Factions (RTW)

In Rome: Total War there are 21 factions, 20 of which can be made playable, and the slave/rebel faction. The three 'Roman Houses' (Julii, Brutii and Scipii) are playable from the beginning of the game. The rest of the playable factions can be unlocked either by finishing the short or long campaign with any of the originally playable factions or by editing descr_strat.txt in your Rome: Total War directory (more information on which can be found on this page). It is also possible to unlock the factions that aren't considered 'playable' by the game through the manipulation of the same text file. It should also be noted that destroying any 'playable' faction in the Imperial Campaign that currently isn't unlocked will result in it being unlocked.

Other Information

In RTW Multiplayer Communities, the term Skirmish Faction refers to a Faction that is weak in pitched battles but is strong on hit-and-run attacks. Brittania, Dacia, Egypt, Gaul, Germania, Parthia, and Scythia fit the definition of Skirmish Faction as their Unit Rosters contain fast units such as cavalry and chariots but no heavy infantry. As a result, they are weak and can be difficult to use in competitive gameplay against stronger factions with heavy infantry such as Rome, The Greek Cities, and Macedon.