleucids with the possibility of a conflict with Egypt. A particularly expansionistic ruler may seek to dislodge the Dacians, Scythians and Armenians but the rewards of such are less clear. A clash with the Parthians will occur eventually but many other foes must be defeated first. The Greeks rely heavily on phalanxes, which while powerful, are easily countered. Especially since they will be your first enemy, most likely they will field mostly Militia Hoplites and Hoplites. Both of which can be crushed by a simple flanking maneuver in a way which the later Armored Hoplites and Spartan Hoplites will defend well against. The Greek cavalry is weak and their ranged weapons ineffective. They are ripe for the plucking.

The Macedonians on the other hand feature both halves of the powerful hammer and anvil stratagem. They also field phalanxes but a Brutii leader who delays slightly will find himself facing Phalanx Pikemen instead of Militia Hoplites. This is quite significant since Phalanx Pikemen have both a greater range (four men engaging instead of two) and lack the morale penalty the Militia Hoplites do. These troops are literally a meat grinder for your infantry and suicide for your cavalry. They will not break from a simple flank attack either but debilitating missile attacks followed by repeated charges may be necessary. Fortunately, like all phalanx based armies, once one portion of the line falls the rest is soon to follow. The Macedonians prevent this by fielding powerful light cavalry. Their horses are fast, moving to the point of crisis easily and yet still capable of a strong charge. Protracted melees will defeat them but with their greater mobility they will seldom allow themselves to be caught in this position easily. The one chink in the Macedonians armor is their lack of strong missile troops. In an engagement with a Macedonian army it is vital to avoid their slow phalanxes as long as possible while you pelt their entire army from a distance. If they attempt to end the bombardment with a charge, have your infantry ready to receive the separated cavalry elements and then bring your own cavalry in on their rear; trapping and destroying them. One must exercise caution however that your cavalry does not become pinned in turn by their advancing phalanxes. Only after you have robbed them of the crucial hammer element to their force should you pick the phalanxes off at your leisure. Always expend your missile units complete stock of weapons against them first, then mob their separated and weakened units; striking first from the rear and then when they turn, striking them with another unit in their newly exposed rear.

After dealing with the Greeks and Macedonians you will be well prepared to face the Seleucids. That is if one attacks them quickly. If one were to wait excessively he would find that the Seleucids field an extremely powerful army. In fact the Seleucids field the most balanced and powerful combination of troops of any non-Roman faction. A quick attack is highly recommended. A late game clash will find that the Seleucids can train Silver Shield Legionaries. These men are identical to Legionary Cohorts (the unit which will form the core of your army) other than a 1 point lower charge bonus. However in addition they will have Silver Shield Pikemen which compare to your Auxilia about as well as a mastiff compares to a poodle, therefore giving them a decided advantage as far as infantry troops. Their Companion Calvary and Cataphracts will outmatch your cavalry in an even engagement. They bring Scythed Chariots and War or Armored Elephants to the table while your unique units are Gladiators and Arcani. Hardly an even trade, ehh? However you will still have the advantage of pigs, dogs and superior artillery as well as missile troops. It makes for a definite challenge. Far better to nip this potential powerhouse in the bud and burn their cities while they still face you with Levy Pikemen and Militia Calvary.

However, the Thracians and men of Pontus field a different form of army. The Thracians will train various forms of riff raff in addition to more powerful units of the Falxman type. While formidable, these units will be no match for your troops, seeing as the Romans also specialize in flexible heavy infantry and your more powerful cavalry, and missile troops will quickly turn close victories into heroic triumphs.

The Pontics have the potential to field Phalanx Pikemen and Bronze Shields but rarely do, more often relying on weaker units to form their infantry core. Their danger comes in their javelin bearing cavalry and their chariots. Pontic Heavy and Light Calvary will regularly beat your own cavalry forces in even matches without close supervision. Chariots can destroy an entire army, by sending your men into a rout if a player does not know how to counter them. Rather than attempting to chase their cavalry from the field initially (an often futile exercise) attempt to counter them with foot archers who's greater numbers and range can quickly destroy entire units. As always be ready to receive a charge in protection of your missile troops. The best method to counter chariots is to put your men into a deeper formation. If it looks like a square you will be ready. Then tell a second unit to stand in the same space as the first. This provides a stalwart wall of bodies which will sap all the inertia from the chariots charge. It is not necessary that you engage the entire line of the chariots. Once even one of the men in a chariot unit is stopped the others will mill slowly about instead of breaking free and repeating the charge. When the chariots stop moving they are dead. (Defense of 1) Never attempt to counter charge chariots with your cavalry. When a chariot attacks a heavy infantry unit most of the men are knocked down but few casualties are taken. I have played games where I may rout an enemy unit and then proceed to chase them down and still have a third of them escape, merely because my chariots continually knock the infantrymen down but do not kill them. However, a horseman does not have the option of being knocked down and getting back up. Hence the chariots will decimate your cavalry unit in mere moments. Even charging them from the rear is extremely dangerous. If you must use cavalry, swarm them with four or five units at once. Sometimes the mere press of bodies can destroy them before they inflict too much damage.

Egypt relies even more heavily on chariots, and their Desert Axemen and Desert Calvary can be dangerous due to their speed. By the time you move in their direction however you should be equipped to deal with their forces. The men of Pharaoh have a powerful and well balanced force but the key is their cities. Rather than attempting to beat them into submission in the field, send a few mid-sized armies out to distract and harass them. Then strike for their heart by seizing the vital cities of Memphis, Alexandria and Thebes. (In that order.) Once you have seized the prosperous heartland of the Egyptians they will be unable to resist you much longer. While you may press on for complete domination, a mere war of attrition will see them vanquished sooner rather than later.

At any point a quick raid into Carthage's provinces of Northern Africa can reasonably expect success and destroy any hopes the Scipii might hold for their families ascendance. The Julii are not so easily countered and a strategy of using your superior wealth to support the Gauls can help them to contain the Julii much longer than usual.

The Scipii will be responsible for dealing with Carthage initially with prospects against the Numidians and Spaniards as well. A Scipii leader will generally end up pursuing a two prong attack at some point as his forces in Iberia begin to meet the corresponding push by the Brutii in Gaul and he then must look to Egypt for further expansion. Conflict with the Parthians and Seleucids will follow, with the Armenians, Pontics and Scythians falling last. The first priority for any Scipii leader should be to secure the western portion of the Great Sea. This can be accomplished by sending a raiding party to grab Corsica, using your army to pacify Sicily and then moving on to crush Carthage. Carthage if left alone can produce strong troops. Their cavalry will be generally somewhat weaker than their Roman counterparts but their phalanxes can become a force. The Sacred Band is stronger than the Greek Armored Hoplite which should indicate its potency. Additionally, their trump card is elephants which, although always formidable, presents a particularly great challenge in the early game. Hand to hand engagement with elephants is never recommended. One can swarm them if you must, but you will take heavy losses. If you can manage to trap the beasts inside a city you siege, then the narrow streets and ability to put your archers on the walls while capturing towers can give you a chance at near bloodless victory. If you must meet them in the field a steady barrage of missiles can have effect eventually, however this requires a massive amount of arrows or javelins and you will most likely not be able to devote this amount of attention to one unit while ignoring the remainder of their forces. Incendiary Pigs are effective but it will require some time before you can bring these creatures with your army. The best early counter is to purchase Mercenary Hoplites and stack these men two or even three times. Even elephants cannot easily charge thru such a bristling wall of spear points, although do not think that such a formation is invincible. Occasionally because of a precise angle or a slight slope or some such factor the elephants may push thru even such a force. However, the percentages favor you greatly.

Once the Carthagians are dealt with the Scipii will find little challenge. The Numidians are complete riff raff and the greatest obstacle to their defeat is the number of turns it takes to move from one settlement to the next rather than anything they are capable of assembling and calling an army. The Spaniards too do not offer much in the way of competition. The Romans took many of their ideas for their troops from the Spaniards and built on them. This means that the Spaniard troop lineup mainly looks like a weakened version of yours. By the time you reach the Gauls they will already be under assault from the Julii and may in fact already be conquered. If they are not, they will be severely weakened, and you will find little to prevent you from taking their last few provinces as well.

The Scipii will thus not find a challenge again until their armies march upon Egypt. The strategy outlined in the Brutii section will work just as well for the Scipii. From there they should continue their push thru the Seleucids before any settling is done. By continuing the fight to the Parthians, Pontics and Armenians the Scipii can find that they have an empire with few borders. A small border on the north of Iberia and an equally small one running between the Black and Caspian Seas. With their superior navy this equates to a very strong position for the endgame.

A savvy Scipii leader will snatch at least a portion of Greece before the Brutii may. The extreme southern portion with its easily defensibly isthmus and extremely useful Wonder beckons invitingly. The eastern islands also make key assets to a Scipii plan. Securing the rebel Byzantium as a launch-point for your future wars as you return from conquering the eastern world shows forethought and discretion. It is essential that the Scipii seize Corsica before the Julii. Not only does this give you complete domination of the seas but it prevents the Julii from using Corsica as a stepping stone to interfere with your campaigns in Africa. As with the Brutii the easiest way to slow Julii expansion without overextending yourself is to pump money into the Gallic and later British or Dacian economies. Only very rarely will the Germans manage to beat back their attackers on all sides enough to warrant supporting them.

The Julii are responsible for dealing with the Gauls, followed by expansion into the Spanish, German and British realms. Further conquest can be pursued against the Dacians, Thracians and Scythians. If the other two factions are extremely tardy in their expansion a move against the Armenians, Pontics, and Seleucids may be possible.

Gallic armies rely on masses of Spear Warbands supported by Naked Fanatics and Barbarian Calvary. None of which will present a particularly dangerous threat to your troops. The danger comes just as it did for historical Rome; yes you may destroy the barbarian horde, but afterwards what have you gained? If the Gauls are left alone eventually they will produce Forester Warbands which thanks to their temples will arise as hardened troops. Seeing as this unit is already the best foot archer in the game it can make a conquest of Gaul much more difficult, although by itself it will not turn the tide of war. The Spanish as outlined above will present little problem also.

The Germans can be dangerous as they at least have a balanced force with specialized troops. Their Spear Warband can assume a phalanx formation thus making them far superior to comparable barbarian infantry. Additionally their various forms of Axeman while weaker on defense than your troops possess powerful attacks. Generally speaking if you can weather the initial charge and a secondary push by them then your troops will win the day. Their Warhounds are particularly savage with greater stats than their Roman counterparts and greater numbers than any other faction except the Scythians. Their Gothic Calvary is capable of competing with similar Roman forces and their Screeching Women can have a powerful effect on morale. If they are allowed to prosper, their armies will be well balanced and strong. Conflict will rely on your tactics and superior numbers for victory. The German force has no clear weakness to exploit. Perhaps the best method for victory lies in destroying their poorly guarded settlements rather than meeting them in the dark forests of Germania. Barbarian factions cannot build walls stronger than a stockade. You can take advantage of this with a lighting fast string of attacks which will leave the German armies without a homeland and dispersed as pockets of rebel resistance. By purchasing a unit of Mercenary Elephants (which can bash wooden gates down) you can assure that you never have to wait to break straight into a settlement and pillage the surroundings. Otherwise you can bring a Ballista or Onager unit along although this will reduce your troop movement points.

The British have a small but unique selection of units. They will use Warbands, Woad Warriors and Druids as the bulk of their army with a strong force of both speedy British Heavy and Light Chariots accompanying. These Chariots arrange themselves in smaller formations than their eastern counterparts but are particularly suited to their surroundings and fast moving, meaning that if they decide to charge your heavy cavalry you will most likely find yourself with no heavy cavalry. Head Hurlers when used properly are an extremely powerful missile unit with a missile attack of 17 which is effective against armor. However the computer will usually bring Slingers to the battle instead and if it does train Head Hurlers it will seldom use them effectively. Thus meaning you will possess the clear advantage in missile troops and infantry. This should be enough to allow you to secure the British Isles.

Dacian and Thracian armies possess Falxmen and are otherwise completely unremarkable. Your infantry as mentioned will be capable of beating the Falxmen back and their other forces will merely serve to give your men experience chevrons. The Scythians are a horse people and their armies when controlled by a human player can routinely slaughter foes when outnumbered by as much as 3-1 with minimal losses. The Scythian Horse Archers are more powerful and have greater stamina than other faction's. The Scythian Noble Archers are a more powerful version of the Persian Calvary although the Armenian Cataphract Archers occupy their own niche. Scythian Noble Women combine the more powerful missile attack of the Noble Archer with the speed of the Horse Archer, sacrificing only a smaller unit size. The Head Hunting Maidens are fast moving as well and effective against armor, thus making them a highly mobile and powerful force. The Scythian Nobles have an extremely high charge bonus of 17 as they wield a two handed lance. All this combines to mean that an infantry force can be fired upon at will until it is severely weakened and then descended on by some of the best cavalry forces in the game. Meanwhile almost no cavalry force is capable of catching the fleet Scythians and those that can will quickly wish they hadn't. A human player can also stymie missile troops by adopting the Cantabrian Circle formation and thus becoming extremely difficult to target. In short the Scythians possess a world conquering force which while potent in the forests of Germania and deserts of Africa is almost invulnerable on their home steppe. This may sound disheartening but you have two things working in your favor. First, the computer will make errors on the battlefield that a human player would not and second, the Scythians are poor. Merely maintaining the army they begin the game with will bankrupt the Scythian economy and thus conquest will not be too difficult. Couple that with the computers failure to use the Cantabrian Circle and you have a reliable equation to dealing with them. A large force of archers will destroy their Horse Archers in no time and a few purchased Mercenary Hoplites or even merely using the heavy Roman infantry will prevent their cavalry from charging home to your archers. Without the ability to weaken your units first from the fleet Horse Archers their charges will be largely ineffective and you will be victorious. You should only bring enough cavalry to secure your flanks as attempting to flank them in turn will almost always be a futile effort. No, the strength of your army must be your archers. The Scythians have good foot archer units as well and their Axemen are not the weaklings you might suppose but they will rarely be able to afford to train these units.

If a Julii commander wishes to he can prevent both Scipii and Brutii conquest by merely holding the Gallic forces off while grabbing Corsica and from there attacking Carthage and sending a second force thru Dacia and into Macedonia from the north.

Lastly I will say that for a strong position it is of the utmost importance that you hinder at least one of your rivals expansion. Because of the size of the Gallic faction this becomes prohibitive as the Scipii or Brutii and thus it is recommend that a player not seek to oppose the interests of the Julii. As the Julii maintaining a border and interfering with both your rivals is much easier although this may require neglecting some Senate missions and the penalties thereof. It is further a bit easier to attack Greece as the Scipii than Carthage as the Brutii. As a Scipii player you will find that the Brutii have their hands full with Macedon and Greece and will usually make little progress beyond the first two settlements initially. While on the other hand by taking Carthage and Thapsus the Scipii player cripples Carthage and can then turn his full attention to the Greek world. A Brutii player on the other hand will not be able to crush the Greeks and Macedonians quickly and then turn to Carthage. Rather, he will have to ignore Senate instruction and hurry his men across a distant stretch to hopefully arrive at Carthage before the Scipii, or even possibly, a meddling Julii.

Conclusion: Clear Advantage Julii, Second Scipii, Close Third Brutii

"Temple Bonuses" refers to the diverse deities the three factions get and their respective bonuses. It bears note that each deity has an accompanying Priest ancillary character and encourages the aquisition of certain traits upon your governors. Thanks to lars573 this information has now been calculated into my following summary. In all cases I will consider the end result of these buildings as that is what matters in the long run.

The Brutii worship Juno, Mercury and Mars.

Juno: 25% happiness, 25% health, level 1 trade increase, +2XP
Mercury: 25% happiness, 10% health, level 5 trade increase, +1XP
Mars: 25% happiness, 10% health, level 1 trade increase, +3XP, +1 moral, Arcani

Juno thus provides the greatest bonus to public order for the Brutii and is useful for troublesome settlements. As the god of health Juno is likely to give you ancillaries such as the doctor and to promote traits such as "in the pink", valuable additions both. Mercury provides a significant trade bonus and gives a real boost to the Brutii economy. Mercury's temples will either produce brilliant governors or worthless scoundrels, there is no middle ground. Mars ensures that Brutii troops are well prepared and provides the Arcani special unit. Unfortunatedly a temple to Mars will also see a governors slow decline into a violent, raving lunatic.

The Scipii worship Saturn, Neptune and Vulcan.

Saturn: 25% happiness, 25% law, +1 weapons and armor, Arcani
Neptune: 25% happiness, 10% law, +1 weapons and armor, Corvus Quinquireme, Decere
Vulcan: 25% happiness, 10% law, +1 weapons and armor, +2XP

Saturn is useful for those hot spot cities and gives the Arcani unique unit. Temples to Saturn will produce governors that are well suited for keeping law and order. Neptune gives the Scipii complete mastery of the seas, (Normal Quinquireme 50 men, 10 attack, 5 defense; Decere 60 men, 16 attack, 8 defense) this is particularly important as naval engagements are outside of the players realm of control, all a player can do is try to make sure he has more and bigger ships at a battle. Deceres will smash a force of Quinquiremes when outnumbered 2-1 reliably. On the downside Neptune promotes violent tendencies in your governors, although less than Mars, and so only a few such temples should be built. Addionally Neptune will give various bonuses to your admirals. Vulcan will produce governors that are skilled engineers and miners although their influence will take a hit as they will also be ugly as sin. However, in my opinion, Vulcan gives the Scipii the best troops in the game. The Brutii forces balance an additional point of XP and a point of morale against a point of weapons and a point of armor. The difference to me is that XP can be gained easily in game by simply using said troops. While no amount of use will improve Brutii troop weapons. Additionally, troops trained in other cities can be retrained with the weapons upgrade while the same is not true of an experience bonus. So while Brutii troops will be slightly stronger at production, the Scipii seem to have the potential to be more powerful. Thus it seems to me to boil down to a point of morale against a point of weapons and a point of armor. This may still tip the balance in the Brutii favor, I am unsure as it would require a person who knows how to mod morale bonuses to compare the two bonuses perfectly. However morale is an invisible aspect, I can't see it. I can however see my troops lit up with pretty gold icons and so I prefer this.

The Julii worship Ceres, Bacchus and Jupiter.

Ceres: 35% happiness, 10% law, 2.5% growth
Bacchus: 50% happiness, 10% law, 1% growth
Jupiter: 35% happiness, 10% law, Arcani

Ceres gives a substantial public order bonus and a large growth bonus. The issue with this is that after about the 6000 population mark I find my cities growing faster than I can build to satisfy them anyway. Perhaps a plan of building temples to Ceres until the population begins to boom and then destroying them to build another would be effective? Too large of a population causes unrest and encourages plague. A city of 25,000 hardly needs an extra 2.5% growth tacked on. In Ceres's favor she does promote fertility among your governors and has useful ancillaries. Bacchus gives the highest overall public bonus of any Roman faction. However, Bacchus also will see to it that your governors are wenching, gluttonous and greedy in no time, thus counteracting any benefits he may provide. Jupiter provides a decent public order bonus as well and allows for recruiting the Arcani special unit. Jupiter will promote traits that make your named charater both a good general and governor. All in all the Julii gods seem uninspiring to me. Saturn and Juno both outperform Jupiter as a leading diety. Ceres's growth bonus equates to twice as many headaches in the late game, while Bacchus's effects on your governors undoes any benefits he offers.

SIDE NOTE: All Roman factions can adopt the Spanish (or Gaulish) diety known as Epona. The only requirement being that the Spaniards or Gauls must have previously built the level three Sacred Circle to Epona. A Roman who captures such a province can then upgrade this Sacred Circle to an Awesome Temple to Epona and then a Pantheon to Epona. This results in a 25% happiness bonus and +5 XP. This is obviously quite significant and could render Mars somewhat obsolete. The main problem here is that you must take what the Spanish leave. So of course you may have to wait quite a while for them to build this temple and upgrade it to level three. Even then it will likely become a strain to attempt to recruit all your troops from the one or two provinces you manage to find like this. All of which means that although this could have a large impact on your strategy it may prove completely fruitless.

Thus it becomes a matter of comparing Mercury's trade bonus with Neptune's naval power. I always, as in the case of comparing Vulcan and Mars, consider attributes in the light of supply and demand. Denarii are limitless, with many ways to obtain them. Corvus Quinquiremes and Deceres are a Scipii monopoly. Additionally the ability to blockade the other factions ports, at will, means the Brutii economy can be crippled regardless. While Economic Position and Strategic Military Position are more important factors at their base, the deities strongly influence a factions ability to act on those factors.

Conclusion: Clear Advantage Scipii, Second Brutii, Distant Third Julii

"Gladiator Type" refers to the difference in the type of gladiator each faction gets. Additionally, they receive the gladiator unit at different stages of the game. With the Brutii getting their Gladiator from the Arena, the Julii getting theirs from the Amphitheatre and the Scipii getting theirs from the Coliseum. I list this merely because it is a difference. In actuality it carries little weight.

The Julii have the Samnite Gladiator with these stats:
Attack: 14
Charge: 4
Defense: 14
HP: 2
Excellent Morale, Very Good Stamina, Charge w/o Orders, Sap

The Brutii have the Velite Gladiator with these stats:
Attack: 12
Charge: 7
Defense: 14 (Shield 5)
HP: 2
Excellent Morale, Very Good Stamina, Charge w/o Orders, Sap, Fast, Bonus vs. Elephants & Chariots

The Scipii have the Mirmillo Gladiator with these stats:
Attack: 12
Charge: 7
Defense: 14
HP: 2
Excellent Morale, Very Good Stamina, Charge w/o Orders, Sap

Overall the Samnite seems to be the best, however the Mirmillo in situations where a downhill charge is possible will perform better. The Velite has both benefits and drawbacks. Their benefits being their use in engaging the always troublesome Chariot and Elephant units and performing better against such than any other unit. Additionally, their speed means they have greater mobility than either of the others. The drawback is that unlike the others a good chunk of their defense comes from their skillful use of their shields. Thus an attack to their flanks or rear, be it by missile or hand-to-hand units, will be especially traumatic to them whereas the two other gladiator units seem to generally work well regardless of the direction they are facing. The Velite despite it's drawbacks however, or maybe because of them, occupies a unique niche in the Roman troop line-up as a powerful light infantry, whereas the other two may find themselves obsolete by the time they can be built. It's early availability further adds to the units benefits.

Conclusion: Advantage Brutii, Second Julii, Close Third Scipii

Synopsis: The Scipii occupy the middle ground as respects to both Economic Position and Strategic Military Position. The Brutii hold the advantage in one respect and the Julii a clear advantage in the other. The Scipii hold a clear advantage however in their Pantheons while the Julii lag awkwardly behind. In the lesser difference of gladiator type The Brutii have the advantage due to their early availability and unique unit role.

Overall Conclusion: Advantage Scipii, Close Second Brutii, Third Julii

I hope this is of some assistance.

- Nate

frogbeastegg
07-04-2005, 16:00
Sorry for the even worse than usual delay; I was stuck on this time consuming, boring, compulsory course for a few weeks, and I only just got my life back to myself again.

Viriato, nice discovery. I'll try to add it somewhere, when I actually get chance to work on this confounded guide again.

Junkertubs, to change the unit size go to the main menu screen, choose options, graphic options. Now tick the box labelled 'advanced options'. This will bring up a whole load of new options, including one for unit size.

sockerconny, hold down the right mouse button when the unit is selected and move the mouse. You should see a ghost of the unit appear. By moving the mouse you can set the number of ranks. Simply release the button to issue the order and start the unit moving into position.

Sid Arthur, thanks. That is a known mistake, a hangover from the 1.1 days, and it's right up at the top of my to-do list. Sadly I just haven't been able to work on the guide in months.

Emperor declares jihad It's been ages since I tried RTR (back around 4.0) but I remember that you need to complete the tutorial and prologue with an unmodded game first. Then apply the mod, then choose the newly added 'provincial campaign' option. All other game modes crash, except that one.

There is a .txt file edit you can do to fool the game into thinking you have completed the prologue, but I don't remember what it was. Someone else will know :waits for helpful person ...:

SMZ, yikes! I will have to come back and read through that later; I'm only passing through in a hurry right now. At a skimread it looks like very good information ~:)

Junkertubs, Enderel, furball, thank you. As ever it's pleasant to hear all my work has been appreciated. :bow:

Think that's everyone ...

Infidel
07-16-2005, 02:33
http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/frog/rtw/good%20phalanx.jpg
Now this one is right from the school of “I’m here to kill you.” Notice how all the phalanx units are in a single line with only tiny little gaps between them? That’s as close as the game will easily allow you to deploy them. This phalanx is strong. You will notice an array of other units scattered about; this is because you should never use phalanx units unsupported. They need some other unit types to guard their flanks, in this case units of cavalry. Peltasts (javelin units) are deployed out front to skirmish and break up the enemy before they reach the phalanx; they will need to draw out of the way to the sides, not straight back. Why? Because if they go right back they will disrupt the phalanxes and that does not help your cause much. It’s usually possible to run your skirmishers about to the sides, then support with cavalry if the enemy pursue them. Behind the phalanx line are some archers; they will fire over the heads of the phalanx and keep on disrupting and demoralising the enemy even when melee is joined. Make sure you turn skirmish off for them though, or they will scuttle back when the melee begins. You can also send the archers forward if you are on the offensive, to pummel the enemy before sending in your infantry. The cavalry are there to support the flanks over and above all else. They are not rout chasers, not unless the flanks are safe and will continue to be so. If the enemy hit the flanks of this line then things will more than likely go to hell in a hand basket. The general and his bodyguard take a central position, nice and safe, ready to support if needed.



First of all, this guide is overall a great and helpful piece of work.

And what I'm about to mention might have been said before, as I was, I admit, too lazy to read through the following 150 replies.

It certainly is very right to deploy phalanx units without gaps inbetween them, but only after the skirmishers in front have used their spears or arrows and were able to move back. Yes, back, not off to the sides.

From what I read on Roman tactics, the heavy units were deployed in a zig zag, with the skirmishers in front of them. The skirmishers engaged the enemy to cause some turmoil and then withdrew fast through the gaps between the heavy units. Those then closed their ranks to the solid front you depicted.

This kept the cavalry on the sides free from the task of protecting the retreating skirmishers and free to do what they should do: Fall in the enemy's back once it engages your main attack line.

Infidel

Seamus Fermanagh
07-16-2005, 03:34
Infidel:

In terms of historical accuracy, you are quite correct. In terms of game mechanics -- using my mouse and command buttons to represent troops moving according to training -- I believe I prefer FBE's approach. Besides, if you can get an enemy to pursue your skirmishers breaking to the side, they'll be handing you a chance to either flank the chasers with your spears or wedge the spears into their center and split them in two. Then you pin one and smash the other, then repeat!
If you follow the roman model, but aren't really precise with your clicking, you'll end up recreating Agincourt -- from a historical French perspective -- with your shock troops muddled by their own support group.

Ciaran
07-19-2005, 10:46
This, as well as your Medieval unit and beginner´s guide, is a real piece of cake, Frog, great work, I apreciate these very much, they´re both helpful and very well written.

However, even if I´m a mere Newbie both to this forum and to the Total War series (I finished two long Imperial campaigns though), I´d like to give some piece of information about what I´ve found out so far:


Players report that having a Protectorate seems to do no good for the conquering faction, while actually Becoming a protectorate is great... you can worry less about invasion, you pay no taxes to your conquerors, and you can use the time to recoup losses and build your economy. Protectorate status breaks down if you do anything to harm your status as Allies of the other faction.

Quite on the other hand, being a Protector is a Good Thing indeed, for a couple of reasons (I´m using patch 1.2):

First, it´s good for the ego. If having a once mighty and still large empire trembling for fear of your big iron fist isn´t good for your ego, then what is?
Second, it gets you all the benefits of an alliance with military acess without having to go all the schmoozing way, a simple "or else" does it. It also keeps your borders quiet, unlike alliances, I´ve never had a Protectorate betraying me.
Third, a protectorate adds to you "controlled regions" counter. Every province the protectorate holds counts as if you yourself had troops in their cities. So, you can get a lot provinces without having to guard or manage them, taking a huge strain both from your nerves and your treasury.
Forth, and most important, you get money. And a lot of it, if your protectorates are rich empires.


The Civil War.
Because I have only played short campaigns thus far (something, such as this guide, has been sucking up my free time so a long game is impossible) I have not actually hit the civil war myself. This is all based on reading. :winces:

Ok, the civil war will begin when the Senate outlaws one of the three other Roman factions. If they really fear you they might ask for your faction leader to commit suicide. If you comply then they will calm down for a bit; if you refuse they will outlaw you. You do not have to let your leader commit suicide unless you want to avoid the war. There is usually a very good chance that the senate will request the suicide of the man who replaces your recently departed leader, and then the man after that, and the man after that, until you run out of people to kill. So suicide can only buy you a little bit of time at rather a high cost.

The civil war ends when only one Roman faction is left, and that had better be yours unless you want to lose.

Quite interestingly you can actually sometimes negotiate peace treaties with the individual Roman factions after the civil war begins. If you are very fortunate you can even be at peace with all the Romans while the civil war is officially still in progress.

Here´s something to be said as well. I´ve never been patient enough for the Senate to become so much afraid of me that he wants to see my patron dead, so I´m not sure if that what happens then is the same as if you start the Civil war yourself. Yes, you can do that. Simply send a diplomat to a sentate army or Rome itself and cancel all treaties, they´ll immediately declare you a traitor and at the beginning of the next turn, they also outlaw the other factions and the free-for-all begins. To win the game, you don´t have to beat all other factions, if you have 50 provinces (including protectorates) and Rome, you rule and are given the option to finish. Of course, you can go on, crush the other factions and conquer the world if that´s your ambition. Having Rome gives you also the possibility to build a First Cohort, you can only do that in Rome.

You also didn´t mention some of the new strategic features, namely the reinforcements. Unlike the earlier games - as far as I know, at least - now you can have quite a couple of armies on the battlefield at the same time. You can´t control more than one of twenty units, but you can still have them join the fight. Of course, the same goes for your enemies. If you want a AI- controlled second army on the field, better make sure it´s not commanded by a family member, for you can´t guarantee their savety. The AI isn´t that bad, actually, at least in my opinion, when I once was fored to watch my reinforcements handle the major part of a battle.
The best use for the reinforcements, in my opinion at least, is to weaken city defenses. If you attack a small enemy unit close to a city with your army (preferably you´d want to make sure they can´t retreat any more) the city´s force will come out to help them (this doesn´t work if the city is being besieged already) and you can handle them in the open. If you manage to kill of their generals and kill off their men (a unit with six or less men is disbanded automativcally, save from generals), you can take over the city as it´s whole defence has been crushed outside it´s walls. And even if you didn´t manage to completely destroy the forces, they will be considerably weakened, making the siege battle a lot easier.

gardibolt
07-19-2005, 20:04
Is there a site or other place that shows what territories are held by which factions at the beginning of the game?

Ciaran
07-20-2005, 11:25
One thing for the MTW veterans who read Frog´s unit guide, you can translate some things from there to Rome, most obviously the tactics for MTW´s spears and pikes translate to the RTW phalanxes (keep the formation in order and the flanks guarded) and RTW spears equal MTW polearms, at least as far as anti-cavalry tactics are concerned (charge the cavalry instead of receive their charge).
Just some small addition.

Krauser
07-21-2005, 07:53
Is there a site or other place that shows what territories are held by which factions at the beginning of the game?

There is a map I found that showed this. It's really high quality but has all the information you need.

http://lazarus.elte.hu/~hzsolt/terkep/rtw_political_vanilla.png

gardibolt
07-21-2005, 17:25
Excellent, thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for. :bow:

frogbeastegg
07-22-2005, 15:30
As I've been saying here and there rather a lot today, I've been out of action for 17 days because my PC got fried by a thunderstorm. I only just got it back, and I'm still settling things back to how they should be. I'm also playing one heck of a game of catch up.

I'm planning to come back to my guide and read all the recent posts properly once I've caught up with emails, PMs, and assorted moderator stuff.

eccentricity
07-22-2005, 17:37
As I've been saying here and there rather a lot today, I've been out of action for 17 days because my PC got fried by a thunderstorm. I only just got it back, and I'm still settling things back to how they should be. I'm also playing one heck of a game of catch up.

Hi froggie! I'm glad you're back, I've been reading through your guide and its very thorough and helpful so kudos to you!!

Which part of your comp was fried? Whenever I get electrical storms around here, I'm the first to unplug anything of value till the front passes. It seems that UPS backup and surge "protectors" hardly ever help. Although I think the correct term is "processor" because I never see them listed as protectors in the ads for sale.

p.s. My girlfriend gets very angry whenever I mention you around her, so if your nose ever itches, its because you're being thought of. ~;)

frogbeastegg
07-28-2005, 19:25
I know, I know, this isn't soon. But I have a good excuse, honest. I've got a new job, and it came with incredibly little warning, right out of the blue. For anyone who is interested, I'm now a part time bookseller. I'm still rather in shock. But I do love the 20% staff discount. :book:

I also had to reconstruct my manuscript version of the RTW guide from scratch because my in-progress versions were lost in my PC disaster. I've reverted to backups, but a lot of work has been lost, and to be honest I'm still quite confused as to what is writen down and what is not, such is the extent of the change between my lost version and my backup.

eccentricity, my motherboard and processor were both cooked. The motherboard had acutally exploded in some places, and was oozing fluid from the capacitors around the processor. The powersupply was a bit singed. My old RAM was also highly likely to have been damaged, and wouldn't fit in the new motherboard anyway. Drive C: was corrupted to the point where windows couldn't even begin to boot, so only information which was on my secondary hard drive, and the couple of folders I managed to transfer before my dying PC gave up the ghost completely and corrupted C:, survived. Because my PC is so different many of my old backups, and my hard drive mirror image, are useless.



The rest I shall come back to tomorrow, amphibian's honour. It's 7:20 PM here, and I haven't eaten since ... I don't remember. I also suspect it's going to thunder again :hide:

Seamus Fermanagh
07-29-2005, 00:33
Frog:

Get off the lilypad before the lightning strikes...and stop testing the air with a sarissa while its wired to your PC.

frogbeastegg
07-29-2005, 15:36
SMZ, I've finally read your very thorough rundown of the three Roman factions. It's good work ~:) It seems a bit of a shame to leave it sitting buried here, so I'll try to think of somewhere it can go to reach a wider readership. If you have any ideas as to where to put it I'm open to suggestions. Perhaps as an appendix to my own guide, if you like? Although I admit my guide is currently in a Mess with a capital 'M' thanks to that aforementioned loss of my current in-progress version.

Infidel, I'm afraid I'm going to echo Seamus Fermanagh. Your suggested tactics are nicely grounded in historical ones, but in the game it's very hard to get them working correctly. That's not to say it can't be done, or that it will never work, but it takes quite a lot more skill to use than my basic version. It's also less reliable.

Ciaran, thanks. I shall try and work those into my supposedly in progress update of the guide ... when I've finished working out what exactly is in my guide, what used to be but isn't now, and what was on my now entirely gone 'to do' list.

You had a good experience with Ai controlled reinforcements? Lucky you! I used them back in 1.0 and 1.1 and it always seemed to turn out that either they never reached the battle because I rushed my own forces forward to keep the AI out of things, or I wasn't fast enough in doing that, and all my AI controlled troops routed without doing anything useful and were mown down.

Seamus Fermanagh, :gring:

Zukarakox
08-05-2005, 21:13
Here is the exact formula for farming income, you CAN get bad farms from what I've experienced... but I've only noticed it once when I restarted my campaign so it happens more in the beggning most likely.


Farming Output = % gained from base farming x 200 + Numbar gained from farms. (Its listed in the info of farms)
Farming Income = (72 + 4 x Level of Town(Town = 1, Large town = 2)) x Farming Output

Now, anyone wanna help me find the one for Trading? ~:) Because its a rather harder formula than farming I think. ~:cheers:



Lol I remember a fight with AI controled troops.... the enemies army was about 3x as large as my Controlled army but with AI and my army we were about as big.... but I held off attacking so my AI troops would come to help, then somehow, they got routed before I got in the fight ~:confused: so I just said.... ahhh w/e and charged with all my men. I completely stomped them.... as in my general got 400 kills ~:eek: even though I still was using Hastati and Equites... Silly AI.

SMZ
08-07-2005, 20:33
:) Whatever you think is best. I get funny moods sometimes where I enjoy doing tons of odd work for little or no gain... so it was fun to do.

You might want to consider sacraficing a goat or two to Zeus...

Taurus1
08-12-2005, 18:42
I just finished reading the majority of this guide and it is very informative. Thanks frogbeastegg :book:

JonEire
09-20-2005, 18:02
Very impressive, enjoyed reading this guide and found it to be excellent also even though I have completed RTW on very/hard very hard with most factions I still learned a ton of new trivia.

I say again Great Guide.

Darmus
09-20-2005, 22:24
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of the people who have brought the issues in this thread to the forefront. As a new player this is without a doubt the most useful resource I have encountered. I look forward to more information being released shortly.

Nuke_trt
09-20-2005, 23:59
Very useful, and very well written. Keep up the good work. :bow:

Olorin I
09-28-2005, 21:12
Greetings, Lady Frog. Your guide is superb. You make reference to completing a multiplayer chapter/section in the future. Any idea on when you might get around to penning your thoughts on multi-player strategies and tactics? Thanks for your work and contributions.

Olorin I

Mouzafphaerre
10-07-2005, 04:51
.

All this unlocking stuff is console crap and I refuse to do it!
Honestly it’s probably easier to just play an easy/easy short 15 province campaign, but if you insist on modding I shall quote Steppe Merc’s short modding guide:
“1) Find the file "descr_strat" in ...\Rome - Total War\Data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign.txt

2)Open it up.

3)cut the faction you want to play as from the section its under (either unlockable or nonplayable, and copy it into the playable section, that should do it.
froggy,

It's now (1.3)

\Data\world\maps\campaign\imperial_campaign\desc_strat.txt
I retreated a heated rant post in the last minute (having found it myself) since this isn't mentioned anywhere, including the modding boards. :wall:
.

CTW311
10-08-2005, 13:49
One small piece of information about First Cohorts: You can recruit them in Rome, and only in Rome, if you own the city.

Unregistered
10-08-2005, 14:13
I think that was introduced in 1.2?

frogbeastegg
10-13-2005, 14:31
The 1.2 update of the guide is dead. Never going to happen.

However, BI is proving to be the game RTW 1.0 should have been. It's also the reason why the 1.2 update is entirely redundant. This guide now needs to cover BI and RTW 1.3.

Time is still very much an issue, so don't hold your breaths and wait in hope. But I already find myself noting things in my mind, ready for use if I do get opportunity to write again.

General_Sun
10-13-2005, 18:14
Hi, Ive downoaded RTR (up through 5.1) and the game starts, but it only lets me choose the prologue. THis was fine, but it doesnt let me actually PLAY the prologue, just sends me back to the startup screen. needless to say, i cannot travel onward to play RTR's campaign...any help would be appreciated, thanx.
:help:

There's an option in preferences.txt called firstimeplay or something similar. ctrl for first and you'll find it. :D Then turn from TRUE to FALSE.

gardibolt
10-13-2005, 21:57
The 1.2 update of the guide is dead. Never going to happen.

However, BI is proving to be the game RTW 1.0 should have been. It's also the reason why the 1.2 update is entirely redundant. This guide now needs to cover BI and RTW 1.3.

Time is still very much an issue, so don't hold your breaths and wait in hope. But I already find myself noting things in my mind, ready for use if I do get opportunity to write again.


That doesn't surprise me much, given remarks you've made elsewhere about your disappointment with 1.2, but rest assured dear FBE that there are many, many, many of us out here who will be waiting for your definitive guide to all things 1.3 and BI.

Breeze
11-02-2005, 01:48
Is this guide downloadable in a PDF format It prints way off the page from the browser.

therother
11-02-2005, 10:34
Try the Printable Version (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/printthread.php?t=38382&pp=4), accessible from that link or via the thread tools menu.

FalcoFalcula
12-29-2005, 23:17
Frogbeastegg,

Thank you!! Your guide is exactly what I needed to begin to bring the logic of RTW into focus. It is a great basis to begin to develop a strategic approach to the game! Thanks for what was obviously a lot of effort!

Braden
02-03-2006, 10:51
Just quickly and as I know the good lady Frog will drop by here:

We need a guide for Barbarian Invasion. I don’t think that the existing Rome guide can be updated to include all the features in BI effectively and it’ll be much easier to do a separate guide for BI.

Froggy – what do you think?

(we also need a BI map but that’s a separate question)

frogbeastegg
02-03-2006, 18:40
Guide is now updated for RTW 1.5 and BI 1.6. I have put in everything I can think of, including everything mentioned in this thread.

It's also the end. No updates, no editing, no adding. It's done. I did this update because I felt terrible having won two awards for a guide which was badly out of date, and because people have been asking me. It will have errors and ommisions, and I haven't even checked it over once for typos and the like. t's the best I can do under the circumstances; the only reason I've had time to do this update is down to a virus. I've been so ill for several days now I'm totally wrung out; reading, a bit of simple and poor writing, and sleeping are all I'm fit to do.

There is no MP section. There will not be one. Sorry, but it would just take too much time. This was the best I could manage.

So there you go; hope it's more use than the old one, even if it is probably deficient compared to what I could do with time, health, and more playtime put into BI and the current version of RTW.

Thanks for the many, many warm comments, the feedback, the comments, and the help. :happyg:

gardibolt
02-03-2006, 22:02
Froggy, many thanks for updating this guide, despite having lost interest in it long ago. :2thumbsup: If you're OK with it, I'm working on a PDF version that is mostly ready other than I need to resize some of the screenshots so they fit on a page.

frogbeastegg
02-03-2006, 22:26
I was going to ask Tricky Lady if she was still interested in doing the PDF version we had arranged back when 1.2 was new, but if you have work underway then doing so would be a waste of her time and yours. Let me know when it's done and I'll take a look; if I like (to be honest the only way I won't is if you drop bits, don't credit yourself for your work, or do something appauling with the layout and/or colour scheme. Hot pink backgrounds with lime text should be banned :winkg:) then I'll see what can be done about reliable hosting and a link at the start of the guide.

Braden
02-06-2006, 10:04
Froggy,

Well, a guide has to end sometime and I don’t remember you having to spend this much time on the Medieval guide.

Now take a deserved rest, actually play the games for fun….at least for a few months until….

………..Medieval 2 is released and we all expect you to have a full guide formatted and published within 24hrs. (lol)

All the best, hope to speak to you again soon

P.S. - Wooopss!

Generals/Family members – Training and adoption.

It’s stated in the guide that in BI you can train Generals but can’t Adopt. This is incorrect as you CAN adopt Captains to be Family member/Generals in BI the same way as you can in Rome (although in my experience I’ve adopted after a single battle with a raw recruited captain!).

I think this may be a 1.6 Patch change as it didn’t happen in my games of BI until after I’d installed this patch.


Braden

gardibolt
02-06-2006, 17:25
With frogbeastegg's consent, I can make that change in the pdf version.

Garvanko
02-07-2006, 21:21
Fantastic Guide!

Noticed frogbeategg doesn't let the AI manage anything. Does anyone else let the AI manage taxes only? I find that at least it keeps the cash rolling in, and lets you manage unit training and building construction.

mmk
02-08-2006, 14:37
Thank you very much for this guide. Excellent read and very inormative!

Kihon
02-14-2006, 19:26
Any sign of the PDF version, I really want to print this out and take it to bed with me!!! :book:
Hate reading text on screen. :dizzy2:

Oh and well done frogbeastegg, thanks for a great guide :2thumbsup:

gardibolt
02-14-2006, 23:12
FBE has approved it with one change, which I'll be making tonight. Hopefully it will be available shortly thereafter.

Avicenna
02-27-2006, 09:44
The Scipii are the blue Romans. They start in south-western Italy and Sicily. They are intended to take on the might of Carthage and the Numidians above all others. Their Gods are Vulcan (small happiness bonus, bonuses to armour and weapons of troops), Saturn (small happiness bonus, small law bonus), and Neptune (small happiness bonus, eventual ability to build the corvus quinquireme).

The Scipii Campaign I just started allowed me to build Mercury Temples... or maybe this was added by the first patch?

frogbeastegg
02-27-2006, 10:29
PDF is available here: http://www.totalwar.org/Downloads/Rtw_Uploads/RTWupload/frogbeasteggrtwguide_pdf.zip

Thanks to Gardibolt for his work.

Avicenna
03-12-2006, 23:05
Things I'd like to add:
1) Adoption of generals: this is probably to do with the version of RTW. I have patched RTW, and the general stays with his troops after adoption. In vanilla, where generals all went to the capital, there is a chance that he might go to the capital but I am not sure about this.
2) Agents: add in the traits expert assassin, subterfuge genius, expert spy. Also, when you get a master assassin (expert) or spy, kill a few more and your faction leader (providing he was the one who ordered all those kills) will gain a master of assassins/spies trait, and gain the retinue of master assassin/spy (not so sure, and no access to RTW sorry)
3) Marius: cavalry auxilia are still available after Marius.
4) Gnaeus Naevius is missing from the retinues I think. Dancer has to be added to spy and assassins' retinue list.

Tomilias Pwnias
03-25-2006, 00:49
Looking for some guides for my clans new website maby some of you could help?

Tomilias Pwnias
03-25-2006, 00:51
BTW the website is www.leohonorius.com

frogbeastegg
08-26-2006, 16:17
A tip sent to me by PM, which could be useful:

Wondered if you knew that if your governor has 4 ancillaries that make unit recruitment cheaper by total of 50%(max I think) then the same character can recruit the 2 turn units in one turn. Pretty useful. Me be playing unmodded 1.5 RTW

Kekvit Irae
08-26-2006, 16:27
It would definately allow Spartans to be churned out at a higher rate. The only problem I foresee is that getting the right combination of said companions is quite difficult

IRONxMortlock
09-08-2006, 01:33
FBE,

I'm a bit behind the times as I only just purchased RTW. As a complete noob to the total war series I have found your guide to be very useful and incredibly comprehensive. It has really helped me to get started in my campaign and to keep the empire running profitably and aggressively.

I registered here specifically to let you know how much I appreciated your guide. Big props out to you for all the hard work you put into making it!

Cheers,

M
~:cheers:

Seamus Fermanagh
09-08-2006, 04:12
FBE,

I'm a bit behind the times as I only just purchased RTW. As a complete noob to the total war series I have found your guide to be very useful and incredibly comprehensive. It has really helped me to get started in my campaign and to keep the empire running profitably and aggressively.

I registered here specifically to let you know how much I appreciated your guide. Big props out to you for all the hard work you put into making it!

Cheers,

M
~:cheers:

Superb first post. Should have done the same thing myself. Froggy is, as you note, aces.

frogbeastegg
09-08-2006, 09:47
Thank you :bow:

Specialist290
09-14-2006, 02:44
Great guide frogbeastegg. Most impressive :)

Regarding phalanxes, I have a small query / speculation: Is it regarded as tactically sound to deploy a group of phalanx units in a "gull-winged" line (i.e. w/ the two ends "folded" back obliquely) rather than a straight line? Admittedly I've only been able to use this formation in one battle, and it happened "accidentally" (I didn't deploy like that, but responded to an attempted flanking maneuver by the enemy). Also, it was under a different patch (v1.3, I think) and only Normal / Medium difficulty, so I'm not entirely sure if any of that may have had an effect on the battle (it was a Quick Battle; myself (Macedon) vs. Romans and Gauls).

Not really trying to prove or disprove anything; just thought I'd raise the issue for discussion.

Biggus Diccus
09-21-2006, 15:33
I just had to thank Frog for this awesome guide! After playing STW and MTW I just coudn't figure this game out properly. I never understood that cultural penalty was because of alien buildings before I read you guide =D

frogbeastegg
09-22-2006, 17:38
Thank you both. :bow:



On the matter of phalanxes, I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer. I haven't used them since the days of 1.2, and the only recent experience of RTW I have comes from the GothMod for BI. Certainly against the AI I used to have great success with a /---\ kind of arrangement, provided the flanks of the slanting units were placed very carefully indeed so they weren't vulnerable. I filled the centre with archers, and used heavy cavalry to protect the flanks. It's a very immobile formation; once you choose it you narrow your options quite considerably. It worked nicely in MTW too, with spears standing in place of the phalanx.

Against humans it won't work very well; they've the sense to use your immobility against you.

Bobo
10-18-2006, 18:21
Thanks FBE, your guide is the best - it has helped me a LOT.

Addition: you can also unlock playable factions in RTW by destroying them, even before finishing your first campaign.
Don't know about BI.

MaddMann
10-20-2006, 17:43
SOMEONE ELSE WHO PLAYS THIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought I was all alone on these forums!!!!!!

Dan.o6
10-21-2006, 20:37
Very nice guide.

BossMax05
01-23-2007, 06:57
great guide. i learned a lot here

Catintheoven
02-25-2007, 00:25
This Guide Is Good,

My Tip To Surviving The Hordes, Specialy As The Goths Is To Invest Your Initial Money In Walls and Plenty Of Bowmen, And Make Sure Youve Turned On Battle Time Limit!!!!! Some Times Its Best To Take Your Nearest Settlement (I Forgot Its Name) To Earn More And As A Back Up Incase You Fail And To Protect Some Spare Family Members

The Goths Initialy Will Only Face The Hordes, But Allying With Them Doesnt Really Help Much As They Arent The Most Diplomatic People,

Wait Till They Attempt To Get Into The City, Then Ride Out With Generals To Destroy The Ladders And Seige Towers, Mean While Have All Your Archers Up On The Wall And Use Flamming Arrows To Destroy The Seige Engines, You Might Have To Suffer Few Times Till The Get The Idea Your Too Much Hassle Or They Dont Have Enough Troops, But Even If They Leave, Dont Relly On Diplomacy They May Still Turn Back Before They Have Crossed Into German or Roman Territory. If Worst Comes To Worst, Once They Leave Keep Attacking Them, Send Suicide Missions After The Family Members If You Must.

Hope This Helps Because The Goths Can Be A Great Faction! Though You Might Have To Wrestle Greece Off Of The Sarmatians

Celtic_Punk
12-09-2007, 23:00
in regards to changing names of settlements in BI

IT WONT WORK!!! anyone else have problems with it?

Monsieur Alphonse
12-09-2007, 23:24
in regards to changing names of settlements in BI

IT WONT WORK!!! anyone else have problems with it?

You have to change a line in the preference.txt. In the line EDIT_SETTLEMENT_NAMES:FALSE, FALSE should be TRUE

ratbarf
12-16-2007, 09:46
Oh by the way in case anyone was wondering, the reason you have such a time controlling Corduba is because it historically had a Gladiator revolt. The game mimics this I beleive, seeing as whenever they revolt they seem to get Velite Gladiators. Also you can fight a bunch of Amazons in Thakistrya... wich was totally awsome but I am not about to tell you where it is.

mrdun
12-16-2007, 22:11
Removing fog of war will solve the riddle of the location of the elusive women!!

Guildenstern
12-17-2007, 02:12
Hi there,

I started playing RTW again after a long time. I had almost forgotten just how enthralling this game can be. I was reading frogbeastegg’s great guide and I have a question (probably a silly one) about the possible ways you can make your assassins gain some experience. The guide says I can get them to kill my own diplomats, assuming I have plenty of cash. But in my limited experience only spies can infiltrate enemy cities and so be targeted by assassins even belonging to the same faction. So I can't use my diplomats to train my killers, right?

Thanks in advance.

mrdun
12-17-2007, 22:53
Have you tried selecting your assasin on campaign map and right clicking on your diplomat?

wumpus
12-18-2007, 04:42
Yo, Guildenstern! Me, I wouldn't kill my own people; but if you're really THAT desperate about increasing you assassins' ranks, yes--mrdun is right. you could probably kill your own spies lurking inside town that aren't yours (enemy or neutral). But me, I'd rather kill off rebel captains and (enemy or neutral) emissaries. When my assassins have gained about 3 "eyes" or so, I'd also try hunting enemy or neutral assassins--and send my killer off to his mission ONLY when the odds are better than 60% or 70%. If you've THAT much money, try bribing enemy and neutral generals instead, so they'd join you--or build up you army or navy or trade to a higher state. Hawooh.

Guildenstern
12-23-2007, 01:17
mrdun, wumpus, thank you guys for your quick replies. Now a couple of points I’d like to clarify.

@mrdun: selecting my assassin and right-clicking on my diplomat were clearly the first things I did, but they don’t work for me. That’s the reason for my previous post. When I hover my mouse pointer over the diplomat with the killer selected, the usual assassinate icon (knife) doesn’t appear and right-clicking on my emissary produces no effects. That’s probably due to the fact that I’m still playing version 1.3, but I’m not very sure about that.

@wumpus: I’m not particularly desperate about increasing my assassins’ skill, lol. The fact is that more than one year has already passed since my last RTW campaign and I forgot some of the strategies for a successful game, especially about optimal management of my emissaries. (I think I’d better have a look at the guide diplomacy section again. :book: ) So in my current campaign I found myself completely stuck with a horde of undiplomatic, tactless, and discourteous pseudo diplomats. I just wanted to use my killers to do a bit of ‘house cleaning’ :smash: , but it seems that I’m condemned to go on with my extremely rude emissaries for the moment. I can only hope for their premature death and rely on the subterfuge of enemy murderers (they should find it pretty easy to remove my useless, very low influence people). Unfortunately, during my present medium/medium Julii short campaign the AI seems to be quite reluctant to put its killers into action, although I’ve already played a lot of turns. Well, I’ll think about a possible solution. :idea2:

Regards

Labrat
12-23-2007, 18:20
It's unfortunately not possible to assassinate your own diplomats, although you can kill your own spies if they have infiltrated an enemy city. The only way to get rid of useless diplomats (apart from hoping for an enemy assassin) is by loading them on a boat and looking for a stack of pirates. Given the low casualty rates for ship combat, this will take a while unfortunately.

Guildenstern
12-24-2007, 16:13
Labrat, thanks for your clarification - much appreciated. :bow:

Regards

Good Ship Chuckle
01-22-2008, 21:41
I am quite good at the battlefield aspect of Rome, but I find myself coming up short in.so.far.as diplomacy. Once I get the standard trade rights and map info, my diplomats immediately move to the sideboard, and are pretty much forgotten.

Moreover, I have found that other than bribing, I can't seem to get my diplomats any influence.

More moreover, I have found that I can never bully around other factions with purely diplomats, as frogbeastegg so says is possible.

More more moreover, I have never been able to make a faction become a protectorate.

If someone could provide insight into these humble moreovers, I would be much obliged.

Paradox
01-23-2008, 13:02
It is possible to get another faction to be your protectorate, but this is only possible when you inflicted enough damage to their forces, like if they have one province left, but they wouldn't really be able to benefit your forces at that rate, but you could force them to pay a tribute.

Punicus
01-24-2008, 22:28
Moreover, I have found that other than bribing, I can't seem to get my diplomats any influence.

More moreover, I have found that I can never bully around other factions with purely diplomats, as frogbeastegg so says is possible.I have the same couple of problems. I think that the first one is caused by the second one being true, but it could also be vise-versa. I'm not sure. Could it be the version of the game that makes it harder to deal with them? And what difficulty do you play on? I most commonly play on Hard campaign v1.5 and trying to make deals with the AI is like talking to a wall.

However, I've seen that you can get factions to become protectorates occasionally with large sums of money, but I have never had success in any other case. Sometimes they demand ridiculous things like a couple of cities and money, but if they're demanding things like that they're probably so weak that they should be gotten rid of anyway.

Good Ship Chuckle
01-25-2008, 04:40
It is possible to get another faction to be your protectorate, but this is only possible when you inflicted enough damage to their forces, like if they have one province left, but they wouldn't really be able to benefit your forces at that rate, but you could force them to pay a tribute.

It's definately not a case of whether I have crushed them militarily. Played on Very Hard and v1.5, as the seleucids, I bled the Macedonians until they had only Bylazora. Yet when I offered them to become a protectorate, they scoffed in my face and acted as if I was to about to crumble before them.:wall: However I haven't offered large sums of money to sweeten the deal. I'll try that before I call it quits on protectorates.

By the way, could someone give me a textbook:book: definition of 'Protectorate' in reference to RTW. I think maybe I don't really understand the purpose of acquiring protectorates. In my mind, it seems kind of silly to keep a hated faction alive that you are on the brink of finishing off.

BTW. This is my 50th post, and still going strong. :2thumbsup:

The Wandering Scholar
02-01-2008, 19:32
Very nice guide FBE

Quintus.JC
03-03-2008, 20:37
By the way, could someone give me a textbook:book: definition of 'Protectorate' in reference to RTW. I think maybe I don't really understand the purpose of acquiring protectorates. In my mind, it seems kind of silly to keep a hated faction alive that you are on the brink of finishing off.



I find it's better to be a client kingdoms than the master (depending on the situation), In one of my Dacian campaigns I was focusing on Thracia when the Germans backstabbed me, the first wave was beaten off but the second large one was closing in. before that they offered me to become their 'Protectorate'. I thought why not, so i accepted. immediate after, it was a cease fire, and trade rights. after a while my main force was besieging Bylazora why the Scythians crossed that river and advanced deep in my land, they offered me to become Protectorate as well. I accepted with the same result. Germany and Scythia never attacked me again, and never asked for single payment or tributes. I was able to focus on the Romans down the south without worrying about my northern provinces.

The Wandering Scholar
03-04-2008, 23:48
Did they not take any D without asking though?

Quintus.JC
03-05-2008, 20:51
What do you mean by ‘D’.

Good Ship Chuckle
03-05-2008, 23:13
I think he is refering to Denarii $$$$$.

I was about to ask the same question. I'll restate it:

In you Ecomony Tab, did you see a large subraction from your renenue that went to the Germans or Scythians? :7teacher:

Quintus.JC
03-06-2008, 16:39
never concetrated on that, but my economy was always ok though. Never running out of cash after destroying Thrace and taking Constintinople.

omg3969
12-30-2008, 10:12
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Guildenstern
06-25-2009, 15:59
Dear All,

probably my question has already been answered. If so please give me the link.
I was just wondering if RTW and BI work on Vista. In other words, is it possible to install and play the games on Vista? Are there any kinds of problem? I'm asking this because I'd like to play the games on my laptop, which is currently running Vista (preinstalled on purchase).

Thanks in advance.

Quintus.JC
06-25-2009, 20:13
Dear All,

probably my question has already been answered. If so please give me the link.
I was just wondering if RTW and BI work on Vista. In other words, is it possible to install and play the games on Vista? Are there any kinds of problem? I'm asking this because I'd like to play the games on my laptop, which is currently running Vista (preinstalled on purchase).

Thanks in advance.

RTW vanilla works just fine on my Desktop Vista, so presumablely BI shold work too. I think it should work fine on your laptop, can't make any gurantee though.

gardibolt
06-25-2009, 23:54
Both RTW and BI working fine on Vista on my laptop.

illoye
05-23-2010, 09:56
years ago i played this game and finished it. :laugh4::laugh4:
thanks for this guide it really help me alot
i can finish the game and i satisfied with the result :laugh4::laugh4:
but now i want to play this game again.
then when i look for guide since my old guide scrapped.
yeah i found my old guide yes it is the guide from the frogg :laugh4::laugh4:
thanks for the guide i really miss the frog :oops:
sory i don't give a thanks before and i wish i can complete this game again for my 3rd times :smoking::smoking:

Seamus Fermanagh
05-31-2010, 03:32
years ago i played this game and finished it. :laugh4::laugh4:
thanks for this guide it really help me alot
i can finish the game and i satisfied with the result :laugh4::laugh4:
but now i want to play this game again.
then when i look for guide since my old guide scrapped.
yeah i found my old guide yes it is the guide from the frogg :laugh4::laugh4:
thanks for the guide i really miss the frog :oops:
sory i don't give a thanks before and i wish i can complete this game again for my 3rd times :smoking::smoking:

Welcome to the .org. Froggie still swings by and reads up from time to time, so she will see this. Her guide brought many a person here as well as helped many to really enjoy the game.

Brandy Blue
08-04-2011, 06:01
Here’s a few diplomacy tricks that I’ve used. I’ve imitated the format used by Froggy to some extent.

1: The talk-first-then-fight gambit
Quote: “The troops are already there, Caesar, I just need help paying them.”
You are about to attack the Gauls, for example. See who is at war with them and promise to attack the Gauls in exchange for cash, or as a good will gift. You can do this before every battle or assault you initiate, not just when you initiate a war. I find this works best if play a pre-civil war Roman faction, because there will be three friendly factions nearby, usually at war with whoever you are fighting. I think that gifting attacks makes the Senate more friendly but I’m not sure.

2: The something-for-nothing gambit
Quote: “Caesar, can you spare me a dime?”
Maybe your Roman faction has an emissary hanging around Italy waiting for a chance to do the talk-first-then-fight gambit. Give him something to do by asking other Roman factions for small sums of money in exchange for nothing. Normally I don’t advise this because you are not likely to get much money and the other faction might take the opportunity of diplomatic contact to do things you don’t like, such as cancel your alliance or make a demand backed by a threat of war. However, if you are playing a Roman faction and the civil war hasn’t started, then there’s not a lot the other Roman factions can do to you, so you may as well give your agent more experience and maybe get a bit of cash.

3: The free map gambit
Quote: “Forget these idiots, O Caesar. They have nothing worth taking.”
Demand a province from a faction and then cancel the transaction after the province list pops up. Do this when you want to know what provinces they hold and don’t think they’ll sell you their map. Of course it will not tell you where their capitol is because you cannot demand a faction’s capitol.

Jakkal
08-27-2011, 12:10
" Plus j'apprends plus je m'aperçois que je ne sais pas "

I just finish my reading of this awesome guide and I should say that it is humble me and was a fool to believe I have masterized the game and now I feel the urge to go back to RTW. I guess that S2TW will wait a bit.

At this rate, CA should sell their TW séries 100$ each cause I feel like I'm stealing while I spent so much time in each game :)

A bit tough on the social life but what can I say, I'm a junky!

Ipman
09-22-2011, 15:43
How can you make your guys in a certain formation and some of them in one whole group that moves together.In Rome total war.

Vlad The Impala
09-28-2011, 20:47
Just select the units you want to group, and press control+number 1-9. Then, if you press that number, you select the units you grouped.

If you press Alt and then click somewhere on the battlefield, your units will stay in the formation they previously were, unless they can't fit that way due to buildings, rocks or trees.

Major Robert Dump
11-01-2011, 10:10
This is the one TW series I never got to play. I have the whole set purchased on Steam, but won't be able to play in for several months still. I will probably be looking to play each game and expansion only once, and will do it on the ahrdest difficulty because I am stubborn, so any recommendations on fun factions/campaigns would be appreciated.

Thanks to FBE for the informative guide

braverys
12-02-2011, 16:19
hello.
i'm new here .

can someone help me .
how to open file R3S , Z3S ??

please help me.

SaintedLegion
12-28-2021, 18:32
Hi. Can anyone please tell me where to get the PDF of this guide? The original link is dead.

Thanks.

edyzmedieval
12-31-2021, 13:27
The original link does not work any more, but there's an alternative here - https://manualzilla.com/doc/5972326/the-guild---frogbeastegg-s-guide-to-rome--total-war

You can download it from there.

therother
01-06-2022, 21:44
I've modified the original link to the pdf and it should work now: https://totalwar.org/Downloads/Rtw_Uploads/RTWupload/frogbeasteggrtwguide_pdf.zip