Most prudent strategy for Romani in the early phase of the game?

[Oddnerd]

What is the typical long term strategy for Romani players? I have just taken all Romani homeland regions and have spent about 20 turns building up my economy and am now looking to expand, and rather than have to face enemies in all directions I figure I should take one out fast and early to remove a front of battle. I currently am at peace with everyone except Epeiros. My three potential first-stage plans are:
1 - Take out the Sweboz and use the strong Baltic rebels as a buffer, sealing in my Celtic and Lusotanan enemies to the west
2 - Take out Gaul and move into Iberia before the Lusotanans become the annoying juggernaut they are prone to becoming
3 - Wipe out carthage and secure the western Mediterranean

Which one of these three do you guys think would be the most productive first move?

[Burebista]

Sicily and N.Africa will allow you to have big moneymakers which won't be attacked. Then steamroll through spain and go north from there . Safest route imho.

As for taking out sweboz , well , it's a big risk. Many forrests , many enemies , and probably a depleted economy is what you'll be facing as those are dirt poor provinces

[Hax]

Yeah, North Africa is pretty rich. I guess you could try to keep the Ptolemaioi pacified for as long as possible. As soon as they take Kyrene, they will regularly assault Leptis. In that case, taking Kyrene and gifting it to the Seleukids might be a good strategy to keep them both occupied. Or try and force a revolt.

[Taedius]

Another strategy in Africa could be to leave the Qarthadastim alone with Leptis as their last province. They'll still be an annoyance, but not as much as Ptolemaioi fullstacks every other turn.

[Urg]

To take North Africa can be time-consuming.

Why not go for Sicily first, besiege then plunder the Carthaginian capital (let them retake it), take Sardinia and Corsica, make peace with Carthage, and then turn your attention to Greece.

[Burebista]

To take North Africa can be time-consuming.

Why not go for Sicily first, besiege then plunder the Carthaginian capital (let them retake it), take Sardinia and Corsica, make peace with Carthage, and then turn your attention to Greece.

Don't think the carthies will take a ceasefire , they usually have ships which means a ceasefire is rare as they feel they can still attack. Better whipe them out alltogether. just get their 3 main provinces and you will be ruler of NA

[Cute Wolf]

naval invasion to Iberia is my favourite, then use Iberian troops as mainstay of the army till Marian Reforms kick in

[Ca Putt]

I think it's about as good a plan to go south as west, all I can tell you that the last thing you want to do is attack the sweboz, as any faction.
1. they can grow to quite a nuisance but don't tend to go south and are easily fended off(provided you brought some archers ;-) ) even in late game.
2. there be woods, so no place anyone exept the sweoboz want's to go.
3. there is NO economical gain from those settlements(amber road is nice but it barely balances out your garrisons ;) )
4. AI-Sweboz > AI Gauls, the Sweboz make a good natural wall for you to drive the gauls against, no need to own the region yourself
5. it did not happen or better: it did not work
6. it may(I repeat MAY) take away your buffer against the Sauros in late game.

Personally I'd take Iberia in a naval operation, keep the Carthagians as raidable coastal cities. when you've got Iberia you have:
- taken care of a would be Juggernaught
- mines lot's of mines
- ample sea trade
- a good starting point for an invasion of Gaul(crush the Gauls between you and the Sweboz)
- neat troops

[Blxz]

Cute wolf and ca putt have the right idea I think. Taking spain by a naval invasion is good. No need to build a land bridge there through Gaul at all. This will give you the most defensible borders with ocean all around and only the alps and the pyrenee's (sp?) as chokepoints to defend. After that you have the option for a 2 sided conquest of Gaul or the ability to raid south and take the Carthies from 2 sides.

Also I think historically the Romans took land in Spain that way only connected via ship. They obviously had the right idea.

[eo9o]

If I was you, I will take out the Epeirus first of all. Sign a trade deal with the helenon kingdon and Makedonios.
Make a alliance with some Gaul's faction, the Aedui are downhill to do this.
Now, You can turn your attentions to expanding in Spain. Be carefull, when you arrive near the Cartagian border in Spain, they will to declare war on you! The same will happen if you enter in Sicilia.
My final adevice, expand slow but do that hard!

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

Historical Roman strategy is pretty good IMO. Take over the coastal (port) cities of the Mediterranean Sea - western half first, then eastern. Ports have the best trade bonus.

So: Italy first, then Sicily, then Cisalpine Gaul, then southern Gaul, then Illyria, then eastern and southern Spain, then North Africa and Carthage, then Greece, then Egypt, then Judea and Syria, then Asia Minor. Then you control the entire sea trade of the Mediterranean and are as rich than Crassus!

[Taedius]

Yes, my first punic war tends to end with me holding Sicilia, possibly also Corsica and Sardinia. My experience is that the Qarthadastim asks for peace at this stage.

Moving into Epirus usually means that the KH will attack, possibly also Macedonia, if they have stayed alive in the area. It's a beehive over there. As it should be.

[Ca Putt]

due to RTW AI the historical expansion is not the easiest way to go, as it will provoke all people to attack you ;)

Moving into Epirus usually means that the KH will attack, possibly also Macedonia, if they have stayed alive in the area. It's a beehive over there. As it should be.

true and if you ignore them for now they can kill off each other for you unlike the Lusos who will just become a big tumor.
eventho in reality it is agood idea to get involved in local wars (to get allies and occupy easy territory) in RTW it's not.

[moonburn]

you´re still at war with the epirotes ? after i take taras i normally make peace and forçe a heafty fine on them for over 100 turns and they normally cought it up and won´t attack me even if i take segestica that is until the agreament ends

[Randal]

CuteWolf: Why use spanish troops? Besides uh, that kinda defeating the point of playing Romans, the Romani can't recruit the good line-holders like Scutari, nor any cavalry except in a few northern provinces. An army of caetrati and Gaesamica doesn't seem very effective to me.

Anyway, I more or less followed historical expansion. Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Illyria, southern Gaul, eastern Spain, then the rest of the Spanish shore in war with Carthage. Then North Africa and bit by bit Greece. The only real problem was continuing Gaulish and German attacks from the north. In the end I solved that by using force diplomacy to create a buffer of the weakened Averni in between me and the remaining Aedui and Sweboz.

Early Roman troops aren't the best fighters out there but they're versatile and cheap, so you can afford to put sufficient legions in the field to deal with a multiple-front war if need be.

[econ21]

The most common advice for Romans given on this forum is to slow down and try to follow a more or less historical rate of expansion. Search for Quintus Sertorius's True Roman guide in the guides sub-forum to get detailed benchmarks and some interesting historical/role-playing ideas. This is not for prudence, but rather to allow the AI to develop and give you a more fun mid to late game. Romans are one of the easier factions, with quite a well protect homeland, decent economy and solid unit roster, so there is a danger the game gets dull without some houserules.

Of the three strategies, I suspect the African one is the most prudent. In my latest Roman game - temporarily on hold - I expanded at a more or less historical rate up until the Polybian reforms. Egypt has become a superpower and I've been wondering how, if at all, to counter them. I had not thought about trying to check them by an African strategy, but it's an interesting thought. (For some bizzarre reason, I assumed I would have to get to them via Greece and Turkey, rather than Libya).

Attacking the Germans is probably the EB equivalent of marching on Moscow -I would not recommend it. The Gauls would be a viable target.

One thing to watch with a sea-based path of expansion are pirates. I started a thread on this a while back, but my campaign ran into trouble with a 16-stack pirate fleet. Don't assume that you can safely sail an army from Rome to Iberia. I lost one, and my best general, to a fleet just getting to Corsica. If I continue my Roman campaign, I would probably go to Iberia next (it's historical afaik) but I'd probably walk.

[Oddnerd]

Thank you everyone for the input; I have decided to take the Meditteranean Islands and then North Africa, while conquering south Gaul by land. The Carthaginians are effectively put down, with no homeland regions, so Ill pressure them into peace, then deal with the Lusotannans, who by luck have not taken a single extra settlement :D

I also must echo what the previous poster said about egypt becoming a superpower, the Egyptians have pushed the Seleucids back to Babylon, and have Kyrene. Ill have to bully Carthage into becoming a vassal and give them Kyrene, let them seal off a front.

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

I really wish there was a mod that enabled you to instantly kill all family members of a faction simultaneously. That would kill the Ptolemy faction, and turn the Egyptian superpower into a vast collection of Eleutheroi cities. Historically, taking over Egypt was easy for Rome.

At the moment I simulate Egyptian civil wars by using Force Diplomacy, taking cities off the Ptolemies when they get too powerful, and giving them to Saba or Epirus, depending on whether I want a 'ruling class' or 'peasant' revolt.

[Ca Putt]

meh Egypt is easy to defeat when you're Rome or a Western Hellenic faction. use the money you have from Iberia/balkan your vast trade income to build a large fleet(don't need a monster stack just gernerally more ships than the others) clear most of the medditerranean of Pirates and other hostile ships, conquer Kyrene and turn it into an untakable bastion and wait until the Ptoly armies go for the bait. When the nile delta is clear drop some troops via ship and ransack the region.

offcource, as soon as they got hold of Anatolia Assyria and mesopotamia, it can get quite hairy and borging but lower egypt is quite vunerable to coastal raids and hold great riches and high end MICs

Attacking the Germans is probably the EB equivalent of marching on Moscow -I would not recommend it.

or the end of your military career :D