A few questions on FM's

[jimmytallgrass]

Hey,

I'm going through my campaign as Rome and I've noticed that 3/4th or more of my Family members are all girls if not more than that. While I understand you will have some girls and some boys this is just a little strange. is their a way to change girls into boys (like with a cheat or something ?) is this something that was changed for EB to have more females born than males ? is their a way to increase the likelyhood of you getting males instead of females ?

also the "Takes after his father" and "Does not take after his father" traits, are they just given out randomly when a male FM is born or is their more behind that which determines which one of those traits he will get ? (Like if his grandfather and his father both have "Like his father" does that mean the grandson has a very high likelyhood for getting "Like his father" or does that even matter ? or any other things that modify those chances ?)

also isn't it just annoying when all your bad ass generals are the civilian looking FM's and all your really good Administrators are decked out in armour ? is their anything that determines what kind of armour they get when they reach 16 ? like what his father wore , or what kind of stats he has , or anything affect that ? or is it just random ?

also it takes ALOT of battles to gain stats/command stars/ attributes/ retinue, is that something that was changed for EB to adjust for the 4 turns a year ?

and would you guys reccomend that I wait untill about 240 normally to start attacking ? that way I don't end up with 20 settlements and only 4 FM's ? because I always need FM's especially decent generals , any advice ?

thanks alot in advance and I realize thats alot but I appreciate all the advice/help you guys got.

[Hax]

also the "Takes after his father" and "Does not take after his father" traits, are they just given out randomly when a male FM is born or is their more behind that which determines which one of those traits he will get ? (Like if his grandfather and his father both have "Like his father" does that mean the grandson has a very high likelyhood for getting "Like his father" or does that even matter ? or any other things that modify those chances ?)

also isn't it just annoying when all your bad ass generals are the civilian looking FM's and all your really good Administrators are decked out in armour ? is their anything that determines what kind of armour they get when they reach 16 ? like what his father wore , or what kind of stats he has , or anything affect that ? or is it just random ?

I don't know for sure, but it could be that the script checks whether the son has the same traits [Sharp/Dull, Charismatic/Uncharismatic, Vigorous/Languorous and Selfish/Unselfish, Optimistic/Pessimistic, Loyal/Disloyal] to see whether they match with the father's traits.

Depends on whether you have a blacksmith in that town.

also it takes ALOT of battles to gain stats/command stars/ attributes/ retinue, is that something that was changed for EB to adjust for the 4 turns a year ?

Most player characters in EB don't get more than 4/5 command stars, because that is pretty much reserved for the AI. You have brains, they have stars.

and would you guys reccomend that I wait untill about 240 normally to start attacking ? that way I don't end up with 20 settlements and only 4 FM's ? because I always need FM's especially decent generals , any advice ?

That's not really a problem. If you have a lot of cities, you will also get more man of the hour things and such. The game makes sure you're never short on family members.

[jimmytallgrass]

so if I have a blacksmith in the town that the FM is born in he will have bad ass armour instead of being in civilian clothes ?
( I'm talking about the pitcure of the general not like just having an armourer in his retinue or something )


"most characters don't get but 4/5 command stars" ? but their are 10 command stars they can get not 5, so how do they only get 4 normally ? also if it is true they can only get 4 command stars thats not very realistic at all because anyone with any understanding of history knows that generals existed that would have to be considered greater than a measly 4 command stars out of 10. Plus that wouldn't be a very fun game to play if all you got was 4 command stars regardless of how you played him or battles he was in (i.e part of the fun is turning FM's into bad ass generals) So I'm pretty sure that has to be wrong.


In my game I have 25 settlements and 7 FM's in year 255, and currently have 10 or so female children and like 1 or 2 males, so I don't see how the game is making sure I have enough FM's ???

and I'm short on generals so I don't see how you can say the game makes sure your never short on generals , unless your just supposed to send loads of armies with no supervision or generals in the army to fight and get man of the hours, also those generals for the most part would suck and whatnot so no point there, plus I like the roleplaying aspect of family members.

thanks for the help but if anyone can clear this up I would appreciate it.

thanks,

[Megas Methuselah]

so if I have a blacksmith in the town that the FM is born in he will have bad ass armour instead of being in civilian clothes ?
( I'm talking about the pitcure of the general not like just having an armourer in his retinue or something )

No. The unit cards are completely random. But if you have a blacksmith in a town where the general comes of age (not where he is born), his general's guard will get upgraded armour. Or you could just retrain his guard in a town that does have a blacksmith.

"most characters don't get but 4/5 command stars" ? but their are 10 command stars they can get not 5, so how do they only get 4 normally ? also if it is true they can only get 4 command stars thats not very realistic at all because anyone with any understanding of history knows that generals existed that would have to be considered greater than a measly 4 command stars out of 10. Plus that wouldn't be a very fun game to play if all you got was 4 command stars regardless of how you played him or battles he was in (i.e part of the fun is turning FM's into bad ass generals) So I'm pretty sure that has to be wrong.

Oh, don't listen to him. Just fight battles where the computer expects you to lose and win heroic victories. That way, it proves your general is a military genius, and he'll get his stars.

In my game I have 25 settlements and 7 FM's in year 255, and currently have 10 or so female children and like 1 or 2 males, so I don't see how the game is making sure I have enough FM's ???

That's plenty of family members, especially the younger generation. Just wait until they all come of age, then the girls can marry and you'll get 10 or so new male family members.

and I'm short on generals so I don't see how you can say the game makes sure your never short on generals , unless your just supposed to send loads of armies with no supervision or generals in the army to fight and get man of the hours, also those generals for the most part would suck and whatnot so no point there, plus I like the roleplaying aspect of family members.

I never make "loads" of armies. For every army I have, there's always 3 generals in it. 1 elder, proffesional general, and 2 younger ones who're serving their 15 years in the army (good rp'ing). Afterwards, the younger ones either become generals themselves or governors.

thanks

Give me a balloon.

[Silence Hunter]

so if I have a blacksmith in the town that the FM is born in he will have bad ass armour instead of being in civilian clothes ?
( I'm talking about the pitcure of the general not like just having an armourer in his retinue or something )

I'm pretty sure it's absolutely random.

"most characters don't get but 4/5 command stars" ? but their are 10 command stars they can get not 5, so how do they only get 4 normally ? also if it is true they can only get 4 command stars thats not very realistic at all because anyone with any understanding of history knows that generals existed that would have to be considered greater than a measly 4 command stars out of 10. Plus that wouldn't be a very fun game to play if all you got was 4 command stars regardless of how you played him or battles he was in (i.e part of the fun is turning FM's into bad ass generals) So I'm pretty sure that has to be wrong.

It's possible to get more than 5 stars. Though it's very hard to do. You might have the best chance to archieve this with a Sharp/Charismatic/Vigorous general as he is most likely to pick all the good traits.

[jimmytallgrass]

thanks for the advice guys I appreciate it , it all sounds good and is very helpfull. I thought the only 4 command stars sounded weird. yeah I can just marry them off but then they don't inherit ( or atleast have a chance to ) their fathers traits, so its like I wasted that general if I turn him into a badass and can't pass his traits along ya know ? so I much prefer giving birth to males from my badass generals lineage than just adopting some nobody into the family. also it seems that everyone that comes up for adoption or marriage into the family is always pretty crappy lol , I mean not everyone can have nothing for attributes/stats, they all seem to have 0/10 on everything :(

thanks again guys.

[Megas Methuselah]

Where's my balloon?!

[jimmytallgrass]

a balloon ? lol , for real ?

[Subotan]

Give me a balloon.

Where's my balloon?!

Sure.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

[Subotan]

Be happy. That's the biggest mo'foing balloon ANYONE is ever going to get on the .org

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Be happy. That's the biggest mo'foing balloon ANYONE is ever going to get on the .org

LULZ!!!!!!!

[Megas Methuselah]

It'll have to do. I am happy; the sheer size matches my nobility (and manhood), after all.

Anyways, jimmytallgrass, gifting balloons to other people in the EB Forums is a popular practise. This is usually done to reward another member for helping them.

Anyways, here, have a balloon on me for being a new member: Hope you enjoy EB and all its wonders!

I now have 17 balloons, boo yeah!

[antisocialmunky]

Be happy. That's the biggest mo'foing balloon ANYONE is ever going to get on the .org

Well we've tried giving bigger balloons, but that didn't end well.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Olaf Blackeyes]

YAY!!!!!! BUGGY BALLOONZ!!!!!!!

[Macilrille]

Ha ha ha <3 Zeppeliners :-D

"and would you guys reccomend that I wait untill about 240 normally to start attacking ? that way I don't end up with 20 settlements and only 4 FM's ? because I always need FM's especially decent generals , any advice ?"

You can always build Type IV and install a client ruler in your new province. That is after all how Rome often did.


Further, do not blitz, the AI is so stupid that you can win the game in 60-70 years (I think, never finished a game) if you blitz. If you want an interesting game, wait, let enemy factions actually become difficult to beat.

In the AAR section there is a guide to conduct becoming of a true Roman, with some modifications that is a good one to follow IMO.

Remember also that Roman generals in the time frame we are dealing with here were CIVILIAN politicians, NOT professional soldiers. They were consuls or praetors (or when they got overseas provinces Proconsuls and propraetors) with command of an army when Rome was threatened. Roleplay, especially as Rome as it is easy to PWN the world with Res Publica Romana.

[antisocialmunky]

It takes about 20 years of sitting before the AI can really get going. Unless you're talking about Rome because they tend to try and make it to the North Sea and get bogged down knee deep in GAULZ.

[Tiberius Claudius Marcellus]

and would you guys reccomend that I wait untill about 240 normally to start attacking ? that way I don't end up with 20 settlements and only 4 FM's ? because I always need FM's especially decent generals , any advice ?

I'm not a modder, and I haven't delved into the technical aspects behind the game mechanics; but I seem to notice that family members appear to come of age/be born/be adopted/marry into your family at much higher rates when you are doing a good, long expansion. I'm not sure why; but the military activity sure seems to make my family tree explode w/ branches.

Conversely, when I sit around on my duff building up towns, consolidating my holdings, etc. I don't seem to have nearly the family tree growth. Perhaps it's coincidence, perhaps mechanical, and perhaps I just think that these things are happening. I haven't actually written down the occurrences to compare notes, you know?.

[antisocialmunky]

The amount of children depend on the amount of area you have under your control. If you expand rapidly, you end up with not enough people so the game gives you more.