Antiochus: I've only really done one thing, put a rebel city to siege and overrun it. I have purchased many mercenaries since we started so weakly and have prepared for war with Egypt the best I can. I was going to use what remained of my life to prepare my son Aristarchus for conquering Egypt, but it seems the die has been cast and fates chosen. I will try to maintain the peace with Pontus, Greece, Armenia, and Parthia so I may focus my efforts on Egypt. Who knows- perhaps Aristarchus can be crowned King as they build a new pyramid in my honor.
Aristarchus and Selucia: To describe what happened here as shocking would be a wild understatement. On turn 1, a seven-star rebel commander dropped in and had nearly a full stack of troops with him. And these weren't peasants and militia- lots of archers and horsemen. It is important to remember that every turn a Rebel is in your land, income for that region takes a sharp dive. Plus, at the start of the game, you have no good troops nor ability to train said good troops. Militia Hoplies and Cavalry are awful, yet are the best troops available to you. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. As such, Aristarchus had to play smart- and had to play loose with the lives of those below him.
He fought a series of six battles, getting licked and beaten and retreating to Selucia almost every time. However, each battle served a purpose- while he would sacrifice units and suffer terrible losses, he gradually weakened the strongest units of the seven-star rebel. Every turn, he was able to fall back to Selucia and retrain. Over time, he wore down his enemy until the final battle came. 1,000 Seluecids against nearly 700 Rebels, and again, he was getting the worst of it. However, the two general heavy cavalry units he controll(with a new character I will reveal soon), moved and were able to hit on two sides the unit belonging to the seven-star rebel. After a tense engagement, the rebel leader was killed and his men lost heart. They broke, fled, and were routed from the field and region.
Overall, the victory came at high cost. Nearly 3500 under his command died, while the rebel force of 2,500 had but a few survivors. Selucia has been drained of manpower and the sheer power of the rebel force allowed it to suffocate trade- I estimate 4K lost at a minimum. Selucia is, in the end, a somewhat barren wasteland for now.
Aristarchus- So, build the army and head into Egypt? How large should it be? Selucia is a backwater at this stage after events.
Demetrius and Glory: He initially set out to conquer Arabia, as it seemed an easy enough target. He made the long, arduous trek across the desert, but Parthia got there first. I may have authorized a war with Parthia as they are the logical enemy at this time, but Egypt launched an invasion of Antioch and he was recalled to Damascus. He now sits and builds up his army, joined by myself and the horde of mercenaries I've hired while conquering the city to Damascus' east, and readies himself for his first chance at true glory- capturing Jerusalem.
Sev of the Sands- Demetrius wants to rise, right? Well, Antiochus wants to head up the force coming from Antioch. That leaves Demetrius as the head of the Damascan Force. Is he going to wait for Antiochus to launch the shot, or is he going to carve his initials into Jerusalem's bloody corpse alone?
Alexander and the Peace in the West: Alexander has not yet engaged in a battle, but has had a massive impact in the region. He has arranged trading deals and map swamps with the Greeks, Pontus, and the Armenians, and he has built up a sizeable(if somewhat weak due to early game weakness in our faction) force to back him up. War with Egypt comes and he mobilizes. However, he is blocked outside Tarsus by a rebel army of the same size as his headed by a three star general. Time to kill rebel scum.
Attalus and the Golden Tongue: I forget the name of the city, but a small rebel city south of Damascus was convinced to join our cause with a little bribery and sweet talking thanks to Attalus. He followed up his success with several failures in trying to bribe Egyptian Generals.
WINTER- So, I can send you north to shore up relations with Pontus, Parthia, Armenia and the Greeks. Who takes priority for you and how willing are you to take big risks?
Phillip: Phillip spied on the settlement that the Parthians took and did a wonderful job- he had a 35% chance of swinging the gates open when Demetrius put the city to siege!However, the Parthians got there first and he hauled ass outta there. His new orders are to head to Egypt and the Lavant and spy on armies as they pass by. First, he has to get his bearings and exit Arabia.
The War with Egypt:
Egypt launched a surprise invasion, hitting a small three-unit cluster near Antioch with a 3/4 stack and then putting the city to siege. Antioch had just gained the ability to train Levy Pikemen, having two of its own, and a small cluster of(now) two units nearby. Against them stood a 3/4 stack of Egyptian troops, though mostly of poor quality. In other words, 4 v 15. However bad those odds, I knew that if I allowed them to put the city t siege for long, there was a chance it could fall. To make matters worse, a city under siege stops production of units and buildings- it was never going to get better than this! With this in mind, I sallied forth.
Two Levy Pikeman, with reinforcements of two Militia Cavalry coming in to aid them, against 15 Egyptian units of poor make and composition. I set my pikemen up outside the gates of the city and waited for my militia cavalry to show up- the Egyptians were content to sit and wait for me to attack. I used the Militia Cavalry to annoy them until they started pursuing, and led them into the Levy Pikemen. The first unit inflicted terrible losses on the Egyptians, but were forced to pull back eventually as they were able to be flanked on two sides. As the Egyptians poured into the city, they ran into the second unit of Pikemen, these ones who could not be flanked. Meanwhile, the Militia Cavalry got lucky and killed the General(The MC were running around, distracting the chariots and whatnot). The pikemen eventually forced the main enemy ground force to retreat from the city gates, and the MC routed them in a charge of all things. They were then hit and slaughtered by the enemy chariots. The MC made for the pikemen, who were able to reform in time to stop the chariots who were pursuing the MC cold. I used my final MC unit to harass and rout any small enemy force that had gathered itself. The battle finally ended.
After this, I was able to reform the army in the area. The Egyptians launched another assault against the city, this time with 11 of their units versus four pikemen and three militia cavalry. It was also a one-sided affair.
That has been the state of the war thus far. Egypt has suffered some embarassing defeats, but from what little I've seen, that may have just been the warm-up. Family members approach and with that, likely some serious force. No territory has changed hands yet, and I am gathering an offensive force in Damascus. When the time comes, Antiochus and the small but elite forces in Antioch and Demetrius' mailed first from Damascus will come down on Jerusalem.
The
Moment of the Session:
A panicked Militia Hoplite formation with the 'fight to the death' icon twirls, in formation, while three horse archer units under the command of that epic rebel general do a circle around them. It looks like a fan, almost. The entire unit dies doing this while around 40 horse archers kill each in the crossover.
Meanwhile, thanks to this, Aristarchus got away.
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