Roman: Scipii

[Roma Victor]

As the Scipii I would first send down most of you units from your capital towards The Scilian Island and start making more as soon as possiable. The take lilybeam and Syacuse as quick as you can. When you take syracuse i would make it your capital city because of the all the trad routs and incomes it gets plus it will later become the central part of your empire. Also I would try to beat the juli to the island just north of charthage for future western expansion. Then build up a huge army of hasti and calvary and about 3 generals to take charthage main two cities. I always take Thapus first and then go for charthage. While you are doing this you are building more troops to take on the eyptians and numbia. I always take the western route so When I ake on egypt I cover my backside. Because usally spain leaves you alone. Don't worry about charthage after you take their capital just hunt down the remaining ones on the North African coast try to bribe any of their generals because you need them to be commaders and governors. While taking egypt I take all the eastern island so I don't have to ship troops so far. I also take the southern part of greece so as soon as I can I am next to my roman brothers to backstab them. If you have te money and troops build a couple of forts by their capitals and rome with a full garrison. After egypt i use the red sea as a stopping point, I head back west to take out the spainish. I usally stop at the spain-france border. By this time I can take out the julii and the bruti. I always sack their cities so if i lose them the are worthless. Well take is how i took down rome and her alllies.
Roma Victor
"As he was valiant, I honour him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him".

[Roman_Man#3]

very interesting roma, but lacks a lot of detail.

[GeneralHankerchief]

I return to the Guides forum after a long absence.

How many of your RTW games have lasted 100 years? Well, my Scipii game has just passed that mark and the Civil War hasn't even started yet!!!

Started out pretty generically - I take Sicily, island hop, Western Africa is mine. Crete and Rhodes are also nabbed before those nasty Brutii can take 'em. Anyway, here's where things start to get interesting. The Brutii, having taken all of Greece, decide to expand north and into Eastern Europe. So they leave me with two big empires to take down: Pontus (Asia Minor and the Parthian/Armenian territories), and good ol' Egypt, which owns the rest of the Eastern Mediterranean.

So the conquering begins with a man named Secundus Dolabella leading a half-stack and taking Pergamum, finishing off Greece in the process. Cue up the Pontic full-stacks. Army after army dies at the gates of Pergamum, without success. They breach the walls, they break the gates, but they just can't take the streets! It was some of the toughest defensive fighting I've done, and loved it. The highlight was when there were two full-stacks attacking from opposite directions. Obviously, one of the gates were gained but I had my Arcanii run all the way across the city and ambush the attackers who were making their way up the streets. Heroic victories were common.

After reinforcements arrive there are dual armies making their way through Asia Minor, killing stack after stack of Pontic troops. Secundus dies as faction leader with something like ten command stars, six heroic victories, and a lot of influence.

Meanwhile an effort is made to capture the Nile, with success. The Egyptian stacks are even more numerous though, but luckily enough troops were brought over so that the generals weren't forced to remain in a city at the mercy of the enemy.

It takes forever, but Egypt and Pontus are conquered and driven deep into the desert. Meanwhile, back at home things look ok. There is an obvious rivalry between the Scipii and the Brutii with the Senate favoring us. The Brutii are the more powerful faction in terms of military, but the problem is that all their forces are out in the middle of nowhere or assisting the incompetant Julii in driving the Britons out of Europe.

At the moment, it is 170 BC and there are four non-Roman factions left: Spain, Brittannia, Pontus, and Egypt. Spain is about to be conquered by the Julii. Brittannia is fighting valiantly but losing their grip in Europe. Pontus, bled out by Dolabella, hasn't been on the offensive in twenty years. Egypt is the only faction that can threaten, but they no longer have a financial advantage. So the time has come to attack the other Roman factions.

The brass in the Scipii family, Julianus the Killer and Lucius Scipio (until recently, the only actual Scipio left), have decided to do a three-pronged attack. Large, powerful Roman armies will strike Tarentum, Corinth, and Byzantium simultaneously. Everyone waits in anticipation as the long rivalry is about to be turned up a notch...

(The storytelling baton is passed back to you, Pontifex Rex. Hope you don't mind that I interrupted.)

[Pontifex Rex]

Hope you don't mind that I interrupted

Nah,...go ahead. I'm off to wargame tournament in a couple of days and may not have time to post the next chapter beforehand.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Good God, this is a refreshing change, I'm in the fight of my life here.

When we last left off the civil war was about to start, with me preparing to strike Tarentum, Corinth, and Byzantium simultaneously, along with continuing to finish off Egypt. The results were mixed.

Tarentum - taken without difficulty. This was the first strike. Seeing as how the culture was Roman and was close to my capital (Syracuse), I occupied. After five turns of constructing the typical starting garrison - two archer auxilia, two legionary cohorts, one Roman cavalry - I moved on to Croton. As soon as it's taken, the Julii amphibiously land a medium-size force consisting solely of Praetorian and Urban Cohorts. Wow. I do the best I can but am hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed. Tarentum falls and they exterminate it. As soon as that happens the army in Croton hires mercenaries to garrison it and immediately resieges Tarentum. It is retaken and that's where the army is now.

Corinth- The Wonder was a huge boost for my Eastern settlements. I was expecting a Brutii effort to reclaim it but none came. I figured that this would be my primary expansion point in Greece, while Byzantium held off the brunt of the armies. Boy, was that silly of me. All of a sudden the Pelloponessius is clogged with Brutii troops. Good ones, and lots of 'em. The reinforcements trying to help were defeated soundly, but luckily both generals survived. The army trapped in Corinth is extremely high-tech, but I don't know how much more they can take.

Byzantium: This is the new Pergamum. The poor troops in the city lost their 65-year-old general before the first Brutii assault, so they had to repulse it without a leader. I had to bring Decimus Scipio, Lucius' son, all the way from Memphis to help out. More battles have been fought but this army, unlike the one in Corinth, is in good shape. Once this last siege is repulsed I think I'll go on the offense.

Egyptian front: Two armies are making their way through the desert, little by little whittling away at the Pharoah's power. The Egyptians have been completely cut off from water (including the Red Sea), but it's been costly. Lucius' son Titus in his first action, was killed by an Onager in the taking of Petra. That hurt, but my heir himself died in a massive battle for Bostra sometime later. Right now Lucius' former army is bloodied, in a city not high-tech enough to retrain, and with several large Egyptian armies nearby. I'm sending the other force to assist, but it's going to be hairy.

Future plans: Gentlemen, this is where I'm stumped. A new army in Sicily is being created but that's a little off. I'm thinking about sending the Italian army to Western Greece to help out. Anyone have any other suggestions? I'm really enjoying this campaign right now and don't want to lose.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Fight defensively against your fellow Romani and level Aegyptus. Might want to build one amphib strike force to single-turn land and destroy their coastal towns -- economic war. Or send a youngling out to get Horse archers and then play mongol with that half stack. In general, keep them distracted while you consolidate Aegyptus and rebuild class armies.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Thanks for the advice, Seamus. Not much has happened since I last posted, but the Brutii have suffered. I have a blockade of all their cities in Greece going, which is playing havoc with their economy. Secondly, Athens is mine. I think I've finally bled them out in Lower Greece, but now I have to worry about all their northern armies shifting down from fighting the barbarians. Luckily, this is having an effect as much of their northern territories have rebelled.

The bad news is that the Julii have now taken an active interest in Tarentum. My plans of sending that army to relieve Corinth have been delayed. Looks like the new army will first see action in Julii territory to distract them a bit. Meanwhile one of my forces in Egypt is on the march to Seleucia, where they can rebuild. My navy is being kept busy with the blockade of Greece and ferrying young generals to where they need to go.

As of now, things aren't looking too bad. The only two variables are how many men the Pharoah has around Seleucia and how focused the Brutii will be on Byzantium.

[Roman_Man#3]

do u have any screenies

[Pontifex Rex]

The Power and the Might

A Report to the Senate of Rome - Spring 225 BC

Greetings Senators, you are welcome to the new Senate and the Emperor looks forward to a successful term of governance with you as we rebuild the shattered political institutions of Rome. As Lucius Victor Scipio is currently campaigning he has asked that the following be passed on to the people of Rome through you.

Since the ourtreak of civil war some two years ago the legions of the legal government of the people of Rome have been successful and it is hoped the war will be ended before the next time we meet. Too, there has been treachery as Thrace, casting off her long alliance with the people of Rome, have declared war and even know march on our Danubian provinces. They too will have to be dealt with.

I Legion (Captain Herius) is currently finishing its campaign in Egypt and its lead elements have closed on Thebes. II (Asinius Marcellus) and VI Legions (Agustus Ignatius) have broken the power of Egypt in Asia, although the cost was high. VI Legion is completing a refit in Jerusalem after the latest round of plague claimed its share of victims. VII Legion (Sextus Scipio) in Spain has taken Numantia and is pressing northward against continued Julii resistance while a new garrison legion (XIX Hispaniae I) is being raised to secure the liberated regions.

Along the Danube XI (Danube) Legion is being strengthened with cavalry and the two young generals (Vibius Manilus and Spurius Paulinus) have been dispatched with their escorts to reinforce the Danube and Balkan provinces and to raise barbarian infantry to expend against the Thracians. XII (Thrace) garrison legion has been ordered to concentrate its patrols and eject the Thracians from their home province, driving them north of the lower Danube. Meanwhile, VIII Legion (Quintus Sextus) has moved south from Germania to engage the Thracian army most directly threating the frontier.

In Italia, III Legion (Luca Ahenobarbus) after a serious mauling is now refitting near Mediolanium while IV Legion (Flavius Scipio) lays seige to the city. V Legion (Decius Victor Scipio) has just finished destroying the largest of the former senatorial armies and is now pursuing the remaining elements near the mountains to the north of Rome. IX (Lucius Victor Scipio) is refitting in Capua while X Legion (Publius Scipio) is doing the same in Rome.

Finally, the fleet has all but swept the eastern and central Mediterranean of enemy ships while the remnants of a once powerful Julii fleet still harras us in the west. The Thracian fleet numbers some 100 ships and currently out numbers our own squadrons in the region which could cause some minor difficulties for trade and the movement of the Scythian and Sarmatian barbarian troops to Asia. Our fleet totals some 513 ships but is somewhat scattered at the moment as a result of running down enemy squadrons.

Five Year Plan for the Years 225 - 221 BC

I Legion is to finish up in Egypt and then take ship along with VI Legion to Tripolitania where they will begin the subjegation of the Brutii provinces. II Legion will remain in Asia and move eastwards to ensure that Parthia is not destroyed by the ever growing Armenians. XVI, XVII and XVIII (garrison) Legions will be raised to ensure the peace in the Asian provinces. In Spain, VII Legion will continue to harrass the Julii taking the opportunity to capture any provinces except those of the Spanish. In the Balkans the VIII Legion will take the fight to the Thracians turning over any captured provinces north of the Danube to the German tribes (as a balance against the Britons).

In Italia, III and IV Legions will push through the northern Julii provinces with the goal of Cisalpine Gaul while IX and X Legions push northward through the Julii home provinces. V Legion will be moved by sea to Sardinia and then to Masillia to link with III and IV Legions. The fleet will reorganize and finish off any opposition at sea, ensuring the freedom of navigation for Roman grain ships and merchants.
_______________________________________________________________

I Legion pursuing the campaign in Egypt. The legion is spread between the three cities.

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...Egypt225BC.png

IV Legion leads the seige while the weakend III Legion waits for reinforcements

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...anium225BC.png

V Legion surpresses the senatorial rebels in Latium.

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...egion225BC.png

VI Legion, after the plague in Jerusalem, refits before shipping out for future campaigns against the Brutii

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...frica225BC.png

VII Legion in Spain has its hands full but is playing a vital role.

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...north225BC.png

VIII Legion marches to protect the Danube provinces

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...cians225BC.png

[Tellos Athenaios]

The Power and the Might

A Report to the Senate of Rome - Spring 225 BC

Greetings Senators, you are welcome to the new Senate and the Emperor looks forward to a successful term of governance with you as we rebuild the shattered political institutions of Rome. As Lucius Victor Scipio is currently campaigning he has asked that the following be passed on to the people of Rome through you.

Nothing related to the actual topic, but: any report from a military commander to the senate would begin with 'I and my army are well'.

Good luck with the next bit of your campaign.

[Pontifex Rex]

Nothing related to the actual topic, but: any report from a military commander to the senate would begin with 'I and my army are well'.

Thanks for the tip, perhaps in the next Roman campaign I'll use that format. This campaign is its final stages since the fall of the Italian cities along with Thebes and Bostra should meet the fifty province requirements. The only hope for the AI is if both the Julii and Brutii strike hard but I doubt they will be able to much at this point (unfortunately).

[Roman_Man#3]

question.

in my current scippii campaign, carthage has turned into a huge city. but the marius event didnt happen. when the imperial palace is built, doesnt that trigger hte marius event? its been a awhile since its been built. an urban barracks has already been erected/ no mairus event. this may be a problem or seomthing. plz help

[GeneralHankerchief]

It needs to be in Italy or Sicily to happen.

[Pontifex Rex]

Victory!

Romans!!

The war is over, the empire is secure. The Julii and Brutii have submitted to the lawful rule of the Senate and of Emperor Lucius Augustus. The emperor has declared a general amnesty for the surviving members of the other houses and commands that all efforts turn to defeating the foreign barbarians that surround the empire.

Ave Roma!! Ave Lucius Scipio, Augustus, Emperor of Rome and all the civilized world!!
_________________________________________________________________

V Legion prepares to launch the final assualt at Segesta

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...attle223BC.png

The good citizens of Segesta open the gates to Decius Victor Scipio

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...Gates223BC.png

Lucius Scipio, Augustus, son of Cornelius Scipio, Emperor of Rome.

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...ustus223BC.png

[Roman_Man#3]

It needs to be in Italy or Sicily to happen.

ok, ill wait for that, but im pretty sure in an earlier gme, carthage has triggered the event, but it might be vrs.1.0. and thx for the reply

[Seamus Fermanagh]

ok, ill wait for that, but im pretty sure in an earlier gme, carthage has triggered the event, but it might be vrs.1.0. and thx for the reply

I play 1.0, and its Italy only -- but not Roman only.

In my current game, only the Bruti were left alive and I owned Italy/Sicily from the Alps to Lilybaum. The only city that I conquered without lots of smashing/extermination was Capua -- acquired as a rebel city when the Scip faction leader died of old age. Upon building a Carthaginian Royal Palace in Capua, I triggered the Marian reforms for the Bruti in Greece. 3-4 years later and they had 25+ marian units in the field and are now, less than 10 years later, fielding 80%+ marian forces.

So, if you want to stop Marian reforms, you have only two alternatives:

Wipe out every Roman faction entirely before 230BC.

Conquer Italy and then allow each city to rebel and murder/enslave the inhabitants anytime a city population goes over 20k or so.

[Roman_Man#3]

my current scippi campaign.

my vangaurd army



the enemy



the results. even though i lost, i inflicted massive damage

[IMG][/IMG]

the main army

[IMG][/IMG]

the results. i sent my hastati on their flank by themselves. they got decimated. but inflicted a lot of damage.

[Pontifex Rex]

So, if you want to stop Marian reforms, you have only two alternatives...

There is another way. In the campaign I just finished I kept the taxes at the maximum sustainable even though it meant larger garrisons. The high taxes automatically lowers growth of cities and one can also avoid the improvements that grant increases in Population growth. My major Italian cities had actually reached a population near 24,000 but ground to a halt with 0% growth. When the campaign ended in 223 there had still been no Marian Reforms.

Handicapping oneself makes for a better game, too.

[Empirate]

Same for me, I almost never build farm upgrades, because you can't get rid of them. But in my current Julii campaign, I'm using temples of Ceres to get cities up to a useful size, then destroy them and replace them with Jupiter temples. This seems to work very well up to now. Of course, if you take a very small town and enslave/exterminate, it'll be a village of a mere 400 guys. If you play out your campaign at a halfway decent speed, this settlement will never grow big enough to cause you pains.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Short update on my campaign.

In addition to the forces already in enemy territory, I've entered two more Julii hornets' nests - Corduba and Massilia. Corduba should especially be interesting as Iberia is just loaded with Julii armies. The goal of these were to take the pressure off of Tarentum - which worked, that army is now headed toward Rome itself. Senate battles should be interesting.

Greece isn't going so well - I've lost Athens and Larissa is under immense pressure. On the plus side, Corinth has successfully repelled an assault with a much smaller force. Operations in Byzantium have halted due to plague.

I've checked out financial statistics, and the Brutii are either at zero or close to it. Which basically means that what they have military-wise is it. I guess the blockade of Greece really hurt them. The Julii however, are another matter. The burden of having to battle my armies will soon shift to them.

As far as Egypt goes, they're down to only Dumantha on the mainland, with an army en route. Once that's taken, I can finish them off at Cyprus at my leisure (assuming that they're not down to one family member).

Interestingly enough, I have made peace with the Rebel faction and even have trade rights with them! I've pushed for an alliance but it seems as if only they can initiate negotiations.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Anybody want to play a part in this one? I'm deciding on where to send my latest army. Here are the details so far:

Army composition: One general, four Praetorian Cavalry, three Archer Auxilia, two heavy Onagers, and about seven Praetorian/Urban Cohorts (yes, I use Urbans. You can lynch me). All have very good weapon/armor quality. They're going to be shipped out of Sicily.

Byzantium Front: The plague finally ended, and I'm confident enough to advance the army. They're headed for Tylis under the command of Decimus Scipio, the faction leader. When I last quit the game, they were about to fight a huge battle with the Brutii.

Greek Front: Larissa is currently safe. Brutii still control Athens. There's one more army of significance in the area, with another lurking around Thermon somewhere. I don't know whether to send the main army back to Athens, or have it go west while Corinth builds up a force to take Athens (not heavily garrisoned, but the trick is holding on to it).

Italian Front: After two battles, Rome is mine. In the process of garrisoning it. Some Julii armies are in the area but pose no immediate threat. I'm probably going to move on Arretium soon.

Alpine Front: Julii have lost 4,000 men in two turns trying to take my bridge at Massilia. My guys have a momentary breath before they come under assault again.

Iberian Front: Kind of static. The Julii have Corduba under siege, but I can repulse the eventual assault (this campaign has really made me proficient at siege defense ). They have large armies in Iberia, but none near Corduba.

So the question is: Where do I send my new army? I'm thinking either Western Greece/Illyria and work my way to Patavium, or Northern Iberia to relieve both Corduba and Massilia. Another option would be to take Caralis and Palma before hitting Northern Iberia.

The new army will depart after I fight the battle in Tylis. Advice would be appreciated.

General Hankerchief

[Roman_Man#3]

in my experience and of others that ive read, brutii take greece(duh) so they tend to be richer, and thereofre have better armies. i would send the new army to greece and totally decimate the brutii. then you can send it across the aegean where egypt will probably have expanded and there you can use it to beat down egypts armies.

goodluck,
rm3

[bedlam28]

Quick question: Do I need to wait for the reforms to get Heavy Cav ? (please tell me I get Heavy Cav !!!)

I have taken Spain / Africa and now working 3 fronts - against the Brits to the West - Pontiac to the north - Egypt to the East.
But I've just been massacred by 5 stacks of Egyption Heavy Chariots, who rode through my Infantry like a knife through butter, set everyone routing; my equites wet themselves just seeing these chariots coming.

I need some equality power here.

[Roman_Man#3]

hey bedlam, to answer your question, you do need the reforms for better cavalry than equites, although you can hire sarmation heavy cavalry up near the red or dead sea, i forget, well, near scythia. onbce reforms kick in, you get roman cavalry alot like equites, but i think a bit better, legionary cavalry, which are crazy good especially for such and infantry heavy faction like the romans, and preatorian cavalry, which are, IMHO, a little cheap. they are way to powerful, its a little cheesy. but for you every day needs against chariots, try triarii or the spearmen you can hire as mercs near the brutii town, merc hoplits, or legionary cavalry. if you use spearmen and good cavalry, you will be able to decimate those egyptian chariots.

[bedlam28]

Thanks Roman,

you will be able to decimate those egyptian chariots.

Ohh, thats what I wanna hear !!

I'm going shopping for Hoplites

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Thanks Roman,

Ohh, thats what I wanna hear !!

I'm going shopping for Hoplites

Spears are your best choice, but not solo.

Have velites in front, race the velites behind the hoplites as the heavy chariots come up, let the chariots hit the spears. As they hit, give the velites the command to charge with alt weapons so that they'll hit the chariots just as the chariots come to a halt before swirling. This will give you lots of kills with the velite bonus -- which only seems to work when the velites attack as they get chummed too quick if they await the charge. Scythed chariots are deadly while moving but not too scary at all on the moments they are still -- so hit them then.

Do NOT use cavarly against eggy chariots unless you must. The scythe blades will ruin your troopers and they can't take those casualties and stay viable. Cav can sometimes catch them from behind when tired and this seems to kill fewer of your horse troopers.

Eggy archer chariots you should shoot -- preferably with rental cretans. Don't bother with flame, their morale is excellent, but they can't take a hit for beans. They almost always deploy in skirmish mode so you rarely get to hit them with foot troops. Sometimes they will charge, but usually only when they can cheap shot a unit while you're busy with other attacks. If you have anybody close, try to hit them just as they stop from the charge just as you did with the heavies.

[Caius]

Thanks Roman,



Ohh, thats what I wanna hear !!

I'm going shopping for Hoplites

The hoplites, they are good including for Elephants, but the problem is a bad rear.They are nothing in hand to hand combat, think twice if you are going to send the hoplites to hand to hand combat.

If the chariots come to a frontal charge, it becomes an total fail for the chariots, they will have too many losses and you will lose noone, max 3 or 4

[Guillaume le Batard]

Playing my third RTW campaign ever, as the Scipii, on M/M.

I am currently calling my campaign the "sitzkrieg," as I have become more or less bogged down in North Africa, c. year 220 BCE.

I immediately took Sicily in its entirity, Carthage, Thapsus, Lepcis Magna, and Cirta. No serious problems economically or militarily, a couple of somewhat hairy battles with the Carthaginians, but nothing too serious.

Having played as Egypt previously, I was prepared for population growth problems, and of course realized that my first serious opponent would be Egypt, due to their massive wealth.

However, due to a combination of factors, I am really wondering whether I will ever be prepared to take on my fellow Roman factions, particularly the Brutii, who have taken all of Greece, Macedonia, and Eastern Europe at this stage.

Here's my problem: Economically, my finances have taken huge hits from restlessness in my N. African settlements. Despite following conventional advice (e.g. building Roman temples, slaughtering large cities I capture, etc.) I have had to put significant resources into maintaining large garrisions (town watch) in many of my "foreign" settlements. The fact that I was down to four family members for a while (gah!) really did not help my management efforts.

Militarily, I did not consider that the vast distances in N. Africa would end up creating such a problem in my wrapping up my campaign against the Numidians. Makes Greece look like a walk in the park. Stupid Brutii. Anyway, in the midst of marching all over the continent to conquer their remaining cities, the Egyptians (who had taken most of the middle east, plus a good portion of Asia Minor) decided they wanted Lepcis Magna, while three of my cities went to blue or red due to squalor.

Now, I have enetered into a massive naval war with ethe Egyptians, just to keep them from blockading my ports, and am winning thanks to my Quinqueremes. But the cost is killing me!

I have also taken Cyrene (sp?) from the Egyptians, and am slowly making my way towards Siwa... but in the process I'm facing year after year of multi-stack waves from the Egyptians -- it appears they have no other enemies at this point. I am winning every battle, but my offensive stacks are continually being ground down... I have probably killed 15 of their family their members in battle in the last 25 or so years.

I have no problem winning battles, but I am starting to question whether I will conquer Egypt in time to rebuild my finances, and grab what's left of Asia Minor before the Brutii take that, too. The Brutii are simply huge at this point.

So should I just start a new campaign, or slug it out and see if I can't ramp up quickly enough to take on the other Roman Factions and win? I certainly won't quit until I have wiped out the Egyptians - as I have now come to loathe them !

PS - When does the game actually end? What year?

Thanks,
Guillaume

[Caius]

I have no problem winning battles, but I am starting to question whether I will conquer Egypt in time to rebuild my finances, and grab what's left of Asia Minor before the Brutii take that, too. The Brutii are simply huge at this point.

The Brutii are biggest, they are faster in conquering lands.

PS - When does the game actually end? What year?

Year 14

[Poulp']

to Guillaume

first, try to snatch Halicarnassus if the Brutii didn't; it'll give you an edge in upgrading your cities quicker than your Roman rivals.

then, on your way to Egypt, conquer the mediterranean islands, Crete, Rhodes, Cyprus; they are money makers and you can use them as bases for futures conquests. If they are already under Brutii rule, send a couple of spies and assassins, and make them revolt before conquering them. (of course, have an army stationned nearby)
That's more money making for you and less for your rivals/enemies.

Cyrene and Salamis are great positions from where to take the Nile valley; from Salamis, you can launch an assult on Alexandria and disrupt the egyptian supply line along the shore. From Cyrene, you can either support the assault on Alenxandria or siege Thebes, the Pyramids will help you to keep egyptian cities under control.

If you can get the Brutii to help you in taking out Egypt (in Asia Minor I guess) so much the better; you should not suffer cultural penalty once you take them back from the Brutii during the civil war

Create unrest in the Nile valley too, every egyptian city which goes rebel is one less which builds units to attack you.
If you can send a plagued spy into those cities, that's usually a hard blow for the Ptolemees. It means you won't be able to take them (at least taking them with a family member) but it will buy you time to launch a campaign against them.
Likewise, keep a spy in your cities to prevent other's spies from creating unrest.

In North Africa, your priority should be to build highways wherever and whenever possible. Highways, a cavalry force (or two), and watch towers are the keys to holding Africa; it lets you enforce quickly the (trampling) Pax Romana.

...

pretty much all I can think at the moment.

Edit:
hum? promoted to member, yeah !

very important: Beat them, and beat them hard !

And thanks to whoever promoted me