The Fragmented Kingdom of Pergamon: A Pergamon Faction AAR

[intipablo]

The Fragmented Kingdom of Pergamon: A Pergamon Faction AAR






Welcome! This is a new Rome II AAR I have been working very furiously on, and I must say, it is an onerous task, so I hope all this hard work pays off and you all enjoy!

Important Info:

• Played on Hard difficulty (Runs better with DEI)
• Mods: Divide Et Impera 1.1

Ancient Empires Submod
Better Missiles Mod 2
DEI - Graphics Enhancement and Warcry Battle Mods
DEI - Vanilla Unit Names

Characters:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Faction Leader - Philetairos



Heir to Throne - Eumenes/Philetairos’s Son



Possible Heir - Attalus I - Cousin of Eumenes



Not of Noble Blood/General and Commander of Pergamon’s Armies - Eurytos

[Zeion]

Nice! Looking forward to this one!

[McScottish]

Agreed, looking forward to this.

[intipablo]

Chapter 1
Courage, Growth, Resilience

King Philetairos sat in his royal palace, and thought to himself, was this really a palace? Maybe, but a palace of nothing, a palace of a disaster. He was the king of Pergamon, a crumbling and devastated kingdom hidden in amidst the mighty powers of the Black and Aegean Seas. The royal family of Pergamon, the Attalid dynasty, was a mess. Throughout their lands people were deprived of a strong and sensible leader. Philetairos was a good and capable king, and in his youth had been a spectacular warrior. But over the decades the man had aged, and now his decisions were clouded by his trusted advisers’ opinions despite their utter stupidity.The population was depressed. The nimble garrison of the capital city, Pergamum, was greedy and they drained the land of food, along with the gods who kept up a constant demand for sacrifices. As a result starvation spread throughout the lands, which caused trouble in Pergamum, and soon, realising that nothing was changing, riots began in the cities.



Philetairos, by then a weak 71 year old man, died shortly after the violence broke out. The Royal family claimed his death was from natural causes, but to this day the tale is told differently by the locals. They say that a brave young boy had thrown a stone up into the palace of the king, and that the rock had hit him in the head hard, causing an injury which later led to his death. In the years to come, most people would put their faith in that story because the scribes of Philetairos were renowned for their deceitful stories.



Now, Philetairos’ nephew and heir, Eumenes, rushed to the throne. He was a cowardly man, but one loved by the people nevertheless. The locals had faith in him and so soon they took up work across the lands. Although the man was frail, he made many appearances throughout the provinces, giving incredible speeches that raised the hopes of all the afflated townsfolk and soldiers.Over time the new king came to good terms with many great powers of the known world, and soon trade between Pergamon, Egypt, and Bithynia commenced, despite the Seleucids distaste. The Seleucids, were at that time a huge power throughout Cappadocia and Western Asia that had dominated Pergamon for decades. A power that had demolished Pergamon and reduced both their land and treasury to rubble. Eumenes knew that it was critical for the Seleucids to learn that his kingdom was not a toy, but rather an army of hungry and eager warriors. However, the time would come for an all out war with the huge empire, and that time was not now. For the time being Eumenes’ army would wait, building themselves up, all the while enduring the indignation of having a humongous hoard of gold demanded each season by the Seleucids.



While Pergamon was patiently growing, the leader of the Seleucids must have sensed some rebellion growing in the region, for they sent a caravan of messengers to Eumenes, demanding that the kingdom go to war to aide the Seleucids in a fierce battle against a far away nation named Parthia. Eumenes warily agreed, knowing that the time was not right to reveal his true feelings about Seleucus and his followers. Despite the difficult times, new gold arriving from trade partners Egypt and Bithynia, enabled construction to begin for a shrine of Artemis, along with numerous other farms that would be planted throughout the land.

*****

Years of construction passed, until finally a sturdy and reliable food source was established in Pergamum and the surrounding towns. An army was raised immediately, but despite the years of growing, it was nothing more than a mass of armed townsfolk mixed in with very few seasoned soldiers from the king's personal guard. The population was outraged at the hopelessly inadequate thing they called an army, so they took to the streets to protest that something must be done. In the end a mighty warrior by the name of Antipas was appointed to train the army furiously day in day out, until it was strong enough to endure a long campaign against the Seleucids.Soon after the founding of the army, an embassy arrived from the Egyptians. Much to the people's delight, they came bearing very good news. The huge African powerhouse had asked for a defensive alliance between the two kingdoms. This offer was accepted greedily. But the cheers of Pergamon would not last, at least not for long. Because across the lands, the Seleucids were furious. And they were readying themselves for war.




Hope you all enjoyed! I know this chapter had next to no action which i'm sorry for, but it was written more to introduce the AAR and set the scene!


PS: Yes, I know that in that last pic it says the Seleucids are at war with Pergamon, bit of a sneak peek for the next chapter!
Expect it by mid-next week!

[Alwyn]

Great start, I like the way that you tell us about the characters of the leaders of Pergamon. I hope that the training of Anitpas - and the defensive alliance with Egypt - will be enough to enable the army of Pergamon to take on the mighty Seleucid empire.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

Nice start, intipablo.

Don't worry about the "lack of action". There seems to me to be plenty going on in your chapter, and I think if you tell us what's going on, and something about the people involved, that makes the wars much more interesting when they happen.