On the Path to the Streets of Gold: a Suebi AAR (updated 11-17, final chapter)

Can't see berserkers and other sword armed infantry in your SS. Why go with predominantly spear stacks?

Well first of all, the Suebi have a poor choice of sword infantry. The Radious Barbarian unit pack gives me a bunch more sword units, but until I got that mod my main line unit was and still is the spear brothers as they have good damage and defense, and are pretty cheap. Slowly Im moving over to Wodanaz spears and other unit types, but they are almost double the cost of spear brothers. Also, my older armies are very experienced so no real point in moving them over. For example, the Champions of Wodanaz all have 3 golden chevrons.

As for berserkers, they are expensive and great shock infantry, but dont hold the line well. Also I didnt get access to berserkers until around chapter ten of this AAR. So what you will find is that the armies towards the front are the more experienced, but less diverse armies while the new ones I made for this war with the Romans have more swordsmen.

Also spears are better anti-cavalry, and the Romans have a lot.

Chapter Fourteen

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Quickly after our victory at Octuduron, I sent Aldegar, who was leading The Host of Germania, to lay siege to Medhlan. We did not want to give the Romans a chance to counter-attack. I would rather see them starve in a city than run around the countryside where they can do more harm.

https://i.imgur.com/uLpA0CD.jpg

The Romans outnumbered us, so their general foolhardily decided to sally out.

https://i.imgur.com/pS9KFR6.jpg
This is the general who CA made from the likeness of a fan.

Aldegar decided to use our newest weapon, the ballistas, against the Romans as much as he could. With their help they could turn the tide of battle largely in our favor. Because they were such prized machines, he decided to keep two units of our spear brothers back to protect the siege machines.

https://i.imgur.com/R8RRQHe.jpg

The rest of our men waited anxiously for the Romans to come close, threw a volley of javelins, and charged.

https://i.imgur.com/H6cQvdA.jpg

Two units of Roman heavy cavalry was trying to flank us and take out our artillery. We only had one of our units of Noble cavalry available so they heroically charged to intercept.

https://i.imgur.com/JznUeIm.jpg

In the center of the battle, our spear brothers were going tooth and nail with a unit of Roman gladiators, men who were extremely skilled in hand to hand combat.

https://i.imgur.com/DgDgNLV.jpg

Meanwhile, our artillery rained explosive shells upon the advancing Roman reinforcements, killing dozens of them, causing many of the ill-trained Roman units to flee.

https://i.imgur.com/GLhq3vW.jpg

Meanwhile, our unit of Noble cavalry was struggling, so Aldegar and his bodyguard rode in to help. They were facing the elite of the Roman cavalry, so to charge into this melee was a courageous thing to do.

https://i.imgur.com/wH7egdJ.jpg

Soon the Roman heavy cavalry was on the run, and Aldegar pursued.

https://i.imgur.com/XG4dk3g.jpg

The Roman infantry began to turn, as they saw their lines crumble, especially when the rest of our infantry began to charge at their center. As they fled, our horsemen chased them down and slew them where they stood.

https://i.imgur.com/LCO9Mkb.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TRtYpCr.jpg

The surviving Romans, mainly city watchmen, ran back to the safety of the city.

https://i.imgur.com/CWxCY3C.jpg

It was a great victory, and it would make our conquest of northern Italia much easier. From our estimates we had wiped out any serious resistance in the city, only leaving a few skirmishers and city watchmen in what used to be the army in charge of the defense of northern Italia. We had taken some losses as well, a number of our units had lost a good number of warriors, and Aldegar had to combine a number of units and hire some mercenaries to replace our losses.

https://i.imgur.com/T3Yndea.jpg

In the meantime our spies had managed to turn the top Roman spy, a great intelligence victory for us.

https://i.imgur.com/4NKevbi.png

To the east, another one of our armies was advancing towards Patavium and would be there soon.

https://i.imgur.com/LqnxNmq.jpg

The war had just begun, yet it seemed like the Roman sun was already beginning to set. We would make it to Roma in my lifetime yet…

https://i.imgur.com/zWHV8jp.jpg

Chapter Fifteen

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

After our initial victory outside of Medhlan, it was time to press our victory and take the city. It was going to be an easy battle, as most of the Romans from the garrison and the defending army was killed in the previous battle.

https://i.imgur.com/YIZ7uTg.jpg

We had our scouts check out their defenses. They had some heavy artillery on the walls, but the eastern wall was bare from Roman defenses. So we placed our men and artillery, and our assault began.

https://i.imgur.com/y7XhuNo.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/st6Tibm.jpg

After an hour of bombardment we were able to breach the walls of Medhlan, and our men charged into the breaches.

https://i.imgur.com/W9gxuvJ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EM8N6jn.jpg

They were met with little resistance from what was left of the Roman garrison.

https://i.imgur.com/96fE1OB.jpg

The enemy general came to try to take some of us down, but he was met by the mercenaries, who were more than happy to face off against a Roman general.

https://i.imgur.com/TCpAM8F.jpg

That general didn’t last long, and ended up dead in the streets like his men.

https://i.imgur.com/ZMG4owK.jpg

The last few defenders didn’t stand a chance.

https://i.imgur.com/QSdMsFM.jpg

Medhlan was ours, the first major Roman city to fall to our spears, with very minimal casualties.
I forgot to take a screenshot of the results. Again. My bad.

With Medhlan ours, we had to clean up the enemy agents surrounding the city, and a cloak and dagger war began, which we had much success in.

https://i.imgur.com/Mle4ov1.png

In the meantime the Wolves of War advanced on Patavium.

https://i.imgur.com/2eXOKub.jpg

The small Roman garrison didn’t stand a chance, and were on the run before long.

https://i.imgur.com/ZAGdrL6.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/yewmrSh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HiLfAxd.png

We began to bring up more armies to press our attack further as we dealt with some unrest in our newly captured cities. Clearly the Romans in those towns didn’t appreciate us overthrowing their fat Roman leaders. Word of our conquests were spreading like wildfire, and envoys from all over were arriving to make peace and agreements with us, for nobody wanted our wrath to come down upon them like it has on every enemy of ours before.

https://i.imgur.com/ZOAPCTk.png
https://i.imgur.com/Gdtw9U1.jpg

Quick mod update: the guy who made the Armored Suebi units finally updated his mod for patch 5, and I am also now using the Close Combat mod in conjunction with the Radious mods. Not ideal but I work with what I got.

What do you get out of the mods that change the combat? If it helps, I tend to get the same numerical figures for after battle reports in the vanilla game =p

I noticed that you wrote what mods you used here and there. Which mods do you use right now?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sp4

What do you get out of the mods that change the combat? If it helps, I tend to get the same numerical figures for after battle reports in the vanilla game =p

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The killing speed has been reduced so battles now take about double the time they used to. Which is good enough for me right now, hopefully as time goes on it will get better.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Amras

I noticed that you wrote what mods you used here and there. Which mods do you use right now?

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The Radious complete overhaul mod (includes AI, battle mod, campaign mod, economy&research, plus the different unit packs), the Close Combat 4.0 mod, the Armored Suebi mod, 4turns per year, loose formation for all units mod, Faction Uniform colors by Mitch, a better campaign camera mod, and a mod which enables me to zoom all the way down to ground level during battles.

How long do they take?

Depends on the size and enemy composition. Obviously an medium/large enemy army of 2/3 light infantry will take about 10 minutes, give or take 2-3 minutes. I was doing a custom battle with mostly enemy medium-heavy infantry and it was about 16-20 minutes.

Chapter Sixteen

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Spears of Tyr marched on Genua, another lightly defended Roman settlement.

https://i.imgur.com/qqNxNpK.jpg

There were Bloodsworn among the soldiers, and they were just itching to have a crack at the Romans. As a diversion, we placed some men on the hill overlooking the town, while the rest were put in the forest, hidden.

https://i.imgur.com/RGmIzOO.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/g9cdRZL.jpg

The Romans waited uneasily, knowing that their doom drew near.

https://i.imgur.com/LQWcWPW.jpg

The Romans sent a unit to scout us, and were quickly shattered, as our men ploughed through their marketplace, jumping over stalls, or in some cases, just knocking them over.

https://i.imgur.com/Hy9vron.jpg

In the town square, the Romans put up little resistance, and didn’t take too long for them to rout, and the town was ours.

https://i.imgur.com/EqGWl6e.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HLG65IT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/emXhwQ8.png

After our victory, the Aedui sent an ambassador, asking us for an alliance, and in return they would join our war against the Romans.

https://i.imgur.com/TpkW43D.png

The cloak and dagger war was still going strong as well, and increasingly in our favor, although our public works projects in our new towns were being consistently undermined.

https://i.imgur.com/4UgAmVf.jpg

During this fight I returned to our lands to refit my army before we were to take Roma. During this time I heard that the oldest Shieldmaiden we had, Baldechildis, died at the old age of 65. She had served our people well, helping train my men from the very beginnings of my reign. She would be very missed, and I ordered a memorial to her be placed in the capital.

https://i.imgur.com/Lkhmwm2.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/N7M2C4q.png

On the home front, I could tell that the other chiefs were not happy. There were murmurings of discontent and even rebellion. Some people were not happy for us going after the Romans, a people so foreign to us that some people viewed them as corrupt demons who would be our downfall.

Then I got word that there was an attempt on Friduric’s life. He survived, but it was proof that there was another storm brewing, not from the south, but from within.

https://i.imgur.com/bT91nHv.png

On the horizon there was the Roman fortified town of Massalia, considered the jewel of Iberia. The Spears of Tyr were going to take it once Friduric recovered. It was going to be a tough fight, and there were numerous Roman armies out there to challenge us, but I have confidence in our arms.

https://i.imgur.com/r3kfmBY.jpg

Also on the horizon is the town of Ariminum, with another two full sized Roman armies defending it.

https://i.imgur.com/0LkXmjT.jpg

The Romans were knocked down early in the war, but it seemed as if they were getting back up…

Also a question for anyone who might know- does expanding too quickly hurt you in the long run? I had a surplus of about 20 food before this war, then after all the conquests it shot town to 2, then to 0, then up to 4. Probably because of all the unrest and sabotage preventing my new provinces from producing food, so I find that interesting how that has been put into the game. Though I do think that "barbarians" and especially nomads should be able to expand much more rapidly than the more "civilized" nations.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

Also a question for anyone who might know- does expanding too quickly hurt you in the long run? I had a surplus of about 20 food before this war, then after all the conquests it shot town to 2, then to 0, then up to 4. Probably because of all the unrest and sabotage preventing my new provinces from producing food, so I find that interesting how that has been put into the game. Though I do think that "barbarians" and especially nomads should be able to expand much more rapidly than the more "civilized" nations.

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In the long run, I don't see any reason why the pace of expansion would matter. Just a matter of managing the short-term challenges of unrest, culture differences, etc.

By the way, nice job with the agents, they're kicking butt. Is that all spies doing the conversions, or do you have other agents working too?

I use champs almost exclusively in armies for training and march-distance buff, which I think is probably pretty common. My dignitaries, however, I've been using for civil administration in home provinces last couple of campaigns. Individually their income boost is modest, but when you've got all of them working the wealthiest provinces, it makes a real difference. Still, not sure this is the best use for them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

Also a question for anyone who might know- does expanding too quickly hurt you in the long run? I had a surplus of about 20 food before this war, then after all the conquests it shot town to 2, then to 0, then up to 4. Probably because of all the unrest and sabotage preventing my new provinces from producing food, so I find that interesting how that has been put into the game. Though I do think that "barbarians" and especially nomads should be able to expand much more rapidly than the more "civilized" nations.

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There are no downsides except for maybe declaring too many wars at once and reaching the "mass DOW threshold" the AI seems to have. If you're big enough you won't care either way, but your turns will become a lot slower due to having to fight more battles.

There is no particular benefit in capturing more than two settlements per turn unless you have the gold to outfit the new ones with sturctures (exclusions apply to ones of your own culture which you don't have to convert ASAP) + have the gold to continune troop recruitment.

Barbarian factions should expand quickly but in-game they have no particular edge for that. In fact, Rome and the hellenistic factions tend to do better because of their easier access to good infantry (paramount to taking cities). And as a disadvantage to the barbarians, their PO boosting city center building is very high up the tech tree and offers comparatively lower boosts to PO, so they will face more PO problems than the "civilized" factions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bramborough

By the way, nice job with the agents, they're kicking butt. Is that all spies doing the conversions, or do you have other agents working too?

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Considering that the enemy agents were consistently sabotaging me, it was all hands on board: spies, dignitaries, and champions.

EDIT: after some more playtesting I decided to remove the Close Combat mod. I noticed that while the high-level units stuck out the battle more, the lower level tiers routed much faster. I think that the combo of Radious and Close combat does this, Im stuck with the Radious battle mod, so oh well. I also pre-ordered the blood pack so next update you shall see bloody and gory action!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

Considering that the enemy agents were consistently sabotaging me, it was all hands on board: spies, dignitaries, and champions.

EDIT: after some more playtesting I decided to remove the Close Combat mod. I noticed that while the high-level units stuck out the battle more, the lower level tiers routed much faster. I think that the combo of Radious and Close combat does this, Im stuck with the Radious battle mod, so oh well. I also pre-ordered the blood pack so next update you shall see bloody and gory action!

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What kind of a graphics card do you have?

Geforce GT 640 w/ 2GB of VRAM, but my processor is the strength, its a i7 at 2.3ghz with turbo boost up to 3.3ghz.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hooahguy

Geforce GT 640 w/ 2GB of VRAM, but my processor is the strength, its a i7 at 2.3ghz with turbo boost up to 3.3ghz.

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I have the same processor (dual quad I think) but my video card is the culprit. GTX 570 with 1GB.

Chapter Seventeen

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

There were a number of Aedui forces hanging around the border between them and the Romans, so Ricfried, considering Octuduron to be safe from Roman attack, took his Bloodsworn and began to march towards Massalia. Unfortunately a Roman spy managed to poison the wells while the Bloodsworn were in camp, sickening many of his men. To make things worse, our scouts reported a number of Roman armies approaching, one of them large. Our spies tried everything they could do to hinder their advance, but it looked like the Bloodsworn would be attacked by overwhelming Roman forces.

https://i.imgur.com/ITxHNMQ.jpg

During this time my army finished refitting and was returning back to the front lines when I heard that a family member, Leuthard, had died from old age, reminding me of my advancing age. Hopefully I will live to see the day that our army marches victorious into Roma.

https://i.imgur.com/trrbTDv.png

Then we got word that the larger Roman army, Legio XV Alpina, had advanced towards Genua and had made camp merely a two days march from the town. Perhaps they did not know that we had captured the town? Whatever the reason, they seemed unaware of our presence. Ricfried’s army was too far away to attack, so it was up to the Spears of Tyr to defeat that army, with a little help from our agents who were secretly poisoning their wells.

https://i.imgur.com/597Vbeh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YmS0dz1.jpg

The day of battle was a sunny one. It was the kind of day I would bring my family to sit outside, bring some food, and enjoy the weather. But today there was killing to do.

As we formed up we could see the Roman dogs in the distance, maneuvering into the best formation they think will stop our juggernaut.

https://i.imgur.com/jRzKbvP.jpg

Our warriors closed the distance. Under fire from Roman ranged units, we charged into battle.

https://i.imgur.com/zFp291b.jpg

The Roman front line was units of Roman city guards conscripted to march with the main army. Why they did this seems unwise, as they were mercilessly slaughtered by our experienced warriors.

https://i.imgur.com/NYj0fRV.jpg

On the right flank our combined cavalry and infantry clashed with their heavy cavalry.

https://i.imgur.com/MAUDPkJ.jpg

On the left flank we squared off against heavy Roman cavalry, who didn’t stand a chance due to our sheer numbers.

https://i.imgur.com/7wYCbGE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/JF27w2w.jpg

The center was a different story. We were facing off against the heavily armored Roman legionaries, some of the finest professional soldiers in the world. We were evenly matched in that melee, with neither side giving an inch.

https://i.imgur.com/P0wtSki.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/MYAUTZ5.jpg

But all resistance came to an end when our noble cavalry managed to ride around to the back of the Roman formation and charge.

https://i.imgur.com/mNaptw8.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5IIW9Qz.jpg

Soon the Romans were fleeing in a panic, as their lines crumbled and their leadership was lost.

https://i.imgur.com/T1kjpdG.jpg

Our cavalry hunted them down mercilessly. We were determined to leave nobody alive.

https://i.imgur.com/sfN4bl1.jpg

It was a bloody day, but we had won yet another crushing victory against the Romans.

https://i.imgur.com/7ZGiHal.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/S6i0seR.png

The enemy army was completely wiped out. By our count there were only eighty survivors, who scattered into the countryside. We also captured over two-hundred Romans. We executed them and sent their heads on a ship to Roma. We do not take prisoners.

But there were more Roman armies on the horizon. Our spies report that there are numerous very large Roman armies at sea, waiting for the opportune moment to land and wreak havoc.

https://i.imgur.com/eFo96sJ.jpg

Meanwhile the Aedui armies had taken the Roman town of Nemossos and were now advancing towards Massalia. Or Genua. Hopefully Massalia. We do not need an ally backstabbing us now.

https://i.imgur.com/AVWBz4k.jpg

Our progress towards Roma had slowed to a halt. We would have to resume our progress quickly; otherwise we might face much stronger Roman armies. The Romans were clearly regrouping and counter-attacking. We had to regain our momentum, and I had just the plan to do so.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Also, does anyone know if I can increase the bloodiness of my battles? Right now they seem kind of tame from what I've seen in other screenshots. Im on high/very high graphics so I don't know what gives.

Heres my settings:
https://i.imgur.com/W7fPJqI.jpg

Don't know, I noticed the same thing in my Pontus campaign today. Yours actually seem even a little tamer. Possibly because many of my settings are on Ultra, perhaps. It doesn't bother me, I didn't really want the over-the-top silliness seen in some S2 screenshots...but then, it doesn't look like the R2 screenshots we've seen either. I'm happy with it as is, so reluctant to play the "false adverstising!" card...but I'd understand if others did so.

Great chapter regardless. I've noticed that your style has a much higher "screenshot-per-battle" ratio than mine. I think the fundamental difference is that I try to get 1-2 screenies for good illustrations to accompany the story, while you seem to usually take enough shots to tell the story on their own.

Yeah Ive noticed that as well, and I admire the hell out of your ability to write so much, whereas I tend to, as you put it, rely much more on pictures. As I remember thats always hows it been for my AARs. Simple and easy to read has been my style as long as I can remember.

You also go at a faster pace, where oftentimes I will only cover one maybe two battles in a chapter. Thankfully tomorrow begins the weekend and it brings new chapters!

https://i.imgur.com/trrbTDv.png

Why are the swords always bent like this? It looks kind of silly XD

Interesting, I never noticed that. Always assumed it was lying across the stone.

No it's like a Z shape.

Well now I see it. I just want to know how they got that sword in there.

Chapter Eighteen

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In order to regain our initial momentum, we would have to overwhelm their defenses like we did at the start, hit them multiple times in quick succession and they will be thrown off guard. My plan, which I called the Leuthard Plan after the recently deceased Leuthard, involves at least two armies on the attack. One of the armies would by my army, the Champions of Wōdanaz, and the Wolves of War would be the frontline armies. Meanwhile, the Fires of Surt would be sent town to defend Patavium. I would first take the town of Velathri while the Wolves of War would take Ariminum. After each town was taken we would converge on Roma and take the city.

https://i.imgur.com/tCe3pPx.jpg

But as the saying goes, man makes plans and the gods laugh.

Initially our scouts reported that there was an increased Roman military presence around Velathri and Ariminum, but it would be nothing that our armies couldn’t handle.

https://i.imgur.com/vwEdxjI.jpg

Though it was the Roman naval forces were the ones that concerned me, I was confident that the Spears of Tyr could handle it, though to be safe I moved my men closer to Genua.

https://i.imgur.com/YpyOH1E.jpg

The Wolves of War, who had made camp on the border waiting for my go-ahead for the attack, were suddenly attacked by a very large Roman force.

https://i.imgur.com/yUl721S.jpg

Due to some tactical feints, the Romans made us believe they were coming from the north, when in fact, shrouded by the heavy fog, they came from the east. So while they were forming up for attack, we were forming up on the wrong side of our camp!

https://i.imgur.com/i484wY1.jpg

When we noticed our mistake, our men had to sprint to meet the Romans for combat.

https://i.imgur.com/TCKcRVg.jpg

Being on horses, our cavalry got there first, in time to intercept Roman heavy cavalry.

https://i.imgur.com/DJyxZ4v.jpg

As our main lines clashed, we realized that Roman reinforcements were coming in from the north. We had to reposition our lines quickly or we would soon find ourselves surrounded.

https://i.imgur.com/bmTXksv.jpg

To mitigate the chance of being surrounded, we sent a unit of elite spearmen to guard the northern gate of the camp.

https://i.imgur.com/m33OfVG.png

While we were trying to reposition our forces, a unit of Roman legionaries broke through our lines and charged straight for the vulnerable camp. Our units were able to chase them down and defeat them before they got there but it showed we had major holes in our defenses. It was a tough battle, but it seemed like the worst was over.

https://i.imgur.com/4QtWc5N.jpg

As our men repositioned to meet the threat from the north, we could see how much carnage was wrought.

https://i.imgur.com/qYjTDeV.jpg

The new Roman reinforcements consisted mainly of elite Roman infantry and a unit of elite Roman gladiators. The initial unit of spear brothers which were sent to counter them were soon overwhelmed and had to withdraw.

https://i.imgur.com/PxuSf1S.jpg

They were soon backed up by the rest of our forces who had just arrived.

https://i.imgur.com/RBHnwJN.png
https://i.imgur.com/7m20knA.png
https://i.imgur.com/oRDlMWt.png
https://i.imgur.com/GPpft9T.png

One Roman unit broke away and made a mad dash for the camp, apparently trying to kill our general, but a unit of spear brothers caught them before they could achieve their goal.

https://i.imgur.com/ZmaGCgM.jpg

The Romans began to break, and our men ruthlessly rode them down.

https://i.imgur.com/j1JJGxD.png

We had won the battle, but at serious cost. One of our units of light cavalry was completely annihilated. They fought bravely, killing as many Romans as they could before they fell to the more heavily armored Romans, but they were entirely wiped out. A number of our units of spear brothers were decimated, although not totally destroyed, so that is the silver lining I suppose. But in the end, we had come out victorious and the Romans were on the run again.

https://i.imgur.com/KrQDTiZ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/0b6ZWi6.png
https://i.imgur.com/HZdxjr3.png

But with good news always comes bad news. Scouts reported that near Akink was a massive horde of Ardiaei soldiers. Our estimates are in the tens of thousands. I fear greatly for the garrisons in the area. We do not know what their intentions are, but since they are allied with Rome and enemies of ours, it cannot be good for us.

https://i.imgur.com/2QWcbx3.jpg

We began to raise emergency armies of heavy spearmen around our lands to prepare for this Greek invasion. I needed to take Roma and end this war with the Romans as soon as I could. A day after I got word of our victory near Ariminum, a Roman assassin attacked me in my camp. He came at me with a hidden blade, concealed in his sleeves. Thankfully, he only nicked me in the side, it was startling to see just how determined the Romans were to defeat us. I was beginning to feel that we had bitten off more than we could chew with this war…

EDIT: Authors note:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I had hoped to take Roma by chapter 20, but I guess that wont be happening now... :wall:

Chapter Nineteen

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Less than a week after the first attack, the Wolves of War were attacked again by another numerically superior force.

https://i.imgur.com/6AhqMlj.jpg

After what happened last time, we had put up barriers and traps on the entrances, and our Spear Masters were braced for impact. Due to the close quarters our Noble cavalrymen decided to dismount to be most effective.

https://i.imgur.com/sMZHinn.jpg

The Romans came from the west first, which was where our defenses were weakest; the other entrances had spikes guarding them. The western entrance, on the other hand, only had a flimsy wooden barrier. The barriers didn’t hold for very long against the over two thousand Roman troops pushing their way in. We threw more men into the fray, hoping to turn them back. Our warriors tried their hardest to push back the horde of Romans but they could not hold back everyone. It was as if they were trying to hold back a tidal wave with a couple of rocks. For a while it seemed as if the Romans would push through and all would be lost.

https://i.imgur.com/tQfAwaR.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aydAutk.jpg

But finally after throwing enough men into the fray, the tide turned, and the Romans began to fall back. It was a vicious fight; blood was covering the ground and even the palisades of the fort and the entrance was clogged with bodies.

https://i.imgur.com/opbdamO.jpg

The Romans tried to counter attack with the survivors of the first wave, but they were easily beaten back.

https://i.imgur.com/OBcOk2N.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8ZhhVEQ.jpg

Then came the second wave, coming from the south. Celtic mercenaries came first, and they were torn to ribbons whilst throwing themselves against the spike defenses and our spears.

https://i.imgur.com/XB2AtrJ.jpg

Holding back the second wave was not as difficult as the first time, though some Roman cavalry did manage to get through, and they were swiftly cut down.

https://i.imgur.com/WGcYbmp.jpg

Back on the western side, the remainders of the first wave had regrouped, and our men charged out to meet them in the friendliest of fashion.

https://i.imgur.com/JxS1M2q.jpg

At the southern entrance our Noble cavalry had re-mounted and charged into the fray.

https://i.imgur.com/orsAVI1.jpg

It wasn’t long until the Romans started to rout, which soon turned into a general retreat.

https://i.imgur.com/79onrxH.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/AuwnlIn.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GQl0Emf.jpg

It was carnage everywhere, even worse than the battle before.

https://i.imgur.com/t8WtDjY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/9r3q95H.jpg

Our men chased down whoever they could catch up to, killing those who resisted, and killing those who surrendered. We would show no quarter in this war, and we expected none.

https://i.imgur.com/UTPzwcp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/bocQccB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7s4UhPb.jpg

It was a great victory, considering that our men were low on supplies and manpower.

https://i.imgur.com/B136ffN.png

In the grand scheme of things, I had fully recovered from the assassination attempt, and I set out for Velathri. My plan would go ahead as planned.

https://i.imgur.com/isLyEVV.jpg

Meanwhile near Akink, the Ardiaei had not made a move towards the town yet, making us very nervous. Hopefully nothing will come of this, but knowing our track record, I figure something will happen soon…

https://i.imgur.com/3YkjXoS.jpg

Awesome battle and screenies.

I'm kinda amused how the Romans' generally red-colored attire kinda lessens the visual impact of the blood. Perhaps this was intentional for morale reasons? I've read that the British Army in the 18th/19th century were "redcoats" for precisely this reason (perhaps myth, but sounds reasonable).

A related piece of naval trivia; the modern US Navy (and probably others) even today paints its ships' machinery room bilge areas (i.e., below the lower deck grating) a shade called "terracotta red". Today it's essentially just "tradition"...a kind way of saying "uh, well we've always painted it that way." The origin, however, was from 18th/19th century sailing warships, in which the interior bulkheads and lower decks were so painted to mute the visibility of blood running down from the upper weather and gun decks. Anyone who has visited USS Constitution at Boston has probably seen this paint shade in the lower decks. I assume the USN copied this practice from the Royal Navy, although I don't know that for fact. We certainly inherited a lot of other traditions and honors/ceremonies from the RN.

(I served in the engineering departments of four ships...saw a lot of terracotta red in my day.)

As I recall correctly, the Romans didnt really use red for their uniforms until the Marian reforms, due to there being a lack of a professional army. In fact the standard color of tunics for the Romans pre-Marian was off-color white.

Chapter Twenty

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

En route to Velathri, I received devastating news. Baldovin, one of my top generals and more importantly, one of my closest friends, died from a long bout of winter sickness. I will surely miss him, and it merely reminded me of my advancing age.

https://i.imgur.com/NWuxNFu.png

It has been a long and rough road for us. From a seemingly unending war with small Gallic tribes to a siege assault almost ending in disaster, the end was in sight. We had defeated all of the Roman armies standing in our way to Roma. We can finally proceed with the Leuthard Plan and wreak vengeance for all of our dead who have fallen to Roman swords along this bloody path to the streets of gold.

The Wolves of War, fresh from their victory over the last Roman army to oppose them, descended upon Ariminum with a blood thirst that could only be cured by spilling more Roman blood. They would certainly satiate that thirst in the coming battle.

https://i.imgur.com/OKD4i2K.jpg

The majority of our men were deployed behind a hill, luring the Romans into a false sense of security, with a few of them posted in full view, hoping that the Roman garrison would be enticed out of the relative safety of their streets.

https://i.imgur.com/blRyfqe.jpg

They did not take the bait, and we ordered a full assault. It was a merciless slaughter. The Romans did not have a chance in Hel of survival.

https://i.imgur.com/sWlmKFZ.jpg

The Wolves of War chased down the fleeing Romans with a fury that I could only describe as fearsome. Everyone in that army had lost friends, and they were eager to avenge them that day.

https://i.imgur.com/kpTsB49.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/djU0LPf.png
https://i.imgur.com/KvbJJ4Z.png

Then it was time to take Velathri. This was the first combat my men had seen since taking the town of Vesontio and after well over a year of stagnating in a city, some said that we had gotten soft. My men were eager to prove the naysayers wrong.

https://i.imgur.com/LKCNZRr.jpg

We had built new ballistas, and I was keen to try them out before we took a crack at one of the largest cities in the world.

https://i.imgur.com/z8W3hOq.jpg

I will not lie to you; it was certainly enjoyable to see our explosive ammunition wreak mayhem among the tightly packed Roman units in the town.

https://i.imgur.com/91hLNxd.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5oTwwUk.jpg

But eventually we ran out of ammunition and I sent in the men, who were frothing at the mouth to get their chance to kill some Romans. They got their wish.

https://i.imgur.com/hlYURoG.jpg

I rode in close to the melee so I could observe better, but I let the younger men do the fighting for now. Their bloodlust was greater than mine was, and I let them satiate their thirst before I would partake.

Even from where I was I could see it was a bloodbath. I could see that my men were dismembering Romans left and right. Blood had stopped being soaked into the dirt roads and turned it to mud under their feet.

https://i.imgur.com/eP59Ewt.jpg

The remaining few Romans tried to flee but we did not let them. We hunted them down, whether they ran towards the surrounding hills or if they tried to hide in their houses. Those who resisted were slaughtered immediately without quarter. Those who fled were captured then hung on stakes around the town as a warning to the others. Was it brutal? Sure, but this is warfare. The inhabitants of friendly towns who had been visited by the Romans before the war told us that the Romans were just as brutal when dealing with “barbarian” locals. The Romans called us barbarians, but as they say in their own tongue, “Quisque est barbarus alio”- everyone is a barbarian to someone. Just as we were barbarians to them, they were just as barbaric to us.

https://i.imgur.com/jBXMC9H.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Ybd7esg.png

With the successful conquest of Velathri the first phase of my plan had been completed and we would soon move onto our final goal.

https://i.imgur.com/S19iVUP.jpg

Meanwhile, near Akink, most the Ardiaei armies seem to have left. I, along with my commanders, am puzzled by this development. Maybe they see the coming defeat of the Romans and are deciding to pull back? I do not know; we do not know enough about them to see whether this was just a feint or them deciding a war with us was not in their best interests. Which it is not, for once we defeat the Romans, we are coming after them.

https://i.imgur.com/mdUozWe.jpg

As I rested in Velathri, surveying the carnage that covered the town and planning our next moves, I could hear the voice again. It had risen to a crescendo now, occupying most of my thoughts. The only time it was quiet was when I was leading my army in battle. It was almost yelling at me to keep my momentum, march on Roma, kill those who opposed me. I have decided to give into the voice, to Wōdanaz. The path to Roma was already a bloody one, and I was about to make it bloodier.

https://i.imgur.com/cdTJ6we.jpg

Author’s note:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

So now that we are nearing the capture of Roma, do people want me to continue past the capture of Roma or should I end it at that and start a new campaign with a new faction?