Roman: Scipii

[Doug-Thompson]

The Scipii have the most clear-cut mission of any of the Roman factions. Their job is to kill the Carthaginians. The also need to solidify their control of Sicily, but that's part and parcel of the overall mission.

Carthiginians are easier to destroy sooner than later. Kick them right off of Sicily and don't be shy about enslaving the Greek city of Syracuse and committing massacre in Lilybaeum. People like to preserve those cities for good troops and income, but that is a mistake. Your true goal is to build up as big an army as you can and get it across the water into North Africa as soon as this can be done. You don't have troops to spare for a big garrison. I've even hired mercenaries after a failed siege, which is a no-no with other Roman factions in the cash-tight early game.

If the Sentate gives you a mission in Greece, take the town, massacre the inhabitants and take your army right back to the war in the central Mediterranean.

A note about Mount Etna, the volcano near Messina. It will erupt. You don't want to have troops or fleets near it when that happens. Bring new troops and leaders from Italy to the point of land behind Messina and disembark them there. Use your full movement allowance next turn to march armies past Mount Etna. If you're besieging, take care that you don't lose a battle and have to retreat to the vicinity of Mount Etna. You will lose troops and you could lose generals if it erupts.

After securing Sicily, it's time for the main event: The invasion of North Africa. Collect your forces in Lilybaeum and invade in one jump. I've even invaded North Africa before the final conquest in Sicily, when the Senate ordered me to take Thapsus.

One thing to notice about moving across the sea against the superior Carthaginian fleet: Don't move beyond horizon range. Move to the limit of your fleet's visibility range when making the all-important invasion crossing. Take another look around, then move some more, avoiding enemy fleets. You want to get across the strait into North Africa in one turn and disembark your troops, a diplomat and your best general without accidentially bumping into anybody.

You will probably have to commit massacre to at least one of either Carthage or Thapsus in order to have enough troops left over from garrison duty to take the other.

Once you take Carthage and Thapsus, you can forget about the Carthaginians in Spain. They're a remnant, at least for now.

By now, the Brutii, Greeks and Macedonians are having a big brawl. Build up your troops and fleets and backstab the Greeks in Sparta. Chances are you'll get at least two of Sparta, Corinth and Athens. You'll now have a new, very nice base in Greece.

Go over to the other Greek cities in Asia Minor. Be on the lookout for Greek armies led by generals that you can bribe to add talent to your faction. It can be very expensive, but notice that you can bribe a general, then often hire a lot of mercenaries, which I assume were his recently disbanded troops.

The Greek provinces in Asia Minor, including Rhodes, have three wonders of the world. Taking them grants enormous prestige. They're also rich provinces in their own right.

By now, you're probably at war with Egypt. Keep it naval. You will need to soften them up a lot, probably, before dealing any knockout blows.

The rest is up to you.