Dev Diary 33: Carthage Laws, Punic Republic Government Type, New Formables for Achaean League and Aetolian League
Salvete! It’s Hannibal_theCannibal again to talk to you about a few more of my side projects that I’ve been working on. This time, I’ve finally got around to working on content for the nation that I reference in my user name, namely Carthage.
It’s always struck me that for all the content and focus given to Rome and Carthage, as the namesake for the game we all enjoy and it’s primary opponent, the attempt to create complementary content for both tags is lopsided. Both nations have plenty of tag-specific content, including flavour events and 9 missions each. That said, when examined closely, I noticed that one of the biggest divergences in the apparent symmetry of the two nations is the unique laws for Rome versus the generic Republican laws for Carthage. It may seem on the surface to be a small point, but Rome’s unique laws, particularly its military reform laws, are some of the strongest in the game and play an important role in creating the steamrolling late-game monster we all know and love. My goal was to develop a set of custom laws for Carthage to simultaneously add some flavour to one of the most influential nations in the game’s timeline as well as adding specific bonuses that better model the strengths and weaknesses of the Carthaginian republic.
Just as with the Roman unique laws, 2 of the laws categories feature mechanical changes that actually deviate from the generic republican laws while the remainder are solely flavour-focused. Specifically, Military Reform Laws and Maritime Laws will receive some pretty substantial changes that will better enable Carthage to present a stronger military and naval danger to Rome (and the other tags of the western Mediterranean). Instead of the generic Republican military reform laws, Carthage will have the following:
(Default option) “Magonid Levy”
+5% Levy Size Multiplier
+5% Manpower Recovery Speed
“Bureaucratic Command”
+2.5% Levy Size Multiplier
-10% Mercenary Maintenance Cost
-25% Mercenary Hire Cost
“Xanthippan Reforms”
+2.5% Levy Size Multiplier
+5% Discipline
+5% Cohort Starting Experience
Can form Legion in Capital Regions
“Barcid Reforms”
+5% National Manpower
-15% Unit Attrition
Can form Legions in all Regions
The default military law has been buffed to match the Roman equivalent and references the Army used by King Mago to expand Carthage’s wealth and prestige. The second military law, originally focused on the nobility (war exhaustion reduction), has been replaced with a law emphasising Carthage’s penchant for utilising mercenary armies to great effect. The traditional military legion law has been replaced with a law that gives increased discipline, a reference to the military reforms by the Spartan general Xanthippus, who trained the Carthaginian army in the art of Greek Hoplite warfare. The final military law has been replaced with a law that gives increased manpower and reduced unit attrition, referencing the large armies fielded by General Hannibal in the Second Punic War that were able to time and time again surprise Roman legions by taking dangerous and rarely taken paths through hostile territory. I wanted to create some small bonuses in keeping with the Carthaginian military tradition without wildly changing the natural military progression. With these new laws, both players and AIs will have an easier time fielding larger armies that are better equipped to stay in the field. In addition to the military laws, new maritime laws have been introduced that generally match the bonuses enjoyed by the Romans.
(Default Option) “Citizen Navies”
+5% Manpower Recovery Speed
“Strategic Monopolies”
+10% Export Value
“Merchant Captains”
+25% Import Value
-5% Naval Maintenance Cost
“Trade Escort Policy”
+5% Integrated Culture Happiness
The 1st and 4th maritime laws match the Roman and Generic laws, while the 2nd and 3rd have been changed to match the Roman equivalents. Additionally, “Merchant Captains” law has been slightly buffed with the naval maintenance reduction to reflect the relative ease Carthage had fielding numerically larger navies in the first and second Punic wars.
In addition to new Carthaginian laws, Tudhaliya has been working on a new government type to better reflect the oligarchic/plutocratic hybrid republic practised in Carthage and Gadir. The working title for this government type is “Punic Republic” and will be the default government to Carthage and Gadir, but will also be available for all Punic puppets (like Utica, Thapsus, etc.) and releasable tags (like Carthago Nova). Placing great emphasis on the mercantile strength of the republics, the Punic Republic will feature the following:
1 Civic Idea Slot
1 Oratory Idea Slot
1 Religious Idea Slot
Idea Bonus:
+3 Capital Trade Routes
+4% National Citizen Happiness
The starting setup for Carthage:
The starting setup for Gadir:
The decisions for the Punic puppet tags:
Additionally, the Punic Republic will have two co-rulers or Suffetes, like the Aristocratic Republic. On top of this work, I’ve added some minor party objectives and faction impacts based on your interactions with the new government. I’ve also made some modifications to some of Carthage’s missions to reflect the new government options. Lastly, I wish to offer you a small teaser. Tudhalyia has some more announcements for other punic tags but those aren’t ready to be shared just yet. Know that there is more in the works though!
New formables - Achaean and Aetolian Leagues!
When reading about the history of Greece after the Successor Kings secured their respective realms, it’s clear that the various city leagues formed in order to prevent Macedonian and Egyptian encroachment. Used by the other Diadochi to fight proxy wars with one another, the Achaean and Aetolian Leagues were dangerous enemies that at times threw off the shackles of Macedonian overlordship and won military victories against greater foes. The leagues were, at different times, courted, bribed, or fought by the Hellenistic Kingdoms and ultimately, played pivotal roles in the wars between Macedon and the Romans as well as the Seleucids and the Romans. I hope to enable the possibility of this exciting part of history by introducing new Tier 2 tags, created by national decision, along with their own series of flavour events.
For the Achaean League, settled on the north shore of the Peloponnese, the great catalyst was the overthrow of the Egyptian garrison at Sicyon, which acted as a call to arms to resist the Macedonian kings in the name of Greek freedom. Many cities banded together, pooling manpower and gold, in order to present a united military front that would be costly to challenge directly. As such, I found it fitting to make the requirements to form the Achaean League very simple but also mildly challenging. Any Achaean or Arcadian tag may form the Achaean League at the cost of political influence provided the territory of Sicyon is not owned by any of the Diadochi. For any of these smaller city states, the thought of directly challenging the Ptolemaic Kingdom is a terrifying thought and so patience and careful planning will be required.
Upon successfully creating the Achaean League, players (or AI) will receive the standard rewards as well as free claims on every territory in the provinces of Achaea and Arcadia. All tags with 1 territory in the provinces of Achaea and Arcadia will receive an invitation to join the league, and if they do, they may become integrated or become vassals. Additionally, if the Achaean League is formed when they are a fledgling nation with fewer than 30 territories under their control, they will receive a massive boost to their levy size and fort defence to help them resist their intimidating neighbours (to simulate the scrappy-ness of the league fighting against larger opponents rather than buffing a player who went out conquering all of greece and crete before taking the decision). Lastly, I’ve put in an easter egg focused on Aratus of Sicyon, an Achaean politician and general who was a famous instigator in his time. I’ll leave it to you to figure out where and how to find this historical easter egg.
The Aetolian League, sandwiched between Macedon, Epirus, and the rest of Greece, proved time and time again to be a thorn in King Antigonus Gonatus’s side as ruler of Macedon. Their brazen military actions didn’t go unpunished yet Macedon frequently lacked the strength or political desire to conquer the Aetolians, preferring diplomacy to keep them at bay. The Aetolian tag in the game is a good starting point but I felt that to really get a feel for the strength of this league, a new formable was required.
To form the Aetolian League tag, you’ll need to control several important cities in Aetolia and Boeotia, have Aetolian as a primary culture, and a large amount of political influence. In many ways, the Aetolian league formable will resemble the Achaean League formable, granting extra pops, claims on the surrounding areas, sending an invitation for smaller tags to join the league, and offering a levy and fort defence bonus if the league is formed while the tag has fewer than 30 territories. And like the Achaean League, there will be a series of flavour events regarding the history of the Aetolian League as well as an easter egg focused on a famous Aetolian politician.