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 Hey there everyone ! I know, I know, it's been a very long while but this LP isn't dead. A lot of stuff happened IRL, stuff that prevented me from continuing it, between finding a job and trying to make projects come true. And when I finally had spare time to pursue, the thread was already locked for archiving. It's my own fault, really, but I don't want to leave the LP unfinished. So yeah even if I don't have as much free time as before, I think I'll be able to post more often than every nine months. For those who want to catch up/remember what happened before, here's a link to the previous thread : https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3815616&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1 For those who had been reading this LP from the beginning, I would like to apologize, and welcome you back. For the new readers, if there are any, welcome ! So, where were we, about a billion years ago it seems...  (Ah yes ! We were besieging Tarentum and preparing to take it ! But...are those Roman fleets around Sicily ? And one of them is blockading Syracuse ! Go away, you muppets !)   (There, much better now that the seas are ours again!)   The intel reports were being reviewed by Carthage's finest officers. While the situation in Africa seemed stable, it was much bleaker in Northern Italy. The Gauls were about to lose Patavium to the Julii, who fared much better against their opponents than the two other Roman families. (Dimmidi is ridiculously under-defended, we might have broken the back of the Numidian armies. It's a shame for our barbarian friends, but there isn't much we can do about it.)  (To be more effective against the fast-moving, lightly armored soldiers of Numidia, I hire these mercenaries. Moorish archers do not exist in Vanilla Rome Total War. There isn't much to say about them, they are good to have even if their range is smaller than high tier archers. They are also annoyingly fast, but the best way to get rid of them is the same as other missile troops : sending light cav to stab them in the face repeatedly.)   Sakarbal watched the city before him with a serene smile on his face. He had waited for this moment for years, and here he was, about to deal a crippling blow to Rome by crushing one of the three ruling families. One of his men stood behind him : « -General, the men are assembled, and awaiting your instructions. » The man turned around : « -Are the siege engines ready ? -Yes my lord. -Good. Give the signal, tonight we sleep in the city, in Roman beds. » (Here we are folks, the attack on Tarentum. The defenders are rather few in numbers, but we must stay vigilant as Romans are even stronger in defense than they are in attack. Let's take a look at their generals.)   Titus Brutus kept a straight face as he watched the Carthaginian soldiers form ranks before his walls, but deep inside, he was feeling a great and painful sadness. His whole family had been killed, he himself barely escaped with his life when he tried to push back the invaders. He survived, but at the cost of his banner and honor. He as the last of the Brutii, and the man he adopted to be his heir seemed competent, but no skill could save them from what was now inevitable. The young man donned his helmet. If this was to be the end, then he would go down fighting. Maybe he would regain a bit of honor, and be allowed to see his relatives after going to Pluto's realm. (Dude...the only family members they have left are young men not even in their 30's yet ? That's a bit...shocking, I'll admit. HA HA HA ! I CRUSHED YOUR RELATIVES, AND NOW I'LL CRUSH YOU, MORONS ! Erm, I'm sorry for that. Let's get down to business.)   (Do you guys remember when Sakarbal was just a random yahoo with no traits or skills ? He sure changed a lot, after a dozen years spent fighting and conquering. Also drat but his bodyguards are monsters. Look at those stats! Some of these guys have followed and protected him since he days of the first king, when Sakarbal was barely 20 years old.)  (Motherfucker, I hate to be the attacker in sieges. Look at these streets, perfect for long, exhausting Thermopylae-like fighting, nullifying our numerical advantage. With a single unit the Romans can block us for ages, and the Romans are very, VERY good at holding the line.)  (I killed as much defenders as I could with my slingers before sending my mercenaries to attack Tarentum's walls. If my units are going to suffer heavy losses, I prefer the mercs to be taking the blows before the regulars.)  (That's it lads ! Once more into the breach!)   The first wave of attackers pushed back the remaining Romans in front of the door, and the Samnite mercenaries engaged a unit of Bodyguards while seizing control of the gateway. (Woohoo, great job guys ! Now engaging the enemy cavalry now is very important, as it'll force the whole unit to attack the spearmen, something that is...quite bad for their health.)  (Case in point.)   (Titus came charging to avenge his heir, or to get a fighter's death. He failed his first objective, but our guys were nice enough to give him a hand for the second. Now, in the impossible case we lose this fight, the Brutii would still be destroyed. We wouldn't have it, but Tarentum would become a rebel settlement and the green Romans would be gone from the map, since they lost all of their family members eligible to become the faction leader.)    (One last unit of infantry was encircled by our mercenaries, and quickly destroyed as it's morale crumbled.)   (Here are the last defenders of Tarentum, holed up in the city center. Get them, boys.)   (To hasten the Romans' demise, I also throw my elephants into the fray, in the defenders' back.)    Finally the last Roman falls, and the victorious invaders cheer loudly as they replace the Brutii banners with Carthage's. (We did it ! They fought to the last man, we lost some dudes, but we won ! My mercenaries did better than I expected, I must admit. They allowed most of my army to prepare for the victory parade while the mercs and some Carthaginians actually won the fight.)  The people of Tarentum did not try to repel the attackers on their own, most of them were resigned to their fate. This allowed Sakarbal to be magnanimous and spare them, and the city was simply occupied instead of ransacked.   (Goodbye, worthy enemies. You guys bothered us for a long time, but we finally got you. So, we now occupy the whole of Southern Italy. Next step is moving North, to the fief of the Scipii, Capua. Before preparing our attack on Rome itself. Until then, goodbye and see you next time!)
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Feb 16, 2018 22:52
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 (Hello everyone, welcome back ! Last time, we took the Brutti's last stronghold, and now we are preparing to do the same to our nemesis, the Scipii.)  (Why am I showing you this, you might ask ? Look at the third element on the list, it's a governemental we finished building in Syracuse. This means that we officially changed the city's culture from Greek to Punic, public order should be less problematic there now, as it will greatly lower if not remove the ''cultural penalty'' thing that was causing trouble.)  The Carthaginian fleet, while blockading Capua's port, also managed to gather very important informations on the enemy troops and city. This intel as invaluable to Sakarbal, who praised the sailors in a letter he personally sent to them. (Huh,that's kind of a weird garrison, I was expecting more line infantry units. But MY GOD look at how many bodyguards their generals have ! These are most probably the faction leader and his heir. They also have mercenary hoplites, gladiators and... … are you kidding me ? Ballistas ? These guys really are my nemesis, they are doing everything they can to piss me off.)  (In Vanilla, when you build a siege engine company, I think you have two ballistas/onagers/scorpions in each group. In Darthmod, you have four of them. I hate, I loathe artillery in Rome Total War and Medieval II Total War. Because the AI will spam them, fielding absurd armies with five or more artillery units in them. They aren't incredibly bad, since a unit of dedicated fighters are actually much more potent in a field battle, and if you are quick enough enemy artillery will barely have time to fire a few volleys before your cavalry or even infantry destroys them. And they become pretty important in the late game, when big rear end walls are constructed around cities and sieges can easily turn into a bloodbath for an ill-equipped attacker. So why do I hate them so much ? Well first I hate being bombarded from afar, the AI shots are insultingly accurate especially compared to mine, and more than once these shitheads have sniped my general in the first minutes of a battle. So yeah, fun times.  (Huh ? The Gauls are leading an invasion force in Spain ?! Go ahead guys, if it can distract our neighbors from attacking us, do as you wish buddies!)   (Dammit, seemes like I spoke too quickly last time, there's a Numidian army reinforcing Dimmidi. Also, as expected, Patavium fell into Roman hands, but apparently a few Gallic warriors managed to survive. I hope they can reach their lands safely, though I wouldn't bet on it.)   (Oh my ! Tough guy is looking for a fight ! Look at the armies' placements on the map, the Numidian army outside Dimmidi actually traveled around us so their besieged brothers-in-arms would attack us from behind. Clever, but will it be enough for them to win? Look like we are going to face a good old Numidian style army. Tons of light, spear-chucking dudes, horsemen or infantrymen. Thankfully our army is properly equipped to get rid of these morons effectively.)  (I love how they aren't saying ''lover'' but ''lovers'', plural...poor guy must be the laughing stock of his own army. Sucker, while he was ''Being in the wars'', his own chamber was getting invaded.)  The Carthaginians deployed on a hill's slope and waited for the enemy to come, opting to face both of the armies at once rather than trying to rush one of them. (Hey, here's another big rock ! We've been seeing a lot of these natural monuments, in Sicily, Italy...I wonder if they have these in Germania or Egypt ? I guess we'll have to go check, eventually.)  (This guy just comitted suicide by walking into my spears, it seems. I'm not joking, I was watching another part of the battle when this suddently appeared. Well, his wife doesn't need to pretend she's faithful anymore, at least.)    (These are the battle's highlights. You can see the exchange of projectiles between my men and theirs, a deseperate charge by their javelinmens under a hail of arrows, and finally the carnage while the remnants of their forces fled the battlefield, pursued by my cavalry. Despite the number of men involved, it wasn't an exciting battle, sadly.)   (We did very well in that fight, my light cavalry did most of the killing. Unfortunately enough enemies escaped to keep Dimmidi in Numidian hands, we'll probably just auto-resolve the fight to take the city.)    (Some important things happened on the strategic map. First, Cordoba is growing, which is NOT a good thing. This place is a nightmare to hold in the late phase of the game, it's constant population boom ruining the public order. We are also the richest people on the map ! Ho do we know we're richer that people we haven't met yet ? Because we're the best ! And they suck, that's why, hehehe! That's uh...a weird alliance. Pointless works too, but why not. Also yes, Britannia and Germania are still doing their ''let's declare war and make peace all the time'' game.)  Finally, as the people demanded , the great temple of Baal Hammon was finished. With that building, not only were the populace satisfied, but it also provided special fighters for the armies of Carthage. (Hell yes ! With that temple finished, now we can train some of...)  (...these guys ! Sacred Band were, historically, a Theban (the Greek city, not the Egyptian one) unit, but soon Greek and Greek-influenced people would imitate the idea of having elite phalanx forces, and the Carthaginians were no exceptions. These men are an amazing addition to any army. They hit like trucks, are as well protected as if they were wearing battle tanks for protection, and their morale means it's pretty much impossible for them to break and rout. Or at least it'll take a lot of efforts from the enemy. Not only will they destroy any kind of cavalry, but they can hold their ground against pretty much any infantry unit too, even the Praetorians. They aren't invincible and are not the best anser to heavy infantry, but these guys will never let you down.)  (Man, I'll never get tired of the descriptions the devs wrote for traits and retinue members.)  Diplomacy between two nations is a complicated and unstable thing. Sometimes, peace or even alliances are shattered for a myriad of reasons, but the effects always touch more parties than the direclty concerned. (Oh, gently caress gently caress gently caress ! I wasn't expecting that to happen ! I guess since I destroyed the Brutti, Greece and Macedon no longer have any reasons to pretend they like each other, and the northernmost nation attacked the other ! I'm not sure who I should support, and who I should abandon. You will find out next time! Bye !)
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Feb 19, 2018 20:47
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Glad to see this back up and running. Guess I should get back to doing those vanilla/darthmod comparisons.
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Feb 19, 2018 22:48
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Ikasuhito posted:Glad to see this back up and running. Guess I should get back to doing those vanilla/darthmod comparisons. Thanks, glad to see you back  I'd be much obliged if you did, kind sir.
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Feb 20, 2018 08:50
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When we last left our story! DarthMod on the left, Vanilla on the right. Phalanx Pikemen  Slinger Auxilia  Darthmod only unit. Desert Infantry  Trireme  Raider Cavalry  DarthMod only unit. TRIARII!  Velite Gladiator  Garamante Warriors  DarthMod only unit. Spear Warband  Archer Warband  Falxmen  Barbarian Mercenaries  Barbarian Cavalry Mercinaries  Barbarian Cavalry  Til next time...
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Feb 22, 2018 13:06
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 Hello everyone, and welcome back !   (Let's start with two news from beyond our frontiers ! First a Greek technological advance (there might be a joke to make about it, but I'm too tired for that) and...a plague in Macedonia. Oh...uh... They are trying to put the blame on the Barbarians for the disease, yet I can't help but notice Macedonia got plagued right after they declared war on Greece. Coincidence ?...probably.)  (Le me introduce you to our new fleet. Five triremes are most probably going to be the basis for our fleets now tha we can build them. It will give us a respectable escort for naval invasions, good striking power against enemy fleets and ports, while being good on the defensive too. And, bonus points, they won't be too expensive to maintain.)   For many years, Hanno's descendants have been growing. Now the sucession was comfortably secured for the future, barring any kind of disaster. The last generation looked just as promising as the older, the family's grasp on Carthage and it's empire was firm.  (Oh hey there ! Judging by his name, I think we are looking at what remains of the Bruttii fleet. When you destroy a faction, some units will disband, but others will become pirates/rebels. This can be annoying, or hilarious when suddently 60% of an enemy force become renegades in their former allies (another enemy of yours) lands.)  (David against Goliath, allegory. You'll need more than a sling that time though, kid. I never really paid attention to it before but drat, look at the natural defences around Capua ! The only way in via land is by walking through mountain passes, if the Scipii had more men we would have a lot of trouble to get through.)  The latest additions to the Carthaginian Empire was growing. Croton's citizens were grudgingly accepting their fate, and citizens coming from Africa and Sicily were already settling down and getting mixed with the locals. (Hell yes, goodbye public order problems ! When we'll have our new governmental building, of course. After that, a quite boring and quick battle happened, so I'll just show you the important parts and the stats, just so we can move on. In the future I'll probably just skip these kinds of fights, they aren't much fun to play or watch/read.)     (They came, we charged, they died.)   (Not a single Roman soldier escaped our fury, and we suffered only minor losses. The road to Capua is open, now.)  (One more for the pile. We have so many of these things now that our family members and governors are using them to scratch their asses. Do not tell the Romans, or they'll declare a crusade on us.)  (YES our first unit of Sacred Band is ready ! Time to kick some butts!)  Under Theages' caring rule, the city of Syracuse was even more resplendent than it was Sicily's main power. The Greeks and Carthaginians were living in harmony, and many children of mixed origins were born and had grown up. Even if a few petty squabbles still existed within the city's walls, they were so benign people were barely paying attention to them anymore.  (Oh hell, look at all of these Roman navies. They are like flies : tiny, not harmful on their own, but annoying and when too numerous can be a real pain in the dick.) (Speaking of navies, let's blockade the port of Rome ! We'll see our arch-nemesis for the first time and...  It barely have a garrison. WHAT ?! Normally there is at least one huge force standing outside the city at all times ! They are either hidden in the woods or... They might be mowing south...towards us.)  (Sakarbal is getting even better, look at these stats and traits ! And he is not even 40 years old yet !)  The Senate has come to support the Scipii in their struggle for their very survival. But the Senators' generosity had limits. Unwilling to leave Rome undefended, they only sent a token force to help the defenders of Capua. (It's them, people. The ones reponsible for all of these wars and the bloodshed, the ones that sent their puppets to die in droves against us, the ones that have only one thing in mind when it comes to military matters : to see us destroyed. The Roman Senate. Despite the enemies' respectable numbers, I think this one is already in the bag. If the Senators weren't cheap bastards and sent their full force to help ''old'' Publius here, they might have stood a chance at pushing us back.)  (Hey, that hurts, man ! What did we ever do to you ? Besides murdering most of your family and invading your homelands, I mean! The two Senate generals didn't have any interesting traits, let's go to the battlefield.)  (Bit of a hilly terrain, with some woods. Our plan here is to ge rid of the Senate ASAP before turning back to face the Scipii.)   (Our cavalry managed to catch one of the Senators in the open and quickly slaughtered him. On the screenshot you can even see the information alert falling down, on the left side.)  (Using a combination of cavalry and elephants I quickly surround and destroy the enemy units one by one, the morale blows of having to fight elephants in front and getting hit by cavalry in the back is too much, even for the mighty Roman soldiers.)  (As you can see on the minimap we routed most of the Senate's units, while the Scipii were busy moving in formation. Most of our units are already facing them.)   (The second Senator falls and here you can see our last elephant, bravely standing in front of our men pursuing the Romans. I don't think he will survive this battle, so this fight will be the end of the elephant units that followed Sakarbal from Sicily to Southern Italy to Capua. It's a bit sad, but they'll go out slaughtering our enemies, like they always did.)   The two Scipii generals fell in battle, and their deaths sounded the defeat for the Romans who tried to flee back to Capua. A few of them managed to do so, but many of their comrades were cut down by the Carthaginian light cavalry. As for the generals, while Publius and Flavius will be honored by their enemies, the Senators heads will be put on pikes, and given to the remnants of their army to be brought back to Rome. This warning was clear as cristal : the Carthaginians were coming, and they will be the heralds of the city's destruction.   (Ouch, we took some heavy losses. The Scipii fought with rage and skill, and we lost most of our horsemen. And we also lost our eleph... Wait...one of them survived ?! drat, I forgot these elephants came from Boatmurdered, of course the unit wouldn't get wiped out ! He'll be the highlight of our victorious parade in Capua, YEAH!) Next time, we move ever closer to our objective.
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Feb 22, 2018 23:38
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Ikasuhito posted:When we last left our story!
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Feb 22, 2018 23:53
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 Welcome back everyone, last time we almost wiped out the last of the Scipii's armies. Now, time to finish the job.  Carthage had prospered and grown for many years now. The constructions projects, and the riches brought in mostly by careful administration and partly by the conquests, allowed the Empire's capital to thrive. The commoners were happy with their lot in life, had many children, the nobility was equally satisfied and the clergymen more than content with the respects paid to the gods (and the more profane ''pays'' to them, too). This was the perfect time to turn a page in history, and bring some changes. (Yay, Carthage is growing into a huge city ! This is the final tier a city can reach in this game, it mostly allows you to build the most important (and most expensive) buildings. If I remember correctly, it will also give our generals upgraded bodyguards, which we will dearly need. Because while we expanded and became mighty, have no doubts that others have grown in power too. Maybe not as much as us, but they can still be a threat to us. I'm mostly worried with what the East had in reserve for us...)  (This is such overkill I don't even need to play this battle directly. Glorious, absolute, absurd overkill. Nothing, bar a combined intevention from Jupiter, Susanoo and Cthulu, can save the Scipii and their leader.)   The Carthaginian soldiers didn't even bother to check if the civilians were hostile are not. Living in their sworn enemies' capital was criminal enough to them. Thousands of innocent people were put to the sword, anyone resisting or protesting earned a painful death on the spot, for them and their relatives. The display of savagery from the victorious army shocked some of it's members, who did their best to protect or hide as many people as they could. General Sakarbal, while renowned for his clemency towards cooperative or even grumbling civilians, did little to hold his men's brutality in check. He himself sacked and burned to the ground the Scipii's familial domain, with his bodyguards' help. After several hours of horror and carnage, the combattants finally calmed down, but the evil had been done. Capua, the wonder of Campania, and her people would take a very long time to heal from the grievous wounds they suffered that day. (Welp, guess Jupiter was napping, Susanoo was busy killing an eight-headed dragon and Cthulu playing Overwatch.)  (Good bye, Scipii. You were worthy and tenacious foes, and made us work for Sicily and Souhern Italy. We won't forget you, and we'll make sure History never forgets about you.)  Sakarbal gave a speech honoring some among the most respected soldiers of his army. Only a single elephant and his rider survived the brutal struggle against the Scipii, but they more than earned praises and rewards. The man was given a hefty sum of money, and lands in the recently conquered provinces of Southern Italy, while the animal would be sent to Tarentum. Also, the rider was allowed to make a wish to the general, who would Not so surprisingly, he asked to stay with his faithful companion, and the only other member of his unit. And so both of the veterans left Capua, accompanied by their comrades's acclamations, to Tarentum, to enjoy a well deserved rest. (Speaking of History, these two will inspire quite a few legends and some great books, with no doubts. As Sakarbal said, this unit will, for now, stay in Tarentum. Maybe I'll disband it so they can truly be freed of military duty...or I'll send it back to Africa, and it will be reformed as a whole fighting unit, with the veterans as instructors and trainers.)   (In the ''random news'' department, we meet a Gallic spy near the Julii's capital, and look at how much money we're making now ! Remember the old days, when we were barely keeping our heads out of bakruptcy ? Screw the old days!)  The fall of Capua was a kick in the hornets' nest : Roman fleets came rushing down from the Adriatic Sea to attack the ports of Croton and Tarentum, perhaps in hopes of cutting the Carthaginian supply lines. (Ha ha, fools ! There are no supply lines mechanics in this game, it's not War in the Pacific !)  (These guys, you'll meet quite a lot. They can be a huge pain in the rear end early, and continue to be a mild annoyance through the whole duration of a campaign. They can spawn pretty much everywhere and attack your navies or blockade your ports which can be, as I said, immensely frustrating. They are also surprisingly good, they'll destroy Biremes in an even fight, and be a threat to Triremes when they have the numerical avantage.)  (Ah, the wonders of architecture ! Stone walls are the first of what I personally consider as the ''serious'' tiers of defences a city can have. Rams can no longer bring them down, and though masses of ladders can be annoying to deal with, it's MUCH more annoying and dangerous for the attackers, as the towers will rain arrows on their faces. Siege towers are more dangerous to the defenders, but they can catch fire...all in all, you want at least this to protect most if not all of your cities, as it's pretty cheap and it's very effective. If you are assaulting stone walls...be prepared to lose a lot of men, except if the garrison is very light.)  Seeing how fast the Romans were crumbling, Macedon decided to try and take advantage of the situation, willing to secure the Eastern coast of the Adriatic sea. (Ha ha, welcome friends ! Come and take bite out of our victory feast. But careful, the meat still growls and can still bite. Also it seems like there's a Gallic family member standing defiantly near Patavium. He's not going o take it back on his own, maybe he's trying to start a guerilla war or something ? Have fun, buddy !)  (Back on the other military front, we're about to take the last of Numidia's cities in this part of the world. They still have at least one place in Lybia, but with this we'll have secured our rears before we move to Libya from Lepcis Magna.)  (I'm sure we'll win, this horde of bodyguards worries me. We might lose many soldiers to take Nepte.)    (We have cornered both their king and prince ! And judging by the last guy's age, this might be all that remains of the Numidian royal family. If I'm right, then this battle will seal our enemies' fate.)   (Holy loving poo poo look how many horsemen there are ! If we were having a figh out in the open, I'd actually be a bit scared. But since they are all trapped inside, they aren't nearly as dangerous as they could be.)  (Here the enemy attempted something that looked like a sally...maybe ? Their projectiles are causing some damage to us, however...  (We have them outmached on this matter, I think.)  (Our spearmen are advancing in phalanx formation, ready for what's coming their way.)  (Erm, guys ? You know, charging cavalry directly into the sharp end of a spear is probably not the safest thing to do!)  (See ?! Do you guys have blood ties with the Brutii?)   (The other two generals broke and ran back to the town square, but decided to die like warriors and came back to the fight. I'll be more than happy to make their wish come true.)   (Thank you for coming, come back soon !)   (We lost less people thant I expected we would, but it still wasn't an easy fight. The Numidians nobles gave all they got in their final moments. Next time, our Empire continue to grows, with no doubts. See you then !)
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Feb 25, 2018 19:54
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Oh hey, this is back. Sweet.
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Feb 26, 2018 14:06
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Deadmeat5150 posted:Oh hey, this is back. Sweet. Welcome back
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Feb 26, 2018 22:00
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Let's get back to killing of my ancestors  ! The flames of rage burn bright in Carthage!
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Feb 26, 2018 22:44
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 Good day to you people, last time, we secured one of the North African fronts. Now, time to get back to Italy, for some serious...progress.  For a long time a battlefield, Sicily was now one of the jewels of the Carthaginian Empire. The three main cities were flourishing, both culturally an economically, and the wars seemed like a distant memory. (Sicily is an amazing place to control in Rome Total War, it is strategically important and bring you lots of money once properly developped.)  (This big Julii army might be coming down to reinforce Rome...there are some veteran units with them, and Hastati are not to be underestimated anyway. Speaking of veterans !)   The Balearic Slingers, despite being mercenaries, had served loyally for many years now. Since the days of Hanno, they fought for the glory of Carthage, and were now terrifyingly skilled. And the gladiators, despite their recent enlisment, had been eager to prove their worth on the battlefield. Despite heavy losses, they succeeded. (I can't remember right now if mercenary units can be replenished or not...I think they can. So I wanted to say that when a unit is replenished in a town, it will lose some experience if the losses were heavy, to portray the loss you suffer when replacing veterans by fresh recruits. However, with so many experience levels I think even in the worst case we'll lose only one, at most two levels of experience even if our veterans suffer heavy losses, so that's good.)  (loving finally, we can field some archers ! Not amazing ones, but still, they'll be great to have on the battlefield. Especially during defensive sieges. One unit of Archers will immediatly join Sakarbal, replacing a unit of Slingers that will be garrisonned in the city.)    (These screenshots are there to show you several things, especially the map and the guy that married into the family. And YES, Britannia and Germania are STILL playing that little game of theirs.)  General Sakarbal was getting restless. He and his men were moving ever closer to Rome, the final objective of their campaign. Knowing that the Senate armies were waiting for them in Campania, he decided to take the long way, and to approach the city from the North-East instead of the South. (This is the phase one of Operation Surprise, Motherfucker. Our army will place itself at a very specific spot, which I think is the best way to assault Rome, and with some luck the Senate will attack us during the AI turn. This will give us a great advantage, and we won't suffer nearly as much losses compared to an assault on the city.)  A spy's report confirmed that there was nothing threatening to the North that could attack the Carthaginian Diplomatic Corps from the flank, as Ariminium barely had a garrison.  (When you win a ''Heroic Victory'', you'll have a nice little historical marker on the strategic map. While utterly useless in a practical sense I think it's a nice thing the Total War games have.)  One morning, Rome's inhabitants woke up to see Carthginian banners right at their doorstep. The weakly defended city was now besieged, and a wave of panic shook those hidden behind the walls. (Surprise, Motherfucker. The second part of the operation is now complete. You'll notice, on the strategic map, that our army is placed on a river crossing. This is the spot I was talking about, and if the Senate armies attack us, this will give us an enormous strategic advantage.)  As soon as the scouts warned him of an advancing enemy army, coming from the South, Sakarbal quickly assembled his men and technically abandoned the siege of Rome. The city was still threatened, but the rescuing army and the sallying garrison would now have to face the full might of the Carthaginian army, in defavorable terrain. (They came for us, perfect. This is it folks, more than 5000 men will be fighting in a battle to decide the fate of Rome. If they win, they'll have destroyed the undefeated Carthaginian Diplomatic Corps. But if we beat them... It'll be Rome's end.)   (Most of their soldiers are well trained, and equipped. And they have many bodyguards units. All of the Senators were of little interest, excep for this one. The most influencial, the best politician, the de facto ''King'' of Rome. Marcus Maxentius, the architect of the conflict that took countless lives since it's beginning. Time for him to meet his ancestors.)  (To commemorate the battle, have a screenshot mixing the before-battle zoom in and a loading screen. Just because this is a screenshot let's play doesn't mean you're gonna escape at least one of the loading screens, folks ! Ha ha ha!)   (There are two river crossings on this map, one just in front of us and one rather far to the side. From my personal experience, the AI likes to rush the closest one, but it can also send important forces to go around. My usual strategy is to keep cavalry units close to the other crossing. This way I have a rapid response force in case they want to cross there too, and if they focus on the center I can cross there myself to threaten their flank.)  The two armies rushed forward, the Carthaginians to take defensive positions, the Romans to get across before their enemy was ready. On both sides of the river, the men were nervous, and officers were loudly barking orders. (They chose the most direct approach, this is good for us.)   Sakarbal's men had just enough time to get into position, surrounding the river crossing from all sides. The first enemies to come into contact with the Carthaginians were the Senators and their bodyguards. The skilled soldiers fought fiercely, but they could do little, surrounded on all sides by spears. Meanwhile, stones and arrows rained on the Romans, while some of their own Velites returned fire. (The battle barely begun and look at that mess ! We're losing men at a frightening speed...the Romans might break our lines with the sheer strenght of their numbers ! We already got one of their generals, so things are costly for them too. )     The battle quickly turned into a brutal brawl. The first push of the Romans, even if it costed them many of their elite warriors, weakened the Carthaginian first lines, and allowed their infantrymen to get closer. (This is the simple definition of a cluster gently caress. I still think we have this in the bag, but those stubborn fuckers refuse to rout despite their losses and the death of their leader.)   Following the death of the last Senator, Sakarbal gave the command his cavalry waited for. The men crossed the river at the second crossing, and came as quickly as they could on the Roman rear, trapping them. (This is why you always guard your flanks and rear, kids. Our friends here are going to learn this lesson the hard way.)   Some Roman soldiers tried to turn back to face the nex threat, bu their units were completly desorganised. Between the projectiles strucking them, the Carthaginian infantry assauling them, and now the enemy cavalry flanking them, those aware of their situation understood they were doomed. (Yes, we got them before their reinforcements arrived ! And not a second too soon, look at how fragile our lines look there. Roman discipline is never to be underestimated.)   In a few instants, the Senate's main army crumbled and was quickly slaugtered. The men were trampling corpses more often than walking on the ground. In the end, the men Carthaginian Diplomatic Corps roared in delight as they finished the last of their enemies. Sakarbal quickly reminded them that the fight was not over yet. (Look at this, just look at this...that wasnt a battle, that was a bloodbath, a slaughter. Except there were only butchers killing each other.)    Rome's garrison arrived only to see the piles of corpses on the rivebed, and the other side of the river. They heard the cries of the crows, driven mad by the overwhelming smell of blood, and of the invaders that killed their countrymen. The Carthaginians were now waiting for them, silent and grim. The last army of the Senate rushed forward, towards their end. (Too late, guys. Honestly, even if the main force waited for you, I don't think you could have tipped the balance.)  At the end of the day, Sakarbal and his men were exhausted, but victorious. The Senate's army had been crushed. Only a single Roman soldier managed to escape the carnage, to spread the news : Rome was now defenceless.   (What an epic battle. More than 3000 men died in a single fight. Compared to our enemies' losses we got off lightly, but we still took some heavy hits. Especially our spearmen, who had to bear the brunt of the fighting. Our unit of Velite Gladiators was also wiped out, each one of the mercenary taking four Romans with him.) (Next time, we'll see the aftermath of this battle. Until then, take care.)
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Mar 1, 2018 20:18
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     The houses, the barracks, the temples. The whole city is on fire. The desperate cries of the civilians mixes with the victorious yells of the attackers. Most of the men are killed, most of the women and children enslaved and rounded up to be carried away by the victors, to the corners of their empire. Sakarbal removed his helmet, and from the top of the Capitoline Hill gazed upon Rome's fall. After a long and bloody conflict that lasted for almost twenty years, Carthage had triumphed over her rival. Queen Dido's children vainquished the heirs of Aenas, and the great city had ensured her domination over both North Africa and Italy. There are still powerful nations, strong enough to challenge Carthaginian rule. And the Romans aren't completly destroyed either, for the Julii still stands. However, there was no need to be worried about a serious Roman threat, as their most precious sanctuary was condemned to be a simple province under Carthaginian rule. Concerning Rome's dreams of domination, glory, and eternal legacy... Everything is over.  The news quickly spread across the whole Carthaginian Empire, and everyone celebrated the final defeat of the oldest enemy. Everyone, from soldiers to peasants, from nobles to priests, praised the hero that led his armies to victory, from Sicily to Bruttium, from Campania to Latium. All hail Sakarbal, the Conqueror. (Our boy grew up so fast...and he won't be retiring before a long time.)  (Academies are useful for your family members, as they will increase the odds of them getting good retinue members and traits. Some people also say they help fight corruption, but I've yet to confirm this.)  (That's uh...an unusual alliance, I must say. I don't know how this will work, practically.)  After thinking about it for some time, Sakarbal decided to spare Rome's arena. Any means of placating the people, even if they were now a huge majority of Punic settlers, was not to be thrown away. (Maybe this won't help with the whole ''cultural unrest'' thing, but at the moment it is giving us an immediate public order bonus, and I won't waste that. Maybe we'll demolish this arena later, but not now.)    A group of bandits in North Africa, among them rebel gladiators, was swiftly crushed by a small Carthaginian detachment. No mercy was shown, no prisoners were taken. (even if we lost a fair bit of light cavalry, using missile troops is still the best answer when facing strong but shield-less enemies. Cavalry charges are good for finishing the job.)   (The first units of Sacred Bands have finished their training, I hink they'll get on a boat to join Sakarbal in Italy. They will hold the Carthaginian Diplomatic Corps' flanks wih skill. Also, here is the historical marker commemorating our victory over the Senate.)  (There are some scrubs still hanging around Rome. Former deserters, soldiers that escaped, simple folks that took up arms ? I don't know, and I don't care. We'll get rid of them soon.)    (Our enemies' numbers have dwindled, but so did our allies'. Oh well, at this point, we don't really need allies, do we ? There are still useful for securing some parts of our borders though. We are by far the strongest of the known nations. The Egyptians and Seleucids are competing for second place, and the Greeks and Germans are not to be forgotten either. But unless these factions team up against us and attack from all sides, I don't think they have a chance of beating our empire.)  (That's a huge field of wheat ! I know, it might not be much compared to today's games, but I still love Rome Total War's battlefields, sue me.)    (It's Crush a Rebel day, today ! Though I admit, for a bunch of Velites they fought quite fiercely.)  (Despite being ravaged, Rome is still very rich. It's not only a game objective, but an interesting strategic position to hold. Also, one of our diplomats met a Scythian unit, so time to analyse it.)  (Axemen are a solid unit both in attack and defense. They will destroy spearmen and light infantry in CQC, and can hold their own even against heavy infantry. They are, however, weak against heavy cavalry charges or concentrated missile fire, since they wear little armour. What's special about the Scythians is their faction is almost exclusively cavalry-oriented, much like the Parthians. Axemen are among the few units of infantry they can recruit, and I think they are the only CQC unit they can have, the others being foot archers.)  (Yes, YES ! We have a Royal Palace in Carthage ! Not only are our bodyguards stronger now, but thanks to the Darthmod we hve two more units!)   (These elite units are very, very strong at what they do. They both have their pros and cons compared to the other. Carthaginian lancers are basically Triarii : spearmen who are also able to whoop some infantry asses. They are, however, not as effective in combat as a whole compared to their pikemen equivalent. Carthaginian pikemen are a great phalanx unit, rivaling with Macedonian or Seleucid units. They will crush any cavalry and effectively fight infantry too. But they are far less mobile and versatile than the spearmen, and are more expensive too. Keep something important in mind : even if these units are very strong, you can only recruit them in places where a Royal Palace or equivalent has been built. This can make the replenishment of these units difficult during a military campaign. I think that's it for today, so take care and see you next time, people !)
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Mar 4, 2018 19:43
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Rome has fallen. Now to mop up the rest then crush the Egyptians. Why? Just because.
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Mar 5, 2018 00:26
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 Welcome back everyone ! With the Roman's backbone broken, we can continue to build our empire.  (Apparently the Spanish campaign against the Gauls isn't going too well for them, that army is messed up. Then again, they might be the veterans of a victorious operation. We really need to get some new map infos too, our maps are several dozens of years old, and borders can change a lot during that time.)   (We also continue to destroy the Julii's naval might, here some brave Romans sailors try to break our blockade of Arretium. Brave, but foolish.)   The Numidian diplomat left the Governor's palace sad, but unsurprised. The offer he had to deliver to the Carthaginian was simply unreasonable. Numidia had lost most of it's land, numerous warriors, and many members of the Royal Family were slain. They were not in position to ask anything. Even without consulting his superiors, the governor of Lepcis Magna gave the answer he was expecting. A simple, determined ''No''. (I love it when the AI is like ''You kicked our asses, took most of our towns, slaughtered our troops. But we're feeling generous today, so if you give us tons of cash, we might let you live.'')     (Several things happened this turn, we spotted a Spanish spy in Cordoba, but the sneaky gently caress managed to get away, Sakarbal is know our faction heir, and we built a temple of Baal in Rome. These are the little, seemingly not important things that shape history, in the end. Also, here is the Carthaginian (and Eastern) equivalent to the Roman arena : the execution square, that will develop into Secret Police buildings. Useful for maintaining Public Order.)  (Now this is...puzzling, to say the least. When a conflict spark between two factions, the agressor is the one on top of the defender. So...Numidia attacked the Greeks ? Did they land an invasion force in Crete or did they assault a Greek invasion force in Lybia ? Impossible to say. Seems to me that Numidia isn't in shape of attacking anyone.)    (After clearing some Rebels next to Cordoba, the captain in command is adopted into the family ! I love this feature in the game. This also means that our Empire has grown faster than the Royal Family, since this options is available when you lack a good number of generals/governors.)  (We also see some kind of Barbarian alliance. We'll have to keep an eye on them.)  (Why am I sending this big fleet to Northern Italy you may ask ? He he he...surprise ! Speaking of surprise...hey, Spain ! Guess what ? Screw you!)   The people living in the outskirts of Scallabis barely had anytime to react when a Carthaginian army fell on them, and besieged the city. The surprise was total, as the Spanish thought their neighbors were busy fighting Rome, as they themselves were engaged against Gaul. Theophanes, former governor of Cordoba, was now the General of the Carthaginian armies in Spain. The Senate back in Carthage encouraged him to take agressive actions whenever he saw fit against the Iberic tribes. His spies told him the Spanish king was resting in Scallabis, and decided to cut off the snake's head before he could bite. (Hopefull this will also ease the pressure on our Gallic allies. If we conquer Iberia, we'll also gain tons of resources and secure a strategic position from which we will, possibly, easily expand into continental Europe.)    The Spanish were quick to react. Rushing to help their ruler, a nearby force attacked the Carthaginian rear, much to Theophanes' satisfaction. The more enemies he'd kill in the open, the less of them there will be hiding behind walls to protect their cities. (The enemy fields mostly Scutarii units, with some Medium Spearmen and Iberian Infantry. They also have cavalry, and their Bodyguards looks very skilled. But we have the numerical advantage, and...)  (We have War Elephants. Remember the Elephants that kicked the Romans' asses from Sicily to Campania ? Well, these are the higher tier. They are much bigger, tougher, meaner, and they have archers on their backs.)  (As you can see on the minimap, we moved back to the open terrain. For two reasons : first we don't want to be flanked by Scallabis' garrison. Second the open field is much better for our War Elephants, the ones that are currently charging the Spanish' right flank.)  (I swear, I'll NEVER get tired of seeing soldiers being thrown into the air by mighty trunks, deadly tusks and stubborn heads.)  (Seeing their reinforcements in a tough situation, the Spanish King and his army charge forward in an effort to help. But it's too little, too late.)   (On these images you can see the devastation brought upon our foes by our mighty beasts of war plowing through their ranks from behind. But also the drawback of using Elephants : they are messing up our own lines in the same time, that's something to keep in mind when they are on the battlefield.)   The Barbarians' forces soon crumbled under the combined efforts of the Elephants and Carthaginian infantry. Caraunios is slain while fighting, and the captain is runned down by the fast cavalry chasing the routing warriors.   Only a handful of soldiers managed to escape the invaders' swords, by disappearing into the woods. (And across the End of the World Red Line.)   (The enemy fought bravely but we prevailed. drat, look at that : our War Elephants killed almost 500 of these poor bastards.) Next time, we will press on our advantage. Until then, take care !
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Mar 11, 2018 20:00
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 Hello everyone, welcome back.   (We have half of Spain under our control right now, but a boat I sent to scout ahead warns us that Narbo Martius is now a Spanish town. I fear our Gallic allies might be threatened with destruction...good news though, both this town and the Roman town of Massilia are relatively undefended.)  (Now THAT is a surprise ! Usually when I play Rome Total War, Pontus end up becoming the major power in the East. Pontus or Egypt, and even if they don't I'm usually the one that have to put them down. I wonder who vainquished them and became more powerful by absorbing them... pleasenotParthia pleasenotParthia pleasenotParthia. )   (A Julii agent seems to have forgotten that Rome is a forbidden zone for Romans now, and his masters have forged an alliance with Spain. While mildly annoying, I don't think their combined strenght is a real threat to us.)  (Seems like what's probably Massilia's garrison is heading through the Alps to reinforce Italy itself...little do they now that...)    (We're already there. Sakarbal moved by sea from Rome to Segesta, and quickly conquered the almost undefended town, killing one of the Roman family member.)  (These guys are among the best soldiers we can have in our armies. They hit hard, and have enough defense to stand their ground against most enemies. They can break spearmen units, stand against light cavalry, are decently equipped against projectiles, can storm and secure walls if they aren't fighting any elite enemies, and they are still mobile enough to out-maneuver phalanxes with ease. On the disadvantages side, they are rather costly to train (but not to maintain), have rather weak stamina curtesy of their heavy armour, and their morale is rather lacking compared to equal tier units from other factions, especially Roman Legions.)    (Some Julii forces are next to our newest conquest. The Carthaginian Diplomatic Corps will crush them.)   The battle started in a...weird way. The Roman moved eratically, probably enraged by the Carthaginians' projectiles they closed in only to retreat before the melee actuall started, allowing their enemies to shoot them in the back. (Though I failed at one point to retreat my archers fast enough, causing them to eat a volley of pila, this strange part of the battle was definitely to our advantage.)   The Roman cavalry didn't manage to encircle the invaders, and was pushed back or routed with heavy losses without doing any kind of meaningful damage to Sakarbal's army.  (Ah, seeing Triarii getting cut down is always a great pleasure.)   Some of the Roman units managed to fall back in good order, unwilling to throw away their lives in an hopeless battle. (Run, cowards. No matter how far you flee, it won't be nearly far enough to save you from our blades, sooner or later.)    (One of their captains fell, and here you can see where most of the fighting happened. Protip : where the piles of corpses are the biggest.)   (A good fight. We took some damage, but we destroyed a big force that won't bother us in the future.) That's all for this part, see you next time !
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Apr 14, 2018 20:40
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