EBNOM FAQ

[anubis88]

1. What does EB NOM stand for?

EBNOM is Europa Barbarorum Novus Ordo Mundi; basically EB - new world order. The title was chosen because unlike EB, the greek factions are losing their importance, and new powers, like Rome and Parthia became the dominant political forces of this era.

2. What is the timeframe of this mod?

The game will start in 80 BC, with Rome under Sulla's grasp, and will last until 180 AD, which was the date of the death of the last Emperor that ruled during the pax Romana Marcus Aurelius.

3. Will we see rebel factions?

Yes

4. Why did you choose this timeframe?

This is a very interesting point in history that we thought could use an EB mod. If you play EB till 80 BC the political structure rarely looks like it should in 80 BC, so we decided to make a mod that would represent this era as best as possible. Here are some of the main reasons this age is so fascinating;

-Rome is the major Mediterranean superpower, but the Empire is far from complete
-Ongoing conflict between Rome, Pontus, and Armenia
-Famous historical characters such as Pompey, Caesar, Sulla, Cicero, Crassus, and more for Rome; excellent roleplaying opportunities
-Mithradates VI for Pontus and Tigranes the Great for Armenia
-Vercingetorix for the Arverni (though only 2 years old)
-Nabatu are in their golden age; Hasmoneans are alive and kicking
-Parthia is a major power
-Axum is getting started
-Indo-Saka are getting started
-Burebista is the King of the Dacians
-Major war-zone in Spain with native tribes, Romans, and the Roman rebell Quintus Sertorius

Of course more challanges will appear for the player as he goes forward in time with various reforms and scripted events.


5. Which are the chosen (revealed) factions?

Thus far:
SPQR
SPQR rebels
Parthia
Lugiones
Sertoriani
Pontus
Armenia
Hasmonean kingdom
Nabatea
Ptolemaic kingdom
Numidia
Dacians
Sweboz
Arverni
Aedui

6. Will there be civil wars?

Yes

7. How will i install EBNOM?

You'll need a clean install of Rome total war + Barbarian Invasion

8. Will there be Lorica Segmentata?

Yes.

9. But LS in EB is blasphemy!

Not during our timeframe

10. So we will see BI features?

Yes, that means "religion", night battles, shield wall, thought no shiltrom, because it doesn't fit our time frame. Hording possible for hording factions!

11. How the religion would be used?

It is a secret :)

12.When will it be released?

When it is done.

[anubis88]

If you guys have any more questions that should be put in the FAQ, go ahead and shoot; I'll update the first post with an answer

[Brave Brave Sir Robin]

A possible question for the FAQ:
Are you planning on one comprehensive release or to put out a "beta" version with not all factions playable, not all features fully instituted, etc, while you continue working on the mod?

[anubis88]

Well, i'll put it this way: the first release will probably include all factions, but probably not all the scripts, 2D art, perhaps not all the units etc... So basically it will be a beta, but it will be fully playable.

[Lysimachos]

Will there be scripted appearances of historical figures after the game's start?

Will the transition from Republic to Principate in Rome be represented in any way in the game?

That's it for now. :-)

[gamegeek2]

Probably not but you will get numerous historical figures in the major factions..."familiar" names are bolded...only spoiled factions mentioned!

--- Western Barbarians ---
Vercingetorix (Arverni, 2 years old)
Harjowistaz, i.e. Ariovistus (Sweboz, ~20 years old)

--- Romans ---
Lucius Cornelius Sulla (58 years old)
Lucius Licinius Lucullus (37 years old)
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (50 years old)
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (40 years old)
Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus (54 years old)
Marcus Licinius Crassus (35 years old)
Gnaeus Pompeius (26 years old)
Gaius Iulius Caesar (20 years old)
Marcus Tullius Cicero (26 years old)
Lucius Sergius Catilina (28 years old)

--- Parthians and Beyond ---
Orodes I (Pahlava, ? years old)
Sanatruk, i.e. Sanatruces (Pahlava, 77 years old)
Phraates III (Pahlava, ? years old)
Rostaham, i.e. Surena, of Carrhae Fame (Pahlava, 4 years old)

--- Near Easterners, Hellenes, Greeks, etc. ---
Mithradates VI (Pontos, 54 years old)
Tigran Artashesian, i.e. Tigranes II (Hayastan, 60 years old)
'Aretat, i.e. Aretas III (Nabatu, ~45 years old)
Alexandros Iannaios (Hashmonayim, 45 years old)
Salome Alexandra (Hashmonayim, 59 years old)
Aristoboulos II (Hashmonayim, ? years old)
Hyrkanos II (Hashmonayim, ? years old)
Ptolemaios XII Auletes (37 years old)

[Brave Brave Sir Robin]

Such a shame that Tigranes will probably die on the first 2-3 turns about 90% of the time...
Is there any way to raise the age of death becoming possible like there is in M2:TW? Making the age 70 or even 65 instead of 60 would be nice for some characters.

[Cute Wolf]

Such a shame that Tigranes will probably die on the first 2-3 turns about 90% of the time...
Is there any way to raise the age of death becoming possible like there is in M2:TW? Making the age 70 or even 65 instead of 60 would be nice for some characters.

aside of using Alex and give him immortality, there's no way to make 60 y old guy survive much, especially when there is multiple turns per year

[konny]

Congrats to this brilliant idea. I always had been toying around with the idea of an EB starting in the 1st Century BC.

I am not so convinced by your choice of starting date, though. Starting 87 BC would probably give a more dynamical game start with the 1st Mithradatic War being on its height, Sulla absent in the east and the Populares seizing power in Rome under Marius and Cinna. This would allow to already start the game with two hostile Roman factions themselves being pressed by external enemies. Sertorius could then be made a spawned character for the Lusotans in case the Populars loose the civial war against Sulla.

Such a shame that Tigranes will probably die on the first 2-3 turns about 90% of the time...
Is there any way to raise the age of death becoming possible like there is in M2:TW? Making the age 70 or even 65 instead of 60 would be nice for some characters.

Using the Alex.exe characters have the tendency to become much older (not using the immortal trait, OC). When playing EB with the ALX I frequently have characters becoming 70 or even 75.

[anubis88]

Yeah, i had a few over 90s myself using rtw.exe.

One of the main reasons we decided on 80bc was the inclusion of Sertorious as a playable faction. Seeing what the FRRE team did with him, and learning everything i could i became a fanboy of the man :) Therefore including him in a mod that i started was a prerequisite :)

I believe that the situation is still very explosive. Mithridates may have lost the first war, but he's still very strong. Repelling the Romans without much sweat in the second Mithridatic war was a definitive boost in his confidence.

And who knows what happens when Sulla dies...

[Lysimachos]

Well, historically Sulla proved himself a republican by retiring.

Anyway, the starting position will provide an interesting balancing challenge, with many factions that are dependant on the goodwill of one of the superpowers in order to survive.


Edit: I have a new question.

You state that civil wars will be present and you list SPQR rebels as a faction. Will (the start of) civil wars be scripted or do you rely on the vanilla BI mechanics, where a civil war would start/expand if you were unable to keep order in your provinces?

[konny]

One of the main reasons we decided on 80bc was the inclusion of Sertorious as a playable faction. Seeing what the FRRE team did with him, and learning everything i could i became a fanboy of the man :) Therefore including him in a mod that i started was a prerequisite :)

Agreed on him, he was one of the most amazing characters in a periode that really was rich of extraordinary men.

As long as you have two Roman factions in game it anyways wouldn't take much time until we see a couple of sub-sub-mods that start on other dates, for example with Marius, with the Social War, with Marius vs. Sulla, with the 1st Triumphirate, with Caesar vs. Pompeius, with Octavian & Antony vs. the Republicans, with Octavian vs. Antony....

[anubis88]

Sure, those mods will be great if made. Those timeframes were all considered. My first wish was to create an Roman Imperial mod, starting with Augustus, but there wasn't much support for that. But, with the starting date of 80bc and a few reforms planned, i'll get the imperials i wanted anyways

There will be actually 3 Roman factions; SPQR, SPQR "rebels" and Sertorius; but the Sertoriani will be more of a combo-faction with the Iberians. So yeah, plenty of Romans to go around

[Gaius Sempronius Gracchus]

Sure, those mods will be great if made. Those timeframes were all considered. My first wish was to create an Roman Imperial mod, starting with Augustus, but there wasn't much support for that. But, with the starting date of 80bc and a few reforms planned, i'll get the imperials i wanted anyways

There will be actually 3 Roman factions; SPQR, SPQR "rebels" and Sertorius; but the Sertoriani will be more of a combo-faction with the Iberians. So yeah, plenty of Romans to go around

Not to mention the Ptolemaic Gabiani and the many factional Roman 'copies' :-)

[Brennus]

Why were the Casse, Sauromatae and Saka removed in favour of the Nabateans and Jews. And what of the Yeuzhi? Nice faction previews btw, excellent work all round.

[Lysimachos]

Why were the Casse, Sauromatae and Saka removed in favour of the Nabateans and Jews. And what of the Yeuzhi? Nice faction previews btw, excellent work all round.

I will take the liberty to try and answer this without inside knowledge. The list of revealed factions above contains only 15 factions, which means there are still several slots to fill. The Saka are mentioned in Question 4 (as Indo-Saka). I have no doubt that the Yuezhi will be in, because at this time they held Baktria firmly in their grasp and would be the perfect nemesis for the aforementioned Indo-Saka - it would be strange if not.
Furthermore would in my opinion the impact of factions in Britannia and Skythia in EBNOM's timeframe potentially be much greater than when going from the start of EB, so I'm confident that two of the undisclosed slots are occupied to that purpose.

Feel free to correct me if I'm barking up the wrong tree. :-)

[gamegeek2]

Why were the Casse, Sauromatae and Saka removed in favour of the Nabateans and Jews. And what of the Yeuzhi? Nice faction previews btw, excellent work all round.

I will only mention that this comment is sorely mistaken. Anything else would ruin the fun!