Just made a theural research on the whole Aegean and made some pretty astounding discoveries, have to seriously rework the factions and regions of that area. The changes would be following:
Kingdom of Pergamum
- City of Pergamum
Leader: Philetaerus, Heir: his cousin Eumenes I (has a son Attalus).
Starting Denarii: 10000
- a great wealth befell Philetaerus after Lysimachus died, he rebuilt the walls of Pergamum and the city prospered with the income from silver and textile trade. Eumenes I, defeated Antiochus I at the battle of Sardis in 262 BCE and successfully conquered West of Asia minor.
Long campaign: Rebuild Kingdom of Lysimachus
Capture the cities of Sardis, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Mytilene, Nicomedia, Byzantium, Ancyra, Kydonia
Short campaign: Bring the Kingdom to it's historical power
Capture the cities of Halicarnassus, Sardis, Mytilene, Ancyra. Outlast Seleucids.
Both will be a run against the clock before your coffers run dry and you're out of business.
The Aegean/Island League
- City of Rhodes, Mytilene, Athens, Kydonia
Leader/Heir: Copy paste from old Aetolia
Starting Denarii: 3000
Independent cities struggling for survial in the Aegean...
Long Campaign: Establish a powerful trading League
Capture cities: Corinth, Sicyon, Thermon, Sparta, Chalkis, Pergamum, Philippi, Larissa, Halicarnassus.
Short Campaign: Strengthen the influence of your League
Capture cities: Corinth, Sicyon, Chalkis, Pergamum, Halicarnassus
Relies heavily on Naval units, so it gets a pretty heavy 3 Bireme units at the start of the campaign.
The Achaean League
- City of Sicyon, Thermon
Leader: Aratus of Sicyon, Heir: Diodeas of Sicyon
Starting Denarii: 5000
A new, strong League ready to recapture Greece from the Makedonians, Atticans and most of all the fearsome Lakedaimonians...
Long Campaign: Dominate Hellas
Capture cities: Sparta, Corinth, Athens, Chalkis, Larissa, Kydonia, Mytilene, Rhodes, Philippi, Larissa, Ambracia, Pella
Short Campaign: Establish a powerful greek nation
Capture cities: Sparta, Athens, Chalkis, Corinth, Larissa, Ambracia, Kydonia
The Aetolian League
- City of Thermon, Magnesia, Chalkis - Spawned on event, 220BC
Leader/Heir: Copy paste from current Aetolia
Unplayable - whole faction might be replaced with simple civil_revolt triggers...
Makedonia
- City of Pella, Philippi, Larissa, Magnesia, Corinth, Chalkis
Leader: Demetrius Poliorcetes, Heir: Antigonos Gonatas
Starting Denarii: 7000
A weakened nation, ready to regain it's former glory and once again bring macedonians to the edges of the known world...
Long Campaign: Rebuild the Empire of Alexander the Great
Short Campaign: Recreate a fraction of a once great Empire
Capture settlements: All of Greece and Aegean + Cyrene, Byzantium, Nicomedia, Ancyra, Sardis
Independent Greek Cities
These changes do not influence this faction much, only Kydonia will be removed, which makes the settlement list:
City of Sparta, Halicarnassus, Byzantium, Nicomedia, Syracuse, Croton, 2 Iberian colonies, 2 Bosphoran colonies. Total of 10 Settlements.
Sounds like a lot of work to me, but atleast now it's more or less historical (with minor derivations, to fit everything in the same timescale).
I'll have to remove some regions from Africa and far East, but I doubt anyone will ever miss those as frankly, I've never gone further than Iran.
Replacing them will be:
- Philippi (East of Pella)
- Sicyon (West of Corinth)
- Magnesia ( Larissa moved NorthEast and Magnesia to SouthWest)
+ Some minor border modifications.
I also might replace Halicarnassus with Attalia, though it was founded over a century later. On the other hand Halicarnassus was practically deserted and in ruins by the time the game starts... Have to see how this goes. Maybe start with a low-level Halicarnassus? (few buildings, low pop)
P.S. - Maraxus, thanks for suggesting the remnants of Lysimachus, this made the Aegean a more or less historical battleground...