CountMRVHS
10-10-2005, 23:03
Hi all
After deciding that my M/M Saxon campaign was too easy, I quit and tooled around a bit with some other factions; but none of them "spoke" to me, I guess you could say. So today I started up a H/H Saxon game to see how things would go.
I decided that I didn't want to ally with anyone too quickly, because in my last game the strategic AI was very passive. I did take Trade Rights when they were offered.
I quickly siezed Campus Chatti and started to build up. Campus Frisii was going to be my next goal, but the Franks were moving in that direction anyway and there was a rebel Faction Leader (eh?!?) in the town with a sizeable army. So instead, I moved a half-stack to the next town down -- WRE-held Colonia Agrippina.
I took that pretty easily and started to gather my forces. Meanwhile the Franks had allied with the WRE, so I decided it was time to slap them around a bit. I took Campus Frisii from them and congratulated myself on holding 4 contiguous settlements.
Since the beginning of the game I had been training up my navy, and I had a good fleet of 6 ships -- 3 Boats, 3 Large Boats -- led by a 3-star admiral. This admiral had a retinue member and the Good Sailor trait -- something I'd never seen before. I was using this fleet to take out all the pirate ships in the area: my last campaign saw my Faction Heir and a great invasion army go down under the waves because of a pirate attack.
Still only able to train up to Keels, I gathered a 3/4 stack and sent it to Britain. Londinium fell easily as did Eburacum. The problem was, I had only 1 general (in Eburacum) and something like a total of 6 units in all of Britain. This was a Bad Thing, as the Romano-British emerged just at the moment the Celts declared war on me by besieging Eburacum.
I think this was the beginning of the end for me. The Celts had a massive army and ran through Eburacum's wooden walls like they were paper; thankfully Londinium had stone walls so I was able to hold off the Romano-British for a bit longer, but eventually they siezed the gates and charged their uber cav in to finish me off. In a couple of turns I'd been entirely wiped off the island.
OK, I just need to regroup, right? I still had a spy in Londinium so I watched events unfold while I tried to scramble together some cash. Lost a few skirmishes to the Franks and eventually the WRE came back to take Colonia Agrippina from me, with their buddies the Franks in tow. So now I was down to just 3 settlements; cash dropping and family members dying heroic deaths left and right. Somehow I managed to get enough money to build a Hundredmen Hall, and I thought I could finally turn things around with the ability to train Chosen Axemen and Hearth Troops. I put 2 Axes and 1 Hearth in the queue and waited.
Meanwhile on Britain, the Romano-British with their sadly-depleted garrison in Londinium (take THAT!) decided they couldn't share and sent a force to take Eburacum from the Celts. That force got knocked back easily and the Celts actually followed up to deliver the coup de grace in Londinium. Romano-Brits destroyed. I'd never seen the Celts so aggressive! A few turns later they were actually putting full-stack armies onto boats and sending them across the channel! ~:eek:
Well, by this time I could see the writing on the wall. I tried a desperate battle to forestall the Franks from getting to Campus Frisii, but their cav was too powerful. A few turns later I was reduced to 2 provinces: Vicus Saxones and Campus Chatti. I had denied a WRE offer to become their protectorate a few years ago, but when the Franks offered this time, I agreed. They agreed to pay me some tribute and I thought this might help me get out of the hole financially -- hadn't been able to train anything for years. Sadly, my diplomat's attempt to wring even more money from them ended in failure, as they dropped our alliance and sent a force north.
Now, the strange thing is this: the Celts landed on the continent and sent an army to Samarobriva. So far so good. They besiege it and declare war with the WRE. Next turn, however, I get the announcement that they're at a ceasefire. Turn after that, they're at war again. Next turn, ceasefire. It goes on and on like this for at least 10 turns and is still happening now. How frustrating! I thought this sort of thing ended with RTW? Anyone else see anything like this?
The other odd thing is that, although the year is 390-something, my faction leader is still alive at the bright age of 80. At this rate it looks like he'll outlive the faction itself, as the Franks have my capital under siege and I'm 7000 in debt.
Ugh... I like H/H but this game was murder. Taking recommendations for a next faction....
CountMRVHS
After deciding that my M/M Saxon campaign was too easy, I quit and tooled around a bit with some other factions; but none of them "spoke" to me, I guess you could say. So today I started up a H/H Saxon game to see how things would go.
I decided that I didn't want to ally with anyone too quickly, because in my last game the strategic AI was very passive. I did take Trade Rights when they were offered.
I quickly siezed Campus Chatti and started to build up. Campus Frisii was going to be my next goal, but the Franks were moving in that direction anyway and there was a rebel Faction Leader (eh?!?) in the town with a sizeable army. So instead, I moved a half-stack to the next town down -- WRE-held Colonia Agrippina.
I took that pretty easily and started to gather my forces. Meanwhile the Franks had allied with the WRE, so I decided it was time to slap them around a bit. I took Campus Frisii from them and congratulated myself on holding 4 contiguous settlements.
Since the beginning of the game I had been training up my navy, and I had a good fleet of 6 ships -- 3 Boats, 3 Large Boats -- led by a 3-star admiral. This admiral had a retinue member and the Good Sailor trait -- something I'd never seen before. I was using this fleet to take out all the pirate ships in the area: my last campaign saw my Faction Heir and a great invasion army go down under the waves because of a pirate attack.
Still only able to train up to Keels, I gathered a 3/4 stack and sent it to Britain. Londinium fell easily as did Eburacum. The problem was, I had only 1 general (in Eburacum) and something like a total of 6 units in all of Britain. This was a Bad Thing, as the Romano-British emerged just at the moment the Celts declared war on me by besieging Eburacum.
I think this was the beginning of the end for me. The Celts had a massive army and ran through Eburacum's wooden walls like they were paper; thankfully Londinium had stone walls so I was able to hold off the Romano-British for a bit longer, but eventually they siezed the gates and charged their uber cav in to finish me off. In a couple of turns I'd been entirely wiped off the island.
OK, I just need to regroup, right? I still had a spy in Londinium so I watched events unfold while I tried to scramble together some cash. Lost a few skirmishes to the Franks and eventually the WRE came back to take Colonia Agrippina from me, with their buddies the Franks in tow. So now I was down to just 3 settlements; cash dropping and family members dying heroic deaths left and right. Somehow I managed to get enough money to build a Hundredmen Hall, and I thought I could finally turn things around with the ability to train Chosen Axemen and Hearth Troops. I put 2 Axes and 1 Hearth in the queue and waited.
Meanwhile on Britain, the Romano-British with their sadly-depleted garrison in Londinium (take THAT!) decided they couldn't share and sent a force to take Eburacum from the Celts. That force got knocked back easily and the Celts actually followed up to deliver the coup de grace in Londinium. Romano-Brits destroyed. I'd never seen the Celts so aggressive! A few turns later they were actually putting full-stack armies onto boats and sending them across the channel! ~:eek:
Well, by this time I could see the writing on the wall. I tried a desperate battle to forestall the Franks from getting to Campus Frisii, but their cav was too powerful. A few turns later I was reduced to 2 provinces: Vicus Saxones and Campus Chatti. I had denied a WRE offer to become their protectorate a few years ago, but when the Franks offered this time, I agreed. They agreed to pay me some tribute and I thought this might help me get out of the hole financially -- hadn't been able to train anything for years. Sadly, my diplomat's attempt to wring even more money from them ended in failure, as they dropped our alliance and sent a force north.
Now, the strange thing is this: the Celts landed on the continent and sent an army to Samarobriva. So far so good. They besiege it and declare war with the WRE. Next turn, however, I get the announcement that they're at a ceasefire. Turn after that, they're at war again. Next turn, ceasefire. It goes on and on like this for at least 10 turns and is still happening now. How frustrating! I thought this sort of thing ended with RTW? Anyone else see anything like this?
The other odd thing is that, although the year is 390-something, my faction leader is still alive at the bright age of 80. At this rate it looks like he'll outlive the faction itself, as the Franks have my capital under siege and I'm 7000 in debt.
Ugh... I like H/H but this game was murder. Taking recommendations for a next faction....
CountMRVHS