Derc Plays Through World History

[Alwyn]

I imagine it was satisfying, as the Romans, to be the ambushing rather than the ambushed side in battle! I'm slightly surprised that the Himyarites weren't more of a challenge, even when ambushed. In my experience, ambushing highly mobile armies (with cavalry archers and lots of infantry skirmishers, like their army) is less effective than ambushing heavy infantry-based armies. I guess quality beat quantity again (just as you said it does).

It's interesting that, in this campaign, you had too much money by the end. In the Grand Campaign, my income usually peaks in the mid-campaign. After that, trading partners diminish as they're conquered by my enemies (or my faction), I'm usually fighting on multiple fronts (and needing to use high-upkeep elite units), corruption had risen and I'm spending money to prevent secession or civil war (for example by switching from economy-boosting edicts to loyalty edicts).

It looks like Pompey has succeeded more than any actual Roman ruler and the restoration of the Republic is a nice touch. I wonder if Rome might have lasted longer as a republic than an empire, since they had so much trouble with bad and mad emperors.

[Derc]

Rome II
Imperator Augustus
#9

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Ma'in eventually couldn't resist Roman power forever. The eastern Arabians declare war on me and immediately offer me their serfdom after it. Weird. They seem to be confused. It looks like Arabs prefer water instead of the desert nowadays. Perhaps I had my influence on them. Whatever the case. I had no patience with them anymore. I dealt with them all. Rome finally enters a phase of peace. No more war. No more bloodshed. At least not from the outside. The Senate hampers me wherever possible. Now that the wars are solved, I will need to take care of that. Did I say Rome is secure? I was wrong. Rome is at the brink of civil war once again. The Dacians and Parthians are busy fighting each other in the northern wastes. Good. They won't fall in my back if civil war erupts. A year later my agent up there died. "Natural causes", they say. I doubt it. This lady was with me from the very beginning in Sicily. A heavy loss. Rome has something more to mourn now. Once again are we struck from the enemy within! I was well prepared for this conflict. Very, very well prepared. It was a lost cause for them from the get go and as soon as it began, it was over again. ⚙️ Authors Note - Technical In the political overview you can see exactly which provinces and which generals will revolt. If civil war cannot be avoided, you will at least be able to take countermeasures long before it happens. Makes civil wars really easy. I have to thank the gods for our fortunes. One of my generals has just the right offer for them. Once again I feel like I have achieved something. With Rome being cleared of foulness, not only the military but Rome's cultural achievements have reached their zenith. Two years pass. Peace was then interrupted once again by another civil war. A consent with the Senate could not be found. *Sigh* Civil wars seem to have become an integral part of Roman culture, indeed. Sad. Arabia was not yet entirely secured, so the survivors from the last civil war found their refuge there. Their misfortune was that most of my armies stationed there remained loyal to me. This time I made sure my enemies did not get away. The Daco-Thracian Confederation has made some intriguing process against the Parthians. How far will they come? Five years pass. Another civil war in the west?! No... Good. It sounded like it. ⚙️ Authors Note - Technical Units develop negative traits if they remain idle somewhere for too long. So it looks like the Daco-Thracians lose their grip around their domain. Years of fighting have taken their toll, I know that all too well myself. Their border regions fall into chaos, also affecting Rome's security. This is unacceptable! I send a warning to the Daco-Thracians. Either they'll get their matters right or Rome is forced to intervene. I ... I ... I have nothing to say to this! I curse this man's name!! 📝 Authors Note So there we have it. I was done with wars and wanted to check out how Rome II plays if you are at peace. I also didn't want to mess around in this nice war between the Daco-Thracians and the Parthians. I entered a phase of experimentation where I tested several options within the internal policies. As you've seen many things went wrong. That's part of the experiment, I guess. There is really not much going on when you're at peace. Internal politics can keep you busy a little while, but it is most of the time a simple button-press minigame. However, be aware that this campaign was played before the Ancestral Update came out, where domestic politics were greatly expanded.

1) What a show indeed.
You sure you're not the witch dabbling with the forbidden magic of reloadmancy?
2) Joke aside: You cannot kill Shakira and then use a spoiler instead of a contentbox and not expect people to be triggered. (ò_Ó*)
[...]
Just like you, they didn't want to offend, and offended by doing that.
3) There isn't much negativity between Romans and Christ at all. They're neutral to each other.
4) Christianity won because it did exactly that the other way. Also because the world was getting tired of too many gods. So if Christianity hadn't won, we could all be Jews now, or believing in sol invictus, or such.

1) The loading times in Rome II are too long for it to be worthwhile.
2) *Sigh* There are the offended haters again.
Yeah, a contentbox was too bulky. Technically speaking it is the same: a simple dropdown. Only styling differentiates is.
3) Pretty sure Christ wasn't all too happy about being nailed on a cross. Also pretty sure Romans didn't like Christians all that much. At least at the beginning.
4) Indeed! Praise the sun! \[T]/
There's a reason why Christmas is at 25 Dec after all.

Bleib fleißig!

Eek! Go away with that language! I just made sure it won't come up in this universe.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I'm slightly surprised that the Himyarites weren't more of a challenge, even when ambushed. In my experience, ambushing highly mobile armies (with cavalry archers and lots of infantry skirmishers, like their army) is less effective than ambushing heavy infantry-based armies. I guess quality beat quantity again (just as you said it does).

Their camel riders managed to flank me a little bit but they were simply overwhelmed by my Velites. They aren't so high quality but they had the high ground and a nice line of legionaries who protected them.

It's interesting that, in this campaign, you had too much money by the end. In the Grand Campaign, my income usually peaks in the mid-campaign. After that, trading partners diminish as they're conquered by my enemies (or my faction), I'm usually fighting on multiple fronts (and needing to use high-upkeep elite units), corruption had risen and I'm spending money to prevent secession or civil war (for example by switching from economy-boosting edicts to loyalty edicts).

Do you play a mod? I never had the feeling trade agreements added much to my economy.
Economy in itself didn't do much. What I did then was to simply enhance happiness, then pump up the taxes. A typical republican thing, I guess.

Seriously, it's unbalanced as heck. Just look at my money at the end of this chapter.

It looks like Pompey has succeeded more than any actual Roman ruler and the restoration of the Republic is a nice touch. I wonder if Rome might have lasted longer as a republic than an empire, since they had so much trouble with bad and mad emperors.

"Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home." -Cicero

Describes it pretty well.
Yes there were many mad emperors, although these guys were very interesting in their own right. There were also many good Emperors. Take Aurelian for example.

I think Rome would've fallen into even more corruption at its end. The Republic might not have managed to find answers regarding the crises of the third and fourth century AD. The Romans would then had done what they did best: Infighting. More and more civil wars.
Ironically this chapter showed it in a crude way.

[Kilo11]

Dude, I thought you had walled up the sewers so that nastiness wouldn't happen again! What is with these weirdos sailing down a river of poo?!

Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home.

That is a perfect quote for this discussion, and for all TW players to bear in mind. Although I am not sure Republican Rome would really count as "prudent counsel". I mean, those senators were each of them as bad (or good) as the average emperor. They only sometimes seemed more in tune with things because their bickering meant they couldn't get things done as quickly or efficiently (bearing in mind that efficiency can be either good or bad, depending on the goals being pursued). I can't imagine the Republic would have done "better" than the empire on average. In fact, I'd guess that sooner or later empire would have happened anyway, and because of the elites inability to unite.

[Turkafinwë]

And there we have it, the Republic back in power (minus the constant civil warring. What else could good Romans do to keep themselves busy in such boring times ). Let's hope it stays stable for at least five minutes.

'You great, puke-stained -elf' really is a remarkable insult. (I say to have a wide vocabulary of swearwords is not a negative trait, you take that back Rome II!)

[Alwyn]

I can imagine that, after a civil war between some of Rome's generals, other generals might have tried to copy Pompey's success. It looks like Pompey was well-prepared for them!

Do you play a mod? I never had the feeling trade agreements added much to my economy.
Economy in itself didn't do much. What I did then was to simply enhance happiness, then pump up the taxes. A typical republican thing, I guess.

Seriously, it's unbalanced as heck. Just look at my money at the end of this chapter.

No mods at the moment. One or two trade agreements don't do much for the player's economy, but nine or ten can (I imagine that's hard or impossible to do in Imperator Augustus, where there are far fewer factions). By the late campaign, the increased cost of armies, fewer trade agreements and rising corruption usually reduce my income a lot. Also, you mentioned that you played this before the Ancestral update. With Ancestral, I see more aggressive AI behaviour on the campaign map, so I need more armies defending my borders and need more military buildings (which means fewer economic buildings). With high Imperium, armies cost more, and in the late game I'm more likely to use expensive high-tier units.

I think Rome would've fallen into even more corruption at its end. The Republic might not have managed to find answers regarding the crises of the third and fourth century AD. The Romans would then had done what they did best: Infighting. More and more civil wars.
Ironically this chapter showed it in a crude way.

I imagine you're right and yes, this chapter showed this. I'm wondering what experiments you were trying with the internal politics system.

[Derc]

Rome II
Imperator Augustus
#10

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Fools. All Romans need to fulfill their duty, men and women alike. One of my granddaughters is a difficult lot. She was married to another influental Roman family but instead of improving relations with them, she did everything in her power to tarnish them. She was warned countless times and now I was forced to make a decision. "How far will you go for Rome?", I was asked one more time. Yeah, I learned the answer in all these years. Rome is cruel. But Rome is also the light. Sometimes politics are more important than your own blood. I asked one of my most able agents to deal with the task. I ... couldn't do it myself. In that I failed Rome. Once. The tides have turned in the Daco-Thracian war against Parthia. This only means more chaos at the border. I have seen enough. I wasn't bluffing and will bring Roman order to these barbarians, appeasing the North once and for all. Most of the battles are fought in the Dacian homeland and in the Caucasus. Countless battles are fought around the border to the Daco-Thracians. It's the longest border the world has ever seen. The Parthians gaze like old women as they see Romans showing up at the scene, beating their long hated enemy without any bigger problems. The Parthians would have liked to conquer this land on their own. Now they leave the scene silently. My internal enemies have waited for the worst moment to strike once again. They do it where it hurts most. No!! Not Hispania! Not my Cantabri brothers!! The Daco-Thracian's think this little civil war would be enough for me to end this war. No, it is not. I'm used to it. I am really angry. My enemies are dealt with quickly, but they've done the damage. Where are my Cantabri friends?! They've left their homes. Terrible things must have happened here. Daco-Thracians invade Asia Minor and are greeted by Roman swords near Nicomedia. This army caused some real trouble. Now it's history. Many Daco-Thracians try to escape. Most of them are intercepted and enslaved. Rome can make good use of them. This once mighty Confederation crumbled like a fly under Rome's boot. This campaign was an utter success, despite being hampered by internal strife. The Cantabri reappear in Gaul. They have wandered long and are ... not the same anymore. They have lost their faith in Romans and have succumbed to their old barbarian ways, pillaging good Roman cities. I will have to deal with them. There is no other choice. Goodbye old friend. It was a honour. 📝 Authors Note And such as that I fail another goal. Thanks rebels. Great empires are plagued with instability. Rome is not the only one. The Daco-Thracian had these problems and now the Parthians have them too. Hah! Good! Antioch, that glorious city! I wanted to take it a long time ago when Marc Antony was still around. Now's the time! I will seize the day - finishing this once and forever!

Dude, I thought you had walled up the sewers so that nastiness wouldn't happen again! What is with these weirdos sailing down a river of poo?!

Some things can not be prevented, no matter how hard you try. :/
This guy's name made it all the more ironic.

That is a perfect quote for this discussion, and for all TW players to bear in mind. Although I am not sure Republican Rome would really count as "prudent counsel". I mean, those senators were each of them as bad (or good) as the average emperor. They only sometimes seemed more in tune with things because their bickering meant they couldn't get things done as quickly or efficiently (bearing in mind that efficiency can be either good or bad, depending on the goals being pursued). I can't imagine the Republic would have done "better" than the empire on average. In fact, I'd guess that sooner or later empire would have happened anyway, and because of the elites inability to unite.

Perfectly summarized! Once again not able to +rep you.

And there we have it, the Republic back in power (minus the constant civil warring. What else could good Romans do to keep themselves busy in such boring times ). Let's hope it stays stable for at least five minutes.
'You great, puke-stained -elf' really is a remarkable insult. (I say to have a wide vocabulary of swearwords is not a negative trait, you take that back Rome II!)

I would favour swearing Romans over civil warring ones. But, oh well, Romans are Romans. They'd rather kill each other than to seem 'uncivilized'.

1) I can imagine that, after a civil war between some of Rome's generals, other generals might have tried to copy Pompey's success. It looks like Pompey was well-prepared for them!
2) No mods at the moment. One or two trade agreements don't do much for the player's economy, but nine or ten can (I imagine that's hard or impossible to do in Imperator Augustus, where there are far fewer factions). By the late campaign, the increased cost of armies, fewer trade agreements and rising corruption usually reduce my income a lot. Also, you mentioned that you played this before the Ancestral update. With Ancestral, I see more aggressive AI behaviour on the campaign map, so I need more armies defending my borders and need more military buildings (which means fewer economic buildings). With high Imperium, armies cost more, and in the late game I'm more likely to use expensive high-tier units.
3) I imagine you're right and yes, this chapter showed this. I'm wondering what experiments you were trying with the internal politics system.

1) No doubt there would have been several attempts in reality. If they would've succeeded? Impossible to say.
2) This is interesting! Didn't know Imperium would affect this. That's because Rome II never required any sort micromanagement, at least not on 'Hard' difficulty (really not hard at all) and especially not like in other TW games.
There were enough factions but they favoured to refuse my offers and declare war on me instead.

You need to try it out one day. Imperator Augustus (or any DLC in that matter) plays wildly different from the Grand Campaign. Mostly because of the different pacing.
3) Manipulating people, betraying them, assassinating them, just the usual Roman thing. Tried all sorts of buttons out.

[Cookiegod]

Failure was never an option to us, old friend, but an obligation. RIP C's. In perpetuum servitutem.

CringEdit:

Seize the hay.
Horse (anyone of them)

[Derc]

Rome II
Imperator Augustus
#11

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The Parthians solve their matters quick, just like Romans do. They have not taken us into account, however. I will intervene, playing the noble protector of Antioch. War with Parthia was long due. It takes some time for my legions to arrive. Parthia takes Antioch in that span. Not for long, I guarantee it. As I order my legions to set out, the Parthians realize what they have gotten themselves into. I... that... that comes unexpected. Such cowards! Mighty empires do not bow their heads before others! It is the lot of the small man! No. I decline. And just as Alexander the Great did, I will take the Route to the east, bringing it civilization and order once more. I worked the plan out. Our advance needs to be rapid and harsh. Legio IX stays behind to appease the newly conquered provinces. I have to hurry with it, not just because of strategical reasons. This shall be my last campaign. I have grown to be an old, fragile man. My times on the battlefield are long over. All I do is arguing with my family and my countrymen. They have the greatest respect for me for all my achievements, but they also see me as a relict of another time. Is this bad, given that this 'relict' has conquered the whole world out of the ash, saved the Res Publica, reunited Rome? No, perhaps they are right. I feel like I have done enough and can feel the life drain out of me. I led an hard but honourable life in the service of Rome. All I want before I go is to see the task completed. Parthia has outstanding cities. But the war against the Daco-Thracians weakened them. It is easy to advance that way. Rome's experienced veterans only face some militias and exhausted armies. Their cities fall one after another. Persia was once great, Parthia was once great, and Rome is great, but Rome is eternal. As Parthia and its satrapies collapse, the countless slaves in these lands rise up against their former masters. Anarchy and chaos are the results. It will take some time to get this under control. Pushing on is the most crucial thing now. If these slaves think they can live a happy life from now on, marauding around, then they will have a surprise soon. Parthia and its satrapies are completely overwhelmed on all fronts. In a matter of two years my legions have pushed them to the eastern wastes of their empire. My task is almost completed. Almost completed... ...What's this?!? The very provinces from where it all began... declare war on me?! Treachery!! My heart aches but nothing will stop me from completing my task now. Only Parthia's former satrapy of Paradene remains. Celebrations already erupt to party Rome's ultimate domination. But it is too soon. Too soon. Transoxania is the last province to become Roman. Countless legionaries greet the rising sun at the eastern edge of the known world. Roman legions march all over the world. It is time for the legionaries to go home - or make this new land their new one. It should be over now. Having reached to ultimate goal, I should celebrate. But I feel empty... devastated... betrayed. With heavy heart I order my men to reclaim the isles I loved so much and have betrayed me so bitter in the end. These fools came from all corners of the Republic, their only task to humiliate me in the moment of my greatest triumph and the very end of my days. It cost them their life, but they at least suceeded in that. I refuse to let this make me bitter, but what does it matter anymore? My time is up. The Pax Romana ... it is achieved. I have dedicated my whole life to Rome and now the ultimate goal is a reality. I can go from this world with peace, and I will soon do so, but my name will be immortal forever. - Sextus Pompeius Magnus, son of Neptune Liberator, Conqueror, Restitutor Res Publica ⚙️ Authors Note - Technical What is that? As I look over the map at the very end of the game, I see that my capital has been reset to Syracuse! It seems that if your former capital is lost and gets reconquered, the game sets it as capital again. Would make sense if it would've still been my capital, but not since I have moved it to Rome. Crappy bug. At the very end of the game the enemy managed to deal me the greatest blow. GRRRRRR.

🎵 Here is some ambience for the sake of Roman greatness

📘 Alternate History

Rome conquering it all - with Pompey restoring the Res Publica. Now that is interesting. A scenario I can actually imagine pretty well.

If Rome would've done that in reality, it could actually have managed to remain halfway stable. Even though not for long. Give it some centuries - nay, decades, and Rome would've done the job and blew itself up in more and more civil wars. No Germans or Huns necessary.
Even without them, Rome would've had its enemies. I can imagine that the Indians would've taken the spot of Parthia/the Sassanids. And if not the Huns, then another tribe would have taken that role sooner or later.

The Republic was a hotbed for internal conflicts. That may be one of the main reasons it was abolished altogether. It was much less efficient than the empire, at least if it had gone back to oligarchic structures. It was in need of a leader, just as the empire itself was.
Here it had that. Pompey played the dictator, he was the primus inter pares. Perhaps a new one would come. Perhaps not.
Kilo already summarized it very well:

Spoiler for Kilo's thoughts: 

[...] I mean, those senators were each of them as bad (or good) as the average emperor. They only sometimes seemed more in tune with things because their bickering meant they couldn't get things done as quickly or efficiently (bearing in mind that efficiency can be either good or bad, depending on the goals being pursued). I can't imagine the Republic would have done "better" than the empire on average. In fact, I'd guess that sooner or later empire would have happened anyway, and because of the elites inability to unite.

No Trajan. No Hadrian. No Nero. No Caligula. No Aurelian. Instead countless senators and generals that would've kept Rome busy. One or another would've surely looked back at Caesar and Augustus and tried to step in their footsteps. Maybe they would have done so in the name of Christianity.

It does not matter if a ruler scolds himself 'king', 'emperor', 'president', or what not. There are kingdoms much more liberal than democracies. Can you compare Great Britain with North Korea? Of course not.
It is all a facade. Just a name. I repeat from a chapter before: countries need to be centralized in order to be efficient. More and more centralization comes with the cost of freedom. This is a struggle we face all over the globe, one of the big things of the 21th century, and it will remain one for as long as humanity exists.

Humanity had many groundbreaking eras. This one here, together with the industrialization, was one of the most groundbreaking ones in the history of humanity.
People of the industrialization, at least, knew about it. Here it came in silence. Jesus was born, did his thing and it would change the world forever.

The civil war was resolved and a new era was approaching.
How would the Res Publica have reacted towards the dawn of Christianity?

🏠 House Rules & Special Goals

Unwritten Rules:

• Conquer the whole map - Check
• No exploits, hacks, etc. blah bla blubb - Check

Written ones:

• Vincit qui se vincit: Must unite all of Rome before I start conquering non-roman regions - Failed. Hard.
• Destitutus ventis, remos adhibe: Venture to the edges of the world - Check. Lost countless ships just because I wanted to lift the fog of war, lol.
• Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur: Vassalize some poor tribe and keep it on the leash until the very end of the campaign - Failed. Rebels trolled me pretty hard. Poor Cantabri. Never forget.

⭐ Conclusion: Rome II - Imperator Augustus

• Astounding, epic battles.
• Top graphics, smooth animations.
• Grand scale, many different units and cultures.
• Even though some mediterranean factions no longer existed at the start of the game, this campaign feels much like Grand Campaign 2.0, just with a slower pace.
• The A.I. is average. Sometimes good. Sometimes dumb.
• Easiest TW title I know. 'Hard' is a joke. Even 'Very Hard' isn't hard at all, because...
• ... Autoresolve and moneymaking are totally OP, especially in the lategame.
• Wonders are OP too, giving you significant advantages on a global scale.
• Keeping your provinces happy has never been hard.
• [Pre Ancestral Update] Internal politics are way too simple.

Despite having countless flaws, mostly in terms of balancing and difficulty, I like it very much.
Rome II is more a cinematic experience. Battles can actually be hard. The campaign itself isn't so much.
For lazy autoresolve dudes like me it is basically a paradise.

Failure was never an option to us, old friend, but an obligation. RIP C's. In perpetuum servitutem.

And into eternity, brother, hail and farewell.

The biggest blow came at the very end. What an insult. Dionysius revenge felt like it was delivered by a ballista, indeed. It seems this was secretly a Syracuse campaign all along. Damn plebeians.

CringEdit:

Seize the hay.
Horse (anyone of them)

Leave them horsies alone!
I can make good use of them in the next campaign.

---

K guys, thanks again for your read, for your nice comments, the votes in MAARC and whatnot.

This campaign was pretty grand. I feel like I overdid it somewhat and will revert back to fewer words, a more simple approach and if possible less chapters. Creating this took way too much time. It made me feel at odds with this and once again I need a rest from it.

I will continue eventually, of course. The next campaign is just too awesome not to show.

[Cookiegod]

YAAAAY! Syracuse 1 - Rome 0!!!

You had almost the perfect screenshot there... The entire world conquered, except the very provinces you started with. Except you of course had to mess it up by already conquering Corsica. And then you also lied about it, since you took that island before you posted this:

With heavy heart I order my men to reclaim the isles I loved so much and have betrayed me so bitter in the end.

You are as good a liar as a republican, Mr. Dictator, sir! But you made your capital's greatest ruler proud... wait... what's that?

Dionysius

You thought I wouldn't notice?!

You thought this is the correct way to write his name?!

You dare to spell the second greatest Syracusan dictator Diony-C-os's name the Latin way?! Srsly?! I would've seceded too, then.
Even the loading screen quote in your last part was said by Caesar in Greek, not Latin. Greek is the language of the upper class. Latin is for the lower class only. That's why the lower part of America... never mind. I better be careful now. Otherwise you might go conquer the world as Venezuela or something.

[Kilo11]

This was a great end Derc! The bitter betrayal at the end was a great storytelling twist that made this all come "full-arc" in a nice way (though I can imagine you didn't feel that way at the time ). Also, though it is a tragedy your capital got switched on you, I wouldn't object too much to Syracuse being your new seat of power. It's more fitting for Pompey's Rome anyway .


The one other thing I thought was interesting in this update was one of your final questions:

How would the Res Publica have reacted towards the dawn of Christianity?

Honestly, I think this would have been the most destabilizing thing to hit the Republic, and that at the very latest the rise of Christianity would have toppled the Republic. My thinking is that Rome, if still a Republic, would be beset by this new mode of thinking that lessens the importance of class structures and castes, and that this would upset the elites. However, some lesser nobles might think to capitalize on the changing sentiments of the plebs and embrace Christianity (at least on the outside) to get a leg up politically. From there I see a rapid descent into nasty infighting and secession that would ultimately result in either 1) the fragmentation of the Republic and eventual piecemeal assimilation of it into other kingdoms, or 2) the rise of a dictator who plays off the zeal of the new religion to gain supreme dominance. Either way, I think Christianity would shatter the old order in good time.


Also, my reptitude circle is still logjammed, but I owe you a rep (or three), and will get it to you as soon as I can. Until then, take this friendly thumbs-up !

Also, I am excited to see your Attila campaign!

[Alwyn]

A fitting end for Pompey's reunification of Rome - I agree with Kilo11 about the bitter betrayal at the end and, like Kilo, I enjoyed your thoughts about how this alternative time-line would have developed over the following centuries. I wanted to try the Imperator Augustus campaign before, seeing yours makes me want to try this more. I'm looking forward to your next one!

[Derc]

YAAAAY! Syracuse 1 - Rome 0!!!

You had almost the perfect screenshot there... The entire world conquered, except the very provinces you started with. Except you of course had to mess it up by already conquering Corsica. And then you also lied about it, since you took that island before you posted this:
You are as good a liar as a republican, Mr. Dictator, sir! But you made your capital's greatest ruler proud... wait... what's that?

Afaik I had a small fleet nearby, quickly conquering that weakly defended settlement. I thought the AI was too dumb to use that army nearby to reconquer it.
Guess what? I was wrong. Lost my poor little fleet.

You thought I wouldn't notice?!
You thought this is the correct way to write his name?!
You dare to spell the second greatest Syracusan dictator Diony-C-os's name the Latin way?! Srsly?! I would've seceded too, then.
Even the loading screen quote in your last part was said by Caesar in Greek, not Latin. Greek is the language of the upper class. Latin is for the lower class only. That's why the lower part of America... never mind. I better be careful now. Otherwise you might go conquer the world as Venezuela or something.

That inflation would kill any attempt of conquest. Would be a nice challenge, though.

Anyways, my time sexting around is over. The people seem to have enjoyed it. I'm glad.

This was a great end Derc! The bitter betrayal at the end was a great storytelling twist that made this all come "full-arc" in a nice way (though I can imagine you didn't feel that way at the time ). Also, though it is a tragedy your capital got switched on you, I wouldn't object too much to Syracuse being your new seat of power. It's more fitting for Pompey's Rome anyway .

It was both a nice and a bitter surprise at the same time. Just wanting to finish this off, I didn't pay much attention to anything besides roflstomping Parthia into the ground. Wasn't challenging at all.
The rebellion then proved to be a nice little endgame challenge. I had to recruit new inexperienced troops at the other end of the map. These rebels seemed to be stronger than the Parthians were.

[...]
Also, my reptitude circle is still logjammed, but I owe you a rep (or three), and will get it to you as soon as I can. Until then, take this friendly thumbs-up !

Also, I am excited to see your Attila campaign!

You guess Attila just because I mentioned horsies and a burning world?
Come on, that could account for everything. Maybe I'll conquer the world with Napoleon and a Grande Armée of cavalry only.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

How'd...?!

Guess that all has become too predictable.

Congratulations, man. Would +rep you twice both for your interesting thoughts and the right guess but I can't. So we're almost even again.

A fitting end for Pompey's reunification of Rome - I agree with Kilo11 about the bitter betrayal at the end and, like Kilo, I enjoyed your thoughts about how this alternative time-line would have developed over the following centuries. I wanted to try the Imperator Augustus campaign before, seeing yours makes me want to try this more. I'm looking forward to your next one!

I imagine Pompey as a strict pater familias. A true Roman, driven by revenge and ambition, playing the senate like a fiddle, ready to do anything to reach his goal.

In reality that guy got screwed by some of his own men, most notably admiral Menodoros. He pardoned his treason multiple times. It proved to be his undoing in the end.
Either Pompey had no choice in pardoning Menandros as he needed good men or I am wrong all along and Pompey was just a nice guy.

[Derc]

If history teached something, then it is one thing alone: Everything that starts... will end. Everything.
In another universe Rome was not as powerful. It still became a superpower, bringing an end to the old order, becoming the sole hegemon. Rome's light shined bright upon the world for centuries. But time has gnawed on all frontiers of the old wolf. The hunter became weak and as such prey.
Rome has survived a lot of crises. So many terrible crises. They thought they'd finally have peace after all of them. They tought Rome was eternal. Invincible. Nothing could destroy it.
Little did they know that the worst test of time was yet to unfold.

395 CE.
Rome has grown inapt and inefficient. To keep governing it, it was split into eastern and western half. An ultimate testificate to failure.
"Who am I?", asks old Rome, being split between Latin and Greek part, between pagan and christian one, between overambition and degeneration.
Hard times grow hard men and weak times grow weak men. The Limes as such grows weak, the Barbarians pushing against it ever more. The situation seems to spiral out of control now that an unknown threat is emerging from the East, easily able to challenge old Rome itself.



The steppes are almost endless with seemingly nothing inside them. And yet this harsh place is it that gives birth to brutal creatures. Sturdy stallions and cruel men roam the vastness of the nothingness, scavenging for whatever they can find to make the day.
Now the creatures of the Steppe assembled. Out of nothingness came the biggest threat in the world, ready to shake the foundations of this old one to the core ... or perhaps to destroy it entirely.

---

Total War: Attila
Grand Campaign
Huns

Starring: Uldin, Mundzuk, Octar, Rugila, Bleda, and of course Attila



Some men have it all while others have nothing.

These few who have everything are the ones who rule the world; and ruin it in the process.

This can only happen for so long. Once the time is up, their world will crumble.

The Horde set out westwards to bring terror not only to the old wolf, but also to the vultures.

No praying in whatever god will save them. No price, no bickering, no falsehood.
Either they will be able to defend themselves ...

... or their world will burn.

⚙️ Authors Note - Technical

As the Huns can't conquer anything, our goal here is to destroy everything. Raze it all to the ground!

This isn't about building empires. It's solemly about ruining them.
Ah... Refreshing.

---

[Derc]

Attila - Grand Campaign
Table of Contents

• #0: (Spring 395) Start
• #1: (Spring 395 - Spring 400 CE) "Time, the devourer of everything."
• #2: (Spring 400 - Autumn 415 CE) "His army is said to have numbered five hundred thousand men. He was a man born into the world to shake the nations, the scourge of all lands..."
• #3: (Summer 416 - Spring 420 CE) "There, where I have passed, the grass will never grow gain."
• #4: (Spring 420 - Autumn 428 CE) "When collapse is imminent, the little rodents flee."
• #5: (Autumn 428 - Autumn 432 CE) "Who was the first that forged the deadly blade? Of rugged steel his savage soul was made."
• #6: (Autumn 434 - Spring 445 CE) "In soft regions are born soft men."
• #7: (Summer 445 - Spring 452 CE) "Every day we are changing, every day we are dying, and yet we fancy ourselves eternal."
• #8: (Summer 452 - Summer 463 CE) "Man towers above the rest of creation so long as he realizes his own nature, and when he forgets it, he sinks lower than the beasts."
• #9: (Spring 467 - Spring 474 CE) "It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep may be."
• #10: (Winter 474 - Spring 484 CE) "What an artist dies with me!"

---

Overall Campaign Ambience

🏠 House Rules & Special Goals

• The Eternal City: Rome will be the last city to fall if the Romans manage to keep it
• No Mercy: No subjugations

⭐ Specialities of this campaign

• Focus on survival or destroying instead of empire building
• The Great Migration.
• Horde gameplay. The Huns can't settle. Only sack, subjugate or raze.
• 4 turns per year

[Kilo11]

Well, I can only say that I am psyched for this! Your aims are ones that will definitely make for a good show, and I am interested in seeing how this "no empire building" thing can even work. I mean, can the Huns not even control a single province or something? (No need to answer this, as we'll find out soon enough) This should be intense!

Also, I really hope you are able to keep to your first house rule. The idea of Rome sitting at the center of a burnt world and waiting for death is just too romantic and fatalistic, and something that I find oddly right, at least in so far as stories go. Make it happen Derc!

[Cookiegod]

I like the table of content so far. (yes yes, I know, let me have it!1!!)

Derc I wonder why you always have to play it on easy mode. You should try the pacifist mode some time. Don't attack anyone, if anyone attacks, always retreat, and try to last the entire span of the campaign.
The Huns should be excellent for this.

I thought Milan was the exceptional city. You telling me you plan to plunder it?! :'(

[Kilo11]

Derc I wonder why you always have to play it on easy mode. You should try the pacifist mode some time. Don't attack anyone, if anyone attacks, always retreat, and try to last the entire span of the campaign.
The Huns should be excellent for this.

You should so do that! That would be an awesome and super interesting campaign! Seriously, I would love to see you try to last a campaign doing this. At the very least, it would be very cool to try a campaign where you aim to expand as much as possible with the limitation that you cannot attack. Only defend and bribe settlements. Definitely something worth attempting!

---

Also, I forgot to play your theme song for this new campaign. It's a classic from the The Byrds

To everything burn, burn, burn.
There is a season burn, burn, burn
And a time to every purpose
Over hell.

A time to be hurt, a time to die
A time to steal, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to raze
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything burn, burn, burn
There is a season burn, burn, burn
And a time to every purpose
Over hell.

...
...

And you get the idea

[Alwyn]

It's quite a change to see a Total War campaign focused on destroying empires rather than building one! You've set up the atmosphere well for an exciting campaign.

[Derc]

Attila
Grand Campaign
#1

-------------------------- (Click to view) --------------------------

The story of the Huns began long before Attila was born. Hailing from deep within central Asia, the Huns went west and are currently roaming the plains of Sarmatia. South lies the massive realm of the Romans. Collapse has already begun as countless different tribes roam their lands. What's a frontier worth that can't protect the country? The Roman Empire has just been split into two. At least in terms of administration. They are still considered to be one people. Time will test if it'll stay that way. Nothing ever should. Stars are rising and falling every day. The signs are clear. The Horde will play time's death dealer. The various tribes and empires either survive this, or they will fall into the depths of history, like so many before them. The Steppes seem to be endless and infertile. This couldn't be farther away from the truth. It has given birth to countless brute tribes, every one of them claiming the land as their own. Clashes are inevitable. War is a daily business. A normal part in life. It is always a thrill: defeat your enemy, then earn the spoils for your deeds and set waste to the defeated foe. Every warrior loves it. A lot of tribes cower in their corner of the world, fearing for their land, for their existance, for their lives. Rightly so. Some of them think fire should be fought with fire. Fear is in the air and it reeks to Rome itself. Many knew a storm was brewing and took drastic measures to escape it. Rome can not escape, but it can delay. The Romans know this themselves, trying to appease the Horde, luring it into the land of their enemies. Not everyone is scared. Brave warriors see these times as the perfect chance to make use of their skills. The Horde is still small, still vulnerable, it hasn't picked up its momentum yet. But it has already built an atmosphere of terror around it. The Huns might be warlike, and rightly so, but it would be foolish to declare war on the entire world. Not everyone is bad. Some tribes can be friends. Countless tribes flee as the Huns roam around. The Steppes truly become a desolate place. Most tribes push west and so do the Huns. Countless riches must lie there, otherwise they wouldn't go that way. It won't be an easy journey. Blood and bewailing will follow for years to come. It'll be a feast for warriors and a terror for peasants and kings alike. Just as the Horde is used to it. The Huns do not have an endless supply of men. If the Horde wants to grow stronger, it needs to make good use of the overthrown tribes. A strategy that seems to work out. The Horde grows, and with it the fear of it. The Venedians tried to stop the Horde's push westwards. They failed. Now all they can do is to watch their land burn. Many other tribes and empires will follow their example. The way west continues. The nomad lifestyle is the only one the Huns know and are happy with. Why should it change? Everything that is needed can just be picked up along the way. Sometimes even the Huns are forced to engage in the weirdness of politics. It is always nice to declare war in the guise of "helping" one ally, then destroy both of them. This was a very special child. Everyone knew that from the beginning. Attila came to this world to shake its foundations to the ground. The world trembled, but it still had no idea of what was yet to unfold. 📕 History & Culture Just who are the Huns exactly? Here's a nice video about their origin: Once more you can say the Chinese did it! Maybe. At least they did so partially/indirectly. Some pretty crazy consequences emerging from completely different things.

Well, I can only say that I am psyched for this! Your aims are ones that will definitely make for a good show, and I am interested in seeing how this "no empire building" thing can even work. I mean, can the Huns not even control a single province or something? (No need to answer this, as we'll find out soon enough) This should be intense!

The first chapter starts rather humble and not with all too many battles Total War Attila is infamous for.
The Huns, although already mighty, are still small compared what they would become under the rule of Attila.
Horde gameplay is pretty interesting. An army is automatically a "city" at the same time. You upgrade various tents and improve the army that way, enabling new units to be recruited and so on.
If the army gets wiped, it is as if a whole city got razed at the same time. Keeping your armies alive is really important here.

I like the table of content so far. (yes yes, I know, let me have it!1!!)

Fix'd, you troll. At least partially.

Derc I wonder why you always have to play it on easy mode. You should try the pacifist mode some time. Don't attack anyone, if anyone attacks, always retreat, and try to last the entire span of the campaign.
The Huns should be excellent for this.

I do that in RL. That should already be enough.
Let's just say the TW engine isn't made for this. I did such a similar thing in Empire's Warpath Campaign. It was horrible.

I thought Milan was the exceptional city. You telling me you plan to plunder it?! :'(

You got it. Milan is the true centre of debauchery. There's a reason why it is WRE capital here. Nothing good did ever come from it.

Also, I forgot to play your theme song for this new campaign. It's a classic from the The Byrds

I see what you did there. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
It's a good one. A nice variety from all this bewailing the Horde usually has to hear.

It's quite a change to see a Total War campaign focused on destroying empires rather than building one! You've set up the atmosphere well for an exciting campaign.

Ty.
Yes, rampaging around as a horde makes many things much easier in ATW. Maintaining public order is one of the most difficult things in this campaign. Not for a horde. Religious unrest, an otherwise major factor - trivial. Really happy I have not to build an empire here.
It is still challenging. The Horde needs to keep conquering in order to uphold its integrity. The human player also does not get the countless bonuses the AI Huns would get.
I was pretty stunned when I started the campaign. "This is all?", I thought, seeing only three lousy halfstacks at my command and everyone declaring war on me. The Huns are pretty weak at the beginning. Which is good.

[Kilo11]

I like the beginning. It is, as you say, somewhat humble, but you're getting a good start nonetheless. Also, I quite liked that one image where you overlaid a small battlepic over the campaign map. That was a nice touch, and a cool way to in one shot convey a battle without going into detail. Suffice to say, you deserve a rep, but as usual, I cannot yet give it.