Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion
Encyclopedia
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 Rome Total War Gold Edition includes both the original game as well as the Barbarian Invasion expansion pack. The campaign begins in 363 AD and ends in 476 AD. 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.
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 Western and Eastern empires, ruled from Rome
(although historically the Imperial Court was situated in Ravenna
at the time) and Constantinople
respectively. The majority of the known world is under the domain of the Roman Empire, from Britannia to Egypt. The subject regions of this empire represent the former factions of the original Rome: Total War
game all of which have been absorbed into the 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, which rules the lands beyond the Euphrates. 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 family members and generals 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
. The only way to completely destroy these factions is by slaying all of their family members of the faction.
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 neighbours to the south who are crowding north to meet territory requirements.
Unplayable factions:
(NOTE all rebels are non playable but some may revolt and rejoin the original faction unless they don't have one)
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
which takes the action forward to the period of the decline of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
. The Rome Total War Gold Edition includes both the original game as well as the Barbarian Invasion expansion pack. The campaign begins in 363 AD and ends in 476 AD. 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
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
and Paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
) fought for dominance. Also depicted are the great migrations
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
of the Germanic and steppe peoples (notably the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of 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 SenateRoman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
still exists it no longer has significant power, thus playing no role in the expansion. Rome has become an empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
, grown and then split into Western and Eastern empires, ruled from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
(although historically the Imperial Court was situated in Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
at the time) and Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
respectively. The majority of the known world is under the domain of the Roman Empire, from Britannia to Egypt. The subject regions of this empire represent the former factions of the original Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
game all of which have been absorbed into the Empire. The Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
has collapsed and has been absorbed by Rome and former Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
; the Parthian dynasty itself has been overthrown and replaced with the Sassanid dynasty, which rules the lands beyond the Euphrates. Dacia
Dacia
In ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians or Getae as they were known by the Greeks—the branch of the Thracians north of the Haemus range...
has been conquered by the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
, and Numidia has been entirely replaced by Berbers
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
. The Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of 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
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
, 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 family members and generals 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
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
, Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
, Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, Burgundians
Burgundians
The Burgundians were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe...
and Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
. The only way to completely destroy these factions is by slaying all of their family members of the faction.
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 neighbours to the south who are crowding north to meet territory requirements.
Factions
The playable factions are as follows:- Western Roman EmpireWestern Roman EmpireThe Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
- Eastern Roman EmpireByzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
- HunsHunsThe Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
- GothsGothsThe Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
- VandalsVandalsThe Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
- SarmatiansSarmatiansThe Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
- SaxonsSaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
- FranksFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
- AlemanniAlamanniThe Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
- SassanidsSassanid EmpireThe Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
Unplayable factions:
- Romano-BritishRoman BritainRoman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
- Eastern Roman rebels
- Western Roman rebels
- Ostrogoths
- Roxolani
- SlavsSlavic peoplesThe Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
- Celts
- BurgundiansBurgundiansThe Burgundians were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe...
- LombardsLombardsThe Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
- BerbersBerber peopleBerbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
- Rebels
(NOTE all rebels are non playable but some may revolt and rejoin the original faction unless they don't have one)