[IB AAR] Severus The God

[Legio]

So now a modder as well as an AARtist Juvenal?

[bomberboy]

Great idea Juvenal changing sides in game to tell the story.

[Kallum]

@Kallum

I am putting the Pictish intervention in Gaul into context. A lot of things happened there between 410AD when Severus was exiled, and the Pictish expedition to Gaul in 425AD. I want the reader to understand the political situation when the Picts finally land at their equivalent of Omaha Beach.

I have been investigating what went on in Gaul while I was playing Severus in Britannia. I use a script to change sides mid-campaign so that I can delve into the full details.

The battle near Lugdunum and death of Constans at the hand of Gerontius are the first important events of the campaign. They dealt a body-blow to Constantine, and so really needed to be described.

I let the AI play both sides during the Lugdunum Battle. It was fascinating to watch the rash attack and hero's death of Constans, while Eldobich bumbled around at the bottom of the hill.

I shall be talking about the Burgundii in the next episode, and the Franks in the one after that. Then we can get back to the Picts.

ah thank you I understand it now very nice details you have here then, I wonder how the Constantini will react to the Pictish incursions:hmmm:

[Selifator]

Looks very interesting! I love the way you manage to implement everything that happens in the game into your story, so please let the next part come soon!

[Antiochos VII Sidetes]

A script, eh? If it's not too terribly complicated, could you explain how to use it? I'd find it most valuable.

[Juvenal]

A script, eh? If it's not too terribly complicated, could you explain how to use it? I'd find it most valuable.

How to change faction
I had to ask Aradan for the correct command, and look at a basic scripting tutorial at the .ORG here.

I created a script in "Rome - Total War\ibfd\data\scripts\show_me" called my_script.txt

script
    console_command add_money 10
    console_command control empire_west_rebels
    console_command toggle_perfect_spy
    console_command toggle_fow
    campaign_wait 5
    console_command add_money 10
end_script

The control command actually changes the player faction. I got the faction name from descr_sm_factions.txt.
The add_money commands are so I can see in the UI that the script is running. I added perfect_spy and toggle_fow to eliminate fog-of-war.

I then went to "Rome - Total War\ibfd\data\export_descr_advice.txt" and uncommented Trigger 2137 (by removing the leading semi-colons).

;------------------------------------------
Trigger 2137_Help_Campaign_Keyboard_Shortcuts_Scroll_Trigger
    WhenToTest ScrollAdviceRequested

    Condition ScrollAdviceRequested help_scroll

    AdviceThread Help_Campaign_Keyboard_Shortcuts_Scroll_Thread  0 

I uncommented and added a reference to my new script in the Advice Thread definition for that trigger.

;------------------------------------------
AdviceThread Help_Campaign_Keyboard_Shortcuts_Scroll_Thread
    GameArea Campaign

    Item Help_Campaign_Keyboard_Shortcuts_Scroll_Text_01
        Uninhibitable
        Verbosity  0 
        Threshold  1 
        Attitude Normal
        Presentation Default
        Title  Help_Campaign_Keyboard_Shortcuts_Scroll_Text_01_Title
        Script scripts\show_me\my_script.txt
        Text Help_Campaign_Keyboard_Shortcuts_Scroll_Text_01_Text1 

To run the script, press F1 to get the Keyboard Shortcuts scroll, press the question-mark icon (top right of scroll). The Advisor pops-up. Press the Show-me area of the Advisor and the script should then run.

I am told that after changing faction, the AI gets confused and won't play your original faction very well. But this wasn't a problem for me because I just replay important events from my save games without continuing the campaign.

[Selifator]

Wow, for such a small script it adds a lot of value!

[Juvenal]

III: BURGUNDII TRANSIT

“Bona summa putes, aliena vivere quadra”
(To eat at another's table is your ambition's height.)
Juvenal

Descent of the Burgundii
The Burgundii, a tribe originally from Scandanavia, had migrated to northern Germania. But now they were refugees from the Huns, and in the autumn of 410AD they appeared at the Rhine Limes.



During the winter, they began raiding across the Rhine. The small army of Eldobich, fresh from its defeat at Lugdunum, was too weak to contest their advance, and so he called for help from his Frankish kinsmen.

But then in late 411AD before the Frankish allies had assembled their army, disaster struck. The Burgundii burst across the Rhine and descended upon Augusta Treverorum, which the traitor Jovinus promptly surrendered to them. For a time, Gundahar tried to present Jovinus as a rival Emperor to Constantine, but the loyalty of Macrinus spoiled this plan, so Jovinus was killed and the city sacked. The Burgundii then began moving westwards at a leisurely pace, plundering and burning their way across Gaul in the footsteps of the Vandals.



Gaius Macrinus gathered up his remaining limitanei garrisons from the Rhine to make a field army with which to defend Durocortorum, aided by his Frankish allies under Amalric. He sent his son Gnaeus away to safety at Samarobriva (and also to watch Decimus Rusticus, Constantine's untrustworthy Magister Militum).

It was now that the Franks began to show their true intent. Clodio the Frank took an army to lay siege to the rebels who had inherited abandoned Augusta Treverorum in 413AD. But when the city fell in the spring of the following year, Clodio simply incorporated it into the Frankish realm.

Amalric now drew away from his ally Gaius Macrinus, and allowed the Burgundii to trap him within the walls of Durocortorum. Amalric observed the siege from a safe distance but did not intervene.

Siege of Durocortorum
Gnaeus Macrinus tried to organise a relief force to rescue his father, but his desperate pleas to Decimus Rusticus fell on deaf ears. Eldobich, now at Avaricum, was still too weak to dare take the field, and was only able to send the small cavalry force of Tribune Ulfilas to observe the Burgundii.

And so it was in the Autumn of 415AD that Durocortorum, its broken walls still unrepaired after the depredations of the Vandals, faced the assault of the barbarians without aid.



It was a freezing night when the Roman lookouts reported that the barbarians were assembling for the assault. Two great masses of burning brands could be seen converging from opposite sides of the city. Macrinus marshalled his meagre forces in the square of the Basilica and pondered his options.

The ragged Roman force was of modest quality. There were no Comitatenses, only Auxilia and Foederati. He sent his auxiliary archers to the walls in the hope that they might destroy the rams with fire arrows, but the Burgundii had taken the precaution of draping them with sodden hides and the fire had no effect. Soon every Roman arrow that flew over the wall was answered by five. Macrinus urgently called them back before they were slaughtered, leaving the walls undefended.



Romans and Foederati waited in the square while the enemy rams did their work. Some prayed, some shook their fists and shouted their defiance. The Auxilia Palatinae stood in silence, preserving their dignity in the presence of their juniors.

Macrinus had hoped that the enemy might advance rashly after they broke through the walls, but they seemed indecisive, milling around the breaches for a good hour before their chieftains were able to organise three great columns, which proceeded to converge on the square of the Basilica.

Finally the first column emerged from a street and the battle-proper was begun. Macrinus blocked the column with Foederati swordsmen while his archers poured fire into the mass attempting to deploy out of the street. As the press increased, he added his some of his Auxilia Cohors to hold them at bay.



Clouds covered the moon and the light changed to a hellish red suffused with the smoke of burning brands. Then the second column emerged on the right and Burgundii axemen started chewing their way through the Roman archers. Leaving his Auxilia Palantinae to ward off the cavalry of the third column in his rear, Macrinus charged his own cavalry into the axemen.

As the third column arrived in force, Macrinus was forced to break off and support the rear. For a short while, the Roman line formed an unbroken ring amid a sea of enemies, but then the first column surged forward and the ring disintegrated into mere knots of men fighting for their lives.



Some time later the clouds cleared and harsh moonlight starkly illuminated the scene of the carnage. The Burgundii princes Aelric and Gundioc met at the centre of the square to find that no Roman remained alive.

Pausing from their task of stripping the corpses, the whole mass of the Burgundii stood and raised their weapons to the sky, giving forth the unearthly howl of their battle cry. With their furs glistening in the silver light, they looked like so many wolves baying at the Moon.



The Call of Southern Shores
Gundahar did not retain Durocortorum, feeling that it was still too close to the Huns. He sacked the town and the Burgundii Nation began to move south, this time toward Lugdunum.

Constantine remained at Arelate, seemingly devoid of initiative, placing most of his soldiers at Lugdunum to discourage the Burgundii. Quartinus, his untrustworthy prefect of Narbo Martius joined his forces with those of Bacurius at Burdigala. Perhaps he planned some new rebellion, but whatever his intent, it came to naught because he died in 415AD under mysterious circumstances.



It was also around this time that Drest mac Angus completed his conquest of Britannia, almost unnoticed by a Roman world that seemed to be approaching extinction everywhere in the West.

[Legio]

Awesome update!

[Aldgarkalaughskel]

Excellent chapter.

A good sign that someone is completely "lost" in his story, when he starts modding the game to fit the purposes of the AAR. That's what I did once too.

[Legio]

We want a Severus: Total War minimod now!

[Antiochos VII Sidetes]

Wonderful...fantastic storytelling.

[bomberboy]

Great I felt pity for the Roman defenders. I'm going have a guess, the Picts are in the next update.

[Kátz]

Fantastic update!

[SeniorBatavianHorse]

Excellent addition to the saga of Roman Britain and the fate of Severus. It feels like you're assembling several chess pieces on a bloodied and chaotic board. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out!

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Excellent storyline and planning!

[Selifator]

Awesome! You have to post a bad chapter next, because I'm running out of praise!

[Musthavename]

It seems everything that made the first Severus AAR great has been retained, along with refreshing new ideas. Wonderful work.

[Lysimachos]

I've once used the change faction script, too, but only to make them do certain things and so I didn't went as far as taking the perspective of the other faction into the story. This is only second to a hotseat AAR
High quality work as we are used to see from you!

[Beggar]

I was surprised how you continued the story, and first a little confused as Kallum, so thanks for clearing things out. Story's looking good, you certainly do something different - and that ain't bad