RTW noob questions

[Quirinus]

Actually, moving your capital when your current capital is mutinious is a bad idea. You know how Parthia starts out with Susa or something like that? Well, I tried to make Antioch the capital to accomodate my growing empire, and Susa promptly went all red-faced. I had to do it gradually-- first Seleucia, then Hatra, then Antioch.

[Hound of Ulster]

I usually place my capital in my most centrally located provience. That way the public order penalties are not too severe in the outer regions.

[Punicus]

Quirinus, it could be because Susa is the farthest city to the right side of the map. You can't expect it not to take a penalty, plus I noticed it's one of those cities that are hard to keep completely happy in the first place.

[placenik]

Actually, moving your capital when your current capital is mutinious is a bad idea. You know how Parthia starts out with Susa or something like that? Well, I tried to make Antioch the capital to accomodate my growing empire, and Susa promptly went all red-faced. I had to do it gradually-- first Seleucia, then Hatra, then Antioch.

You should have known- it is easy to calculate distance from capital penalty. It was same for Susa as it was for Antioch, I think around 30-40%.

[o_loompah_the_delayer]

Hello again, I managed to play some more over the weekend and the game is now upto around 235BC.

I have just had a message saying I am very popular wiht the glorious plebs and can make a bid for power against the smelly patricians but I havent had the Marius reforms yet.

The situation is this (north to south):

I have one full stack in Londinium that will soon take Ebaracum and Deva.

One full stack in Monoganticum where I finished of Britains last European province. Plus reasonable half stacks in Trier, Alesia and Sambrovia. THe rest of Gaul and Spain is at peace with only town watch garrisons. All these cities are under 12,000 though Alesia and Corduba can train Principes.

In Italy between the garrisons of Mediolanum, Arretium, Arretium (around 16-20,000) and Patavium (just crossed 24,000) I can probably field a full stack to relieve any city if besieged. But not enough to actually attack Rome and its two stacks. Moving the capital to Masilia had only one downside the loyalty in Patavium and Arminium plunged, the only thing keeping them above 100% are their governor's high influence, but with both approaching 70 years, I am a bit concerned. None of the younger faction members have gone up the Senate offices yet ot accumulate influence.

To the East, I have Segestica, Salona, Aquinicum and Lovsice all undefended, basically town watch and the palisade. All worhtless as well except Segestica. In Campus Iazyges and Porolissum (?) I have two full stacks having just slaughtered Dacia (10,000 denarii from the Senate Missions for them! ).

In Africa I have a full stack in Carthage and another on my side of the border west of Thapsus (Scipii). Tingi, Cirta and Dimmi are pacified. I also have Nepte but that is such a worhtless province waste of five valuable turns to take it.

I also have a full stack enroute to Crete.

Scipii have four full stacks approximately in Thapsus buit for some reason wont finish of Carhtage now reduced to Lepcis. Tyey also have a full stack in Liliybaeum plus small garrisons in Syracuse, Messina and Capua.

Brutii have Greece, Macedon and Thrace and have just attacked Scythia. In the Thracce -Scythia area they have anything between five and eight fullish stacks, my spy cant keep all of them in sight.

My questions

1) Is it always the player who starts the civil war? Do the other factions ever attack the player to start things off?

2) In terms of strategy, I want to wait a while, my army is mostly hastati, Brutii have a lot of Principes and gladiators. Scipii lots of velites!
But if I fight now, I can hold my own in Italy against Rome.
As for Scipii, my navy is big enough to blocakde all Sicily and in Africa I hope to defend the bridge south of Carthage against the Scipii stacks while sneaking my other stack in behind them to Thapsus afterwards. Is this a good strategy? I am expecting they will go for Carthage right away. Can the AI go for Tingi or Nepte instead?
Brutii I can divert the Crete expedition to Greece and take the undefended and rich cities there and then set up some sort of blocking position on the isthmus I think. The Dacian province I dont care about, so I plan to retreat to Segestica or Patavium shortening my line and borders and hold them there. Then deal wiht them properly after Scipii and Rome are dealt with.

Comments?

3) Civil war will make trade income plummet right? What sort of cash reserve do you try and take in with you? At the moment I have a balance of about 10,000d a turn but almost all of that is used up every turn retraing units and building stuff (ports, temples etc at the 3,200d level).

4) Pontics and Scythians also refuse all diploamtic efforts. Every contact is refused by "Your generosity fools no one! What are you upto?" (Ponts) and "Thats very genererous and we wont be known as thieves" (Scythia) what gives? I am finding it much harder to get money by selling maps on H/H than on M/M. Even teh Senate and the other Roman factions when I ask them to donate offer me 1,200 d but demand tribute of 400d ofr 10 turns (ie 4,000d back).

5) Is there a shortcut to the armies/ cities/ agents scroll? At the moment, I have to hit "O", then the little button on that scroll, then the tick to remove it so that I cna see half the map and the list at the same time. Annoying and tedious, especially as using a diplomat takes the list scroll away.

6) Some of the Barbarian temples are really good for bonusses to weapons and experience. Do any of you keep them? As long as loyalty is above 80% (70%) there arent any riots from what I have seen. So the culture penalty might be worth it I feel.

7) All the guides refer to bribery. I havent succesfully bribed anyone, even the one decent rebel I cam across wiht one unit of peasants and one barbarian cavalry demanded 4,800d (my entire treasury)! Is this something prepatch 1.5?

8) Does the location of the faction leader matter in terms of loyalty or is it just the capital?

9) I kiled them chariots, I killed them good. Two units of velites lined up 7x6 roughly, chariots got stuck one hastati came in from the back. British faction leader with 29 chariots becomes and ex British faction leader. I lost 25 men (of 120 in the three units) in the process.

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hullo again

Is it always the player who starts the civil war? Do the other factions ever attack the player to start things off?

It's rare for them to start it themselves, but yes, when the conditions are right, they occasionally do. The senate also sometimes outlaws other Roman factions. This can also trigger the beginning of the war without your intervention.

The conditions for the other Romans to declare war are fulfilled when the faction has about eight people popularity shields. The faction is at risk of being outlawed by the senate when they have two or few senate popularity shields.

2) In terms of strategy, I want to wait a while, my army is mostly hastati, Brutii have a lot of Principes and gladiators. Scipii lots of velites!
But if I fight now, I can hold my own in Italy against Rome.
As for Scipii, my navy is big enough to blocakde all Sicily and in Africa I hope to defend the bridge south of Carthage against the Scipii stacks while sneaking my other stack in behind them to Thapsus afterwards. Is this a good strategy? I am expecting they will go for Carthage right away. Can the AI go for Tingi or Nepte instead?
Brutii I can divert the Crete expedition to Greece and take the undefended and rich cities there and then set up some sort of blocking position on the isthmus I think. The Dacian province I dont care about, so I plan to retreat to Segestica or Patavium shortening my line and borders and hold them there. Then deal wiht them properly after Scipii and Rome are dealt with.

Comments?

It sounds like a very wise and well though out strategy. The AI may go for one of your other provinces first though, as you have suggested, so you may wish to be cautious around that area.

I do think though you may be considering the civil war a little too early. You only have to worry about it when senate popularity falls lower than two shields for any faction, or popular support rises to about eight shields for any faction. Things could change dramatically between the current situation and the beginning of the civil war - probably resulting in a completly new tactic having to be devised.

3) Civil war will make trade income plummet right? What sort of cash reserve do you try and take in with you? At the moment I have a balance of about 10,000d a turn but almost all of that is used up every turn retraing units and building stuff (ports, temples etc at the 3,200d level).

Oddly, for me at least, it never seems to fall too dramatically - more income is typically lost from other Romans blockading your ports than from actually loss of external trade itself. By the civil war stage your own ports/markets usually have the ability to trade to a sufficient level with each other anyhow, which probably explains the very small falls.

4) Pontics and Scythians also refuse all diploamtic efforts. Every contact is refused by "Your generosity fools no one! What are you upto?" (Ponts) and "Thats very genererous and we wont be known as thieves" (Scythia) what gives? I am finding it much harder to get money by selling maps on H/H than on M/M. Even teh Senate and the other Roman factions when I ask them to donate offer me 1,200 d but demand tribute of 400d ofr 10 turns (ie 4,000d back).

That's the curse of the Hard and Very Hard AI - fair diplomatic treaties can be almost impossible to get your hands on, despite the logic there may be behind them.

5) Is there a shortcut to the armies/ cities/ agents scroll? At the moment, I have to hit "O", then the little button on that scroll, then the tick to remove it so that I cna see half the map and the list at the same time. Annoying and tedious, especially as using a diplomat takes the list scroll away.

Not that I know of. Sorry

6) Some of the Barbarian temples are really good for bonusses to weapons and experience. Do any of you keep them? As long as loyalty is above 80% (70%) there arent any riots from what I have seen. So the culture penalty might be worth it I feel.

I always use them for a turn (sending nearby troops in for the bonus) and then bulldozering them, although not due to the culture penalty they inflict, but more due to my obsession with "law" temples.

Temples which provide benefits to law combat the most annoying factor in R:TW - distance to capital penalty. This has contributes to corruption (which provides income deductions) and negative happiness. Unlike all other factors, law removes two problems in one go, providing a richer and happier settlement.

7) All the guides refer to bribery. I havent succesfully bribed anyone, even the one decent rebel I cam across wiht one unit of peasants and one barbarian cavalry demanded 4,800d (my entire treasury)! Is this something prepatch 1.5?

No, although 4,800 denarii is a fairly low cost for a bribe. Bribes of large forces with captains cost about 20,000 denarii, while bribes of a typical large force with a family member ups it to closer to 100,000 denarii or more (depending upon traits).

Early on though, bribes cannot usually be afforded by any factions - its only when the treasury really begins to expand (about 20 - 25 regions or more) do bribes become a truly viable option. On even later stages in the game's progression, by the time the treasury is almost infinite, bribes can become a day to thing and can frequently be used without the risk of money problems. By this stage, bribes are an invaluable tool against anything any faction can throw at you and, under some circumstances, can replace the usage of an extra force to conquer and defend against the enemy.

8) Does the location of the faction leader matter in terms of loyalty or is it just the capital?

In R:TW it's just the capitals location which effects overall loyalty and levels of corruption.

[Gaius Scribonius Curio]

1) Is it always the player who starts the civil war? Do the other factions ever attack the player to start things off?

Just thought I'd add that sometimes, even though they don't necessarily start the war, the AI cunningly positions armies all around your lands (ie. taking advantage of your military alliance.

The last Roman campaign I did, (a while ago now) the Brutii seeded about 6 full stacks throughout Illyria, Italian Gaul, Picenum and Umbria, not to mention turning Greece into an industrilialised troop production line, as soon as my Senate popularity began to drop. At first I didn't believe it, the AI having a good long-term, albeit blinding obvious, strategy. When I was finally outlawed it took over a decade for Marcus Perpena (not a traitor this time round ) and Quintus Labienus (ditto... and no joke I really did have both of them ) to clear the Brutii out of my lands. Due to me actually noticing it didn't set me back too far, as I landed my faction leader and his veteran Iberian army next to Rome itself and took it quickly, but it was a pain!

2) In terms of strategy, I want to wait a while, my army is mostly hastati, Brutii have a lot of Principes and gladiators. Scipii lots of velites!
But if I fight now, I can hold my own in Italy against Rome.
As for Scipii, my navy is big enough to blocakde all Sicily and in Africa I hope to defend the bridge south of Carthage against the Scipii stacks while sneaking my other stack in behind them to Thapsus afterwards. Is this a good strategy? I am expecting they will go for Carthage right away. Can the AI go for Tingi or Nepte instead?
Brutii I can divert the Crete expedition to Greece and take the undefended and rich cities there and then set up some sort of blocking position on the isthmus I think. The Dacian province I dont care about, so I plan to retreat to Segestica or Patavium shortening my line and borders and hold them there. Then deal wiht them properly after Scipii and Rome are dealt with.

Sounds good, but I usually just wait for the war to be provoked, build up your forces and infrastructure and wait for the Senate to get overly paranoid.

3) Civil war will make trade income plummet right? What sort of cash reserve do you try and take in with you? At the moment I have a balance of about 10,000d a turn but almost all of that is used up every turn retraing units and building stuff (ports, temples etc at the 3,200d level).

It would make sense for trade to come to a complete stop, but as Omanes has already said there really isn't that much of a drop, you might have to cut down on your building program for a short period, but unless you get massacred by the your fellow Romans you should be able to maintain your armies well enough.

) Pontics and Scythians also refuse all diploamtic efforts. Every contact is refused by "Your generosity fools no one! What are you upto?" (Ponts) and "Thats very genererous and we wont be known as thieves" (Scythia) what gives? I am finding it much harder to get money by selling maps on H/H than on M/M. Even teh Senate and the other Roman factions when I ask them to donate offer me 1,200 d but demand tribute of 400d ofr 10 turns (ie 4,000d back).

AI...

6) Some of the Barbarian temples are really good for bonusses to weapons and experience. Do any of you keep them? As long as loyalty is above 80% (70%) there arent any riots from what I have seen. So the culture penalty might be worth it I feel.

Sometimes I roleplay being magnamious and let the Barbarians keep there precious sacred groves etc. However I don't go out of my way to keep the temples that have bonuses. Then again it can be useful, so if you think its worth it then go for it.

7) All the guides refer to bribery. I havent succesfully bribed anyone, even the one decent rebel I cam across wiht one unit of peasants and one barbarian cavalry demanded 4,800d (my entire treasury)! Is this something prepatch 1.5?

Bribery as a rule isn't cheap but when you have money isn't an object then its useful in getting rid of an enemy that you can't deal with by force (don't have an army that can get there in time). In the civil war you can use it to gain enemy troops as you have the same unit roster, so once you start winning and you have enough money then start bribing the reinforcing armies led by captains, its expensive but its what they call in football a six-pointer, gaining troops and depriving the enemy of troops simultaneously.

8) Does the location of the faction leader matter in terms of loyalty or is it just the capital?

Don't think so, thought it was just the capital.

9) I kiled them chariots, I killed them good. Two units of velites lined up 7x6 roughly, chariots got stuck one hastati came in from the back. British faction leader with 29 chariots becomes and ex British faction leader. I lost 25 men (of 120 in the three units) in the process.

Well done! Deprive them of their momentum and massacre them!

[Quirinus]

For foreign temples, I usually only keep them if they give a bonus of +2 experience and above. Only a +1 to experience isn't worth it, in my opinion. And I generally keep only one of these temples in each region, for example, if there is already an awesome temple of Nike in Sparta or a Sacred grove of Epona in Samarobiva, I won't keep any other of these experience-boosting temples in Greece and Gaul, respectively.

I occasionally also keep temples that give +3 bonus to missiles, but only in one city, which then becomes a specialised archer/onager-producing city.


I've never actually seen another faction get powerful enough to initiate the civil war-- I usually get there first, and I prefer to start the war on my own terms and march to Rome first.

Temples which provide benefits to law combat the most annoying factor in R:TW - distance to capital penalty. This has contributes to corruption (which provides income deductions) and negative happiness. Unlike all other factors, law removes two problems in one go, providing a richer and happier settlement.

Ooh, I didn't know that....

[The Wandering Scholar]

I keep no temples of other factions.I may be missing out, I don't know. I don't suppose that a faction would let the settlement worship their own gods. Especially not one like the Romans. Prove me wrong please.

[Gaius Scribonius Curio]

I don't have any proof for you Tom0, but I know that the Romans tolerated Judaism for a period of time in Judea itself, up until the revolt that Vespasian put down. They allowed the worship what became Magna Mater (I don't remember the original name) in their provinces in Asia Minor. They may not of officially approved of other religions, but they allowed worship to continue generally.

One exception was the Druids of Gaul and Britain, apart from the fact that Druids were a powerful force in tribal politics and were against roman rule, the Romans objected to human sacrifice and tried to stamp it out.

[o_loompah_the_delayer]

I keep no temples of other factions.I may be missing out, I don't know. I don't suppose that a faction would let the settlement worship their own gods. Especially not one like the Romans. Prove me wrong please.

Most polytheistic civilisations were tolerant of the pagan gods of their subjects, usually drawing equivalences, Jupiter-Zeus-Amon etc. Genrally only if the religion gave a politcial challenge it was a problem, though AFAIK Caesar largely left the Gaulish druids alone even though they were heavily involved with Vercingetorix. Later the druids were stomped out but because they kept human sacrifice and leading rebellions. Christians (after RTWs timeframe anyway) were persecuted because they refused even token adherence to the imperial cult of deified emperors and Nero established the policy of persecuting tehm as they were a convenient scape goat for the fire in Rome.