[RS AAR] Alliance of the Attalids

[Nellup]

This is a hotseat campaign as Pergamum with the following players, if you wish to become a reserve (max 5 normal players at a time) please post.

Player list:
1. Nellup
2. Oli
3. Snuggans
4. Faridus
5. Jingle_Bombs

Reserves:
1. traxx91
2. Xavier Dragnesi
3. Efe Pasha

Rules:
- A clean RS 1.5a install, using the RTW.exe
- Large unit size
- H/H difficulty
- 5 years (10 turns) each at a time
- No cheats (FOW off is acceptable if it doesn't benefit the player, it must only be used for seeing the minimap)
- No bribing.
- Attacking armies must be led by a general
- Cities should have a governor at all times
- All RS house rules to be followed, except number 2.
- A senate system before each players turn (except the first turn, where the aim is obviously to expand.

Senate policy and practise:
Before each players turn, each of the members of the game should get some input and discussion as to what the goals of that turn should be.
After each player has had some input the player whose turn it is makes a post outlining what his strategy will be, this should take into account all the discussion beforehand.
The player then plays, providing some feed back as he goes (5 years, 10 turns, can be quite a while not to report anything).
At the end of the players turn, a summary of what happened during his turn will be produced by him and the save will be uploaded.
Repeat.

Each player gets one legion to raise without the senate's permission, but after that the senate must approve the raising of an army. In emergencies it is permissible to raise an emergency army, provided good reason is given and it is disbanded after the emergency.
Permission to declare must be obtained from the senate, except against both Free People and against factions weaker than our own (most of this will be covered in the pre-turn discussion anyway).
The senate does not come into effect until the second turn.

The Attalid starting position:

[traxx91]

Looking forward to the first update! I really like the idea and would like to become a reserve. Pergamum is one of my favorite factions. Altough I dont think you will need more reserves - here I am.

Mfg

[Nakharar]

How do you do Hotseat on Rome you cant do online can you??

[snuggans]

How do you do Hotseat on Rome you cant do online can you??

pass the save around.

[Nakharar]

oh but how do you change the factions???

[traxx91]

They all play the same faction.

[Cyphon88]

Surely the first move is to send an entire stack down to Mytilene and the *leftovers* to defend the homeland or disbanded to boost the population. And then on from there to Ephesus to get a nice little concentration of cities together.

[snuggans]

Surely the first move is to send an entire stack down to Mytilene and the *leftovers* to defend the homeland or disbanded to boost the population. And then on from there to Ephesus to get a nice little concentration of cities together.

excellent, my thoughts exactly.

[zznɟ ǝɥʇ]

I disagree--I think we should move on Bithynia after Myteline falls. Ephesus is a hotbed for Greek City sympathy... unless we want their attention.

[Oli]

Personally i feel we should build up one army under the faction leader to take some surrounding free settlements, war with another faction should be avoided this early on especially any empire much larger than ours.
Next economical buildings shuld be built especially ports and send diplomats out to gain trade rights and map information from nearby factions, especially across the sea with macedon and greek cities. I also feel an alliance with a nearby, but not adjacent, faction may be useful in the long run.

Only then should we think about building up a few more armies to start our conquests

[snuggans]

war with another faction should be avoided this early on especially any empire much larger than ours.

i forgot, the Seleucids have Ephesus at the start? if so, nevermind what i've said earlier. a war with them should be avoided until we're ready.

[zznɟ ǝɥʇ]

Ephesus is free, but the Greeks always attack it.

[Nellup]

@ traxx, I've added you as a reserve.

To the others - as I was allowed free reign for the first turn, I've taken Mytilene , but the faction leader died when I was sieging it, so I had to do something about the economic situation and waiting for the rebels in Ephesus to reduce in number would take too long, so I'm currently sailing towards Byzantium.

Also, would I need permission to keep the current stack we have at full strength or not (i.e. can I keep on recruiting odd units to join the stack without permission).


PS. Fuzz, you must change your avatar more than anyone I know.

[Cyphon88]

I started a pera campaign ages ago. I think i allied with the poltematics and everyone i could (except the partarians since they were at war with the selecudids). Forward planner that i am, the question is, when you do this and the polies and selucids start fighting each other who do you side with? either way theres opportunites to expand quickly in anatolia from this event.

[Nellup]

@Cyphon, you start allied with the Seleucids, so it seems to me most sensible to side with them in the eventual war, unless they look liable to declare war on you anyway.

Right - here we are I've finished, here's my report.

Nice and simple to start, besieging Mytilene and taking it.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Here's some pics from the battle.
I sacrificed the Ram in order to get the siege towers to the walls.



The peltasts had caused a lot of casualties to this unit of hoplites, but they got their revenge.



Once I'd cleared the walls, I brought up some of our archers to rain death down upon the enemy left below the walls.



As usual it all came down to a hoplite fight in the middle, with generals cavalry charging into the rear of the enemy repeatedly.



Unfortunately, I forgot to get a screen of the battle results, but we won comfortably.



During this time I was also building up Pergamum and then Mytilene and trying to keep order in Pergamum, but our faction leader (who was the governor) died while I was besieging Mytilene, which made everything go bottom up in Pergamum.
Then on to Byzantium!





Same tactics as the last battle, so I only grabbed this screen of our hoplites fighting the enemy.







Byzantium is also pretty difficult to keep under control.
Next I hopped across to Nicomedia, where a group of Brigands wanted to join the party.



Our navy got stomped by some pirates:



And Byzantium became even more difficult to hang onto:



So here's the situation at the end of my turn, rebuilt our navy, but slightly stronger (it now has a unit of Triremes and one of Biremes instead of two Biremes) and Nicomedia is now at the stage where it should be easy enough to assault.



And the minimap, I got trade rights and map info with whoever would accept, but no one would have an alliance with us, although we are allied with the Seleucids, so that should protect us for a while.

So, in summary, I built up the cities to try and improve the economy (which is now at a decent state) and expanded into Free peoples territory taking the cities as soon as it was expedient to do so.
For the next person (Oli), the save is at the end of my final turn, so just hit end turn immediately to start your go, after the senate's discussion, of course.

[Oli]

wow that was fast!
immeidately i am obviously thinking of taking nicomedia, also building up my army if there are enough family members to take control of it.
I am unsure of wether to use my army to reinforce the current army and help by taking free people settlements in asia minor, so expanding there, or continuing along the other front opened up in thrace as im sure there are a number of free settlements there also.

i will leave this a while for discussion and when i feel there is enough input i will create another post oulining my definate plans and then get started

[Nellup]

Yeah, there is a fort next to Pergamum with two family members in (I've got recruited governors in the cities, family members just seem to pick up negative traits if left in a city, so I put them in forts next to cities).
There are only two free people's settlements left in Asia Minor, Heraklia and Ephesus, so if you are going to take them, then take them quickly.

Expanding into the Balkans might spread out the empire quite a lot, and with all the pirates in the black sea transport of troops could be a problem, but would gain us more settlements if successful, yet Ephesus has a wonder.

Another option could be a war against the GCS, they are at war with Macedon and so are distracted so taking Rhodes and Crete would nab us some defensible (the AI rarely uses naval invasions in rtw.exe) islands and trade bases.

[snuggans]

i propose expanding south, to get a better hold on Asia minor should something happen. ephesus, halicarnassus, rhodes.. etc.

[Cyphon88]

Yeh take out the GCS, especially with the no naval invasions bug to get a fall back position.

[Jingles]

Personally, I'd prefer a naval invasion against the macedonians at Chalcis, possibly nabbing an alliance with the GCS in the process. The greeks seem pretty useless in naval combat but they do have some of the best hoplites available (spartans, athenians etc) and in my experience they usually build multiple stacks of units very close to the start, to take Corinth. Potentially a powerful ally, not to mention the fact that the GCS and the selucids often ally with each other, which could potentially form a powerful triple alliance.

That's my say. A little ambitious I know, but I guess thats just my warmongering nature

Edit: If we are definatly set on Crete, we could grab the rebel settlement on the eastern side without needing to go to war.