Roman Legions and Loss Replacements

[Brucha]

I really love trying to play with the houserules, but I am confused by several points concerning roman legion replacements. As the house rules state, you are not to replace losses in a legion for 20 turns, and to replace these losses with Auxillia. However, how do you train Auxillia spearmen and swordsmen? Are Auxillia barbarian mercenary troops or are they units that can be trained in former barbarian settlements? And what buidlings are needed for Auxillia?

Is it also true that you are not to replace legion losses with roman hastatii?

[Garnier]

The auxilia rules are for after marian reforms. Hastati, princeps, velites etc are all before marian reforms.

When you get the marian reforms, auxilia troops are recruited from your barracks buildings.

[Brucha]

As for pre-marius replacements, how should I go about replacing losses in the two initial starting legions until I can train triarii and principes? Is it ok to replace these losses with hastatii and barbarian mercenaries? Or is there no house rule for pre-Marius legion replacements. of course, I plan on building pre-Marius legions with: 5 Hastatii, 5 Princepes, 3 Triarii, 2 Velites, 2 Missile units, 2 cavalry units, 1 General. But it will be some time until I can train triarii and principes (Imperial barracks I think?) What is the exact house rule on these replacements?

[Garnier]

It wont be that long. You just need the barracks that comes with a 6000 population city. So if you dont train any units in arretium and focus on getting that, you should have it in 12 turns or so I guess.

But until then, I use hastati to replace princeps, and samnites or barbarians to replace triarii, just so I have some spearmen.

BTW, in my game I cut the upkeep of mercenaries in half so I didnt feel stupid using them. They arent very good in battle and they cost way too much normally to make it worth using them.

[Brucha]

Thanks Garnier for the help. One more question, please? How do I modify mercenary upkeep costs. What file is that in in the RtW program file? I also agree that mercenaries seem to cost far too much considering their usefulness.

[lt1956]

Garnier you like to modify the game to make things easier alot. lol

The reason for the Cost is NOT to use Mercs unless you HAVE to. When overseas and getting hit hard, you sometimes have to use MERCS just to sve the ARMY, that is when the High cost pays off just like real life. Mercs were not cheap, atleast the good ones and cost more the your levy troops. ;-)

[Garnier]

Well for me, I use mercenaries in their own sort of legions, gathering mercenaries from all parts of the world together, and I dont hire them and disband them soon after like in real life. They are like auxiliaries. I have a mercenary army right now with a mixture of barbarians, spanish, illyrians, samnites, sicilians, greek hoplites, and even some elephants from africa. I like to take mercenaries from one corner of the map and use them very very far away. And I dont want to waste my whole treasury to do it.

But I also modify the game to make it harder in some ways, and it seems to balance out.

[lt1956]

what do you modify to make it harder? You must have liked RTR alot? I know they had HEAVY use of foriegn mercs as auxilia, good Idea, but I prefer to use the romans and Save slots on the models for little extras.

[Garnier]

Actually I only played RTR for a short time, I got bored very fast.

As to making the game harder, I play on hard battles, and also have slightly changed houserules:

1. No changing capital
2. All cities must be constructing buildings as much as possible. This costs lots of money, especially to get all the late tier buildings like the circus maximus.
3. All cities must have monthly or daily games and races if possible.
4. No recruiting and disbanding of militia to move population around.
5. Always exterminate any city when taken.
6. No using flaming shot from archers or siege weapons.
7. No more than 2 siege weapons in any army at any time.
8. All auxiliary legions, mercenary armies and legions must be commanded by the general that you recruit, not by a family member. Family members can be used to march smaller forces of auxiliaries to the legions on the front line.
9. Brigand armies that pop up in my lands I never fight, I always bring a diplomat to bribe them.

There are some more but I cant think of them at the moment.

[el_dude]

4. No recruiting and disbanding of militia to move population around.

how do you do that? you just recruit some militia, move them to an underpopulated province and disband? do you have to disband them inside the city for this to happen or can you just disband them anywhere in the province?