A Modification for Rome - Total War: Barbarian Invasion 1.6 by MasterOfNone

With assistance from Aradan, Halie Satanus, Keyser Soze and Uranos

And with the support and resources of Arthurian Total War, Chivalry

Total War, 1066, and Age of Vikings and Fanatics

Norman Invasion has been certified fully stable and incorporates the latest techniques in both unit

and campaign balance from Aradan, author of the Complete EDU Guide and expert balancer.

WELCOME TO NORMAN INVASION

Over two hundred years have passed since the Viking Age of Britain portrayed in Viking Invasion II, and the Dark Ages are coming to an end. William, Duke of Normandy, has landed his troops at Pevensey bay and King Harold II of England has just arrived at Hastings, fresh from victory at Stamford Bridge, to hurl the Normans back into the English Channel.

As the player you can choose to take up the Fighting Man banner of Harold and

defend your shores against the Norman dogs, or you can – if you really feel the need! – take up the Papal Banner of William “le Batard” and put the English firmly under the Norman yoke. You can also play as one of the three minor factions - the Welsh, Norse or Scots, all of whom will probably come to blows with the English and Normans sooner or later.

For those who have played Viking Invasion II, you will see that Ireland no longer

features in Norman Invasion as that land was not invaded until after the period covered in this modification. Western Scandinavia has also disappeared from the map (it was no longer of significance to England’s immediate history after Harold’s victory against Harald Hardrada), but the Continent has been added and includes Normandy, Flanders and the Cotentin Peninsula. The map has also been significantly enlarged and the number of counties increased.

Historically, of course, William’s invasion of England was successful, though not

without setbacks and rebellions. The English people were brought under a dreadful feudal burden in their own homeland, though some escaped to other lands such as Scotland, Scandinavia and places even further abroad. Even Wales and Scotland eventually succumbed to the Norman’s military machine.

But it doesn’t have to work out that way…In Norman Invasion “history” is now in

your hands!

Above: King Harold awaits the Norman onslaught guarded by his loyal Housecarls and inspired by the Wyvern of Wessex standard and his own “banner of the Fighting Man”…

INSTALLATION

Please make sure that Rome Total War – Barbarian Invasion 1.6 is running correctly on your PC before installing Norman Invasion. You can display the BI version by going into the OPTIONS from the main menu. The version number will appear in the top right of the screen. If it is not 1.6 then you will need to go to the SEGA site and download the 1,6 patch from their support area.

Norman Invasion is “fully modfoldered”. This means it will not interfere with

original game files or with other mods. Norman Invasion can be installed simply by running the installer. Please make sure

you enter the correct path when prompted for it. This defines the path to the Rome Total War – Barbarian Invasion executable (i.e. the Rome directory). An example of how this path might look would be:

C:\Program Files\The Creative Assembly\Rome - Total War

Once the installer has finished you will see a Norman Invasion icon on your desktop. Just click it to begin playing! INSTALLATION ISSUES 1. Sometimes a system has issues with the installer software (though this is relatively rare) and so a “RAR” version of Norman Invasion is also provided. This is simply a compressed file which can be “unzipped” with a freely-available piece of software called WINRAR. Once unzipped, you will see a folder called “NI”. This folder should be put into your Rome directory. 2. If you have the Vista operating system you may need to switch off the UAC (User Account Control) if your game is installed to the Program Files directory. 3. If you have Steam the NI icon shortcut path may not work. Go to your Steam icon and take the path in the target line and copy it to that part of the field in the target line in the NI icon. You can access these by right-clicking the icons and choosing “properties”. Please visit our forums at TWCenter.Net for more detailed help and guidance. UNINSTALLING NORMAN INVASION: Uninstalling Norman Invasion is simple. All you need to do is delete the NI folder found in your BI folder (the BI folder is in the Rome directory).

Above: A small group of Housecarl Guard take on the personal bodyguard of Duke William carrying the Papal banner…

WHAT’S NEW? So what has changed from the original Viking Invasion II?

• The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England have been replaced by one faction – the English. Now the Angles, Saxons and Danes have forged a new entity: England! Much of this land is founded on the outgrowth of Wessex however and so you’ll see familiar symbols and colours to the old Wessex Kingdom.

• The map has been enlarged and there are now 81 regions. Both the number

of regions and the map size have increased by over 20% giving the player more room - and more opportunity!

• There are now earldoms and principalities. Gone are the kingdoms of

Mercia, Wessex, Northumbria and the East Angles, replaced with earldoms of the same name. Other minor earldoms have been added, including principalities in Wales for the Welsh. Additionally, Normans can also create special single-county earldoms called Marcher Earldoms (see Special Features below).

• The English may recruit High Reeves. High Reeves are deputies to Earls.

They can be recruited from the developed capitals of earldoms and come with a powerful bodyguard known as the Housecarl Guard (see Special Features below).

• Whole new system of titles. English and Norman lords can gain the title of

Earl at earldom capitals, which gives them bonuses in influence etc. The Welsh can also gain the title of Prince in the capitals of their principalities. Regional titles have also been renamed throughout (see Special Features below).

• Liege lords. Norman, English and Scottish lords will not exert the influence

and order that they could upon their people until their king is crowned at which point they will accept him fully as their liege.

• King of England and assemblies. In order for the English or Norman faction

leader to claim the crown of England they must not only conquer the capital (Lundenwic for the Normans and Wintanceaster for the English) but must also gather their respective assembly to approve the coronation. For the English this is the Witenagemot, for the Normans it is the Curia Regis (see Special Features below).

• Political Systems now play an important part in the game. With even the

hardy Norse converting to Christianity, religion has less significance as a cause of unrest or distinction and so has been replaced with political systems representing the unease between the customary laws of Britain and the feudal law of the Normans. There is also a hybrid political system called Marcher Law (see Special Features below).

• The Normans can choose to establish three different types of rule. In order

to overcome the rebellious nature of the English and British, the Normans can opt to build one of three “lordships” (or systems of rule) in most regions (see Special Features below).

• Some regions have natural fortresses. A few of the settlements across

Scotland, Wales and England are built upon natural outcrops of rocks or other natural fortresses. These settlements are harder for an enemy to breach, as not only are their gates stronger than other settlements but their walls (towers) have a more effective attack (see Special Features below).

• Normans can build stone castles and stone walls anywhere. The Normans

were skilled in transporting stone (they even brought it from Caen to England by ship!) as well as building castles quickly. To reflect this in-game they can build stone structures anywhere and also have a building time bonus on walls. The English can build their stone fortresses and stone walls only in areas where quarries exist, although earldom capitals do allow for the building of stone fortresses. The Norse, Welsh and Scots, as in Viking Invasion II, still cannot build such large stone fortifications.

• Norman mounted units may travel by ship. Unlike the mounted units of

other factions (with the exception of the Welsh and Scottish mounted bodyguards and nobles), the Normans can transport Norman-trained horses, and Continental mounted mercenaries, by boat.

• New battle map environments. Roma Surrectum new environments have

been kindly granted and implemented to create better grass, more variety of trees and superior ground textures. Large forests have also been clumped so as to provide plenty of clearings to aid the player’s visibility in deep-forest battles.

• Churches now perform almsgiving. A church now has the option to provide yearly, monthly or even daily almsgiving to the poor and needy. This costs a little of course, but it also increases happiness which means taxes can be raised among the traders. As clergy are appointed by the secular leaders, and distribute alms on the request of – and to some extent the money of – the same, almsgiving may well make the population more ready to accept the political views and policies of such leaders, especially when the bishops and other religious leaders start promoting it from the pulpit!

• Provincial Information. The text accompanying each province (via the open-

book icon) has been expanded to include more background history and even a little geography about the region. Information about earldoms, principalities, titles, natural fortresses and so forth may also be found herein.

• Historic Royal Seats. When the historic capital of a faction is conquered the

conquering faction will gain a public order boost across all the regions they control, though this will gradually diminish and disappear after a couple of years. However, with each new capital captured not only does the boost to temporary public order increase, but also a permanent public order bonus sets in across all regions (as long as you continue to hold the capitals of course). These historic capitals are marked on the campaign map with a purple banner.

• New music. Over a dozen new tracks have been added, including culture-

specific pieces, to further immerse the player in eleventh-century Britain.

• New culture. The Norman culture has been added which includes a whole new voice bank for the Normans.

• Spy Networks. Normans may establish Spy Networks in the capitals of

earldoms which allow spies to advance through their levels more rapidly than other factions.

Above: Harold takes one last look out over the English Channel in the late summer of 1066 before heading north to confront Harald Hardrada…

SPECIAL FEATURES Earldoms and Principalities

In 1066, and for some years before, the earls of England owned huge – and often changing – areas of land spanning many counties. These were powerful men who could, and sometimes did, directly challenge the King (as well as each other). This has been preserved in Norman Invasion by allowing both English and Norman lords the ability to gain the title of Earl. There are seven earldoms up for grabs in England (Mercia, Wessex, East Anglia, Cant, Northumbria, Northhamtun and East Seaxe) although the Normans can also establish Marcher Earldoms (see Norman Lordships below).

At this time, also, the Welsh were in disarray with various kingdoms (or

principalities) fighting amongst themselves. To some extent this was promulgated by the English who did not want to see Wales united and posing a threat to their western borders. England even sent mercenaries into Wales to be hired by varying factions to keep the flames of discord alive. In Norman Invasion the Welsh lords can gain the title of Prince when they seize an entire principality. There are six of these: Gwynedd, Powys, Deheubarth, Morgannwg and the two single-provinced Principalities of Brycheiniog and Cornwealas.

During play you can check which county or province belongs to which earldom or

principality by reading the Provincial Information (the open book icon) in the constructed building panel. High Reeves

Among the English the High Reeve (or Heah-gerefa) served as a deputy to an Earl and was authorized to lead armies in his name. The title later became known as High Sheriff. In Norman Invasion High Reeves can be recruited by the English from the capitals of Earldoms when they have developed to the level of a large city and have built in them a High Reeve’s Office. Northumberland, though not an English Earldom capital, may also recruit High Reeves as it was recently such a capital (of Bernicia) and High Sheriffs were historically associated with Bebbanburh.

The Earldom capitals are noted in the Provincial Information text. They are Jorvik

(Northumbria), Helmham (East Anglia), Lundenwic (East Seaxe), Cantwaraburh (Cant), Wintanceaster (Wessex), Northhamtun (Northhamtun) and Stæfford (Mercia). Titles

There are, not including the title of King, two levels of titles in Norman Invasion. Like Viking Invasion II there are still single-region titles, though the names have changed a little. Norse lords can now attain to the title of Thingman, the Welsh to Breyr, Scots to Toisech, Normans to Shire-reeve (they adopted the English name, though Count is used on the Continent) and the English to Scir-gerefa (the older term

for shire-reeve). Lords possessed of these titles gain extra influence over their subjects. In addition, but on the same level as the titles above, some of the Scottish counties (namely East Lothene, Cait, Muireb, Fib, Aonghas and Athfhotla) are Mormaerdoms, and the title of Mormaer can be obtained in these. These latter allow governors to draw upon Mormaer Horsemen.

A second level of title, with more powerful bonuses, is that of Earl (used by both the

English and Normans) for those who possess an Earldom; Prince, for the Welsh lords who possess Welsh Principalities; and Marcher Earl for Normans who possess Marcher Earldoms (see Norman Lordships below). King of England

In Norman Invasion there are two contenders for the English Crown. One has already made claim to it – the English represented by King Harold II, though some would suggest his claim not water-tight and his support not secure (especially in the North of England). William of Normandy, representing the Normans as second claimant, would be the first to counter Harold’s authority. William holds the crown to be his, both by oath of Harold and promise of the last king, Edward the Confessor.

Wintanceaster (modern-day Winchester) was the royal seat of the English and had

been for many generations. In order for an English king to become crowned King of England he must visit this capital and be crowned in the presence of his council of wisemen known as the Witan. This latter can be done by building the Witenagemot at Wintanceaster (it is already built at game start but if destroyed (scattered) must be rebuilt (re-summoned) again before the coronation can take place). In reality the Witenagemot met in several places but for game purposes it can only meet at Wintanceaster.

Lundenwic (modern-day London) became the capital of choice for William and the

Norman kings (though there is evidence it was becoming so for the late Anglo-Saxon monarchy too). It is to this capital that Norman rulers must go to be crowned and, in a similar way to the English, they must summon their own council if the coronation is to be valid. This council is known as the Curia Regis. It can only be built (summoned) in Lundenwic for game purposes, though in reality it met in other places and, later, actually was renamed to the Witenagemot, its Anglo-Saxon counterpart.

The title “King of England” obviously bestows strong bonuses upon the English or

Norman king, but the building (summoning) of these assemblies also creates a potent effect – namely an increase in law throughout all governed provinces. The Normans also get a bonus to Feudal Law conversion in Lundenwic.

It might also be noted here that the Scottish Kings can be crowned when they go to

Scoine in the province of Aonghas. They require no special assembly. All three coronation places are marked on the strategy map with a throne model.

Political Systems

Above (from top to bottom): Customary, Feudal and Marcher Law political systems.

Gone are the religious distinctions of Viking Invasion II and, in their place, political systems now exist. Although some paganism did still exist among some lesser elements of Norse culture, the people and lords of Britain, the Continent and the Norse territories, were largely Christian (if only in name in some cases!) in this time period. This means religion played less of a role in the unrest between the factions, even if the Normans fought under a Papal banner to inspire their cause.

Of far greater significance was the distinction between the customary laws of

Britain (chiefly the Anglo-Saxon Common Law) and the Norman version of feudal law. It is this opposition among the British to this new system of law that comprises the chief unrest in Norman Invasion. In addition to Feudal Law and Customary Law, there is a third political system called Marcher Law. This was a system developed by the Marcher Lords in places such as the borders of Wales. Although based on feudalism it differed because the Marcher Lords were semi-independent of the Norman state and thus were not only free to ignore or add to the law, but also sometimes adopted or used native laws as well.

In Norman Invasion only the Normans can choose their political system, all other

factions are believers in Customary Law; this is “hard coded” into the game. See also Norman Lordships below. Norman Lordships

Above (from left to right): Marcher, Local and Feudal Lordships.

In an effort to deal with unrest, the Normans can choose to establish one of three different types of rule – called Lordships – in most provinces of Britain. These buildings also affect what buildings can be built and so should be chosen carefully. The three different Lordships are explained on the next page.

1. Local Lordships allow local people to govern whilst the Norman overlord takes a backseat (and works best if he’s not even in the city). This creates less likelihood of unrest and also helps the settlement to grow. However, military construction is seriously limited. No political system is imposed, and so the “hard coded” Customary Law dominates (though of course it may be affected by neighbouring Norman regions).

2. Feudal Lordships allow for greater taxation and the imposition of Feudal Law (see above). This creates more unrest but also allows for more military construction than a Local Lordship.

3. Marcher Lordships allow full military construction but seriously restrict trade and growth. They also impose Marcher Law (see above).

Note that some provinces restrict these options. You can, for example, only build

Feudal Lordships on the Continent and only Marcher Lordships in historical marcher earldoms (the border regions of Wales and the county of Northumberland – these are defined in the Provincial Information texts for your convenience). Natural Fortresses

Some of the more ancient capitals were built on outcrops of rock and other naturally-defensive positions, making them much harder to seize. To represent this in-game these settlements, which all have powerful stockade walls, have stronger gates and more effective towers than their counterparts. On the strategy map you can identify these “natural fortress” settlements by the presence of a small stone fortress model next to them. There are three in Scotland, one in Norse territory, two in England and one in Wales.

Above: A part of the Norman invasion force at Pefenesea bay is challenged by the English…( models created by “1066” and Halie Satanus)

GAME BALANCE

Norman Invasion has been balanced using EDUmatic, the latest unit-balancing and

EDU-generation tool developed by Aradan. Many factors are taken into play in this process and you can rest assured that when you play Norman Invasion you will be playing one of the best-balanced modifications out there.

Campaign balance, like Viking Invasion II, makes use of a campaign script which

runs at campaign start-up. It detects which faction you have chosen to play and then customizes the campaign to that faction. This, together with standard balancing methods, ensures that every campaign you play in Norman Invasion is challenging!

Above: A Welsh captain overlooks a scenic valley in Powys as he waits to ambush an unsuspecting Norman Marcher Lord and his horsemen…

THE FACTIONS The Norse

At the beginning of the game the Norse have a small presence in the northern isles, Scið (modern-day Skye in Scotland) and Mann (Isle of Man). At this time the Norse were largely Christian and their political base was the Jarldom of Orkneyjar (Orkney) - soon to become the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. Historically they never extended their rule and Scotland eventually reclaimed their lands. At game start Scotland and the Norse are on friendly terms and their ruling families related. The Norse have no mounted units but their infantry are not weak.

The Norse are of the Norse culture. In order to win they will need to possess 30 regions including all those they begin with plus the provinces of Ros and Aonghas.

The Scots

The Scots have been at war, on and off, with the Earldom of Northumbria for many a year. Despite this, they later gave refuge and support to the English fleeing the Normans. They have a mix of mounted and infantry troops, including the powerful Mormaer Horsemen who can be recruited in the six Scottish Mormaerdoms. Although currently on good terms with the Norse, it is difficult to see how that will remain so considering the position of both factions. The Scots would be wise to let the English and Normans wear each other down before tackling either head on. An initial fortification along Hadrian's Wall might be a good line to defend.

The Scots are of the Celtic culture. In order to win they will need to possess 30 regions including, in addition to key places in Scotland, the Norse provinces of mainland Scotland as well as the English-held Northumberland.

The Welsh

Wales is in somewhat a state of chaos in AD 1066. Divided into warring Principalities, the player takes control of what is essentially one of those Welsh principalities and must unite them all. They have some good mounted units and some superb longbowmen and longspearmen, but they prefer, and are better at, ambushing and hit-and-run tactics than open battle. Nobles may be recruited from the chief settlement of each Welsh Principality, which makes the Welsh the second strongest faction cavalrywise after the Normans - but masters in their own terrain! In the Principality capital of Gwynedd (which is also the historic capital of all Wales) Nobles are replaced by the Arwyr – Welsh Heroes.

The Welsh are of the Celtic culture. In order to win they will need to possess 30 regions including, in addition to key places in Wales, Cornwealas, Scrobscir and Legeceasterscir. The English

The Anglo-Saxons, infused with Danish blood, now call themselves the English. They have a powerful and large army, but have not kept up with the advancements on the Continent, as typified most strongly by the Normans. The English have no formal mounted units and have less access to bowmen. They are, however, masters of the shield wall and possess the strongest melee units of all - the feared Housecarls with their Dane-axes that can slice through armour, man and horse alike. England is divided up into Earldoms and the English may recruit High Reeves from the chief cities thereof, which come with a bodyguard of the Housecarl Guard to supplement the Royal Housecarls and the standard-roster Housecarls.

The English are of the English culture. In order to win they will need to possess 40 regions including, in addition to key places in England, Lothene and Powys.

The Normans

The Normans have become the dominant power in Western Europe. Guillaume (William), the Duke of the Duchy of Normandy, has spent his time wisely in learning all the latest techniques in warfare and has united his own lands beyond that of any other state. Skilled in castle building, unmatched in horsemanship, unrivalled in military organization, they are a tough foe to beat. However, they are foreigners with a new system of government - Feudal Law - and will suffer from a great deal of rebellion as they attempt to extend themselves beyond the shores of Normandy. The Normans, to aid them in overcoming this unrest, can create different types of "Lordship" over a province.

The Normans are of the Norman culture. In order to win they will need to possess 40 regions including, in addition to Normandy and key places in England, the provinces of Lothene and Ynys Môn.

Above: Scottish Nobles lead a charge against an ill-fated Norman incursion into the Highlands during the winter…

A FINAL WORD FROM MASTEROFNONE

Norman Invasion is my last mod. Its completion sees the end of 5 years of modding since joining the Fourth Age development team back in October 2004 at the SCC forums. It is my hope that players have enjoyed my mods and learned a little about certain times and periods of the world – or myth or Tolkien lore! – and had some fun beyond which the original game could offer. I’ve worked with some stunning modders over the years and thank them for being part of the journey. I have set up a list of my work, as well as a little background, at ModRealms.com in the section entitled “Palantir’s Tower”. Here you will find more information about the mods and projects I have worked on: Corsair Invasion, Forth Eorlingas, The New Shadow, The New Shadow for Rome Total War, The Dwarven Blunderbuss, The Multi-Mod Sampler, The Title of Liberty, Gods & Fighting Men, Europa Barbarorum 1.0 (completion of full modfoldering), The Lost Legion: Rome In Middle-earth, Viking Invasion II, The Dominion of Britannia, and Norman Invasion as well as ADDAM (Alliance for the Development of Dark Age Modifications), a Resource and Development Alliance (RADA) to promote and facilitate Dark-Age mods.

CREDITS

Conceived, created, researched, mapped, built, written and managed by MasterOfNone with support in the following areas from the following people: Traits, Ancillaries, Unit & Campaign Balance Aradan Model Tweaks, Loading Screens, Banners & Symbols Halie Satanus Map Tweaks & Unit Cards Uranos Research Assistance & Beta Testing Keyser Soze

With Gratitude To: Chivalry Total War for the use of several units, including many of the Norman ones. And the defunct 1066 mod for strategy-map models for ships and English armies and some settlement levels. Kevin MacLeod for his free-to-use musical tracks from Incompetech.com. Halie Satanus for his creation of the Norman strategy-map and battlemap general and captain, and for Harold’s “Fighting Man” standard bearer. dvk901 for his permission to use the Roma Surrectum battlemap environments. Also to Arthurian Total War and Age of Vikings and Fanatics for past, but still-included, resources. And to all who gave freely to Viking Invasion II, much of which is still included in Norman Invasion. Contact Details The Norman Invasion forums can be found at TWCenter.Net Now go and defend England!!