Rome must be driven from our lands! A Bructeri AAR

[gwgardner]

The Netherlands Rhineland mod Battle over the Rhenus, holds a lot of different options for Aggressors play. 19 different historical factions, including Rome, with its outposts, garrissons and forts, and many of the 'barbarian' tribes of the region.

I'm going TRY to explore one option with the Bructeri faction of Germanic tribes: driving the Roman interlopers from all of the lowlands. This could be a short-lived AAR, as playing against the Romans will be tough.

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I'll play on HARD difficulty.

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[By the way, Battle of the Rhenus appears twice in the intial menu here probably because I tested a previous version of it before the game was released. It won't appear twice if other players subscribe to or load the mod.]

[gwgardner]

Here's the historical situation, as outlined by the mod's author Cablenexus:

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[gwgardner]

The Bructeri start off separated from the Romans by other tribes. But all the tribes to the east of the Rhine, and many of those west of the great river, have reason to want the Romans to be driven away.

Rome demands tribute from all the tribes, but now the Bructeri say NO MORE! We will try to unite and lead all the tribes to take up the righteous fight. If any of the other tribes refuse our leadership, we will crush them too.

[gwgardner]

The Bructeri have a rich land. But admittedly we are poor sailors. To fight the Romans, we will have to defeat their river patrols.

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[gwgardner]

Some tribes have not accepted Bructeri leadership. Diplomacy must prevail. We don't have time or resources to waste fighting each other.

[gwgardner]

Some members of the Bructeri council of elders disagreed so much with the plan to wipe out the Romans that they led their followers to defect from the cause.

[gwgardner]

Winter of Discontent, 7 years into the warring with the Chauci

The refusal of the Chauci to follow the Bructeri lead has led to years of raiding by warriors of both sides. It has embittered our people, with the never-ending threat and drain. The people can't get ahead.

The Bructeri were punishing the Chauci, pushing deep into their territory, razing their towns. And then the Frisii, from across the Ems, struck up an alliance with the Chauci. Since then it's been back and forth.

Rome can wait now. The Chauci must be driven into the northern sea first!

Thank goodness for the constant friendship of the Chamivii, to our west. We have traded our hides, coal, and stones for much needed food and gold, and they have sustained us.

[gwgardner]

Gone from bad to worse

The Frisii-Chauci alliance is advancing both in our lands and those of our friends the Chamavi. The Bructeri people are now abandoning the cause, leaving the towns that might be targeted by the enemy, and running to the hills and forests.

[gwgardner]

The Romans tell us that it is the 710th year since the founding of their great city far away. We simply know it as the Year of Peace. The long war with the Chauci and Frisii is over. For now. In the last year the people have settled back down, trade is now booming, a new Bructeri village has been founded on the Ems, and shipwrights have come across from Chamivii to teach us how to build boats.

Most important, the Tribal Council has elected a King, from among the greatest warrior princes of the land. The Bructeri will be prepared, if war comes again. The King has decreed that it is the rebirth of the Bructeri Nation, and we are to go out and populate the land and make it rich.

[gwgardner]

Ten years of peace were wisely spent settling new towns, extending roads, establishing a fleet, creating an opportunity for more population growth. But all that was shattered when all our neighbors turned on us.

The new generation hardly remembers our elders proclaiming the end of Roman influence here. The chroniclers remember. Rome will have it's reckoning, but first we must simply survive.

[gwgardner]

The Chroniclers will have the last word, as always.

The Bructeri may be said to have brought their own end upon themselves, with their hubris.

The final war continued, and the final indignity for the Bructeri was this:

[gwgardner]

No Roman Legion set foot in our lands, but the the people had had enough war and strife. Unrest and riots hit every city. There were no more funds for troops, no more iron for repairs. The King fled the capitol with his retinue, and had to change headquarters three times, till finally the realm looks like this:

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We have one nomad force left. If it could raze our last city, it would. As it is, it will simply wander to the east, and the Bructeri dream will be ended ....

[Players note: Wow. My vaunted ambitions were dashed rather quickly! The AI overwhelmed me from the beginning. My research never got off the ground, and I still had only the earliest of the warrior types. I couldn't improve my cities beyond trading. I was blocked from from extensive trading by the Frisii shipyard on the lower Ems. The only way to break that blockade would be to take their city across the Ems, and I could never gain enough force to do that.

It was only 50 years, but that's 200 turns, because in the Battle Over the Rhenus mod, there are four seasonal turns per year.

I love this game, for precisely this result. I tried to put into practive all my 'skills' as an Aggressor player, yet the AI foiled me. It was an 'organic' defeat, not due to any fault with the game system, the mechanics, or anything else but me vs. the AI. Now that's replayability!

Kudos to Cablenexus for a great mod. It's a tough one. I encourage any other players to try it.]

[gwgardner]

I revisited the Bructeri for a new game, trying to correct my play.

1) Their northern neighbor, the Chauci, are relentless. They take a whipping, and keep on keeping on. They will not accept peace. So there is a constant drain on the Bructeri economy. Especially iron resources, because both iron mines they start with are near the Chauci border.

2) Trade is difficult, so I early on founded a port on the Ems River, but never could get enough resources to build a boat.

I dare any other player to take the Bructeri, on HARD level, and get them beyond the early game. If you can do it, let us know how.

[gwgardner]

I tried this a third time, this time reducing the Chauci to NOOB difficulty, and the game overall to EASY. Did much better with the Bructeri. Population growth is a continuing problem now, although I had just enough resources. The Chauci are still a problem, however, and once they join with the Frisii to hit me, it is a struggle. This mod is a real test of one's Aggressors skills.