a few questions for Romani

[bigmilt16]

I play EB with the add-on pack (excellent stuff).

1. I guess the general houserule is that you should not place FM's in positions of command/governance until they have been in military service for ten years (as a military tribune). How do you guys simulate the tribune period for your FM's? Do you stick them in a campaigning army, or allow them to be a right hand man to a governor in a settlement? What do you do with them when there is no active military campaign-just let them sit in Rome until age 30? I ask this because, once I start getting a flood of FM's I just don't know what to do with all of the tribunes I'm stuck with.

2. I hear that Alex.exe improves the AI a bit. What campaign difficulty should I use for Alex.exe? Thanks

3. I know its really no fun to just roll over your neighbors for no apparent reason (and early on), but Rome's goal is to conquer... well... all of its neighbors (which is what makes the campaign difficult-the ambitious goals of setting up such a big empire). Do you just wait to get attacked, or just wipe out the gauls at first chance?

4. Do you guys build type IV's in EVERY newly conquered area? Including Italy, Sicily, and Corsica/Sardinia?

5. When is it proper to allow allied generals to lead armies, and should they lead Italian troops at all?

[ldb88]

3. When I played as Rome, the only faction that I declared war on was Koinon Hellenon. And that's only because I had enough forces to kill them within 5 years. Everybody else (Carthage, Lusotana, Adeui, Averni, Sweboz, Makedonia, Epeiros, and Getai) declared war on me, and they did it as soon as I had a border with them. So I really didn't have a choice about fighting the Gauls.

4. I built the highest government type that I could. I trained all of my army in Italy and transported them via boat or over highways, so I preferred getting the public order bonus of type I and type II governments.

I don't really know about the others. I never really did anything like #1. I don't have Alex.exe, and I'm not really sure what you mean by allied generals.

[bigmilt16]

3. When I played as Rome, the only faction that I declared war on was Koinon Hellenon. And that's only because I had enough forces to kill them within 5 years. Everybody else (Carthage, Lusotana, Adeui, Averni, Sweboz, Makedonia, Epeiros, and Getai) declared war on me, and they did it as soon as I had a border with them. So I really didn't have a choice about fighting the Gauls.

4. I built the highest government type that I could. I trained all of my army in Italy and transported them via boat or over highways, so I preferred getting the public order bonus of type I and type II governments.

I don't really know about the others. I never really did anything like #1. I don't have Alex.exe, and I'm not really sure what you mean by allied generals.

Thanks for the tips man. By allied generals I meant the recruitable generals in a type IV gov., but since you don't do type IV's, I guess that question doesn't apply to you.

[Fixiwee]

Ad 3.
I really let that evolve through my campaign. At first, Rome is just ruling over italy, and basicly wants to make all the invaders go away. War with Catharge? Please go away. War with the spanish Celts? Please noo we are just silly romans with funny hats. War with Greeks? Wooops we didn't want to.
No, but serious. Until the marian period I was playing in defence, conquering lands was secondary. I tried to make peace all the time, before destroying a faction. The shift happend when I took land in asia minor. A 60 years war with the ptolemaic faction took place that triggered the marian faction for me and shifted the expanstionistic thinking of people.

[V.T. Marvin]

1.- I use young FMs instead of cavalry in my legions and occasionaly to command small detachements to surpress rebels and random enemy units. In battles the senior general usually just commands, while the youngsters do the cavalry fighting. Thus they usually gain several silver chevrons before becomming mature and a generalship or governorship of their own.
2.- I do not have Alex, so I d not know. As Roman I play on H/H on RTW.exe
3.- I have never needed to attack anyone (the script did that for me in the First Punic War) all my war were pure "self defense". Well I did attacked others several times for the purpose to maintain ballance or protect my allies. For instance when Lusotani, reduces to Potugal and Pyrennees after a war with me changed their direction and started to attack my trustful allies Arverni in Aquitania. I have twice took the city from them and gave it back to Arverni, the third time I have finally destroyed Lusotanna altogether. Generally, the more you allow AI to evolve itself, the more interesting battles you will fight and the more rewarding the game will become. Your blitzing is your greatest enemy!
4.- I have indeed installed Allied governments in all conquered settlements and replaced them with Type III (and proper Roman FM as governor) once the allied ruer died. I will replace them with Type II in another 20-40 years. In Syracusae, Massilia and Emporion I will maintain allied governments forever.
5.- Allied generals lead only troops from their own province (i.e. non-itallians) as homeland defence, or (occasionally) as an independent national undertaking. (Such as when Massiliotai - allied to Rome by Type IV - regained their former colony Emporion)

[Mediolanicus]

3.- I have never needed to attack anyone (the script did that for me in the First Punic War) all my war were pure "self defense". Well I did attacked others several times for the purpose to maintain ballance or protect my allies. For instance when Lusotani, reduces to Potugal and Pyrennees after a war with me changed their direction and started to attack my trustful allies Arverni in Aquitania. I have twice took the city from them and gave it back to Arverni, the third time I have finally destroyed Lusotanna altogether. Generally, the more you allow AI to evolve itself, the more interesting battles you will fight and the more rewarding the game will become. Your blitzing is your greatest enemy!

QFT!

This is my main rule when I play EB, also when playing the Romani (look in the faction progress thread and you'll see that in 202 BC not one faction has been destroyed in my campaign - although the KH are down to their last settlement and I can't afford to help them.)

[Maion Maroneios]

One word (two actually): Romaioi Barbaroi. Don't chose them, chose a proper Hellenistic Kingdom and recreate the Empire of Megas Alexandros. Much more fun and much more civilized

Maion

[Apgad]

1. Tour the provinces? What else would a young nobleman do? Climb Vesuvius (or is that Vesvvivs?) & Etna, rent a villa in Tuscany for 6 months, check out the nightlife in Arretium (it sucks, believe me...). Do you really think that young rich guys sat at the knee of some wizened general for 10 years leaning exactly what to do next time Carthage treatened Arse?

2. I've tried Alex and BI, and go with BI. Personally I find that battle AI is better with a formation mod (ie Darth) (save-game compatibile), which doesn't depend on your exe. I think I did 3 campaigns with Alex, and 2 with BI before I decided to go with BI. For campaign I don't know if there's much difference, but I'd suggest going with VH. If it sucks and you die very easily then try H. Then M. Then E. Is there a VE? Choose the level of diffilculty that suits how you wish to play the game. There is no right or wrong answer.

3. Depends on preferences for future gameplay. Some wish for an epic Punic war against a strong Carthage, others want to crush Greece/Asia before they get too strong. Work out who you want to fight later in the game, and give them space to grow. To roleplay, look for obvious lines of defence where expansion may have halted (mountain passes, river crossings), and use those breaks to develop your economy.

4. I hardly ever build Type IV. Some people do the IV->III->II->I thing, as they feel that this simulates incorporating a new settlement into your fold. Do that if you want. I generally build the highest level available, as long as I have the troops to hold it. If I'm on the blitz then I'll sometimes use IV, but generally I'll use this government for well-developed cities that I've recently conquered and want to get good quality regional troops from.

5. Mercenary generals - I like to thing of these like my young noble military tribunes. Of course they want to see the world and spread their 'wild arrows"... But leading armies? Perhaps, after they've seen some action under a more experienced fellow - and perhaps gathered (been given?) a few helpful ancillaries. I'd tend to save army-leading mercenaries for keeping remote borders secure, such as north Africa and the Black Sea. Of course there's no reason that you can't open up your fledging empire to competent young men of whatever nationality to become it's new leading class...

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

3- Waiting to be attacked first and taking wars slowly are pretty good house rules. The Romans really didn't become overly expansionistic until around the Marian Era.

4- Type4's should only be used for client states. These would be places that the Romans claimed to have no control over. There would be local leadership with very little Roman intervention and no Roman colonies or Romanization. I would put Type2 or Type3 in places you want to integrate into your empire.

5- Personally, I would only have a mercenary general lead a non-Roman army in a non-Roman war.