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Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion
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Barbarian Invasion is the first expansion for the personal computer game Rome: Total War which takes the action forward to the period of the decline of the Western Roman Empire. The campaign begins in 363 A.D. and ends in 476 A.D. If the player has not achieved the campaign goals in 476, an option to quit or to continue the game is presented. The expansion includes simulation of the religious tension of the period, as three major religions (Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Paganism) fought for dominance.
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Barbarian Invasion is the first expansion for the personal computer game Rome: Total War which takes the action forward to the period of the decline of the Western Roman Empire. The campaign begins in 363 A.D. and ends in 476 A.D. If the player has not achieved the campaign goals in 476, an option to quit or to continue the game is presented. The expansion includes simulation of the religious tension of the period, as three major religions (Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Paganism) fought for dominance. Also depicted are the great migrations of the Germanic and steppe peoples (notably the Huns) throughout Europe.
Gameplay
As Barbarian Invasion takes place 350 years after the end of the original game, factions and provinces are very different. Although the Roman Senate still exists it no longer has significant power, thus playing no role in the expansion. Rome has become an empire, grown and then split into a Western and an Eastern empire, ruled from Rome and Constantinople respectively; all Italy and the Mediterranean islands, Mauretania, Africa, Egypt, Syria and Palestine, Asia, Pontus, Greece, Thrace, Illyricum, Alpine countries, Spain, Gaul and most of Britain are now comprehended in the domain of imperial Rome. These subject regions represent the former factions of Egypt, Macedon, Pontus, the Greek city states, Carthage, Gaul, Iberia, the Britons and Numidians all of who have been absorbed into the Roman Empire. The Seleucid Empire has collapsed and has been absorbed by Rome and former Parthia; the Parthian dynasty itself has been overthrown and replaced with the Sassanid dynasty. Dacia has been conquered by the Goths, and Numidia has been entirely replaced by Berbers. The Huns have invaded Europe, and several major Germanic tribes have unified and strengthened to the point where they are now capable of invading the Empire itself.
Hordes are a new feature which is introduced in Barbarian Invasion and is a privilege to some barbarian factions. When such a faction loses its last province (some factions, such as the Huns and Vandals, begin with no provinces), rather than being destroyed it becomes a horde and is forced to settle elsewhere. Hordes are very large armies, representing an entire nation; however, they do not require upkeep. When a horde army successfully seizes a city, they are given the option of sacking the city (which does massive damage to the population and buildings of a city, giving the horde a large amount of money) or of settling in the city - which allows the horde to begin anew, with the new city as its capital; the faction then is able to conquer other provinces normally. When the horde settles, a portion of their horde army is disbanded and the population distributed into the city.
Horde factions do not "die out" unless defeated on the battlefield or all characters die; when they have finally found a new homeland and it is successfully conquered by an enemy, the whole faction becomes a horde again and flees, in order to seek a new home. With the concept of a horde the developers tried to reflect the migrations of several "barbarian" peoples of that time - especially Huns, Goths, Vandals, Franks, Burgundians and Lombards.
Victory conditions vary, depending on which faction is played. Each playable faction has its own territory requirement, including specific named territories--adding a layer of strategic complexity. Each faction is listed with a difficulty level relative to the other factions (apart from the game settings difficulty selected by the user). The Western Roman Empire may start the game with a lot of military and economic might--but everybody wants a piece of them, they require the most territories to win, and one of those required territories is the most contested (Northern Italy). The Saxons start small and do not have access to advanced technology, but they have a much smaller territory requirement--though they still have to contend with neighbors to the south who are crowding north to meet territory requirements.
Roman factions
The Roman factions represent the remnants of the once unified Roman Empire.
- Western Roman Empire: Playable. Although large and apparently highly advanced, the Western Empire by this stage is weak. Early on it is assaulted by most of the 'Barbarian' factions, and later some of the 'Nomadic' and Hun factions. It is crippled by civil wars, religious strife, and economic collapse further confounded by the dilution of its military making its army inferior to its previous incarnation; however, they attempt to alleviate this by including barbarian units (including the general's bodyguard).
- Eastern Roman Empire: Playable. The richest faction in the game, the Eastern Empire's army is a mixture of Eastern-style cavalry and Roman infantry . The Eastern Empire has very good cavalry including Cataphracts, Clibinarii (which are very heavily armored cavalry, somewhat similar to Cataphracts), and Dromedarii, as well as excellent archer and infantry units. It is also more stable and prosperous than its Western counterpart.
- Romano-British: Non-playable. Culturally speaking, a Roman faction. They appear when the Western Roman Empire loses their British provinces. The Romano-British primarily use renamed Roman units such as "British Legionaries" and "Coastal Levies" (the latter being the same as the Roman Limitanei, apart from the fact that they are not equipped with javelins like their counterparts), but they can also recruit the legendary Graal knights from Arthurian legend. When they appear, they are an incredibly effective force, and their beginning army often includes very high experience units.
- Eastern Roman rebels: Non-playable. This faction is spawned when Eastern Roman cities rebel; rather than joining the rebel faction as in the original, cities that revolt form this breakaway faction. They have the same units as the Eastern Romans and start out at war with them.
- Western Roman rebels: Non-playable. The Western Roman rebels appear when Western Roman cities rebel, similar to the Eastern Empire rebels; their units are the same as those of the Western Romans.
Hunnic faction
The Hunnic faction is distinct from the Nomadic factions, for they are only represented by the fearsome Huns themselves.
- Huns: Playable. their army is primarily made up of large units of cavalry with high endurance. They start as a horde near the Roxolani and Alan tribes north of the Black Sea. The Huns have some of the best horses in the game and have very skilled horse archers; however, their infantry selection is limited. They also have a lack of infrastructure and must often rely on captured buildings such as ports.
Nomadic factions
These barbarian factions start in Eastern Europe. "Nomadic" is an umbrella term; it includes both Iranic tribes and eastern Germanic tribes, as well as the Slavs. The Nomad cavalry is overall superior to that of their Western brethren; furthermore they have access to highly competent mounted archers. Their infantry should not be discounted, as it is also often of good quality. The main drawback of the Nomads is their lack in siege technology. All Nomadic factions are able to form a horde.
- Goths: Playable. Usually described as sacrificing captured enemies to their pagan god Tyz, in the beginning of the game most of them are already converted to Christianity. Their strength lies in their cavalry, although their advanced infantry is of high quality as well. They begin in the area of modern Romania, although they are soon displaced by steppe nomads.
- Vandals: Playable. Settled in Rome's former northwest African provinces. Start as a horde located northwest of the Black Sea. Their armies emphasise horsemen with infantry in support. They are capable of adopting Christianity and are able to train mounted priests.
- Sarmatians: Playable. Tribe living northwest of the Black Sea corresponding to modern Ukraine; they have high quality cavalry and woman-warriors, yet a very limited selection of infantry. Luckily, the main infantry unit of the Sarmatians, Bosphoran Infantry, are effective warriors against infantry and cavalry; this flexibility reduces the need for a larger unit roster. Usually in the first few turns of the game, they become conquered by the Sassanids, and will become a horde.
- Ostrogoths Non-playable. Similar to the Roman rebels, the Ostrogoths are spawned when a Gothic city revolts. They have the same units as the Goths.
- Roxolani: Non-playable. A tribe similar to the Sarmatians (they have the same unit roster); because they are neighbours to the Hunnic hordes north of the Black Sea, they tend be the first faction to fall to the Huns. Afterwards they form a horde as well.
- Slavs Non-playable. The Slavs appear later in the game around 410 A.D. just east of the Baltic Sea. They have a similar unit roster to that of the Vandals.
Barbarian factions
Barbarian factions populate western and central Europe (at least those parts that are not under Roman rule). Their strength lies in their powerful melee infantry, and most of them can lay sieges like civilized factions. The Barbarians do mostly roam more or less mountainous terrain with many forests; hence, their cavalry is a bit lacking and artillery is rare.
- Saxons: Playable. Start with only one settlement in the Jutland peninsula. They have access to top-notch infantry, all tiers of ports and are a pure pagan faction (most other factions are a mixture) making internal stability easier. They are, however, limited in cavalry, artillery and tactical infantry.
- Franks: Playable. Eventually settling in Rome's former Gallic provinces, the Franks begin in what is now central Germany. They have axe-throwers and durable infantry, and can form hordes. They are also one of the few barbarian factions with decent cavalry, in the form of paladins. They are capable of adopting Christianity as well, and are one of the few barbarian factions able to build onagers and ballistae. If they adopt Christianity, they can train Catholic Priests and Paladins. The Franks are the most technologically advanced Barbarians, as they are able to build paved roads and have farming techniques on par with the Romans. Their Fransisca soldiers are also some of the best in the game, and their thrown axes deal enormous damage to any enemy they encounter.
- Alemanni: Playable. A confederation of Germanic tribes, their powerful infantry includes fearsome berserkers. They also have excellent archers from the outset, the best in the region and one of the best in the game. They begin in the area of the modern Baden-Württemberg, and are tasked with expanding around that area.
- Celts Non-playable. This factions begins in modern Ireland and Scotland, and will be a threat to either the Western Romans or the Romano-British. Their army is composed of old-fashioned units, such as chariots and gallowglasses (infantry armed with large, two-handed swords), and berserker-like "Hounds of Culann".
- Burgundii Non-playable. They tend to be rivals to the Franks, as their goal is to settle in Gaul as well. Their army contains powerful berserkers and other warriors, and they too can form horde groups. They have the same units as the Alemanni.
- Lombardi Non-playable. A strong all-around nation, they seek to invade Italy. Their army is primarily infantry, including berserkers. They can also form into a horde, but are otherwise the same as the Alemanni.
Eastern faction
- Sassanids: Playable. The new ruling dynasty of Persia; the strongest power in the East, and essentially the offspring-kingdom of the previous Parthian dynasty of Persia. They are rivals of the Eastern Romans, and are the only faction to follow Zoroastrianism, as well as to still use persian war elephants. Their signature units are the excellent Clibinarii Immortals which accompany their generals. The Sassanids have (in comparison to the former Eastern factions) very strong infantry called Sughdians which almost equal the Roman comitatenses. Their cavalry is second only to the Eastern Roman Empire's.
Northern African ("Carthaginian") faction
- Berbers Non-playable. Found in the area of modern Algeria and Morocco, they concentrate on desert warfare, relying mainly on lightly armored, fast-moving units; they have a fairly restricted unit roster, and are lacking in technology (especially infrastructure). They are a Christian only faction.
Rebels
The Rebels are represented in Barbarian Invasion as well, but this time they do not hold so many provinces at the beginning as in Rome: Total War. However, every time a city is sacked by a horde, it becomes rebellious (since the horde faction doesn't settle down), so rebel territory can grow quickly.
Historical inaccuracy in Barbarian Invasion
Like the original game, Barbarian Invasion has some historical inaccuracies, however they are relatively fewer when compared to the original game.
- There are still "fantasy" units, which do not reflect historical units. For example, the bucellarii make an appearance as lightly armed crossbowmen, rather than as mercenary bodyguards hired by wealthy individuals, as they historically were. Fantasy combat units such as ninja-like praeventores (which were, in reality, spies and agents, similar to the earlier arcani), druids (who did not fight) and wardogs also make appearances.
- Some weapons modeled in the game do not reflect historical outfits. Many cavalry units, especially cavalry archers, wield short swords or daggers as sidearms, which would have been difficult to use from horseback.
- Some character details are incorrect. For example, the Western Roman Emperor at the beginning is Valentinian I, and his heir apparent is named Leontius Flavius; however, the historical heir apparent was Valentinian's son, Gratian. The Eastern Empire's Valens is to be succeeded by his son Theodosius (while Theodosius I did in fact succeed Valens, Theodosius was not actually Valens' son). Similarly, the Sassanid king Shapur II was in fact succeeded by Ardashir II (but Ardashir was Shapur's brother, not son). However, it should be noted that these last two can be attributed to the fact that the family trees do not differentiate between biological or adopted sons.
- Some historical details are incorrect. Examples, Constantine is said to have renamed Byzantium Constantinople "in his own honor" (in reality, he renamed it Nova Roma, or "New Rome"; "Constantinopolis" or "City of Constantine" was simply a popular nickname that outlasted Nova Roma). Also, the Eastern and Western Roman Empires can utilize Orthodox Christian priests and Catholic Christian priests respectively, though the schism involving both Christian churches happened in the 11th century, when the Western Empire had already fallen.
- The historical information boxes that appear during the campaign are sometimes inaccurate as well; for example, the one telling of Hypatia of Alexandria's murder appears in 467 A.D. (implying it happened around that time, although she was actually murdered in 415 A.D.). In addition, changing history does not prevent info boxes from appearing detailing real-life events. For example, if the Roman Empire converts to paganism, the infoboxes detailing events such as the Ecumenical Councils and the destruction of the Serapeum still appear.
- Barbarian Invasion also contains some incorrect Latin. For example, the Lombards are referred to as Lombardi when in historical Latin it ought to be Langobardi (their name in the game appears to be an attempted Latinization of the English term "Lombards"). There is some inconsistency concerning the names of various peoples: the Franks, Saxons, Celts, Goths and others are referred to by their common English names (rather than Latin Franci, Saxones, Gothi, Celtae), whilst others, notably Lombards and Burgundians, are called by Latin or pseudo-Latin names ("Lombardi", "Burgundii"). The territories of Barbarian peoples are frequently designated as "Tribus" (followed by the Nominative Plural of the name of the tribe or nation concerned), when actually the Romans usually referred to "tribes" by the Latin words gens, civitas, or natio. A tribus was a Roman administrative unit; modern English words like "tribute" are related to the word tribus.
- The portraits of family members of the Goths and Vandals (and Ostrogoths and Slavs, if they appear) show men who look very Asiatic, like steppe nomads, even though the Goths were a Germanic people. In fact the game counts the Goths and others as nomads, but this is incorrect: the Goths were agriculturalists who only left their sedentary existence when they were threatened by the Huns.
- Another inaccuracy is the fact that in Zoroastrianism the dead are not buried or cremated, but left for the vultures in special buildings called dakhmas. However when you play as the Sassanids, who are claimed to be Zoroastrian, and a character dies, a body is seen lying on a table ready to be embalmed.
- Moreover, Zoroastrians are Monotheistic, however during the opening of some battles the general leads a prayer (in a thick Arabic accent) that urges the soldiers to pray to the Gods. (plural)
- Further the Sassanids are said to serve the Peacock Throne. However, this is impossible since the Mughal Empire that originally created the Peacock Throne arose in the 16th century. The Sassanids lived about 1000 years earlier. Perhaps the creators made a mistake because the Peacock Throne is a synonym for the Iranian monarchy even though it was of much later period.
- Celts have units called Hounds of Culann, in fact this was a mythological hero and not any military unit although the hero did have a terrifying battle frenzy. Also the Gallowglass unit was not historically introduced until the late 10th century.
- The Berbers have Islamic names. The game starts 350 years before the prophet Mohammed is born.
Modifications
There have been several modifications released for Rome Total War: Barbarian Invasion. These modifications not only changes models and skins, but almost every aspect of the original game's gameplay. Here follows a short list of modifications:
- Three Kingdoms: Total War - A total conversion modification that deals with the "Three Kingdoms" (Sanguo) era (220 - 280 AD) of ancient China.
- Zhanguo - A total conversion that follows the Warring States era in Chinese history.
External links
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