Campaign Guide: House of Laertes

Hey everybody! I've noticed that nobody has posted any kind of campaign guides nowhere, though some have shed light on some questions occasionally. But aside from tips that were given years ago, there's nothing that can guide current users or future users of the mod. Due to the aforementioned reasons, I've decided to make a personal guide for every faction I've played previously and currently. Currently, I am playing through the Aristeia Campaign as the House of Laertes, a faction that is set to represent the Kingdom of Ithaca from Homeric poems. The main objective's of the factions campaign is to capture and control thirty settlements, including your starting camp at the siege of Troy, the Troy itself and a couple of Kikonian settlements. It might take me time to finish this guide, because I am playing through the campaign myself at the moment.

Part I: Retreat from Troy
I am sure that there are various ways how to kick-start this campaign, and you may even argue with me regarding the method I recently used to start the campaign, but if you really care for your long-term success in the campaign: forget about the thematics of Illiad and the Odyssey and stop role-playing, that's not how you build an empire. Firstly, you will have a relatively fine amount of chryseia at the beginning of the campaign - but as we know, those chryseia will run out very quickly if you will run for a successful siege at Troy. You will have only two settlements at the beginning, which are Same and Pale, and most certainly they are running minus due to the size of your army at the siege (it's only twenty-two units, but hey, how will you recover all that money after a few successful turns?). You won't be able to afford any additional buildings at your settlements with an economical base like that. Thirdly, there's simply no chance that you could possibly conquer Troy at that said point. No, the Laerteid army is too insignificant compared to (for example) Atreid forces, Peleid forces, Tydeid forces, or even Neleid forces. Laeteids, Tlepolemonians and Telamonians are the only ones that begin to begin with only one main army. So what would you do in this situation? If you'll try to upkeep those forces (that are small compared to other states, but are nonetheless rather heavy for your economy), you will have an early economical collapse and it will take you a good struggle before you'll get back on your feet to contest for any kind of regional power. Therefore, an ideal option would be if you'd just take your main force and sail away back to Greece. This way your lad Odysseus wouldn't have to experience a ten-year return, nor a ten-year war. Just pack your and get back home. It will take you a couple of turns to sail back to the Thessalian coasts, and after that it's suggestible that you'll travel to the Ithacan area by foot. But wait, by foot? Yes.

At this point, you'll still have your freedom of passage and all the access to any lands without any issues, so it's far better than circling around Peloponnesian coast to Ithaka. This also has another purpose - taking settlements nearby Ithaka. Ithaka (Same and Pale) are well secured in the sea since AI uses naval transportation rather rarely, but they are not profitable enough for you to live off of them. (To be continued, I have to sleep!)....