Generals in the campaign.

**King_Shazam** · March 04, 2013, 10:52 PM

Ok so i always like the idea of being able to make a custom avatar in the campaign. So i thought what if it was kinda like for generals or family members in the game, if you could do basic customization like:
• Change their names

• Their apperance and some armor variants

• And be allowed to put skill points on these people to give them a certain proficiency or style.

So i gave you the idea what do you guys think?

**PROMETHEUS ts** · March 05, 2013, 05:37 AM

I like the idea...

**Augustus Scipius** · March 05, 2013, 11:35 AM

Excellent idea. CA could take the RPG element introduced in Shogun 2 to the next level by conjoining multiplayer avatar creation with a skill tree. It could be done like in Dawn of War II, and you would choose the (cosmetic) armor and equipment of your general, choose his skills and specialities, modify his retinue like in avatar conquest and possibly alter his overall appearance.

The retinue and wargear would then be visible in battles, and you would actually become attached to your characters and have the possibility to create stories with them. There should also be random traits and retainers like in RTW that would add uniqueness for their part. As long as your characters do not become drunk, crazy degenerates after standing still for three turns like in the prequel...

**jsully16** · March 05, 2013, 12:33 PM

Not a bad idea at all. The only thing with names is if I were playing as, say Carthage. I have no idea what style of names were Carthaginian. Roman names are easy.

Add in a random name generator for each playable faction and this is an awesome feature.

**Dude with the Food** · March 05, 2013, 01:14 PM

Yeas, this would be amazing. Ever since I first started with Total War, I've wanted to conduct my own plastic surgery and change everyone's names to 'Bob (insert number)'. Maybe armour but that seems to little to be taken out of avatar.

**Keyser** · March 05, 2013, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by jsully16

Not a bad idea at all. The only thing with names is if I were playing as, say Carthage. I have no idea what style of names were Carthaginian. Roman names are easy.

Add in a random name generator for each playable faction and this is an awesome feature.

Well for Carthaginian it's even easier than for Roman, they seem to have used an even smaller pool of names, try Gisgo, Adherbal, Hasdrubal, Hannibal, Hanno, Hamilcar, Bomilcar...

That's why they look like they all have the same name by the way.

Would be nice to know what where the Carthaginian naming conventions... Semitic people often use a tribal name ("ben" something), or the name of the father (ibn in arabic) or of a place. In arab they also often can be called "father of" ("abu" someone)

I wonder how the phoenician did ? Given the limited amount of names (at least of the upper classes, punic inscriptions show us some more names on funeral stelae), they sure had a mean to differentiate who was who.

**xjlxking** · March 05, 2013, 01:20 PM

I prefer they keep the RPG element out of TW series. It didn't work with Arthur, it wont work with TW. Now, if there is nothing to expand upon in terms of strategy, then sure. However, reality is, improvements can be made every time.

**Augustus Scipius** · March 05, 2013, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by xjlxking

I prefer they keep the RPG element out of TW series. It didn't work with Arthur, it wont work with TW. Now, if there is nothing to expand upon in terms of strategy, then sure. However, reality is, improvements can be made every time.

Rpg elements have always been a part of Total War. Even individual characters and their traits can be seen as such. Shogun 2 expanded these RPG elements further with skill trees and levels, so I cannot see them taking them away now. Besides, its not like Shogun 2's gameplay suffered because you could modify your avatar's uniform. Some retainers were OTT, but nothing a few patches would't fix.

**KingofBattle66** · March 05, 2013, 07:46 PM

It would be a nice feature. Plus I could put myself in there.

**Rijul.J.Ballal** · March 05, 2013, 10:23 PM

I would love this to be in the game!
I would also like to do thing like change the number of men in his body guard unit[maybe change their Armour?] i also wanna give him weird pets and maybe host orgies and you get the point....

**kikokyle** · March 05, 2013, 11:40 PM

I play TW games and other RTS' for the total war and management of my empire, including micromanagement, and other kinds of "I'm God telling people what to do. Let's see how this can play out." I play RPG's when I want to play RPG's.

**Inhuman One** · March 06, 2013, 12:57 AM

I'd like to see features like this yes, and have a good idea how they could implement this feature.

In the coming of age message, there could be an icon that allows you to customise the general's appearance. Optional of course, the basic appearance could be random. Name could be changed here as well.
After that the facial features and name shouldnt be changeable anymore.

Armor and clothing could be changeable at all times, using an icon on the general's traits sheet.
Options could be unlocked by the general's accomplishments, and possibly some based on the buildings present in a settlement. The best blacksmith could allow for the finest looking armor.
Should just be visual though, no impact on the game.

And lastly, I'd like to be able to switch titles on or off for my generals. Never was fond of my Brutus family to lose their last name due to a title, made it hard to see which where born of the family and who where adopted or married into the family. Would also be nice to be able to switch between all the titles they obtain. Victor, the mad, the gambler, emperor, prince, king, the bloody, etc.

**King_Shazam** · March 06, 2013, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by Inhuman One

I'd like to see features like this yes, and have a good idea how they could implement this feature.

In the coming of age message, there could be an icon that allows you to customise the general's appearance. Optional of course, the basic appearance could be random. Name could be changed here as well.
After that the facial features and name shouldnt be changeable anymore.

Armor and clothing could be changeable at all times, using an icon on the general's traits sheet.
Options could be unlocked by the general's accomplishments, and possibly some based on the buildings present in a settlement. The best blacksmith could allow for the finest looking armor.
Should just be visual though, no impact on the game.

And lastly, I'd like to be able to switch titles on or off for my generals. Never was fond of my Brutus family to lose their last name due to a title, made it hard to see which where born of the family and who where adopted or married into the family. Would also be nice to be able to switch between all the titles they obtain. Victor, the mad, the gambler, emperor, prince, king, the bloody, etc.

I like the the ideas. Very thought out.

**Honorable Poncho** · March 06, 2013, 05:09 PM

I can see this becoming a bit repetitive after a while. Also, I feel like the facial and armor choices wouldn't be substantial enough to be worth the hassle of changing them or the bugs that may come about.