House of Scipii - RTW guide
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This is an article about campaign strategy in Rome: Total War, written by fallingsuperspark. It can also be found here.
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
The Scipii are one of the three Roman families. they are richer than the other two Roman factions, and have only one province in Italy. The Scipii family also hold a province on Sicily. This is a key place for the faction, and will be the island where you should start your battle planning, in order to start your empire and conquer for Rome.
[edit] Starting a Scipii Campaign
After watching the pre-game video, you should see that the Scipii don't exactly like the Carthaginians, nor the Greeks...or the other Romans really. So, if you like to follow what the crazy man in the video tells you then here are a few tips. First off, upon looking over your empire, you should try to get as much military power as you can in Sicily, ally with the Carthaginians first, as you can stab them in the back later, but also because of two other reasons. one being that the first mission you receive is to take a Greek settlement, and another is because from experience, I know that later on the Greeks will usually stab you in the back and in my game it ended in them taking Sicily, as my military was too busy in Africa.
Having defeated the Greeks on Sicily, you should have been rewarded by the Senate. This is always a plus, and hopefully now with a bigger income you can start to raise an army. Make sure you train extra troops, as the Carthaginians can be tricky. Especially because they have elephants! Whilst raising your army, try to send a diplomat abroad. I found allying with the Numidians, Egypt, Macedon and Spain helped, as they surrounded some of Carthage's Provinces, and at the moment you shouldn't be too bothered if they take Carthaginian land. Stabbing in the back may be un-honourable but its your choice.
Hopefully by now you should have a large enough army to storm Lilybaeum (spelling?). Send as many men as you can and take it fast, if you can wait until the Carthaginian family member who resides in the town has left then do so. This will take some men out of the town, along with their strong general. he can be easily bribed or defeated later. By the time you have taken Lilybaeum, The Brutii will have begun their movement into greece, and if you allied with Macedon, by now it will likely be in ruins. But this shouldn't worry you, don't bother sending thousands of diplomats to ask for an alliance again and again. Why not just kill them later?
But anyway, having taken Sicily you should find your income greatly increasing. If not then raise your taxes, do as much as you can to get money flowing, for you shall need it for the next part of the Scipii campaign. As soon has you have plenty of money, start to build up your army. Bring in mercenaries, troops from Capua too, transport as many as you can get, for Carthage will not fall easily. I gathered two stacks for this attack, which proved insufficient for me, maybe its just my rubbish planning but anyway. If you can, then storm Carthage, beware of the Boiling oil, it was a nasty surprise to me, having found capturing settlements easy up to now. Come prepared for a hard fight. If you feel that Carthage is a step too far, then perhaps Thapsus is the place to go. Its lovely beaches, stunning views and people just waiting to be taxed out of their minds really draws you in. No seriously, I went for this place having being beaten at Carthage, as it has superior training facilities to the ones you previously own, then it should help you train better men, and thus the storming of Carthage will be that bit easier. I found that I couldn't storm Carthage in an open siege, so i tried numerous attempts at rebellion, and to lure the enemy out.
- First - try blockading the Port, it's a sure fire way to stop trade and lower their income.
- Second - try luring the enemy out by leaving an army waiting outside the walls.
- Third - having bruised them, go in for the kill.
This three way blow is sure to leave Carthage in your hands. With Carthage's main lands taken, the rest is yours. You can either crush them or leave it and continue your empire building. Either way, you should try and re-balance your armed forces so that you're not paying too much and still making regular income.
[edit] The Further Empire
With Carthage reeling away from Africa in peril, you should now feel quite pleased with yourself. If rebellion hasn't killed the Carthaginians yet, then you can later. As for now Back Stabbing should be the next part of your plan. It is dishonourable, but all for the sake of the empire!
If you feel like backstabbing then follow these hints. If you did ally with Numidia, then it's time for some backstabbing fun. First rally an army just outside Carthage. Perhaps two stacks would be best for the upcoming wars. Now once you are sure you're ready begin to march West into Numidian lands. Don't worry if the Senate tells you off, just keep marching on and on. Once you reach the Numidian Town, Storm it. Take it and tax it to the max. By now the Senate should realise, that you're not turning back. and so they should too declare war upon Numidia. Repeat this upon all Numidian towns West of Carthage, backstab Spain too if they have come in your way. But try to avoid this if you can, I left it to the very end when I had no-one else worth killing.
After a long decade of War, The Numidians should now only be left in the east with Egypt. Right where you want them. And there you should leave them, for as long as you keep your borders secure, there won't be much of a threat from them. The Carthaginians however now should become your main priority again. Taking Palma is a good way to get more trade, and therefore some extra money. With Palma knocked out, sit and wait, gather your denarii and see if rebellion causes Carthage to be destroyed. If Carthage still exists after your years of effort, dont give up. Raise a small invasion fleet and wipe their last settlement to the floor. Demolish all the buildings and leave. Spain isn't where you want to be fighting. This should have gained you some money, and now you can concentrate on the east. Remember back on Sicily? Them darned Greeks? Well now its their turn. All this is just optional, if you want to you can obviously crush your existing enemies before making new ones. Move east from Sicily and take Kydonia, this is a good stronghold, and troops can keep safe on the island whilst crossing the sea. From Kydonia, move south to Cyrene. Attack quickly leaving them no time to even notice you have arrived. From Cyrene move south again, taking what should be the last Numidian town. By this time, you should have most of africa, except for Egypt. I found that after this, a large push north into Greece and Rhodes defeated the Greeks, and my last enemy. Now with a Large empire, you should concentrate on maintaining it before you make any more major military moves. If you try to conquer too much more land in a short time, you may find rebellion spreading quickly.
[edit] Key Rivals
Carthage - Can be easily disposed of, if you think out your strategy correctly.
Greece - Once their Navy is gone, you will find less attacks, and easier troop movement, to knock them out.
Numidia - Not a rival to begin with but is in the way of your empire. Easily Crushed with force.
[edit] Allies
Spain- They surround Carthage in Iberia, and if you are lucky may attack them. Numidia- At the beginning of your game, they are good to help you attack Carthage. That is if they dare. Egypt- Eventually you will border with them. I find they do not take to Scipii once you are near them so be prepared. apart from this they are good for trade. Macedon Or Thrace- Either is good to have. Both will end in you having to pick one when they go to war. Good for trade in your later empire.
[edit] Civil War
When Civil war strikes, you may find that you are surrounded, and really...you are. I found that fleeing from Italy was a wise move, and i waited for most of the war to finish. With Italy in the hands of either Romans, I invaded from Messana, storming southern Italy, pushing the other Romans up north, so when the rest of the empire's army arrived i could take their lands and dispose of them. The Fighting is tough, and being Scipii, you will need a good navy for beach landings.
