generals losing stars

I'm trying to understand why my general's losing command stars and more ways to avoid it.

I had a general that I used to pretty much conquer southern Italy plus Sicily and gained stars along the way. By his merits he should have at least 5 stars by now. However, due to some rationing problem (even after I take over a settlement), he seems to lose a command point(s) because of that. After completing the conquest and taking over Syracuse, this general is back to 0 stars.

Just to be clear, I did not lose any battles with this general and the battles were at least 75% of the time stacked in AI's favor. This general's equites consulares have two silver chevrons.

It seems to be really easy for generals to lose earned stars in the game, but it takes a lot of work to get one. I tend to lay siege all the time (I think it's a source of minus command points). It doesn't take many turns before I get the negative impact. I read somewhere that morale / command points don't drop if you don't wait a siege out. I can see how morale can drop because of rationing, but not losing a star.

What's irking is that these stars are hard earned after great battles fought on the battlemap (I mean I didn't just do auto-calculate). The stars in EB might not have the same meaning as in real life, so I'm open to seeing other forum member's viewpoints.


EDIT: I did read the part on stars under "Traits and Ancillaries Frequently Asked Questions", but it covers stars being hard to earn.
I remember this general I'm using had 2 stars before laying siege to Lilibeo, so stars were earned with effort, but lost easily.

DOnt forget that some generals have more stars in certain situations than others. ie attacking or defending - fighting against a particular culture - having more or less cavalry/infantry in the army etc etc.

These can change from battle to battle - just as they did in Vanilla. I very much doubt that permenant stars (tactician traits) can be lost unless your general goes on a bit of a losing streak!

That's all very strange. The only trait I can think of off the top of my head that causes permanent star loss is the "Lover of Beauty" one, but that's only 1 star. How your general managed to lose 5 is beyond me. :inquisitive:

Have you taken an in-depth look at all his current traits? Are there any that give a -1 to command?

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That's all very strange. The only trait I can think of off the top of my head that causes permanent star loss is the "Lover of Beauty" one, but that's only 1 star.

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It has more levels, two for guarantee but might even be more. Other traits that reduce stars are "drunkard", "bad tactican" and certainly others. Unfortuantly "lover of beauty" and "drunkard" can't be avoided because they are triggered by basic buildings like the tavern.

Ah yes, there are those as well. I'd be real interested to hear what this general is like.... seems a pity.... a promising general, on his way to the top, nay at the top! Then throws it all away to drink and "art". Pff!

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Originally Posted by Wonderland

Ah yes, there are those as well. I'd be real interested to hear what this general is like.... seems a pity.... a promising general, on his way to the top, nay at the top! Then throws it all away to drink and "art". Pff!

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Was the general named Britney Spears? :laugh4:

SPRQ Arcani why not put up a screen shot of the general in question and all his traits? It should be pretty straight forward for members of the forum to add the command stars given by these traits and tell you if there is any discrepency and also how to possibly avoid some of the more negaite traits.

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Originally Posted by Sir Edward

SPRQ Arcani why not put up a screen shot of the general in question and all his traits? It should be pretty straight forward for members of the forum to add the command stars given by these traits and tell you if there is any discrepency and also how to possibly avoid some of the more negaite traits.

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Yeah I should do that.
This particular general has enough traits that scrolling is needed.

And interestingly, this one had a star earlier today but after
conquering Segestica he's back to a 0-star general.

I actually don't care for this general that much but his
veteran Equites Consulares unit is quite useful, and
I'm milking it as much as possible before he dies.

What screen capture tool do you guys use?
I'll try Print Screen and see if it works.
I'm behind the times...

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Originally Posted by Starforge

Was the general named Britney Spears? :laugh4:

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Leave Britney alone!
She's a HUMAN!!

:tongue-in-cheek:

hmmm. some ought to make a man nemd britney spears, put it in the Casse faction, and see what happens... :horn: :viking: :elephant: :elephant: :helloo: :tomato: :tomato: :tnt:

arcani, use Fraps for screenshots.

www.fraps.com

Does he have the Hesitant Attacker trait? That seems to happen with whatever general I fight the most battles with, even if he never loses. I posted up on the Traits and Ancillaries FAQ a few weeks ago trying to find what the triggers are for that trait, but nobody answered. It comes with annoying frequency, but I just focus on the parts of the mod I like.
BTW, several of my Pahlava commanders were up to nine stars before they died, so it is possible. Good luck!

Cool. I'll give fraps a try when I have some extra time.

I'll look for any suspect traits for this commander, including
"hesitant attacker" and follow up on it.

Yeah, I like to focus on the positive aspects of the game as well.
But focusing on the subject,
I am in agreement that a general's personality/traits should not
determine his prestige more than his accomplishments.

Think of Ulysses Grant. He liked to drink. And he won many battles.
Does he get demoted of his standing as a general because of his habits/traits? No, he was still a good commander cause he got the job done. Should he be? That might be debatable with some
people but I don't think so.

With my experience, my particular general will still be a 0-star general
after N battles cause his traits will force him to lose stars easily.

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Originally Posted by Starforge

Was the general named Britney Spears? :laugh4:

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Armorica Hastae, surely?

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Originally Posted by konny

It has more levels, two for guarantee but might even be more. Other traits that reduce stars are "drunkard", "bad tactican" and certainly others. Unfortuantly "lover of beauty" and "drunkard" can't be avoided because they are triggered by basic buildings like the tavern.

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Restless sleeper is another one. Some generals can get that after capturing a city and "exterminating" it or in 1.1 using the "Enslave" option.

Drunkards lose stars usually :laugh4: :embarassed:

why would you need a screen capture software? just hit print screen button. get him outside with a general that has more stars so you can get his entire list of traits without scrolling n taking several pics.

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Originally Posted by spqr_arcani

Think of Ulysses Grant. He liked to drink. And he won many battles.
Does he get demoted of his standing as a general because of his habits/traits? No, he was still a good commander cause he got the job done. Should he be? That might be debatable with some
people but I don't think so.

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He didn't like to drink, he hated it.

But otherwise, you have a point.

On the other hand, leadership in the ancient world and in the 19th century meant different things. A classical general was expected to lead his men into battle from the front. In Grant's day, an army commander would be considered marginally insane if he ventured within range of enemy guns. A drunk riding towards the enemy with a sword would be disheartening, but a drunk in a farmhouse somewhere behind the lines is "out of sight, out of mind".