Captain to General

[TopHatJones]

I was running low on family members so I decided to give Captain Tiberius a chance to prove himself worthy of adoption.

He won 4 victories in two years. Two of which were Heroic victories and two of which were clear victories that should have been heroic.

He was still not promoted! What does it take?

p.s. I thought I was p!ssed about that, but until he was bribed along with 19 other high valor units, I didn't know the meaning of the word p!ssed. Especially since Gaul was down to two provinces and had been constantly throwing themselves on my armies in vain, they shoulnd't have had NEARLY enough money to bribe that army. If he would have gotten the promtion he deserved it may not have happened.

[sapi]

I think to be promoted the captain has to get a vice/virtue.

Try using him in combat

[Oaty]

Even the comps diplomats know how to make them money. Although I always wonder who the donater is to this dying faction. The money does'nt come out of nowhere either as I have been bribing off armies of Egyptians left and right so they ca'nt take the last selucid city. Just making sure the powers stay in check. Even afer 20 years of keeping them safe I look at there financial rating and it appears they are in debt are just a slight hair away from it

[TinCow]

It seems kind of random. You certainly get better odds by using a captain in battle, but just last night I had a captain adopted who didn't do anything. No battles or anything, he just suddenly became worthy. I'm not complaining though, because I recently lost two of my best guys to the plague and I am desperately in need of some males in the family.

[Jeanne d'arc]

I didend know that was even possible, i thought it was just a random event.

[Captain Fishpants]

I didend know that was even possible, i thought it was just a random event.

It's not (entirely) random. Try having a captain win a significant battle by a significant margin, and you should be offered the chance to adopt him into the family.

[metatron]

^"Man of the Hour"

[Red Harvest]

The best part is that these guys seem to get promoted on the field, meaning they don't get sent back to the capitol. It is the "instant" part vs. "end turn."

[Spartiate]

Quote ^"Man of the Hour" End Quote

I had this happen on several occassions,most noteably when a captain on his way through the desert to reinforce my attacks on Memphis and Thebes got surrounded 3 huge Egyptian armies i didnt know were out there.Amazingly he won that battle with losses of about 400 men to the Eggys' 3000 or so and i got a new heir who didnt get shipped back to the capital.

Just a question. Has anyone refused adoption and then checked out the captain in question afterwards?Is he now a general...is he gone...is he still a captain with command rating?

[TopHatJones]

It's not (entirely) random. Try having a captain win a significant battle by a significant margin, and you should be offered the chance to adopt him into the family.

So what are the odds of a captain being promoted to general after winning two clear victories and two heroic victories in 4 turns???




p.s. Captain Fishpants you sure seem to make a lot of posts here...at least for a dev. I'm sure we all appreciate dev feedback. I therefore vote you be promoted to General Fishpants!

[*Ringo*]

Just a question. Has anyone refused adoption and then checked out the captain in question afterwards?

Er, no! I have enough trouble getting decent generals without refusing extra ones that turn up unexpectedly.

*Ringo*

[Somebody Else]

I managed to get a man-of-the hour once with a tiny little battle. There was one unit of brigand peasants running about the strategy map. I sent two units of wardogs. No losses, and I got a general out of it. I suppose it was three to one, sort of.

[R'as al Ghul]

Just a question. Has anyone refused adoption and then checked out the captain in question afterwards?Is he now a general...is he gone...is he still a captain with command rating?

I frequently refuse adoption in the hope to get a better one. Happens from time to time. However, if you refuse, the opportunity is gone. You won't have a captain with command ratings. In fact you won't even find the character as he has no name.

R'as

[Chimpyang]

If he dies in the battle you can adopt him, but another messge will pop up saying that unfortunatly this man is already dead.

[MadKow]

Number play big role because the one captain i had promoted belonged to a gladiator unit (smaller numbers here, like wardogs).

[DisruptorX]

If he dies in the battle you can adopt him, but another messge will pop up saying that unfortunatly this man is already dead.

Yup, I've had that error. Dumbest thing ever.

[CaoCao]

Can non-roman factions get captains promoted, I use captains alot in my Greek campaign but I have not got anyone promoted.

[Bob the Insane]

Can non-roman factions get captains promoted, I use captains alot in my Greek campaign but I have not got anyone promoted.

Definately... I have had adoptions in both my Germanian and Egyptain campaigns...

[lars573]

Captains do have names. And the only time one has been adopted was in my first egyptian campaign.

[Vlad Tzepes]

I frequently refuse adoption in the hope to get a better one. Happens from time to time. However, if you refuse, the opportunity is gone. You won't have a captain with command ratings. In fact you won't even find the character as he has no name.

R'as

AFAIK there are 2 kinds of adoption: husbands and captains after battle. I also tend to refuse wannabe husbands (complete idiots, I wonder about these Roman girls...), but always promote/adopt captains after battles, they seem to have good v&v. It happens rarely, though.

[Ulstan]

I would really like some more insight on this.

Thank you Fishpants for posting!

"It's not (entirely) random. Try having a captain win a significant battle by a significant margin, and you should be offered the chance to adopt him into the family."

The only captain I have ever had promoted to general was one guy, with a unit of equites, running down a unit of rebel velites.

Meanwhile, my captains who have won maybe a dozen battles fighting massive gallic stacks, leaving crossed swords battles on the map even, have not been adopted.

Of course, my *regular* family is busily not producing any children ever. I've had males with the 'prolific' and 'fruitful' traits marry early and then their whole lives never have one child.

[Ulstan]

Is there any indication that you can eventaully get a captain to be a general just by extreme experience? like, you have one specific captain fight and win 20 battles and then he becomes a general?

This would really help the AI I'm thinking, since they usually almost never have general led armies.

[alpaca]

Well I think winning great battles in a heroic way doesn't suffice to get a new family member... Because I do that rather frequently and nothing happens.
But I have stumbled upon a strange thing with the AI. I tried to kill all Egyptian family members using assassins (it should be possible) but they simply keep adopting captains on the field. In an extreme case I killed a general off from leading an army, one turn later they had gotten another one from that army whom I had put to death, too, but: once again, one turn later they got another general there!
It seems to me that the chances of a general getting available to adopt him increase drastically if you only have a few (say, 2) family members alive, making my attempt to destroy the faction as good as hopeless.
Maybe our beloved dev might say something about that :) (hopey)

[LordKhaine]

I had a few units of Persian cavalry attacked by a few units of Nubian spearmen and some Egyption Chariots. Got the option to adopt the captain after I won that. And he eventually ended up as the faction leader too

I can't see why anyone would want to refuse to adopt a captain when they have the option. You don't have anything to lose, and a (usually pretty good) family member to gain. Unlike marriages, when you often get 50 year old useless wanna be family members trying to marry your daughter.

[Locklear]

Of course, my *regular* family is busily not producing any children ever. I've had males with the 'prolific' and 'fruitful' traits marry early and then their whole lives never have one child.

I have noticed this too. Most interesting was when my "sterile" family member had 5 kids, and my "prolific" one had only 1! I'm thinking there's something up with these traits.

[bmolsson]

Well, can we get those family chicks go for more dates and get a few generals that way ...

[Razor1952]

I had one guy go from Captain to General 3 stars! (Julii) , I kind of like the small battles so I often send velites and dogs only to deal with brigands, this was that type of battle.

The captains then always get involved and I think this is what is most important in promotion rather than just a heroic victory.

[sapi]

It seems kind of random. You certainly get better odds by using a captain in battle, but just last night I had a captain adopted who didn't do anything. No battles or anything, he just suddenly became worthy. I'm not complaining though, because I recently lost two of my best guys to the plague and I am desperately in need of some males in the family.

Captains can be promoted even if they didn't exist - if your general dies and it is an heroic victory, the newly promoted captain can be further promoted to a general!

[Captain Fishpants]

Er, no! I have enough trouble getting decent generals without refusing extra ones that turn up unexpectedly.

*Ringo*

Ah, but any general can be improved by sending him out to do stuff!

I've often taken men who look like total duffers and made sure they get the chance to crush a few bandits, rebellious poltroons and the like, or made them town governors for a few years. A couple of transferred retainers to offer the right word of advice can make all the difference too.

With a bit of luck and a following wind (as it were) a good general will result with this kind of personnel management.

[bmolsson]

The retainers are interesting. Must be some kind of superior way to manage them. Haven't figured out how to transfer them long distances though.... Without moving around the generals that is.....