The Praetorians….

Gents - how do we crush the reblels? Asking for a friend!

Frankly I have been involved in a three player ‘coordinated’ attempt. A weary pursuit with a low morale legion. (And you know how that ended), and so with tired troops, some with low morale and less than parity with the disloyal supermen… wither now?

All suggestions will be seriously considered.

Regor wrote:Gents - how do we crush the reblels? Asking for a friend!

Frankly I have been involved in a three player ‘coordinated’ attempt. A weary pursuit with a low morale legion. (And you know how that ended), and so with tired troops, some with low morale and less than parity with the disloyal supermen… wither now?

All suggestions will be seriously considered.

Can someone arrange another lightning strike or something to remove Cordus? Cut the head from the snake type of thing?

On the bright side the rebels are now out in the open again so Cavalry should he able to harass, cut up forage parties etc and generally delay them enough for the two Rhine Legions to them up and finish them off.

In theory with over double the amount of Infantry and cavalry dominance it should then be an easy victory for the Rhine Legions. But on the other had Pompey had double Ceasars Infantry numbers and four times as much horse and we all know how that ended.

I wish I could offer some useful ideas but as Regor says we're dealing with Supermen, whatever we do, they will have another magical skill to overcome us it seems...this feels like fighting the Poles in G7...or perhaps some sort of "Kobayashi Maru" scenario, no matter what we do, the other side will always have one more trick or advantage.

I did wonder if rather than engaging them directly, we could herd them somewhere like an isolated peninsula with few resources or a hilltop and basically blockade them in, maybe even copying the sort of investment defences Julius built at Alesia to keep Vercingetorix penned in and starve them out...obviously outwith the need for the additional fortifications to hold off a relief force though thinking about it and given the way the game is going, maybe a relief force would appear out of somewhere...

Gentlemen, thank you but Jason "the German" [to separate him from Parthian Jason] has played a blinder really....

His liberation of Brundisium (and recapture of the port/shipping) will allow Genius's ships to re-supply and gives us 2 proper Rhine legions an Auxilliary legion and the rump of the legion with Low Morale.

I kick myself for allowing that to be present/continue since the start of the game......

Anyhow I hope that with some horse troops around we can keep the rebels pinned or covered.....

And pop their myth of invincibility.

Geminus is grateful to have completed his year as Consul and to have been granted the proconsular province of Dalmatia.

Finally a hint was received that the recovery of the Italian lands could mean that regular taxation of the City would be a) unnecessary and b) bloody to impose?

And finally, finally there must be a way to get the Senate to provide support and advice to the 'players' and not just cause chaos?

Regor wrote:Gentlemen, thank you but Jason "the German" [to separate him from Parthian Jason] has played a blinder really....

His liberation of Brundisium (and recapture of the port/shipping) will allow Genius's ships to re-supply and gives us 2 proper Rhine legions an Auxilliary legion and the rump of the legion with Low Morale.

I kick myself for allowing that to be present/continue since the start of the game......

Anyhow I hope that with some horse troops around we can keep the rebels pinned or covered.....

And pop their myth of invincibility.

Geminus is grateful to have completed his year as Consul and to have been granted the proconsular province of Dalmatia.

Finally a hint was received that the recovery of the Italian lands could mean that regular taxation of the City would be a) unnecessary and b) bloody to impose?

And finally, finally there must be a way to get the Senate to provide support and advice to the 'players' and not just cause chaos?

Now they are out in the open and away from shipping I have every confidence that the Cavalry of out greatly admired Pro-Consul will be able to delay the rebels for long enough for the Rhine Legions to catch up and finally at long last end the revolt of Cordus and avenge the murder of our beloved Nero. Not quite victory over Parthia but a feather in the caps of the players in question.

Rather less confidence that the NPC parts of the Senate will suddenly start to offer sage advise and help to player characters. Think if players want information with a particular issue they need to ask via Agema a detailed question to the office holder with responsibility for the issue in question or Senator from that area in question......may even need use of "influence". Asking the full 600 members (now 400 and something) from the floor of the Senate will be just viwed as a speech and the Senator who can answer correctly is probably in his office working rather than hanging round in the Senate.

With very high chance that the famed agent of the chaos gods on mount agema who is always in Senate - Senator Claudius will get up with a suggestion which will cause the max amount of harm and chaos while seemig vaguely reasonable and historic on the surface.

Well the dice have been rolled. Good luck everyone.

So, the latest turn is with us.

I must admit, I am quite impressed at my own brilliance. According to the newspaper, I am on the Glory Table...twice.

Impressive and appropriate in the sense of this game

Well the good news is that the Navy recovered its lost ships (minus Marines).....so it seems that the Praetorians are not also crack marines and sailors as well as everything else.

But 4,000 of the blighters still managed to fend off 6,000 of the Danube Legions best Cavalry which would mean marching in tight formation with no food and forage parties. And while under pressure from cavalry and in tight formation with only three days rations and a water bottle each they still manage to outmarch the best men of the Rhine Legions to get to Tarentum before being brought to battle!? Aggggggghhhhhhh

How much sodding plot armour do the Praetorians have? Do they only die on a 6? And are the chaos gods using average dice?

Also who the hell has lost a load of Slaves and why have they now shown up to lead a strike/industrial action at the Custulo Mine? Assume the blighters are not from Danubia as no mention of them being female or being with a load of donkeys (Property of the Roman Empire).

Thought I was doing so well getting everyone to view Iberia as a land of sunshine,culture, milk, honey and olive oil blessedly free of Jews, Christians, Druids, Parthians and other trouble makers and suddenly someone tries to assassinate by characters wife and causes a riot at my silver mine. This is not nice and not with the program at all. Its almost as bad as Scabble

It’s a challenge is our Rome:
What’s to conclude from the Guard fiasco? We cant just ignore them can we? How many legions must we use and the abuse for trying in the paper (The stooges etc etc).
And your slaves are not from the Danube they and the donkeys tragically froze to death last winter.
You will be asked in game who tried to murder ‘the missus’. Any idea? And as for the disruption in fair Spain - I think you rolled a double six and won a new challenge.
But in better news the treasury is looking better. We’re not there yet and your point about Romes defences is a good one. Some thought is being given to the problem. Perhaps things will shape up better next month? (Fat Chance!)

Got to be honest Stuart, I was puzzled by the mines too. I can't recall you having a problem with escaped slaves beforehand and it's not a problem I've had in the rest of Iberia and I'd like to think I'd have noticed a few thousand ex-slaves walking though my provinces. Frankly, between invincible rebels and slaves apparently equipped with transporters, I think someone is playing silly buggers with us.

Is trying to talk to the rebels an option or is it a bit too non-Roman and only brutally slaughtering them and having their parts most private in some trees the only course of action?

to be honest, I am still struggling to get to grips with the game, it makes Scramble and Glory look easy by comparison

Jason2 wrote:Got to be honest Stuart, I was puzzled by the mines too.  I can't recall you having a problem with escaped slaves beforehand and it's not a problem I've had in the rest of Iberia and I'd like to think I'd have noticed a few thousand ex-slaves walking though my provinces.  Frankly, between invincible rebels and slaves apparently equipped with transporters, I think someone is playing silly buggers with us.

Is trying to talk to the rebels an option or is it a bit too non-Roman and only brutally slaughtering them and having their parts most private in some trees the only course of action?

to be honest, I am still struggling to get to grips with the game, it makes Scramble and Glory look easy by comparison

Think talking to rebel slaves, pirates and bandits is something no true Roman will do and the Censors should come down had on anyone who tries it. Only possible exception would be to arrange a ransom of Roman Citizens. Its also very un Roman as really barbanian to hide the bodies of rebels away in sacred groves and trees. We use nice civilized crosses along side the public highway so everyone can see them.

As for the Rebel Guard the punishment for their mutiny is either lesser decimation ie 1 in 10 killed by other 9 which we have already offered and they rejected. Do to fact they have made their crime a lot worse by killing citizens including Nero and attacking Rome by view is we need to go for major decimation and total wipe out of this unit to put off anyone else who may consider such actions.

Think the Rebel Legion in Asia is a third case as they have not killed any Romans. Should be possible to talk to them and even allow Aviola to plead his case before Senate.

I agree with Stuart! Nothing less than annihilation will suffice for the guard. I believe that we should only assault them with fit, rested superior numbers but how can we pin the slippery b*startds? I’ve tried but when it comes to fitness they don’t seem to notice. Perhaps we should try to assassinate Cordus?
That’s at least 7 months away for my lot and realistically 2 years off TBH!

The level of player frustration/retention is a real issue.

Oh and I had a legion up and march to Asia a year or so back. I’ still don’t know why they left after being cosseted by G. And now they are waiting for what? Another pretender to act? I am monitoring them but no more than that