How do you think a hypothetical Multiplayer EB campaign would go?

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

I've got a little idea on how to give every human player a chance to build up and get organised at the start of the game.

Make up a list of (fairly historically accurate) Eleutheroi target towns for every faction (happy to do this myself). Have a house rule that each player has to take all his Eleutheroi target towns first (unless one or more of those targets is taken by another faction first before he gets there) before he is allowed to attack a town from another faction.

A human player can fight battles in the open field against armies from other human factions at any time, but can't actually seige, assault or occupy any of their towns unless he's taken ALL his Eleutheroi targets first. (Might be an idea to make Taras, Pella and Asaak exceptions to the rule, they are the only places where a factional army starts the game in another faction's territory.)

Also, when the game starts, there are a number of strong Eleutheroi armies dotted around the map. (I can make a list of them.) Make a house rule that the players who have one of these Eleutheroi armies in their territory must destroy that army. They must do this before they are allowed to attack another human player.

This also applies to any big scripted Eleutheroi armies, commanded by an Eleutheroi FM (like Moskon's big army in Spain), that appear in your territory during the game - they must be treated as the priority, forcing the player to go on the defensive against other human players until the Eleutheroi army is destroyed.

This prevents the human players from just ignoring powerful Eleutheroi armies and cities, and blitzing each other right from the start in a chaotic free-for-all. It will also make the human players worry, because if they use up most of their troops against the Eleutheroi, it might make them vulnerable to a blitz from a neighbouring faction that achieves its own Eleutheroi target list first.

So you can blitz at the start, but (apart from the above named exceptions) you can only blitz the Eleutheroi, not each other.


Suggestion:

Here’s a list of what towns you must capture for each faction, before you can attack any other town. You can take them in any order.

Note: Some of the towns are on the list of more than one faction. You can take the target yourself, or you can make an agreement with someone else to let them take it first, but you may not attack any town belonging to another faction (unless it was yours at the start of the game and you are recovering it) until ALL the towns on your list are no longer in Eleutheroi hands.

Note: If you are attacked by another faction, you may defend yourself, and attack enemy armies in the field, and retake any towns that you have lost - but you may not attack any other enemy towns, that were not originally yours, until you have taken all the Eleutheroi ones on your list first (except those that are taken by another faction before you reach them.

Aedui: Avaricum, Dariortum, Lemonum, Patavium, Bratosporios.

Arveni: Aventicos, Tolosa, Burdigala, Avaricum, Lemonum.

Baktria: Kophen, Alexandropolis, Gava-Haomavarga.

Carthage: Garama, Kirtan, Siga, Lixus, Sala, Arse, Emporion, Messana, Syracuse.

Casse: Ictis, Ratae, Ynys-Mon, Attuaca, Emain-Macha, Ivertis (the whole of Britannia and Ireland, in other words).

Epirus: Pella (Macedonian, you can take it right away), Thermon, Dalminion. (Note: you can recover Taras if it is taken.)

Getai: Sarmiszegethusa, Kallatis, Naissos, Serdike, Tylis, Singidunum, Ak-Ink.

Hayasdan: Phraaspa, Ani-Kamah, Kotais, Mtskheta.

Koinon-Hellenon: Kydonia (on Krete), Thermon.

Lusotann: Sucum-Murgi, Tyde, Baikor, Pallantia, Vellika, Numantia.

Macedon: Thermon, Byzantion, Serdike, Tylis. (Note: you can recover Pella if it is taken.)

Pahlava: Asaak (Seleucid, you can take it right away), Gava-Mazskata.

Pontos: Sinope, Trapezous, Nikaia, Ankyra.

Ptolemoi: Ammonion, Kyrene, Augila, Meroe, Axum, Petra, Bostra, Kydonia (on Krete), Halikarnassos.

Roma: Taras (Epirote, you can take it right away), Rhegion, Bononia, Segesta, Massilia, Messana, Syracuse.

Sabyn: Tamane, Sabata, Carna, Ubar, Homna, Gerrha, Bostra, Petra.

Saka: Chach, Gava-Saka.

Sauromatae: Tanais, Gava-Yugra, Gelonus, Gava-Thissakata, Olbia, Chersonesos, Pantikapaione, Kabalaka, Kotais, Mtskheta.

Seleukia: Ankyra, Pergamon, Halikarnassos, Nikaia, Palmyra, Ani-Kamah, Phraaspa, Alexandropolis, Pura. (Note: you can recover Asaak if it is taken.)

Sweboz: Gawjam-Rugoz, Gawjam-Kimbrioz, Gawjam-Skandzawarjoz, Gawjam-Habukoz, Gawjam-Heruskoz, Arctaunon, Gawjam-Silengoz, Ascaucalis, Carrodunum, Gintaras-Ostan.