Codex De Bello Romano
Hi, I'm Ian Altano, active mostly in the Roma Surrectum area.
I wrote this for RS only, but I've been told this guide is -for most parts- qualified to serve as a general guide (meaning for all mods)
I don't know.. I'm just posting this to help newbs.
By Ian AltanoCodex de Bello Romano
What follows here is a structural list of basic and advanced guidelines, that will assure a well-run empire and an easy expansion in Rome: Total War.
Rome: Total War.
The best turn-based strategy-game ever to grace this planet. A very enjoyable game that is easy to comprehend and in the same time teaches us many things (mostly the geographical position of ancient cities :-P)
Still, many forums are flooded with questions. Questions about battle tactics, economical dilemma’s, and more…
I have written this ‘Red Book’ of RTW in the intention of it becoming a staple for new players to read.
This way most of their questions will be answered right away, and if not, the tactical expertise this Codex will teach them, shall give the player enough insight to solve the problem themselves.
Now then, we can divide the Codex into parts, each very different aspects of gameplay:
I.The Royal Family
II.Governing Cities
III.Expansion and positioning
IV.Battle tactics
V.Diplomacy
CHAPTER I: The Royal Family
Your faction leader is the most important man in your game. He should not rot away in a city for the rest of his life after conquering it, nor should be sent on foolish errands: treat your faction leader with the respect he deserves: let him be in charge of your greatest army, and use him WISELY in your campaign. Unnecessary deaths are to be avoided!
The faction Heir is; logically, the second most important man: he is to be your future faction leader! So again, do not let him rot away in a city. Also, transfer any ancillaries with command/influence/management boosting capabilities to him. There is nothing like a high-stat heir to succeed your current leader.
Your other family members should be developed according to their inclinations: if he has 2 or more command stars, use him to lead an army. If he has 2 or more management scrolls, leave him in charge of your best developed cities. Both inclinations will augment when used correctly and will be to your benefit.
Generals and governors are to get the same treatment as stated above.
When a man inquires to marry one of your family’s daughters, he has to fulfill these criteria:
-he must be as young as her
-must have good traits
-and must have at least 1 star/scroll (command or management).
If he does not fulfill these necessities, decline him; better chances will come around.
Be weary of assassins: always place one or several spies with an important family member, this decreases chances of assassination.
When transferring an army (led by an important general) by sea, try to reach your destination during your turn or land your general on a nearby –safe- piece of land if you know you have too few movement points left. Because if your army is still at sea during the enemy’s turn, chances are that your ships get sunk, and your army with them!
CHAPTER II: Governing Cities
More than half of the work in RTW is governing your regions, so one must know how to do this with maximal profits, and a minimum of rebellion:
First rule: make sure a general or governor is present in your cities at all times!!
Taxes are a valuable asset to your profits, and should be used as such: when the city is happy, raise your taxes as much as you can (preferably to very high) without losing the ‘green face’. This will boost your income, decrease population growth, and give you room to decrease taxes when a city has to cope with riots.
Cities must be developed and managed according to their function: a city with large income will be best off with a governor that has several ‘management scrolls’. Also the building queue should consist of buildings that augment the city’s income above anything else.
This is known as making a city a ‘financial center’
Contrary to that, you also have the kind of city with less income and a less good strategical position for finance. Although taxes should be dealt with as stated earlier, you should build mostly military structures in this city, and use this place to churn out your armies.
Of course, how you use this concept, is purely based on the position of the city: for example, if you have conquered a city, and it is well-suited for a financial purpose, but it’s bordering your enemy’s territory and under risk of attack, do not fulfill its financial purposes yet. It should be used as a military base for that stage of the expansion, with the proper defences.
When conquering a city, you must adapt it to your faction: destroy buildings that are not of your culture and replace them with your own, as this culture-difference can become troublesome in the future. And after that –this should always be done- build main functions such as roads and proper walls before developing it further.
Money is the most important thing in RTW next to the battles. So make sure you earn as much as you can every turn, and try to save some money in the beginning, as you will be needing it to fund your troops later on, believe me. Don’t spend every denarius you earn!
Grow a sizeable treasury to safeguard your own future.
The second purpose of a city is troops. You need them for expansion, but also for defending your own territory when invaded. Make sure each city is safe by putting at least 5 units in them. –if needed, use these troops as reinforcements, but don’t leave a city undefended for long-. Troops also look after the happiness of your city. If you have but 1 or 2 units in your city, the chances of a rebellion are real, and this should be avoided at all costs, as retaking a city from rebels is a tedious and money-consuming job, where you are bound to lose men in a battle or siege that could have been avoided if the city had been governed properly.
If there IS unrest despite your large garrison, pop up the scroll with the extra details and see what is causing the unrest. Solve it as soon as possible. Several reasons for unrest are:
-a difference in culture (you know what to do)
-squalor (your city is filthy, try building sewers and public baths)
-unrest (mostly caused by your governor, try putting in another one)
-taxes (is caused by very high taxes, obviously. Lower them a bit)
-distance to capital (this cannot be helped, but if necessary, always move your capital to the
center of your empire, this will please most cities)
If the reason is unsolvable, build a shrine or any other happiness building.
Troops are necessary, but there is such a thing as having too much troops. If your economy suffers under the salaries of your soldiers, you have too much of them. Disband some units or conquer a new city to share in the costs. But be advised, this last method will raise the need for troops even more, and if not played careful, a classical domino-effect will ensue:
Bad economy
->new city
->need of new soldiers to defend new region
->new soldiers cause bad economy
->need of new city to relieve economy
->…
This is highly undesirable and will be your empire’s one-way ticket to oblivion.
However, disbanding units also is risky, as it raises the population and increases the chances of riots. Clearly, both options are a delicate matter.
If a city is unhappy beyond fixing, gather some armies, move out of the city and put taxes on very high. This will force a rebellion, and a rebel army will spawn. Defeat it with your armies and take the city. Exterminate it. This will ensure a fresh start with a minimum of population.
CHAPTER III: Expansion and Positioning
Raising an army is easy. Using it properly can prove difficult, but something often ignored is the positioning of one’s armies and the process of expansion. Let us first talk about defending our territory.
Even if your cities have enough garrisons in them, always leave a sizeable force behind in your homelands, positioned so that it can reach most surrounding cities within one turn. This is a safety, since trivial things cannot be foreseen: if an enemy invades, and your armies are too far away, use this back-up. When there is a rebellion and you need to retake the city, use this back-up. This way the safety of your regions is ensured. For the safety of the back-up army itself –and also to hide your ‘trump card’ from the enemy- always place your army by some trees to set up an ambush. An ambush and hiding your troops can always be used to
mislead your enemy, and to take profit from the precious element of surprise.
A good way to make sure no enemy troops enter and/or attack your regions, is to block bridges and river crossings with your armies. This will give you a chance to repel the enemy before he reaches your cities. Be sure the army is large enough, and the bridge shall remain yours for as long as you want.
Now on the attacking part. When advancing into enemy territory, always travel in large groups: for example, don’t move 4 armies separately, but as 1 block. Together the chances of getting attacked are halved. This is for the best, because being attacked is not preferable, as you cannot choose the situation for yourself, and because if the enemy attacks, t will most likely be with a force larger than your own.
Should this happen, engage in battle and take the high ground. Then inflict as much casualties with your ranged units as you can and retreat. The enemy army might follow, in which case you now fight with better odds, or it will not follow, solving your problem. If you cannot take the high ground or the enemy has it, retreat right away.
If a foreign force is invading, or one of your attacking armies is being attacked, the following standard rules should be applied:
If the odds are 4:1 or more ----crush them
If the odds are 2:1 ------------take the high ground to ensure victory
If the odds are 1:1 ------------retreat and ambush, to lose as few men as possible
If the odds are 1:2 or more ----retreat and make sure the enemy army cannot follow
To lure an enemy army into an ambush, set out bait: put two or three units near an enemy army, but put a big army in an ambush in the straight line from the enemy to you. This will lure him to come after your smaller force, but instead, he will be ambushed by your large army, reinforced by the weaker army.
When attacking yourself, try attacking with several armies, from several sides. This will split up the enemy army and therefore weaken them. Your victory is assured if this happens.
When besieging a city, also besiege it from several sides for the same reason.
But before even besieging a city, there is always the process of through preparation.
Do not take a single stack into enemy territory! The only exception is when the city is ill-defended and you know the enemy can’t get to you in time to save its city.
If you are planning on invading, do so with as much armies your economy can handle.
Before moving out, use spies/assassins/diplomats to search the surroundings and let you have a clear view of the situation. You don’t want your army getting ambushed by a superior force.
Also, make sure you have an exit strategy, a safe escape route for when things go bad. If you get attacked and have nowhere to retreat, you can do nothing but try and do as much damage onto the enemy as possible, you may yet win.
And again, use the element of surprise to your advantage! Use the trick I mentioned earlier. The enemy will fall for it every time.
The last aspect is your navy. A strong force at sea is necessary to whiz your troops from one place to another pretty fast, so don’t underestimate your ships. A naval invasion can kill a faction immediately!
When building a navy, don’t let your ships sail alone, let them sail as 1 big army of marines, which reduces the chances of getting attacked, which is the safest way to get an army of yours from let’s say Rome to Alexandria.
Now that you know the practical aspects of expansion, it’s time for the real deal: handling an army.
CHAPTER IV: Battle Tactics
We will divide this chapter up like the last one, in defending and attacking. But before we even come to that, you must learn about the composition of an army.
There is nothing more foolish then to send a full stack of 20 identical units of your best infantry. An army needs to have a diversity of troop types. Not to look fancy, but to function like a well-oiled machine and crush your enemies.
When leading an army into enemy territory, always put a general in to lead it. This will inspire your troops on the battlefield and if need be, your general is a powerful cavalry force!
But your general on his own is not enough: put at least 2 other cavalry units in, as cavalry is a crucial part of your army. They are multifunctional: they can be used to shatter enemy lines, they are the ones razing a unit of archers when your infantry is in battle, it is them that can charge your enemy’s line from behind and rout them. Never let an army leave home without cavalry, as said by Gaius Julius Caesar himself. Their special formation: the wedge, can be used to ‘split the enemy line’, but it’s in fact not very useful as your cavalry will die like flies.
With the use of cavalry explained, let’s move on to the bulk of your army: infantry.
At least half of your army should consist of infantry. It is also wise to use several sorts, as they all have their purpose:
-light infantry is useful for its speed and to use as first line of defense/buffer.
-Heavy infantry is your main line. They pin down and eat away the enemy to give you time to flank.
-Then there is spear infantry: useful against any kind of cavalry, and handy to pin down any enemy infantry when used in guard mode. Use to protect your flanks.
If your infantry units have pila, it’s best to put it on ‘fire at will’ mode when defending: this will let your unit throw their javelins without charging (which can be handy when fighting a phalanx unit).
Then, we have the ranged units. Do not underestimate the power of archers and peltasts! They can make the difference! Not a few times I found myself winning a battle through the efforts of my ranged units.
Archers are a vital part of your army. They can take out half an army before it reaches your lines if you play it right. When defending, put archers on ‘fire at will’ mode. When the enemy is in range, let the archers target the general if possible. The enemy general has a tendency of charging into your line alone (= suicide) when peppered with arrows.
Peltasts are optional –to me- but very useful too! Place them behind your infantry and let them decimate the enemy units that approach. Or, when fighting in a forested zone, prepare an ambush: place your peltasts (plus some infantry for protection if the ambush goes awry) in some bushes. Be sure to place your army a bit further back. When your enemy attacks your main line, you can use the peltasts to surprise the enemy from behind. And that’s when they’re at their best: if you can fire a volley of javelins at an enemy’s rear, he will rout after the first volley 75% of the times (elite troops not accounted for).
The preferred army composition, and the one which is used most is like this (every player has his preferences; this is but a suggestion):
1 general
3 cavalry units
10 infantry units
4 archer units
2 peltast units
Now that you know something about how to assemble your army, now it’s time to learn to put what you’ve learned to use.
The outcome of a battle is determined by 5 things:
The general
Morale
Battle strategy
Troops
Conditions
One who knows how to handle and exploit these five points, will be victorious!
The general: make sure your general is capable (enough stars) should you auto-solve.
Morale: basically, the outcome of a battle is linked to the morale. Make sure your troops aren’t wavering, because 1 rout invokes another. A routing unit is a sign of a faulty strategy (except when sacrificing)
Strategy: 1 man can win against 5, if he only has a strategy! (will be
discussed later on)
Troops: don’t try to fight an elite stack with city militia or weak units,
even if you have the numerical advantage! Do not advance relying on
sheer numbers.
Conditions: the weather can have an influence. Also the surroundings, like
forests , natural hills or rivers can play a crucial part in your victory.
In fact, there is no perfect strategy that will always work. You have to alter your strategy every battle, according to the five points above! As Thales of Milete said: “Pantha Rhei” which is Greek for ‘everything flows, is in motion’. This is also the case with strategy. It’s never completely the same twice.
But I will give you some tactics anyway.
First let us see what we can do when defending:
The enemy has attacked you, so basically, you have no obligations of attacking, which is good. Just let the enemy come, and hope they are tired before they even reach your army.
Positioning is crucial: when defending, take the high ground and hold it. Let the enemy fight you uphill. He will surely lose, as fighting uphill is a strategical no-no.
Also, when defending in a forested area, you can hide your army completely (except for the general) and take out the approaching enemy with the element of surprise.
Attacking is something else: although it gives you the chance to choose your battlefield, you are the one that has to approach the other. The enemy isn’t going to attack every time. If he does, praise Ares, because if he doesn’t, and puts his army on the high ground like stated above, it is now YOU that will have to fight uphill and watch out for enemy missile fire.
But, attacking or defending, the following strategies and formations are guaranteed to work at all times. Remember, these are examples and guidelines. When fighting your own battle, alter them to your specific battle!
Most formations are designed to flank or envelop the enemy, as this the key to victory!
The single line
This the formation mainly used for ‘enveloping’ the enemy. You place your infantry in a single line with missiles behind them, and cavalry on both sides of the line. When your armies clash, your line will be longer, and several units will be free to flank the enemy, and the cavalry is free to harass enemy missile units, and later you can charge your cavalry into the enemy’s back to make most of them rout instantly. This is the most commonly used formation.
The wedge
This formation is designed to break up the enemy army by placing your infantry line with a ‘wedge’ in the middle. The enemy will divide his army over the two sides of the wedge, and then, you simply spring your trap: send the other infantry units to attack the enemy from behind. It is always better to face two small armies than one big, well-organized army. And this formation will allow that.
The double line
You set up your infantry in two lines. The first will pin down the enemy infantry, but will give the second line time to come around and envelop the enemy. Meanwhile, your missile units, placed behind the first line, pelt the enemy with projectiles. When you send in your cavalry, the enemy will be broken and flee. This formation should not be used when the enemy infantry line is far longer than your own. If it is, you will be at risk of getting enveloped yourself!
The check board pattern
Used by the Romans, this formation allows the peltasts/velites to get away in time when the enemy attacks. The peltasts will fire their javelins, and then fall back through the holes in the infantry line. Then, the ‘second line’ is sent to fill up the main line, and you have a complete infantry line, ready to engage the enemy. Leave a few infantry units as a third line, should the main line not be able to break the enemy. In that case send your third line to fill any holes in their turn.
Weak center: the Cannae tactic
Create a single line, but reinforce your flanks: two lines of infantry instead of one. This will make the center appear weak, and the enemy will attack it. Use the units in the second line at the sides to flank the enemy. When using this formation, make sure you have a tactical reserve should the center not hold the enemy’s attack.
The stronger flank
You can also reinforce just one flank. With the numerical superiority, this reinforced flank will overwhelm the enemy fairly quickly. Then, you can use these troops to ‘roll up the line’ and envelop the enemy. Make sure your weakest flank does not break. I suggest missile support.
So, these are some of the most commonly used tactics and formations. Feel free to experiment with them to find out which one suits you best (person and faction).
When the battle is won, let your cavalry mop up the routing survivors. Leave none alive, because when you leave too many alive, they will regroup and live to fight you another day. This is, of course, fairly logical.
CHAPTER V: Agents
Waging war isn’t everything. Sometimes, you are better off with a period of peace, mainly to improve your economy and reinforce your borders. Or to retrain your armies, which is necessary from time to time. The way to get peace, is not by threatening the enemy, but to send a diplomat to sort things out!
Why would you want peace? You’re conquering his regions?
Well, it is always best to have but one enemy. Focus on that one foe, and try to keep the peace with the other surrounding factions until you are done conquering. This will not always work, so again I stress the importance of back-up armies and fortified borders, in case a faction decides it’s time for war anyway.
A diplomat can also act as a gatherer of information, and can propose bribes to most enemy armies. About bribes, don’t use them too often, because it’s not always necessary: you’re better off fighting a really strong army and then retrain your troops, then to bribe him for twice –and sometimes even thrice- the cost of retraining.
Diplomats can also be used to boost the economy: propose trade rights to every faction you cross –that you’re not at war with- and your trade income will flourish!
Spies are the eyes and ears of your empire. Train a lot of them, they are extremely useful!
They can reveal hidden armies, and infiltrate in settlements, which can sometimes result in him opening the gates for your army! When the spy is very skilled, this will happen most of the time. Try to put a spy in every army you use. Then your army will never walk into ambushes, and can see the enemy coming from afar. Also, if you let a spy infiltrate an enemy city, he will cause unrest in that city!
Assassins can be handy too, but only if they are well-trained. Kill some enemy captains to boost your assassin’s skill before going after the big game. Enemy family members usually are easier to kill when not in a city. But mostly, the chance of assassination are 5% or so, so don’t count on an instant kill. I say, if you want a general dead, kill him in battle. Use your assassin to murder enemy diplomats or spies.
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There, after you have read this Codex, there is no obstacle that can stop you from total domination now!
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I hope this is useful for some people, as I put a lot of work in this.
I wish every new player luck with their game, and be sure to report back of your great victories, aye?!
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Re: Codex De Bello Romano
a bit long though but i'll read it 
