[Sub Mod Request] Pax Romana - Brainstorming

**Another1thinking** · October 26, 2014, 08:54 AM

Hi there, fellow Caesars, pharaohs and warlords,

I have been a devoted player of DEI ever since it came out; a silent observer to the huge progress the team has made to bring this game closer to perfection, as I’m sure many others. So here’s my two cents on how to make this mod even better:

Haven’t everyone experienced lack of challenge by mid, late game in Rome 2 (in all TW series, in fact)? Have you ever gotten bored by the cyclic “choose next target -> conquer them -> choose next target”? Have you ever wanted the AI to take initiative so that you would actually need these 10-15 legions to be stretched over the length of your borders; so that the notion of Pax Romana (peace all over the Roman borders) would feel like a desired utopia? If yes, then you might be interested in the following sub-mod, as I am.

The idea I have in mind is to impose on player the so-called ‘belt of instability’ over borders with differing cultures, so that conquering lands of differing cultures would affect diplomatic relations with the given culture representatives on turn-to-turn basis.

Example:

You play as Rome and you’ve just acquired foothold in Spain (conquered Tarraco from Cessetani). On the next turn diplomatic relations with Iberian states start to degrade dropping by 5 points every turn. Once they reach -100, Iberian culture state(s) bordering your Spanish enclave will be compelled to declare war on you. When the war is won, the cycle repeats with the next Iberian states on your new borders until Hispania is subjugated.

The same logic applies for Gauls, Germanic tribes, and others. Since many people like to imitate Roman expansion in Europe, that is: to stay on Rhine-Danube frontier, such mechanics would ensure preservation of the threat.

After all, that is how Roman state had developed into trans-Mediterranean hegemon: new lands where conquered to ensure the safety of old lands.

I have zero experience in modding so the best I can do is share my thoughts with the community, in hope that the community will find this idea interesting; and modders – feasible and worth pursuing.

Unless there’re pitfalls, I don’t see the feasibility part problematic: cultures are already assigned to regions on campaign start, so essentially there are Celtic, Iberian, Germanic lands, etc. Foreign culture’s intrusion into these lands can trigger diplomatic deterioration (idk, if it can on turn-to-turn basis though); variables of dip. relations change may be adjusted until the golden mean is found; it can be applied for both, player and the AI.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts, critique, and suggestions on the matter, fellow Caesars.

Best of luck on battlefields,
Another1

**Augustusng** · October 26, 2014, 08:00 PM

What exists in the game currently (even vanilla) is a system where your diplomatic relations with all factions get lower as your imperium level increases. Of course this isn't culture-specific, so it does lead to some weird occurrences... but they make some sense I think. In my last campaign as the Lugii, I declared war on the Arevaci and my imperium level increased after capturing a few cities. The Arevaci had a trade agreement with Royal Scythia, so the Scythians weren't happy about the war. Because of that and the diplomatic penalties, Royal Scythia declared war on me, even though they had a trade agreement and a non-aggression pact with me as well. Of course, this is a pretty new behavior for the Rome 2 CAI, which is normally too passive. I'm not sure the Scythians would've declared war on me even then, except that they were more powerful than me (in the diplomacy power-bar) at the time. What I'm trying to say is that the three armies I had stationed along the border with Scythia paid off in the end.