Unless you mean the picture? If that is the case than none of them look good to me, except the Amazon ones.

Yes, I did mean that, and yes, I thought you would say that.

Since it does not look like that Seleucid army that landed near Byzantium will lay siege, I march out to attack it in the open.


They are down by the water.


I received quite a shock as their Barbarian Cavalry Mercenaries killed my General. He was not much of a General though, so I will not miss him.


My infantry would have their revenge however.


Victory.


To the west, Gaidres starts cleaning up the Macedonians lurking near Pella.


That got rid of most of one army.


Then the same turn he takes on two other small Macedonian forces.


The first sits way up there.


You can see the second in the far distance.


My cavalry swarm the first.


Then I converge upon the second.


The Macedonian Cavalry in the second army did not wait for me to come to them. Instead they charged my Bastarnae Mercenaries.


The Macedonians lose.


Victory.


That Amazon army has finally budged from Byzantium, and are now headed north.


Out west, Pytros takes his horsemen and attacks a small German force.


They are crushed.


This makes Pytros a Noctophiliac.


Finally, Byzas leads the army of Macedon south to Larissa, where he is attacked by the Macedonians.


Here they come.


I immediately move on the first army with my cavalry and crush them.


I chase them so far that I run into the cavalry on the right flank of the second Macedonian army.


Now that second army was engaging my infantry.


Their General started it.


He was laid low by my Phalanx Pikemen.


But my right flank was charged by three units of Macedonian Cavalry.


I had to move one of my Pike units over to give the Bastarnae a hand.


The Macedonians were sent packing.


Victory.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 10-29-2008 @ 11:40 PM).]

One more update.

The Scythians are back blockading my ports, the Amazons are still marching north, and a Macedonian Diplomat has bribed one of my Archers that was headed for Campus Tevrisci.


In the west Zipaibes intercepts a small force of Germans near Campus Tevrisci.


He leaves no survivors.


I send out a newly recruited unit of Greek Cavalry to deal with the traitor Archers.


All I did was charge straight ahead and kill the Archers, and I get a Heroic Victory? I guess that gold weapon upgrade they had mattered a lot for their auto-resolve value.


Back to the west, Pytros the Cunning marched from Campus Tevrisci to attack a German army near the border.


Both of our armies move for the high ground on my left.


I get there first. This would make it a shooting gallery for my archers and javelin men.


Then it was bowling for Naked Fanatics. It must be tough to be naked in the winter...


After that my cavalry started to take their horsemen and light troops apart in their rear.


Javelins used up, my Thracian Infantry charge the Spear Warbands and rout them.


No survivors.


The Archers are the big killers here.


Far to the south, Byzas assaults Larissa. He makes it a day battle so the Macedonian reinforcements can come in.


I send a single unit to a blind spot in the walls.


Then give the Macedonian reinforcements a warm welcome.


Then I marched into the city, where the defenders were lured from the square by my Archers.


Then trapped in the street by my General.


No survivors.


Larissa is enslaved.


This puts Odessos up to 4th tier.


That Amazon army has now crossed out of my territory. *Phew* that is a relief. Let them bother the Scythians now. On the other hand, that Sarmatian army will be laying siege to Odessos any time now.


Down in Greece, things are really getting interesting. The Romans have taken Salona with a full stack of mostly Hastati, and are still hanging on to Corinth. The Egyptians have landed a force in the Peloponnese, Macedon has three cities left, and not much of an army left to defend them, and I have a big army in Larissa.


On the other hand, the Macedonians have Companion Cavalry in Athens!


On the Danubian frontier, rather than returning to Campus Tevrisci to refit, Pytros forges on to attack a second German army on their side of the border.


They are crushed.


Gaidres takes a small force of the Macedon Army to take on the largest force the Macedonians have left.


He smites them. Their General and a few others managed to escape back to their fort however.


This is interesting. The Romans have declared war upon the Gorgons. I wonder if they are fighting over Sardinia? I have seen that happen several times in AI run-throughs.


I am rich once more.


Up north, Ziles has taken a force to lay siege to Vibantavarium. I made sure to leave enough behind to defend Odessos from the Sarmatians however.


Gaidres lays siege to that Macedonian fort in Attica and attacks.


It is a shooting gallery.


My only losses were from tower fire.


Well, the Sarmatians lay siege to Odessos, so naturally I sallied. I cannot recall seeing a faction that did not share a border with me being so stubborn about attacking me.


I put all my Archers on the wall and ride out.


I tried to bait them to the walls by charging them and retreating. The first time they did not pursue.


Nor the second.


Or the third.


This time I get a good charge into their Virgin Archers, routing them from the field.


That did it. Now they are after me, and I flee to the walls.


My Archers tore them apart.


Then it was back for another round.


I charge again, and crush the leading Sarmatians.


Since I was doing well, I let my momentum carry me forward and into the next of them, routing them too.


Then I charged into their Captain and routed him.


They were finished. It is really no surprise. They were all Steppe Lancers, a first tier unit, with appropriately low morale, while I had a General with two silver experience.


Not too far away, Ziles assaulted Vibantavarium.


The Scythians were slaughtered at the walls.


Then I drew their General out of the square and into my Thracian Infantry.


Their Steppe Spearmen were pulled into the fray soon after, leaving the square empty.


My cavalry charged in behind them and took it, trapping the Scythians in the street.


No survivors.


I Exterminate the barbarians, destroy all of the buildings in the settlement, and withdraw back to Odessos.


Now I see why those Egyptians invaded Greece, they already have Crete. I do not believe I have ever seen that before.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 10-29-2008 @ 11:44 PM).]

Awesome, Egypt in greece...

Pity they probably won't get a chance to do anything...

You play nicely with those Egyptians, Sub, do you hear me?

Awsome news about Egypt, could you get a shot with FoW turned off to see what they have done to take those teritories?

As I have never seen them do that before.

Quoted from Andalus:

You play nicely with those Egyptians, Sub, do you hear me?

Those tomb-obsessed necrophiliacs? Not likely.

Here is what I was looking for:

"Our enemies today are the foul, death-worshipping Egyptians. We will shortly see to it that they all get to sample the delights of the afterlife!"

and:

"Today we march against those necrophiliac monsters, the Egyptians. I feel nothing but revulsion for these dangerous people, especially if they are victorious!"


A small update.

Gaidres leads the assault on Athens.


I send a single unit of Archers to a blind spot in the walls.


Once they ran the walls and opened the gates, Gaidres led the way into the city.


Then it was on to the square, where the Macedonian Companions met my Phalanx Pikemen.


Here is a good pic of the Companions receiving their last experience upgrade.


Athens was mine.


As it is the same culture as mine, and I know this city will be a gold mine, I Occupy.


Look what Athens has for me! Thracian Noble Cavalry.


Bastarnae. Now I can finally retrain that unit of Bastarnae I started the game with.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 11-01-2008 @ 09:04 PM).]

Thracian Noble Cavalry, Bastarnae, and she trains a unit of Peasants? Tch tch.

There is no unit in RTW more important than the Peasant. They are the bedrock upon which all mighty empires are founded.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 10-30-2008 @ 09:52 PM).]

Here is another good-looking lad.


Pytros the Cunning has gone into that good night. It is the end of an era.


It appears the Egyptians have ships that can travel on land...


One of my spies got a peek at the rebel garrison of Olbia. No wonder the Scythians have not taken it back.


Now this is not fair. The Scythians got to Vibantavarium before it went rebel, and that gave them this! What I would give for Merc Amazon Archers with 2 gold experience.


The Seleucids have landed two armies on the hellespont. All of these amphibious invasions I have been seeing must be a result of the BI executable, as I do not recall ever seeing the AI be so navally inclined with the RTW executable, even with "Prefers Naval Invasions" turned on.


I have them trapped with their backs to the sea.


Here is a good look at my port for mikecz.


A view from an angle.


Not much of a battle. The Seleucids were crushed.


The Germans are back at Campus Tevrisci. The rate that they can throw stacks at me is incredible.


On the other hand, the rate I can throw javelins at them is simply murderous.


After letting the Archers work them over a bit, I took out their flanks.


Then my cavalry was running riot in their rear, and I sent the infantry forward.


Nothing like a shower of javelins into the rear.


The Germans are beaten.


My new Faction Leader assaults Thermon.


Macedon's new Faction Leader has the Gorgoneion of Alexander. It is nice to see it really will respawn with another member of the faction at some point.


They have Cretan Archers.


Their Cretans want no part of my Amazons though.


The Phalanx Pikemen go in first.


Then it is my freshly retrained Bastarnae who lead the way down the main street, and receive the charge by both Macedonian Generals. My Bastarnae are tough as nails however, and do not give up an inch of ground.


My own General charged into it, and the Macedon King is cast down into the dust!


Finally it was on to the square from all directions.


Victory.


Thermon was Occupied.


That Egyptian Land-Ship has disgorged some troops in Attica.


I finally got some agents over into Asia Minor, and discovered that Pergamum has gone rebel.


Tribus Getae sure floods a lot.


Next turn it is time for that other Seleucid army that has invaded Thrace.


They retreated to this hilltop. Not an easy position for me to assail.


Once I got into bow shot, their right charged with Chariots and Greek Cavalry.


My left evaporated.


As much as it makes me cringe to do so against Scythed Chariots, I had to throw both Generals in.


That sent the Seleucids running as well.


Then I turned my Generals and destroyed their Pikemen.


Now, it was flaming arrows for the second Seleucid Chariot.


They went amok!


Bad news by the sea shore however. The last Seleucid Chariot had pinned my Militia Cavalry against the water and destroyed it.


They could not stand up to my Archers and Infantry however. Three volleys and they were obliterated.


Victory, but an ugly one.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 10-31-2008 @ 01:38 PM).]

Quoted from Roman Warlord:

Awsome news about Egypt, could you get a shot with FoW turned off to see what they have done to take those teritories?

As I have never seen them do that before.

Sorry, Roman, I missed your post. I will get a look around the world once I knock out Macedon, which should be very soon now.

It appears the Egyptians have ships that can travel on land...

That bug always happens in that square next to Athens, and sometimes Syracuse. I have never seen it anywhere else.

Woot, another SubRosa AAR! You sure gave the Thracians a pretty big makeover eh? Those new units look real pretty...

Anyways, I agree with Roman Warlord. We have to see a shot with FoW off.

Here is one update for tonight.

First a Scythian army attacking Porrolissum needs chastising. I make this a daylight attack so my reinforcements can come in.


As you can see, the garrison of the city is coming in on the Scythian flank. How lovely.


I see a weak spot in the Scythian line populated only by Archer Warbands, and take advantage of it.


In the meantime my Archers are concentrating their fire on the Scythian Noble Archers.


On the other flank my Greek Cavalry and Sarmatian Mercenaries would sweep the Scythian Head-Hunters from the field.


Game over.


That Egpytian Land-Ship is gone from Attica.


Up in the icy north, Zipaibes meets a German army near the Danube.


He leaves no survivors.


Byzas then begins his march upon the last Macedonian hold-out.


The Seleucids want peace for some reason. I accept as the Aegean trade will be good for my treasury.


Note to self, pirates are scary.


Hmm, Sparta has rebelled from the Greeks. This looks like a golden opportunity.


Gaidres takes most of the Athenian garrison by ship and lays siege to Sparta. However, the Egyptians take this as a sign of weakness and lay siege to Athens in turn.


Another German army comes at Campus Tevrisci. This one has Amazon Hoplites.


The Amazons were the last to go, but go they went, along with the rest of the German army.


Next turn a young General who had been headed to Athens to serve as its new governor found that he had to fight his way into the city first.


I linked up my two forces on the high ground, only to discover that one of the Egyptian forces was coming directly at my flank.


I scrambled, sending over half my army after them.


It was a tough slugging match, but finally I got a Greek Cavalry around behind their Nile Spearmen.


That did them in.


Just in time, the next Egyptian army is coming up, and they have Chariots. Flame on!


Their Captain goes down under my pikes.


Eastern Mercenaries are no match for Thracian Peasants. Not when there are 720 of the Peasants at least.


Here comes the last Egyptian force.


There goes their Captain.


They are on the run, and I push forward.


Their Chariots reformed and came back at my infantry.


But not for long.


Victory, and siege of Athens lifted.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 10-31-2008 @ 10:29 PM).]

Last update for today.

Gaidres assaults Sparta. The Rebels do not have much, but they do have 3 Generals in there.


Gaidres leaves no Rebel survivors.


I occupy.


My Faction Leader Byzas now has a 10 Command and 10 Influence.


He attacks Apollonia.


You can just make out the port of Tarentum across the straits.


My Amazon Mercs paved the way with their arrows, then my Pikemen entered unopposed.


Byzas got a little too exciting chasing the rebels, and found himself alone in the town square. I quickly pull him back.


Pikes go forward.


They finish off the Macedonian King.


My Thracian Noble Cavalry take a shortcut down an alley.


We have lots more pointy things than the enemy does.


Byzas leaves no survivors.


I Occupy.


Macedon is destroyed, with a black movie screen? I checked descr_sm_factions and found that the path was wrong. It had somehow gotten the letters "ata" in front of the fmv folder path.


That takes care of the two factions I needed to destroy or outlive. Now I just need two territories to complete my victory conditions. I am thinking Corinth and Rhodes.


Some pics with the Fog of War off. The AI behaves a lot differently on the campaign map with the BI executable. The good part is that it is much more willing to transport troops across the sea. The bad part is that it seems to send its soldiers aimlessly wandering around the map. Not attacking anyone, just walking across the continents.


None of these factions are at war with one another. Their armies are just out for a stroll.


Why is there a big Greek army in the middle of Armenia?


Or another in the middle of Amazonia?


I am glad to see that the Seleucids are still holding strong after 30 years. Usually they are one of the first factions to go. I was also very pleased when I looked around Germania and found it filled with Cities and a few Large Cities. I never see their settlements go beyond 1st tier in Vanilla RTW. So it looks like I got the growth right. Egypt taking Rhodes and Crete, then landing on Greece was also nice to see. Likewise with the Romans making amphibious invasions of Greece and the Balkans. I also see that the Britons took Hibernia, that never happens in Vanilla either.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 10-31-2008 @ 11:48 PM).]

Well done you for somehow knocking some sense into the AI factions' skulls!

I notice that the Gorgons have done quite well, but have avoided Triton for some reason.

I would comment at Spain taking Tingi, but I have also seen them do that sometimes in vanilla. Btw, is Andalus still alive?

That takes care of the two factions I needed to destroy or outlive. Now I just need two territories to complete my victory conditions. I am thinking Corinth and Rhodes.

But will you carry on after that? Please?

Quoted from Andalus:

I notice that the Gorgons have done quite well, but have avoided Triton for some reason.

They always do, I have no idea why. All I can guess is that it being on a peninsula confuses the AI. But even when I spawn an army right beside the city and set them at war with the campaign script, they still refuse to attack until at least 15 years into the game.

Quoted from Andalus:

Btw, is Andalus still alive?

I have no idea. So far the only one from around here I have seen was Krymzon the Butcher.

Quoted from Andalus:

But will you carry on after that? Please?

Probably not. I want to get back to work on ATW.

Now a small update, then time for something to eat and a Bela Lugosi movie.

The Sarmatians want peace again. It does not hurt to accept, so I do so, even though I know they will attack again as soon as they get another army across the plains.


Those elite Peasants from Vibantavarium have come down into my territory.


There is nothing quite like beating the Scythians at their own game. I have 5 Archers and they none.


No survivors.


The Egyptians want peace now too. The RTW executable would never offer ceasefires so often, so this must also be a byproduct of playing with the BI one.


On the other hand, I am at war with Rome?


Ahh, here is why. They have blockaded the port of Sparta (amazing how landlocked cities can have ports in this game).


Byzas the Cunning has died. Now Gaidres reigns as King of Thráki.


Rome made my next move simple. Young Suratralis leads the garrison of Athens to Corinth and attacks.


My Amazon Mercs can hit their archers from down here.


I also have Onagers now. This allows me to destroy their towers and knock a hole in the wall.


Then it was into the city, where a ferocious battle ensued in the street.


It was either a Cretan Archer or a Velite who laid poor Suratralis in his grave.


But the men of Thrace marched on to the entrance of the town square, where they met the Roman General. The Armoured Roman General that is. Yes, the General Fairy has come.


Armoured or not, he is flees like a coward.


The Roman would find his courage though, and stood alone in the street against my Phalanx Pikemen and Bastarnae. He died as a warriour should.


Then it was on to the square itself.


No survivors.


I enslave the Roman city.


This puts Byzantium up another tier of development.


It also gives me my first Wonder of the campaign.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 11-25-2008 @ 07:58 PM).]

One last update.

More action up north.


Here is a good pic of the German General dying. I now have the Armoured Bodyguards. I like how my Early Bodyguards look better. I am thinking of replacing their model and skin with the Companion, which the other Greek factions have for their Late Bodyguard.


Heroic Victory.


Zipiabes is a Noctophilic


Another Sarmatian army has come across the plains to attack me. I really like how the Virgin Cavalry unit card came out. I think it is one of the best I have made.


Once more they are soundly thrashed.


Tertius Marcellus wants us to become a client kingdom of Rome.


Tertius Marcellus now sleeps with the fishes.


Zipiabes sure sees plenty of action on the German frontier.


One more German army crushed.


Here is a familiar name.


Goddess, look at this one!


I am about to lose!?!


Hmmm, it seems Gaul is no longer a Protectorate of Rome, and I am no longer allied to Amazonia.


Here is why I am at war with Egypt. They landed reinforcements in the Peloponnese and attack Corinth. So I attacked them, and that Greek army that has been lurking about came in to help the Egyptians, so I must be at war with them now too.


Here comes the biggest Egyptian army, with my reinforcements coming in behind them from Corinth.


Off to my right, more Egyptians and Greeks.


My reinforcements are swamped by Chariots as soon as they enter the battle.


They are sent packing by my Pikemen and Archers though.


This cannot be good.


Scratch one Egyptian General.


The first Eggie army is coming at my left, but the cavalry of my reinforcements are coming in behind them.


They crash into the Egyptian rear and their right flank dissolves.


Their center collapses as my Pikemen advance.


But now the Greeks are coming on line on the right, with Egyptian Chariots backing them up.


More Egyptian Chariots get at the Pikemen in my center from behind.


Here is a look at the Late Greek Bodyguard.


Victory in a very confusing, very exciting battle.


Now that I am at war with the Greek Cities, I whack one of their Generals who is traveling through my lands.


Then slaughter the rest of his men the old-fashioned way.


How often do you get a Lily-Livered Berserker?


I am the Largest.


The Richest.


The Most Advanced.


Now I see where those Egyptian reinforcements came from. They emptied out the garrison of Rhodes, which is now Rebel.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 11-02-2008 @ 01:37 AM).]

Goddess, look at this one!

And still only 2 command? Pah.

Nice battle there with the Eggies and Greeks.

That is a 3 Command when he is attacking and a 3 when he is defending. Plus 2 extra hit points, and the Influence and Management traits.

Last update.

The Romans are now the Largest.


Gaidres, now "The Killer", takes a ship to Crete and attacks Kydonia.


The Onagers knock down the towers, the walls, and finally the Egyptian Captain.


After my Amazon Mercs slaughtered one of the Nubian units near the walls, my Phalanx Pikemen headed deep into the town.


My Bastarnae went down another road to get into a flanking position, and finished off the Egyptian Chariots.


The last of the Nubians were drawn out of the square by my Amazons.


They were trapped and cut down like dogs in the street.


Kydonia was mine.


Victory. 15 territories with Macedon & Dacia outlived.


A little look around. Ziles the Conqueror is back at Vibantavarium to finish the city for good and make sure it goes to the slaves this time.


The hills to the west are crawling with Germans.


Greece is mine, with two tempting Rebel targets of Rhodes and Pergamum.


The Britons now own all of Gaul that the Gauls once did.


The Iberians have kicked the Carthaginians out of their peninsula.


Those Iberians have also crossed into North Africa.


Which is still contested by the Numidians, Carthaginians, Gorgons, and the last Greek city of Triton.


Nothing much has happened in Asia Minor at all. The Seleucid Empire still stands strong.


Nothing has happened at all in the east.


Looks like overall I am the #5 faction.


#5 in military too.


The best in production though.


In a three-way tie for second when it comes to territories.


I am still richest.


Down at #5 again with population. The Germans are #3 in population. How often do you see that?


This has been a fun campaign. I really liked playing Thrace in ATW. It looks like the changes I made to them worked out well. Now I need to get back to work on the mod.

[This message has been edited by SubRosa (edited 11-02-2008 @ 08:09 PM).]

Wow, that was an awesome AAR. I'm sorry to see it over so quickly, but that's life, eh? I look forward to more AARs and such from you in the future sub.