Collection of Seleucid Gameplay Scripts
Kingly Authority
Reassertion Of Authority In Far Regions
Macedonian Immigration And Colonies
Looting Temples
Founding Yet Another Seleukia
Introduction of the Attic Standard
Macedonian Garrison
Here are a series of Seleucid Empire gameplay mechanics and their script codes. They aim to provide the player with immersive gameplay choices, all based on the following interpretation/summary of the Seleucid Empire: a huge and unstable empire albeit with great military, economic, and political potential, but only possible through the force of personality of one man: the Seleucid monarch.
1. Kingly Authority
While all three major Hellenistic kingdoms in the Antigonids, Ptolemaies, and Seleucids are centralized monarchies whose survival heavily banks on the abilities of their kings, the Seleucid Empire arguably gambles the most on them. Huge lands and distances with numerous unhappy people and disloyal satraps - it takes a true successor to Alexander to keep it all together. Examples of the Empire falling apart include the Anatolian rebellions of Hierax and Achaeus, the Upper Satrapy rebellions of Molon, Andragoras, and whatever the Bactrians are cooking up, and parts of Syria and Upper Mesopotamia slowly drifting away late into the 1st century BC.
How to translate this into gameplay? Tie the stability of your regions to the capability of your faction leader. First, we need a trait that represents the capability/authority of your faction leader. This is very similar to the M2TW authority mechanic.
export_descr_character_traits.txt
This looks basic but we'll get to that later. It's a pretty overpowered trait, but the justification is that it provides interesting gameplay ramifications. You need to win battles as your faction leader to advance this traitline. He needs to prove himself as a capable ruler. In addition, if your mod has a deep AOR system, then the faction leader's excessive recruiting discounts will be utilized by having him run from settlement to settlement to queue up troops, simulating the Seleucid monarch traveling his vast lands to rally his peoples. However, these bonuses are just traits and only apply to the current settlement. How do we make every single settlement feel the effects of the king's power?Code:Trait SeleucidAuthority Characters family Level Seleucid_Authority_One Description Seleucid_Authority_desc EffectsDescription Seleucid_Authority_One_effects_desc GainMessage Seleucid_Authority_gain_desc Threshold 1 Effect Law 1 Effect TrainingUnits 1 Level Seleucid_Authority_Two Description Seleucid_Authority_desc EffectsDescription Seleucid_Authority_Two_effects_desc GainMessage Seleucid_Authority_gain_desc Threshold 5 Effect Law 2 Effect TrainingUnits 2 Level Seleucid_Authority_Three Description Seleucid_Authority_desc EffectsDescription Seleucid_Authority_Three_effects_desc GainMessage Seleucid_Authority_gain_desc Threshold 10 Effect Law 3 Effect TrainingUnits 3 Level Seleucid_Authority_Four Description Seleucid_Authority_desc EffectsDescription Seleucid_Authority_Four_effects_desc GainMessage Seleucid_Authority_gain_desc Threshold 15 Effect Law 4 Effect TrainingUnits 4 Level Seleucid_Authority_Five Description Seleucid_Authority_desc EffectsDescription Seleucid_Authority_Five_effects_desc GainMessage Seleucid_Authority_gain_desc Threshold 20 Effect Law 5 Effect TrainingUnits 5 Trigger Seleucid_Authority_Initialize WhenToTest CharacterTurnStart Condition FactionType romans_julii and CharacterIsLocal and IsFactionLeader and Trait SeleucidAuthority < 1 Affects SeleucidAuthority 1 Chance 100 Trigger Seleucid_Authority_Gain WhenToTest PostBattle Condition IsGeneral and FactionType romans_julii and CharacterIsLocal and WonBattle and IsFactionLeader Affects SeleucidAuthority 1 Chance 100
campaign_script.txt
Based on your faction leader's advancement in his traitline, the script will spawn a building in each Seleucid settlement (romans_julii is just the internal name of the Seleucids in my submod built on top of EBI), and that building's bonuses represent the effects of having strong, assertive Seleucid kingCode:monitor_event FactionTurnStart TrueCondition and FactionIsLocal and FactionType romans_julii for_each settlement in world destroy_building "local" seleucid_authority+1 destroy_building "local" seleucid_authority+2 destroy_building "local" seleucid_authority+3 destroy_building "local" seleucid_authority+4 destroy_building "local" seleucid_authority+5 end_for for_each character in faction "romans_julii" declare_counter authority set_counter authority 0 if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 0 inc_counter authority 1 end_if if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 1 inc_counter authority 1 end_if if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 2 inc_counter authority 1 end_if if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 3 inc_counter authority 1 end_if if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 4 inc_counter authority 1 end_if if I_CompareCounter authority = 1 for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" console_command create_building "local" seleucid_authority+1 end_for end_if if I_CompareCounter authority = 2 for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" console_command create_building "local" seleucid_authority+2 end_for end_if if I_CompareCounter authority = 3 for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" console_command create_building "local" seleucid_authority+3 end_for end_if if I_CompareCounter authority = 4 for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" console_command create_building "local" seleucid_authority+4 end_for end_if if I_CompareCounter authority = 5 for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" console_command create_building "local" seleucid_authority+5 end_for end_if end_for end_monitor
export_descr_buildings.txt
Here are the bonuses that I chose to go with, but the possibilities are endless based on your interpretation of history. Anyways, law bonuses serve to make your empire more stable, as well as reduce corruption as distant satraps wouldn't dare embezzle funds in the face of a strong (and potentially vengeful) king. Meanwhile, the recruitment modifiers leverage the existence of a colony building that provides important Macedonian settler troops. If it exists, then the recruitment rate may decrease if the king is weak, representing the martial-minded Macedonian settlers not respecting the king, and vice versa.Code:building hinterland_seleucid_authority { classification military icon law levels seleucid_authority+1 seleucid_authority+2 seleucid_authority+3 seleucid_authority+4 seleucid_authority+5 { seleucid_authority+1 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { extra_recruitment_points bonus -2 requires is_player and building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_authority+2 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 1 requires is_player extra_recruitment_points bonus -1 requires is_player and building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_authority+3 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 2 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_authority+4 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 3 requires is_player extra_recruitment_points bonus 1 requires is_player and building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_authority+5 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 4 requires is_player extra_recruitment_points bonus 2 requires is_player and building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } } plugins { } }
Thus, with this script, your Seleucid Empire's political, military, and economic might heavily rests on your faction leader's ability to win battles. Each succession of kings results in a massive drop in those 3 categories across the entire kingdom until the new king can show that he deserves ultimate power. However, there's one more way for the Seleucid king to assert himself...
2. Reassertion Of Authority In Far Regions
With an empire spanning thousands of kilometers, the Seleucids are sure to have their fair share of rebellious satraps and peoples, especially in the far corners like Anatolia and Bactria. It's nearly impossible to keep it all together, as demonstrated ironically by the reign of the extremely capable Antiochus III. It took a king as energetic and skilled as him to reassert Seleucid authority in the western reaches of Anatolia, and the eastern regions of Parthia and Bactria. First, in the western tip of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus had to defeat Achaeus. Then, he had to swing east thousands of kilometers on an eastwards Anabasis, fighting off Parthian and Bactrians alike, and then audit the various decadent satrapies of Persia and Karmania. Then he returned west to finish his beef with the Ptolemies, bully the Anatolian polities into submission, and finally fight his infamous war against the Romans. All in a day's work of a Seleucid king.
The gameplay interpretation of this is that you'd want your faction leader to play whack a mole, restabilizing regions left and right. His mere presence alone is a documented Seleucid ceremony, where the host city would prepare expensive celebrations to recognize the king's authority.
export_descr_buildings.txt
Now that the preparations are made in your city, the script must place down a special building that provides stability bonuses based on your faction leader's aforementioned authority trait. The building must also "deteriorate" over time to represent waning influence. Eventually, maybe one generation later depending on how you adjust this script in your own mod, another Seleucid king would have to repeat the process.Code:building hinterland_seleucid_reassert_prepare { classification trade icon trade levels seleucid_reassert_prepare { seleucid_reassert_prepare requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present_min_level governmentA gov3 { capability { } construction 1 cost 2000 settlement_min town upgrades { } } } plugins { } }
campaign_script.txt
Pay special attention to the "inc_counter seleucid_reassert -2" line, as the value there determines how long it takes the authority building to fully deteriorate. Also pay close attention to the "inc_counter seleucid_reassert 18" as that determines how many "seleucid_reassert" points each level of authority gives. For a max authority king, that's 90 points, and for a deterioration value of -2, that's 45 turns before a satrapy no longer feels the authority of the Seleucid king. That's roughly 11 years for a 4 tpy mod. Reasonable, if the king doesn't show his face for that long I'd start embezzling funds.Code:monitor_event FactionTurnStart TrueCondition and FactionIsLocal and FactionType romans_julii for_each settlement in world destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert+1 destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert+2 destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert+3 destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert+4 destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert+5 destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert+6 destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert+7 destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert+8 destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert+9 end_for for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" declare_counter seleucid_reassert retrieve_counter settlement_seleucid_reassert settlement seleucid_reassert if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 0 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert <= 10 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_reassert+1 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 10 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert <= 20 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_reassert+2 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 20 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert <= 30 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_reassert+3 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 30 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert <= 40 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_reassert+4 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 40 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert <= 50 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_reassert+5 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 50 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert <= 60 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_reassert+6 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 60 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert <= 70 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_reassert+7 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 70 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert <= 80 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_reassert+8 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 80 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert <= 90 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_reassert+9 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_reassert > 0 inc_counter seleucid_reassert -2 end_if store_counter seleucid_reassert settlement settlement_seleucid_reassert end_for end_monitor monitor_event CharacterTurnEndInSettlement TrueCondition and Trait SeleucidAuthority > 0 and SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_reassert_prepare destroy_building "local" seleucid_reassert_prepare declare_counter seleucid_reassert set_counter seleucid_reassert 0 if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 0 inc_counter seleucid_reassert 18 end_if if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 1 inc_counter seleucid_reassert 18 end_if if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 2 inc_counter seleucid_reassert 18 end_if if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 3 inc_counter seleucid_reassert 18 end_if if Trait SeleucidAuthority > 4 inc_counter seleucid_reassert 18 end_if store_counter seleucid_reassert settlement settlement_seleucid_reassert end_monitor
Law bonuses are used again, to provide both stability and anti-corruption measures.Code:building hinterland_seleucid_reassert { classification military icon law levels seleucid_reassert+1 seleucid_reassert+2 seleucid_reassert+3 seleucid_reassert+4 seleucid_reassert+5 seleucid_reassert+6 seleucid_reassert+7 seleucid_reassert+8 seleucid_reassert+9 { seleucid_reassert+1 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 1 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_reassert+2 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 2 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_reassert+3 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 3 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_reassert+4 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 4 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_reassert+5 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 5 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_reassert+6 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 5 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_reassert+7 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 5 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_reassert+8 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 5 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_reassert+9 requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 5 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } } plugins { } }
Now your faction leader has yet another incentive to win battles, as the strength of his "visits" correlates to his authority. He will also have to occasionally replicate the Anabasis of Antiochus III, touring his far-flung provinces to reassert his authority. Seleucid kings will have to be extremely energetic and active, or watch their empire crumble
3. Macedonian Immigration And Colonies
The Hellenistic Era was characterized by prolific city-building and Macedonian immigration to the east. Colonization was the heaviest during Alexander's conquests, and the Wars of the Diadochoi period where emerging Successors tried to legitimize their rules by establishing cities, all of them humbly named after themselves. These cities serve many purposes: political legitimacy (already mentioned), regional pacification (a local loyal populace in your city can keep watch over the natives), and military manpower (these settlers tend to be military men from Macedon or discharged veterans). An important note is that the Successors couldn't just found cities left and right - they needed to be populated by settlers of Greek and especially Macedonian descent.
Gameplay wise, a Seleucid player should have the option to make the necessary investments to found a new Macedonian colony. First, let's take a look at what a Macedonian colony might look like
export_descr_buildings.txt
Ignoring the weird vanilla faction names, we have all the benefits of a loyal Macedonian settlement: law bonuses, population growth, heavier recruitment, and plenty of settler unit types named after the notorious ethnicity that fought in that style (Tarantines for example don't actually necessarily come from Taras, but rather are just military settlers who fought as skirmisher cavalry). Optionally, you can lock recruitment behind farm upgrades to simulate the land allotment requirements for certain classes of settlers. Cavalrymen historically commanded larger estates, for example.Code:building hinterland_hellenistic_colony { classification military icon law levels hellenistic_colony { hellenistic_colony requires hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 1 requires factions { romans_julii, numidia, romans_brutii, } population_growth_bonus bonus 1 requires factions { romans_julii, numidia, romans_brutii, } extra_recruitment_points bonus 1 requires factions { romans_julii, numidia, romans_brutii, } and is_player ;;; Common Settlers recruit "katoikoi thessales" 0 requires factions { romans_julii, numidia, romans_brutii, } and building_present_min_level governmentA gov2 and building_present_min_level hinterland_farms farms+2 or building_present_min_level farms3 villa recruit "katoikoi tarantines" 0 requires factions { romans_julii, numidia, romans_brutii, } and building_present_min_level governmentA gov2 and building_present_min_level hinterland_farms farms+1 recruit "greek infantry kleruchoi hoplitai" 0 requires factions { romans_julii, numidia, romans_brutii, } and building_present_min_level governmentA gov2 and building_present_min_level hinterland_farms farms+1 recruit "katoikoi thraikes" 0 requires factions { romans_julii, numidia, romans_brutii, } and building_present_min_level governmentA gov2 and building_present_min_level hinterland_farms farms recruit "katoikoi kretes" 0 requires factions { romans_julii, numidia, romans_brutii, } and building_present_min_level governmentA gov2 and building_present_min_level hinterland_farms farms ;; Seleucid Cataphracts recruit "hellenistic cavalry hellenikoi kataphraktoi" 0 requires factions { romans_julii, } and building_present_min_level governmentA gov1 and marian_reforms } construction 1 cost 100 settlement_min town upgrades { } } } plugins { } }
Next we need buildings to represent setting up a source of immigration, and one to act as a destination for immigration
export_descr_buildings.txt
It's very important that the "source" building requires an existing "colony" building, and that the "destination" building excludes the "colony" building. This is both for realism reasons and to prevent bugs in the following scriptCode:building hinterland_seleucid_macedonian_source { classification culture icon law levels seleucid_macedonian_source { seleucid_macedonian_source requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony and not major_event "seleucid_macedonian_immigration" { capability { happiness_bonus bonus -1 requires is_player and major_event "seleucid_macedonian_immigration" } construction 1 cost 2000 settlement_min city upgrades { } } } plugins { } } building hinterland_seleucid_macedonian_destination { classification culture icon law levels seleucid_macedonian_destination { seleucid_macedonian_destination requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and not building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony and not major_event "seleucid_macedonian_immigration" { capability { happiness_bonus bonus -1 requires is_player and major_event "seleucid_macedonian_immigration" } construction 1 cost 2000 settlement_min town upgrades { } } } plugins { } }
campaign_script.txt
This script will spend 16 turns transfering 150 population from the source settlement to the destination settlement. After that's done, it spawns a Hellenistic colony building in the destination settlement. This means that you can't colonize a settlement twice, but it also means you can now use this new Hellenistic colony to colonize new lands. Historicity-wise, this makes growing your population of Macedonians a slow process, which makes sense since the Seleucid Empire, despite receiving the bulk of Macedonian and Greek immigrants post-Alexander, still had serious manpower issues deep into the 200s and 100s BC. Gameplay-wise, limiting Macedonian expansion to just 1 new colony every 16 turns prevents the player from exploding Macedonian settlements across the map. This is one gameplay issue with EBII's method of Hellenistic colonization where you can colonize multiple areas per turn as long as you have enough sources of colonists.Code:;****************************** ; Seleucid Macedonian Immigration ;****************************** declare_persistent_counter seleucid_macedonian_immigration monitor_event FactionTurnStart TrueCondition and FactionIsLocal and FactionType romans_julii ;; delete all immigration bulidings not owned by seleucids in case the region is lost for_each settlement in world if not SettlementIsLocal if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_destination destroy_building "local" seleucid_macedonian_destination end_if if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_source destroy_building "local" seleucid_macedonian_source end_if end_if end_for declare_counter seleucid_macedonian_source set_counter seleucid_macedonian_source 0 declare_counter seleucid_macedonian_destination set_counter seleucid_macedonian_destination 0 ;; remove all duplicate immigration buildings to prevent abuse for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_destination and I_CompareCounter seleucid_macedonian_destination = 1 destroy_building "local" seleucid_macedonian_destination end_if if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_source and I_CompareCounter seleucid_macedonian_source = 1 destroy_building "local" seleucid_macedonian_source end_if if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_destination set_counter seleucid_macedonian_destination 1 end_if if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_source set_counter seleucid_macedonian_source 1 end_if end_for if I_CompareCounter seleucid_macedonian_source = 1 and I_CompareCounter seleucid_macedonian_destination = 1 inc_counter seleucid_macedonian_immigration 1 ;; 150 population transfer per turn for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_destination console_command add_population "local" 150 end_if if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_source console_command add_population "local" -150 end_if end_for end_if ;; 16 turns of immigration if I_CompareCounter seleucid_macedonian_immigration > 16 set_counter seleucid_macedonian_immigration 0 for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_destination destroy_building "local" seleucid_macedonian_destination console_command create_building "local" hellenistic_colony end_if if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_macedonian_source destroy_building "local" seleucid_macedonian_source end_if end_for end_if end_monitor
4. Looting Temples
The Seleucids have been documented to have looted the temples at Susa, Jerusalem, and most infamously, Susa when low on cash. Sure, collecting centuries' worth of accumulated treasures is nice, but the priestly caste and native population would be pissed. In the case of Antiochus III looting the Elymaisian temples at Susa, the locals killed him in defense. You can replicate this morbid history fact in your mods with a little scripting
export_descr_buildings.txt
Code:building hinterland_seleucid_loot_temple { classification trade icon trade levels seleucid_loot_temple { seleucid_loot_temple requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present_min_level governmentA gov4 and hidden_resource seleucid_loot_temple { capability { happiness_bonus bonus -12 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } } plugins { } }
This building will trigger the looting script. Of course, make it indestructible (the script will take care of that as explained later)
campaign_script.txt
You will need to execute these lines on turn 1 to allow looting temples in regions with significant temple complex. Obvious candidates are the ones in Ekbatana, Jerusalem, and Susa, but other juicy victims include the ones in Upper Egypt (usually represented as Diospolis-Megale or Thebais), Persepolis, and Babylon.Code:if I_LocalFaction romans_julii add_hidden_resource Media_Magna seleucid_loot_temple add_hidden_resource Ioudaia seleucid_loot_temple add_hidden_resource Thebais seleucid_loot_temple add_hidden_resource Babylonia seleucid_loot_temple add_hidden_resource Elymais seleucid_loot_temple add_hidden_resource Persis seleucid_loot_temple end_if
campaign_script.txt
This script will award you 20000 cash the turn you build the loot_temple building. 16 turns later, it destroys the building causing severe unrest representing the priestly caste and locals forgiving you somewhat. The exact values of the cash bonus and the unrest duration varies on your idea of gamneplay balance, but keep these factors in mind:Code:monitor_event FactionTurnStart TrueCondition and FactionIsLocal and FactionType romans_julii for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_loot_temple declare_counter seleucid_loot_temple retrieve_counter settlement_seleucid_loot_temple settlement seleucid_loot_temple if I_CompareCounter seleucid_loot_temple = 0 console_command add_money romans_julii, 20000 set_counter seleucid_loot_temple 16 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_loot_temple = 1 destroy_building "local" seleucid_loot_temple set_counter seleucid_loot_temple 0 end_if if I_CompareCounter seleucid_loot_temple > 1 inc_counter seleucid_loot_temple -1 end_if store_counter seleucid_loot_temple settlement settlement_seleucid_loot_temple end_if end_for end_monitor
1. The cash bonus should exceed the amount of money you'd gain from maintaining higher taxes. This way, the player is rewarded for keeping the looted settlement's public order so high that it could endure angry priests
2. The duration should be long enough to force the player to take some action
3. The unrest should be high enough to either force lowering taxes, or stationing a competent governor there
If you carefully balance these values, you can create an engaging risk-reward system for the Seleucids. It even plays well with the Seleucid Authority and the Resassertion mechanics - a strong King that makes his presence felt could loot temples as he pleases with minimal repercussions.
5. Founding Yet Another Seleukia
We all know of the Seleucia On The Tigris, which is represented as just "Seleucia" in most RTW mods. Less known are the dozens of Seleucia across the Empire founded by various incredibly humble Seleucid kings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucia_(disambiguation) contains just the surviving ones. You too can have your mod allow players to build Seleucias, but there needs to be risk involved or else this would just be a simple building.
See, the original foundation of Seleucia On The Tigris wasn't as easy as Seleucus I Nicator pointing on a map and saying "build a massive city here". In reality, he pointed on a map a location right next to Babylon and said "build a massive city here" which pissed off the Babylonian priestly caste and elites, who were afraid of a competitor city taking away their status as the heart of the world. Seleucus had to both employ legal and religious jargon to confuse and coerce the Babylonians into allowing the construction of a city... as well as use the threat of military force to basically deport huge numbers of Babylonians into Seleucia. Sure, this meant that Babylon lost its status as the beating heart of the eastern world, but it did mean that Seleucus I Nicator had a sweet capital city at his disposal.
Thus, the gameplay mechanic would be a building tree that has severe penalties at first, but slowly increasing bonuses as your new Seleucia comes to fruition
export_descr_buildings.txt
The bonuses offered by the buildings are negotiable. Tailor them to suit your mod. The initial population growth penalties and unhappiness however aren't. You need to represent the deportation of citizens and their unhappiness for both historicity and gameplay reasons. Now the player needs to make a careful choice. Beginning the construction of Seleucia will immediately cause massive penalties, so the player must quickly finish the building to restabilize the province and reap the rewards. Failure to do so and leaving a half-assed Seleucia is NOT good.Code:building hinterland_seleucid_seleucia { classification culture icon law levels seleucid_seleucia_one seleucid_seleucia_two seleucid_seleucia_three seleucid_seleucia_four seleucid_seleucia_five { seleucid_seleucia_one requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present_min_level hinterland_farms farms+1 and building_present_min_level governmentA gov3 and building_present_min_level governmentA gov1 or building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony { capability { happiness_bonus bonus -4 requires is_player population_growth_bonus bonus -4 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 2000 settlement_min city upgrades { seleucid_seleucia_two } } seleucid_seleucia_two requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present_min_level governmentA gov1 { capability { happiness_bonus bonus -3 requires is_player population_growth_bonus bonus -3 requires is_player taxable_income_bonus bonus 2 requires is_player trade_base_income_bonus bonus 1 requires is_player } construction 8 cost 8000 settlement_min city upgrades { seleucid_seleucia_three } } seleucid_seleucia_three requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present_min_level governmentA gov1 { capability { happiness_bonus bonus -2 requires is_player population_growth_bonus bonus -2 requires is_player taxable_income_bonus bonus 4 requires is_player trade_base_income_bonus bonus 2 requires is_player law_bonus bonus 1 requires is_player extra_recruitment_points bonus 1 requires is_player } construction 8 cost 8000 settlement_min city upgrades { seleucid_seleucia_four } } seleucid_seleucia_four requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present_min_level governmentA gov1 { capability { happiness_bonus bonus -1 requires is_player population_growth_bonus bonus -1 requires is_player taxable_income_bonus bonus 6 requires is_player trade_base_income_bonus bonus 3 requires is_player law_bonus bonus 2 requires is_player extra_recruitment_points bonus 2 requires is_player } construction 8 cost 8000 settlement_min city upgrades { seleucid_seleucia_five } } seleucid_seleucia_five requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present_min_level governmentA gov1 { capability { taxable_income_bonus bonus 8 requires is_player trade_base_income_bonus bonus 4 requires is_player population_growth_bonus bonus 3 requires is_player law_bonus bonus 3 requires is_player extra_recruitment_points bonus 3 requires is_player } construction 8 cost 8000 settlement_min city upgrades { } } } plugins { } }
It just so happens that this whole "building-tree-as-reforms" system works great for representing another Seleucid historical tidbit: its introduction of the Attic Standard
6. Introduction Of The Attic Standard
Financial transactions back then was difficult due to the lack of standardized and trustworthy currency. You can't force a merchant to accept your coins bearing the image of a king not legitimate enough, or containing metals not valuable enough. This was very true for the lands ruled by the Seleucid Empire, which still had a bartering economy in areas like Persia. Forcing the population to conduct trade with coins won't be easy and will cause disruption, but once done, will allow more efficient trade (and taxation. How are you supposed to tax 8% of an entire cow?).
export_descr_buildings.txt
Why build this over normal market buildings or any other economic building included in your mod? Well, this "reforms" building has the advantage of being very cheap, and the disadvantage of taking time to complete, and causing unrest during that time. If the player is short on cash but has some very happy settlements, then he could implement the Attic standard reforms and reap the rewards at little cost. Otherwise, the process would be rockier.Code:building hinterland_seleucid_standardization { classification trade icon trade levels seleucid_standardization_one seleucid_standardization_two { seleucid_standardization_one requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present_min_level governmentA gov3 { capability { happiness_bonus bonus -6 requires is_player trade_base_income_bonus bonus -3 requires is_player } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { seleucid_standardization_two } } seleucid_standardization_two requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and building_present_min_level governmentA gov3 { capability { happiness_bonus bonus 1 requires is_player trade_base_income_bonus bonus 3 requires is_player } construction 8 cost 2000 settlement_min town upgrades { } } } plugins { } }
7. Macedonian Garrison
"Macedonians" during the Hellenistic period no longer referred specifically to ethnic Macedonians coming from Macedonia, but rather a mixture of trustworthy ethnicities fighting in the Macedonian style. They command tremendous respect as well as responsibility in fighting battles and garrisoning eastern regions. The presence of Macedonian phalangite peacekeepers is more than just brute force - it's a symbol of Macedonian authority in foreign lands. The population is less likely to reject Macedonian rule, and the local elite are less likely to participate in corruption or insurrection. Losing too many Macedonians through battle or neglect will cause authority to crumble - just look at Antiochus VII who gambled away his Macedonian army in a doomed campaign in Mesopotamia causing the Seleucid Empire to degrade into a Syrian rump state.
To represent this, a script could spawn buildings in settlements that are accepting a Macedonian garrison.
export_descr_buildings.txt
The "quartering" building is a way of triggering the script where a hellenistic colony is not present (to be explained later).Code:building seleucid_quartering { classification military icon law levels seleucid_quartering { seleucid_quartering requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and not building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony and building_present_min_level governmentA gov3 { capability { happiness_bonus bonus -1 requires is_player } construction 2 cost 4000 settlement_min town upgrades { } } } plugins { } } building hinterland_seleucid_garrison { classification military icon law levels seleucid_garrison+1 seleucid_garrison+2 seleucid_garrison+3 seleucid_garrison+4 seleucid_garrison+5 seleucid_garrison+6 seleucid_garrison+7 seleucid_garrison+8 seleucid_garrison+9 { seleucid_garrison+1 requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 1 requires is_player farming_level bonus 1 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony taxable_income_bonus bonus 1 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_garrison+2 requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 2 requires is_player farming_level bonus 2 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony taxable_income_bonus bonus 2 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_garrison+3 requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 3 requires is_player farming_level bonus 3 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony taxable_income_bonus bonus 3 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_garrison+4 requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 4 requires is_player farming_level bonus 4 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony taxable_income_bonus bonus 4 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_garrison+5 requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 5 requires is_player farming_level bonus 5 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony taxable_income_bonus bonus 5 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_garrison+6 requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 6 requires is_player farming_level bonus 6 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony taxable_income_bonus bonus 6 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_garrison+7 requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 7 requires is_player farming_level bonus 7 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony taxable_income_bonus bonus 7 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_garrison+8 requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 8 requires is_player farming_level bonus 8 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony taxable_income_bonus bonus 8 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } seleucid_garrison+9 requires factions { romans_julii, } and is_player and hidden_resource not_here { capability { law_bonus bonus 9 requires is_player farming_level bonus 9 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony taxable_income_bonus bonus 9 requires building_present hinterland_hellenistic_colony } construction 1 cost 1 settlement_min town upgrades { } } } plugins { } }
campaign_script.txt
The more "greek infantry kleruchoi hoplitai" (the internal name for EB1 settler phalangites) you cram into a settlement with the right buildings, the higher levels of garrison you'll enjoy. In settlements with a hellenistic colony, this process also represents off-duty phalangites participating in farming and paying taxes. In those without, it's just those phalangites keeping order.Code:monitor_event FactionTurnStart TrueCondition and FactionIsLocal and FactionType romans_julii ;; Make sure to delete every garrison building in world first for_each settlement in world destroy_building "local" seleucid_garrison+1 destroy_building "local" seleucid_garrison+2 destroy_building "local" seleucid_garrison+3 destroy_building "local" seleucid_garrison+4 destroy_building "local" seleucid_garrison+5 destroy_building "local" seleucid_garrison+6 destroy_building "local" seleucid_garrison+7 destroy_building "local" seleucid_garrison+8 destroy_building "local" seleucid_garrison+9 end_for ;; Create new garrison buildings based on how many phalangites are garrisoning an eligible settlement for_each settlement in faction "romans_julii" if SettlementBuildingExists = seleucid_quartering or SettlementBuildingExists >= hellenistic_colony declare_counter garrison_count set_counter garrison_count 0 ;;; The unit specified here will enable garrisons for_each unit in settlement if UnitType greek infantry kleruchoi hoplitai inc_counter garrison_count 1 end_if end_for if I_CompareCounter garrison_count = 1 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_garrison+1 end_if if I_CompareCounter garrison_count = 2 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_garrison+2 end_if if I_CompareCounter garrison_count = 3 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_garrison+3 end_if if I_CompareCounter garrison_count = 4 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_garrison+4 end_if if I_CompareCounter garrison_count = 5 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_garrison+5 end_if if I_CompareCounter garrison_count = 6 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_garrison+6 end_if if I_CompareCounter garrison_count = 7 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_garrison+7 end_if if I_CompareCounter garrison_count = 8 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_garrison+8 end_if if I_CompareCounter garrison_count > 8 console_command create_building "local" seleucid_garrison+9 end_if end_if end_for end_monitor
Why have this at all for gameplay reasons? Well, garrisons provide less public order the larger the population is, but with this building, a single unit of settler phalangites could provide a nice 5% *additional* law bonus even if the population is something insane like 30,000. You also get non-public order bonuses which can be adjusted to your heart's content. Also, the "quartering" building has an initial happiness penalty, which represents the locals causing trouble while your phalangites are away. This would incentivize you to colonize more, which means more settlements where your off-duty phalangites could participate in the local economy.
8. Conclusion
Not all of these scripts are Seleucid-only. You can easily adapt them to any faction or even setting. For example, the Macedonian Garrison script can be adapted to the Ptolemies who used Jewish and Egyptian troops as a police force. Or, the Macedonian Immigration script can be adapted to a Greek faction to represent establishing new trade colonies just like during the Greek Diaspora of the 700s BC.
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