Roman Praetorian Legions

**LuciferM** · July 17, 2014, 08:58 PM

So I was doing a Syracuse playthrough and I finally managed to get an army onto Italy after repelling the Roman revenge stacks on Sicily. I was about ready to march into the city of Rome itself, but ol' Hieronymos had to go back to Syracuse because Rome pulled a full stack of Early Praetorian Cohorts and Imperial era auxiliary cohorts out of its ass. This quite bothered me seeing as to how it's only 551 AUC. What's the deal?

**Darth Bane1** · July 18, 2014, 05:24 AM

This seems to be an emergency stack created by the garrison script as I always encounter such a stack when I fight against Rome. Gives often a real challenge...

**Alavaria** · July 18, 2014, 10:42 PM

Yes, not only are there garrison forces that appear, but also stacks appear outside as well if you have taken settlements in Italy. If the condition is satisfied, these can be later era units.

**Agrippa19** · July 20, 2014, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by LuciferM

Rome pulled a full stack of Early Praetorian Cohorts and Imperial era auxiliary cohorts out of its ass. This quite bothered me seeing as to how it's only 551 AUC. What's the deal?

rome in the hands of the AI is head wrecking in this mod with the emergency stacks as a lot of them are imperial units way before the reforms take place at at an historical date..

**ur-Lord Tedric** · July 21, 2014, 05:09 AM

Originally Posted by Agrippa19

rome in the hands of the AI is head wrecking in this mod with the emergency stacks as a lot of them are imperial units way before the reforms take place at at an historical date..

I did try to convince the Team to not use scripting (the only way to produce 'reasonable' legion-based armies for the player to fight against); and even not to use the Named & Numbered - but the vote was against me....

Personally I would rather see the AI limited to the 'Generics' (which covers the first ~200 years anyway) and use regular recruitment. Even First Cohorts would be problematical (either none or armies of them!).

But it seems the players also want to fight against the named and numbered - which I could not worry about if I were not playing Rome.

**Agrippa19** · July 21, 2014, 12:59 PM

I agree scripting may be the only way for AI Rome to field historically accurate armies, espicially with first cohorts and auxillaries. But I definately would be against only allowing the AI recruit the generics only, unless you mean scripting will only use generics?

I love playing as factions like Ptolymies and fighting the Rome in the late game with their numbered legions. But whhen playing a faction like the Averni or Syracuse it's much different as you come up against Rome much earlier, and those late era units feel so out of place.

**Vardan the Great** · July 22, 2014, 01:11 AM

Guys can you tell me plz what is the post-marian reform and what historical background does it have?

**kyrkac** · July 22, 2014, 01:14 AM

look here

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-Roman-Legions

**century x** · July 23, 2014, 11:30 AM

Those fights sound like a lot of fun to me.

**dvk901** · July 23, 2014, 03:52 PM

I will have to (eventually) look at the scripts to see why Rome would be fielding post-Marian units so early....it could be either a script goof-up..or...the Romans are just getting to the reforms way too quickly.

**Alavaria** · July 23, 2014, 11:52 PM

Never actually fought those special roman troops.

Always killed them too fast...

**century x** · July 25, 2014, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by dvk901

I will have to (eventually) look at the scripts to see why Rome would be fielding post-Marian units so early....it could be either a script goof-up..or...the Romans are just getting to the reforms way too quickly.

Most likely they are just getting it to soon.

**Darth Bane1** · July 26, 2014, 06:32 AM

It's always around 548 A.U.C when they hit the Marian Reforms, atleast in my campaigns... That's only 12 years or so after I began to play. Veeery early. And that is the reason why I have to destroy the Romans quickly.

**LuciferM** · July 26, 2014, 07:17 AM

I don't think it's the Marian reforms, all the other armies that Rome fields carry polybian units, it's these auto-spawned Praetorians that show up. I had already taken Akragas (and the rest of Sicily) pretty early in the game.

**Darth Bane1** · July 26, 2014, 09:53 AM

It is. Most of their cities already have Roman Fortresses. So they can build named and numbered legions. I remember a campaign were I met the Alaudae Legion... And it was 552 A.U.C...

**Alavaria** · July 26, 2014, 04:29 PM

Looking at descr_regions, it seems a lot of settlements have the "italy" hidden resource? This is when you check descr_regions for the non-Rome campaigns.

If so, it would appear that a bunch of settlements will very quickly be able to trigger "marian reforms" -> "AI builds praetorian_training in roma" -> "Early praetorian emergency stacks"

When you are playing as not Rome, the Rome AI does not follow the rules that Rome-Player does when playing a Rome-only campaign. Multiple settlements (not just that one) can be used by the AI to trigger marian reforms

"Sadly" both my campaigns now (Sparta, Syracuse) have Rome within choking distance...