Franks (RTW:BI Faction)

Franks (RTW:BI Faction)
Name:	Franks
From Game:	Barbarian Invasion
Religion:	Pagan/Christian
Culture:	Barbarian
Playable:

The Franks are one of the playable factions in the Barbarian Invasion for Rome: Total War. They are in the Barbarian culture group.

Game Play

Starting Position

• Vicus Franki (Tribus Franki)

The Franks start with a city that can provide good troops from the beginning. It is surrounded by potential enemies, though. The Alemanni are the most direct threat in the south. The Western Roman Empire lives to the west with large armies nearby. The Saxons live to the north. In the east the fearsome Burgundii and Lombardii expand quickly.

Win Conditions

• Capture and hold 20 provinces, including Lugdinensis (Avaricum), Aquitania (Burdigala), Narbonensis (Arles).

Units

The Franks are a strong faction that is infantry focused but can also get some great cavalry. They get a basic Spear throwing unit as their first line unit. Then from a level 3 barracks they get Axe and Sword Heerbann units, who are both strong melee fighters. The Swords have superior stats but the Axes are armour piercing. From a level 4 Barracks the Franks get the Francisca Heerbann, an extremely strong infantry unit that throws an armour-piercing Axe before engaging in melee. These men make the other Heerbann obsolete. The Franks also get average archers, the Hunters, and also get Siege Weapons. For cavalry the Franks get Raiders and Noble Cavalry, both typical but effective barbarian Cavalry. If the Franks convert to Christianity, they get Catholic Priests, whose chanting can inspire friendly troops, and the elite Paladin Cavalry, once of the strongest cavalry in Barbarian Invasion and an exceptional Lancer unit. Their General, the Paladin Bodyguard, are one of the strongest in Barbarian Invasion.

Unique Units

• Paladins

Obtainable after the Franks have converted to Christianity and the appropriate religious structure built. They are good heavy cavalry.

• Catholic Priest

Also obtained after Christan conversion. They are a weak unit in close ocmbat, but their chanting gives friendly troops bonuses.

• Axe Heerbann

The basic heerbann unit. They carry a powerful long-handled axe and are relatively cheap to build. They can form shieldwall.

• Sword Heerbann

With better armor and a stabbing sword, sword heerbann provide a strong front against the enemy. They can form shieldwall.

• Francisca Heerbann

These are the elite heerbann and the most famous Frankish troops. They carry several francisca throwing axes to throw at the enemy. They can also perform a terrifying warcry.

Strategy guides

Playing the franks is all about timing. you want to move into gaul quickly, to have a strong winning position when the hordes come, but at the same time, hordeing too fast will result in a diminutive sized horde army, making the capture of all gallic territories tricky. besides that, your surrounded by germanic rivals, many of which want a piece of gaul, while the celts to the north share a victory territory with you, making conflict almost certain. to master the franks, you will need to be warlike, and use the advantages you have over your rivals, as you are the most civilized and powerful of the germanic factions that start out along the rhine seeking a piece of rome to call their own.

first off, capture the two rebel settlements parralel to vicus franki, these will provide income and enslaving them will grow your capital, that you want to be maxed out on population before you eventually abandon it. whilst capturing these settlements, you want to move your spy into roman territory and your diplomat towards your germanic frienemies. the lombards, burgundii, and allemani. DO NOT ally with the allemani. trade rights is all you should seek from them. allying with the allemani might provoke the western empire to attack you, which is very very bad at this stage of the game. you could ally with the lombards or the burgundii, and thats your choice. they usually end up fighting eachother, and the burgundii will compete with you for gaul later in the game, so i suggest the lombards. later when the lombardi are settled in italy your two kingdoms can share mutual friendship and wealth. after making alliances, getting trade and map info from your surrounding germanic rivals, you need to build up your one city. avoiding debt allows you to stave off the eventual transformation into a horde you will have to undertake, and gives you a stronger position once you enter that phase of your game. im not going to tell you what and what not to build in vicus franki. its up to the player. getting income through roads and farming to raise the population are both good ideas, but that is all up to you.

try not to forge a huge empire before you horde. you cant horde until all your settlements are gone, so you will need to give away the two cities you captured in the begining to the lomabards or another close ally. the get map info from rome. after you sold your settlements this shouldn't be a problem. at this point vicus franki should be a large city, and public order should be going down steadily. wait for the right political moment. wait until rome is at its weakest. then, at just the right time, spring your trap. go horde. this is not a difficult part of the game if vicus franki is at its highest level. you have many hordes, so keeping all of them together is unnecessary. i suggest taking one horde and sacking germany, destroying the allemani ( who cant form a horde) and crushing rome's frontier settlements. send your main horde in different directions. send several to defeat the roman standing army in gaul, then simultaneously besiege every last gallic settlement. taking them all at once is impossible, so the first one you take should be the one with the largest garrison. after this is done, acquire 3 or four others. by now almost all gaul should be yours, rome should want peace, and your war chest should be filled to the brim from all the sacking. now take a few turns to stabilize your economy and public oder.(converting to christianity at this point might be a good idea) you will be vulnerable, this you cannot avoid, and many things could go wrong. after consolidation, with a profit turning out, get ready for war. you should have all gaul under your thumb, and all of your victory territories, so now the campaign is a matter of acquiring the necessary number of cities. the possibilities are endless.

History

The Franks were a people originating from around the Lower Rhine River in Germany. They migrated southwards into Gaul, resulting in fights with the Roman Empire and other people. As there were several different tribes of Franks, some chose to raid Roman lands while others chose to join them- and most chose to ally with them. The most prominent of the tribes were the Salians, who remained a threat to the Romans. The Merovingian kings, who were of Salian roots, united many tribes of the Franks. Their dynasty was founded by King Merovech. Merovech and his sons won many victories over other tribespeople such as the Saxons, Visigoths, and Alemanni. His grandson Clovis I managed to defeat the Romans and control slightly more than half of Gaul (France). After Clovis I died, he left his empire to his four sons who effectively ruled in four different areas. However, when these four sons had sons, wars and disputes did erupt between the divided kingdoms. After one king's death (often of war or assassination), other claimants would try and take hold of the thrones. By this time, many of the Franks had converted to Roman Catholicism. In 570 onwards Brunhilda, a queen of the Franks, ruled as the power behind the thrones of her sons and grandsons. Because of her dealings, many wars went on between the different relatives in the Frankish kingdoms. Also because of her Frankish lands were annexed until there were only two main kingdoms- Austrasia in the east and north of France, where she and her select children ruled and Neustria in the west and south. After Brunhilda and her ruling grandson's death, the Neustria's king, Chlothar II, ruled all the Franks and more or less all of France. However, he was later forced to make his son Dagobert I King of the Austrasias because they wanted a king of their own. Family feud continued as Dagobert inherited all of the Frankish kingdoms on his father's death and had his half-brother's son killed so there were no contestants. As of 632, he was seen as the most powerful Western ruler. He made Paris his capital. After his death, the practice of kings and relatives assassinating and usurping the throne continued. Often the "united" Franks were divided into a few kingdoms ruled by rivaling sons, brothers, or cousins. Charles Martel (688 – October 741) was a military general (only defeated once in battle) who worked for the Merovingian rulers. He was a brilliant general and extremely popular with the people. He is often known for "defeating" the Muslims at Tours, although in reality the two armies never even fought. He became a military leader and ruled de facto. Because of the Catholic Church backed him, his son Philip the Short was elected to be king by the Pope, starting the Carolingian dynasty. Philip ruled from 751-768 as a protector of the Church and a uniter of the Frankish kingdoms. His sons Charlemagne and Carloman succeeded him. After his brother's death in 771, he became sole ruler of the Kingdom of Franks. This was the golden age of the Franks, where the entire land that would become France was under a single monarch (except Britanny) after his campaigns, as well as all the area the Rhine River covers, Belgium, almost all of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and more than half of Italy. It was the biggest European-based empire since the Fall of Rome and would remain that way for many years to afterwards. Under Charlemagne Frankish learning, laws, arts, language, and military improved. He was staunchly Catholic, but rather tolerant, lawful, strong, intelligent, and reasonable. Although many years of wars and disputes followed his death, he truly did set the way for a "France" as we know it.

See Also

• Factions in BI

Barbarian Invasion Factions
Eastern Roman Empire | Western Roman Empire | Huns | Goths | Sarmatians | Vandals | Franks | Saxons | Alemanni | Sassanids | Celts | Burgundii | Lombardi | Roxolani | Berbers | Slavs | Romano British | Ostrogoths | Eastern Roman Rebels | Western Roman Rebels | Rebels