Roman: Brutii

[GreatEmperor]

Yep. I did it with a captain and after I took Rome with it, I could promote him to general!
Was that just luck or is it normal that your captain can be promoted after he took Rome?

[gardibolt]

Just luck, I think. I'm pretty sure that when my captain took Rome in my Julii game that he wasn't promoted. But my memory is getting a little hazy on that.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Rotor':

Good show on Egypt (and you're welcome). Those walking anachronisms deserve a damned good thrashing, and perhaps the insertion of a large garden gnome...but I digress.

Unless you are going for a complete map campaign, you may just want to brush Pontus off as needed. The only way to truly pay them back in kind would be to have them lead the assault on Italy into the fresh defenses and fine full stacks of the homeland. As that would be difficult to arrange, you might just want to have a few rich battles on Italian soil and then stage your own triumph in Roma.

[Kickius Buttius]

I'm getting worried about something and I need to ask you all a question. What triggers the Senate to declare the civil war? Is it possible to fail to reach the triggers and have the amount of time allowed for a game runout?

I'm playing a Brutii game that had a series of disasters right at the start (see earlier in this thread), but I stuck with it and was able to recover. As a consequence of the early issues, I've moved quite a bit more slowly than my usual gameplay. I now own twenty-two provinces. The Senate appears to still love me (icons one from the top) and the public is okay with me (popularity about half way up the scale). The date is 188 and I'm worried because no civil war yet.

I'm also wondering if you must eliminate a specific faction (the same one or ones you would have to defeat to win the short campaign). Due to the early troubles with the game, once I took all the Greek cities in Greece, I was forced to concentrate on Europe. I left the Greek cities in Turkey alone. The Greeks are thus the owners of three cities in Turkey. Do I need to take those?

I'd prefer not to, since all my armies are busy fighting in Gaul, with the exception of the full stack army and diplomat patiently sitting outside each Julii and Scipii city, waiting for the civil war.

[GreatEmperor]

No, if you get 30 provinces and the people of Rome love you, you will get a message that the people of Rome are behind you and you can unleash the civil war by attacking an other Roman Faction.

So my advice is to conquer Gaul and Spain so you reach thirty and then take some cities until you get the message. Then lay siege to the Julii and Scipii cities and you've got your Civil War.

[Kickius Buttius]

Okay, one more question. Having bribed many Julii armies over the years, it occurred to me that I might be able to bribe a city. Iuvavum was chock full of troops and no family member, so I gave it a shot. The bribe worked and I got the city plus the entire army.

The next turn, the senate assigned me the mission of "return Iuvavum to the Julii." If I failt o do so in ten turns the message said I would "incur the displeasure of the Senate." Is this something I should worry about or just idle talk?

Will it help me cause the civil war to begin?

[GreatEmperor]

It will only decrease your standing in the Senate list.

[Craterus]

It depends if you want the city. After all, you still get to keep the military force. But if you need the city, don't worry about it, just hold onto it.

[Kickius Buttius]

I'm going to hold onto it out of spite. Thanks for the help.

[gardibolt]

Actually, if you walk out of the city, it will probably rebel. Then the old order will be rescinded and the Senate will tell you to retake it. Silly old men.

But if you're looking to trigger the civil war, yes, by all means keep it, as long as they didn't threaten to investigate you. That's very bad.

[rotorgun]

Unless you are going for a complete map campaign, you may just want to brush Pontus off as needed. The only way to truly pay them back in kind would be to have them lead the assault on Italy into the fresh defenses and fine full stacks of the homeland. As that would be difficult to arrange, you might just want to have a few rich battles on Italian soil and then stage your own triumph in Roma.

Thanks for the encouragment. I could do as you say and brush Pontus off and take on the other Romans. I was figuring on hedging my bets a little by getting a few more provinces under my belt. I feel that it would give me some insurance against the Romans attempting to take some of the provinces I currently control. I face a formidable foe in the Julii, as they control all of Hispania, most of Gual, and several key provinces in Northern Italy. The Scipii are in charge of, you guessed it, North Africa, and two of the Sicilian cities. I am not overly concerned with them. I feel the greater threat to be the Julii.

It is now about 50 BC, about the right time for the civil war historically. I am expecting Gauis Julius Caesar to make an apperance any time. (Does the AI include such historical characters?) It would be interesting to take him on during the bellum civius.

Going to war against Pontus would gain me some more land and wealth from the inevitable plunder. If I can involve the other Roman factions, I can weaken them while strengthening my own position. Do you agree? I will consider, carefully, your counsel to ignore Pontus. I could make for a more exciting game.

Have a good day all! Good fortune and good hunting!

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Thanks for the encouragment. I could do as you say and brush Pontus off and take on the other Romans. I was figuring on hedging my bets a little by getting a few more provinces under my belt. I feel that it would give me some insurance against the Romans attempting to take some of the provinces I currently control. I face a formidable foe in the Julii, as they control all of Hispania, most of Gual, and several key provinces in Northern Italy. The Scipii are in charge of, you guessed it, North Africa, and two of the Sicilian cities. I am not overly concerned with them. I feel the greater threat to be the Julii.

It is now about 50 BC, about the right time for the civil war historically. I am expecting Gauis Julius Caesar to make an apperance any time. (Does the AI include such historical characters?) It would be interesting to take him on during the bellum civius.

Going to war against Pontus would gain me some more land and wealth from the inevitable plunder. If I can involve the other Roman factions, I can weaken them while strengthening my own position. Do you agree? I will consider, carefully, your counsel to ignore Pontus. I could make for a more exciting game.

Have a good day all! Good fortune and good hunting!

When I said "brush off" Pontus, I did not mean leave them sacrosanct. The best means of "withdrawal" is to slam 'em hard for two turns (emph on smashing field armies) and then let your assault troops head West. The border patrol armies you leave behind can slow-siege a few more provinces while keeping Pontus off balance.

The Scips will probably not threaten you on land, but may hinder sea movement a lot if they have their battleships built in numbers. Be careful when fleeting and build lots of coast obs towers so you can see what you're sailing into.

The Jollies probably are the worst threat, but they don't have the econ behind them that you will with half+ of the East under control. Pick an area you like and set it up as bait. When they attack, hopefully with a couple of large "cutting edge" armies, close the sack and crush their most spendy troops. This should leave you facing weaker stuff from then on, as the AI doesn't cope well with counter-punching.

[rotorgun]

When I said "brush off" Pontus, I did not mean leave them sacrosanct. The best means of "withdrawal" is to slam 'em hard for two turns (emph on smashing field armies) and then let your assault troops head West. The border patrol armies you leave behind can slow-siege a few more provinces while keeping Pontus off balance.

The Scips will probably not threaten you on land, but may hinder sea movement a lot if they have their battleships built in numbers. Be careful when fleeting and build lots of coast obs towers so you can see what you're sailing into.

The Jollies probably are the worst threat, but they don't have the econ behind them that you will with half+ of the East under control. Pick an area you like and set it up as bait. When they attack, hopefully with a couple of large "cutting edge" armies, close the sack and crush their most spendy troops. This should leave you facing weaker stuff from then on, as the AI doesn't cope well with counter-punching.

I see now what you intended...very cunning! I will probably hit the Pontic lands in Anatolia, as they have denuded that front to fight the Armenians and guard against my Egyptian legions; these are quite built up after my war with the Pharoes. I plan to go on the defensive in the middle east while engaging them to the north from Rhodes and Byzantium. I should be able to take Pergamum, Hilcarnasus, and Sardis before they can manage an effective response.

The Scipii have yet to build a sizable fleet. I plan on blockading them with my considerable naval assets from Greece and Egypt to forestall any attempts to relieve their beleaguered Sicilian cities, as well as their capitol of Capua. I aim to neutralize them sir. Blood may flow in the Mare Nostrum, but they will lose many good troops at sea if they push the issue.

The Julii are the wildcard in the game. They are the only Roman faction strong enough to attack me while helping defend Latium as well. The senate will undoubtedly give them financial support to ensure their aid. I must take Rome quickly to deprive them of this windfall. Do you think that two elite full stacks will be sufficient for the task? SPQR currently has two full armies in Latium with about a half stack garrisoning Rome. From what I can see of their forces, they will be no pushovers....many Urban and Preatorian types to be seen.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Yeah, two stacks oughta do it. I'd actually set up 1 Full, 1 2/3, and 1 1/2-stack. Make your Full a "defensive" force and pull a Von Moltke. If you position them where he simply can't resist hitting you, you can make him come to you -- preferably up hill (over a bridge?) then your Full stack will maim both of his. The 2/3rder would be lotsa mobile guys in order to short punch a Jollie relief force or smash the remnants of the Senate field force. The half stack is some grunt infantry and a siege train (Onagers if you're using them, best family siege engineer for a surety). Rome's walls will be tough. Fill out the siege army with the best of the full stack's remnants after the field wins.

Sounds like you've got the Scips marginalized and a good spoiler campaign planned for the Bridge-boys.

[gardibolt]

The Senate seems unable to resist attacking you if you park on the bridge just outside Rome. Those uber-troops can be decimated without much effort if you put a 2/3 stack there.

[Kickius Buttius]

Or you can get lucky. In my game, where the civil war hasn't begun yet, the Senate sent its entire army out of the city with just a regular family member in charge (not the faction leader or heir). One 45,000-denarii-bribe later, Rome is garrisoned by just the faction leader and faction heir. Can't wait for the civil war...

[rotorgun]

Great suggestions by all. I will debreif the outcome at a later date. I was hoping to finish the campaign this weekend, but have to attend my monthly training with the National Guard. (Talk about your Town Malitia!) I appreciate the advice given. See ya'll after awhile.
Rotorgun

[GreatEmperor]

Just found out a great strategy to begin.
First sieze Patavium and Mediolanum (Segesta if you can but that will be very hard). After that head for Massilia. If you've done this you succesfully blocked the Julii from expanding.
Now let the Scipii take Sicily and head straight for Carthage, but be sure to bring 2 stacks (full is best). If you've done that, you've blocked the Julii and the Scipii which gives you lots of space to expand.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Great suggestions by all. I will debreif the outcome at a later date. I was hoping to finish the campaign this weekend, but have to attend my monthly training with the National Guard. (Talk about your Town Malitia!) I appreciate the advice given. See ya'll after awhile.
Rotorgun

Where is the promised follow-up....



I want to hear what happe...

Well maybe I can wait a little longer.



All right already I get the poi

Okay, I'll wait a bit...

but not this long.

Or its time!

[Kickius Buttius]

How do you continue to play after acquiring fifty province, including Rome? When the fiftieth provence fell, I received a cut screen victory and the only option available was to return to the main menu. I would like to finish conquering the entire map and have read in other posts that people have done this. what would I need to modify?

Thank you!

I am annoyed that the Julii still have on provence and the Scipii have three. The rest of the map is Egypt (save for the British isles), and that needs to be remedied.

[gardibolt]

When you have the victory screen up save (either CTRL+S or the usual save through the ESC key). Reload. You can then continue to play. Probably too late for you though.

[Kickius Buttius]

Ahh- not too late. I had saved it the turn before the 50th province fell and still have that saved game.

Thank you!!!!!!

[GreatEmperor]

Strange... In my campaign I got a victory message with a little cutscene and afterwards I was asked if I wanted to continue on this campaign

[Kickius Buttius]

That is what I had heard would happen, but when the cut scene cameup, the only option available was to return to the main menu.

[Craterus]

Strange... In my campaign I got a victory message with a little cutscene and afterwards I was asked if I wanted to continue on this campaign

You can continue a short campiagn into a long campaign. But after 50 provinces and the completion of the imperial campaign, there are no other set goals.

[GreatEmperor]

You can continue a short campiagn into a long campaign. But after 50 provinces and the completion of the imperial campaign, there are no other set goals.

Ehm... It was a long campaign

[Craterus]

Maybe you just got lucky? I don't think the game gives you an option to continue when you complete the Imperial Campaign, and so, you have to work around it, like gardibolt said.

[GreatEmperor]

Well it gave me that message with the cutscene in it.
At the bottom of that message was a V and a X
V if I wanted to continue and X to go back to the main menu

[rotorgun]

Where is the promised follow-up....

All right, here it finally is. Sorry I haven't been able to get back to you. The last two weeks have been Hell weeks!. I did manage to get a good start on Operation Anatolian Freedom about two weekends ago, but haven't had the chance to post.

I initiated the campaign with an invasion of Anatolia, besieging the city of Halicarnasus which was poorly guarded. At the same time, an attack against the pontic armies threatening Jerusalem and Petra was initiated. The two pronged offensive proved its worth as Pontus was taken off guard, not quite seeming to know quite how to respond. There was a space of perhaps three turns before any effective resistance could be effected in Anatolia, and their answer too my initiatives in the south were, at first, purely defensive. They seem to surmise that I am more of a threat to their cities in Syria, despite the fact that they outnumber my forces in the region. I was glad that I had taken the time to build highways between all my Egyptian cities, Jerusalem and Petra. This enabled me to shift forces more rapidly than they, thereby saving me from annihilation whenever they did reform for the inevitable counter-offensive. This was not long in coming.

After my inital sucesses, the Senate, in a complete volte-face of their previous policies, ordered my to take Pergamum, which was, with dispatch undertaken. While the enemy, in a vain attempt to meet me in field,attacked, the city revolted. The Senate, for some reason, oh let's say...to prevent me from gaining the fifty provinces needed for victory, promptly ordered me to stand down. As I was now under pressure from the enemy, I left the city in rebel hands to meet the new threat gathering near Sardis.

In the other theater, I have beaten back several enemy attempts to retake Jerusalem. These battles were very dramatic, with both sides bringing reinforcements to the fight. I have only been able to defeat their Bronze Shield Pikemen with Onager support. The Cappadocian cavalry and Schythe-wheeled Chariots usually decimate my wing cavalry and supporting infantry so badly, that, even though I succeed in routing them, I haven't strength left to mount an outflanking attack except in name only! In general, the Pontic cavalry will sacrifice itself in an attempt to break my line and get at my missle units. Once these are routed, they reform for the charge and go for one or more of my flanking infantry. These actions, which usually consume the better part of my cavalry in defense against them, are followed by the main assault by their pikemen. If these have not been weakened prior to their attack, they will break the infantry line! It is almost certain in most cases to happen. This is why I always try to have Onagers. It must be the right answer, for they are usually the target of the Pontic cavalry anytime I have them in my order of battle. In any case, Jerusalem is now safe, and I am taking the fight to them at Sidon. Many battles have been fought in the pass near the Tiberian Sea.

While all this has been going on, a nasty little espionage war has been raging. They managed to get one or two of their better spies into Petra during a time when I had stripped the city of manpower to aid my cause. Petra revolted, causing me to have to devert an army there to retake it. Actually, I had to send about a stack-and a half. Order was restored, but it taught me a lesson. I now have sent numerous spies into their nearest cities in an attempt to cause the same. I have also sent a few assasins into the region to attempt to kill off the enemy agents. Pontus has responded in kind. It's all a bit like James Bond 007, what with agents running all over the place, causing mayhem and murder. It has definately added some excitement to the contest!

Well, I don't want to go on too much. I hope I haven't bored you to tears already. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, or in case I offend anyone, Happy Hoildays!

[rotorgun]

It appears that the two pronged stratagy was the way to go as I now own all of Anatolia, and am master of the eastern Medditeranian Sea. Once I succeeded in crushing the main Pontic armies in Phoenicia and, Coele Syria, and Nabatea, the south fell rather easily.

In Anatolia, the senate, dominated by Brutii family members, kindly bid me capture the fair city of Mazaka. When the enemy attemted to prevent this with reinforcements from Syria, I pushed my hard driving Sidon legion to the attack. Although the enemy fought with courage and skill, their relief force was annihilated, the remnants retreating to Tarsus, only to be wiped out in a siege two turns later. A relief force from Sinope was too late to save Mazaka, which fell in two turns as well, the time needed to build four siege towers. In the case of Mazaka I had a spy open the gates for my attackers. I still took the walls and towers adjacent to the gates as well to tie up some of his wall defenders and prevent them from retreating to the town center where my main force attacked. Antioch fell quickly also as the defenses had been denuded to provide units for the southern relief force.

After the fall of Antioch, Damascus was attacked, which I had been besieging for some time in order to reduce the garrison. When it was reduced to about half strength, I sent the legions in. It was an epic siege! Once again I sent the towers in, loaded with legionary cohorts to tie up the wall defenses. My main strike force consisted of four Preatorian Cohorts, two auxilary Infantry, Two Legionary Cavalry, one Roman Heavy Cavalry and my General. My infantry was supported by one Archer Auxilary, and one Light Auxillia. The enemy had mistakenly placed all but one of his four Bronze Shield Pikemen on the wall, with all his light troops, all reduced in strength. I built some ladders, but couldn't see them assigned to any troops during the deployment phase.
(Ever since I edited out the Banners in the text files, I seem to have lost my ladders!...etrange!)

The siege went very well. After pounding the wall defenders with Onagers, and flaming arrows for awhile, I sent the towers in. When these troops engaged the enemy there, I sent my main strike force in. They cleared the Gate defenders quickly, routing the Cappadocian Cavalry, Pontic Heavy Cavalry General, and Phalanx unis in the Process. After that I rushed the town square and captured it by eliminating the other enemy general and his Eastern Hillmen. A vain attempt was made by the enemy to recapture the square with some Broze Shielders that happened to survive the wall battles. It was only after capturing the town that I realized it was plauge-ridden! Now my forces there are in quarantine and I will need them to take Palmyra, which has revolted from Pontic rule (another order fron the Senate). Oh well...se la guerre!

Now I am aligning my forces for the attack on Rome. As oulined in earlier posts, I will attempt to neutralize the Scipii by naval blockade of North Africa, and capture of Capua, Lilybaeum, and Messana. An attack against Ariminum and Arretium should isolate Rome from immediate Julii support, as I plan a lighting strike against Rome once I have drawn the Senate armies away from Latium with these attacks. What are your thoughts my fellow generals? Does this seem a good plan? I welcome your counsel.