Some Questions

[Alexius II Loukas]

I had to reload the game after some really bad decisions concerning the files on the computer...won't go into detail. But, restarting (With the Byzantine Units pack by Nicso...dunno if the names right... but way cool...are there any other working units addons for the other factions?), I managed to hold Naples long enough to build a fort.

My general, who started with the standard Byzantine Infantry and a unit of Naptha throwers, no stars, after just one battle went up to three stars, and got three virtues, Skilled Last Stand, and uh, (oh crap, forgot the other two...) but all were good'uns. Then, next turn, He went down to two stars.

Any ideas?

Also, can one control the buildings and stuff razed in the provinces you invade? I remember reading something in another post about invading provinces for their buildings, and wondered if that was possible. My soldiers, despite being pious Orthodox Conquerors, seem to raze every building and farming addon except for the lower founadtions for castles and the border towers.

[Hold Steady]

I had to reload the game after some really bad decisions concerning the files on the computer...won't go into detail. But, restarting (With the Byzantine Units pack by Nicso...dunno if the names right... but way cool...are there any other working units addons for the other factions?), I managed to hold Naples long enough to build a fort.

My general, who started with the standard Byzantine Infantry and a unit of Naptha throwers, no stars, after just one battle went up to three stars, and got three virtues, Skilled Last Stand, and uh, (oh crap, forgot the other two...) but all were good'uns. Then, next turn, He went down to two stars.

Any ideas?

Also, can one control the buildings and stuff razed in the provinces you invade? I remember reading something in another post about invading provinces for their buildings, and wondered if that was possible. My soldiers, despite being pious Orthodox Conquerors, seem to raze every building and farming addon except for the lower founadtions for castles and the border towers.

Couldn't it be the general lost a battle? IIRC there aren't virtues that add a star no questions asked. There are only virtues that add command in certain circumstances (expert defender: +2 command when defending, skilled assaulter: +1 command when assaulting castles), but there maybe some vices that decrease command... check the vices..

About the razing, you cannot control this as far as I know..

[Alexius II Loukas]

Nah, cause he only fought one battle.

Thanks!

[lugh]

There are a ship load of vices that reduce the command rating. The drunken ones being fairly common (in my games at least).

The amount of buildings razed, as far as I know, relies to a certain extent on how good the defences were in the first place. If you think about it, a wooden fort is going to be destroyed easily and that takes pretty much all the upgrades with it (the upgrades are presumed to be inside) but your men arent going to burn a citadel to the ground so there are more upgrades left intact inside.

Because of this raiding doesnt really work except on pretty built provinces, you go in and conquer, sell everything in the province and move out again. Later in the game this can yeild huge sums of money.

On other mods, the XL mod by Viking Horde is pretty slick, Im using it ath the moment. It adds a rake of new units AND Factions to the game.

[Alexius II Loukas]

My general, recently lost to those thrice-damned Sicilians (they SHALL feel my wrath, and Naples will be retaken!) had skilled defender and skilled last stand, both of which added one command star each, so I'm thinking that maybe it was just showing me the amount of stars total he had.

Another question. Having lost Naples, I brought ships to naples to blockade and invade and retake Naples. But the Sicilians are now NEUTRAL! And, to top it off, I can't invade, having ships in both the Ionian and the Adriatic. How can this be fixed, as I thought invading armies don't need ports to invade.

[IrishMike]

Hmm.....well your correct invading army's don't need ports. Do the Sicilians have any ships in either of those seas you have boats in, if so that would explain why you can't invade.

[Ludens]

My general, recently lost to those thrice-damned Sicilians (they SHALL feel my wrath, and Naples will be retaken!) had skilled defender and skilled last stand, both of which added one command star each, so I'm thinking that maybe it was just showing me the amount of stars total he had.

The strategy map always shows the number of stars a general will have when he fights a battle in the position he is occupying. In other words: if he has a defensive bonus and is hanging around in one of your provinces, the number of stars he shows on the strategy map is his command skill + his defensive bonusses. The stars from defender virtues will disappear when he invades an enemy province. Equally, when defending a province attacker bonusses don't show up, but they do when he invades an enemy province. I am not sure if outnumbered attacker/defender bonus stars are shown on the campaign map, but I don't think so. My guess is that your general gained a command star for winning his first battle, plus a defender +1 virtue and a outnumbered defender +1 virtue.

Another question. Having lost Naples, I brought ships to naples to blockade and invade and retake Naples. But the Sicilians are now NEUTRAL! And, to top it off, I can't invade, having ships in both the Ionian and the Adriatic. How can this be fixed, as I thought invading armies don't need ports to invade.

If your army is stationed in Greece, destroying all Sicilian ships in the Adriatic, Ionian and Mirtoon seas and placing a navy in the Mirtoon sea will fix it. This is assuming that Greece has a port, since invading armies do need a place to embark. Remember that the port in Napels will most likely be destroyed in the invasion, so you can't withdraw your army. You can reinforce it overseas, though.