Limiting generals/armies in RTW ??

[YAKOBU]

Hi everyone

As part of my personal iron-man rules I want to know how you limit your generals/armies in RTW.

I tend to play as the romans and have had the following thoughts:

1 - Generals limited by command stars. A stack can only be twice as big as the generals command stars. i.e. 4 stars max 8 units in stack.

2 - Generals limited by age. Up to 20 years of age max 5 units in stack. 21 to 25 years max 10 units in stack.

3 - Limiting mercenaries to 2 units per stack.

4 - Only recruiting from towns when culture penalty gone and army buildings rebuilt.

I currently use 4 which slows me down a lot but have used a lot of mercenaries. Using 3 will slow me down even further. What are your general thoughts on all 4; and moreso 1 and 2.

Thanks for your input.

[Horatius]

I am not that good so don't do any of those things.

[Glaucus]

I'd just play RTR, then you HAVE to use auxilia buildings, which also makes armies more diverse and fun. And mercs are really expesive, so you can't afford that many.

[professorspatula]

I've replied in these kinds of threads so many times that I can't be bothered to go into proper detail again, but in general here's some things I do:

No army can invade/assault enemy territory and cities without a general.

The invading army must gather in friendly territory before leaving to give my foes a good kicking in their own back-yard.

Armies without a general should be 10 units or less in size.

For Romans, legionaries must make up about half the total number of units in the army with support troops limited to no more than 4 of any kind.

Units are merged instead of retrained when they reach 3 chevrons to restrict the exploitation of creating instant veterans.

Limited use of mercs at most times, although if one of my invading armies in enemy territory has suffered heavy casualties they can be recruited to fill in the gaps.

Upon conquering a settlement, the victorious general should stay put for at least a couple of years or until a replacement general is installed as governor; this prevents easy capturing and moving on to the next settlement straightaway.

No peasants in my armies.

And finally, all my soldiers are forbidden to wear any kind of cardigan, no matter how warm and comfortable they may be - they just aren't the kind of attire I want my tough and hardened warriors to be seen in.

[Horatius]

And finally, all my soldiers are forbidden to wear any kind of cardigan, no matter how warm and comfortable they may be - they just aren't the kind of attire I want my tough and hardened warriors to be seen in.

You are an ogre in your past life right?

[professorspatula]

No more than you were a troll.

[Seasoned Alcoholic]

No army can invade/assault enemy territory and cities without a general.

Technically, that's a good iron-man rule. However, soemtimes I find battles more challenging without a commanding officer / family member on the field, as unit's morale tends to be lower. As a result, its more difficult to keep control over an army led by a captain, rather than one that's led by a skilled commander with a decent command rating and / or battlefield morale bonuses.

[gmjapan]

without a commanding officer / family member on the field, as unit's morale tends to be lower.

Except for me and all my "lilly-livered" gerenals!! I'd be better off with a Captain in my Roman campaign.

[Seasoned Alcoholic]

Except for me and all my "lilly-livered" gerenals!! I'd be better off with a Captain in my Roman campaign.

Hmm, sounds like you need to stick all those lily-livered family members onto a dispensable bireme, and then charge head-on for a nearby rebel pirate fleet. Problem solved!

[Avicenna]

What happens to those without command stars?

You can limit yourself EB-style, by recruiting only from your core cities, eg Italian cities only if you are the Roman Republic/Empire.

By the way, gmjapan, those generals shouldn't become lily-livered or the such if you actually use them to charge the enemy and gain traits such as 'scarred' or 'brave', which will eventually reach a 'no going back' level, and you won't get any more cowards.



By the way, what about these?

Only one unit per naval unit for transportation
No peasants whatsoever, only real troops!

[Jambo]

Not really an ironman rule, but one that really aids the game is to mod all general units to have 1 hit point. :)