house rules

[Vasiliyi]

I know this subject has been adressed before, but I was wondering if anyone could give me a nice, clear set of house rules for playing for the romani. I just get really bored playing them without any, and I can't seem to think of a good list myself. I do make realistic armies. And I fight out all my battles but I would like to hear what u guys (and gals) got for me...

Thanks in advance

[socal_infidel]

You should check this out.

Used it when I played my Romani campaign. But nevertheless, I just can't get into them all that much.

[Fish-got-a-Sniper]

I'm going to expand on this topic with a related question to my own? What kind of house rules would be suitable for a monarchy, specifically the Ptolemies and Bactria.

[Midnj]

There was a great thread I can't seem to find right now that had a lot of great ideas. In lieu of that here are a series of house rules I've used over time (I don't use all of these at ones as some are mutually exclusive... based on the faction I sort of pick and choose)

- restricting armed forces upkeep to half of your trade income with the tax/farming/other half being used to pay salaries, build improvements, diplomacy, etc.
- regional recruiting - take half the income of the city (or some other combination like taxes + half trade, etc) to build units in that city. Build them on a 1:2:1 ratio or 1:3:1 ratio (peasant:regular:elite). When you field armies you draw them from these cities at your discretion. I really like this concept but it's hard to manage when you start taking losses. An alternate method is to simply limit military upkeep to half your trade income (civilized) or half your income period (barbarian or otherwise any faction that doesn't rely much on trade). some eastern factions do well with only mining income being used for upkeep as there are a ton of mines out there.
- max army size of 12 units (general included). the only exception to this rule is when storming a city - I normally just recruit mercs then disband whoever survived (though the way I treat mercs there are usually very few left at the end of a city assault heh)
- only allow one of each "royal unit" (greater than ~750mnai upkeep for infantry and greater than ~1000mnai upkeep for cavalry) throughout the empire. similarly, for elite units (greater than ~500mnai upkeep for infantry, greater than ~750mnai for cavalry) only permit 2 of each throughout the empire.
- unless facing horse archer factions, never more than 2 slingers/archers within the same army
- garrisons are exclusively made up of levy/peasant units. the only exception is when a field army is moved into a city specifically because it is under imminent attack or otherwise can not defeat the forces arrayed against it and needs to hide in a city.
- never retrain anything, always reinforce.
- always honor alliances - if you fail to honor it break it.
- whenever possible, attack the enemy army nearby rather than letting it come to you. this is based on my experience of the tactical AI being crappy on the attack but decent on the defence (mainly because it just sits its army in one spot and can't screw too much up).

[jhhowell]

When I get around to doing a 1.1 Rome campaign, my intended "house rules" will include the following:

1. Maintain the largest feasible military, with legions organized in a reasonably historical manner (I'm not as picky as some about this - can't bring myself to use Rorarii or Velites, for example), plus appropriate weaker/regional units as garrisons. The point of this rule is to control AI DoWs - my 0.8 campaign died because I was on VH and didn't have a ridiculously large military (plenty big enough to crush everyone I faced on all fronts, though). It bugs the heck out of me when I get a DoW just because I obtain a border with a faction, even if we've been allies for ages and neither of us has an army within a year's march of the border. This happened with the Ptolemies when they took Cyrenaica, bordering an ex-Carthage province I'd taken earlier, and later up in the Balkans when KH beat up on Macedonia to border my Dalmatia/Illyicum provinces. Rome is an absurdly rich faction, so having spare full stacks sitting in forts around Italy should be no great burden, and I hope it will limit AI aggressiveness. To be clear, sensible DoWs where the AI is locally strong and I'm locally weak are perfectly fine with me, it's the absurd wars where neither side has anything more than scattered garrison units to work with (or naval units in the KH example, literally the only action in the first year was their blockade of Crete) that bother me.

2. Patience. I doubt I can restrain myself to the historical conquest timeline, but I'll use as much restraint as possible. No rush to pick up the Po valley; the first Punic War can wait to a vaguely historical timescale; no need to roll up the entire faction of Carthage in the first war (if necessary Force Diplomacy a peace after taking Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, it should hold since you won't have a border until meeting in Spain decades later). I expect the major problem will be seeing neighboring provinces reach 24000 population - if the Eleutheroi or another faction upgrades the palace building, that's a permanent 25-30% unrest when Rome eventually takes it. A lot of my 0.8 expansion was driven by that concern...

The goal of these two rules is to make time pass as quickly as possible, so that I can finally see Marian troops and still have something useful for them to do. I got to near 200BC without these rules, so I really hope limiting AI DoWs and personal restraint can get me the extra 30-some years when I try again.

[Strategos Alexandros]

My personal house rules are: treat it like a story, make sure you have a valid reason for every action you take. Also expand to where your faction's historical goals were, but don't be completely tied to accuracy.

[Flying Pig]

My Romani rules are thus:

1) Take all of Italy before Polybius, then do not expand until the Polybian Reforms.

2) HISTORICAL ACCURACY AT ANY PRICE! I do use 'advance guard' armies of roararii though to flush out ambushers - If they die it doesn't matter much. That also means 1 first cohort to a stack of any valuee, and only ever one

3) Never ally with any Greek or Barbarian.

[Strategos Alexandros]

The Romans did, historically, ally with various Hellenic and 'barbarian' nations

[Parallel Pain]

Since I've been plowing through VH/VH campaigns I thought I'd start playing with house rules in 1.1 on M/M

Though M/M is only to test out the houserule first.

Battle

1) No pause button.

Upping the difficulty

2) General Camera (or lock camera on general)
3) Zoom in max

That should say enough. Now commanding an army is a nightmare. The more flexible the army needs to be used the harder it is to command it. It's almost impossible to cavalry swarm with this rule. Or run circles with HA. But that's OK AI doesn't know how to either. I guess I will allow throwing groups under AI control, but I have yet mastered the use of it.

4) Historically accurate unit composition and use them historically (IE no running skirmishers around the enemy rear unless the cavalry/infantry is already there). Except for high star generals, who are allowed to use innovative tactics (not sure how many is high star, have to depend on how easy it is to get star on M, but on VH for faction with good education facility 7 for faction without 4).

Though for Quintus's guide, wouldn't it be more accurate to not have a unit of equite and place the general on the right, and only 2 cavalry of some kind on the left?
And also doesn't the Hastati/Principate/Triarii/Equite also represent their allied units from places around Rome that the game doesn't have other similar units available? I mean surely there are Roman allies from Latium right?
And I also need to figure out the historical unit composition and their uses for other factions.

As for Campaign
1) Support your allies, either militarily or financially (1000minai per turn at least, or for now, might raise might lower. It make you choose your allies)
2) Defeat your enemy by clearing all their troops in target provinces and then taking them (no more than 5 in normal wars, allowed more should the war go on for more than 5 years, one per year).
3) No single war against a single faction last longer than 25 years.
4) After the number of target provinces has been reached, or the time limit has been up, sign a peace treaty. If it's time up and neither side gained any province, normal peace. If target province all taken or some provinces have been taken when time up, peace and force tribute (200minai x number of provinces taken for 20 turns). If time up and you loose provinces, peace and pay (same number, for now). Might need force diplomacy for this, and cheat to move their armies back a bit so they don't declare war the next turn.
5) To use the old terms as I'm not sure about the new ones, one enslavement per war. Only city allowed for extermination are the historical capital of a faction that has fought at least two wars averaging 20 years each or over. Occupy the rest.
6) One rebel province per five year max.
7) No winter battles except receiving sallies and against attacking relief armies. All field armies not laying siege move to nearest friendly province if possible and go inside fort. All navies go to nearest port if possible, and all stack in them go on land and fort.

[Vasiliyi]

Thanks guys/gals, although the next day after posting I found a guide to roman houserules in the aar section by quintes. Super stuff. A lot of good ideas. I will be suree to use them to make my game enjoyable

[LorDBulA]

I am a big fan of General Camera.

Its super option of RTW and it plays great after you accept that you no longer have god like control of your army.

I only wish there was "Scout" option for light cavalry so you could see what scout unit sees (without ability to give orders ).

Other then that, I dont rush gameplay, I am never bend on destroying other faction unless there is no other choice. My King and heir commands 2 best armies ( for appropriate factions ).
I never fight river battles unless attacking and yea this also never happens.
I dont use exploits like lots of slingers, corner camping etc.

I try to play politics, supporting loosing faction to maintain world balance etc.
Roleplay Client Rulers. Basically my client rulers have armies of they own.
For example in my Aedui game whole italy and sicily is Client States land with 4 Client rulers and all other cities Gov 3. I have now invaded Epeiros with this ally greko-roman army from Taras to reinstate Makedonia.
An alternative way to deal with pesky Epeiros instead of wiping them out and conquering they lands. Really fun stuff.

[Slim_Ghost]

In my last Romani game. I made a strict rule that I would only invade another faction with a half or full stack of Cohors Evocata or Cohors Imperatora. Mercenary archers or cavalry are hired by the family member leading the army as it marches to the destination. I would NEVER use the regular legionnaires (except only in one desperate case where I need to defend Amaseia from the Pontos).
I wanted to roleplay as an alternate version of the Roman Empire where its armies are trained and armed in far excess of quality compared to what it's should been historically.

[satalexton]

In the romani campaign i'm playing atm I limit myself to one stack (the starting troops+italian allies) during the camillan era, 3 stacks (camillan stack + 2 polybian equivilants) during the polybian era. When I reach Marian reforms I'll prolly use only 5 stacks as my standing armies.

While it's not exactly historical ( I keep arpi's barracks unupgraded so i can retrain the camillan troops), it forces me to use a stronger garrisons and forts (with no roman troops, locals only). The plus side though, is that there's something oddly satisfying about seeing GOLD chev. hastati literally taking on the gaesate without getting mauled...

[QuintusSertorius]

The Romans did, historically, ally with various Hellenic and 'barbarian' nations

Absolutely, the alliance with various Iberian and Celt-Iberian tribes were vital in defeating Carthage. Alliances with various Greek Leagues and Pergamum were also important later on.

Not to mention that every defeated power became a subject "ally" expected to support the Republic.

Though for Quintus's guide, wouldn't it be more accurate to not have a unit of equite and place the general on the right, and only 2 cavalry of some kind on the left?

It isn't really accurate to use your general as cavalry at all. Tribune or other Family Member, sure, guy in command, not at all. He should be behind the fighting line observing and inspiring.

On the other hand I rarely bother recruiting equites, as you say a younger FM can work as those, with the remainder various forms of allied cavalry. I usually have a FM plus one or at most two other units of cavalry as the entirety of my horse.

And also doesn't the Hastati/Principate/Triarii/Equite also represent their allied units from places around Rome that the game doesn't have other similar units available? I mean surely there are Roman allies from Latium right?

Nope, not really, and in any case that shouldn't really be so until around the time of the Second Punic War and after, when the allies who we have differentiated units for (Samnites, Bruttians, Lucanians) defected and thus were no longer recruited in their traditional forms any more.

It's also a matter of taste; I don't like undifferentiated alae that are the same as my legions, which is why the Bruttians and Samnites get a lot of use.

[Parallel Pain]

It isn't really accurate to use your general as cavalry at all. Tribune or other Family Member, sure, guy in command, not at all. He should be behind the fighting line observing and inspiring.

Didn't Paullus personally command the right wing roman cavalry at Cannae?
But the main point I thought is that roman cavalry was 1/2 in number compared to Triarii, and allied cavalry 3/2. So general bodyguard on the right and two units on the left would be SLIGHTLY more accurate.

Nope, not really, and in any case that shouldn't really be so until around the time of the Second Punic War and after, when the allies who we have differentiated units for (Samnites, Bruttians, Lucanians) defected and thus were no longer recruited in their traditional forms any more.

Well I was just thinking, If I make an army totally from Rome, shouldn't I just double everything? I mean after all the game doesn't represent recruitment from ONLY Rome but from everything around Latium.

[QuintusSertorius]

Didn't Paullus personally command the right wing roman cavalry at Cannae?

And Marcellus got himself killed playing scout in one of the last remaining examples of a Roman general taking an active part in the battle rather than staying behind the fighting line. By this era it was rare and increasingly less frequent for a general to fight.

But the main point I thought is that roman cavalry was 1/2 in number compared to Triarii, and allied cavalry 3/2. So general bodyguard on the right and two units on the left would be SLIGHTLY more accurate.

In a legion there should be 300 equites. If Huge unit scale is 1/10 (and it's not bad for that) you should have 30 Roman cavalry. The rest is made up from the socii, who provided a much bigger cavalry component than the Romans did in each ala.

A bodyguard, yes. But not the general, a young tribune (ie some other Family Member) who often conveniently has around 40-ish in their bodyguard which isn't far off how big a turma of equites should have been.

The armies I use simulate a consular army of two legions and two alae. So if you didn't have a family member acting as second, a single unit of equites could just about do the job of representing both turmae of Roman cavalry.

Well I was just thinking, If I make an army totally from Rome, shouldn't I just double everything? I mean after all the game doesn't represent recruitment from ONLY Rome but from everything around Latium.

Why would you be recruiting only from Rome? One of the obligations of the allies was to provide troops. Those in northern Italy remained loyal even throughout the years Hannibal was in Italy, and continued to provide troops. Troops never came out of Rome alone, and half of a consular army (ie the alae) was non-Roman.

By the time of the Second Punic Wars, a lot of the Italian and Latin communities fought in a way (according to the scant, non-specific sources) similar to that of the Romans. Lacking actual units to represent them (and besides which they'd probably be identical numbers-wise) that unfortunately means doubling up on your heavy infantry.

[Parallel Pain]

No reason, just in case.