ataribaby
04-18-2008, 18:22
Anyone looking for a challenge in the vanilla campaign: try playing as the Rebels. (Just add them to the Playable Factions in your descr_strat.txt file the same way as the Papal States).
You don't have to worry too much about constraining yourself with House Rules as there's plenty of new dynamics to get to grips with:
You'll have no agents except Heretics. Keep them out of your regions and into everyone else's to spread unrest. Your religion varies depending on geographical location (and despite what the game says, it isn't Heresy).
Diplomacy isn't an issue for you: everyone loathes and attacks you without exception or respite.
Neither is rebellion a problem: you're already rebel - you can't go rebel-rebel without the help of David Bowie around turn 1790. Any settlements or troops that turn rebel from other factions become yours to command, so you have a regular supply of random free gifts each turn.
You don't have a standard unit roster. This is an alliance of rebel factions, so every settlement has its roster determined by geography, e.g. the British Isles south of Edinburgh will produce English units; Middle Eastern territories will be either Turkish or Egyptian. This makes expeditionary forces face the issue of not being re-trainable. (A good working knowledge of which units each faction can recruit is recommended. It will help when deciding where to build barracks, stables, etc.).
You don't start with a family tree, you just get a few generals like El Cid the Chivalrous in Valencia. You can gain family members when you destroy a faction by taking their last settlement. Any orphaned family members that become rebel are then yours.
Eventually the game offers you adoptions of heretics that become generals/family members with names like Esau, Satres and Spartacus.Beginner's Tips:You begin with about 60 settlements, each with several garrisoned units but hardly any improvements or buildings. Your bank balance is set to go in the red by tens of thousands per turn so the first thing to do is decide on a region to consolidate; a base cluster of settlements to improve and form a secure homeland.
Once you've decided you'll need to severely thin out and disband any unwanted forces to save going bankrupt. Spend the first turn going through all the settlements and get rid of the expensive units. In provinces you don't mind losing, either leave empty or just have one or two units to garrison.
As long as the settlement income is more than the garrison upkeep it's fine and will continue to add to the income for the Rebel Alliance as a whole (I managed to get a 5000 profit for the second turn - enough to keep consolidating my base region).
Build a few improvements in your chosen settlements, hit End Turn and wait for the steady onslaught from everyone.
As you know from playing, every other faction in the game is eager to grab as many rebel settlements as they can, as soon as possible. When these settlements happen to be under your control... you've got a very defensive campaign on your hands!
Enjoy!
You don't have to worry too much about constraining yourself with House Rules as there's plenty of new dynamics to get to grips with:
You'll have no agents except Heretics. Keep them out of your regions and into everyone else's to spread unrest. Your religion varies depending on geographical location (and despite what the game says, it isn't Heresy).
Diplomacy isn't an issue for you: everyone loathes and attacks you without exception or respite.
Neither is rebellion a problem: you're already rebel - you can't go rebel-rebel without the help of David Bowie around turn 1790. Any settlements or troops that turn rebel from other factions become yours to command, so you have a regular supply of random free gifts each turn.
You don't have a standard unit roster. This is an alliance of rebel factions, so every settlement has its roster determined by geography, e.g. the British Isles south of Edinburgh will produce English units; Middle Eastern territories will be either Turkish or Egyptian. This makes expeditionary forces face the issue of not being re-trainable. (A good working knowledge of which units each faction can recruit is recommended. It will help when deciding where to build barracks, stables, etc.).
You don't start with a family tree, you just get a few generals like El Cid the Chivalrous in Valencia. You can gain family members when you destroy a faction by taking their last settlement. Any orphaned family members that become rebel are then yours.
Eventually the game offers you adoptions of heretics that become generals/family members with names like Esau, Satres and Spartacus.Beginner's Tips:You begin with about 60 settlements, each with several garrisoned units but hardly any improvements or buildings. Your bank balance is set to go in the red by tens of thousands per turn so the first thing to do is decide on a region to consolidate; a base cluster of settlements to improve and form a secure homeland.
Once you've decided you'll need to severely thin out and disband any unwanted forces to save going bankrupt. Spend the first turn going through all the settlements and get rid of the expensive units. In provinces you don't mind losing, either leave empty or just have one or two units to garrison.
As long as the settlement income is more than the garrison upkeep it's fine and will continue to add to the income for the Rebel Alliance as a whole (I managed to get a 5000 profit for the second turn - enough to keep consolidating my base region).
Build a few improvements in your chosen settlements, hit End Turn and wait for the steady onslaught from everyone.
As you know from playing, every other faction in the game is eager to grab as many rebel settlements as they can, as soon as possible. When these settlements happen to be under your control... you've got a very defensive campaign on your hands!
Enjoy!