Sven the Silent

395 A.D - The Collapse of an Empire

@carla6677 Yes you can. ^-^

395 A.D - The Collapse of an Empire

@Claw2k11@Minimum@Lauder@ClocktowerEchos@Jbcool@RomanAria@Serene Sender@Rekaigan

And the OOC is up, I feel as though i've got the balance right now. The technology points should force you to interact with other tribes as much as possible, or with me. Purely to increase the amount you're getting so that you can achieve more. The link: roleplayerguild.com/topics/88538-395-a..

I might tweek the technology point system a little, mostly decreasing or increasing certain amounts. Feel free to give me suggestions/advice on that.

395 A.D - The Collapse of an Empire

Reserved for my character sheet, I will get it up as soon as I can.

395 A.D - The Collapse of an Empire

(Red dots on the map indiciate large Roman cities and green dots indicate the position of Roman legions, heavy resistance can be expected there. The dark lines are provincial borders to help you indentify on what portion of the map you are whilst advancing into Roman territory. Note that Roman legions each start with ten units and that those units are half the troop size of yours.)

Under the will of the late Emperor Theodosius I the Roman Empire was split in two. The West, less urbanized with a spread-out populace, was to experience an economic decline. The East was not so destitute, as Emperors like Constantine the Great and Constantius II had invested heavily in the eastern economy. As a result, the Eastern Empire could afford large numbers of professional soldiers and augment them with mercenaries, while the Western Roman Empire could not afford this to the same extent. Even in major defeats, the East could, certainly not without difficulties, buy off its enemies with a ransom.

In the years that followed the East would recover from its initial turmoil and flourish, showing that it had become an economic powerhouse capable of paying friend and foe alike to do their bidding. The Western Empire's resources were much more limited, and the lack of available manpower forced the government to rely ever more on barbarian troops. Rome was weak, unable to keep full control over their territories and increasingly unable to afford to pay its armies. Oh, how the tables had turned. The tribes beyond the Rhine now looked West, at the fertile and poorly defended land of the once mighty Roman Empire, poised to carve out an Empire of their own from the ruins.

But it wasn't just expansion that fueled their aggression, the Huns were coming. Hordes of horsemen, from the depths of hell. Slaughtering and pillaging their way through eastern Europe. The aura of terror surrounding the Huns was so great that their enemies were barely able to conceive that they were also human beings, rather then stand and face them, they fled. Ever going west, taking the place of previous tribes that had fled before them. With the land running out and with the Huns in their back they had little choice but to invade the ruins of Rome and seek safer lands southwards. What they didn't count on was that Rome would not be defeated so easily, it's soldier few in number and overstretched, still remained a formidable foe to be reckoned with. Given time and with the aid of its eastern counterpart, the Empire would surely recover.

Playable Barbarian Tribes

(The location of each tribe is shown on the map with its corresponding number. The information behind each tribe is an indication of what your tribe is currently good at in terms of combat or if they have a special disposition towards Romans.)

1, The Franks: (Excellent cavalry, good sword/axe infantry, average spear/pike infantry, good archers. They currently have access to the sea and they have active trade with the Western Roman Empire.)
2, The Saxons: (Average cavalry, excellent sword/axe infantry, excellent spear/pike infantry, average archers. They currently have access to the sea.)
3, The Visigoths: (Excellent cavalry, average sword/axe infantry, good spear/pike infantry, excellent archers. Inspire fear in the hearts of Roman soldiers.)
4, The Alamans: (Excellent cavalry, poor sword/axe infantry, good spear/pike infantry, good archers. Hatred for Rome, extra morale when fighting against the Romans.)
5, The Jutes: (Poor cavalry, superb sword/axe infantry, average spear/pike infantry, average archers. Extra resistance to cold and more capable of fighting in the snow. They currently have access to the sea.)
6, The Danes: (Poor cavalry, excellent sword/axe infantry, average spear/pike infantry, average archers. Extra resistance to cold and more capable of fighting in the snow. They currently have access to the sea.)
7, The Seubi: (Good cavalry, poor sword/axe infantry, average spear/pike infantry, good archers. Tolerated by the Romans and allowed to live in the province of Gaul.)
8, The Caladonians: (Poor cavalry, superb sword/axe infantry, poor spear/pike infantry, excellent archers. Hatred for Rome, extra morale when fighting against the Romans. They currently have access to the sea.
9, The Picts: (Poor cavalry, superb sword/axe infantry, poor spear/pike infantry, average archers. Inspire fear in the hearts of Roman soldiers. They currently have access to the sea.)
10, The Burgundians: (Excellent cavalry, average sword/axe infantry, average spear/pike infantry, superb archers. Extra resistance to cold and more capable of fighting in the snow. They currently have access to the sea.)
11, The Quadians: (Good cavalry, poor sword/axe infantry, average spear/pike infantry, good archers. Hatred for Rome, extra morale when fighting against the Romans.)
12, The Vandals: (Superb cavalry, average sword/axe infantry, good spear/pike infantry, good archers. Inspire fear in the hearts of the Roman soldiers, despite that they have a positive opinion of the Romans.)
13, The Iazyges: (Superb cavalry, poor sword/axe infantry, poor spear/pike infantry, good archers. Inspire fear in the hearts of the Roman soldiers.)
14, The Maurians: (Excellent cavalry, poor sword/axe infantry, average spear/pike infantry, poor archers. Extra resistance to heat and more capable of fighting in the desert. They currently have access to the sea.)
15, The Garamantians: (Excellent cavalry, poor sword/axe infantry, average spear/pike infantry, poor archers. Extra resistance to heat and more capable of fighting in the desert. They currently have active trade with the Western Roman Empire.

Technology, Trade and Industry

Diplomacy and Trade: When you're in Roman territory with your tribe you are not capable of trading with anyone but Rome, and only if you are on good speaking terms with them. In order to trade or establish diplomatic relations with another tribe you need to either have conquered a piece of territory that once belonged to the Romans, which has to be completely under your control. You do not need to control the complete province but there can not be any Roman legions encamped near the land you control, poised to attack and reconquer it. Or you need to be outside of Roman lands where you are capable of safely establishing a city or large encampment without the threat of Roman legions marching in.

Furthermore, if there is another tribe blocking the route to the tribe you want to trade with, or if there is a piece of Roman territory in between. You need to make an agreement with the blocking party that allows you to move your goods through their territory. The more trading partners you have the wealthier your tribe will become which over time will increase your industry levels. The blocking also applies to diplomacy, a representive of your tribe will need to be able to safely move through another player's territory. A tribe that has access to the sea has no such difficulties but will need to know about other tribes to be able to trade.

Keep in mind that you as a tribe only know the tribe next to you, the tribe next to them you do not know and can only know about if you are told about them. The Romans however, know about every tribe they border directly.

Industry: For every trading partner that you have you will gain one technology point each turn/post that you make. technology points can be spend upgrading your units to be more effective but come at a heavy cost and once spend can not be changed again. Rome is an unique trading partner to have and gives you three technology points each turn. Rome however, gets only half a technology point for trade. In order to balance things out, once you start trading with Rome your tribe will become more and more influenced by Rome and they will start to get used to certain luxuries. The clever player who thinks he can spend several turns hoarding technology points by trading with Rome may suddenly find his tribe firmly opposed to attacking Rome.

You will also gain technology points for any base industry you have. Poor industry gives you two points every turn, average gives you three, good gives you four and excellent gives you five. Should trade be obstructed or cancelled you will also go backwards in industry level.

Grading system: It starts out at poor and goes up to average then good and then to excellent which is the maxium a Barbarian tribe can achieve on its own. The Romans however are at another level, standing at superb. Roman units will always be better then yours but pay for that by having their units sizes halfed and already suffering from low manpower and small legions. Your strength foremost will always be your large numbers. Remember, quantity is a quality of its own. Though you can safely assume that an excellent unit will fare much better then a poor unit in combat.

Technology points: To upgrade a poor unit to an average unit you will require one technology point, to upgrade an average unit to a good unit it will cost you three technology points and to go from good to excellent it will cost you six technology points. This applies to individual units that have been recruited into your army and does not mean all the units you will recruit suddenly have better preformance. Superb units can be formed only when on good terms with Rome, which includes active trade. Rome can then approve the training but it comes at a very expensive nine technology points.

Replenishing a unit costs one technology point for each thousand men in that unit, creating/recruiting a new one costs three points. Each tribe will start with twenty technology points in place, though if you should spend them all is up to you. If you suffer large casualities you may find that having saved up points does you well. Costs for Rome are doubled.

Composing an Army

Keep in mind that the Western Roman Empire often has heavily armoured units with large shields, something that has to be taken in account even when one unit has the edge over another on paper.

Pikemen: The pike, due to its unwieldy nature, was always intended to be used in a deliberate, defensive manner, often in conjunction with other missile and melee weapons. However, better-trained troops were capable of using the pike in an aggressive attack with each rank of pikemen being trained to hold their pikes so that they presented enemy infantry with four or five layers of spearheads bristling from the front of the formation. As long as it kept good order, such a formation could roll right over enemy infantry but it did have weaknesses. The men were all moving forward facing in a single direction and could not turn quickly or efficiently to protect the vulnerable flanks or rear of the formation. The huge block of men carrying such unwieldy spears could be difficult to maneuver in any way other than straightforward movement.

Highly effective against melee units and cavalry once in formation, but very vunerable once flanked, the unit also lacks shields and continous missle fire will quickly decimate the unit.

Sword infantry: Depending on the size of the shields that were being carried, the unit could form up closely and raise their shields over their heads with only the front low keeping the shield pushed outwards. This allowed the unit to advance under heavy fire, though the bigger the shields, the bigger the amount of arrows you would be capable of blocking. Sword and shield formations were often flexible and could quickly turn and adapt different formations in order to deal with changes on the battlefield. Their weapons and defense however does not allow them to put up an effective formation against enemy cavalry, and if charged could only hold cavalry back for a certain amount of time before ultimately breaking from combat.

Highly effective against spear units, moderatly effective against other sword infantry and axe infantry, less effective against cavalry and pikemen.

Spear infantry: With the shorter and more flexible spear the unit would be more flexible on the battlefield and could form up more quickly. However, much like their Pikemen counterpart, once they were in close combat they would be easily cut down by the enemy. Their shorter spear, some what augmented by short shields still ment that they fought at a closer range then the Pikemen. The shields however allowed more protection against missle units and added protection against melee infantry. Ultimately the experience of the unit would dictate how effective it was in combat.

Highly effective against cavalry, moderatly effective against sword infantry and axe infantry once in formation, less effective against pikemen.

Cavalry: The fear of every soldier on the battlefield, getting run down or charged by a formation of horses often decimated any unit in combat except those specifically created to keep them at bay. Charging your cavalry into melee infantry yields high results, though keeping your horses engaged in close combat usually ment they would be cut down unless their initial charge killed a sufficient amount of troops. Cavalry is best kept in reserve or to protect the wings of your own army, though large armies of cavalry are known to completely decimate even the most experienced armies on the right terrain.

Highly effective charge against all units, moderatly effective against sword, axe infantry and other cavalry. Less effective against pikemen and spear units.

Axe infantry: Armed with an axe and a shield these units would often run an charge the enemy formation, piling all their weight on their initial swing of the axe in an attempt to break the opponents shield or simply cut them down. The added strength behind their swing ment that they were more capable against armoured units. Much like their counterparts with their swords, the unit is capable of forming shield formations. They suffer against cavalry much the same and unless properly trained will most likely get stabbed through the gut by a Roman sword when they raise their hand to strike. Ideally though, a well experienced unit has the slight edge over sword infantry.

Highly effective against spear infantry, effective against sword infantry, moderately effective against other axe infantry, less effective against cavalry and pikemen.

Missle units. Firing away at the enemy from a distance, either armed with javelins, longbows, short bows or crossbows. Different in range but all had one thing in common, their ability to pepper and decimate any unit unfortunate enough to receive their attention. The only thing capable of stopping their barrage would be armour and shields, the heavier and the larger the better. Also capable of using fire arrows in order to ignite buildings and to decrease the morale of the enemy.

Highly effective against all units from a distance, be that infantry, cavalry or other missle units. Less effective once in melee combat against all other units.

Nation Sheet

Tribe: (Simply write down what tribe you are here.)
Government style: (Typically barbarian tribes were ruled by a high king or by a king that was adviced by a councel of lesser tribal kings. Though there are also examples of the oldest nobles of society making up the ruling class.)
Head of State: (Even if your government system doesn't allow one set leader simply put down the most influencial member of the group. Also tell us a little about him and how he sees the world, basically a little character sheet inside the nation sheet.)
Ruling Family: Sons of barbarian kings often joined the army to earn the respect of their tribe and that of other tribes. Daughters could be married off to settle the tension between other tribes or to simply seal an alliance deal.
Religion: (Religion has always been a matter of conflict for people all through out history, it's safe to say that you'd get along more easily with someone that shares your faith.)
Technology Points: (Starts out with twenty points. Each turn/post that you make you will receive one technology for each Barbarian trading partner you have and three for trade with Rome. Your industry will also give you a certain amount of points each turn/post.)
Trading Partners: (List the people that you're currently trading with, for most of the starting factions it's irrelevant at the start, you can however make partners as the roleplay progresses.)
Industry: (Starts at poor for all tribes except those that have trade with Rome, they start at average. For each two trading partner you have you will go up one level, so from average to good and from good to excellent. Rome has the same value as two tribes in terms of trade and by just having trade with Rome your Industry will increase.)
Agenda and concerns: (Help me and the other participants better understand what your tribe is hoping to achieve or what it is currently having problems with. For example, perhaps you are worried about the changing climate and your lands getting less fertile and you hope to find better and more fertile land down south. Or perhaps, it's just the Huns fueling your aggression against Rome. Never the less, this should help you identify with people that may be suffering the same issues as you.)
Tribal Army: (Infantry units have 4,000 troops in one unit, missle units have 2,000 troops and cavalry has 1,000 troops in their unit. The mandatory general unit each army has will only have 500 troops but is made of highly skilled warriors in order to protect your general. Seeing as this is based on Total War, killing the general will obviously disorganise your army. Simply write down the formation of your army here, though i'd advice to use all unit types, having no archers or cavalry for example can really cripple your force in the long run. Also, be sure to include how many men are left in your unit. At the start those numbers will be 100% of course.)

Combat in the Roleplay.
Despite using things from the Total War series to establish the values for the tribes and the workings of the units, we're going to be using the honour system a lot as well. I expect players to communicate with eachother properly and to attempt to play out battles as realistically as they can. Remember, it's not always about winning but about the experience as well. I always try to picture myself in the combat situation. If I have a big shield and decent armour I will calmly advance through heavy missle fire, yet if I had no armour or shield for that matter, and my friends were dying next to me left and right. I'd be much more likely to run away.

For the sake of knowing what is going on try to describe how your army is marching or set up, simply by saying that for example; four units of spears are advancing at the front with four units of sword infantry following closely behind them, perhaps with your axe infantry on the flanks of the formation and with your cavalry on the wings. Then it's easy for the other participant to paint a mental image of what he's dealing with. Again, try to imagine the situation in your head. If you've just advanced your troops up a steep hill or you're fighting on said hill, you're going to be tired and at a disadvantage.

Keep in mind that once your unit is engaged in combat and you try to order it to pull out to allow another unit to take over, or just for a retreat. A lot of them will be cut down. You can try to get certain units of the enemy into combat in order to exploit him on other flanks with different units, such as cavalry.

395 A.D - The Collapse of an Empire

@ClocktowerEchos Technology now has an effect on me as well. I get only 0,5 technology points from trade and the costs for recruitment and replenishment are doubled for me. I will however start with more technology points in place and if things get really dramatic for me I can receive aid from the non playable Eastern Roman Empire. (Say, all my armies being gone. I can receive money/troops as in real life in order to put up some resistance still.)

I will not have to dribble in upgrading units though because mine all start at the highest level, including when recruited. I will spend all my points on desperately replenishing and trying to recruit troops in areas where it's getting really dangerous. Though it's safe to say that once I have spend my initial banked technology point supply the cracks will quickly start to show.

395 A.D - The Collapse of an Empire

@ClocktowerEchos I have thought about including unique units but then things would get a little chaotic, though if the participants would like to see that I can include it. The only unique units so far is the one nomadic tribe that's in the mix, they have horse archers. And then there's war hounds that everyone has. But I may scrap those two for balancing purposes. As for technology and Rome, my units are underfunded, undersized and spread to thin. The technology is more for you then it is for me. My units already start out good, and I of course have more then twenty units. I have legions spread out over the provinces.

395 A.D - The Collapse of an Empire

@Claw2k11@Minimum@Lauder@ClocktowerEchos@Jbcool@RomanAria@Serene Sender@Rekaigan

I have been working on a few things and i'm happy with the current results. They are not final though and I need the opinion of you to establish whether or not it's usable. My apologies for the time it's taking me to get an OOC up but I want to ensure that you get served the best of the best so that we all enjoy the Roleplay to the fullest extend. So yes, let me know what your thoughts are and suggestions are always appreciated.

Units and their strength

Keep in mind that the Western Roman Empire often has heavily armoured units with large shields, something that has to be taken in account even when one unit has the edge over another on paper.

Pikemen: The pike, due to its unwieldy nature, was always intended to be used in a deliberate, defensive manner, often in conjunction with other missile and melee weapons. However, better-trained troops were capable of using the pike in an aggressive attack with each rank of pikemen being trained to hold their pikes so that they presented enemy infantry with four or five layers of spearheads bristling from the front of the formation. As long as it kept good order, such a formation could roll right over enemy infantry but it did have weaknesses. The men were all moving forward facing in a single direction and could not turn quickly or efficiently to protect the vulnerable flanks or rear of the formation. The huge block of men carrying such unwieldy spears could be difficult to maneuver in any way other than straightforward movement.

Highly effective against melee units and cavalry once in formation, but very vunerable once flanked, the unit also lacks shields and continous missle fire will quickly decimate the unit.

Sword infantry: Depending on the size of the shields that were being carried, the unit could form up closely and raise their shields over their heads with only the front low keeping the shield pushed outwards. This allowed the unit to advance under heavy fire, though the bigger the shields, the bigger the amount of arrows you would be capable of blocking. Sword and shield formations were often flexible and could quickly turn and adapt different formations in order to deal with changes on the battlefield. Their weapons and defense however does not allow them to put up an effective formation against enemy cavalry, and if charged could only hold cavalry back for a certain amount of time before ultimately breaking from combat.

Highly effective against spear units, moderatly effective against other sword infantry and axe infantry, less effective against cavalry and pikemen.

Spear infantry: With the shorter and more flexible spear the unit would be more flexible on the battlefield and could form up more quickly. However, much like their Pikemen counterpart, once they were in close combat they would be easily cut down by the enemy. Their shorter spear, some what augmented by short shields still ment that they fought at a closer range then the Pikemen. The shields however allowed more protection against missle units and added protection against melee infantry. Ultimately the experience of the unit would dictate how effective it was in combat.

Highly effective against cavalry, moderatly effective against sword infantry and axe infantry once in formation, less effective against pikemen.

Cavalry: The fear of every soldier on the battlefield, getting run down or charged by a formation of horses often decimated any unit in combat except those specifically created to keep them at bay. Charging your cavalry into melee infantry yields high results, though keeping your horses engaged in close combat usually ment they would be cut down unless their initial charge killed a sufficient amount of troops. Cavalry is best kept in reserve or to protect the wings of your own army, though large armies of cavalry are known to completely decimate even the most experienced armies on the right terrain.

Highly effective charge against all units, moderatly effective against sword, axe infantry and other cavalry. Less effective against pikemen and spear units.

Axe infantry: Armed with an axe and a shield these units would often run an charge the enemy formation, piling all their weight on their initial swing of the axe in an attempt to break the opponents shield or simply cut them down. The added strength behind their swing ment that they were more capable against armoured units. Much like their counterparts with their swords, the unit is capable of forming shield formations. They suffer against cavalry much the same and unless properly trained will most likely get stabbed through the gut by a Roman sword when they raise their hand to strike. Ideally though, a well experienced unit has the slight edge over sword infantry.

Highly effective against spear infantry, effective against sword infantry, moderately effective against other axe infantry, less effective against cavalry and pikemen.

Missle units. Firing away at the enemy from a distance, either armed with javelins, longbows, short bows or crossbows. Different in range but all had one thing in common, their ability to pepper and decimate any unit unfortunate enough to receive their attention. The only thing capable of stopping their barrage would be armour and shields, the heavier and the larger the better. Also capable of using fire arrows in order to ignite buildings and to decrease the morale of the enemy.

Highly effective against all units from a distance, be that infantry, cavalry or other missle units. Less effective once in melee combat against all other units.

Technology, Diplomacy and Trade

Diplomacy and Trade: When you're in Roman territory with your tribe you are not capable of trading with anyone but Rome, and only if you are on good speaking terms with them. In order to trade or establish diplomatic relations with another tribe you need to either have conquered a piece of territory that once belonged to the Romans, which has to be completely under your control. You do not need to control the complete province but there can not be any Roman legions encamped near the land you control, poised to attack and reconquer it. Or you need to be outside of Roman lands where you are capable of safely establishing a city or large encampment without the threat of Roman legions marching in.

Furthermore, if there is another tribe blocking the route to the tribe you want to trade with, or if there is a piece of Roman territory in between. You need to make an agreement with the blocking party that allows you to move your goods through their territory. The more trading partners you have the wealthier your tribe will become which over time will increase your industry levels. The blocking also applies to diplomacy, a representive of your tribe will need to be able to safely move through another player's territory. A tribe that has access to the sea has no such difficulties but will need to know about other tribes to be able to trade.

Keep in mind that you as a tribe only know the tribe next to you, the tribe next to them you do not know and can only know about if you are told about them. The Romans however, know about every tribe they border directly.

Industry: For every trading partner that you have you will gain one technology point each turn/post that you make. technology points can be spend upgrading your units to be more effective but come at a heavy cost and once spend can not be changed again. Rome is an unique trading partner to have and gives you three technology points each turn. Rome however, gets only half a technology point for trade. In order to balance things out, once you start trading with Rome your tribe will become more and more influenced by Rome and they will start to get used to certain luxuries. The clever player who thinks he can spend several turns hoarding technology points by trading with Rome may suddenly find his tribe firmly opposed to attacking Rome.

Grading system: It starts out at poor and goes up to average then good and then to excellent which is that maxium a Barbarian tribe can achieve on its own. The Romans however are at another level, standing at superb. Roman units will always be better then yours but pay for that by having their units sizes halfed and already suffering from low manpower and small legions. Your strength foremost will always be your large numbers. Remember, quantity is a quality of its own. Though you can safely assume that an excellent unit will fare much better then a poor unit in combat.

Technology points: To upgrade a poor unit to an average unit you will require one technology point, to upgrade an average unit to a good unit it will cost you three technology points and to go from good to excellent it will cost you six technology points. This applies to individual units that have been recruited into your army and does not mean all the units you will recruit suddenly have better preformance. Superb units can be formed only when on good terms with Rome, which includes active trade. Rome can then approve the training but it comes at a very expensive nine technology points.

Replenishing a unit costs one technology point for each thousand men in that unit, creating/recruiting a new one costs three points. Each tribe will start with twenty technology points in place, though if you should spend them all is up to you. If you suffer large casualities you may find that having saved up points does you well. Costs for Rome are doubled.

I currently do need to figure out how we're going to establish casualities but I figure that can be done on the honour system by players. If an unit is in a hopeless situation and getting cut down i'm sure they can realistically establish suffered casualities/the destruction of a unit as a whole.

I may also split up spear/pike infantry and sword/axe infantry into two catagories and work out what their qualities are for each tribe as well.

395 A.D - The Collapse of an Empire

@Claw2k11@Minimum@Lauder@ClocktowerEchos@Jbcool@RomanAria@Serene Sender@Rekaigan

I'm having tremendous difficulties changing things. In my eyes the combat need a lot more detail, which i'm working on. It's so difficult to take in account all the different types of units, the impacts of skill and experience on the unit. And how to work how strong your unit is compared to the quality of your tribe. And that's just one of many things about combat I can not figure out and that stresses me out.

Economy and industry at the moment appears to be nothing more then a line to fill up the already short nation sheet. I can't think of other things to add to it because this is not your traditional type of nation roleplay. You're tribes migrating into Roman lands and you've packed up everything you owned and left your land. (Even though this wasn't traditionally the take on all of the tribes that attacked and invaded Rome, such as the Franks who just added more land to that what they already held.) If you're migrating you don't have an economy nor much industry and you can't exactly trade with others far away either.

I am seeing so, so many flaws and I do not know how to fix them. I'm going to try though but just bare with me.

395 A.D - The Collapse of an Empire

@Lauder@RomanAria@Rekaigan@Minimum@Serene Sender@Jbcool@ClocktowerEchos This is what I have so far, i'm unsure about the combat and I think the nation sheet is a little to short right now. I'd love to get some feedback so I can make some final changes before putting out the OOC!


(Red dots on the map indiciate large Roman cities, heavy resistance can be expected there. The dark lines are provincial borders to help you indentify on what portion of the map you are whilst advancing into Roman territory.)

Under the will of the late Emperor Theodosius I the Roman Empire was split in two. The West, less urbanized with a spread-out populace, was to experience an economic decline. The East was not so destitute, as Emperors like Constantine the Great and Constantius II had invested heavily in the eastern economy. As a result, the Eastern Empire could afford large numbers of professional soldiers and augment them with mercenaries, while the Western Roman Empire could not afford this to the same extent. Even in major defeats, the East could, certainly not without difficulties, buy off its enemies with a ransom.

In the years that followed the East would recover from its initial turmoil and flourish, showing that it had become an economic powerhouse capable of paying friend and foe alike to do their bidding. The Western Empire's resources were much more limited, and the lack of available manpower forced the government to rely ever more on barbarian troops. Rome was weak, unable to keep full control over their territories and increasingly unable to afford to pay its armies. Oh, how the tables had turned. The tribes beyond the Rhine now looked West, at the fertile and poorly defended land of the once mighty Roman Empire, poised to carve out an Empire of their own from the ruins.

Yet it wasn't just expansion that fueled their aggression, the Huns were coming. Hordes of horsemen, some claim from the depths of hell. Pillaging their way through eastern Europe and slaughtering everything in their paths. A mass migration was about to begin that would change the world as we knew it. But not all was lost, the Western Roman Empire remained a force to be reckoned with. Its soldiers though few in number were battle hardened and experienced. Given time, the west might recover with help from its Eastern counterpart, but the clock was ticking and the Empire stood on the brink of disaster.

Experimental Situation.
The way combat has to be preformed here and the roleplay's focus on combat though it's also about diplomacy and maintaining a nation/empire, is different then i've seen on here myself. Nor have I participated in something like this before myself. If anyone has any suggestions about the combat system as is or how to improve things please do let me know. At the moment a huge part of it is simply two players communicating and attempting to play our a realistic scene of battle.

Playable Barbarian Tribes

(The location of each tribe is shown on the map with its corresponding number. The information behind each tribe is an indication of what your tribe is currently good at in terms of combat or if they have a special disposition towards Romans.)

1, The Franks. (Excellent cavalry, good infantry, average archers, decent naval capabilities. Currently has a non aggression pact with the Romans and active trade.)
2, The Saxons. (Good infantry, average cavalry, good archers, decent naval capabilities. Have large quantaties of war hounds.)
3, The Visigoths. (Excellent cavalry, good infantry, average archers. Inspire fear amongst Roman soldiers, capable of taking tributes of food from communities in Roman territory.)
4, The Alamans. (Excellent infantry, good cavalry, good archers. Hatred for Rome, extra morale fighting Rome.)
5, The Jutes. (Excellent naval capabilities, excellent infantry, average archers, average cavalry, extra resistance to cold.)
6, The Danes. (Excellent naval capabilities, excellent infantry, average archers, poor cavalry, extra resistance to cold. Extra morale when fighting on the water.)
7, The Seubi. (Good infantry, good cavalry, good archers. Tolerated by Romans and allowed to live in the Roman province of Gaul.)
8, The Caladonians. (Hatred for Rome, extra morale fighting Rome, excellent infantry, good archers, average cavalry. Efficient at raiding Roman settlements and venturing beyond the wall.)
9, The Picts. (Hatred for Rome, extra morale fighting Rome, excellent infantry, average archers, average cavalry. Specialised at ambushing and fighting during the night and thick fog. Inspire fear amongst the Roman soldiers.)
10, The Burgundians. (Good cavalry, good archers, average infantry, Capable of living in inhospitable areas.)
11, The Quadians. (Average infantry, good archers, good cavalry. Hatred for Rome, extra morale fighting Rome.)
12, The Vandals. (Excellent cavalry, good infantry, poor archers. Inspire fear amongst Roman soldiers and are known for sacking and razing Roman settlements. Decent naval capabilities.)
13, The Iazyges. (Inspire fear amongst Roman soldiers, excellent cavalry, excellent horse archers, good archers, poor infantry.)
14, The Maurians. (Excellent cavalry, average infantry, poor archers. Extra resistant to heat, very capable of fighting in the desert. Decent naval capabilities.)
15, The Garamantians. (Excellent cavalry, average infantry, poor archers. Extra resistant to heat, very capable of fighting in the desert. Currently has trade with the Romans.)

The Qualities Of Your Tribe.

Each of the available tribes has been given its initial stats regarding all areas of combat, things that are not specifically mentioned signal that the tribe has no previous experience with it, such as naval capabilities for desert tribes. That doesn't mean it is impossible for you to attempt naval construction if you come in contact with water, but your abilities would be poor. Building a ship purely for transport and not combat is something all tribes can do though.

You can attempt to make yourself better in an area of combat though that would take time and require experience for your troops. Safe to say that if you're fought several battles with your infantry force without them losing significant portions of their men, they will likely become more experienced. The aim of good and bad qualities however is for you to exploit your strengths to counter balance the weakness in an other area. You can expect me to attempt and exploit your weakness also, if you clash your poor or average infantry head on with a Roman legion they'll be routed quickly unless fastly superior in numbers.

Keep in mind that the ratings behind each tribe are for guide line purposes as well, having average infantry doesn't mean you can form a solid infantry force. It just means that your tribe is more adapt to fighting with different styles, on horse back for example. If you cavalry is better on paper then the player you're facing then you can work out that you win the cavalry versus cavalry engagement, but he or she in turn may win the infantry engagement. Or, his missle unites are so efficient that they decimate your horses before they can even show their valour in battle.

Nation Sheet

Tribe: (Put down the tribe you wish to claim here.)
Government style: (Typically barbarian tribes were ruled by a high king or by a king that was adviced by a councel of lesser tribal kings. Though there are also examples of the oldest nobles of society making up the ruling class.)
Head of State: (Even if your government system doesn't allow one set leader simply put down the most influencial member of the group. What he wants and how he sees things and looks upon others. Basically a little character sheet inside of the nation sheet so others can understand your stance.)
Ruling Family: Sons of barbarian kings often joined the army to earn the respect of their tribe and that of other tribes. Daughters could be married off to settle the tension between other tribes or to simply seal an alliance deal.
Religion: (Religion has always been a matter of conflict for people all through out history, it's safe to say that you'd get along more easily with someone that shares your faith.)
Economy And Industry: (Starts of average for all factions except those that have established trade with Rome, they start out at good. Rome however starts out at very poor.) The better your economy and industry the more wealth you have and the more capable you are to replenish and equip your units. For good measure feel free to describe what your tribe uses for trade, whether that be iron, furs, gemstones, food, wood.)
Tribal Army: (Your army will total 20 units at the start, one of those is your general unit, infantry units total 4,000 men each and a cavalry unit totals a 1000 men each. Missle units will total 2,000 men each. Be sure to include whether you have a pike/spear/sword or axe units. During battle posts you can then accurately move up your units to counter another. Pike typically holds back all forces back very well but take time to set up and once in close combat are easily slaughtered, spear hold cavalry and sword but lose to axe. Sword can hold cavalry with difficulty, hold spear and sword, lose to axe. Axe lose to spear and cavalry but win from sword. Furthermore, each tribe has warhounds which is an unit of 500, though this is doubled for the Saxons. Unit sizes are halfed for Rome.)

The Roleplay and Combat.
As you may have noticed this roleplay is inspired by the Total War series and i've used a lot things from the series in order to form a basis for things such a strengths and weaknesses. It would otherwise be impossible to determine what a tribe is good at or not through history alone. Typically the reports of combat events are not as simple, and I found borrowing things from the Total War series worked quite well.

I expect most fighting to take place on land and very little on the actual seas hence the navy is a little irrelevant to most phases. In actual combat I expect people to basically describe their army formation the best they can for example mentioning that all your spear units are on the front, units with sword and shield right behind them and the units with axes on the flanks. Your cavalry perhaps hidden or on the wings of the formation to intercept. If they then clash you can look at your opponent, notice your infantry is slightly better then his and feel confident that unless he flanks you or has a trick up his sleeve you will win.

Terrain is also a thing I expect the players to calculate in when they battle eachother. If you are up hill and your opponent has to fight upwards or move up the hill they will get tired more easily and preform less well then on flat ground, effectivly allowing a poorer infantry unit to hold off a superior one.

431 BCE - An NRP of the Peloponnesian War

@Jbcool There is a difference between writing a post on your own or having to also take the time to discuss things with a partner in my eyes. So far I just have to set up the OOC for my own Nation roleplay, just like you still need to set up the OOC for yours. I'm confident in my ability to be able to run one myself and participate in another at the same time.