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JuniorNC

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Jun 29, 2014
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  • Hearts of Iron II: Armageddon
  • Rome Gold
  • Divine Wind
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Rome: Vae Victis
  • Knights of Honor
  • Europa Universalis III
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • For The Glory
  • Hearts of Iron III
  • Heir to the Throne
Hi Everyone!

This is my first forum post and hence my very first AAR on EU Rome! I only got the game this past weekend, so still learning the reins. A bit of an ambitious project in that regard.

A few disclaimers:

- This is going to be my first time playing EU Rome. I have had a chance to go through the manual and the tutorial and have stared quite intently at the interfaces. I just haven't start the timer yet.

- I have played EU3 for a few years now, so I am not completely new to the game mechanics/genre. I only had up to IN, so a lot of the mechanics are quite different.

- I have been lurking on the forum for a time now, but finally balled-up and want to be part of this community. I know I am a few years late. Forgive me.

- The version I am playing is the Vanilla Rome, updated to the newest version. No Vae Victis expansion. The modification I made is adding one new nation: the nation of Gallaeci. Gallaeci is based on the ancient celtic-iberian tribe that had settled in the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula, who lent their name to the region of Galicia today. They were known to be a fierce group with 'curious' military tactics. They supported the Lusitanians during the Lusitanian War and was not subdued by the Romans until the Cantabrian Wars and were among the final independent nations of Hispania along with the Cantabri and the Astures. The nation is added and flag taken from another source. The in-game bits are kept to be as close to the original file as possible, with initial population set to 10 as per history file (in historical start, when Roman took control of the region, the population is set to 10). I wanted something unique and my fascination with these people led me to take up arms in their name.

- A quirk of mine...I like to do things by the mission. As such, I will, to the best of my ability, complete every single mission given, in particular to the conquest and colonizing missions. Don't expect me to WC. This AAR will be an attempt in historical simulation as the missions guide the course of the story.

So feedbacks and comments very much appreciated!

So, without any further ado...let me introduce the situation at hand here.

Prologue

It is the year 474 after Rome was founded. Magna Graecia, with support from Epirus, declared war on the Roman Republic in what would later be known as Pyrrhic War. Damascene War is in full swing between Ptolemy's Egypt and the Seleucid Empire. The Gallic tribe of Tylis had just launched an invasion into the Balkans...

On the other side of the continent, in the corner away from all the conflict, lies the sleepy tribe of Gallaeci

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Gallaeci is surrounded by three other Iberian tribes: Lusitani to the south, Cantabri and Vaccaei to the East.

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The Chief of the Tribe, Indibil Culchid, dreams of making his small little tribe into a force to be reckon with one day. Indibil is a tolerant man, full of charisma and administrative knowledge. He remembers from his younger days that he had once saved a drowning sailor, hailing from a land far to the east who had told him about the wonders and riches he cannot even dream of. He was told about governments who ruled as a group and made decisions together, with powerful legionnaires and disciplined soldiers. As he came to power, he is determined to realize this youthful dream.

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He is not without obstables though. Gallaecia is still inhabited, and surrounded by, barbarian tribes. It is the least civilized of the Iberian tribes (at 25% civilization). Though unbeknownst to him, there are whispers in the tribe that he is a terrible military leader, known to be tactically inflexible and holding onto old values, despite being a disciplined man. Still, he hopes that what he lacks in muscle, he makes up with his brain.

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Indibil rules the Culchid tribe along with five other major chieftains of the tribe holding important council positions: the Ambonids, the Leukids, the Tautalids, and the Auarosids.

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It is the morning of January 1st and Indibil woke up from a bit of a drunken stupor from last night's feast in honour of the great Aveta, goddess of fertility. He decided to pay a visit to the high priest to see to whom they should pray and make sacrifice to this year. For some reason, he has the funny gut feeling that the Gods are not likely to be happy with what he has to offer this year...

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Edit: As pointed out below...I DO have Vae Victis! False advertisement alert!
 
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Looking forward to see how things will go, you have not exactly chosen what I would expect to be an easy start. So good luck, you will need it.

Should note that you do have Vae Victis, it is included in Rome Gold, and I recognize some of the things added in the screenshots (mainly the government tab).
 
Some strategy and gameplay notes:

- The difficulty setting is on normal, but playing with no reload rule.

- First impression playing as a tribe. Seems like you want to get to the republic stage ASAP for the added national ideas and the ability to colonize once you are past 50 civilization to enable expanding. Gallaeci is a military tribe, which is too bad. A civic tribe would have been nice. Going to try to focus on making sustainable economy and tech advantage in the first little while.
 
@ Lofman

Thanks for the tip! I was asked to install Vae Victis but declined so I assumed this is Vanilla. I guess if I play Rome Gold I won't have an option to play Vanilla?

Going to try to learn this on the go haha. Don't be surprised if I end up getting steamrolled.
 
Chapter 1: The Foundation of Civilization is Tragedy

Indibil visits the high priest. His intent is to hope for a good omen from Visucius, the God of Wisdom. The night before, he had realized that his tribe has been praying to perhaps the wrong deity. If he wants to see his tribe becoming the civilized nation of faraway land, they need to have some insight from the heavens.

"The outlooks isn't great, Indibil. The stars seem misaligned. I feel that our chance of getting a good oracle from Visucius is not great."

"Invoke the prayer anyways. What bad can possibly come of trying?" Indibil said, rather worryingly.

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"Indibil! The vision is good! We are blessed this year!" screams the high priest so that all of the tribe can hear. Indibil breathed a sigh of relief. He was rather uncertain about the outlook this year. He is lucky. This is a good sign.

With this encouragement, Indibil went about and announced some sweeping changes in the tribe laws. He will introduce a defined method of introducing ways for people to become official members of the tribe. He introduce a law that would allowed people to sort out honour-related disputes among themselves.

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Somewhat unpopularly, he openly declared that he will embrace new ideas and explore new ways of thinking rather than honouring the tradition of their forefathers. This announcement drew a great ire from people in the tribe, many of whom are traditionalists.

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He sent out an envoy in hopes of establishing trade with great nations of the East and hoping to gleam civilized ways from them. Gallaicoi, fortunately, is blessed with very rare deposits of amber greatly valued by people abroad. Other tribes have tried to offered him iron for this precious commodity. But Indibil has his eyes on only one prize: the right to trade with the prestigious and civilized nation of Egypt! After a month of persuasion. He was able to convince the Pharaoh of Egypt, Ptolemy, to trade grain from Alexandria and hopefully importing some culture into this far away land.

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Meanwhile, Indibil sat down with the tribe leaders to discuss the next course of action for the tribe. All agreed that top priority is to get some loyal soldiers...though Indibil has no idea how to do that.

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Indibil is quite content after all the hard work he has put in. He feels that he is finally en route to realizing his dream. He can see a clear path now...

But alas, this bliss is not to stay.

Less than a month after the agreements with the Egyptians, disaster struck. A giant horde of barbarians appeared out of nowhere and ambushed Indibil's men by surprise. They outnumber the men five to one.

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All 1000 of his loyal followers were wiped out and inflicting minimal damage on the barbarian horde.

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They laid siege to the town. Meanwhile elsewhere, Magna Graecia is no more.

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The attack came so sudden that Indibil can't even raise troops to counter this threat. Their leader? No other than Tautalus Auarosid, the cousin of Audax Auarosid, the chief of Auarosids in the tribe.

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Eight months after the initial siege, Indibil watched helplessly as the men breached the walls. Is this the quick end to Indibil's ambition? Visions flash across his mind. This was supposed to be to coming of a new age...

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Ouch. On the bright side you will get that army after they beat you, which is nice, hopefully they will not bring down the civilization value too much (and can note that the best way to raise your civilization value is by either paying or receiving tribute to a more civilized country, unfortunately there are not many close enough to Gallaeci, well there is Carthage and Massilia one being way to strong and the other is likely to bring in the Romans to help them, and due to Gallaecis coastal nature, they can easily conquer you).

Overall tribes are hard, not necessarily because of the government, it does have some strengths (the retreat is dishonour law will actually make your assaults much stronger mostly because rather then stopping with the assault when they run out of morale they will continue until the city falls or they are all dead, and there is that being taken over by barbarians is less of a problem (due to being a tribe to begin with, not much will change)) but because most of them are really, really poor. And that adapt or perish event which I personally find more annoying, I understand why it was added though it is not as necessary anymore as it was back then (at that time trade and neighbours was the only things that could raise civilization value).
 
Yeah, that was unexpected. Literally less than a month...at least it wasn't boring like playing NA tribes in EU3....it's literally hours of fast forwarding....sigh.

On the upside, another update coming. I totally thought this is the end and was pleasantly surprised to find that it's not game over. It does set me back quite a bit though.

Another thing of note...forgot to invoke since the year was so chaotic. A ton happened within the first two years. If this sort of action keeps up, it`s gonna be good.

Side note, how the heck do I get loyal troops???
 
You get loyal troops by fighting battles, there is a chance (or risk depending on the situation) that they will become loyal to the general (and the more charismatic the general the better the chances are). So for Indibil, while he has the charisma to get loyal troops, his martial abilities are way too low to allow him to lead any real army, however that can be gotten around by dividing the army having an actually competent person lead one small army, while the bulk of the forces are led by Indibil. As long as the armies move together the better general will command the battles while the men get loyal to whoever is in charge of their specific army. Of course fielding a large enough army is difficult as a poor tribe, and there is a minor problem that the battle line may not always be set up in the ideal way (IIRC).

Unfortunately the guy leading the barbarians seems to be just as useless as Indibil in leading armies. And I noted that you must have forgot removing the barbarian presence in the province when adding your country. The good thing is that there are events that can turn them to proper Gallaeci citizens so that will help. A further note, always have generals in your armies, luckily you don't have to pay or spend any other resources to get generals so there is no reason not to have generals for your armies. Also the citizenship idea is not very good unless you are actually conquering tons of wrong-culture provinces or in any way have a very small proportion of citizens. As a tribe the low civilization levels drag down your research more then your number of citizens, and the manpower and income provided by freemen and slaves is more important in that they actually allows you to afford having some sort of army.
 
Chapter 2: From the Ashes of Chaos Comes the Dawn of Progress

February 10th, 475 AUC: the capital Gallaicoi fell to the hands of the "barbarians", supported by the Auarosids and the Ambonids who are discontent with the progressive policy of Indibil. The rampaging army sacked parts of the town and killed some of the thinkers that Indibil had picked out to help with his reform, setting his hope back a few years. The violent mob installed Arganthonios Ambonid, the chief of Ambonids as the new tribal chief but spared Indibil the gruesome fate, seeing that he was quite capable and relegated him to lead a small group of men as a platoon leader. Arganthonios is nowhere the charismatic man Indibil was and in many ways, backward in his thinking and promptly cancelled all trade to Egypt, further setting back Indibil's efforts. The local populace was quite unhappy with this sudden disposal of their leader and a period of instability ensued.

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Hoping to make his rule legitimate, Arganthonios tried to please the populace by initiating trade with the great nation of Carthage, whom has some presence on the the peninsula and hoping that they can kickstart the economy (and unbeknownst to him, the side effect of this allowed a continual introduction of civilization) into the ravaged city. Some sacrifices to please the Gods and the population is also in order.

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January 476 AUC, Arganthonios tried again to please the populace. Another giant sacrificial feast is made and omen invoked, hoping to show the populace the legitimacy of his rule. However, the God of Wisdom was not pleased at his bumbling ways and sacrilege of civilization.

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It was perhaps this terrible omen that spurred him towards progress, however little wisdom his mind would allow. Either way, he decided to follow suit in Indibil's method and also publicly announced that they "probably should try to learn a bit from them foreigners". Much to the surprise of the elders and other chiefs.

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From the distant lands out east, news spread to the Gallaeci that Achaean League had proclaimed "THIS IS NOT SPARTA!"

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Awarding Arganthonios for his reluctantly progressive ways, the God of Wisdom smiled the following year, and blessed them with his blessing.

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Arganthonios had finally seen the light and despite his dim wit and short-comings, was finally steering the tribe in the right direction. Unfortunately for him, his rule would not last long. Arganthonious fell ill the following year and never recovered. He died very suddenly at the age of 37, ruling the clan for only two short years. His demise proved to be a turning point in the fortune of the tribe as his brother Leukon stepped up for the position. Unlike Arganthonios, Leukon is an energetic man and highly charismatic and possess a progressive thinking much needed for the tribe at this time. Leukon's rule will hail in a period of progress and great fortune for the Gallaeci.

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Sometime later, Leukon was surprised to hear that their regular trading partner Carthage has stopped trading their regular shipment of grain. Carthage at this time had gone through some great turbulent changes. They had recently conquered the Greek nation of Epirus, who had suffered greatly after their loss in the Pyrrhic War against the Romans. But a barbarian tribe had rampage through the Iberian Peninsula, sacking cities in Lusitani and capturing Carthaginian colonies while their capital has been unexpectedly captured by rebels.

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Faced with no other choice, Leukon spent a few months shopping around for new potential traders that would bring civilized ideas into the tribe. He was finally able to bargain their precious amber for wine from Antioch, hoping for more stability this time.

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Meanwhile, news came from the north that the barbaric Gallic tribes had been fighting among themselves and Romans gaining some Greek territories...

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Leukon nervously followed news from the East. The rebels in Carthage had unexpectedly rampaged through the nation, but Leukon is no fool to think that an unstable Carthage would be a weak Carthage...a war with them will be akin to suicide. The trading post that he had worked so hard to set up is all of a sudden on the precarious edge of being destroyed. Perhaps from the stress of all these tidings, Leukon fell ill and the tribe prayed desperately for the recovery of their exceptional leader...

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Despite the ill tidings, some good luck has been blessed upon them as well. The druidism power has been remarkably well the last few years and lent to a period of great omen. The barbarian uprisings have thankfully spared them and instead headed south, much to Leukon`s pleasure.

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His sickness did not stop him. Instead he made sweeping changes in the tribal council, endorsing a policy of pursuing wealth and outlawing retreating in battle. He believes that these are some key elements that will help the tribe in the long run. To pacify the mass he held sacrifices and large feasts to convince people these sweeping changes are the wills of the Gods and kept the stability of the tribe.

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The fruit of his work had not been in vain. The year 483 AUC will go down history as one of the most remarkable year for the thinkers of Gallaeci as they discovered new ideas on all fronts, propelling them to the top of the world in terms of some key discoveries. Though it feels underappreciated at times, Leukon has ushered in the age of progress for this little tribe by the coast...

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Adding more to the previous update in a minute. Meanwhile, the game totally lied :angry:

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A drop of 2.4 my ass! That was like a good 6% civilization drop!

Also...I keep on hitting the image limit and having to restart :(
 
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Cool! Another Rome AAR has started. You better not quit halfway through.
 
Cool! Another Rome AAR has started. You better not quit halfway through.

I am more likely to get steamrolled than quit half-way haha:eek:o

I just hope when the time comes...it's not like north american tribes in EU3 where it's over in 10 seconds after weeks of play.

Also, I have to ask because I am really not sure but...

1. does trade stack? If I have multiple routes but trading the same resource, does the effect stack?
2. if I have multiple routes, does the civilization gain stack?

Haven't tried 1, but from in game it doesn't seem like the civ gain stacks...
 
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Activity in the Rome AAR section! :eek: :eek:

Well, best of luck to you! I hope you can keep this little gem of a game, and its associated AAR subforum, alive for awhile! ;)
 
Chapter 3: Leukon Ambonid

Leukon Ambonid would rule the Gallaeci tribe for 18 years in what would later be described as the golden age of learning for the Gallaeci Tribe. Though he lived most of his life in the shadow of his overbearing father and dim-witted older brother, he never shared their values and like Indibil, believed the future of the tribe lies in an outward outlook and kept him close as his advisor. When the time had come he stepped up to the plate and carried the responsibility of tribal chief upon his back. He is known as an energetic and righteous leader, secure in his ability and wisdom.

In 484, the tribal elders summoned Leukon to discuss the future of the tribe. They decided that the military of the tribe is perhaps too disorganized to expect a fully loyal legion of men, as it was common for each clan chief to retain his own retinue of warriors. Instead, they asked Leukon to seek out Iron that can be used to equip the men with better arms.

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Leukon had previously introduced the idea of forum to the tribe in his previous voyage when he visited the Seleucids to secure the wine trading deal. To broaden the scope of their trade they would need to raise the fund to build this forum. The tribe had never had this much gold at their disposal. Nevertheless, he set it upon himself to make this a possibility. Using his own funds, he built a forum for the tribe without using a cent of tribe's money.

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Upon the building of the great forum, merchants flocked to this faraway tribe to get their hands on the rare amber that the Gallaecoi is famous for. Leukon travelled to Pergamon to secure the trade of papyrus so that his tribesmen can learn to read and write and absorb the knowledge of the civilized east. Within months, the fruit of this endeavor realized itself and Gallaeci became the centre of knowledge, adapting the latest technologies and innovations around the world.

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In a routine hunting trip, Leukon was wounded by a wild bison. During his recovery Leukon heard the rapid expansion of the Roman Republic and reasoned that the Romans will be a force within the next couple of generations. He knew that by the time Romans show up, Gallaeci must have means of defending itself or suffer a rapid absorption into the maw of this beast. His health deteriorated the following year and he felt that time is running out fast for him.

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He redoubled his efforts of research, and instructed his friend and closest confidant, Leukon Tautalid, to save up as much gold as the tribe can for the construction of a temple and stockades as he had envisaged that would improve the defense of the tribe and provide people with a central place of worship.

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His wound became infected and his health deteriorated rapidly. But this did not stop him from going about his work. In the year 492 news came that Pergamon was annexed by the Seleucid Empire and the trading post had closed. Despite bedridden he personally made the trip to Sinai to secure a new papyrus trading deal to ensure that his people can continue to learn and grow. His efforts for the tribe did not go unnoticed and during his rule, the tribe enjoyed a prosperous time and a renewed vigor of unity.

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In his reign, he never did achieve the elders' goal of securing iron for his tribe. But what he did secure was far more important: the enlightened idea of the importance of learning. While he had failed to arm his men with iron and swords, he armed them with the weapon of knowledge of progress.

Leukon suffered greatly towards the end of his life and after a month of pain, he passed on October 8, 495 and will be remembered as one of the greatest leaders of Gallaeci. A great funeral pyre was raised and the ceremonial ritual took place for Leukon Ambonid's protege, Leukon Tautalid, to be sworn in. Though he is nowhere the wise man that Leukon Ambonid was, Leukon Ambonid is determined to continue his legacy.

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Technological Advances under Leukon Ambonid:

Land 0 -> 2
Naval 0 -> 3
Constructions 0 -> 3
Civil 0 -> 2
Religious 0 -> 3
 
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Your technology is looking good. Those Carthaginians in Lusitani worries me though.

And you got Mass Charge and Elite Contingents, those are rare as your civ must be below 35, and most tribes start with that so they can't get them (not to mention the adapt or perish event increasing civilization value so you don't get it because of that or just kills your research so you don't get them (in any reasonable timeframe at least) for that reason).
 
Yeah, I am starting to lead in tech...so really hoping that will give me a bit of an edge here.

The Carthaginians got a colony in Cynetes before using it as a base to invade Lusitani. It was later burnt down but they now have a foothold there. They have tried to expand in Iberia numerous times now but thankfully the barbarians have been burning down their colonies and keeping them somewhat in check.
 
Yeah, I am starting to lead in tech...so really hoping that will give me a bit of an edge here.

The Carthaginians got a colony in Cynetes before using it as a base to invade Lusitani. It was later burnt down but they now have a foothold there. They have tried to expand in Iberia numerous times now but thankfully the barbarians have been burning down their colonies and keeping them somewhat in check.

Then it seems Iberia is up for grabs! That is definitely good news for you!
 
Racing to get to 50 civ :)

Also, apologies for the relative lack of action...the focus right now is just research research research and trying to raise the Civ value.
 
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Chapter 4: The Return of the Old Chief

Leukon Tautalid had fulfilled his promise to his close friend and continued the work of his mentor to promote learning among the tribesmen and served as a personal mentor to the late Leukon Ambonid's son, Leukon Ambonid Jr. He raised enough fund through the tribe and constructed a great temple for the people and was remembered for his generosity. But just as he was posed to carry this tribe to greatness, his death came suddenly only three years after his ascension, leaving Leukon Ambonid Jr. to take over his duties.

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Leukon Ambonid Jr. is by no means a young grasshopper, but a seasoned political veteran at 55 years of age and had watched his father and his mentor reformed the tribe from backwater barbarians to primitive traders and academics. Soon after his ascension, he is faced with a great disaster: the temple that had been built recently had caught on fire! Leukon Jr. sprang to action and with his men were able to put out fire, but the tribe is stretched for money and was not able to put money towards its repair. This would lead to a small decline of the religious sect in the next few years, an action heavily criticized by his opponents.

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Determined to repair this damage, Leukon Jr. made sweeping reforms that would prove to be extremely beneficial for his men. He founded a cult of war that would tie the military closer to religious deities to enable his men to fight with more zeal. He made great improvements through military reforms and inventions as well as reforms in the civic system to grant his populace more rights. Like father like son, he rivalled his father in innovation and built upon the great foundation his father had laid.

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Leukon Jr. did not rule as long as his father. But his rule would later be referred to as the silver age of progress for the Gallaeci. When he passed the Gallaeci had enjoyed more than 35 years of prosperity and peace but a power vacuum came as a result since he did not name any successor directly. The great question came of who would step up as the next great leader to continue on this march of progress. To perhaps everyone's surprise, one of the most unlikely of candidates emerged. One who had passed into obscurity in the last thirty five year had all of a sudden emerged again...

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The person is none other than the old chief who had started all. The chief that had began the process of innovation and reformation: Indibil Culchid. Indibil is 66 now and no longer the young man he was, but he did serve as an adviser to Leukon and is pleased to see his dream slowly taking effect upon this tribe that he loves so much. He took over at a time of turmoil in the east as new came of the conquest of the Roman Republic...who had conquered the Gallic tribes one by one and lurking ever closer to their doorstep. He knows that this is a critical moment for this tribe...the final years of his life will be spent on leaving the legacy of Indibil, the one had first sought forbidden knowledge and found it.

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