Manifest Destiny: A Massalian AAR

[Megas Methuselah]

I put the Casse in Tylis and Thracia, re-naming them the Gallathrakioi, with their capital at Tylis. The green guys in Asia Minor are the Galatikoi, formerly the Arverni. And the grey buggers are the Seleukids with their capital at Atiqa in North Africa, re-named the Punohellenikoi.

The Carthaginians are destroyed; they were too much of a pain in the ass to let live, so I annihilated them.

[A Very Super Market]

How exotic. I suppose this is why all are in despair over the lack of Massalia in EBII

[Dutchhoplite]

Nice work! Always nice to see "new" factions.

Seems the KH are doing pretty well in Southern Italy :)

[Megas Methuselah]

IV. The Spears Strike

The Aedui Confederacy was torn asunder nuder the lightning assaults of the Germanic invaders, with only small pockets of Gallic resistance in the backwater tribal entities of what was once a great confederated state.

However, the Germans, united under the iron will of the Sweboz military aristocracy, were alarmed at the assault on a small, southern Aedui fort by the Macedonian strategos, Seimias Ptolemaios. This Macedonian, formerly the basileus of Emporion, a polis under the protection of Massalia through its membership in the Massalian League, was now encamped on Germanic territory. This was something they could not stand, and thus marched an army to attack Tolosa, a satrapy under the direct rule of Massalia. The Massalian basileus, Nikanor Aiakides, decided to dispatch a force to counter this threat under the command of a lesser Hellenic strategos. Though a descendant of the Molossian Pyrrhos Aiakides himself, Nikanor's ability as a general is poor; besides, he is much too old for field combat.



Meanwhile, Seimias Ptolemaios, being at such close proximity to Massalia itself, heard of this grave news; in retaliation, he decided to immediately attack the Germanic-held city of Gergovia. Gergovia was once a prime trading partner with Massalia, but ever since its sack by the Germans, its position declined considerably into insignificance. Ever since his capture of the Aedui fort in Germanic-controlled territory, Hellenes have been volountarily flocking to his cause. His fight to liberate the Gauls from savage domination and to spread Hellenism to the furthest reaches of the known world was a romantic legend in the the Mediterranean. As a result, Seimias Ptolemaios' small militia from Emporion was expanded with numerous new recruits, many of which were veterans that had served under him in the Third Carthaginian War. With his accumulated wealth from the time spent as basileus of Emporion and as looter of Carthaginian cities, Seimias was able to both pay the upkeep of his private army and purchase expensive siege machines with which to assault the walls and settlements to the north.



And so, in the summer of the 403rd year since the founding of Massalia (197 BC), Seimias ordered his troops to pack their equipment, and lead them in the march north.



The city of Gergovia itself was held by a Germanic occupation force of strongmen and levies, supported by various Gallic concripts and mercenaries.



The Germans, though, were quite confident that they'd be able to hold the city against even an assault by the Gods themselves. Although the loyalty of the local Gauls wasn't very strong, their homes were being invaded not by their liberating Aedui brothers, but by a power-hungry and imperialistic Macedonian strategos. As a result, the position of the common Gallic citizen of Gergovia in the coming fight was predictable: they would fight to protect their homes against an invader that might just as well sack and pillage the city yet again, just as the Germans had done two years before.

Gallic loyalty aside, Gergovia was also a heavily defended and fortified settlement. It was once the capital of the Arverni confederacy and was thus equipped with the proper fortifications that were necessary to defend the royal seat of the Arverni Rix. Combining these high walls with his strong warriors, the Germanic aelderman of Gergovia, Athawulfaz, was fully confident that he'd be able to survive any foolish Hellenic assault.



Imagine his surprise, then, when the Macedonian strategos marched directly towards the heavy fortifications at the head of his army. Seimias Ptolemaios himself was at ease; never before had he fought at the head of such a heavily-armed and experienced army. Together marching with him were not only free Hellenic citizens volounteering from Emporion and Massalia with an eager spirit and high morale, but also proud veterans that had fought in the streets of Carthage and plains of Numidia. Most of these men were middle-class, patriotic citizens who could afford their own battle equipment, but who couldn't afford to lose their landed estates in a possible Germanic conquest of the Massalian League and Empire.



As for the problematic fortifications themselves, Seimias felt that they were actually no problem at all. In fact, he was inwardly laughing at Germanic ignorance of Hellenic ingenuity, strength, and sheer superiority. His siege machines would break down the high walls just as easily as he once spread women's legs in his younger days.



Soon enough, his expectations proved to be true. When the walls came coming down, Athawulfaz felt a small bit of fear deep inside his hard and steeled heart.



Smiling, Seimias Ptolemaios ordered some units of thureophorioi to storm the opening and establish a head in the streets of Gergovia with which to direct the street fighting. Singing praises to the Gods and battle chants from the time when their Phocian Hellenic ancestors fought the mighty Persians, the Hellenic volounteers charged in to smash aside the Germanic host. Athawulfaz himself defended the breach with his housecarls. In desperation, he sent a runner for reinforcements.



In a panic, a horde of warriors ran down the streets to defend the breach. If only they were not not too late, the Hellenic invaders may have been easily pushed back outside the city's limits.



But alas, Seimias had already ordered his brother, Hagesias Ptolemaios, to lead a large number of hoplites to run in and cover the rear of the Thureophoroi that continued the assault. These hoplites formed a strong classical phalanx against the Germanic and Gallic defenders, the very same phalanx their ancestors used in the heroic wars against Persia. Against this iron shield and spear wall, the enemy could not win.



As a result, Athawulfaz was forced to hold the line with what survived of his housecarls. However, he was outnumbered and outmatched. Slowly, his men kept falling until the Hellenes were able to sorround the Germanic aeldorman himself and send him directly to his barbaric gods.





With his death, the thureophoroi reinforced the hoplites and routed the city's defenders. The bitter fighting, however, exhausted them. Hagesias decided to use the hoplites under his command to steadily advance down the city's streets to drive back the defenders. In the narrow streets, with their flanks protected, the hoplites did this very well. Not even the bravest of the Germanic warriors could stand before the determined assault of the Hellenic phalanx.



As the day wore on, the rest of the Hellenic army entered the city and scoured the streets. Hagesias continued advancing to the city square with his massed hoplites whilst Seimias sent troops around to sorround the remaining defenders.



The last defenders bravely stood their ground when their Hellenic enemies assaulted their position in the city square, but their hope for victory was gone. The Hellenic capture of Gergovia was, as Seimias Ptolemaios himself predicted, inexorable.





However, Seimias felt it was important that this victory be symbolic. There was only minor looting; the population was largely unharmed as the Hellenes made their best attempt to appear as liberators.



As self-declared Gobre of Gaul, Seimias felt that these people were his, and only his, natural subjects. With his position of basileus of Emporion stripped by Nikanor Aiakides, Seimias would be forced to use Gergovia as his primary headquarters in his conquest of Gaul. But he's a true Macedonian, a great strategos beloved by his soldiers. Although he already proved his greatness in the fight against Carthage, Seimias feels that the gods themselves have an even greater destiny ready for him in the future.









The Known World in the summer of the 403rd Year Since the Founding of Massalia (197BC).



Author's Note: Since the Seleukids (now called the Punohellenikoi) failed to take the Mauretanian provinces in Western Africa (they keep rebelling), I decided to move Hayasdan there and rename them the Maurisioi. The Ptolemies basically killed them off anyways, so it's all good. I'm anxious to see how the political situation in Northwestern Africa turns out.

[Biowulf]

Great work, keep it up!

How did Seimias get the Gobre trait?

[Madoushi]

Cool thread, Megas.

But, how did you start in Messalia?

[Hax]

Awesome Galatia is very awesome.

[Megas Methuselah]

Thanks for the comments, guys! Unless you've written an AAR yourself, you wouldn't believe how much your posts mean to me!

How did Seimias get the Gobre trait?

give_trait "Seimias Ptolemaios" GaulArra 4(or 3? I can't remember, either 4 or 3)

I suppose you can call me a cheater if you want, but I use this to roleplay my characters. Remember when I keep saying he was the basileus (king) of Emporion? Well, Emporion is a type 4 government, but it doesn't have a normal client ruler. I gave the governorship of Emporion to Pauron Ptolemaios (he's in Chapter I) and his descendants, but since they couldn't govern it like normal governors (they become interlopers), I gave them the traits "Type4Governor." I roleplay that my Type 4 governments are independant poleis that are part of the Massalian League, dominated by Massalia, but still autonomous. So being a governor of one of these poleis means you're an independant king, which is much superior to being a satrapal governor of a type2 or type3 government. (I modded Epeiros' governments so that type2's and 3's are satrapies like the Macedonians)

But, how did you start in Messalia?

I just migrated my faction there at the start, switched the name from Epeiros to Epeirote-Massalia, killed off some unwanted FM's in the war against Macedon, and... ta-daaa!

Galatia is very awesome.

I know, eh?! They're currently having an epic struggle against Pontus right now. I though they would roll right over Pontus, but somehow Pontus decided it was strong enough to fight back. I like Galatia's unit roster though, they're using bataros, gaeroas, lugoae, celto-hellenic spearmen, thureophoroi, hoplites, and thracians of all sorts. They're so cool! They even fought a war against the Gallathraikioi (formerly the Casse) and made them a protectorate after taking Byzantion!

[jirisys]

Thanks for the comments, guys! Unless you've written an AAR yourself, you wouldn't believe how much your posts mean to me!



give_trait "Seimias Ptolemaios" GaulArra 4(or 3? I can't remember, either 4 or 3)

I suppose you can call me a cheater if you want, but I use this to roleplay my characters. Remember when I keep saying he was the basileus (king) of Emporion? Well, Emporion is a type 4 government, but it doesn't have a normal client ruler. I gave the governorship of Emporion to Pauron Ptolemaios (he's in Chapter I) and his descendants, but since they couldn't govern it like normal governors (they become interlopers), I gave them the traits "Type4Governor." I roleplay that my Type 4 governments are independant poleis that are part of the Massalian League, dominated by Massalia, but still autonomous. So being a governor of one of these poleis means you're an independant king, which is much superior to being a satrapal governor of a type2 or type3 government. (I modded Epeiros' governments so that type2's and 3's are satrapies like the Macedonians)



I just migrated my faction there at the start, switched the name from Epeiros to Epeirote-Massalia, killed off some unwanted FM's in the war against Macedon, and... ta-daaa!



I know, eh?! They're currently having an epic struggle against Pontus right now. I though they would roll right over Pontus, but somehow Pontus decided it was strong enough to fight back. I like Galatia's unit roster though, they're using bataros, gaeroas, lugoae, celto-hellenic spearmen, thureophoroi, hoplites, and thracians of all sorts. They're so cool! They even fought a war against the Gallathraikioi (formerly the Casse) and made them a protectorate after taking Byzantion!

Ho...ly... ****, isn't this all confusing, 3 lines into that post and i felt like was going to fall down my chair, how do you keep up with all this? do you have a log or something to remember things by?

~Jirisys (<---- Me! )

[Megas Methuselah]

do you have a log or something to remember things by?

I'm smawt.

[Unintended BM]

Wow, seen the elephant and only 45. Good job on the AAR.

[Megas Methuselah]

Wow, seen the elephant and only 45. Good job on the AAR.

Yeah, he fought ALOT of battles during his mandatory military service from the ages 16 to 30. Since then, I've changed it to 20-30 for the next generations so the kids can study at academies for 4 years first and get an education of some sort. For that purpose, I'm expanding the academy building in Massalia to its highest possible level at the moment.

Because of that, I guess you could say Nikanor Aiakides is actually a good basileos. His focus, after taking the throne upon his father's death (who fought all his life, including 3 wars with Carthage), was on governing Massalia, hellenizing the newly-conquered satrapies, cementing the empire together, and essentially focusing on things other than the military (such as education, lol). A great ruler, indeed, who happened to rule in a time of peace. Too bad he has to deal with this power-hungry Macedonian.

[jirisys]

I'm smawt.

not quite smart, not quite keeping a log, just smawt

what i meant is, do you remember all the changes you've done to the game?

~Jirisys (not so <--------- Me )

[Biowulf]

wish I could do something as complicated as changing the name of a faction lol
But that's a lot of work (in my eyes) for an AAR, so keep up the good work!

[Teucer]

It's just a matter of making a few changes to a few .txt files... changing names is not nearly as difficult as adding new units with appropriate recruitment areas.

[Megas Methuselah]

Oh, thank you soooo much for the comments! Warms my little black heart!

It's just a matter of making a few changes to a few .txt files... changing names is not nearly as difficult as adding new units with appropriate recruitment areas.

Yeah, I have to completely agree. In fact, you only need to change one text file (as far as I know, anyways...?) to change names, and that's expanded_bi.txt in the data/text folder; you just open that text file and change all entries with your chosen faction to its new name. Pretty easy, as you say.

Adding new units is a bit more difficult, though. I've given some Hellenic units a wider area of recruitment for Epeiros in the Hellenic colonies of the western Mediterranean, and it's a bit of a headache going through the EDB file. But it isn't too bad if you have all your rare resources ready at hand...

what i meant is, do you remember all the changes you've done to the game?

Maybe? Lol. I guess. Yeah. But... Yeah, sure. No? Uh... yeaaaahnooo... (thank God I made backups)

[jirisys]

Maybe? Lol. I guess. Yeah. But... Yeah, sure. No? Uh... yeaaaahnooo... (thank God I made backups)

Ok, i have no friggin idea what the hell that means

~Jirisys (back to )

[Biowulf]

Yeah, I have to completely agree. In fact, you only need to change one text file (as far as I know, anyways...?) to change names, and that's expanded_bi.txt in the data/text folder; you just open that text file and change all entries with your chosen faction to its new name. Pretty easy, as you say.

Would this be Save-game compatible? I want to rename a few of the factions since they've grown a bit since the beginning of my current game.

[WinsingtonIII]

Wow, so many alternate factions!

Just out of curiosity, do the Galathraikes still have the Casse chariot bodyguards/do the Mauretanians still have Kinsmen heavy cavalry bodyguards?

[Megas Methuselah]

Would this be Save-game compatible? I want to rename a few of the factions since they've grown a bit since the beginning of my current game.

Yep, completely save-game compatible.

Just out of curiosity, do the Galathraikes still have the Casse chariot bodyguards/do the Mauretanians still have Kinsmen heavy cavalry bodyguards?

The Casse still have their chariots, but at the particular moment when I was re-naming the Maurisioi, I felt invigorated enough to go into the EDU file and change their bodyguards to Libyan nobles.

[WinsingtonIII]

The Casse still have their chariots, but at the particular moment when I was re-naming the Maurisioi, I felt invigorated enough to go into the EDU file and change their bodyguards to Libyan nobles.

Good call, I was just thinking how it would be a waste to have a non-Punic North African faction and not make use of those Libyan bodyguards. As for the Galathraikes, I'm not even sure what you would use for a Celto-Thracian faction anyways. I guess it would be either Brihentin or Phylakes Daoi. Or maybe the "Celtic Lesser King" units.

[Subotan]

A good start has progressed into a really uite excellent AAR. Keep it up Meth.

[Dutchhoplite]

I just migrated my faction there at the start, switched the name from Epeiros to Epeirote-Massalia, killed off some unwanted FM's in the war against Macedon, and... ta-daaa!

But how did you get rid of your unwanted cities?? I tried some campaigns but i never managed to loose all of my "old" cities. They never seemed to rebel or my enemies were very reluctant to capture them.

[Poulp']

force diplomacy I guess.

[Megas Methuselah]

But how did you get rid of your unwanted cities?? I tried some campaigns but i never managed to loose all of my "old" cities. They never seemed to rebel or my enemies were very reluctant to capture them.

Capital in Massalia = people unhappy cuz of distance to capital penalty
very high taxes = people unhappy cuz im pimpin' them out
no garrison = people unhappy cuz im not protecting them like a pimp should be doin
public order buildings razed = people unhappy cuz there be no temple to the gods or any sewers to contain their piss

[jirisys]

Capital in Massalia = people unhappy cuz of distance to capital penalty
very high taxes = people unhappy cuz im pimpin' them out
no garrison = people unhappy cuz im not protecting them like a pimp should be doin
public order buildings razed = people unhappy cuz there be no temple to the gods or any sewers to contain their piss

don't forget that yo take al ze hookzs to the captal my man

~Jirisys (Yo!)

[SwissBarbar]

Just give the cities to another faction by force diplomacy... no problem there

[Megas Methuselah]

V. The King is Dead



Nikanor Aiakides, Basileos of Massalia, Hegemon of the Massalian League, Architect for the People, and grandson and heir of Pyrrhos of Epirus, is dead. His reign was largely one of peace and prosperity, with the primary focus shifted from expanding the lands of Massalia to that of repairing and advancing not only the economy, but also the well-being of the common Hellenic citizens of both the city-state of Massalia and the League as a whole. An influential basileos with great management skills, Nikanor managed to keep the peace between not only the city-state of Massalia and its vassal-partners in the Massalian League, but also with the Hellenic overlords in the Puno-Hellenic Kingdom, Syracuse, the Italoi tribes, and the Iberian tribes.

He ruled since the 360th Year After the Founding of Massalia (240 B.C.) until the 405th Year (195 B.C.). Although his reign began with great internal conflict and a third war with Carthage, the final 25 years of his rule saw great economic and social advancements made for the Hellenes of the league in relative peace and harmony, save for the border conflicts with the Getai and the illegal war between the Gauls to the north and the Ptolemaic family.

However, just as Nikanor secured his kingdom through violent civil conflict with the Orestos Molosos family, so too would his successors enact bloody combat for that very same prize. Why? Only one year before Nikanor's death, his eldest son Gyras Aiakides died whilst fighting the Getai in Illyria, his army ambushed and routed back to northern Italia, the campaign a failure. With no clear heir, Nikanor's third son occupied Massalia with an army of veterans guarding the Alpine passes against Gallic marauders, declaring himself the Basileos.



His name was Antarchos Aiakides and, though certainly no military genius, he was an influential and cunning man. He knew that Massalia's Senate and Directory of Fifteen would have likely chosen his elder brother and, Nikanor's second son, Nikadas Aiakides, to suceed his father. Sadly, he was far away across the mountains waging a war of destruction agains the Getic and Illyrian tribes. This allowed Antarchos to assume command of the nearest Massalian army, composed of veterans from previous Iberian conflicts, and realize his ambitions.



However, in so doing, Antarchos was bitterly opposed by his younger brother, Kephalos Aiakides. Kephalos was sent by the Senate and Directory of Fifteen to guard the Satrapy of Tolosa from any Gallic incursions. Though not technically at war with the Gauls and Germanic factions to the north, the actions of the Ptolemaic family in waging illegal warefare against those barbarians had terrible and negative consequences in their relations.



The two greatest armies of Massalia, veterans from campaigns in Iberia, Africa, and Italy, were now about to face off against one another in a civil war. Antarchos boasted warriors from Italy, Gaul, Iberia, Africa, and even Massalia itself. But his troops from Liguria were the only true veterans. Through Massalia's history under its Epeirote kings, Ligurians had played the primary role in the city-state's rise to power, acting as the primary main-line soldiers. This tradition continues until now, throughout the Massalia's realm.

Which is why Ligurians were also a main component in Kephalos' army at Tolosa:



Kephalos Aiakides had soldiers from Iberia, Gaul, and Liguria, and almost every single one of them were hardened veterans that had seen and experienced combat in almost every theatre of war Massalia had fought. And it was with these men that Kephalos marched with to Massalia, to oppose Antarchos Aiakides' wrongful succession and to give the Senate and Directory of Fifteen its theoretical right to choose the next basileos.




Author's note: Well, this was totally unexpected. Nikanor had to die almost right after his son was slaughtered by the Getai. Sucks ass. And now my RP rules say that a civil war is gonna happen, and that's what's going on. MY ******* VETERAN ARMIES THAT FOUGHT IN AFRICA, IBERIA, ITALY, AND ILLYRIA ARE GOING TO ******* KILL EACH OTHER BECAUSE I WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO LET EACH AIAKIDES BROTHER COMMAND AN ARMY. ****!!!

And I'll tell you guys this right now: my money is on Kephalos. I mean, look at his troops: They're all freakin silver & gold chevrons, I marched them all over the western mediteranean. Even if I command Antarchos' army, which I probably will because they're suckier in spite of their veteran Ligurians, I still think Kephalos will win. Ah well. Life sucks sometimes. At least the battles will be fun and challenging.

[Cute Wolf]

have a nice civil war meth! what now? faction control console command, got the ptolies, and bribe back their Ptolie-blooded lad?

[Unintended BM]

Nice! A picture of the campaign map is the only thing missing really.