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Thread: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

  1. #31
    Member Member Afro Thunder's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Quote Originally Posted by Trithemius
    Mostly because the Sassanids aren't especially bright
    Obviously you mean that in the figurative sense of the word, not the literal meaning!
    Proud Strategos of the

  2. #32
    Sardonic Antipodean Member Trithemius's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Quote Originally Posted by Afro Thunder
    Obviously you mean that in the figurative sense of the word, not the literal meaning!
    Yes, yes. :P

    It seems the Sassanid faction leader is making his way past my border forts to Caesarea, alone.
    I have been letting him amble along and kept my field armies out doing their thing; I have recruited some cavalry as "chasers" in case he actually besieges the city.
    Trithemius
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  3. #33
    Ming the Merciless is my idol Senior Member Watchman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    The Sassanids really do seem to have a bit of an obsession with Caesarea. Personally, I just annihilated all those odd stacks they sent wandering through the mountain passes; not that I was complaining, all the guys mucking around up there were off the more serious fighting around Antioch, and with Highways to march on (and dispposable forts manned by an even more disposable 120 peasants to tie them up) I could pretty much handle the entire front with one and same field army.

    It would seem that the line infantry of choice for fighting against the Sassanids would be the Legio Lanciarii. Sure, the Commies are overall tougher, but they're also hideously expensive to maintain, require annoyingly high-level Barracks, are total overkill against Sassanid bulk infantry (whom, at least one Medium battle difficulty, I could see off with the puny Limitanensis without much trouble), and not actually all that effective against the single biggest headache, ie. the Clibanarii. The Lanciarii are both cheaper to field, easier to retrain (lower building reqs), see off Levy Spearmen with minimal casualties, and seem to do pretty well against even Clib Immortals (Commies make a decent showing, but with an unacceptably high casualty rate given the retraining issues). Their lower armour compared to the Commies doesn't amount to much anyway against the AP maces of the Clibs, and their staggering anti-cavalry bonus of 8 means they can actually cause some real damage.

    Once the Clibs are bogged down in nasty spearmen the proper way to dispose them is to Alt-doubleclick them in the rear with Household Bodyguards. Those mean bruisers have maces (albeit rather strange looking ones) as their secondary weapons, and in my experience a Lanciarii/Bodyguard tag team will tend to rout even Immortals inside about twenty seconds.

    'Course, a converging attack by more than one Bodyguard unit at once will tend to put paid to any single Clib pile right fast...

    Dromedarii work, too. They don't do that well against the Clibs by themselves, but throw in the Bodyguards and the Immortals will tend to break and run in about ten seconds. Plus the buggers are fairly easy to retrain, make a decent showing as (somewhat slow) medium shock cavalry, and I for one consider them the choice unit for chasing off those pesky Camel Raiders whom they can out-fight just by sheer better stats. Better than accumulating unnecessary casualties to the Bodyguards who have better things to do anyway, certainly.

    As a side note, is it just me or does the Asia Minor region seem to spawn annoying amounts of bandits ? And often pretty tough ones too, such as several Mercenary Comitatenses in the same stack. One time all the assorted little bandit packs lying around up and joined together into a respectably large army in the middle of the region, and it took a bit of preparing to demolish the damn thing as for obvious reasons all the real combat troops were busy on the Sassanid front or keeping an eye on the hordes puttering about in the north.
    "Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. --- Proof of the existence of the FSM, if needed, can be found in the recent uptick of global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Apparently His Pastaness is to be worshipped in full pirate regalia. The decline in worldwide pirate population over the past 200 years directly corresponds with the increase in global temperature. Here is a graph to illustrate the point."

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  4. #34
    Sardonic Antipodean Member Trithemius's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Quote Originally Posted by Watchman
    It would seem that the line infantry of choice for fighting against the Sassanids would be the Legio Lanciarii. Sure, the Commies are overall tougher, but they're also hideously expensive to maintain, require annoyingly high-level Barracks, are total overkill against Sassanid bulk infantry (whom, at least one Medium battle difficulty, I could see off with the puny Limitanensis without much trouble), and not actually all that effective against the single biggest headache, ie. the Clibanarii. The Lanciarii are both cheaper to field, easier to retrain (lower building reqs), see off Levy Spearmen with minimal casualties, and seem to do pretty well against even Clib Immortals (Commies make a decent showing, but with an unacceptably high casualty rate given the retraining issues). Their lower armour compared to the Commies doesn't amount to much anyway against the AP maces of the Clibs, and their staggering anti-cavalry bonus of 8 means they can actually cause some real damage.

    Once the Clibs are bogged down in nasty spearmen the proper way to dispose them is to Alt-doubleclick them in the rear with Household Bodyguards. Those mean bruisers have maces (albeit rather strange looking ones) as their secondary weapons, and in my experience a Lanciarii/Bodyguard tag team will tend to rout even Immortals inside about twenty seconds.
    And whatever is true of Sassanid clibanarii being tough, the clibanarii immortal bodyguards for their family members are worse. It's well worth using a lot of assassins to thin out the numbers of these guys (or at least to spread them out a little thinner). I faced a stack with three and half (one was a bit mauled, but escaped!) of these bodyguard units and they mutilated my comitatenses until I was able to use my bodyguards and some equites auxilia to pick them off one by one.
    Trithemius
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  5. #35

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Are the priests worth using at all? Does their purpose justify the upkeep and the occupied army space?


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  6. #36
    Sardonic Antipodean Member Trithemius's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Quote Originally Posted by Wilhelm The Mediocre
    Are the priests worth using at all? Does their purpose justify the upkeep and the occupied army space?
    Personally, I use First Cohorts as morale boosters - I don't know how their bonus compares to that of priests, but they are a large unit of heavy foot which is a damn sight more useful than some timid chaps in robes.
    Trithemius
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  7. #37

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Certainly sounds intelligent enough, but I wonder if their is a source somewhere where someone has researched the exact morale bonuses for units such as these.


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  8. #38
    Sardonic Antipodean Member Trithemius's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Quote Originally Posted by Wilhelm The Mediocre
    Certainly sounds intelligent enough, but I wonder if their is a source somewhere where someone has researched the exact morale bonuses for units such as these.
    They maybe have in the Ludus Magna subforum? Any research types out there know if there has been much investigation of morale enhancing units?
    Trithemius
    "Power performs the Miracle." - Johannes Trithemius

  9. #39

    Angry Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Hi All,

    The First Faction in BI I tried to play was ERE (VH/M), and I did not regret. Here is what I did...

    1. turned all Byzantium to Paganism (2 exp on all trooops @ Mithra temple are worth it...)

    2. quickly created buffer zone of ERE Rebels in Assyria and Armenia, then crossed the desert with special battle-traited General, wiper Sassanids out of the game. Rebels were surrounded and fell quickly. CavTanks are not as difficult if you engage them with Legions and repeatedly charge the mass with your general.

    3. consolidated army in the meantime: upgraded Barracks to produce Plumbatarii - never seen a better unit!! Iron-clad Heavy infantry Long-Range Skirmishers!! With archers tweaked in BI this is by far the best backbone unit for ERE, supported with East Archers and Cavalry Auxilia (the light ones that can swim...) I was able to hold off all Hordes in Thrase and Moesia.

    4. Treacherous WRE declared war on me, so I rampaged through Italy, leaving Gaul and Hordes for WRE to play with.

    5. The only province I need is Africa, as I now have 33 provinces, and will finish this game this evening.

    Exciting, stable, often against odds fought battles with great results... that is what my training in R:TW was good for

    Q.

  10. #40

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Have tried something new with my low loyalty Generals. This may not be new to most of you but I thought I would post it anyway.

    I either keep them in an army with a higher ranking general and use them and another unit of cavalry or....

    I send them out as scouts. I find cities that have a weak garrison. I then recruit mercenaries with the general and take over these cities. Exterminate and if the public is happy enough I then build a few units of peasants to keep it. If not I just leave it and let it revolt. I never keep the disloyal general in the mercenary group at the end of the turn just in case he decides to jump camp.

    I have found this to be pretty effective for getting some quick money. It also helps me to keep track on whats going on outside my borders. Of course spies are better at that but they can't take a city.

    If the General dicides to jump ship...whocares I have been lucky enough to take over at least a couple of cities before this even happens.

    Oh and of course if you take a city and know you will not be able to keep it. Destroy all buildings for the loot and so that when it revolts it will have a weak force and economy. The only building I do not sestroy is the religious building if it happens to be the same as mine. If it has an opposing building destroy it and build the cheap version of your own. Later own when you have advanced that way you can take a city that is hopefully still religiously in your favor.

  11. #41

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Ad Generals:
    as soon as he gets disloyal keep him at the capital city for a few turns and he will be prim and proper loyal again :o)

    //at least seems to work for my people out there...

  12. #42

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Thanks Q,

    I will have to try that. Some generals I could care less about. But nobody likes losing a good general to disloyalty.

  13. #43

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Quote Originally Posted by Quicci
    Ad Generals:
    as soon as he gets disloyal keep him at the capital city for a few turns and he will be prim and proper loyal again :o)

    //at least seems to work for my people out there...
    Interesting. Do you have to have another more loyal general there to make him shape up, or can he improve himself all by his lonesome?

  14. #44

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Not really a reply so much as some general comments.Well RTW/BI its pretty mind blowingly good id say as much as i love MTW .The big question is of course will CA ever re-vamp MTW to match the quality and format and Rome ?
    Anyway played my first game on BI as the East Romans and immediatley felt at home as lets face it they are the Byzantines in waiting.Played on medium/medium and had no trouble seeing off the vandals goths and huns.In fact the huns took a city off me with massive losses due to boiling oil which then rebelled kicking them out.I spent most of the game fighting my own rebels and the WRE.The sassinds were a bit of a pain but eventually i crippled them.Did Lots of exterminating to get the cash to top up my mainly merc field armies who were constantly busy.Any way i won in 432 and carried on till 482 but gave up when my heroic leader went over to the rebels the swine.Oh yeah after reading these threads i will definatley try for a Christain Conversion policy next time maybe with WRE.Playing as the Greeks at the mo on RTW doing OK.Stop Press-Won with the Greeks,Being thrashed as the Parthians,won as the Saxons.Only playing the short campaigns on RTW.
    Ciao.......The Kalifah Of Watton
    Last edited by kalifah of watton; 12-03-2005 at 21:48.

  15. #45

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    I've just finished my first go of BI a few minutes ago, i'm pretty impressed I have to say.

    My campaign analysis so far.

    I'm playing on H/H and at the beginning the very first thing I did was destroy all pagan temples and replaced them with christian churches etc, which reduced much of the unrest in the eastern provinces. Still getting a feel for the game I probably didnt train as many high quality troops as I should have and soon the Sassanids began raiding Syria and Cappadocia with modest sized forces.

    After a few years of minor confrontations in the east it became clear that the Danube frontier was were my attention should be most of the time as the Huns rampaged against the Germanics. First the Sarmatians were pushed out of their homelands after the Vandals expelled them, the Sarmatians then expelled the Goths from their territory and then the Sarmatians and Vandals were pushed out by the Huns. So within 6 or 7 years there were 3 massive hordes on the frontier, thankfully they fought each other most of the time for now.

    At around 368 things in the west looked somewhat bleak, constant rebellions pinned down my field army whilst the western Roman rebels seized Illyria, then my alliance with the western empire itself collapsed as I took Illyria from the rebels. Alarmed by this I increased the size of the western army whilst the eastern army campaigned against the Sassanids, Hatra was captured and Kotais (sp?) rebelled against the Sassanids and came over to me. So at this point despite the odd rebel army running around the east was secure and the Sassanids repeatedly defeated.

    Its at this point things have begun to go wrong,the commander of the western legions was killed during the plague and my legions were severely weakened as the hordes began crossing the Danube.

    First the Sarmatians crossed the unguarded frontier and lay siege to the city north of Salona in Pannonia, the city was lightly guarded and my field army was far to small to confront the Sarmatians who numbered some 4000. Second the Goths entered the empire and in the same turn lay siege to Constantinople, the Sarmatians stormed the city they were besieging and successfully plundered it, after 2 years Constantinople was stormed by the Goths and fell despite the Goths recieving 50% casualties (1500 men).

    In one stroke the Imperial capital had fallen and the western provinces were totally isolated, whilst the Sassanids in the east renewed their assault on Asia Minor. To avoid a total rebellion in the east I moved the capital to Asia Minor instead of the much larger city of Alexandria then I left the game a couple of years later at 375 for a break.

    I'm now contemplating my next move, I could attempt to retake Constantinople back from the Goths and try to salvage something of the western provinces or I could withdraw my western legions to Asia Minor where the campaign against the Sassanids could be pushed much further forward. Unwilling to sacrifice my 3 remaining western terrorities so easily i'm not to hyped on the withdrawel of the Balkans, however if the western legions are destroyed then i'll of gained nothing and the west will fall anyway and i'll have one less army at my disposal.

    Its an interesting series of decisions I have to make, the big thing that is swaying me here is that I cant see how I can hold the Danube even if I retook it, eventually the much larger Huns will sweep down and remove me anyway. What shocks me most is that the Western empire is totally intact aside from losing north africa to the berbers and rebels, its actually conquered territory north of the Danube and is stronger than the east.

    It's good to have these kind of problems for once unlike in RTW
    Last edited by _Aetius_; 11-27-2005 at 21:26.

  16. #46

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    This campaign just gets more and more bizarre, following on directly from where I left off in 375 I decided to leave the western legions to defend my remaining territory in the west instead of withdrawing them.

    The session began brightly when the western legions crushed a stack of Sarmatians in Moesia before giving the Vandals a serious mauling outside Thessalonica. In the east I made a big effort to destroy the rebel armies throughout asia minor scoring plenty of victories and finally securing the interior of the eastern provinces before pushing a campaign against the Sassanids.

    Building an army mostly of Comis, eastern archers and mercenary alans and sarmatian horse archers, I pushed southwards to Hatra to relieve some of the pressure from the recently conquered city before moving northwards towards Kotais. Having collected additional troops along the way the eastern army heavily defeated the Sassanids in Armenia 3 times leaving Atraxarta wide open to attack. After bringing the garrison close to starvation the Sassanids desperately threw armies at me as I besieged the city, however beneath the walls of the city these were all swept aside and the city was exterminated.

    The eastern campaign 378 - 383 had been a great success 3500-4000 Sassanids killed in battle to around 650 Romans, my recent conquests had been preserved and the vital territory of Armenia added to the empire.

    At around 385 the Vandals and Sarmatians moved away from the Balkans the Vandals ending up as far away as northwestern Gaul as these barbarians moved against the WRE my western legions were reduced to keeping an eye on the Goths whos armies still vastly outnumbered my own although we were at peace. For a few years everything was quiet until the WRE started moving armies into my territory, as I was considering a pre-emptive attack on the WRE, disaster struck.

    In 388 the eastern legions rebelled, the entire army in Armenia was lost as the Sassanids in coalition with the WRE invaded the empire together helping each other take Kotais. Another army was hastily raised in Antioch and Hatra to attempt to stem the invasions as the economy plumetted and soon was in the red, desperate for cash and with the empire falling to pieces I made what at the time felt like a crazy decision. Seeing that Tarentum had a tiny garrison I gambled and took the entire western army (leaving the west defenceless) and invaded Italy, within 3 years Tarantum, Rome and Ravenna had fallen to me and around 50000 denarii was gained. . Fortunately the WRE hadnt left significant forces in Italy so ive been able to hold onto these territories which are far more developed than my eastern provinces so much so I officially have the II and III Italica legions stationed in northern and central Italy.

    As this propped up the economy my newly raised eastern armies have been running around defeating rebels and tiny WRE armies whilst trying to keep the Sassanids from invading Cappadocia. The problem is though that loyalty has become a serious problem in 391 Tarsus rebelled and went over to the rebels in Armenia. I needed another break after all this so I left it at 392 with pretty much everything in the balance.

    Great to see TW is back on form

  17. #47

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Great post man! I haven't played with the Eastern Empire on a hard difficulty, but BI does seem to be more balanced than RTW with interesting unpredictable campaigns. On my campaign the Sarmatians struck first at Constantinople, but the walls and my comis proved to be too much for them. The Vandals were next at Sirmium, and again the walls saved me, as the AI spent all his foot soldiers trying to take them from me.

    Unfortunately the Goths also came calling and I didn't have time to replenish my army. After nearly beating them back Sirmium fell. It's very hard to keep the West if more than one horde attacks you. It also means that the WRE has time to get its act together.

    I think when I play them again my strategy will be to concentrate on holding Constantinople and the two Greek Cities. Maybe gift Sirmium to the Goths. Getting rid of the Sassanids seems to be the Eastern Empire's #1 priority. Once that's done things are so easy. And of course just as you did, conversion to Christianity is a must.

    By the way did you move that Pagan General in Kydonia? He was the only General so far that I have come across with the Night fighting trait. Unfortunately I didn't notice that until he was too old to be a factor. I moved him the to front, but he died quickly.

  18. #48

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    I hadnt noticed that guy in Kydonia, I wish I had nopw i'll remember that for another time though thanks for letting me know .

    The Western provinces are hard to hold onto your right there, I think you have a good idea about sacrificing Sirmium to a horde, that way you stop the horde rampaging through your territory. Then allying with them you create a buffer against other barbarians north of the Danube, however allowing an entire tribe to settle in what was your territory is dangerous.

    Remember what happened when Emperor Valens let the Goths settle within the empires territory? the Goths rebelled and smashed the legions at Adrianople, so its a risk but in hindsight one I should have taken it seems.

    I'm going to continue my campaign now and try and salvage something from this mess hopefully i'll report back a much brighter picture of my empire when I return.

  19. #49

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Great Post!!

    I to am playing ER on H/H and have a similar story to yours early on. I decided though to leave the west. I lost a couple of big battles to the Huns. I hurt them bad but my losses hurt me more. I gathered all I had left in the west (military wise) and left. I brought them all East. I plundered all my cities and left them to the huns.

    With all my forces in the east I was able to crush the Sassanids. I then moved North and took over all of the East side of the map. I then concentrated on turning all cities to Christianity and getting all cities in the green. I also used a small part of my money to upgrade a couple of my troop cities and build a little more advanced army. I alos built up my navy so I would be supreme on the seas. I also used this time to move armies around in order to make 4 offensive forces.

    1. Would go north over the black sea and cause havoc there.
    2. Would retake Constantinople and cause the Huns grief. Since I plundered all the cities, I knew that the cities the Huns took over would need alot of time and money to become any help to them. Mainly Const., Thess, and Athens.
    3. Would attack via Athens and put Huns in a squeeze with my force in Constan.
    4. My africa army. I want to run across the south and take all of Africa.

    All worked like a dream.

    Force 1 had it hardest dealing with Hordes of many names in that large area. I won every major battle but with cities being poor up there, I had to ferry over reinforcements all the time. I had to fight many battles with a battered force. I had my general hire many Mercenaries to march around harassing weak enemies and holding cities that I just took.

    Force 2 took and held Constan. and started rebuilding it so I could use it for reinforcements. I ventured away from the city a few times to crush any armies/hordes that got close.

    Force 3 took Athens easy enough and moved up and took Thess as well. After healing all wounds I then moved N and w to take (don't remember names very well) that city that we start with. I now owned all in the West that I had started with.

    Force 4 did so well that I now own all of Africa, all the Island provinses and I even landed and took Rome and the city south of it.

    I won the game as soon as I tool Rome because I already had 41 provinses. I am the type of guy who wants to take over the whole map though and will continue on. I did it with the WER on M/M and will have to do it with the EER. The challenge there is not militarily but with keeping everyone happy enough to get there.

    This game is a blast.

    I want to play VH/VH next. Anybody have any suggeestions on what Empire I should use for this?

  20. #50
    Ming the Merciless is my idol Senior Member Watchman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    The Alemanni. On Huge unit size.
    "Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. --- Proof of the existence of the FSM, if needed, can be found in the recent uptick of global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Apparently His Pastaness is to be worshipped in full pirate regalia. The decline in worldwide pirate population over the past 200 years directly corresponds with the increase in global temperature. Here is a graph to illustrate the point."

    -Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

  21. #51

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Try the WRE on VH/VH. You'll enjoy that. Seriously.

    Leaving the west early is the best strategy for killing off the Sassanids quickly as the ERE. Once that's done taking it back will be a piece of cake.

  22. #52

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Any guides for the Eastern Roman Empire Rebels?

  23. #53

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    can you play as them? how?

    back on subject on VH/VH i sent all my western legions to constantinople and thinned out expensive garisons, i built armys of comatenses archers and eastern archers who rock at defending cities and forts build three full stack forts near hatra as bait to distract the Sassanids when they attack i just sally with my comatenses and leave me archers to support them safely behind the walls.

    then 4 full stack armys arrived and constantinople, three sieged and one just stayed behind, the next turn they attacked, i had 2 units of eastern archers 1 archer unit some comatenses and limiti, i set my archers on flame arrows and burned their seige tower and ram, i won and they ran back but the forth army automatically sieged again, they kept doing this again and again i couldn't retrain but kept beating them back, very annoying. eventually id killed about a stack and they started stopping for a turn every now and then and gave me a chance to recover a bit. but in the end i lost it to a particullarly flame resistant siege tower...

  24. #54

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    To summerise my latest ERE VH/VH game the year is around 440.

    The West.

    Suprisingly the western provinces were spared much devastation from the barbarians, the only major trouble came from the Huns who with 6 full stacks crossed the Danube and sacked Sirmium. They then began to advance on Thessalonica which if it had fell would of meant Constantinople was next and Athens soon after. My only field army in the west confronted one of the smaller Hun stacks but was comprehensively crushed in Northern Greece. To be amazement the Huns left imperial territory and moved westward, even though the western army had been destroyed the west didnt see trouble for some 35 years.

    The East.

    The Sassanids were finally destroyed in 415 after over 5 decades of warfare, my plan had always been to invade Persia via Armenia, I first attempted this in around 385 by capturing Kotais to the north and then besieging Artaxarta itself, having suffered overstretching of the eastern army and rebellions though this strategy began to fall apart. The Roxolani backed the Sassanids and Kotais fell to the Roxolani.

    A decade of economic instability followed until the Brigands who had effectively ruled the countryside of Asia minor were finally destroyed and trade resumed. For over 20 years already there had been sporadic warfare along the frontier ever since my capture of Petra in the south and my brief hold on Hatra until the eastern army rebelled against me. Along with the occassional besieging of Caeserea I had time to build my forces.

    Finally I felt I had enough to strike one decisive blow against the Sassanids by attacking Ctesiphon itself, fully aware of the risk I took one stack of Comis and Hippotoxoi with some eastern archer units and headed straight for the Persian capital. Having won a couple of battles along the way I felt confident and soon reached the city which I besieged, after 1 turn though the Persians gathered a large army to face me and unfortunately after making a silly mistake mid-battle the battle was lost and the expedition destroyed.

    The remnants of the army barely escaping back to Imperial territory, but this wasnt as bad as it looked the survivors were retrained and the Emperor himself led another more formidable army into Persian territory coinciding with Hatra coming over to me by rebelling against the Eastern Roman rebels. My economy was by now booming and yet another imperial army was heading north through the mountains to invade Armenia from behind.

    Defeating the Persians in battle 4 times, I reached Ctesiphon which fell 5 years after the catastrophe of the last army that besieged it, soon Armenia fell to and the Persians were reduced to poor and underdeveloped territories cut off from one another. Suffice to say these were soon mopped up and the Persians totally destroyed.

    Back in the west.

    Id sent Diplomats out to every corner of the map getting map info to see what was going on, the WRE had largely been overrun, left with central and southern italy, corsica/sardinia, Sicily and parts of Africa. The faction which had gained most form this was the Franks who ruled much of Gaul and Germany. By the time I was finishing off the Persians the Franks shared a frontier with my own. I was more than abit alarmed when I saw a stack of Franks standing right on the frontier line

    Fortunately the western army had been rebuilt in time and was now the 1st Claudia legion originating from Constantinople, I gathered some of the most experienced regiments from the eastern legions and hurried them as fast as possible to the west though I knew itd be atleast 4 years until they arrived as they were based in the far eastern edge of the map.

    By this time Sirmium in Moesia and Salona in Dalmatia were apart of the empire having been captured by the 1st legion in 420, however plague had ravaged the army and the Franks invaded and captured both settlements. In a battle near Salona the 1st legion was destroyed after a close battle which the Frankish axeman proved to powerful for my Comis.

    I retrained it and it became the 2nd legion but was to late to stop the fall of Thessalonica and again it looked as if the west was doomed, however the 2nd legion defeated the Franks outside Thessalonica and retook the city. Feeling confident that I could push the Franks out of Imperial territory as the Eastern regiments were near arrival I advanced upto Sirmium.

    Again another Frankish stack V the western legion, the battle began brilliantly for me my onagers killed the Frankish general in its first volley and it looked as though the Frankish army would flee. However on my right flank the Franks launched such a fearsome attack with its throwing axes that when battle commenced proper, my right flank collapsed and fled. I had broken the Franks right flank also, but they had superior numbers of heavy infantry units and soon my line was rolled up and the 2nd legion was smashed much like the 1st.

    Demoralised after being defeated so heavily by the Franks twice and Constantinople now under siege the situation was saved only by the arrival of the eastern armies 2 stacks landed near Athens. The Franks were defeated by the garrison in Constantinople and i'm no considering what I should do.

    I've already suffered two horrendous defeats to the Franks costing me more than 1500 good experienced men and much territory Salona has been reduced to a population of 400 and Sirmium has been sacked twice. The Comis cant stand up to the Frankish axemen who have immense experience and high weapon and armour upgrades, I have superior cavalry but the economy is sliding again and its becoming very expensive.

  25. #55

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Yea(Sorry off topic) WIth the mod Rebel Commander. I tried them but I was killed pretty easily. The are hard.

  26. #56

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    So can anyone give me some tips on what to do with the eastern Roman Empire Rebels?

  27. #57

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Hmmm well you would probably be best off concentrateing on defence and useing agents and family members to create religious unrest, and hopefully more rebellions. Assasins are good for that, sabotage religious buildings sewers ect... if the eastern romans come, concentrate on destroying their siege towers and rams.

    Back on topic, im finnally beating back the sassanids and Constantinople is retaken, the western romans are all but gone, stuck in Caralis and South Spain. The Vandals have taken Italy and the franks have most of Spain and Gaul.

  28. #58

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Sorry for the lame Q. I can't destroy the pagani temples. In fact i can't destroy buildings at all from the construction browser. Please, help....

  29. #59

    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    Unlike the WRE which is usually destroyed, has anyone ever seen the ERE get wiped out by the AI yet?

  30. #60
    MTR: AOA project ###### (temp) Member kataphraktoi's Avatar
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    Dec 2002
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    Malaysia and Australia
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    Default Re: Eastern Roman Empire (BI faction)

    I started a new ERE campaign recently and decided to see what 7th century Byzantium was like. I withdrew my troops from the rich Eastern provinces except Anatolia and Cilicia across to various parts of the EMpire. I abandoned Sirmium and the Danube border to hunker down and build forts in the mountain passes.

    It is quite an interesting challenge to fight the Sassies and EREbels while reducing your army ranks to make sure ur not in the red.

    So far, I've defeated a few Sassies in the mountains of Anatolia jsut like the Byzantines did taking advantage of the mountainous passes that can hold up enemy advances. Right now I also have an army besieging Antioch. I hope to establish an outpost in the Crimea soon as well. Most importantly, I have to build up as many trade relationships as possible and develop my Empire into a tough little nut to crack.
    Retired from games altogether!!

    Feudalism TOtal War, non-active member and supporter. Long Live Orthodox Christianity!

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