House rules:
- no using the nice red line to cover a flank (on battle map)
- I auto-resolve a lot even with family members, but battles with captain-led armies must be auto-resolved.
- no reloading if something goes wrong.. =P
- I will try to build colonies and civilise barbarians as first priority
- I will try to play according to the characteristics of generals-- for example a guy with the "Inferior Infantry Commander" trait will use his infantry in tactically unsound ways
- I will only change my capital city on the death of a faction leader, to represent shifts of power or whatever.
- assassins to be used only against diplomats and enemy assassins
- I will repay the 50,000 dn. loan with 10% interest within 30 years
May add on to house rules as AAR progresses. This is my first full AAR, so any kind of advice would be most welcome.
Prologue: Anabasis & Genesis
Hippias of Camulodunum here displays his enquiry, so that the glorious and extraordinary rise of Greco-British may not become forgotten in time.
The story began more than a hundred years ago, in 280 BC. Phoenicians from the city of Carthage had, through treachery, wrested control of the great port-city of Massalia from the inhabitants, and expelled the entire Greek population. Exiled, the Massiliote Greeks wandered around Gaul, dodging bandits warbands and tribal wars. In this time, a patriarch called Thersandros came to lead the exiles. Thersandros was a visionary who spoke of the fabled isles of Cassiterides. There, he believed, his people could settle down in prosperity.
After a long, perilous odyssey northwards, the exiles finally reached the shore of the northern sea. They had braved bandits and opportunists, cold winters and hostile tribes. There the shipwrights among the exiles put their skills to good use and built a fleet of biremes in Greek fashion. By the winter of 277 BC, the fleet was ready, and the exiles set sail.
They landed near the small town of Camulodunum. Though it was much colder than Mediterranean Massalia, it was also fertile and plentiful. Despite that, the locals there were impoverished from numerous raids from land and sea. Thersandros made a pact with the locals to defend them in return for allowing the exiles to establish homes amongst them. Thus in that manner the first Greek colony was established on Britannia.
With the protection of the Greeks and the infusion of new blood, Camulodunum flourished, and extended its influence towards the whole southern part of Britannia. A significant factor was the locals’ embracing of Hellenic culture and political institutions. There were, of course, those who scorned the new ways and despised them as foreign, and for a while there was unrest in Camulodunum, which erupted into open rioting at times. But as those diehards either moved out into the country as brigands or resigned themselves, Camulodunum increasingly came to resemble a Greek town.
In 270 BC, a new, magnificent governor’s palace, built and decorated in Greek fashion, was completed. Locals and settlers alike took this opportunity to declare the inauguration of the Cassiteridic League, with Thersandros as hegemon. The charismatic Thersandros had been the unofficial leader for some time, but the official appointment cemented his authority. The emerging Greco-British state, with its embryonic stage behind it, has unlimited potential. An energetic and capable strategos could spread Greco-British culture well beyond the Tin Isles……
The Greco-British circa 270 BC
Family tree:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: