Britannia:TW

[coltsrock]

Check out our forum at TWcenter (until we hopefully get one here) at Britannia TW: The Roman Invasion Forum

This mod is based on the time frame just before and during the second Roman invasion of Britannia in 43 AD. The game will begin prior to the invasion, and will be comprised of British Tribes (there were many) on the British mainland, Irish tribes in Ireland, and the Roman invaders.

The mod's going to have a new map (Britain, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern Gaul).

I don't plan for each faction to have too many different types of units. They'll all have a basic infantry (like a unique warband for each faction), an elite infantry (like a beserker of some sort, except more realistic), a missle unit, war wagons of some sort (depending on which tribe), and maybe one or two other unique units (but not too many more!).

I'm getting started on the research end of things, but I will need skinners and scriptors. If anyone is interested in maybe helping with any of the above mentioned things, please reply, or if you have any suggestions of where you would like to see this mod going.

Current Team and/or contributors:
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Colts2000: Team leader, skinner, research
Stalins Ghost: PR guy, unit balancer

Kscott: Created brand new campaign map of Britain, North Gaul, and Ireland.
Bdh: Debuggin campaign map
Ranika: Provided a lot of historical info that helped a lot.

if you are interested in joining the team please post in this thread

NEWS [DEC 22nd 2005]
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The History of The Catuvellauni, Post #10

NEWS [DEC 21st 2005]
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Announcement: "I've done quite a bit o' research and what I'm gonna start doing is posting the histories of the factions, their famous leaders, famous battles they took part in, and other interseting cultural information. This way you guys will be able to see what the factions are going to be like in the game. The first one should be posted tomorrow in this thread."

NEWS [DEC 20th 2005]
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Kscott is working on a NEW campaign map for this mod

NEWS [DEC 18th 2005]
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Thanks to a lot of help from Ranika, here is a list of the factions that will appear in Britannia Total War:

Catuvellauni (Southern Britain)
Iceni (Southern Britain) [emergent faction]
Dumnones (Southern Britain)
Brigantes (Midlands)
Carveti (Midlands) [emergent faction]
Silures (Wales)
Ordovices (Wales)
Demetae (Wales)
Niall (Ireland)
Laigini (Ireland)
Caledonians (Caledonia)
Taexali (Caledonia)
Maeatae (Caledonia)
Novanti (Caledonia)
Votadini (Caledonia)
Romans (Gaul)
Rebels

[coltsrock]

please see the bottom for faction ideas:

[coltsrock]

I am going to try and make this mod as realistic as possible. For instance, true, the british tribes were frenzied and determined in battle, but they were not much of a match for the Romans because of a lack of orginization and tactics. I will try to project this reality into the mod. The question remains "how?" but I'm sure I'll figure something out (sugestions are very welcome).

Presently I'm creating a campaign map that includes all of England, Scotland, and Wales, and then also includes the North Eastern portion of Ireland and the Northern tip of Gaul. I am also researching and trying to figure out which tribes to include in the mod (there were so many). I listed a couple of "possibles" a few posts up from this one, but I'm still trying to figure out which ones were the most "influential" and would make interesting factions. The other tribes I had previously mentioned may or may not be factions, or they may be combined with other, more "insignificant" but similar tribes to form a more usable faction. If anybody has any questions or suggestions please feel free to post :)

[GrimSta]

Make the Dumnonii a starting faction, but make the Iceni a emergent faction as they basically bowed knees to the Romans untill Boudica came along

[QwertyMIDX]

Talk to Ranika, he will tell you everything you'd ever want to know and lots, lots more. In fact, I will send him this way if I talk to him.

[Ranika]

Here are some faction ideas (just a rough idea, still need to research a few more)

The Dumnonii
The Brigantes
The Trinovantes
The Iceni
The Catuvellauni
The Durotriges
The Ordovices
The Dobunni
The Cantiaci
The Romans
The Caledonii (Scotland)
The Redodii (Ireland)

Some suggestions here. The Trinovantes were vassals of the Catuvellauni, as were the Iceni, and possibly the Dobunnes and Dumnones, as well as the Atrebates and a number of other tribes. Their king was one of the pro-Roman nobles banished from Britain after King Cunobelin died. The Catuvellauni were effectively the rulers of all of southwest Britain, and potentially all of the south. I'd drop the Trinovantes (when the Romans invaded, they immediately allied with them at the demand of their errant king who had returned), and Icenii maybe make an emergent faction if you want to use them.

Also, you should have Brigantia. Brigantia was a Roman client state until Queen Cartimandau was deposed by her more popular ex-husband Venetius who preserved it as an indepedent king until his death.

The Silures in southern Wales would be a nice addition. They violently resisted Roman rule for quite a while, and also helped King Caratacus escape to Brigantia (where Cartimandau had him arrested and handed over to the Romans, which is what led to her divorce from her anti-Roman husband, the prince of the Carveti in the north, a vassal of the Brigantes). The Ordovices you already have, and they're a great choice for the region.

I would drop the Dobunni and give control of them to the Dumnones or Catuvellauni, or leave them as rebels.

Ireland had a few powers in it. The Eoghanacht in Mumu (Munster) divided the region into three districts under three overclans, Connacht was on-and-off in the hands of the early Niall clan and their Nagnate vassals, and Ulster had the Oirgal, Uladde, Darini, Darana, and others, but they were soon after vassals of the Niall as well (around the same time they lost control of Connacht to the Fenna and Toau, the 'Connaghta'; or 'Dangerous Men'). Leinster was in the hands of the Laigini and their vassals. The plains of Breg and Mide were under control of the Sil Ad Cell still, but they were conquered piecemeal by the Niall and Laigini. Most of the 'ii' names are Latinized versions of local names, and unnecessary. For the region, I'd recommend the Eoghanacht, Laigini, and Niall, since they controlled between them about 4/5ths of the island. The presence of 'hundreds of kings' in Ireland is a reference to the common term for kings and chieftains. Chieftains were all held to kings though, and Ireland did every so often have one king that ruled the island in this period (like Niall Noigiallach, the first absolutely known king of Ireland). If this helps, I'll also later explain clothing Gaels wore if you are unaware, because they did NOT look or dress like Britons or Caledonians. Also, for sake of explanation, most of the 'Scotti' were actually mercenary pirates hired by the Niall, or the Niall themselves, as well as just raiders of other, unaffiliated clans and tribes (having Gaelic 'brigands' appear in British west coast provinces would do well to represent the unaffiliated ones).

Caledonia, if you want to make it a bit more competetive, should include the Votadini and Novantae in the lowlands, and Caledonians in the mid-highlands. In the east where the Taexali, and in the north, the Cornovae. More than one in the region would be nice; it was far more disunited than Britain, which was composed of only a few tribal kingdoms and confederations in most places. While there were indeed a lot of tribes, they weren't all indepedent. Most of them were the ancillaries of another tribe. The kingdom of the Catuvellauni was the most powerful, but infighting between pro-Roman and anti-Roman nobles following the death of Cunobelin led to mass arrest, execution, or banishment of pro-Romans, like Aminius and Verica, who pled with the Romans for aide in taking Britain back. When they returned, they used their political clout to raise armies of Britons as Roman allies and cause the Catuvellaunian kingdom to collapse. Likewise, in the midlands, there was the Coritani confederation that ruled most of the territory between the Catuvellauni, the Cambrians (Welsh tribes), Dobunnes/Durotriges/Dumnonia, and Brigantia.


Back to appearances again real quick; also remember that Britons not inhabitting the Gallic south of Britain looked different, spoke differently, and were culturally unique people, and Caledonians likewise. Each three were there own seperate sub-cultures. The Gaels are a whole different culture entirely.

[coltsrock]

Thanks to a lot of help from Ranika, here is a list of the factions that will appear in Britannia Total War:

Catuvellauni (Southern Britain)
Iceni (Southern Britain) [emergent faction]
Dumnones (Southern Britain)
Brigantes (Midlands)
Carveti (Midlands) [emergent faction]
Silures (Wales)
Ordovices (Wales)
Demetae (Wales)
Niall (Ireland)
Laigini (Ireland)
Caledonians (Caledonia)
Taexali (Caledonia)
Maeatae (Caledonia)
Novanti (Caledonia)
Votadini (Caledonia)
Romans (Gaul)
Rebels

[coltsrock]

Here is my map_heights to give you and idea of the campaign map I'm creating:

[coltsrock]

Okay, I've done quite a bit o' research and what I'm gonna start doing is posting the histories of the factions, their famous leaders, famous battles they took part in, and other interseting cultural information. This way you guys will be able to see what the factions are going to be like in the game. The first one should be posted tomorrow in this thread.