Is my family dysfunctional??

[Tarkus]

Howdy all,

I'm currently in a Roman campaign...it's 215BC, I've taken out the Epirotes through a blitz of Illyria, the Carthaginians are one African province away from annihilation, I have a tenuous alliance with the Lusitanni, and I'm in the final stages of preparation for a major offensive against the KH in the Peloponnese. Through it all, I think I've got a pretty good handle on the strategic and tactical battlefield aspects of this game, but I'm also pretty sure that I SUCK at the "social" angle of EB -- managing my family members in order to optimize my ability to conquer the world.

I've read through Zaknafien's excellent AAR that focuses on roleplaying Roman characters (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=94117), but I still don't fully get it...my study of Roman social and political structure is pretty weak, so my roleplaying abilities are lame. I need some advice!! A couple of specific questions:

1. I almost always keep my Faction Leader and Faction Heir back in Italy, preferably Rome and Capua...I guess I figure they lead most effectively from the true seat of Roman power. They naturally gain tremendous abilities in management and influence, but with no military leadership to speak of. Is this a bad idea? Should they be off in far-flung lands, leading legions to great victories? Where are they best placed? I know the answer depends partly on their individual traits (something that also seems a bit daunting to me to deal with), but there must be some "rules of thumb" you Romani players out there subscribe to...?

2. What should I do with newly-appointed Quaestors? Praetors? Consuls? Even Tribunis Milita? Up to now, I haven't been doing anything special with them...they just stay in their cities, doing what they've always done. Do I bring Quaestors back to major cities to take advantage of and improve their managerial skills? Do I send new Consuls to the head of their own legion and try to win them heroic victories? Do I move newly-appointed Tribunis Milita out to the field to begin their practical military training?

I love this game, and I could have an even better experience with your help. Thanks in advance!!

[Tarkus]

:bump: ... any veteran Romani players out there?

[anubis88]

Dude, the problem is that the romans are the most difficult faction to roleplay.
I' mean, they changed consuls every year, and something like that is impossible to rapresent with the RTW engine.
Roleplay like you want, there is no universal rule for the romans:no:

[antisocialmunky]

Can we please have some warning about a year in advance that someone will become Consul? Kinda like how the Olympic Games competators get a trait before the games. It would definitely help with roleplay if we knew someone was going to be consul especially if we have something like 'Possible Canidate for Consul.' We can assemble an large consular army to smack down the Gauls or something.

[Maeran]

Military abilities really come from fighting, which you shouldn't do much of in Italy.

The bad news for Roman roleplay: the year of a typical term in office is far too short for you to do anything if you played them strictly (you can't get your aediles to Rome, you can't send a consul on campaign etc.). As such offices have to be taken with a pinch of salt.

The good news: in our time period generalship was frequently given to propraetors and proconsuls (men who had held the office before and acted with the authority of that office in the field) for increasingly long periods of time and sometimes even if they hadn't actually held the office concerned- Scipio Africanus being a perfect example, acting in Iberia and then Africa during the 2nd Punic war as a general with praetorian rank despite having never held the office. Later on provincial governors could hold imperium (be generals) and this could be extended over several years (e.g. Caesar).