Dacia (RTW Faction)

Dacia are one of the factions in Rome: Total War designed to be non-playable. However they can be made playable by simple modifications to the game files.

Game Play

Starting Position

They begin in the Balkans region in Eastern Europe in what is nowdays the countries of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. They are a landlocked state, which leads to low income until you can build good trade routes and expand to the sea to develop ports.

Win Conditions

Long Campaign: Hold 50 provinces including Rome. Short Campaign: Hold 15 provinces and destroy or outlast the following factions: Macedon, Thrace.

Units

Dacia's army is well balanced, including heavy infantry, cavalry, and siege weapons such as ballistae.

Infantry

The basic warbands, which are shared by most other barbarian factions. The falxmen, which are really quite powerful considering that you can train them quite early on. They carry a falx, which is a weapon based on the scythe and early contacts with the Thracian rhomphaia. It is carried two-handed, and cut cut botha a man and horse in two. Chosen swordsmen, a powerful heavy infantry unit, but they will not stand against most "elite" infantry units. They are the same as the Chosen Swordsmen for other barbarian factions.

Missile

Archer warbands, unlike most factions, the first missile unit available to Dacia are the basic archers. Chosen archer warbands, one of the best archer units in the game, and they only take 1 turn to recruit, but they do cost quite a lot. Ballistas, a siege unit useful to to break down enemy walls and gates. Onagers, which fire large rocks, if used correctly they can be devastating.

Cavalry

Barbarian cavalry, light cavalry unit useful for flanking, killing archers and skirmishers, and for chasing routing enemy troops. Barbarian Noble cavalry, medium cavalry, very good at flanking heavy infantry and chasing routers, but not a match for the heavy cavalry of other factions.

Unique Units

Sadly, Dacia doesn't have any unique units, although they are one of the only 2 barbarian factions that can obtain siege weapons (ballistas and onagers).

Strategy guides

In the beginning, Dacia is landlocked and surrounded by Rebel settlements. However, Thrace, to the south, Germania, from the North and West, and Scythia, from the east, will eventually consume all of the territory around the area, eventually plunging you into war with at least one of these three factions. So, it is the best possible strategy for you to expand into much of the rebel territory as possible or eliminate one of these rival factions. If you can hold your core areas long enough, then if the Romans start to move in, you should have been dealing with traitorious enemies for awhile now and can stop them from expanding further.

The basic missile unit for Dacia is the archer warband, which is quite good, and Dacia is subsequently the first faction to be able to recruit them. It can do so from the beginning. I would suggest building a skirmisher range and a blacksmith in each city, to upgrade your spear warband, and train the archers. The archer-warband combo is quite effective against the German warbands, even in city battles in tight spots. Two units of a spear warband can take out up to six units of the German kind, along with a few Screeching Women if you play it right. First, have your archers fire a steady barrage on teh German phalanxes. Break down the gates/walls with battering rams whiel doing so, and then have all units who can perform the warcry. Charge the phalanxes from the flanks. Or, have one warband as fodder, and charge from the front. Then, use the second one to attack a flank. The phalanx will crumble soon. Also, your generals can shred a phalanx if charging from any flank.

Thus, an early game Dacian army shoudl be like this:

• 1-2 Generals
• 4 Spear Warband
• 1-2 Archer Warband
• Barbarian mercenaries are perfect for the phalanx-killing job.

Soon you will be coming up against Scythia and Thrace.

Avoid pitched battles with the Scythians. Their horse archers do particularly well against your warbands. Keep them at bay with your archers (in loose formation). Your archers will kill them at range, and undoubtedly your warband will win in hand-to-hand. The Thracians are a little more well-balanced then Germany and Scythia. Watch out for their heavy cavalry, and also their heavier phalanxes. You should follow your original phalanx-killing tactic on them, and use a combination of archers and a horde of light cavalry to keep away their heavy cavalry.

Thus, a mid-game Dacian army will look lik ethis:

• 1-2 Generals
• 8 Spear Warbands
• 4 Archer Warbands
• 4 Barbarian Cavalry
• NOTE- Some players will wlready have the Chosen troops. Replace the barab cav with chosen barbcav, archers with chosen archers, and so on.

Eventually, the Romans will come at you. Mobility is the key. Build stacks of Barbarian Noble Cavalry, and Chosen Archer Warbands. Strike hard and fast, firing arrows at their flanks and rear, and you will vanquish all Roman armies, so that you can attack Italy. Fo this, you will need Naked Fanatics and Chosen Swordsmen to charge the gaps in the walls.

A late Dacian stack should be:

• Field Army-
• 3 Generals
• 7 Barbarian Noble Cavalry
• 6 Chosen Archer Warband

• Siege Army-
• 2 Generals
• 4 Chosen Swordsmen
• 2 Naked Fanatics
• 2 Chosen Archer Warbands
• 1-2 Mercenaries of some sort

Finally you will attack Rome, and your field army will easily vanquish the Romans.

History

The Dacians (Lat. Daci, Gr. Dákai) were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia (roughly corresponding to modern Romania and Moldova) and parts of Moesia (mostly in northern Bulgaria) in southeastern Europe. They spoke the Dacian language, closely related with Thracian and Albanian. The first mention of them is in Roman sources, but classical authors are unanimous in considering the Dacians a branch of the Getae, a Thracian people known from Greek writings. Strabo specified that the Daci are the Getae who lived in the area towards the Pannonian plain (Transylvania), while the Getae proper gravitated towards the Black Sea coast (Scythia Minor).

The Roman Emperor Trajan invaded Dacia mostly to benefit from its vast gold and silver mines. Trajan's Column was constructed to celebrate the invasion of Dacia.

The Dacian kingdom reached its maximum expansion during King Burebista. The capital of the kingdom was the city Argedava (also called Sargedava in some historical writings) situated close to river Danube.

Later the Romans eventually abadoned the province due to barbarian invasions.

See Also

• Factions in RTW

RTW Factions
Armenia | Britannia | Carthage | Dacia | Egypt | Gaul | Germania | Greek Cities | The House of Brutii | The House of Julii | The House of Scipii | Macedon | Numidia | Parthia | Pontus | Scythia | Seleucid Empire | Senate | Spain | Thrace | Rebels