FOR ROMA SURRECTUM 2.0
THE TEAM PROUDLY PRESENTS
From time immemorial, our people have prospered. Our lands are fertile and produce more than we can imagine. Our women give birth to strong sons and beautiful daughters. Our men and our warriors keep us stronger still, and through them, our noble history has been written, and through them, our future will be decided...
Ruling from our mighty fortress oppida in Gergovia, we are certain that our people are safe. But still... these are troubling times, and we have need of a strong leader.
Distant lands have bred contempt for our way of life, and envious eyes looks to our homes as another source for slaves and riches. How wrong they will be if they foolishly march on us! To our east, far across the Rhine river, live the Germanic nations. Their warriors raid our land outright, but we fight back and raid theirs. These Germans dwell and grovel in cesspools of murk and mud and hide under massive forests and dark lairs. It is they who are the barbarians, not us! For one day, our two empires will meet, and the rivers and streams will be full of their blood, and it will be their women and children serving our peoples, so our king swears. However, as we ourselves control mighty warriors and brave souls, so do they. Only a wise and noble leader can guarantee our prosperity when we next cross swords.
As if the Germanic tribes were not enough for our blades and javelins to feed upon, another nation full of tall monuments and marble statues and great poets and soldiers has appeared, and they are not to be underestimated in war (so say our traders that bring us back their wine). These people -- the Romans -- have traded with us for many generations. What sickens our warriors is that our hated enemies, the Aedui, have sent warriors to aid these foreigners against us!
No matter, our people have killed many Roman and Aedui cowards. Indeed many years ago, under Brennus, we annihilated a Roman army after the Romans breached the protocol of treaty and friendship, and more than that, we sacked Rome itself! The riches brought back can still be found in our rivers and lakes where we offered them to our Gods long ago. So great was the spoils of war from that time that it will never be forgotten. Let no coward shout that we cannot march to those lands again, and plunder the temples of their Gods once more! Rome has fallen to us before -- if it grows too arrogant, we may have to refresh its memory!
It is true, they are believed to be strong fighters, but they wield puny swords, and hide behind shields and fight huddled close to each other as if they are scared chickens when the fox comes for them! We have heard stories of their warriors who delight in facing strong enemies on the field, and this is what they shall face. All of mighty Gaul will sound the carnyx, the drum, prepare our cavalry, and the loud warcries of our warriors will be heard once more echoing off the mountains again, reminding them that they can be beaten again! There will be no quarter given to them! Nothing can stop our warriors from taking the heads of their sons and giving them to our Gods in triumph over the weak. Vae Victus!
STARTING LOCATIONS
:
Though nations may laugh at our small beginnings in Gaul, they will stop laughing when they hearing the war cries of our warriors advancing into their lands. From such small beginning comes great things. The people of Gaul are looking to settle new lands, by migration, or by force. Our successes in our land has made us very proud, and some say greedy. Our warriors need new conquests to satisfy them, and we shall not disobey the warrior's nature in all of us.
Our beloved ancient capitol and oppida, Gergovia, sits in the southeast of our lands. Here is where our wise ruler resides and holds court, hearing matters of our people, accepting tribute from the weak men we have conquered, and declaring war on those that would call our people slaves! We have rich mines to fill our treasure halls, and just by the furs that we harvest alone, we could rule the world, but, that would be too easy for our warriors and our women would call us dogs if we bribed our way to power. No matter, from here is where our strength lies, and here, in Gergovia, is where our fate will be determined in mighty Gaul.
Northwest from our capitol is Lemonum, once a capitol of the brave Pictones. A mighty sea-trading network exists here, and we trade with our brothers the Britons for tin and other goods. Of the Pictones, we fought them long ago, and lost many warriors in the attack, due to their ferocity. The Druids consulted our gods, and gave the Pictones into our hands. We are now friends and blood brothers, dismissing our past differences. Their heroic warriors now fight for us and send their best swordsmen to our battle hall when the carnyx calls the Arverni to war!
Northeast from Gergovia is Avaricum, a mighty city in times past, and under our people, an even mightier one that rivals our own Gergovia in people and prosperity! The old masters of Gaul, the tribe of the Bituriges, once called this home, and our great grandfathers tell tales about its splendor and magnificence. As is our destiny, we now call it an Arverni town that answers to our wise king who supervises the builders to restore it to it's former glory once more under our own tribe.
ARVERNI WARRIORS
Skirmishers
First, are our slingers. They can silently strike you down without your knowlege of them even being there. Before your feeble mind registers the quiet swoosh of their stones speeding to you, they smash in your skull or bury themselves deep into your body. By then, its much too late to do anything about them. Their stones cannot easily be seen, so as your warriors fall all around you, you must look for them under their fire, and hope that you have a means to stop them...
Our young warriors who are eager to feel the rush of war begin as a skirmisher, and with these warriors we can quickly strike and ambush our enemies, giving them no chance to effectively counterattack the hail of javelins that fly through the air and cut them down where they stand. Quickness is as much a weapon as is the weapon itself, and Gaul trains only the fastest men to fill this role.
What man says that only warriors are brave enough to fight? Our common men and traders, craftsmen and older warriors can still accompany our warbands into glory. Though these men are older than the rest of our warriors, their hearts and memories of younger days bring them out of the house and into the war as experienced and warwise light troops armed with a javelin and shield. Their javelins are sharp and have seen many battles over the decades and will see many more. No matter the constitution of the warrior, his courage is what brings him glory, and these veterans do not appear lacking!
Our sea loving brothers, the Veneti, bring their experience with the harpoons and javelins they use to continue their maritime harvest of the sea and apply it to their enemies on the battle field. As with their brothers in other part of Gaul, the javelin is favored by them, and they can impale a man as easy as they can a beast of the sea, so beware lest you become the target of their fury!
Only the battle tested and most reliable warriors are ever chosen for this prestigious group of warriors. To make it here means you have been successful in battle many times, and you can outfight others like you in your armor and shield while still retaining the stealth and speed that your counterparts in the other ranks are noted for. When the javelins are spent, these warriors provide a degree of melee ability, and assist the other warriors readily.
The hunters and forestmen do not often claim to be a warrior. Their true skill is in keeping our people fed with the bounty of game that lives with us in harmony in our land. It is not often that we call upon these hunters to follow our standards into battle, but they will aim with accuracy and prove their worth as they strike from afar with their sharp arrows into the enemies ranks.
Light Infantry
For the common man to join his tribe in defiance of a threatening enemy is a brave deed worth remembering. The forest gives our poor and those that have not attained the spoils of better weapons the chance to inflict crushing retribution on the enemies of the Arverni people. The weapons that our club wielding warriors use is more fearsome that believed as it easily dents thin armor and worn shields, and breaks through bones with bludgeoning force. Clubmen are a large force of warriors, and every town will have a host of these men ready to march at the sound of the war drum.
As we bravely march towards the land of our foes, the spearmen make up many of our warriors in number. They are important for facing enemy cavalry and supporting our warriors on the edges of our formations. Without them the enemy could strike at us with the cavalry and claim our lives as their own. This will not happens so long as these warriors are with us in force.
With the sword, our people have come to be the greatest in all of mighty Gaul, and it is with this weapon that we shall become greater! The bloodthirsty nature of of warriors is evident in their lust for battle and running towards danger with a determined fury. The swordsmen that carry no armor are among these. They excel at headlong attacks, or supporting the armored warriors. With the spearmen, these warriors make up many of our tribes count of brave men willing to fight and die for the tribe.
Our allies in Lemonum send us their renown warriors, complete with their war paint and swords! The Pictones train able warriors and they are equal to our own troops in courage in the face of battle. They avoid wearing armor so they can move around faster, and this grants them great ambushing abilities and quickness in battle for getting to the flanks and behind the enemy to close in for the kill.
Heavy Infantry
The ferocious Volcae have come over to us as well, as now bare their axes for our people. We stand side by side with these warriors, not simply out of conquest, but out of respect for their own warrior ethics. They have impressive scale armor that symbolized their eastern roots and they use axes for battle. The many battles where they have participated have become events of heroic victory! These axe wielders have turned to be one of the bravest group of warriors that the Volcae have ever trained, easily receiving glory in their own right.
Our bravest warriors assemble with the men of the Gaesatae. Using drugs to dull your senses to horrific wounds and pain is one way to achieve impossible feats of heroism in battle! Often the mere sight of them will disheartened an enemy, especially one not accustomed to seeing naked fighters charging their lines!
Our middle class warriors form into these dependable and well trained swordsmen. Their armor and weapons are made by our tribes weaponsmiths, and their shields and helmets offer additional protection that many warriors cannot afford. Able to answer most any threat from any nation, our warriors of this high caliber are a mainstay of our Arverni way of war.
No cavalry dare attack the spearman, especially the experienced soldiers of this worthy band! Plenty of heads have been claimed by these men, and look no further than their spears to halt cavalry dead in it's charge! On the flanks they prove their greatest worth as they maintain a watchful eye on the swift enemy horsemen fielded against their tribe.
Honor bound to their tribe, the champion is what every single Gallic warrior who engages in warfare wishes to become at some point in his fighting career. The Gallic smiths forge worthy weapons and excellent, very protective suits of chainmail for these warriors. many of them have attained riches through plunder and spoils in war, enhancing their fame and glory all the more. The elite of the our tribe, champions are the true heroes in our cultures way of warfare.
Cavalry
Our fastest cavalry and the swiftest horses are recruited to serve in this group of warriors. Hit and run is their specialty, not in a cowardly fashion, but in a daring, heroic manner, coming close to the enemy, tempting them to give chase, then wheeling away while aiming the deadly javelins at them! Only the fast riders can hope to catch these men, making them unpredictable in battle, appearing everywhere in a matter of seconds!
Aquitani have lived in southern Gaul since before any of our elders can recall. Iberian influence is strong in them, but they are wise to adopt our superior weapons and battle tactics. They train and send out swift and effective mounted skirmishers and do we, but in smaller numbers. Their horses are fast like ours, and as friends, they gladly fight with us in our wars.
Veterans of our battles and raids, our heroes have collected the helmets of our old enemies beyond the Alps and use them as their own. The shields and weapons of these mounted warriors are suitable for melee and skirmishing, switching between the two as need by their generals. These men are glory seekers as we all are, and they oppose stronger enemies without a second thought, riding them down and slicing into the formations with a mighty charge.
Horses are often a sign of wealth in our tribe. The breeders make horses fit for intense rigors of war and sale them to the nobility of our tribe. The experienced veterans of our nobility form our heaviest, and best led cavalry force. As nobles equip themselves well, their armor, shields, swords and spears are professionally crafted and stands the test of time and the test of war. They bravely face the elite warriors of the enemy, and never back down from their challengers.
The leader of the war effort, our generals come from the veterans of the nobility. Our successes in past wars is a result of their knowledge in battle, and in our future, we will undoubtedly turn to them for victory! Surrounded by his bodyguard of nobility and mounted champions, the general braves the thickest fighting, inspiring his friends and terrifying the enemy, and ultimately, leading his soldiers to a well fought, and well deserved victory.
Arverni in action
We hope that every single one of the Roma Surrectum fans enjoys this preview as well as all future previews that will be made in the months to come. We're all putting forth the effort into Roma Surrectum 2.0 being the best it can be!
Credits
Tone: models and skins
mdg1125: archer and medium cavalry models
Cherryfunk and RS team: historical advice
Mulattothrasher, Tone: screenshots
Roma Surrectum's Arverni Preview!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Octavius-Augustus
