Printable View
Where does one find an FX5500 card these days? :inquisitive:Quote:
Originally Posted by hooahguy14
Sarmatians? Unless you got some very active allies in the steppes (willing to travel), I think you mean Samnites :idea2:Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcusAureliusAntoninus
Great update though. I love those grizzled old generals that are just loaded with traits. Filthy minded and reverent, hmm...
Thanks guys.
I bet you could find just about anything if you looked long enough on the internet. The first place I always check is www.newegg.com
I like the next chapter, it was fun to play. I did some more midcampaign editting too, to add to the roleplaying.
I fixed the "sarmatian" typo. Thanks.
Good old 'Megas Demetrios'...
Almost half his traits are 'Periegesis...' traits. He has personally conquered the majority of all Makedonike territory.
.
On my motherboard. :wall:Quote:
Originally Posted by Sakkura
.
on newegg.com ! :laugh4:Quote:
Originally Posted by Sakkura
dont laugh too much. its the best i can get..... :embarassed:
*Nods approvingly at this direction*Quote:
Originally Posted by hooahguy14
I won't laugh, I loved my old FX5700 Ultra, and it served me well for a long time.Quote:
Originally Posted by hooahguy14
I replaced it when the local museum announced they were giving rewards for neolithic finds. *suppresses giggle*
Sorry I haven't updated. Even though it has only been a couple days, it's slow updating, for me. I haven't had much time to play the game or write the chapters, with Christmas approaching and trying to build myself a computer.
I've gotten a priliminary list together here:
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/...Number=6613411
If there are any experts out there, or people who have built themselves a rig recently, who can tell me where I've gone horribly wrong, I would be in their debt. Some of the things I've put a lot of thought into, while others, like the case and power supply, I just sort of added. I already have some stuff, like another DVD-ROM I bought a while back that I plan to add to this later.
Well, back to the AAR. I'll probably have the next chapter up by this evening...
Chapter 29 : How the Mighty Fall
The Romani War (Part VII)
After the Battle of Antiocheia and the Battle of Palmyra, the Ptolemaioi are once again broken. Ptolemai V Dyskolos and his two sons, Chares and Stasikrates, have ended up being all that is left of the once mighty Ptolemaic Dynasty. Of all the mighty generals that once fought under them, only one remain loyal. Of all the vast armies that had once marched under the Ptolemaic Eagle, only a hand full of farmers and Galatians remain. In Aigyptos, they have even begun to forget that the Ptolemaioi had even exsisted there.
Years earlier, Demetrios and Aristotelis had promised the Ptolemaioi peace and given them large gifts of land in Assyria. The only thing Makedonia had wanted in return was peace and trust, but the Ptolemaioi could not even give them this. Aristotelis decides that he would not make the same mistake twice. This time he will wage total war and put an end to the Ptolemaic Dynasty, once and for all.
To achieve his goals, Aristotelis marches into Assyria and besieges the Ptolemaic capital of Edessa. Returning to relieve his capital, Ptolemai V is only able to gather a handful of peasants to lift the siege. Against the professional, veteran soldiers of Makedonia, the Ptolemaioi fight their last battle:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/9936/maa1298zc2.png
Aristotelis lines up his phalangites across a plain, flanked by forests, so that the Ptolemaioi may not go around the edges of his army. Charging straight into the lines of sarrisas, the Ptolemaic Hetairoi attempt to break through:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/3829/maa1299fv9.png
As Ptolemai V pushes his cavalry through the line, the Thrakians, on the left flank of the Makedonike line, manage to circle around his rear:
https://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2058/maa1300ii4.png
Surrounded and cut to pieces by Thrakian blades, Ptolemai V's Hetairoi cannot stand. As they turn to flee, Ptolemai has the horse cut out from underneath him. Falling to the ground, a Thrakian blade ends the life of Ptolemai V:
https://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1136/maa1301zv3.jpg
Seeing their king fall, the Ptolemaic army turns and runs. As they flee, Demetrios orders his Thessalians to give chase:
https://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2466/maa1302ev9.png
Exhausted, the Ptolemaic Hetairoi cannot escape. First, the last Ptolemaic general falls...
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5166/maa1303gj9.jpg
...then Chares, first born son of Ptolemai V and the man who would have been Ptolemai VI, is thrown from his horse, dead:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6167/maa1304mz0.jpg
As the cavalry chase down the enemy, the Pezhetairoi reform the line and prepare to fend off the reinforcements of the garrison of Edessa:
https://img401.imageshack.us/img401/959/maa1305wh2.png
While Ptolemaioi hold back, their Galatian mercenaries charge forward, not fearing their immenent death:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5596/maa1306lx6.png
On the left flank, the Thrakians confront a unit of Peltastai, attempting to flank the Makedones. Not that a single unit of Peltastai could have changed the course of the battle, anyways:
https://img401.imageshack.us/img401/6610/maa1307hb7.png
Returning from the chase, the cavalry charge the rear of the Galatians, wiping them out:
https://img401.imageshack.us/img401/466/maa1308ve9.png
After resting his men, Aristotelis circles his cavalry around the left flank of the waiting Ptolemaic army. With only phalangites left, Stasikrates is unable to counter any flanking. Aristotelis easily takes advantage of the open flank and charges the Thessalian cavalry at Stasikrates, himself:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6430/maa1309tv3.png
With a successful charge, Aristotelis kills the last man who could have been "Ptolemai" The dynasty dies there, on that field:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5583/maa1310re3.jpg
With the death of the enemy general, the Makedonike Pezhetairoi move in to finish off the last of the enemy army:
https://img505.imageshack.us/img505/4844/maa1312ao2.png
Surrounding the enemy, the Pezhetairoi attack from all sides:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5759/maa1313rl2.png
Pushing the enemy into an ever smaller circle, the Makedonike Pezhetairoi kill all enemy soldiers remaining on the field:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8205/maa1315oo3.jpg
With the death of Ptolemai V and his sons, the Makedones bring an end to one of the great dynasties of Alexandros' generals:
https://img505.imageshack.us/img505/2343/maa1318rw4.png
[Finally...]
Sending the bodies to Aigyptos, Aristotelis grants the last of a worthy enemy a last honor. Cared for in the Aigytian manner, the man who called himself Pharaoh, even when in Assyria, is sent to Alexandreia to be buried along side Ptolemai I. Though the dynasty ends, legend holds that one of Ptolemai V's nephews was sent into Nubia for hiding, during Demetrios' invasion of Aigyptos. They say that the dynasty lives on and will one day return to reclaim Aigyptos. But there are many myths of great heros and villians in these days, and none deserve much attention.
With the defeat of the Ptolemaioi, all their Assyrian holdings fall to the Makedonian Empire, while their trade colonies in Africa fall into the hands of the Kingdom or Meroe. With control of Assyria, though, an old plan turns against Makedonia. In the Treaty of Zuegma, the border between Assyria and Babylonia had not been defined. Makedonia did not care before, but now that border was their border, a shared border with only other great Hellenistic power. Things are made even worse when spies report that that other power is considered even more powerful than the Makedonian Empire:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4917/maa1316xe7.jpg
With Ptolemaioi defeated, the Romani crippled, and the war between Arche Seleukeia and Hayasdan, the Makedonian Empire looks safe on nearly all fronts. Only in one place, was there still an undecided war. Kyrenaia once again is forced to repel a siege from the forces of the city of Kart-Hadast:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2786/maa1319an1.png
With the settling of veteran soldiers in the area to boost defense, things were easier for Antisthenes Gortynios. It seems to Antisthenes that ever attack has less qualified Kart-Hadast troops than the previous, and with every battle his own men become more skilled:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2343/maa1320jl9.jpg
As Aristotelis established Makedonike control across Assyria, the war with the Romani continues. On the exact opposite side of the Makedonian Empire, Neikolaos and his Celtic army are once again engaged by the Gallic Romani forces:
https://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3475/maa1323ae4.png
Deploying his men in a forest, Neikoloas quickly rushes his men into a field to meet the first of the Romani armies:
https://img401.imageshack.us/img401/3349/maa1325gu0.png
The Romani see the disorganization, though, and take advantage of it. Before Neikolaos can completely deploy his men, the Romani charge forward:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/2977/maa1326nn3.png
With the Romani cavalry pinned, Neikolaos charges his Gallic horsemen in and attacks:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/1575/maa1327mh6.png
To the west, the Massalian Hoplites fend off the other flank of Romani cavalry:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/1509/maa1328mx4.png
Before too long, both generals brake and flee with their cavalry. Seeing them fleeing, Neikolaos orders his slingers to focus all their fire on the fleeing horses. Although it isn't entirely a glorious defeat, both Romani general fall as they are bombarded with lead shot. Both Quintus Cornelius Blasio and Kaeso Cornelius Blasio fall dead on the field. With their generals dead, the Romani and their allies turn and flee.
With the cavalry chase them down, the infantry regroups and prepares to face the second Romani force. Confronted by cavalry, the Massalian Hoplites become cut off, but the right flank of the battle line is unable to come to their assistance as General Cnaeus Cornelius Scipio charges in to pin them down:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3971/maa1331ux1.png
Relieving the right flank, Neikolaos personally leads the Gallic cavalry in against the enemy general:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/5296/maa1332tr8.png
As the cavalry fight, the Celtic mercenaries go up against Gallic levies, killing eachother under the banners of two foreign nations:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9614/maa1333es5.png
Fighting to his death, General Scipio falls. With his death, his army folds and begins to flee, as expected.
As Neikolaos' army gives chase, expecting the battle to be over, a line of Romani troops emerge from the forest:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/9826/maa1335vi1.png
The Celtic mercenaries charge forward to confront the Romani elites, but soon they are reinforced by another hidden unit of elites:
https://img156.imageshack.us/img156/4336/maa1336bb1.png
Fighting two separate groups of elite Romani Hoplitai, the Celts look up to see yet another group of elites emerging from the woods:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9822/maa1337gz4.png
Circling around their rear, one small group of Celts manages to to hit the Romani in a pincer attack:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/7117/maa1338mr6.png
To the surprise of all there, the Romani fold up and flee back into the woods.
Dark clouds build in the sky as the battle comes to a close. Soon a great rain will begin, washing the blood into the soil:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/635/maa1339rf6.png
The battle ends Romani power in Gaul, leaving only one stronghold left, with barely enough men to call men army. Neikolaos takes the town and rests his men:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/3157/maa1340kk1.jpg
Arriving by ship, a combined force of Makedones, Illyrians, and Gallic allies is assemble in Taras. Leading it north, Pyrrhos begins his true invasion of Roman Italia. Only one Romani Legion stands between him and Roma:
https://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3903/maa1321jf3.png
With Aristotelis deverted to Assyria to defeat the Ptolemaioi, the levant renews its rebellions. In Judaia, the Hellenized puppet king, Asphalion, deals with yet another riot in Hierosolyma:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/7636/maa1341xw5.jpg
Back near the center of the Makedonian Empire, in Mysia, the territory is integrating completely into the Makedonian Empire. With this, Chrysoloras completes his task and disbands his remaining army:
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5995/maa1342zl5.jpg
Fearing war in the east, Aristotelis opens up talks with the Seleukid Dynasty. Offering part of Assyria and some other gifts peace is assured. Aristotelis is happy that he avoids war. But how long will such a peace last? The Seleukids still claim Syria...
https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5682/maa1322ob0.jpg
The known world in 204BC:
https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/...xmak204sr8.png
Next: Chapter 30 : The End of an Era
Sweet update... but what's that yellow blob in Ethiopia?
EDIT: And what's that green blob in India?
Well... it looks like he recolored the map to suit the AAR (like he did with the unclear territory in the Hai war). The green part of India is probably that Pahlavan territory that is now the Mauryan Empire. I assume the yellow territory is the rumored Ptolemaic heir... am I right, Marcus? Anyway, great AAR! Now you have to destroy the Romani, too!
Those colors are 'new' factions. The gold is the Kingdom of Meroe, and the green is the Mauryan Satrapy of Gandhara.
"End of an era", either it's time for good old Demetrios to walk the green mile or it's the Romani era that's ending. Either way, great update.
Bye-bye yellow death :2thumbsup:
Watching you butcher those gallatians was beautiful~:mecry:
You have made me very happy with this chapter. Can you guess why? (big hint: my name!):laugh4:
WOOT WOOT ... This is such a kick ass AAR. Amazing maan !!! Good job
P.S - Nice job with the Mauryan satrapy. Made me happy :)
Prince
Thanks, everyone who had commented. :bow:
I'll probably start working on the next chapter tommorrow.
This AAR is getting so big, it could really be turned into a book by now, and a really cool allohistorical one too. :book:
It's only missing some pictures... :clown:
Another nicey update, thumbs up, etc, etc. 8p
Oh, and those 'fake' factions, I like 'em, and they look nice on the map. They also add to the AAR, imho.
This is so awesome. I said it before, but when i read this and decided to start a Makedonian campaign myself. Wow how fun are they. Just scored myself Silver Shields in Demetrias and I have two full stacks wandering around Asia Minor waging war on the Ptolemaics. I love it!! And its all cos of this AAR!
Very sweet updates. When did you conquer Arbela? I ask because I saw you gave it to the Seleukids.
my good ole' ancestors stiring up trouble for you lately, eh MAA?
Thanks, again.
I cheated to take Arbela. When I took Edessa, I killed the last Ptolemai. For ruleplaying reasons, I didn't want to keep fighting a kingdom that didn't even have a dynasty. So, I cheated to quickly take Arbela and P. Theron. Arbela only had two kleurchoi, a galatian, and a unit of Pantodapoi. PTheron only had a general (default faction leader), a unit of Nubian spearmen, and three units of elephants. My plan was to keep Arbela (I see it as part of "Assyria"), but the Seleukids started gathering forces just outside the city. I gave it away and have been giving them little gifts since then.
When I took Jerusalem I enslaved the town. It wasn't enough, though. It keeps rioting. Since the Ptolemaioi didn't bother building education (or sanitation, etc for that matter) my client ruler kind of sucks, too. It is kind of annoying, but fun for roleplaying since the area was hard for the Diadochi to hold, historically. A couple of times they were on the verge of a Maccabean rebellion...
Chapter 30 : The End of an Era
The Romani War (Part VIII)
Is it possible for the whole world to weap? In the winter of 204BC, nearly the entire world mourns at the passing of a great man. Demetrios, son of Antigonos, Basileus of Arche Makedonia, conquer of Aigyptos, dies peacefully in bed. While in Massalia, amid planning for an expedition westward, the old ruler finally passes from this world. The barbarians mourn him, for during his reign Makedonia had befriended the Getic Federation, negotiated the removal of the Haikakan from the steppes, negotiated the removal of the Gauls from Germania, and forcefully removed the Romani from Gaul. The Hellenes morned him, for he had always been the voice of reason amoungst those in the Makedonike court who disliked the Hellenes. The Makedonians and Hellenized peoples mourn him, for most of them had found peace and prosperity under his rule. The Seleukids mourned him, for he had been their ally his entire life (and Demetrios had never been interested in eastward expansion). It is rumored that even his enemies mourn him, for they had found a worthy enemy in Demetrios:
https://img170.imageshack.us/img170/3092/maa1343fv7.jpg
After a short ceremony in Massalia, Neokles sails back to Makedonia with his granfather's remains. With a great gathering of the royal family, Demetrios is layed to rest in a great tomb at Aigai, like his father and brother before him. Sealed in a tomb, even grander than the tomb of Philipos II, Demetrios finally rests. When he was born, his father barely controlled Makedonia. As he came of age, his father was struggling to unite Hellas. With his father's death, he came to share the throne of Makedonia, but struggled to control Anatolia. When his brother died and he became the lone Basileus, he controlled Makedonia, Hellas, Thrakia, Illyria, Anatolia, Kappadokia, and Syria. During his reign, Arche Makedonia nearly tripled in size, gaining Aigyptos, the Levant, and Italia. The only man who had ever exceeded Demetrios was Alexandros himself. Though, Alexandros only defeated one great empire, Demetrios defeated several and established firm control over the regions he conquered. The world will always remember Megas Demetrios (Demetry the Great)!
After the death of Demetrios, Arche Makedonia had the first stable transition of power since before anyone could remember. Demetrios had long ago named his only son, Aristotelis, as the heir, and now he was the only man who could assume power. Chrysoloras, son of Alkyoneus was old, tired, and had never shown interest in ruling. Euboulides, last living son of Antigonos, wasn't interested in power either. Euboulides sat in Armenia, planning future invasions of Hayasdan and Bosphoria, not caring for supreme power. Naming his first born son, Neokles, as the heir, Aristotelis assumes the title of Basileus:
https://img174.imageshack.us/img174/1355/maa1344zf5.jpg
Quite old himself, Aristotelis is quick to anger but a just man. Raised in Antiocheia, Aristotelis had interests in the east and foresaw a future where he could reunite all of Alexandros' empire under one ruler:
https://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4646/maa1364ex4.png
https://img402.imageshack.us/img402/944/maa1365er9.png
Of all the royal family, very few were absent from Aigai for the funerary festivals of Demetrios. One man who did not attend was Pyrrhos. Rather than withdraw his forces as happened everywhere else, Pyrrhos pushed forward and challenged the Romani to open combat. Terrorizing the Apulia countryside, Pyrrhos finally drew out the last great army of the Romani. Facing eachother in open combat south of the city of Arpi, the two armies meet:
https://img174.imageshack.us/img174/8630/maa1345mm9.png
The enemy was broken into two forces. The main Romani legion, under the command of General Manius Cornelius Blasio, and the two regional garrisons approaching from the north under the command of Consul Titus Cornelius Scipio. Pyrrhos lines up his main battle line to counter the Romani legion and places his Gallic allies on the left flank to counter the reinforcements. Taking possition on flat ground on the top of a small hill, Pyrrhos waits for the Romani to come to him:
https://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5530/maa1346cw6.png
The Romani slowly march up the hill in four lines, light infantry in the front, followed by their Princepes, then the Triarii, and finally the cavalry:
https://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2585/maa1347ex4.png
[This is the first time I've felt I was fighting a Roman Legion.]
With a forest on the Makedonike right flanks and Gauls guarding the left flank, the Romani decide to throw themselves in full force against the center of the phalangitai line. The Romani manuveurablity looses all of its advantage, though, against the strong, well desciplined, single line of pikemen:
https://img256.imageshack.us/img256/3586/maa1348tv7.png
[You may have noticed that I role play some forests as impassible. This is my roleplaying excuse to, "Why doesn't the AI just go around the flanks in large number?"]
In his standard style, Pyrrhos orders the cavalry into two groups to circle around each flank. On the Makedonike right flank, the Illyrian cavalry charges in at Italian allied infantry:
https://img292.imageshack.us/img292/6262/maa1349tk4.png
And on the left flank, they charge the allied cavalry:
https://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8870/maa1350yf4.png
The battle is becoming a stalemate, with some Romani breaking throw the line but with most held in place by the sarrisas. Before Pyrrhos can even consider his options, he is informed that the delayed Romani reinforcements have arrived. Threatened to be encircled, the left flank of cavalry withdraw behind the Pezhetairoi line, while the Gauls hold down the newly arrived Romani:
https://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7297/maa1351zz1.png
Regrouping the newly reformed left flank cavalry, Pyrrhos personally leads a charge in at the Romani engaged by the Gauls:
https://img100.imageshack.us/img100/774/maa1353ne9.png
Pyrrhos and his cavalry are incapible of sustained combat and are forced to withdraw, exhausted. With no loyalty to Arche Makedonia, the Gauls turn and flee. Without cavalry and meduim infantry support, the left edge of the Makedonike phalangitai line is exposed and surrounded. As the right flank cavalry break the last of the Romani fighting in the center, the whole Makedonike army becomes aware the fight has now shifted 90 degrees to the left.
Pyrrhos knows that it would be impossible to reform the pike line. Any attempt would take too much time and he knew that the Romani were specially trained to take advantage of situations like that. Taking a risk, Pyrrhos orders his men to drop their pikes and engage the enemy with their swords:
https://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5082/maa1354df8.png
These Pezhetairoi are not the same men who had fallen to the Thorakitai in the eastern campaigns. These men were specially equiped and trained to fight at close range if necessary. Swarming in without order, the Pezhetairoi quickly cut through the enemy and save those Makedones who were on the left flank and who had become encircled:
https://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7100/maa1355nk0.png
As the Pezhetairoi fight with their swords, Pyrrhos attempts to rest his cavalry. It was a short rest, though. Consul Titus Cornelius Scipio takes advantage of the complete lack of flanks or battle lines and charged in at Pyrrhos unapposed. With all of the Illyrian cavalry charging in, the cavarly of both sides begin to fight eachother. The Romani have skill and numbers but they lack the equiptment and the training to equal the Hetairoi and Illyrians. Soon Consul Scipio brakes from the fight to flees down the hill. As the Consul flees, under pursute by the Illyrians, a group of Romani spearmen regroups and turns to face the Illyrian cavlary. They all perish, but they held the Illyrians long enough for their Consul to escape:
https://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7697/maa1356rl7.png
Returning to the battle, Pyrrhos orders his cavalry to charge the Romani infantry engaged with the Pezhetairoi. After several charges, the exhausted Illyrian cavalry brakes the last Romani. As the Illyrians and Makedones fight, however, the Gauls flee into the hills. As the Pyrrhos and half the cavalry chased down the fleeing enemy, the Pezhetairoi and a cavalry devision reform their line and prepare to confront the Romani returning from routing the Gauls:
https://img174.imageshack.us/img174/1825/maa1359zw2.png
Faced with a regrouped enemy, the Romani don't last long. All remaining forces chase the Romani from the field:
https://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4499/maa1360zg8.png
Crushing the last powerful legion of Roma, Pyrrhos is finally in possiyion to march west and take Roma herself:
https://img174.imageshack.us/img174/9066/maa1361kp1.jpg
Pyrrhos is delayed though. As Pyrrhos surveyes the battlefield and builds siege fortifications around the city of Arpi, where Consul Titus Cornelius Scipio hides, he recievs a message. To the north, Nepos, father of Neikolaos, Gelon, and Pyrrhos, has died. The death of Demetrios had not phased Pyrrhos, but hearing of his own father's death, Pyrrhos retreats into depression. It seems the gods have given the Romani a little extra time:
https://img172.imageshack.us/img172/2492/maa1363cc2.jpg
Returning from Aigai, Neokles, son of Aristotelis, heir to the throne, decides to fulfill his grandfather's last wish. Taking command of Demetrios' army, Neokles marches westward to find those lost treasures of Makedonia which Demetrios had sought:
https://img174.imageshack.us/img174/3213/maa1362kq4.png
The know world in 203BC, just after the death of Makedonike Basileus Megas Demetrios:
https://img340.imageshack.us/img340/...xmak203mz1.png
Next: Chapter 31 : A New Basileus
SWEET !!! That was epic !!! I for a moment thought u were gonna loose the Battle against the romani. Nice maneuvering there.
Prince
Excellent AAR (I've been lurking since your first post)
I thought perhaps you'd force the Romani into the status of protectorate with only Roma rather than wipe them out... no chance of that? :p
No mercy for the Romaioi, don't even think about it, MAA! :/
Awesome update! ;D
Waiting for this was thrilling, I expected victory screen or Roani defeat screen.
AMAZING!
Yes, amazing, a highlight! Not only the moving death of Demetrios, but the battle was also great! Did you cheat to get so much real Romans onto the battlefield? A very nice battlefield (with a good view) I might add.:2thumbsup: