bob.
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Thu Apr 18, 2013 7:15 pm

I really can't say I like these kind of events/decisions too much. I just don't see how it adds anything fun to the game.
If you fail.. you fail and that's it. But if you win, then you end the game and your opponent can't do anything against it. And it's really nothing but luck. I don't understand why a great strategy game like this needs these gamble decisions...

jimwinsor2
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Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:33 pm

Yep I agree. This decision was pretty much a no-brainer.

jimwinsor2
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Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:35 pm

Turn 18 – July 279

Another turn of general inactivity. The only move was a small Greek fleet weighing anchor off Populonia. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s there to evacuate Lollius and his men.

An event popped up promising me the support of the Carthaginian navy. I’ll believe that when I see it:

[ATTACH]22301[/ATTACH]

I now have the 10EP for the Dictator option. Hmmmmm …….

This is actually a tricky decision. I’m still way ahead in VP, but narrowing that gap by 20 is a lot (that’s the other cost of the option). Plus, I suspect what keeps Pyrrhus south of Rome is a strategy of Dictator denial. Do I want to remove that incentive of him not attacking me up north?

OTOH, I could use the troops. Especially with Populonia a bit of a threat; I think I’m going to have to at least leave a small besieging force here of a legion or two to at least contain it (the garrison shows a power rating of over 700).

Hmmmmm …….

[ATTACH]22302[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR18.jpg
AAR18a.jpg

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loki100
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Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:47 am

some tricky choices there ... in a way it would help if Pyrrhus took those units in Tuscany back south ... and do you really want an alliance with the evil baby killers from Carthage?
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jimwinsor2
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Fri Apr 19, 2013 12:04 pm

Turn 19 – August 279

The fleet off Populonia evacuates Lollius and his men, as expected. Since just immobile militia remain, we can probably stop wasting time here with a massive siege, and move south again.

And the Pax Romana finishes up in Volsinii. That’s one more morale point, and loyalty there is now up to 39. One more successful PR and it’ll be over 50, and I won’t need a legion stationed there to begin earning VPs for the city. Volaterrae is 4 turns away from getting to that point, with its 2nd PR in place.

Well, after much back and forth, I chose the Dictator option, but guess what? It did not fire. I think I recall this issue in past games, where the conditions for the Dictator no longer exists (which in this case was most likely Pyrrhus at Maleventum) … the military option remains on the books, and you can select it, but it won’t work. What this really is is a display bug; the Dictator option should really be removed from the F4 screen once the conditions for selecting it disappear.

The good news here is, I was really ambivalent about calling a Dictator in anyways. So, it’s non-functioning is not that big an issue; perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. I will keep 10 EP banked for the next opportunity, however, because who knows, I may need one eventually.

And in the Adriatic: my raiders sink two Pyrrhic merchant ships! We gain 2 EP for the exploit as well. Heh heh …

[ATTACH]22304[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR19.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Fri Apr 19, 2013 1:11 pm

Turn 20 – September 279

We decide to disperse our forces, to gather in more VP. The bulk of the infantry moves to Volsinii, the cavalry to Volaterrae, and a small force (1 Roman and 1 Allied legion) remains at Populonia in case I get lucky with the siege rolls. With those disloyal Etruscan cities occupied our per turn VP gain soars to 18 a turn:

[ATTACH]22307[/ATTACH]

And as soon as most of my troops move away: another breach opens up at Populonia. Maybe I can move back my main army and assault it this time (although the more likely result is for a repair … again).

Pyrrhus does nothing.

[ATTACH]22306[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR20a.jpg
AAR20.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Fri Apr 19, 2013 2:16 pm

Turn 21 – November 279

Populonia falls! A shocking victory!

Here’s how it happened: Sulpicius moves back with the main Roman army to Populonia to assault it, in the very unlikely event the city does not repair its lucky breach from last turn. Well, not only do they fail to repair it, but Barbula manages to get another miracle breach! The odds of this happening twice in a row versus an unblockaded port are not high.

Anyways, Sulpicius arrives back at the crumbled city walls in Assault mode on Day 8, and carnage ensues. In a three-day battle he storms the city and wipes out the garrison (which to my surprise included not just militia):

[ATTACH]22308[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]22309[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]22310[/ATTACH]

Sulpicius is not a bad general now - two XP stars from the battles has made him a 4-3-3 leader. Too bad he’ll be out in the next consular elections, by the time I face off against Pyrrhus in the south again.

[ATTACH]22311[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR21.jpg
AAR21c.jpg
AAR21b.jpg
AAR21a.jpg

bob.
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Fri Apr 19, 2013 2:54 pm

These non-militia troops are Italian mercenaries. It seems they sometimes spawn in a besieged town. Always a nice surprise when they do. ;)

jimwinsor2
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Sat Apr 20, 2013 6:30 pm

Turn 22 – December 279

Winter falls. We move our main army back to Volsinii, prepping to head further south soon. My short turn goal is to re-liberate Maleventium, and then try to hold it. If that doesn’t tempt Pyrrhus into battle, then we’ll move south to retake Venusium. And so forth.

We look into buying replacements for our slightly battered but victorious legions, but find we do not need to do so; prior events gave me an ample store of stockpiled replacements already. The treasury is overflowing, with over 1500 in the bank. This is after buying all the ships in my force pool, and a new militia garrison for Populonia.

Two freshly built ships go on a raiding mission out of Neapolis into the Ionian trade oval.

[ATTACH]22322[/ATTACH]

And we get this event again. We had this last December, right? I guess this must be a fixed annual occurrence. Anyways, we can now spend EP to pacify the Boii:

[ATTACH]22323[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR22a.jpg
AAR22.jpg

dans221
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Sat Apr 20, 2013 7:14 pm

I'm having a little difficulty with the VP arithmetic here. So from the Turn 20 objectives screenshot, you're making 18 VPs / turn.

But what exactly is the combination of cities that gives 18?

Volsinii - 5
Volaterrae - 5
Bovianum - 2
Neapolis - 1
------------
Total - 13

I didn't count Roma. Is that 100??

jimwinsor2
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Sat Apr 20, 2013 8:04 pm

I think those numbers refer to morale/gain loss, not VP? Because I think the Etruscan VP cities are only 2 a turn if I control them. So, not sure how the VPs are calculated. I just know that taking Objectives are good, and I just go off what the F7 screen tells me!

jimwinsor2
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Sat Apr 20, 2013 8:06 pm

Turn 23 – January 278

Our Pax Romana effort on Volterrae matures, and its loyalty goes to 53% Roman. So, the cavalry legion moves to Rome. The one on Volsinii has only two turns to go and will likewise catapult loyalty over the 50 % threshold.

Meanwhile, Pyrrhus manages to get the traitors at Rhegium to surrender to him this turn. Otherwise, no activity.

Time to move south …

[ATTACH]22325[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR23.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Sun Apr 21, 2013 9:22 pm

Turn 24 – February 278

The good news this turn is we stormed Maleventium again.

The bad news is that our Pax Romana on Volsinii, which had one turn to go, got cancelled due to pillaging! Our army accidentally pillaged it before it left to take Maleventium. And one of the prerequisites for the chit is an unpillaged region. D’oh!

And to make matters worse, Pyrrhus released more prisoners via that “humanity” option, shifting public opinion in Italy 5% in his favor. This means Volaterrae up in the far north is now less than 50% pro-Roman. D’oh!

I have a Humanity option available to select too, but it costs 15 EP. And I only have 17, and I need to save 10 to be able to pull the Dictator trigger should I get the opportunity again.

And we get new consuls:

Quintus Aemilius Papus, 3-1-3, Over Cautious (-1 CP and tends to go inactive in enemy controlled territory)

Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, 3-1-3, Loyal (+1 CP) and Good Army Admin (+15% fatigue recovery)

They are not bad at all defensively, which is my current strategy anyways.

[no screenshot this turn, forgot]

jimwinsor2
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Sun Apr 21, 2013 9:28 pm

Turn 25 – March 278

Pyrrhus marches north to Maleventium, and on a rain soaked battlefield … is defeated! In two battles the new Consul Fabricius drives off the Grecian enemy hoards:

[ATTACH]22328[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]22329[/ATTACH]

Amazing how low casualties were, on both sides. This is probably due to the weather (rain) and the terrain (mountains). The first battle, a stalemate, actually last 6 rounds! The second, Pyrrhus finally retreated after 3 rounds, most likely due to exhaustion. He had to march there in the mud initially, so, no surprise about that.

We also sink another merchantman in the Ionian trade oval … Rome victorious on land and sea.

So yeah, a good turn! Let us see if we can continue this sort of good fortune … we CAN beat Pyrrhus, it turns out … at least defensively …

[ATTACH]22330[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR25.jpg
AAR25b.jpg
AAR25a.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:50 pm

Turn 26 – April 278

More watchful inactivity. But the big news this turn is, as indicated by the little note in the Events section, that Pyrrhus has decided to make war on Carthage.

It will be interesting to see how he handles a two-front war now.

[ATTACH]22354[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR26.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:06 pm

Turn 27 – May 278

Another turn of us just staring at each other. Although I notice something disturbing, the monthly VP gain now favors the Epirans. Cities in Sicily must give him a lot of VPs per turn, which he controls now due to the DOW on Carthage:

[ATTACH]22361[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]22362[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR27.jpg
AAR27a.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:44 pm

Turn 28 – June 278

No movement except for a small Epiran raiding force consisting of a hoplite and a cavalry unit besieging Bovianum. I will send Obsidius and the “cavalry legion” against it.

The other move I’m planning (in dashed lines) is to send an “official observer” to Sicily! The Consul Quintus Aemilius Papus, who currently is sitting in Neapolis unemployed, has been charged by the Senate to disguise himself as a wealthy travelling merchant (passive mode = hide value 5) and make his way south through enemy territory over to Sicily to “keep an eye on things.”

Sicily is clouded by the fog of war shroud for me, and I want to see how the AI is handling this war. At hide value 5 I think I should be fine. Who knows, Aemilius may spot an opportunity over there for me to exploit …

[ATTACH]22363[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR28.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Wed Apr 24, 2013 12:02 am

Turn 29 – July 278

The town militia manage to drive the besiegers off at Bovianum all by themselves:

[ATTACH]22364[/ATTACH]

… and the cavalry legions fail to engage the retreating stragglers.

Aemilius passage over the Straits of Messena is blocked by hostile naval forces, darn it. I’ll have to find another way to get my military observer over there.

[ATTACH]22365[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR29.jpg
AAR29a.jpg

dans221
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Wed Apr 24, 2013 3:48 am

Regarding victory point tallies, I found this in the manual:
1 or 2 National Morale Points 1 VP/turn
3 or 4 National Morale Points 2 VPs/turn
5+ National Morale Points 3 VPs/turn

I'm still having trouble reproducing 14 VPs/turn though from your turn 27 screenshot. This is my math:
Roma - 3
Bovianum - 1
Neapolis - 1
Maleventum - 1
Volsinii - 3
Volaterrae - 3
----------------
Total - 12 VPs/turn

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loki100
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Wed Apr 24, 2013 7:02 am

not sure if it applies here but in say RoP the asymetric victory conditions (ie you don't both have the same cities) can have some bearing - you are gaining/losing VPs for cities you can't see on your list. Otherwise, I find it a rather opaque calculation in a few AGE games so prob best to accept the outcome and not worry too much about where it is coming from
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jimwinsor2
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Wed Apr 24, 2013 5:27 pm

Turn 30 – August 278

Aemilius and a ship from the Ionian oval return to Neapolis. I think I’ll try to smuggle him into Sicily by sea.

I wish I knew what was going on there. It’s seems Messana is under siege, probably by Pyrrhus allies in Syracuse (based on the province control info). And obviously, Epiran ships are blockading the city. Hmmm …

In other news, Obsidius and his cavalry return to the main army, the walls around Maleventum are rebuilt (I have so much cash now I figured what the heck) and a Pax Romana in Volaterrae get it speaking Latin again, at 57%. Which is kind of wimpy, a Pax Romana is supposed to average a 20% loyalty shift, IIRC. Anyways, the VP per turn race is now him up by two, 19 vs 17 a turn. Once Volsinii goes over 50% when it’s PR matures (hopefully) I should be back to gaining more VP than he.

Or I could just send a cavalry unit to Volsinii, then I wouldn’t have to worry about it all the time …

[ATTACH]22366[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR30.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Wed Apr 24, 2013 9:59 pm

Turn 31 – September 278

We occupy Volsinii with a small detachment of Frentenian cavalry, so once more it is earning us VP. VP per turn for both sides is now tied at 19, with me still holding a substantial lead:

[ATTACH]22369[/ATTACH]

Consul Aemillius lands in Sicily. Unfortunately he’s not that great a spy, he can only see into the province he’s in. Right now he reports that the rolling hills of Tyndaris are peaceful and calm, and devoid of any military forces.

Lookouts in the crow’s nest of the ship that dropped him off sends a more interesting report: There are apparently no longer any ships blocking the Straits of Messena. On top of that, the Syracusans apparently recently lifted a siege of Messena (I can see this by tool tipping the province; last turn showed military control of 96% Syracuse, 4% Mercenaries, which meant they was a Syracusan force there sieging the Mercenaries, but now, this turn, I see military control there at 100% Mercenaries).

So, the Syracusans are gone, and the fleet that was supporting them is gone … where did they go? Hmmm …

[ATTACH]22368[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR31a.jpg
AAR31.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Thu Apr 25, 2013 7:17 pm

Turn 32 – October 278

Aemillius moves to Syracuse, but while he is good at hiding (6), he’s not so good at seeing things (1/1). So, all he can tell me is that there is a big fleet (four blue dots) in Syracuse, and a small garrison. Maybe I should have sent a small cavalry unit there instead? It could passively hide in the hill of Sicily pretty well too, but then there is the problem of feeding it.

BIG turn for the Roman navy! The new raiding force in the Ionian sinks 4 merchantmen, which gains us 4 EP. We are within range of wiping out his merchant shipping units there entirely:

[ATTACH]22371[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR32.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Thu Apr 25, 2013 7:20 pm

Turn 33 – November 278

The Consul Fabricius suffered a repulse at Luceria, just to the east of the main armies:

[ATTACH]22372[/ATTACH]

I had a single goal in making this attack, and that was to boost Fabricius’ stats. He was one XP away from getting a “star” which would have boosted his defensive rating. So, I sent him there with a Roman and an Allied legion, to take what I though was a lightly guarded town, leaving the rest of my forces entrenched in Maleventum facing Pyrrhus. Well, it was a bit tougher nut to crack than we thought, and our little force ended up routing back to the main army. BUT the primary mission was achieved:

[ATTACH]22373[/ATTACH]

And the losses taken are easily replaceable (I still have over 3000 in the bank!).

Meanwhile in Sicily, Aemilius the tourist reports than a large army under Milon has appeared at Syracuse. This I guess is his B Team which he will use against the Carthaginians. The sad thing is, I wish I could do more to help, but we are not formally allied, and Carthage is being run by the AI. I’m hoping the AI will aggressively use the Punic navy, but I have no way of making that happen. On top of that, I have no large transports, so large scale Roman assistance in Sicily would be difficult.

[ATTACH]22374[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR33.jpg
AAR33b.jpg
AAR33a.jpg

dans221
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Thu Apr 25, 2013 7:45 pm

So it seems that the consults are about to change in three months, does it really make a difference if he gets an extra stat?

jimwinsor2
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Thu Apr 25, 2013 9:07 pm

You never know, a lot could happen in three turns.

jimwinsor2
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Thu Apr 25, 2013 9:09 pm

Turn 34 – December 278

Aemillius moves to Messana, expecting that Milon may go there with his army, but he doesn’t. Not much to see here actually, so, I’ll probably send him back to the main army at Beneventum, where he can be useful in his remaining months as a legion commander. His career as a spy has been less than spectacular. Fabricius got a promotion after his defeat at Lucania, so I know he won’t take command by accident.

We get another “Political Commitment to Italian Supremacy” event, so more cash and EP come rolling in.

Alex tells me he’s battling a huge Carthaginian fleet carrying troops off Rhegium. If true, I don’t know whether to be worried or hopeful.

I see 4 Epiran wagons at Metapontum, I guess they are refilling for Pyrrhus’ army. Hmmm, I have so much allied cavalry I should put on my Jeb Stuart hat here …

[ATTACH]22375[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR34.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Sat Apr 27, 2013 3:14 pm

Turn 35 – January 277

Aemillius is blacked again from crossing the straits, so there are ships out there somewhere. I may have to send the Roman navy out to pick him up; new Consuls are due soon, and will Aemillius’ replacement get sent to Sicily? That might be bad.

Fabricius is activated, and winter is ending, so, to finish off his consulship I’m contemplating plan to place my cavalry army in Pyrrhus’ rear area, where all those wagons are sitting out in the open …

[ATTACH]22382[/ATTACH]

And the Cineas embassy failed. We Romans are a stubborn lot:

[ATTACH]22383[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR35a.jpg
AAR35.jpg

jimwinsor2
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Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:07 pm

Turn 36 – February 277

Tons of activity this turn.

First, Fabricius decided to end his consulship on an aggressive note, and launched an assault into southern Italy. Specifically, the main army attacked Luceria, and took it this time:

[ATTACH]22386[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]22387[/ATTACH]

On top of that, Obsidius took his cavalry legion through the gap caused by the fall of Luceria, deep into enemy territory to Metapontum. The idea here was to try to snag those wagons I saw, but sadly, they finished loading and moved back to Pyrrhus at Venusia this turn.

Thirdly, I sent to the whole Roman fleet (5 ship units) in Avoid Battle mode to pick up Aemilius at Messana. While parked in the Fretum Siculus, we see to the south of us a Carthaginian fleet in the Taurus Promunturium. It looks like it might have seen some combat recently. Anyways, no Greek ships about, so it looks like the crossing arrow is open for me. I do notice that both Rhegium and Tauromenium (in Catania) are blockaded as a result.

And further intelligence data: Catania is tooltipped as 95% Carthage military control which indicates there is a siege going on there.

So, I'm deducing from this that Carthage had a naval battle just south of Rhegium, won, then landed troops in Catania. Which does not sound too good for the Epirans.

And the last bit of news: Consular elections! Here are the new consuls, and they are both considerable improvements over last year:

Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus 3-3-4
[INDENT][/INDENT]Very fast mover (25% move bonus if commander)
[INDENT][/INDENT]Strategist 2 (+3 command points for him and subordinates)
[INDENT][/INDENT]Unforgiving (no mercy to rebellious populations)
[INDENT][/INDENT]Infantryman (+10% firepower and assault to all regular infantry)

Publius Cornelius Rufinus 3-2-4
[INDENT][/INDENT]Superior tactician (+1 initiative for all attached elements)
[INDENT][/INDENT]Corrupt (+15% supply consumption if commander)

Brutus is in command of the main army, while the corrupt Rufinus is the one stuck in Sicily. Good thing it wasn't the other way around. Clearly what I need to do is get Brutus a promotion, then assign Rufinus to him as a clear subordinate. Like I said, Rufinus should be able to simply walk across the strait now.

And what to do with my navy, who has brought me such welcome news? I think we shall come to the aid of our Carthaginian friends. Ahead full, ram speed ... if Pyrrhus tries to battle that Carthaginian fleet again off Catania, he'll get more than he bargained for!

[ATTACH]22388[/ATTACH]
Attachments
AAR36.jpg
AAR36b.jpg
AAR36a.jpg

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loki100
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Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:42 pm

presume this wierd Roman-Punic alliance has control of the seas? Does seem ... well it seems wrong but I guess the Greeks are the current enemy.
AJE The Hero, The Traitor and The Barbarian
PoN Manufacturing Italy; A clear bright sun
RoP The Mightiest Empires Fall
WIA Burning down the Houses; Wars in America; The Tea Wars

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