What tribe will claim Hegemony in the Barbarian World?

[Imperator Invictus]

...perhaps keeping them in Italy with the Alps as a limit will give them only choice of recruiting more Roman and Socii units.

Anyway, I want to thank you all, for your suggestions, I'm surprised that you even knew about Burebista (so a baloon for Cute Wolf and Arjos )...but with some of your arguments and some others I have decided to start a campaign with the Aeduii....

The decline of the Celts will be halted by the Aedui, an alternate similarity with real historical process in which the Illyrians and Thracians saved the declining Roman Empire by establishing a “military junta”. The vast majority of the Emperors in the late Empire were of Illyrian-Thracian origin. And so I think that stopping the decline of the Celts is not verry ahistorical.

I will not establish, however a militaristic regime but one based on meritocracy, the most skillful in battle and administration will become FM (renamed “Magistrate”), and perhaps, one day, even the Vergobret himself will be of other ethnicity than Aeduan. I have also changed a few Celtic tribes with some Thracian, Iberian and Germanic tribes, in order to give a proper representation in my pro-Aeduan Confederation and I also have "Massaliot", because I want to use them as the first civilised people who recognise the benefits of the "Aeduan Peace".

[Populus Romanus]

For everyone's biotching about Roman "pedites spam," that is actually historically accurate. Historically, Allies outnumbered Romans in the Legions by a ratio of 2:1. This "pedites spam" is therefore pretty accurate. Stop the biotching.

[Ludens]

For everyone's biotching about Roman "pedites spam," that is actually historically accurate. Historically, Allies outnumbered Romans in the Legions by a ratio of 2:1. This "pedites spam" is therefore pretty accurate.

Hardly. Pedites represent picked troops. The Socii rank-and-file would be equiped similarly to the Romans and are represented by normal hastati, principes and trairii. For that matter: a mid-republic consular army would have consisted of two legions (Romans) and two alea (allies). The allies supplied more cavalry, but the infantry was divided about 50:50.

[Imperator Invictus]

Hardly. Pedites represent picked troops. The Socii rank-and-file would be equiped similarly to the Romans and are represented by normal hastati, principes and trairii. For that matter: a mid-republic consular army would have consisted of two legions (Romans) and two alea (allies). The allies supplied more cavalry, but the infantry was divided about 50:50.

They had also engines of war. I have never encountered in EB a unit of "artillery" in a Roman Army.

[Duguntz]

Well If you're not swimming in the billions you can hardly build them in EB. I always thought (and still do) that it would add much fun to make them more accessible...

[moonburn]

warfare during those days was more to establish trade rights pasture rights or demand tribute so it never made much sence to bring siege weapons along for most warchiefs or strategos since speed was of the essence to start in spring and return before winter set in (you still needed to make the harvest or collect enough straw for the animals )

planting can be done by women while men go to war and boys can do the sheparding but when the hard work of harvest arrived you needed muscle (harvest included ofc gathering vegetal plants to feed the animals)

people weren´t that interested in conquering city´s since most city´s where places where you could produce a few manufactured goods but most importantly where you would have a trade link but once you took it the trade link would most of the time be broken (except for a few highly apreciated products that couldn´t be grabbed in other places)

if you as a kelt caught massilia and took it by forçe you think the other greeks would wanna keep trading with you after you had humilliated their greek brethren :?

it started to work once the competition was beteween trading "groups" it made sence for the carthies to take alalia or the romans to conquer sicily since they already had their trading routes established so they didn´t need to establish new trade routes

and even then it was far easyer to just create a colony or a emporium establish relations with the local tribes then to conquer a city and then try to rebuilt a relantioship with the natives from a place that had been conqered and had costed the natives a trading well established and trustworthy partner and a few hassles before the city was normalised under the new administration so when you conquered by force it would increase the gap that you and the natives had to cross to reach an understanding

siege weapons in those regards started to make sence once the "armies" stoped being levied and became more and more professionalised or could be used without the hassle of transporting it around wich costs alot of time so siege weapons should be available in city´s without a massive upkeep but once out of the city the upkeed should go sky high for the need it would require in terms of horse/mule/camel power and the need to feed a massive amount of cargo animals wich moves slower then a regular army

i think this last part can be kind of covered by the free upkeepthe psf´s and city´s can provide with the new engine (altough they will still be freaking expensive the upkeep cut is nice )

if you consider the time period and what i said about the type of armies there where back then i think you msut give kuos to the team for the way they found to represent that

[athanaric]

Aedui are much more powerful economically, which makes for a more varied campaign as you can sole more conflicts via bribery or diplomacy. Oh and you don't have to wait for other factions to build nice tech buildings, since you can build most of them yourself.

Hardly. Pedites represent picked troops. The Socii rank-and-file would be equiped similarly to the Romans and are represented by normal hastati, principes and trairii. For that matter: a mid-republic consular army would have consisted of two legions (Romans) and two alea (allies). The allies supplied more cavalry, but the infantry was divided about 50:50.

I guess the confusion arises from the misleading abbreviation "Pedites" for the PE unit. The defining characteristic of this unit is described by the word "extraordinarii", which clearly marks them as elite and not just some allied pedites (who in EB are represented by Samnite Hastati and the like).