Playing as Gauls, How to Avoid the Early Roman Juggernaut?

[Subotan]

Becoming a protectorate sounds like a good idea, since so far I haven't encountered the AI attacking it's protectorate. Then again I have no idea what are the negative consequences of you becoming one.

When I played as Armenia in Vanilla, I was asked to become a Protectorate by Egypt. Their message? "Give up! All your base are belong to us!"

[^RaGe^]

I've noticed that you can form longer lasting ceasefires when using the FD mod if you offer the enemy a regular tribute together with the ceasefire.

[Glewas]

The first time I played as the Aedui I blitzed anything and everything in Gaul just to get out of debt, and, without Force Diplomacy, had to run the Romans to the bottom of the Italian peninsula - eventually destroying them just to get some peace. As said above, you'll have to face them eventually, but when I wanted to slow play my second campaign with the Aedui when 1.0 came out, a cunning use of forts kept the Romans at bay...

Right when the campaign starts get a ceasefire with Rome and then send your FM from Medioulanum to set up three forts in in the territories of Aemilia and Liguria. I used a slinger unit to man each fort and role played it as a look out fort guarding the passes to my "allied" tribes in Bononia and Segesta. If the forts are placed correctly and garrisoned by at least one unit, Rome, not being at war with you, won't attack the forts to get to the Eleutheroi settlements.

However, if you take Bononia or Segesta for yourself Rome will attack the forts and proceed to besiege the settlements. So role play them as allies and leave them alone, but keep a decent stack/garrison in Mediolanum because the rebels may attack your forts in their territory every once in a while.

I was able to keep the Romans off my back until I removed the forts around 225 BC the historical date when Rome took over the Po Valley...

During this time Rome sent many armies near the forts but never attacked. They expanded to take the rest of Italy but didn't really make an effort to take Sicily...

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

I'll try forts then, that's quite a cunning idea!

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I've had good experiences with forts playing as Macedonia, I achieved about 100 years of peace and Alliance with Dacia by building a hard frontier with forts in all the passes and at all the river crossings, I also maintained large garrisons and I had a roving army od scythians with an FM up there killing bandits and rebels.

The AI is not quite as stupid as it appears, if you make it hard enough for them to attack you they won't bother half the time.