Game 279: Month 1

Out of the Ashes

The empire had fallen! We learned of the withdrawal as the sun reached the highest point in the sky. Caesar's legions had departed; the senate was no more. Roman authority vanished from the land, leaving a vacuum in its place.

King Arthur convened his court to discuss the situation. The Romans had ruled our homeland of Armorica for generations. Their departure left the region in turmoil, with no one to look out for the people. After much debate, Arthur declared his intentions; he would bring order to the region, and unite the world under the Celtic banner.

Soon after that fateful council, I, genome, a humble envoy to our mighty king, received a messenger from Vortigern, King of the Saxons. Their kingdom lay to the east of Amorica in an untamed region known as Belgica. The envoy brought offerings of peace from his liege, and an agreement was quickly forged. We Celts would not assault any Saxon holdings, and in return they would leave us in peace.

During the celebrations of the treaty signing that evening, the Saxon envoy told tales of atrocities committed in Germania, a region beyond Belgica to the east. It seems that after the Romans left the citizens to their own devices, a tribe of barbarians calling themselves Teutons seized power. All who opposed them were violently oppressed. King Arthur was a champion of the common man. The tales of the Saxon envoy enraged the Celtic king, and he vowed to put an end to the Teuton tyranny. An alliance was struck with the Saxon king.

Arthur dispatched aides to the Franks who resided in Aquitania, south of Armorica, and to the Alamani in Gaul, south east of the Celtic homeland. Within a matter of days he had secured a non aggression pact with both kingdoms. These agreements preserved the sanctity of Armorica's borders – the Celtic homeland would be safe from external threats for at least the next ten months.

With diplomatic needs fulfilled, it was time to attend to domestic matters. Armorica was still without rule after the Romans fled the region. The Celts needed a strong united homeland to help them face the threat of the Teutons.

Turn 1: Planning
As the Celts, I start with a rulership of 15. This gives me the ability to issue two orders more than all other kingdoms, who start with a rulership of 13. This can be challenging, as we have the same starting treasury as the other kings, so initial spending must be prudent to take advantage of our special ability.

There are several important decisions that need to be made in the initial stage of the game. The first is how to deploy my kingdom. There are three standard openings to Fall of Rome that I have seen used with some success.

1. Attempt to take the home region as soon as possible. This involves moving two or more powerful nobles to the city in the region as well as capturing the villages and town that we are aware of.
2. Covertly take the home region. This involves taking the towns and villages that are visible, and finding additional pop centers by scouting with legions or using the high priestess to divine them. This option is usually chosen if you don't trust your neighbors, and fear one of them will try to hinder your kingdom politically, either denigrating you in your home region, or sending a noble to the nearest city.
3. Rush a neighboring region to catch your neighbor off guard, and eliminate him early.
   

Each of these strategies have their strengths and weaknesses. Given the relative isolation of the starting position, option #3 does not make sense – I would not be able to assemble enough of my legions and nobles to strike early in either Belgica or Aquitania. Given this is a veterans game, it is possible that one of my neighbors may be planning to use this option to target Amorica (my homeland). Diplomacy is crucial at this point. My initial correspondance with the Saxons, Franks and Alamanni secured a Non Agression Pact with each so I do not fear aggression from any of these kings. With all borders secure, I decide to chose option #1 – the sooner I can take the region, the sooner I receive the resources it provides.

With that choice made, the initial orders are relatively simple to plan:

Political Plans

• Arthur will enamor the people of Amorica, to improve our regional reaction there.
• Prince Ambrosius, Count Connact and Baron Aed Ruad are dispatched to Cenabum, Amorica's crown jewel. I believe that the prince and count will be sufficient to sway the people to follow the Celts; sending the baron is an insurance policy.
• Duke Mac Cekt is sent to Rennes, the closest town to the Celtic capital Cherbourg.
  

Military Plans

• Legions Pegasus and Titan will combine at the capital and then march on the village of Sleepy Hollow. Agent Mouse is assigned to Titan.
• Legions Minotaur and Pheonix meet outside the village of Kiar Banor
• Celtic troops are very fast – the legions are ordered to scout the terrain, revealing more Armorica territory than simple movement.
  

Covert Plans

• Train agent Mouse for level 4
• Agent Hush will create a diversion in the city of Cenabum. This will hopefully be a cheap training exercise for the agent – while there is a small chance of being caught, he is guaranteed to succeed, and will hopefully gain a level
• Hire a new agent in our southern town of Brest. He will be used to keep an eye on our neighbors.
  

Additional Plans

• The legions are able to scout most of the western part of the realm – priestess Rhiannon will attempt to divine for unusual sightings in the eastern portion of Armorica. Her scrying will also include part of Belgica. I will let the Saxons know of anything she finds in their region.
• current production – 21000 gold, military consumes 12000, with 9000 balance for next turns activities, plus whatever is left from this turn. Planned expenditures: prince + duke + count + baron (hopefully not required) == 18,000. Agent activities + king action , another 15,000. In order to guarantee enough gold on hand, we must trade 33,000 – 9000 = 24,000 supplies for gold this turn. That should leave 13,000 supplies for next turn, more than enough to raise influence