Scythia

[pezhetairoi]

Aww...don't you have HA units at Tanais? Chersonesos? Don't give it up without a fight, make them pay dearly for it... after all, it's a minor expenditure. If the HA lose, you don't have to worry about upkeep anymore. And if the HA win, well, you'll have Thrace anyway to upkeep them, don't you? Get those Black Sea garrisons moving! :-P They need to stretch their legs.

Walked past Campus Scythii, eh... very strange. O_o Crappy strategists they breed in Thrace.

Craterus, where is your -other- legion?

[katank]

Well, keep them penned up whereever they are. Use 1 unit peasant armies to lock up theirs on the strategic map by establishing zone of control in lines.

When attacked, retreat. The AI appears to rarely attack twice with the same army in 1 turn. This allows you to slow their progress to a crawl.

Snipe away weak stacks with HA attacks. Pure cav armies can also outrun theirs both on the tactical map and the strategic map. Maneuver on both levels is optimal to apply the greatest force to their weakest spot etc.

Do you have noble archers yet? Those boys can stand melee pretty well too. You may consider losse formation with them if in a missile duel. Their armor makes up for lower concentration of fire and gives less losses in duels.

[Craterus]

Right, well I think I'm going to bring the Parthia army back, I think they are halfway there anyway. If they go for Tanais, I will reach Tanais before the siege is over. If they go for Cheresenos (sp?) I will probably not get there in time but I will be able to take it back. I will leave my faction leader's army up in Germania to hold them off, take their towns to leave me able to storm down into the Italian peninsular. Whilst surrounding Dacia and the other army annihalates the Thracians.

Do you think this will work?

[katank]

Probably. Why did you get into a scrape with Germania in the first place?

Consider just slashing and burning through Germania and head for Italy. Germania wouldn't be in much shape to pursue an offensive into your territory.

Dacia you can kill if you like to secure Thrace more but Italy and Greece should be taken ASAP to give you some cash and tech level.

[Craterus]

Germania cancelled the alliance and attacked the next turn. Hey, at least they didn't betray me, show more manners than the Parthian and Thracian ******** !!!

[katank]

How far into the game did the Parthians attack? I played my Scythian campaign for 10 years, having taken Rome and the Parthians never attacked.

Thracians should be killed ASAP for annoying qualities such as having a mighty Thracian fleet spamming the Black Sea and the med, up nex tto ROme even! This is only if you let them.

I tend to let the rebels province between me and Germania serve as a nice buffer zone.

[Craterus]

Parthia attacked not far into the game, I left Alanni looking poorly defended and they couldn't resist.

I got into war with Thraqce because their navy blockaded my port and then their army came marching through my land.

I took those rebel "buffer zones", I couldn't resist the easy land.

[Craterus]

Right, here's the deal after a few turns with the Scythians:

I convinced Thrace to a ceasefire and they left my land allowing me to bring back my eastern army. I now meet them at the bridge on the border between Scythia and Maeotis. They're back and they kiled some rebels for me.

Germans came back! Slaughtered them using some fabtacular cavalry commanding. I routed 8 spear warbands and 2 screeching women units using one unit of Head Hunting Maidens and a warlord. They were under fire from HA's at the time too. But a heroic victory nonetheless and I now have some 2 gold chevron HHM (Head-Hunting-Maidens) I don't think the Germans will return for a while, after a victory like that I annihalted one of thier best armies, their others are dealing with Briton nd Gaul. They have a few crapy armies waiting around which I'll take soon enough long with their porrly defended towns.

Parthia, Armenia and Germania have signed alliances and I feel they are planning to sandwich me, I'm lacking allies, I only have Pontus, Julii, Brutii and Egypt left. More as it comes in...

More on that story later...

[katank]

2 gold chevron HHMs? how many battles did it take you to build that up?

Armenia you don't have to worry about. Parthian neither though a bit more.

Armenia has to travel through the mountains of Caucasus to reach you and it takes a looooong time.

Did ya take Campus Getae yet? Bash those Thracians into oblivion and then the Macs.

Germania should be crippled like you said. Either kill them off completely or smash and run to mobilize your awesome force elsewhere such as Italy.

[Craterus]

Macedon are out, I have to smash Thrace, then Dacia and then I'll have access to the Greeks. I don't have Getae. I'll fight and kill the Thracian army that's in my land and their other two full stacks are in their land fighting the Greeks. Then I'll take Getae after beating their army.

[tibilicus]

I tried to smash Thrace before i gave up. its going to be hard so all i can say is good look. Once there Capitals gon (cant remeber what it is but it suplys good trade ) There out of it. Then you will eventually meet the Romans.......................

[Craterus]

I won't meet Romans yet. This game is my most interesting to date. I've toggled fog of war and here are my findings. 239 bc

Germania - Own a lot of Europe, A LOT!! Eastern France, Sweden and all of their original land.
Dacia - Their orignal provinces but they owned Bylazora at one point, quite uneventful.
Macedon - DESTROYED
Julii - North Italian Peninsular (the usual) struggling with Patavium (Gaul are hanging on to it).
Brutii - Salona and Appolonia (not much improvement)
Scipii - Caralis, Sicily, Thapsus.
S.P.Q.R - Wandering around outside Rome (don't think they've seen any action yet) probably naval battles though.
Gaul - About to go out. Hanging onto their Spanish province and Patavium.
Britannia - Own all of Britannia and Western France. Never bothered to get Tara though.
Spain - Lost Carthago Nova to Carthage. Still have Asturica, Osca and Scallabis.
Numidia - Nothing. Still have all original provinces, made a few rushes into Carthaginian land to no success (crushing defeats).
Carthage - Held Scipii off for some time now restricted to Lepcis Magna (under siege by scipii), Corduba (sieged by Spain), Palma and Carthago Nova.
Egypt - Knocked out S.E. , Up to Antioch, don't own Seleucia that is Parthian. 2 WONDERS - Lighthouse at Alexandria and Pyramids at Giza.
Parthia - Own Seleucia, lost Sakae to me (Scythia). WONDER - Hanging Garden of Babylon.
Seleucid Empire - DESTROYED
Armenia - No improvement on original provinces.
Pontus - Secured Asia Minor and Tarsus, fending off Egypt. 2 WONDERS - Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
Greek Cities - They've secured the Aegean Lands and fought off Brutii, coming to their aid ASAP, to keep Brutii away but they won't accept alliance and if they even think about attacking me, I will destroy them. 2 WONDERS - Zeus at Olympia and Colossus of Rhodes.
Thrace - Tylis and Byzantium. Lost Getae to me (Scythia).
Scythia - Own all of the north. Control the Black Sea. No ships are getting through there.

I own Campus Getae, Campus Alanni, Campus Sakae, Campus Scythii, Campus Sarmatae, Vicus Venedae, Themiskyra, Tanais, Chereseneos and Domus Dulcis Domus.
Check your maps, it's a pretty big empire by land but not many provinces.

[katank]

Who owns Carthage?

Macedon being destroyed seems weird that early on. How much are you making per turn? Your lands are vast but not very rich.

[Craterus]

2 out of Alexander's 4 descendants have been wiped out.
Scipii own Carthage but there's a large Carthiginian army who want it back.

[Ziaelas]

Just finished my Seleucid campaign, learning the true value of the Ludus Magna

[Franconicus]

Over the weekend I almost finished my Greek camapign. Sparta will surrender after 4 turns. I took the first Brutii town (Thermon) and erased a big Brutiia army near Thessa. They have changed their strategy. This army had only 50% infantry (no velatii) and the rest cav and dog. I decreased the number of HA and add more nonragne cav. Craterus, you would have liked this battle!

While the Brutii besiege Thermon my main army is going to Appolonia. They will meet another full Brutii army there. This one has 50% mercs. Looks like they are running out of men . After this I guess Greek is secured and I can look for another target.

I have two full armies in Greek. I could go to Italy or concentrate on the eastern Med. Asia minor, Phoenicia, Egypt? Anyway, I guess I start with Rhodos and Crete. That should give enough money for another army.

I am solving my problem with my far eat counties. Tangis rioted and I attacked it. Erasing the population gave me lots of denarii (10,000) and a peaceful welldeveloped town. I am going to do the same with Sarmatae. Makes money and trains your army.

[Franconicus]

Craterus,

try to get Corinth as soon as possible. The wonder will help you make the people happy!

Do not ally with Greek. They cannot support you and they are not dangerous - but rich. If you know what I mean

[Craterus]

I know exactly what you mean. The Aegean lands are very rich.

[pezhetairoi]

...doesn't seem very rich to me. Or maybe that's because I have to support 6-and-a-half field armies with those settlements.

Ah, just back from a holiday and there's a whole page more of posts. I love this forum, man.

First, to Craterus... That strategy seems workable. Leave Parthia to its devices, after you relieve Tanais/Chersonesos just charge for Thrace and don't stop until you get to Sparta. And... you are aware you don't have to worry about Sweden, right? Just take Denmark and you control Sweden.

Since Craterus has provided us with his situation, I shall do the same...

In my game...

Thrace: Annihilated.
Macedon: Annihilated.
Germania: Annihilated.
Parthia: Lost Sakae, Phraaspa and Arsakia, still has Susa, Palmyra and Dumatha. Are hellbent on recapturing Arsakia, and it's doubtful whether my two units of HA can take on their 4 HA and general and win.
Armenia: Lost Artaxarta, now owning Kotais and Sinope, but not for long. :-)
Greece: Had Sparta, Pergamum and Rhodes one turn ago. Now, has Rhodes.
Dacia: Was slowly being surrounded until they got nervous, upon which they attacked my Thracian holdings only to be bribed away and have two of their towns besieged. Now only have Campus Iazyges still unbesieged/unconquered.
Seleucids: Stuck in their old lands, but have lost Antioch to unrest. Can't hold on much longer, so I shall soon dive in for the kill.
Pontus: Left with Nicomedia and Mazaka. I just surrounded their 20-unit army with my Asia Minor army, so they know what's coming to them. Nicomedia won't survive the next 2 turns. Mazaka will be allowed to remain Pontic a little longer.
Brutia: Controlled their usual provinces until a combined 2-army offensive snatched it from them. They put up a gallant fight, though. Currently has one ill-fated attempt to launch an amphibious landing on Athens with 6 units. Is being trapped with no hope of retreat by the faction heir and will die this turn as soon as I can find 15 minutes of spare time to play out the battle. They now only have their two starter provinces.
Julia: Mediolanum, Patavium, Segesta, Caralia, Arretium, Ariminum. Nice cosy empire, but not for long. Once my Dacian army takes Iuvavum, it's their turn. They lost Corinth to me, too, en route to Sparta.
Scipia: I didn't toggle fog of war, but as I guess they have the usual provinces: Sicily, Africa. I currently have a diplomat at Cyrene en route to see if they have Leptis Magna as well. They will, I foretell, last the longest of the Roman factions. I don't plan to hunt them down.
The Senate: Ah, who'm I kidding. Apart from a 20-stack army and a 20-stack fleet they're not much threat. Well, their fleet is, I'll admit. But it's entirely in the wrong place of the world to stop me crossing to Italia (Between Rhodes and Haliucarnassus, gods know why).
Gaul: They seem to be doing well enough, able to muster 10 units in Alesia and a full-stack down south trying to reconquer Mediolanum. They're next after I take Samarobriva.
Britannia: Unexpanded. Partially because they keep sending big armies without family members or faction heirs that keep getting bribed away by my plenipotentiary ambassador to Britannia stationed at Samarobriva. They also have an annoying habit of stopping just outside the city. They just broke their alliance with Gaul and besieged Alesia for all of one turn before my ambassador to Gaul, stationed at Alesia, bribed them away.
Egypt: Competing with me every turn for 'most advanced faction' status. They hold their usual provinces, and are apparently developing instead of expanding. Only distance and the lack of a navy is stopping me from removing them from advanced-faction competition.
Numidia: Miraculously, still holding on to Siwwa.
Carthage: No idea. Haven't caught sight of them yet.
Spain: No idea either. I have no diplomats stationed there.

Used to make a tidy profit selling map information to all the different factions using my dedicated ambassadors, but no longer: they first started agreeing to giving smaller and smaller amounts for my maps, then they stopped altogether and said they would attack. I just refused downright: Let them attack if they want to. Sigh... my income now is pretty low despite having the Aegean. Only a few thousand denarii a turn. whyyyyyy.....

Oh, good job guys, Scythia has become the longest thread in the RTW Guides forum :-) Keep posting, happy horse-archering!

[IliaDN]

Just finished my Skythia campaign.
First I've conqured Balkans, then Italy and then I began to unite all barb. factions(also I've conqured Kydonia and Corsica.)under orange flag.
Now I will try either Numidians on VH/VH or Greek cities on VH/M or VH/VH.
Good luck all of you!
P.S.1.Ave Franconicus what is about exterminations all civ-s.(as you have planned before)?
2. Agreed with Pezhetairoi it is cool to see that this thread became the longest in RTW guides!
3.Cool to see that some more people have started Skythia campaign since my last post.
4.And GOOD luck for you again!

[Franconicus]

Ave IliaDN,

congratulation to your victory.
And thank you for reminding me of my duty. I exterminated Tylis, Byzantium, Thessalonica, Bylazora and Larissa. However I only enslaved Athens and Corinth. I needed them to get money and new troops. You get weak in these southern countries. But I exterminated Thermon as well as Tangis and Campus Sarmatae. Those towns were just too big. I also produced peasants in the east and made them move to my new towns to make them more Scythian.

Right now I wonder were to turn. Brutii really bore me. There are many battles and they are all the same. I have a centre of some archers and axemen or phalanx, I have two or three HA on each side as well as 2-3 close combat cav (CCC). In my centre I also have one cav and one HA.

Battle is always the same. My CCC turn around the enemies flanks and whipe out their cav. In the meanwhile my archers erode their infantry. Then my CCC attack from the rear. That's it.

Maybe I go to Phoenicia and Egypt to have some change!

Good luck for your new campaign. Please start with the Numidians. I'd like to join your Greek camapign but I am still busy here.

[IliaDN]

Ave Franconicus I've started Numidian campaign on VH/VH just because it seemed more difficult to me(I read your post later you and I think that I'll play Greek Cities after having some fun with Numidian campaign)
As for your complain about battles I can recommend you to use some onagers(about 5 units) axemen and chosen archers some heavy non-missile cav and dogs.This will change tactics a lot! For example it is cool to watch your onagers shooting at enemy's army with flaming ammunition( when you have lot's of onagers) enemy will take serious casualities.And when enemy come closer archers begin shooting too(first with normal and then with flaming ammunition)then your enemy runs and chase them with axeman,cav and dogs(if they approuch too close they would be "shaken" already and can be easily driven away by axeman or even archers some cav and dogs will be good too).
So anyway I recommend you to try this tactics.

[Craterus]

Thanks, I hadn't really thought about that tactic. Especially not so much art. Thanks.

[pezhetairoi]

Still struggling through my campaign with only 2 hours or less per day to play it. Resistance is solidifying in the factions I'm beating up, so things are about to get hot :-) Last turn I attacked and defeated 2 full-stacks, one Pontic and one Armenian, but was unable to do more than score an incomplete victory (i.e. they still had a quarter or more left). I only used onagers in field battles one, in the battle with the Greek grand army, but it didn't look very impressive to me despite fielding two units and concentrating them on one hoplite unit. Maybe it was armoured hoplites.

Now I have a strategic dilemma--should I strike Samarobriva or Alesia? I currently only have one army on the western front and it will be at least another 6-7 turns before I get a second army there, so which should I hit? If it helps, Samarobriva hasn't yet gotten a port.

I'm on the brink of counterattacking Parthia (and this time I'll finish the job) while at the same time pincering the Seleucids from both east and west. It's really quite gratifying to destroy hordes of EI, but I've learnt one thing: They can do -some- damage.

Anyone have this problem when you set five units of shock cavalry to charge a unit, and only two arrive, while the other three spin off on tangents to pursue other targets? Is that just the impetuous/undisciplined/untrained thing?

Everyone! Play Spain next so I have people to talk to on the Spain thread when I get there! ^_^ But only after I try Egypt. :-)

Craterus, how's your campaign going? Pontus is as good as gone, Armenia still has one full-stack left but it's trapped in Sinope, either Britannia/Gaul is going to be attacked, and Dacia is annihilated. The Julii have been so weakened that probably their total armies added together will just equal one full stack.

Franconicus, end it! Just hunt down the Romans and exterminate them so you don't ever have to fight another of those monotonous battles! I know what you mean, I'm getting sick of fighting Romans, except in sieges. They seem marginally more entertaining there.

[pezhetairoi]

Check out the Mead Hall! My epic has begun! My thread is 'Driven by Vengeance: A Scythian Campaign Epic'

[Franconicus]

Ave Franconicus I've started Numidian campaign on VH/VH just because it seemed more difficult to me(I read your post later you and I think that I'll play Greek Cities after having some fun with Numidian campaign)
As for your complain about battles I can recommend you to use some onagers(about 5 units) axemen and chosen archers some heavy non-missile cav and dogs.This will change tactics a lot! For example it is cool to watch your onagers shooting at enemy's army with flaming ammunition( when you have lot's of onagers) enemy will take serious casualities.And when enemy come closer archers begin shooting too(first with normal and then with flaming ammunition)then your enemy runs and chase them with axeman,cav and dogs(if they approuch too close they would be "shaken" already and can be easily driven away by axeman or even archers some cav and dogs will be good too).
So anyway I recommend you to try this tactics.

Ave IliaDN,

thanks for your advice. I tried with one onager and three bowmen. Yes, it looks great and it may look even better if you have more onagers. But still it is the same strategy: soften the enemy with arrows and balls and catch him with your CCC from behind.
What I want now is some real fight, where you see the white in the eye of theenemy and penetrate steel in his flesh. That is why I am going to play Greek cities next. I suppose they do not have much cav and I will have to find s.th. else. So see you in Greece

[Franconicus]

Now I have a strategic dilemma--should I strike Samarobriva or Alesia? I currently only have one army on the western front and it will be at least another 6-7 turns before I get a second army there, so which should I hit? If it helps, Samarobriva hasn't yet gotten a port.

I'm on the brink of counterattacking Parthia (and this time I'll finish the job) while at the same time pincering the Seleucids from both east and west. It's really quite gratifying to destroy hordes of EI, but I've learnt one thing: They can do -some- damage.

Franconicus, end it! Just hunt down the Romans and exterminate them so you don't ever have to fight another of those monotonous battles! I know what you mean, I'm getting sick of fighting Romans, except in sieges. They seem marginally more entertaining there.

Ave pezhetairoi,
take Alesia! From my Germanian campaign I know that this is the key to Gaul.
You seem to fight a multi front war. Is this good?

Thanks for the advice. But I just cannot wait to attack Egypt! This is more historically for Scythia.

[IliaDN]

Ave, Franconicus how long it will take you to clear the map of remaining scum and to build your barb. empire?
I have abondon numidians and started spanish campaign - they are cool! But I want to play for greeks anyway!

[Franconicus]

Well, IliaDN,
that is a very good question. Here is the plan:
1. I have to wait two turns until I get Sparta. Then Í have another full army released. Meanwhile I attack Appolonia. I have to erase three Brutii armies there. I also have to watch the Parthians, they have a full army hanging round my Eastern frontier.
2. I take Rhodos and Crete
3. I invade Egypt and Phoenicia.
4. I attack Italy. My plan is to do some landings from the sea. Like vikings, land, burn, disappear. I do not want to build a barb emp, I just want to destroy!
5. Finally I take Carthage and maybe Asia Minor. Then all traces of civilisations should be wiped out.

[Franconicus]

P.S.: I have one hour per day. So, it will take a while