Heirs of Alexander
The Antigonid kings rule from Pella over Macedonia, Thessaly and a foothold in southern Greece. Beyond them lie the free Greek cities, the Thracians and the wealth of the old Persian empire.
| Town | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pella | City | Capital. Stone walls, port, Royal Military District |
| Larissa | Large town | Thessaly |
| Corinth | Large town | The isthmus |
| Chalkis | Town | Euboea |
| Sardica | Town | The northern frontier |
You start with 60,000 in the treasury. King Antigonos and his heir Gyras lead the field armies. The opening announcement, Heirs of Alexander, turns your starting troops into the royal army; generals' bodyguards and ships stay as they are.
Your long goal is to take Rome.
Levies of the Towns
Macedon recruits in the ordinary way from the first turn. There are no musters and no cost in population.
Every government building raises local levies:
| Government | Size | Levies |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Village Office | Village | Militia Hoplites, Peltasts |
| Royal Town Office and above | Town and larger | Adds Levy Pikemen and Archers |
A bigger palace does not raise better troops. Professionals come only from the military district.
The Royal Military District
Trained soldiers come from one focus that upgrades in place. Each stage keeps the troops of the stage before.
| Stage | Cost | Turns | Where | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Recruiting Ground | 10,000 | 1 | Any settlement | Hoplites, Light Lancers |
| Royal Military District | 30,000 | 3 | A Palace of the Strategos. Your capital: from large town | Phalanx Pikemen, Heavy Peltasts, Macedonian Cavalry, Cretan Archers, Ballistas |
| House of the Companions | 60,000 | 5 | A Royal Palace. Your capital: a Palace of the Strategos | Royal Pikemen, Companion Cavalry, Onagers |
Pella starts with the Royal Military District, so the core of the phalanx is ready at once. See Governing the Realm for focus slots and upkeep.
House of the Companions
Pella is a city, but its government is still a Provincial Royal Residence. Upgrade it to a Palace of the Strategos (55,000, four turns) and Pella can raise the House of the Companions. Anywhere else the House needs a large city with a Royal Palace.
Royal Pikemen and Companion Cavalry take two turns to train.
The Royal Estates
Macedon uses the shared focuses under its own names. Governing the Realm explains what each one earns.
- Recall the Royal Commission is Remove Policy: it clears every focus in the town, the military district included.
- Hear the Petitions and Send the Royal Guard pacify a restless town.
If your treasury stays in debt, the royal moneyers may offer to strike lighter coin. Each issue leaves a mark on every town: Light Royal Silver, then Doubted Royal Coinage, then The King's Broken Promise. Governing the Realm gives the penalties.
Develop the Royal EstatesAgriculture
Royal EmporiumTrade
Work the Royal MinesMining
Royal Naval StationNaval
Royal Recruiting GroundRecruitment
Dependencies, Allies and Communities
Every town has a status. The rules are the same as for everyone; only the names change.
| Status | Macedonian name | Order |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Royal Dependencies | Conquest |
| Allied | Cities of the Alliance | Conclude a Royal Alliance, 10,000 |
| Citizen | Communities of the Kingdom | Admit Communities to the Kingdom, 30,000 |
Royal DependenciesSubject
Cities of the AllianceAllied
Communities of the KingdomCitizen
The King's Decrees
Macedon has ten edicts. The six common ones carry royal names:
| Edict | Common edict | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Remit the King's Dues | Tax Relief | 5,000 |
| The Royal Survey | Census and Assessment | 8,000 |
| Protection of the Agora | Market Privileges | 10,000 |
| Endow the Gymnasium | Public Schools | 8,000 |
| Honour the Ancestral Rites | Honour Local Customs | 5,000 |
| Keep the Fountains Flowing | Sanitation Measures | 10,000 |
Three royal choices are Macedon's own, and Withdraw the Royal Garrison abandons a town. The King's Fifth is a finance edict, so it cannot stand beside the Royal Survey or Remit the King's Dues in the same town.
A town with a Charter of the Polis never joins the League of Free Cities.
The King's Fifth10,000 | +30% tax, -10% public order
Charter of the Polis8,000 | +20% public order, -15% tax
Settler Soldiers12,000 | +1 experience for recruits, +1 law, -10% tax
Withdraw the Royal GarrisonFree | the town revolts to the rebels
A Festival in the King's Name
From turn 10 the cities may ask the crown to sponsor sacrifices, contests and feasts. The request comes at most once every twelve turns, and only when you have 20,000 in the treasury.
Pay 20,000 and every town you hold gains +15% public order for eight turns (The King's Benefaction). Refuse and nothing is lost but the goodwill.
Patrons of the Cities
From turn 20 a wealthy benefactor may endow one of your large towns or cities, up to five across the kingdom. You do not build these: they simply appear. A town under siege, or one that already has a patron, is passed over.
Each gift keeps its ordinary effects and adds a Macedonian bonus:
Patron's Theatre+10% public order
Royal Engineers' Quarter+10% trade income, +1 experience for recruits
Sanctuary of Asklepios+1 health, +5% public order
The Road East
Two rewards mark the road from Greece to Asia. Each is paid once, at the end of your turn, and retaking a lost city does not pay it again.
- The League Renewed: hold Pella, Athens, Corinth and Sparta at once. 30,000.
- In Alexander's Footsteps: after the League, hold Pergamum and Antioch as well. 50,000.
Further east, the great cities of Alexander's empire each have an announcement of their own when you take them. They give no money, only the record of how far you have come.
What the Generals Remember
Your generals remember their lives. They gain traits for the lands they visit, famous cities they see and take, the peoples they fight and the battles they win or survive. A Macedonian general carries Served the Macedonian Crown.
Two distinctions are Macedonian. In the Conqueror's Footsteps (+1 influence) needs Graecia, Asia Minor, Syria and Mesopotamia visited and both Pella and Babylon seen. Restorer of the King's Peace (+1 law) needs a won battle, visits to Athens, Corinth and Sparta, and the recovery of a city that joined the secession.
Restless Cities, Open Passes
The Greek cities prize their freedom, and the passes north of Pella lie open to wandering hosts. When guides or city delegates come to the court, what you pay or refuse decides how much of the kingdom is at stake.
Beyond the Northern Passes
Celtic bands gather beyond the northern roads. This can happen from turn 25 with at least eight settlements, while you hold Pella, Sardica or Naissus.
- Pay 40,000: the guides lead part of the host away. One army comes instead of two. The payment is made even if it puts you into debt.
- Keep the silver: two armies come.
Three turns later The Northern Passes Break. Rebel hosts of twenty units appear on open ground on the northern approaches: Chosen Swordsmen, Swordsmen, Warbands, Barbarian Cavalry, Skirmisher Warbands and Forester Warbands. If no open ground is free for eight turns, the invasion is called off.
The Cities Demand Their Freedom
The Greek cities may demand a guaranteed share of their revenues. This can happen from turn 45 with at least twelve settlements, if you hold at least two unprotected towns among Athens, Corinth, Sparta, Chalkis and Larissa.
A town is protected if it is your capital, holds your faction leader, is under siege, has a Charter of the Polis, or is already part of another crisis.
- Guarantee their revenues: the danger ends (A Settlement with the Cities), but every town you hold pays -10% tax for twenty turns (Guaranteed Civic Revenues).
- Reject their demands: three turns later the League of Free Cities is proclaimed.
The League of Free Cities
Up to two unprotected Greek towns revolt, one after another. Each town that goes over receives a garrison of twenty: eight Hoplites, four Militia Hoplites, three Peltasts, three Archers and two Militia Cavalry. The secession stops spreading after eight turns.
Retake the rebel cities. A general who recovers one earns Recovered a Seceded City.
The Gates of Asia
Eight one-time announcements, each with its own picture, follow Alexander's road. They can come in any order and need nothing but the city itself, still in your hands at the end of the round.
| Announcement | Hold |
|---|---|
| The Gates of Asia | Sardis |
| The Phoenician Shore | Sidon |
| The Nile Beneath the Diadem | Alexandria and Memphis |
| Where Alexander's Dream Ended | Babylon |
| The Court of Great Kings | Susa |
| The Crown of Media | Ecbatana |
| Beyond the Persian Heartland | Bactra |
| At the Edge of Alexander's World | Taxila |
The Wider World
The great migrations can reach a Macedonian campaign. From turn 60, once you hold 75 settlements, the northern kingdoms or the Huns may begin to move. Some campaigns open the era from turn 90 whatever your size, and from turn 180 it can open in any campaign. The second wave follows at least 35 turns after the first.
If you hold Jerusalem, its people may bring petitions to the crown from turn 150. Agreeing to all three averts a rising; refusing them risks a revolt of Judaea.
5 chapters are sealed. They cover the dangers from the north and from the Greek cities, the eastern conquests and the wider world.
Field notes
- Pella starts with a Royal Military District: Phalanx Pikemen and Macedonian Cavalry are available from turn one.
- To raise the House of the Companions in Pella, first upgrade its government to a Palace of the Strategos (55,000).
- A Charter of the Polis keeps a Greek city loyal and calm. Use it in Corinth, Chalkis and Larissa.
- Answer the court's prompts. A choice left for eight turns counts as No.
- In a short campaign, outlive the Greek Cities and Thrace.