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View Full Version : Has Anyone Ever Actually Played as the Seleucid Empire?



Zenith Darksea
02-07-2006, 23:09
It's huge! How on Earth do you manage it? I'm sure that this was realistic, but it doesn't incline me to try them out, alas. Not that I'm criticising EB for that, naturally. However, I'd like to know if anyone has ever played as the Arche Seleukeia and achieved anything substantial. I've never read any stories about people doing that.

Keba
02-08-2006, 00:01
I did, twice ...

First time, I lost my central part to Rebels, so I restarted.

Second game, I abandoned everything east of Persia. For some odd reason, those provinces wouldn't rebel ... so I had them on Very High tax and no troops, I kept making money off of them. With so much cash flowing in from the abandoned east it wasn't all that hard to assemble an army.

Teleklos Archelaou
02-08-2006, 00:15
I have tested them for a while. It can be fun. But it's hard to keep off the Ptolemies and deal with rebels. Virtually any battle you fight and win without a general being present will get you a man of the hour. You can be selective about who you accept as suitors or adoptees as you know another will come along soon too.

Focus on building roads and traders and getting trade rights.

NightStar
02-08-2006, 12:54
Didn't find them that hard, don't worry about the cities to the east...and concentrate on smashing the Ptolemies. I managed to stay at peace with everyone except the Ptolemies for twenty odd years and by that time I was pretty much set up. With the Ptolemaic empire in ruins I had cash enough to raise huge armies, take arabia, wipe out Pontos, grab asia minor, recover my eastern holdings and crush the Karthadastim.....after that I lost interest....

Malrubius
02-08-2006, 13:11
I did some playtesting with them. But with my focus on the traits of the generals, it took me a long time to play a turn! I'd always forget about my little army on the Arabian peninsula until they got attacked. I wouldn't get too far into the game before I fixed something in the traits file and had to start over.

You should get plenty of adoption and man of the hour opportunities, so you can reject the hopeless losers and hold out another turn or two for a better prospect.

Joeokar
02-10-2006, 23:50
I have played them I just love playing the really large factions getting attacked from all sides.

Samurai Waki
02-11-2006, 09:36
I like Seleukia, the starting game is a bit difficult, because you have such a vast area to govern over, and few troops to do it with. However, if you're any good~;) you'll be able to consolidate your power within the first fifty years, and strike out again to reclaim provinces you might have lost to either rebellion or treacherous Client Kingdoms (Pahlava and Baktria). Eventually however, you'll be able to build the largest armies in the world, and for a guy like me who isn't as tactically competant as other people who play RTW, Bigger means better...and I mean VASTLY bigger armies than anything you'll be going up against. You can smash the bejesus out of anyone. Of course there is a vice for generals who do that, but I say, who cares...

PseRamesses
02-14-2006, 22:29
The Seleuk empire is one of the most fun to play IMO but you better be in a patient mood ;)

My first priority is to draw down an iron curtain in Sinai to block out Ptolemy. My second armygroup forms in Syria to strike Asia Minor and my third one is formed in Babylonia for a march east. All of this seems to corrulate with the way things usually turns out.

In my recent campaign I´ve pretty much started out in the same manner. Ptolemy has accepted a ceasefire deal giving me 5k in tribute every time on the first turn. Don´t worry you´ll soon be back at war with the Ptolemies but at least you´ve been able to mass your scattered expendable troops for a strike at Sidon.
Build roads, roads and roads and make it a priority at every level, you´ll thank me later. Your empire is huge but that´s not intimidating. The key is to let a surpising enemy come to you. Let them besiege you. Two standard units of the Seleucian hoplites will rout some 4-800 units of the besieger and the AI seems to favour missile troops so just stay at your town center shielded by the buildings. NEVER fight on the walls if you only have 2 units.
Initially I also build phalanxes (cheepest one) so I have 2 in each settlement and all other units march to Syria.
The fast growing and quite rebellious eastern parts of your empire could be a problem if you try to kepp up with its growth - don´t! When you´ve hit 90% loyalty on low taxation just move out your troops, give it to an enemy, then take it back the same turn and xterminate the populance. Brutal and unrealistic yeas but a true cashbooster. I never let them grow past 6000 until the western parts of my empire is secure and infrastucture there is acceptable. So to speak, I cannibalise on my own kingdom.

As others has already stated you´ll be pretty much left alone to deal with the Ptolemies for the first 20 years so make good use of this to secure Sinai, the Bosphorus and have atleast 4 army stacks by then. Often all your nothern allies seems to coordinate their treachery on you and attack from all sides. Keep your calm and don´t worry about loosing a settlement or two. With 4 armygroups you´ll have two to spare without letting your guard down in Sinai and Bosporus.
Usually Pontos or Pahlav are the first to come at you. But in my last two games Bactria has started and they have a really good line-up that you might wanna be prepared for: a solid phalanx supported by harrassing and very illusive horse archers, brr! Chasing thoose guys around will certainly melt your forces away.

Good luck and have fun!

Mujalumbo
02-14-2006, 23:37
Give away, reconquer, and exterminate, eh? Hmm, gonna have to give that a try.

I've started a Seleucid campaign shortly after this thread was started, and abandoned it very shortly thereafter. 1. The Ptolemies bribed three towns away from me in as many turns. :furious3: 2. CTD's almost immediately after I hit the "End Turn" button. (I reload and can play for a few turns, but sure enough... CTD's again).

I didn't bother keeping the provinces between the Pahlava and Baktria, just pulled my troops out and let 'em rebel. One town, forgot the name, furthest northeast, just won't rebel. It's constantly rioting, and they've smashed every building to 100% damage, yet it still nets me 10-20 mnai profit/turn! Anyway, even with provinces under seige and bribed by the Ptolemies or abandonded to rebel, you still have plenty of settlements to devote your attention to. PseRamesses said it best, "Keep your calm and don´t worry about loosing a settlement or two."

Like PseRamesses said, queue up all the roads and paved roads you can. You'll get the most out of your Forced Marching ability this way, and with a wide swatch of land to administer, you'll need all the speed you can get.

My own starting advice would be to abandon the east. Immediately queue up assassins in Antiocheia <sp>, and start training them on the many stacks of brigands and rebels. The sooner you can get rid of enemy diplomats, the better. Use pantodapoi phalantagies, or pezhetairoi if you can train them, and use PseRamesses' tactic for town defense. It's cheap, but it works.

Incidently, as mentioned in the "Does EB change your lineup" thread, I've found using Peltastai and Theurophoroi makes for a decent starting assault force. They'll beat pantodapoi, akonisties, and most other first-level units in a head up fight. Theurophoroi do a good-enough-for-now job of dealing with enemy cav.

Reverend Joe
02-15-2006, 03:21
Actually, giving up and retaking towns just to exterminate the populace would not be all that unrealistic; it is just an abstract way of ordering your local garrison to slaughter 90% of the populace and confiscatetheir possesions for the state. Not an entirely unrealistic option, really, if you are talking about an especially brutal overlord; though he may end up being marked down in history as being worse than the Assyrians, even if he saved Arche Seleukia.

Teleklos Archelaou
02-15-2006, 04:51
Some of those middle northern provinces can really get you heavy income though if you get a good road system down in between them. I focus on getting roads and traders in every province, and big roads in my bigger provinces. That's usually my first order of business. I hate that long gap on either side of Mazaka though - it's hard to hold things together and transport troops along the old Persian Royal Road through Anatolia.

PseRamesses
02-18-2006, 14:54
My own starting advice would be to abandon the east. Immediately queue up assassins in Antiocheia <sp>, and start training them on the many stacks of brigands and rebels. The sooner you can get rid of enemy diplomats, the better. Use pantodapoi phalantagies, or pezhetairoi if you can train them, and use PseRamesses' tactic for town defense. It's cheap, but it works.

No m8, don´t! You don´t have too! Give them to the Ptolemies and retake them the same turn and exterminate the pop. You can easily hold them at atleast low taxation with just two phalanx units, the cheepest ones (can´t remeber name - Theuro´s ? Also I move my capitol to Seleukia on turn one. Brings the capitol closer to the east and reduces unrest. Your holdings in asia minor will hold nicely anyway and are expendable initially, just guard them with a minimal garrison force.
You´ll need the east as a buffer zone when Bactria come knocking at your backdoor in 259bc. Their line-up is the only one i "fear" on a TW-battlefield. Try playing them - they rock! By far the most fun, barttlewise, faction to play.


Incidently, as mentioned in the "Does EB change your lineup" thread, I've found using Peltastai and Theurophoroi makes for a decent starting assault force. They'll beat pantodapoi, akonisties, and most other first-level units in a head up fight. Theurophoroi do a good-enough-for-now job of dealing with enemy cav.
Since you´ll eventually need some 4 full stacks my line-up is a bit cheeper but will hold nicely: 7 (cheepest phalanx?), 5 akonstai, 6 eastern archers (cheepest long range) and 2 cavs. The akonstais are superb flankers after they´ve depleted their missiles. H_ll, even the eastern archers will do for this job. My strat is simple: Phalaxes holds the line while Akonstais weaken them. Archers peppering flanking units before cavs rout them. Akonstai and archers flank/ hits from the rear after missiles are out. Cavs mop up.