I would like to make a case for at least 1 Celtic factions in the East or Eastern Europe/Balkans to be included in EB2. Everything here is common knowledge I suppose to us history buffs, but, I am posting to reinforce why its a good idea to consider adding them for anyone that takes notice. Having a Celtic faction thats not based in Gaul or Britain would fill in the area nicely with a historically present group of warriors that can be fleshed out completely, unlike being simply mercs or eleutheroi (sp?).
ALPINE/CENTRAL EUROPE CELTIC FACTION (the Norici, Cotini, Taurisci, and Boii tribes)
My initial ideas on this originated from the Celtic tribes living in the areas of Noricum, Raetia, and or Pannonia (roughly in the vicinity of modern day Austria/Hungary/Switzerland). I recall reading in a book (That I did not have the money to buy! Arrgh!), that in all of "Celtdom," the Noricene tribes were the closest to forming what could be called an empire from their superb smithing and quality of swords, trade with all their neighbors, and close kit confederacy. The area was unified as a Celtic state a couple generations after the EB beginning time line of 272 B.C.E. (Besides, the Noricene Gaecori have the coolest looking shields in the game IMHO)
Noricum
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...re-Noricum.png
Noricum and Raetia (look just above the Italian peninsula)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nzentrajan.png
CELTIC BALKAN FACTION (the Scordisci, Eravisci and Boii)
GALATIAN FACTION (the Tectosages, Trocmii, and Tolistobogii.
http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/armies/II30/index.html (a war gaming minatures site description).
An excerpt from the above link:
"
The Galatian army list begins properly in 280 BC, when the arrival of the Galatian host in northern Macedonia. After stopping to rest and refit, the Galatian chiefs debated whether to continue west or move further south into Greece. A faction under the chieftain Brennus split off to invade Greece, sacking the temple at Delphi before being driven back with heavy losses. The remnants rejoined the other division of Galatians under Leonorius and Luterius who had moved into Thrace. In 278 B.C., two groups of 20,000 Galatians crossed over into Asia Minor where they were engaged in service to King Nicomedes I of Bithynia, helping to suppress a rebellion by his younger brother. As a reward for their services, the Galatians receved a large tract of land in central Asia minor (in modern Turkey) known henceforth as Galatia."
click to enlarge
In German, but you get the idea
http://www.caorc.org/fellowships/mel...heodossiev.pdf. (Viewers need acrobat reader for this file. Much info on the time period relevant to the Celtic presence in the Balkans. Might be a long read for some)
An excerpt form the above link:
Gauls led by Cerethrius prepared themselves to fight against the Triballi and the
remaining Thracians, Brennus and Acichorius against Paeonia, and Bolgios/Bulgius
against Macedonia and Illyria (Pausanias X 19, 7). At the end of the same year or in
the next one, Bolgius defeated the Macedonian army and killed Ptolemy Ceraunos.
In 279 BC, Brennus— possibly not a historical character — began a campaign
against Delphi; the Celtic detachments on their way south devastated the Dardani,
neighbours to the south-west of the Triballi. At the same time, those Gauls who
were left by Brennus to guard their tribal borders, enlisted 3000 horsemen and 15
000 foot-soldiers to form an army which defeated the Triballi and the Getae, who
seem unsuccessfully to have tried to push out the invaders (Iustinus XXV 1, 2-3).
In the same year, 279 BC, after the complete defeat of the Celts during the
campaign against Delphi and Brennus’s suicide, some of the surviving Gauls took
the way back led by Bathanattus (later the route was named the ‘Way of
Bathanattus’) and in 278 BC part of them, the so-called Scordisci, settled the lands
between Sava, Danube and Morava rivers (Polybius I 6, 4; Iustinus XXIV 4, 8,
XXXII 3, 6-8; Posidonius frg. 48J; Athenaeus VI 25, p. 234 a-b). The new
Scordiscan settlers completely overran the local Autariatae and formed a powerful
tribal alliance that played an important rôle, both politically and military, in the
north Balkans until the end of the first century BC (Garašanin 1966, 1996;
Todorović 1974; Papazoglu 1978; Jovanović, Popović 1991).
click to enlarge
-If the Galatians are not included as a free faction, consider this:
Perhaps its good for them to stay as they are in .81 (recruitable by Asia Minor powers like Pontus) but, should any other Celtic faction expand into Asia Minor then they could have full access to the entire Galatian roster to recruit once the right military buildings (type III or IV) is built. Afterall, why wouldn't Galatians want to team up with their Western Celtic brothers if they come calling for warriors to loot and plunder the Greek kingdoms?
This idea would:
1) Give someone thats playing the Western Celts (Aedui/Arverni, etc...) a very nice incentive or reason to
expand historically towards Galatia. ~
2) The Human player can have some high end Galatian troops (Galatikoi Lavotuxrito, Galatikoi Kleruchoi, etc...) recruit in Asia Minor to help against the phalanx hordes that will no doubt come calling (I'm usually playing the Arverni or Aedui, and I found it next to impossible to hold Galatia vs the Seleucid hordes in .81 with the choices of lower end troops that we had to scrape together in Asia Minor).
My two cents