Roman: Brutii

[Craterus]

[pezhetairoi]

You can get praetorian cohorts before marian reforms. But in vanilla that is not supposed to happen. (Wuss. :D) Edit it out.

[rotorgun]

Ok, here we go....

I have finally eliminated the dreaded Egyptians! I had a little help (very little) from my Pontic protectorate (now ex, but more on that later), but essentially followed the advice of Pezhetairoi to take Memphis first. They were a snap once the Pyramids were in my control. I also owe some credit to Seamus Fermanagh for the idea of simulcasting them. The combination of these approaches was the culmination of divide and conquer. Hats off to these clever chaps!

I thought, in my imperial glee, that I would now be able to begin my blitzkrieg attack on Rome for the win. Thinking I now had more than the required 50 provinces. With the British Isles completly occupied, all of Germania, Greece, Thrace, Dacia, Illyria, Egypt, and half of Gaul under my banner; Syracuse Tarentum, Croton, and Pergamum building large armies for my bid for Italy seemed like a recipe for sucess. Imagine my suprise when Pontus began using many spies and assasins in an attempt to cause rebellion in Petra and Jeruselam. When I assasinated a few of thier agents it must have cancelled the protectorship! Of course this means I am now ten provinces to the poorer, posessing only fortyfive.

To add insult to injury, the Senate ordered me to capture Bostra after it rebelled through Pontus' mismanagement. In order to accomplish the mission, I had to remake an alliance with the cutthroats, as they were also trying to lay siege to the city. When I had the right amount of siege equipment built, Pontus attacked with my forces as reinforcements. Like a fool, I went through most of the work in getting to the city square (well...they did take on the lion's share of enemy forces) only to see the AI award them the city! On the very next turn, the Senate ordered me out of Nabatea so as not to alarm our so called ally of Rome!

So what is the consensus? Should I attack Pontus, or enlist thier aid against the other Roman factions? Personally, I am for crushing the Cappadocian, camel riding, Zoarastrianistic dogs myself.

[Kickius Buttius]

I don't see how you can allow such insolence to go unpunished.

Congrats on beating Egypt. They are always a pain.

[Craterus]

Or you could go for the interesting approach and leave them. There are five provinces on Italy anyway.

[rotorgun]

After considering both of the previous proposals, I shall first start a good war with Pontus, in which I shall attempt to involve my brother Romans in as well. When they are good and committed, I shall attack Sicily, Campania, Ariminium, and Latium simultaneously. My main assault will be against Latium with my two best armies. Once I capture Rome it should be decided, as long as I have the fifty provinces required.

One question remains:
Do I have to move my faction heir to Rome to be declared Imperator to win, or is just capturing the city enough?

[gardibolt]

Just take the city; you can even do it with a mere captain and still win if you have the requisite 50 provinces.