Need help with becoming Consul

[Spoony]

Hi, so I'm trying to get one of my family member to become Consul, in order to trigger the Marian reforms. How does a general become a Consul?
I searched in the Traits FaQ and even went through all the help documents about the traits and ancillaries, but all that is listed about the Consul are the bonuses one gets.

Thanks!

[beatoangelico]

from the little I know, the character must be over 50 years old, have very high influence (9-10 I think), at least 1 command stars and the "ex-praetor" trait. Having the traits "patrician" and/or "nobile" helps but is not required.

[fahrenheit]

The requirements are that the influence must be 5 or higher, command greater then one, ex praetor and must be summer.

edit: Oh, and the person being a patrician and plebeian makes no difference.

[antisocialmunky]

IMHO, luck has alot more to do than anything. I've had old farts taht exterminated whole peoples never get Consul.

[bigmilt16]

very true, and here's another important tip (I had to learn the hard way). The reformer, is more than likely going to be a pleb and not a patrician. The popularis trait is also required for the reformer and only plebs get that trait ("popularis" is the opposite of "optimas", which only patricians get). I assume that popularis is essentially a populist (one for the betterment of the people) and optimas are modern-day wealthy elitists (who tend to want power centralized for themselves).

Regardless, you only start the game with two plebs (Denatrus, and Cotta), and one of them dies before the first year is out; thus, you only start the game with ONE PLEB! This means that every opportunity you get to adopt a pleb TAKE IT (even if the character is not that great, it increases the chance of having a smarter, healthy son who can be reformer.).

[beatoangelico]

once I've seen a patrician turning pupularis at about 60 after a life spent in support of the optimates

[Mediolanicus]

It's weird that so much people seem to have problems with getting a consul... In the Romani game I played when 1.0 was just out, every single of my FM's became consul! Only the ones who married into the "family" or were adopted at an old age, did't get so far in their cursus honorum...

[antisocialmunky]

once I've seen a patrician turning pupularis at about 60 after a life spent in support of the optimates

Maybe the old rich fart got visited by the spirit of Saturnalia past.

[konny]

I assume that popularis is essentially a populist (one for the betterment of the people) and optimas are modern-day wealthy elitists (who tend to want power centralized for themselves).

Using modern terms the Populars would be the Left (Socialists, Democrats, Social-Democrats etc.) and the Optimates the Rigth (Conservatives, Republicans, Nationalists etc.) of the Roman politics.

Regardless, you only start the game with two plebs (Denatrus, and Cotta), and one of them dies before the first year is out; thus, you only start the game with ONE PLEB! This means that every opportunity you get to adopt a pleb TAKE IT (even if the character is not that great, it increases the chance of having a smarter, healthy son who can be reformer.).

For roleplay reasons, nobile daugthers like Cornelias or Aemillias should not marry the Plebs; may be not nobile branches like Sulla or Cinna would do so. In my games it always turns out that Cotta becomes an outstanding faction leader with 10 management and 10 influence; and a lot of sons. Unfortuantly these sons are often useless, but have in return themselves a couple of children while the nobile families (due to the above restriction) tend to die out after about 100 years.

[marodeur]

Hi, I had the same problem. It solved itself, but you can look up some advice / motivational speech in the old thread "How to become CONSUL? Marian Reforms needed!" (link: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...ghlight=consul )
Heads up! Somehow it will all be good in the end.

[Imperial Fist]

Hmm. I didnt care about the family relations until now. Maybe i should.
Although i have to say that i have some 10 man 10 inf guys every now and then. At the mom have 1 sitting in Syracuse. This guy is making me really angry. He is 25 or 26 years old(i have to look it up), has already 10 inf and 10 man
and has 3 stars, although he hadnt fought even 1 battle yet.

On the other hand i have my faction heir, also with 10 inf but only about 4 or 5 man, currently kickin ass in iberia, who defeated 3 full stacks of lusotana and i dont know how many quarthadast armies(there was at least 1 heroic vic and the guy calls himself the vanquisher of the carthaginians etc). I am trying to make him the reformator, but the prob is he the thing with stars .
Well, ill keep trying.

[Atilius]

For roleplay reasons, nobile daugthers like Cornelias or Aemillias should not marry the Plebs;

No, this doesn't reflect Roman custom. I have little doubt that, all things being equal, a patrician family would prefer to marry its daughters to other patricians, but all things are never equal. Patrician women certainly married plebeian men often enough. Starting with the two gens you mention:

• Cornelia Africana (daughter of Scipio Africanus) married the plebeian Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (consul in 177 and 163); their children were the famous Gracchi brothers Tiberius and Caius.
  
• The plebeian Marcus Porcius Cato (the son of Cato the Elder) married Aemilia, the daughter of Lucius Aemilus Paullus Macedonicus and sister of the famous brothers Scipio and Fabius Aemilianus.
  
• Tiberius, the elder of the plebeian Gracchi, married the patrician Claudia Pulcheria.
  
• The plebeian Aulus Atilius Calatinus married the daughter of the patrician Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus.
  
• Most famously, the plebeian Caius Marius married the patrician sister of Caius Iulius Caesar's father.