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Dear EBers, would you be so kind as to post your most ridiculous and complicated campaign houserules here.
My Ptolemaioi game goes so easy you call it "Stinkin rich for doing nothing". Guys have more gold in their coffers than Carthage.
In desperate need to complicate things for myself
Thanx in advance
MiniMe.
BTW: should I say "could you be so kind to..." or I should say "would you be so kind to..."?
Either works.Quote:
Originally Posted by MiniMe
We know what you mean either way, but the technically correct way is, "would you be so kind as to."
I plan on implementing house rules and changing the EDU a lot for my next Roman campaign in an effort to better represent the differences between the citizen militia and professional army. That remains to be seen though, I may make an AAR to show my expierment in the stage between the Polybian and Marian reforms.
This is many months away, however. I probably won't do it until 1.1 comes out anyways.
I don't have many houserules.
1) Play with Toggle_fow off. I only turn it on every 5 or so years to see if the AI is doing any interesting expansing.
2) I only use 1 general per army unless I have a younger FM after finishing his academic courses and has a potential to be a great general, to follow along with the main one to build his skills.
3) Playing as civilized nations, I will not destroy any monuments. On the flip-side, any nomadic or barbarian play, I make sure to pillage and destroy.
4)
BTW, only the leading general will gain command bonues, the others can only gain chevrons for their BG.Quote:
Originally Posted by tapanojum
I have tons of houserules (there is an entire thread on that topic on the TWC). Most of them concerning roleplaying of characters, up to the creation of the sub-factions, and local recruitement.
Yes, I do it for experience and role play. Kind of how Philiip II was in charge of the army at Charaeneo (spell check) and Alexander led the cavalry.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pharnakes
1. Never attack a faction unless they attack you first/Never steamroll
2. Always accept another faction's ceasefire
3. NEVER fight a bridge battle with either: 1. any phalanx units 2. any army equivalent or stronger than that of the enemy's
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Here are mine, for the Lusotana campaign, as posted earlier yet slightly modified:
- Pursue the victory conditions and don't expand meaninglessly.
- Always build the Type I and Type II governments where available.
- Favour building up and economy over warfare.
- The throne remains in the Lusotanakum family from all male line. (Since they depleted as all-sons, the throne has passed to the next noblest in line, the Celtikum family.)
- The capital can't be changed unless the candidate town has at least King's Hold and Stone Fortress. In any case, it can't be changed before next year (not necessarily 4 turns) once the turn is ended. (You may rehearse options within the same turn.)
- Every expedition force must be commanded by a general. Small peacekeeping troops against brigands can be commanded by captains. (This has been compromised. I always auto_win against brigands using a single depleted unit. Armies with no generals are still used extremely sparingly though.)
- No campaigning in the winter unless in defence. (Exceptions to this have been made.)
- Never attack an ally before dissolving the alliance.
- Never attack a neutral faction without making/creating/inventing a diplomatic excuse, such as threats etc. (Usually I demand them to attack my foe or pay me an enormous tribute, which they naturally refuse.)
- Armies and diplomats must rest in the minor settlement tiles (mines, markets, vineyards etc.) or otherwise generals build forts, unless they mean to ambush. Spies and assassins may rest anywhere.
- No local autonomy/local taxation. Towns without a governor are directly ruled by the King's loyal servants. Ones with governors are the fiefs of the generals.
- [This one has recently been added] Train cheap levies exclusively for garrison duties.
- Maximum happiness policy in all settlements
- If you are going to keep a settlement, then;
- ~D Occupy
- :blank2: Occupy or Enslave
- ~:( Enslave or Exterminate
- ~:pissed: Exterminate
If you are raiding/sacking always exterminate.- (I toggle fow off but) Let your diplomats travel the world, learn about the states of affairs and build relations. Don't exploit the radar if the fow is off.
Some fine points, such as faction leadership, will naturally vary according to the faction. Tribal identity and influence combined will override blood relation for Getai, for instance.
I use the force diplomacy mod extensively but scarcely fall to the temptation of exploiting it. :angel:
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Mine for the Roman campaign were:
1) No slinger units of any sort. Combined with the powerful Roman infantry, it's like, ownage.
2) Garrisons should be made up of the cheapest available units nearby. Leves, Lugoae, Akontistai, Milites, Gund-i Palta. That's all that's allowed.
3) I am permitted to pre-empt an enemy if he masses a fullstack anywhere on my border or crosses it, but if he remains even one tile inwards on his territory, I do nothing.
4) Generals are purely governors. They also lead mercenary anti-rebel armies, but may not lead legions in attacks.
5) Never attack an ally without first dissolving the alliance.
6) Attack a neutral faction only if they have resources that you want or view as being in your 'sphere of influence'.
7) Fullstacks must be maintained as fullstacks and their composition must be institutionalised for the duration of a campaign, i.e. they will retain the same ratio of units throughout.
8) Reinforcements in a campaign will be delivered via halfstacks to each fullstack following about a turn or two behind. No in-city retraining allowed until the legion no longer opposes a faction.
9) Always exterminate unless the city is less than 6000.
10) Maintain tax rates on Low throughout, except for Italia, which pays Normal rates.
11) Unless the opposing side ceasefires, or to do so would result in uncomfortable proximity to another faction, the ultimate end of a campaign must be the utter destruction of the enemy.
If you're looking for a challenge, the triple gold chevron elites that the Makedones have in the ALX.exe thread look pretty challenging.
Apparently, the AI retrains.
Here's one: set camera_fov in preferences.txt to 250. That's a challenge.
What does that do? o.O General's camera?
Pezhetairoi, why do you not have generals leading your legions?
It tips the battlefield upside down. :laugh4:Quote:
Originally Posted by pezhetairoi
Here are a set of House rules I put together for a Pontic AAR I've been working on in my spare time. I'm up to 230BC right now and it has been a lot of fun. I think I'll publish the first chapter later this week when I get past 200 (want to make sure it's worth reading, after all).
Also, a lot of these came from reading Konny's rules and reading AAR's.
Anyway:
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is determined firstly by the personality of the Faction Leader; however, if other key family members or generals have enough influence, their personalities will also impact the decisions of the King. Also, characters with the selfish/disloyal combination of traits will be more likely to make decisions on their own, especially if they are far from the capital city.
The second determinant of foreign policy decisions comes from economics and trade. The trade screen for the cities shows who the city is trading with. Sometimes this may result in a war to capture that trading partner or, depending on diplomatic relations, a war to help defend a key trading partner.
Conquest and Government
When conquering cities, with a few exceptions, the city must begin as an allied state and continue as one until either the death of the client-ruler or some other event regarding role-play which makes the arrangement out of place. The exceptions to the rule are as follows: Mazaka in Kappadokia can immediately provided with a Type I homeland government due to the number of Kappadokians living there. Sinope and Trapezous may begin as a Type III Phil-Hellenic Satrapy because of their proximity to Amaseia and their historical connection to the Persian Dynasts who ruled over those regions prior to the conquest of Alexander the Great. This not to say that they will begin as Phil-Hellenic Satrapies, but rather that it will not be against the rules to do so.
Succession
Succession will be determined firstly by the principles of agnatic succession, but other factors may come into play depending upon role-play. Those other factors most likely will be related to the fact that the Pontic family line is wrought with deep familial struggle between the Persians, Kappadokians, and Hellenes. Thrakians, Galatians, and Skythians, may also play a part, but most likely as a secondary struggle among each other or for their benefactors.
Battles
Battles are fought as realistically as possible. The only way I know how to do this is to make both strategy and tactics dependent upon prior experience of the commanders. Moreover, a generalized strategy must be put into place before the battle. That order of battle can only be changed provided the General or his lieutenants are nearby the units to provide them with new orders. If units are far from the General for too long and their initially planned tasks are completed, they will be put under AI control until the General or a Lieutenant can rejoin them.
Recruitment
Recruitment will follow three lines of organization: (1) city; (2) general; (3) faction.
(1) Each city will recruit along the following formula: one peasant, two citizen, one noble. Peasant units are things like slingers, archers, and skirmishers. Citizen units may be units like classical hoplites, Kappadokian infantry, or pantadapoi phalangitai. Noble units are expensive units that require high upkeep; therefore this is often cavarly. Because the early Pontic campaign has an abundance of family members, no noble units will be recruited until the discrepancy between family members and armies is reduced. However, as the wealth of the Kingdom increases, some units at first considered citizens may later be treated as peasants (the best example are the Kappadokian Hillmen).
(2) Each General will keep the mercenaries he recruits with him at all times, but generally speaking, a large number of mercenaries within the city walls will be looked down upon.
(3) The Faction will have a royal army that goes wherever the King orders it to go. The King need not personally lead the army, but it will be composed of a professional and uniform force (e.g., at the beginning of the game, it is the Royal Army that will be the only force with the Pantodapoi Phalanx).
Garrisons
Each city will have as its garrison one unit of the cheapest peasant units of the city’s culture for every 3,000 male citizens capable of wielding arms. So, if Amaseia has a population of 6,000 (assuming that the number represents only those who could be recruited, and not the total population of old men, women, or children), then it will have two unit garrison of artesh-pada/ Eastern Skirmishers. This should help slow both city growth and economic surplus while at the same time representing the men-at-arms who would voluntarily defend their homes if attacked. These men are considered immobile.
Admirals
While the game unfortunately does not permit family members to serve as admirals of fleets, for the sake of realism, I ensure that every fleet has an admiral on it (family member) and skirmishers/ close combat men for the purpose of boarding. It is costly, but it makes the game more enjoyable.
Here are the rules from my Arverni game on VH/M:
On the strategy map:
- Pursue the victory conditions and don't expand meaninglessly. (Thanks to Mouzafphaerre for reminding me – I, for some reason, didn’t even think about putting this on my list, even though (or perhaps because?) that’s how I normally play anyway.)
- Taxes according to the governor’s personality. For example, an unselfish one can never under any circumstances have taxes on very high, high only during short periods if fund are low/running out/non-existant, and in normal state would be kept at normal or low taxes. A selfish one are almost unable to set the taxes to low, and will normally keep them at high or very high.
- When...
A) ... conquering: (preferred options in italic)
If unselfish: occupy or enslave.
If selfish: occupy, enslave or exterminate
B) ... raiding (preferred options in italic)
If unselfish: enslave
If selfish: enslave or exterminate
C) ... sacking: (preferred options in italic)
If unselfish: exterminate
If selfish: exterminateExceptions can be made, but hasn’t as of yet.On the tactical map:
- No campaigning during winter. Either find a settlement or build a fort. Pessimistic generals can not fight during the autumn either (unless it’s directly impossible to avoid, such as being attacked again after already having retreated once). Optimistic generals will not go on an offensive during the autumn, and will usually avoid defensive ones too.
- No capital changes unless of course the capital is lost. In that case, the second most important city is chosen as the new capital, no matter where it is.
- Faction leader is chosen after influence.
- Settlements with the Type 4 government are allowed local autonomy
- Pop-up rebels are auto-won without mercy.
- Never attack an ally without dissolving the alliance first. (Thanks to Mouza... for reminding me to add this one too.)
- Never attack a neutral faction with the intent of conquering without making/creating/inventing a diplomatic excuse, such as threats etc. Warmongers may ignore this, though. (Taken and slightly edited from Mouza..., thanks!)
- Before a raid, an unselfish general must make the same thing as in point above. A selfish general may ignore this. A warmonger will ignore this. (Inspired from Mouz..., so thanks for the last time!)
The armies:
- Always use general cam no matter what. The general also works under a “sphere of influence”. The size of the sphere is dependant on the general’s influence, and the units deemed to be outside of it cannot be controlled, and are usually put under AI-control. Exceptions to this are Army Orders, i.e. orders that are given to every unit in the army, like when marching to the enemy. Another exception is when the general has a pre-planned tactic - but that is only for the more tactically sound generals.
- Generals not taking active part in fighting would be the exception to the rule.
I think that’s it. I do use force diplomacy mod somewhat, and I also use the cheat command add_population Settlement to keep my settlements in reasonable sizes. I use toggle_fow only for the progression thread's sake.
- Historically plausible armies (like, for example, no full stack of elites).
- Garrisons are always locally trained.
- Offensive armies should have a majority of troops from the same settlement. Reinforcements may come from different settlements, but those units can’t merge with depleted units from differing settlements. Defensive are usually the same, but in case of need a joint effort could form an army of different tribes to unite in the fight against a foreign invader (and in that case, having the same settlement origin is not necessary for merging, but is preferred).
- Offensive armies must be led by a family member. Defensive armies should too, but that’s a less strict case.
I too have developed a bunch... mostly tweaked from Konny's contributions over at TWC.
I've developed a spreadsheet ledger I use to conduct Cursus Honorum and Character updates yearly as well as a complete "Census" yearly. It helps me see trends in development, slows down the game, and makes me think about my characters.
So here goes:
1. Politics
I use a rather non-historical Cursus Honorum system where cities are tied to offices.
Roma is a consular city.
Capua, Taras, and Arretium are Praetorian cities.
Ariminum, Arpi, and the northern Italian cities are Quaestorial cities.
Characters must serve in Roma from 16 to 20. At 20 they join a legion to become Tribunes. At 30 they are eligible for election as Quaestors.
Only Consuls can command full stack legions. Other members are restricted to garrison units that can only be mobilized up to 1 adjacent region away.
Only characters with the Aedile or Quaestor (or ex-) trait may be elected to Praetorships. Only ex- Praetors may be elected to Consul.
There are no term limits, elections are held yearly. If there are not enough family members to fill positions the positions remain vacant.
2. Levy Recruitment
Recruitment for legions depends on the income of a city. I take 1/2 the income of (farms+trade+taxes) as upkeep limits for my legions. Any mining income goes straight to the overall treasury to be applied as I like... mostly for "noble" class units.
I define units as "peasant," "citizen," or "noble." Peasant units upkeep < 250-ish. Citizen <500-ish. Noble >500. The number of units in a legion can never exceed a ration of Citizen=Peasant + Noble.
Each city recruits based on it's contribution and available units. If there is excess from a city (due to restrictions on what units can be produced there or the balance of the legion's make-up) excess goes with mining into a treasury. (Sort of a "we can't send no more troops so we'll send money instead kinda thing.") The leftover treasury is applied to bolster the legion.
The remaining 1/2 income is used for upkeep of garrisons, naval units and building projects.
3. Military Deployment
As noted earlier, only Consuls may command legions. Tribunes attached to a consul & legion may take small groups of units back to original cities for retraining. Units are retrained in the cities from which they originate in the levy recruitment phase (I update the levy every 5 years.)
Flexibility is allowed in times of emergency... but only things like updating the levy and temporary raising of troops (2x normal allowance) within the 5 year census cycle. A dictator may be appointed as well. But Consuls ONLY may command legions. I typically don't scrap much of my system for the sake of "emergency."
Once a legion embarks for a destination, there is no turning back unless it makes sense in a strategic manner... aka... the consul would make such a decision. In this case, Consuls sometimes take a whooping rather than turn from a questionable battle to make it a sure thing.
4. City Management
Only cities with governors may build things (troops or units.) Troops for legions may only be built if the Consul dispatches a diplomat to said city. Otherwise, governors may only raise troops for garrison purposes.
Building projects require a the presence of a governor or a governor/ consular agent (diplomat) for the entirety of the build-time.
Taxes are only raised from Normal levels to reflect times of dire need or budget imbalances.
Homeland regions only receive, automatically, a Level I gov-type. All others begin with Level III and follow a process of assimilation. 1 generation for L3-L2 (30 years.) Level IV are instituted in strategic locations or things that make sense in the overall picture of the campaign. Going from L4-L3 requires 30 years.
Also, overall, characters make decisions and get sent on "missions" based on their traits, not what is convenient for me.:whip:
***
Most of these are not original in their conception. I give Konny and that other dude at TWC credit for that.:2thumbsup: But it makes the game long and fun and detailed for me.
O, first post, but been lurking awhile. Hi all. Great freaking mod.:yes:
i dont keep a lot of houserules, but for my current carthage campaign i have a few:
Generals only allowed to command a total of 10 units at the green lvl (the trait that counts the number of battles a general has been in) with 1 more unit able to be commanded at each level
faction heir allowed to control 15 + "bonus" for combat lvl
faction leader allowed to control all 20
always general cam unless defending a stone walled town
Some very intresting ideas here, thanx all of you.
1) No cheats apart from toggle_fow when I finish a gaming session and wanna have a look around the map.
2) No retraining.
3) No destroying of buildings ever in captured settlements (apart from the foreign government buildings of course in EB, you can't do otherwise, but everything else stays).
4) Only exterminate or enslave 1 in 10 captured cities at most.
5) No bridge camping.
6) Balanced army compositions, no uber stacks of elites or slingers and other sillyness.
7) With Romans, extra house rules about command limit of generals; only a consul can command a full stack e.g. etc.
8) General's camera.
9) No pause.
- No reloading, except for bugs/crashes and pathing SNAFUs.
- Substantial armies move with a general and suffer seasonal movement penalties etc. [I don't worry about the odd unit moving between the MIC and the army on its own.]
My Casse campaign:
1. no declaring war on other Celtic factions
2. no exterminating Celtic settlements (no matter who controlled the settlement at the time of its conquest)
3. encourage "colonization", i.e. taking settlements mixed with other faction's provinces or beyond provinces belonging to another faction, rather than expanding along a line. Currently I hold Burdigala and Toulon, for example, while the Arverni and Aedui control the provinces in between that an Bagacos, which I also hold. Great fun, I can't wait until the Aedui break the alliance, which they probably will next turn, because a roman stack (allied to the Aedui traitors!) is moving towards my army next to Iuvavovaeta.
4. no using toggle_fow
5. no other cavalry than missile cavalry and max 2 units until suffering defeat from or meeting an enemy with >5 cavalry units
6. no retraining more than 1 unit of a specific type at the time, i.e. after losses first merge all damaged units so many disappear due to the merging, then maybe retrain
7. at least 50% levies in each army
8. [considering to add it]: since Casse can train troops in so many settlements, roll a dice when taking it, to determine whether I will allow myself to train troops in the settlement (if I get 5 or 6 on the dice). This can simulate that some settlements were taken in such a brutal manner that prevents local support, or that there's ongoing unrest in some of them
Organise an expedition to that island province in the Baltic and see if you can get a colony going there. Make sure you bring a big fleet though, damn pirates...
Rule no.1 No backstabbing allies, unless playing as Rome.
Rule no.2 No playing as Rome, hence rule No.1 always applies.
Rule no.3 Generally trust your allies, unless you have valid RP reasons not to do so (e.g. they are Roman). This means that when the AI eventually backstabs you, you will be shocked and outraged. Also caught with your pants down.
Rule no.4 No campaigns without generals. Self-explanatory.
Rule no.5 If you aren't at war with a faction your ally is at war with, then you owe your ally war subsidies. Only exception is if you're monumentally getting your ass handed to you.
my house rules are relatively simple
1. don't attack someone w/o a reason
2. don't attack ally
3. if an ally breaks an alliance with you don't go to war with them just cuz your mad.. unless of course say your KH fighting the Arche and Egypt is aiding you then all of a sudden the alliance breaks and they wage war on your ally the Saba.(yes that happened to me.. threw me in a war wit Arche, Egypt, and Rome. then Saba and Hai both simultaniosly broke alliance...)
4.only toggle_fow occasinally every 4-6 years to check up on expansion. put the view in the sea of course and only look at a factions land if im no where near them and wont be attacking them any time soon.
5.keep armies somewhat realistic no all elite and no all levy unless for garrison OR my economy is low.. like super low.
6.no all cavalry armies, not even as a nomad faction. i hate the thought of it and who's going to carry the siege equipment?
7.always have a general leading an army except in garrison duties does not have to
8.don't care about governors they help but not to worried about them.
9.no destroying buildings except with my KH campaign when egypt attacked me i took all of there mediteranian bordering provinces (yes even alexandria and that area.) and destoyed everything.. EVERYTHING they diserved it.
10.homeland regions get lvl 1 subjacation get lvl 2 gov. etc. unless there starting areas and they have a diffrent gov. i.e. athens has a lvl 2 gov not 1.
11.not every single city frontline or not is a military deployer.
12.no farms.. sure it isnt historical, i just hate them.
13.accept ceasefire if absolutley needing it unless your rep. is selfish(and on the front lines), disloyal, or a captain, disloyal generals and selfish generals who arent on the front lines can accept a ceasefire even if you absolutley don't want to.
14.captains cannot command a mainly mercenary army
15.preferably no all/mostly mercanary armies unless there is no chance or point in retreating from the front lines, or if the general is disloyal.
16.dont expand meaninglessly try as hard as i can to stay to campaign goals unless at war with an unrelenting foe that is outside of your campaign victory lands i.e. the Arche.
17.no capital changing unless finding a better more advantougous capital AND has been upgraded to or past the current capital in most acpects. or having a selfish ruler who wants the capital where he is.
18.no cheats minus fow to look at expansion
19.preferably only one general per army unless having a new soldier training under a veteran for like 2-3 battles or in a campaign in which the general may die of age/assassin/risky battles, and a general is a neccesity to the mission
although alot there relatively simple at least to me they are and there may be more and i just cant think of more
Cheers! ~:cheers:
I really like your first 2 rules! :yes:Quote:
Originally Posted by pockettank
Tactical houserules:
1. Do not exploit the size of the battlescreen. The battlefield is the space the two armies occupy (zone of deployment); everything else is considered to be outside the battlefield. So you will not move any forces, cavarly in particular, around the enemy army to attack its back or flanks. To do so you must first defeat the enemy units on this flank.
Exception: with Barbarian factions, like the Sweboz, you can lay ambushes on the battlefield by hiding a part of your army in a wood outside the zone of deployment.
2. In bridge-battles you will act like a (good) historical commander and place your army a good deal behind the river to attack the enemy when he has just got over the bridge. So, no blocking with one Phalanx.
3. Do not attack the AI when it is trying to get in formation. The AI often runs stupidly around until it has formed a line. You will wait with your attack until has finished.
4. Always try to form up parallel to the AI line and attack head on. Anything else will throw the AI immediatly into awfull confusion.
5. Do net let its horses run into your phalanx because of it hunting with Hetairoi after your slingers. If possible counter these attackes with your own cavalry before they reach your main line.
6. To get any reasonable results from the AI you should always try be the attacker. The AI is able to defend itself up to some degree, but has absolutly no idea how to attack.
This is especially true with Hellenistic armies that employ phalanxes.Quote:
Originally Posted by konny
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I'm not nearly as chivalric as konny. ~;p My avatar would hate me. :skull:
Honestly, I'm only marginally better than the AI in the battlefield. :shrug:
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I agree 100% with all Mouzhafpierre's rules and try and follow them when they suit me :juggle2: but the only hard rule I follow is that disabling FOW is cheating.
I mean in those days people, especially Barbarians, probably thought that 2 regions away was Here Be Dragons territory, let alone seeing half the Northern hemisphere in perfect cartographical relief.
Me too :embarassed: hahaQuote:
Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre
Quote:
Originally Posted by konny
How strange, my opinion on this is upside down: I've always considered AI better attacker than defenderQuote:
Originally Posted by Callicles
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre
hehe thats why none of my rules apply to battles cuz if i were to go up against anyone aside from AI (barely on medium) i would get WTFPWND!!1 :laugh4:
Yep that's my idea as well. When they defend they just sit their and take it (at the wrong time) - or they just break rank and get cut to shreds.Quote:
Originally Posted by MiniMe
At least when they attack they have half the notion to retreat when slaughtered or to employ their cavalry in a slightly useful manner. (Other than charging head on in some pointy sticks.)
.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mykingdomforanos
A balloon to you! :balloon2:
People not knowing the geography accurately is OK. It's just the FOW as a feature that bothers me; makes me feel like playing Starcraft of C&C. While I liked both and spent countless hours playing them, in TW atmosphere FOW just isn't fit to my liking. Mediaeval's featureless map showing up as you progress was much, much better IMHO. :yes:
As for cheating, it can be used against "features" that hinder realism as well. For instance, I've begun to clean up ridiculously appearing brigands and pirates with auto_win.
Brigand spawn/Pirate spawn values seem not to be save game compatible. :shame:
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I agree! However, that is unless you (when defending) have a phalanx... As the Casse, I thought I would get mauled when a roman army with pedites extraordinarii, equites extraordinarii, samnite mercs, various triarii and principes and so on attack me. At the time, I had trained 4 apea gaedotos just to try them out, and those pesky romans just ran straight into them, turn after turn, in the Alp pass north of Patavium. The battles look something like 3-25% Casse losses, 60-80% of the roman stack dead (not possible to hunt down more than 80% with so little cavalry), because many of them just run into the phalanax. Sometimes the AI was clever though, and charged only the flanks of the phalanx, and not at all the middle. I had to use my light reserves (geroas etc) to attack them, and let the middle phalanx units move out to help the flanks. But this can also be avoided by keeping the phalanx units off phalanx formation, and rushing forward to meet the advancing enemy, then lowering the pikes at the last second - that usually pins the enemy down quite nicely...Quote:
Originally Posted by MiniMe
I just had my toughest battle as Lusotan trying to capture that independent province in the middle of Iberia, where if you attack them, they call upon some magic reinforcements and have VERY large forces.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rodion Romanovich
Odds 2:5
My Casualties=87%
Enemy Casualties=95%
Very tough but VERY fun battle....loved it =]
Not from my experince: Line up your phalanxes/hoplites, place some archers behind them and some medium/light infantry on the flanks and you will in a lot of cases win with only a few clicks.Quote:
Originally Posted by MiniMe
https://img101.imageshack.us/img101/3614/knowby9.jpg
It is very rare that the AI seriously tries to flank you; and even than it usually messes the whole affaire up by sending its units one by one and unsupported against both flanks and the center at once.
I can so far just recall one battle in which the AI had really impressed me: Useing Lysander's/Sinhunet's battle mod I was facing a very strong army of phalanxes with an army mainly composed of classical Hoplites. The AI has formed two lines with its phalanxes attacked me head on and maintained that formation throughout the battle (-> no real flanking possible because of the second line).
Everything else I had seen so far was more or less pathetic. An army with 5 or 6 units of Pantodapoi Phalangitai will usually win every defenisve battle against the AI, as long as the AI is not fielding the same number in elite Phalanxes.
How much better can the AI do when defending! At least useing my houserules, the battle will more become a contest between individual units; always provided the AI is forming and holding some kind of "legal" formation - a discipline in which it unfortuantly often enough manages to fail.
Set of "Ptolemaioi evil empire" house rules
1. Main armies are very good but they are stationed in Alexandria and Memphis only.
2. Only half of them can leave this area on new territory conquest, the other Imperial Elites always guard the the egypt twin capital even though noone will threaten them for the next thousand years.
3. Only heir to the throne and his brothers can command Imperial Elites. And the heir can be of royal line only, no matter how stupid he is.
4. Family members from etnick minorities are trusted to rule their homeland provinces only (Asiatikoi - in Asia minor, Kypriotai - islands and so on)
5. Immediate destruction of all etnick minorities culture buildings on capture.
6. All rebel uprisings are dealt with recruiting local scum. Never attack rebels with owerhelming forces -the more of your local scum dies the better.
7. Enslave on capture not wipe out. Ptolemaioi are kind and need slaves for their... agricultural facilities.
8. Three spies per town.
9. Highest tax rate even if this means huge garrison.
10. No trade agreements with neutral states. All egyptian trade to stay in egypt borders noone else to profit from egypt.
11. City garrisons are recruited accordingly to city social system and development. Besides lots of crappy native levies this means - no good cavalry before large agricultural estates.
12. And (finally answer to your question) regional governors are not allowed to undertake independent decisions which means - no sallys.[/QUOTE]
:idea2: Never play as romans!
Probably you should use the "pause" function more often. So you can take a good look at the battlefield and improve on your tactics and timing. Helped me a lot. The better you get, the more you can stop using "pause".Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre
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You're right. ~:) I've been using the pause extensively since VI days (when I began to fight myself, before that I would always auto-resolve). I admit that I outclass the AI intelligently in many battles not to need the pause. :laugh4:
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Hi All,
I just wanted to say thanks for this thread. As a newcomer to EB I discovered much useful info to make the game more immersive and enjoyable. I'll read the posts again and make my own list . . .
In my Karthagian campaign I use the following houserules for raising Poeni units:
Poeni Citizen Militia
Carthaginian Citizen Cavalry
Liby-Phoenician Infantry
Liby-Phoenician Cavalry
These represent the Phoenician militia. Every town that can raise them will maintain some of these units according to the town's size (for example Karthago herself has two units of militia, two of infantry and one of citizen cavalry). No more units of these kind can be raised and they can not be used outside their respective farther homelands (Africa, Spain or Sicily) and have to return to their hometowns immediatly after the campaign is over, so can not be used as garrisons elsewhere.
All other units, in particular the Libyan Spearmen and the Iberians can be raised unlimited (as long as the treasury can maintain them, the Poeni like to keep their money locked) and be placed and used everywhere. In the result the African army has a very strong Poeni element and only needs a few Iberians and Numidians as auxiliary and replacement garrisons. The other two armies have to relay heavyly on local forces and must even ship around units alot (Greek Hoplites to Spain, Spanish cavalry to Sicly etc).
Sorry, but what does Sally mean?
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When besieged, to attack the besieging force by the town garrison. Click your besieged town, switch to the Army tab, select the units (click any, then Ctrl+Click the rest; Crtl+A selects all) and right click the besieging army to attack.
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Basic house rules:
1. No more than 4 foor archers/slings per stack. Accidental excess must disband or flee the battle if caught reinforcing unexpectedly.
2. No HA defense/fort-diplomat defense
3. Fight every battle, must use a FM if availble in range.
4. FOW on at all times, H/H minimum.
Mad house rules
1. No stack moves without FM. Unnaccompanied stacks disband unless inside city/fort (this is a pisser of a rule, battle field accidents are incredibly serious).
2. General camera.
3. No pillaging own temples, must build up available type only.
4. Faction specific building pattern (this is a flavour thing: for me it means Romans build roads, Cartha builds docks, greeks go for theatres and gyms etc). Barracks allowed, but no barrack rush (ie must not build barracks end on end, must build others uin between).
5. Disband certain troop types between campaigns espescially large spear units traditionally drawn from agricultural classes (I'm thinking non-elite pikes and hoplites, celtic spears etc) and some others: basically non-mercs/professional soliders with better things to do with their lives. Scum and elites stand to arms, the rest go R&R
Thisd is very intense and headache producing, but satisfying too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyclops
Your very hardcore my good sir
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Slight modifications have become necessary upon switching factions. Now I'm playing a Makedonia M/M (M because I don't like blitzing either with myself or with the AI).
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- Pursue the victory conditions and don't expand meaninglessly.
- Always build Type I in Makedonian homelands and Type III in previously independent Hellenic cities. Type II is for expansion into foreign culture territory. Type IV is for rich cities not meant to annex into the empire.
- Favour building up and economy over warfare. This has been delayed until after the liberation of homalands from KH and Epeiros.
- The king will be an Antigonid, or an Argeades, or at worst a Makedonian. The next choice, if necessary, will be closest blood link to Antigonos Gonatas.
- The capital will remain in Pella and not be moved until the game mechanics forces it to the point of inevitability.
- Every expedition force must be commanded by a general. Invasions can be countered by captains until a general arrives. Brigands, if spawn near ~D or :blank2: indicators are removed to Eremos. If the odds are in favour, auto_win is executed in naval battles.
- No campaigning in the winter in winter effected lands unless in defence.
- Never attack an ally before dissolving the alliance.
- Never attack a neutral faction without making/creating/inventing a diplomatic excuse, such as threats etc. (Usually I demand them to attack my foe or pay me an enormous tribute, which they naturally refuse.)
- Armies and diplomats must rest in the minor settlement tiles (mines, markets, vineyards etc.) or otherwise generals build forts, unless they mean to ambush. They can also rest in crossroads and where roads cross provincial borders, where lodging facilities are presumed to exist. Spies and assassins may rest anywhere.
- No local autonomy/local taxation. Towns without a governor are directly ruled by the King's loyal servants. Ones with governors are the fiefs of the generals.
- Train cheap levies exclusively for garrison duties.
- Maximum happiness policy in all settlements
- If you are going to keep a settlement, then;
- ~D Occupy
- :blank2: Occupy or Enslave
- ~:( Enslave or Exterminate
- ~:pissed: Exterminate
If you are raiding/sacking always exterminate. Never exterminate Western Greek culture.- (I toggle fow off but) Let your diplomats travel the world, learn about the states of affairs and build relations. Don't exploit the radar if the fow is off.
I use the force diplomacy mod extensively but scarcely fall to the temptation of exploiting it. :angel:
I don't have too many houserules; but here they are:
Seleuciea - Rules for Ruling
Strict recruitment Guidelines with three types of armies:
No Pantodapoi, No Hellenic Archers, No peasants allowed in my army . period.
Towns - All town garrisons are kept as small as possible. Defending is the reponsibility of the Garrisons and provincial armies.
Garrison forces - No general. Local levies and auxilia used for border defense in forts. Usually 6 units at most. To slow down the enemy, destroy rebels, or combine with other garrisons to form a provincial army in emergencies.
Provincial Armies - local levies and auxilia used only for defending borders.
Territorial Armies - Pezhetaroi, Mercs, and Thureophoroi used only for offensive operations
Royal Army - One royal army which consists of Hetaroi, Agyraspides, Babylonian spearmen, Syrian Archers and Thorakitai Agyrspides. Used to destroy whomever they want.
Most armies consist of the same type and amount of troops. 4-6 Phalanx, 4-6 Archers, 2-4 Flank guards, 2-4 skrimish type troops, General, and Cavalry.
-Seleuceia is Capitol of Arche Seleuceia
-Every town must have sewers built as far as it allows first, then roads, then traders, then temples.
-Tax rates are as high as possible unless it is a town that does the recruiting.
-Isolationist policy in diplomacy. I will leave everyone alone until I am attacked (except for Ptolemy), then focus all efforts into destroying the faction as fast as possible.
-Extermininate my enemies(Ptolemy, Pontus, Pahlava, Epirus), liberate my countrymen(Anatolia, Baktra, rebel provinces along my eastern and northern borders), enlave everyone else.
- 100% of the map is my goal. I won't stop this campaign until I have 100% of the map. Sadly I never follow this rule but I mean to everytime.
As the Sweboz, I never build temples to Tiwaz outside of their expansion area or the Baltics. Recruiting silver chevron Hoplitai, Samnitie Infanty or the dreaded slinger seems wrong. I also usually make Roma a client state whoever I'm playing as (except Rome obviously), because it seems like the coolest thing to do with the region.
I would make that: The capital can be under no circumstances elsewhere than in Pella, in particular not in Antiochia, Seleucia, Alexandria or any other places where the wannabe heirs of Alexander have their courts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre
Only expcetion: In times of war there can be a moving court that is always in that town where the king is (or the one he has just left when he is on the march), provided the king is leading the main army.
What would a moving court look like? Maybe drawn by horses Kind of like a antiquity version of the tractor trailor in Live Free and Die Hard? :dizzy2:
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Cool! :2thumbsup: I shall consider that. :stupido:Quote:
Originally Posted by konny
Thanks! :bow:
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No no no, I usually only use basic house rules.Quote:
Originally Posted by tapanojum
Mad house rules are for when I want a really deep immersion campaign.
Oh and I never ever use the pause button in battles (except to answer the phone, or nature).
When I'm fighting a battle I want to make mistakes based on time/attention contraints and live with the consequences. Paused action looks great in the Matrix but for battlefield I want hectic sweat and nasty surprises ("oh crap, those broken gesaetae recovered and wiped the pursuing akontistai while I was veiwing close ups of my last cavalry charge!")
I find I use the "speed up" button less and less, as my brain needs little recovery phases between more intense clashes. With siege assaults theres the calm walk up to the walls, the clash on the ladders or in the breaches, and then the pursuit to the square: I usually take my time, give my boys a breather before the end-game in the square.
It has a lovely effect when an opponent sorties against my besiegers: there's not much time to pull everyone into a proper formation, so there's that neat "imperfect world" effect.
It'd be really cool if there was an "ambush" element to sorties, where the sortying force could occasionally catch the beseiger with his pants down: some units spread right out, some off-map, and only a handful actually standing to arms (in formation by the seige engines). I know, I know, "its hardcoded", I'm just saying...
My only houserule is that if the game is too easy, add money to the enemies.
I don't have any. I play for fun . I can't RP unless I'm doing an AAR . I'll admit that I play EB (and have edited it) so it's like a very realistic SPQR .
Karthago.
That one was not easy to find houserules for to find the next faction leader, who is allowed to lead armies and who should be running which town. That is first of all because it is difficult to find out how this empire was ruled in history. The city herself had a republican governement, very much like Rome but with some important differences.
The other towns were all treated in a different way. There were towns that were very independant and more allies than provinces, like Atiqa. Their constitution was very much like that of Karthago. Others were colonies founded by Karthago or minor Poeni towns that were subjugated by Karthago. Hinterland territories, for example in Central Spain, were of no interesset for the Karthagians. Some of them had to pay tribute, some had to provide soldiers, but most of the times the Poeni were satisfied with the Spanish and Numidan tribes accepting Karthagian supremacy and otherwise left them alone.
That makes the first houserule:
Provinces without access to the sea are always Level 4 ("allied"). When the puppet ruler dies a new Level 4 governement will be build to spawn a new puppet ruler.
The other towns are governed according to a) their maximum level of governement and b) the possibilty to raise Liby-Phoenician units there:
Level 3 provinces represent new conquered territory or towns with a constitution much different to that of Karthago. Towns, in which the natives run the internal affairs while the Karthagians hold a larger trading post there that is ruled by its own rights (much similar to the "Kontors" of the Mediavel Hanse League). The leader of this "Kontor" is at the same time the person who controlls that the town is runned according to Karthagos wishes, the governor in EB terms. Because the Poeni tradesmen are members of the same families that make the Senat of Karthago, they will obey the Senat's decisions. That means:
Provinces with a Level 3 governement can be ruled by any family member
The only exception is Ippone. In Ippone Liby-Phoenician units can be raised, what means that there is a Phoenician peoples' assembly that has the right to reject governors. It will do so when a governor adds unrest, accumulated by his tratis (he can have traits that add unrest as long as he has other traits that reduce the same ammount of unrest). So the governor of Ippone can only be someone who has at least a neutral ranking in unrest.
Level 2 provinces are towns with a very similar constitution to Karthago or towns in which the Poeni are also controlling the internal affairs. These towns have a Senat of their own and usually a Liby-Phoenician citizen assembly, that has the right to reject governors (see above). Because there will be at no point of the game enough FMs to make a Senat for every of these towns, these are represented by the Senat of Karthago:
Provinces with a Level 2 governement can be ruled by any family member with the rank of Senator, who does not add unrest
The exceptions are Bocchoris, Sasa and Messana. Because there are no Liby-Phoenician units to be raised in these provinces, there is no peoples' assembly who can reject governors. So the governor can also be someone who adds unrest.
The three homland towns, Atiqa, Adrumento and Lilibeo, have the same constitution like Karthago and are the most important towns with far reaching rights: Atiqa, Adrumento and Lilibeo can only be ruled by a family member who has the rank of a Judge and does not add unrest. The governor of Atiqa is always the faction heir.
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Now we need Senators and Judges.
Our Senat of Karthago has a maximum of 21 family members. The only requirement is the age of 20 and a ranking both in management and influence of at least 1. Senators are elected for lifetime, that means even when he loses all his management and influence the FM will still be a Senator.
Most of the times you will have less than 21 suitable FMs for the Senate. But when there are more than 21 the Senators vote. Voting in the Senate is done by useing the management ranking plus (or minus*) the influence of that character. Characters of the same family always add their votes and always vote for other relatives, not counting marriages and the relationship of the four starting families. Others vote for the most able characters, roleplay it whom they consider to be the best.
The Senat elects governors (including the governor Atiqa = faction heir), new Senators and Judges.
The Senat elects 7 of its members as Judges (sptm). The requirement is a accumulated Law ranking of minimum +3, and of course beeing a Senator. The 7 Judges are the 4 governors of the homeland towns and 3 Inspectors (mhsbm) that are elected by the Judges. The Judges vote in a similar way as the Senators but useing their law ranking instead of the management ranking.
The 3 Inspectors are one each for Lybia, Spain and Italy. When you conquer more land (for example Gaul or Egypt) there will be more inspectors and accordingly more (x3) Senators. The Inspectors have the right to govern every town in their region that has not assigned a governor, even when they add unrest. That is very important in the early game when you have far more towns than governors.
They also have the right to enter every town and take over the governement for one turn, some kind of internal interpoler (if an inspector can't outrule the current governor in management the governor should leave the town for that turn). That is usefull when you have an Inspector that has a high construcition ranking and something hughe has to be build in that town.
The Judges also have the right to adjudge any failed characters. These are generals that lost a battle or governors that lost a town to rebellion. The results can be:
acquittal
loss of Senatorial privileges (for lifetime)
jail (in Karthago)
banishment (Sarah)
death (the next rebell stack)
The trial works very much like an election: relatives among the judges plea for "not guilty", while the other judges vote for punishement. The higher their law ranking the higher the punishement they vote for: +3 acquittal, +4 loss of Senatorial privileges, +5 jail, +6 banishment, +7 and above death. Because their influence is added during the election, a single +7 Law lion judge can cause a death penalty if the others are all sheeps.
In all cases, save for the execution of course, there can be a revision later when the situation in the judges assembly is more in favour of the culprit.
Sessions of the Senate are every five years. All offices are usually given for lifetime/until the characters has been promoted elsewhere somehow (or fell victim of the judges).
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We have Senators, judges and governors, but we also need generals.
Unlike Rome, in Karthago generals are not magistrates with an imperium but they are elected for each campaign. Because that would be bit difficult to handle in the game, three generals are elected in every session of the senate, one for Africa, one for Italy and one for Spain. There will not always be campaign in every theatre, so they can, and should, be governors of one of the provinces in that region.
The generals are elected by the peoples assembly with the right of the army assembly to reject him. That is a character that reduces moral or has a negtive value in command can not be general.
Because in EB always the character with the highest command ranking is leading the army in battle, only those with the highest ranking in command of the governors at hand will run to become general. If there is more than one in question, for example several with 2 command stars, the one with the highest unrest ranking (that is reducing the most unrest) will be elected.
The faction leader can never be a general.
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* When a character has 0 command, management or influence, check his traits if he has not in fact a negative value in these skills.
:2thumbsup:
great set indeed, need to try some of these one day with Carthies.
EB family tree micromanagement is truly one of the best EB parts. Me too always pay great attention to my family, their positions, duties and missions that vary greatly according to which faction I play with
What would make that usable for me is if I can right click on a FM's portrait and have his picture instantly highlighted in the family tree. Currently, there is just no way I can keep track of the 30-50 odd something family members.Quote:
Originally Posted by MiniMe
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I'm impressed konny. :bow: Will try to follow these rules in a future SSbQ campaign.
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Yes that's the most fun part of the game, even though the loads of trades sometimes make it a bit difficult, for example when a character has three traits that decrease bribe and one that adds the same ammount. Is he corrupt or isn't he?Quote:
Originally Posted by MiniMe
I usually try to figure out the two or three most important points in his profile and consider that he prefers other characters that have the same priorities. That is also important for the faction leader. For example someone with only very few, or even negative, military traits should not be someone who starts wars with every faction around. A very military inclined leader, on the other hand, will empty his towns and treasury, raise a hughe army and goes on conquest.
I had a FM governor who seemed to be collecting religious traits. So, even though his town could have used a few other, more practical buildings, I had him continually build the temple until it it "magnificent" in size. I'm worried he's going off the deep end, as those religious traits now seem to have approached insane-level degrees. ;)
I don't have house rules even though I always play on VH/VH and I must say those added points make some things near impossible to deal with Units when even when surrounded and down to 5 men enemy units don't break. I roleplay with typically one army or two at a times but I rarely have the patience to work through things. The extra morale and Attack/defense points really do change the difficulty of fights.You can't win in a frontal assault. Its just a meat grinder
My recent campaign as the Casse has been incredibly rough. I'm at around 200 B.C. now and I hold All of England, Denmark, Scandinavia and most of Modern Germany and the low lands.
I try not to expand beyond what I can rule with my pool of family members. Unless the Seleukids are really, really asking for it.
No holds barred.
I've always played with house rules, but never actually gave any thought to which ones I was actually using. I've seen some in these lists where I've said, "Hey, that's a lot like how I play!" and others that seemed like good ideas. :2thumbsup:
It's too late, tonight, but sometime tommorow I will set aside enough time (along with work and house chores and such) to actually figure out all my house rules (and borrow some good ones I've found in these lists). :juggle2:
Okay, I've figured it all out, now, I think. I may remember a few more later on and come back to add them, but for now, here is my list of house rules.
I. Role-play always.
II. Build governments as they best fit in role-play.
III. Capitol will never move unless historically plausible.
IV. In monarchies, inheritance will follow primogeniture laws.
V. Never attack an ally unless Faction Leader is selfish/disloyal.
VI. Only attack neutral factions if I can come up with a causus belli or if I have a selfish Faction leader.
VII. Local autonomy can only be used in level IV governments and must be used in said governments.
VIII. Unless historically plausible, Auxilia units cannot leave home province (Rome and Carthage are exceptions).
IX. No cheating except “add_money 20000” and that may only be used once per turn if I will go into debt next turn and may not be used to support armies. I must support armies on my own income and cannot raise more until I make enough profit to support them without cheating.
X. Light infantry MUST maintain at least a 1/1 ratio to heavy infantry, preferably a 2/1 ratio or more (Exception is the Romani).
XI. Cavalry MUST maintain at least a 1/3 ratio to all infantry (I only play as civilized nations, so no worries about the cav-centric nomads).
XII. Romani armies must maintain ratios appropriate to the legionary standards of the current era.
I don't have any specific rules, I do whatever tickles my fancy at the moment. That could mean travelling through enemy lands with a stack just to see how far it can get before it gets pummeled, or going on a blitzing raid campaign, trying (unsuccessfully for the most part) to manipulate the AI factions or merely staying at home and rebuffing those who come at me :shrug:.