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

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Hello,

I'm thinking of starting an Aedui campaign, and since I'm experienced with the Arverni, I know that sooner or later the Romans will starting knocking at the doors, looking for my blood and women. I know I will have to face them sooner or later, and the only way to make the AI comply is to completely annihilate them, but this time I want a different approach.

I'm using ALEX-EB with Victory Conditions, if that really impacts on it, and I want to stay away from Italy for at least a century while I focus on Gaul and possibly some Celtiberian-British holdings. I may not, or may, stick to Mediolanum according to the recommendations, but fact is that in my previous Gallic campaign I wiped the Romans out too soon. Now I want them to stay alive for a good time, and possibly at some sort of alliance or just peace with me. Have you any good ways to appease the lion for time enough?

I was thinking of gifts + bribes, abandoning Cisalpine Gaul, making an Alliance with them, etc... Maybe even acccept a Protectorate. I think an early Celtic expansion into Italy would be ahistorical and would spoil the later fun of fighting Polybian or Marian Romans. Ultimately though I think I could just hide behind the Alps, ambush them constantly and keep a war of attrition until I decide to lie my decisive strike. Any recommendations?

[Mediolanicus]

In my experience Alliance = treason in RTW.

The best thing you can do is just neutral + regular tribute + a small cash gift everytime you load the game (AI memory resets) - and maybe even after battles?

The problem with protectorates is that money goes from the client to the protector. So if you accept, you won't have enough money. If you FD the Romani into a protectorate you get lots of free money.

You could aways force them into a protectorate and gift the money back each turn... Though I don't know if that actually makes a difference since it will be given back to you the next turn...

[NeoSpartan]

well the big tribes Gallic tribes in northen Italy will hold the Romani 'till about 260-50. My sugestion after the arverni is to go for settlements around the alps (not the alps themselves they are too strong) so u can get the GAESATAE!

Also I would develop that northen Italy (forgot the name) settlement's MIC, you can make the Gaesatae from there too

As for Alex.exe. i've heard it makes the AI smarter, although you gotta understand, the only way for the AI romani out of italy is UP (the AI rarely does concentrated and consistent amphibius assults).

[Mediolanicus]

Also I would develop that northen Italy (forgot the name) settlement's MIC, you can make the Gaesatae from there too

Mediolanum, says Mediolanicus.

[Zeibek]

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.

[gamegeek2]

The AI usually attacks you right after you become its protectorate. I had nasty experiences with overpowered Egypt in Vanilla.

And I let Mediolanum go in my Aedui AAR, read below plz.

[The Celtic Viking]

You can also try a little more offensive defence if all else fails by sending raiding parties down Italy, not to take their cities but just mess with them on their own territory and weakening them all together. Maybe... maybe even sacking Rome?

But you said you wanted to "stay away from Italy". Hmm. Well, if you're dead set on that then I think ambushing and getting the Gaesatae are the best ideas, and if you're not above it bridge battles as well. You shouldn't need to abandon Mediolanum, or at least not give it up freely without a fight.

[NeoSpartan]

the Romans will NOT stay away from attacking you, as you are right in their way of expansion. FD mod will only help for a few turns at a time.

At best you are looking at 20-30 years of non-romani involvment.

Which is a lot considering that back in .74, .8, and early .81x the Romani only gave you 4 years to get ready for them

[Beefy187]

iirc Aedui have fleets on Northern France in the beginning.

How about a nice adventure in Britain to avoid the Romans?

[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.

[llib]

I have find way, capture cities northwest of Taras and give them to Epeiros, and occupy the city north of Rome (but not one slightly more to the nort but on the eastern coast of peninsula). That leaves Romanoi in charge of three cities with Epeiros in between(did I mentioned I took them all at some point, destroyed all militery building and left them to rebell - although beware of the gold chevrons rebel armies afterwards and lot of mercenaries?).
Now the Rome is still in war with mighty Aedui, but not sending armies for quite some time(possibly they spawn their armies in the south and cannot pass through Epeiros).
And Epeiros has no borders with you -> also pretty good.
And after Epeiros got kicked from Greece by Macs(strange, at start they took Pella so I thought they will hold but KH cities maybe gave them the boost they needed), maybe the extra spawned armies in Italy was too much for their coffers), they started the war with Romanoi. So that front seems calm, which is only good, since Ilyria is now battlefield between me and Maks.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Destroy them, keep Rome and everything above, let all the rest rebel and fall in the hands of the Greeks, or just give the cities to them.

[llib]

Destroy them, keep Rome and everything above, let all the rest rebel and fall in the hands of the Greeks, or just give the cities to them.

I suspect that he does not want to destroy them but want to enjoy fighting them later, and occupying the cities when fully developed(economically).
And giving all to Greeks is not best - you will have to fight them as result, i.e. exactly what he was trying to avoid.
Giving two cities to collapsing Epeiros thus creating separated Roman enclave in south seems best to me at the moment - but seems like Epeiros won't be able to hold it's own afterwards, so you might have to occasionally reliberate the cities for them ;-)

[antisocialmunky]

You could just continually send waves of guys down there with tons of slingers and stuff to prune that particular tree.