The Invictus Mod adds three possibly Slavic tribes: the Melanchlaenians in Blagoveschenskaya in Russia's Bryansk Region, the Budini in northeast Ukraine, and the Neurians in Belarus and western Ukraine. I played as the Melanchlaenians and achieved "Crusader Kings" style aims: converting to Judaism, then taking over the Holy Land, then converting to Christianity in the first century with the Timeline Extender Mod.
Scholars often associate the Melanchlaenians with the Yukhnovskaya Culture, which includes the archaeological site of Blagoveschenskaya Gora. Historians don't have a solid opinion on whether the Melanchlaenians and Yukhnovskaya Culture were Baltic, Slavic, or Iranian, but Baltic seems to be the most common identification for the Yukhnovskaya Culture because the names of waterways in the Bryansk Region are often Baltic. The three new possible Slavic tribes' leaders have names that sound Baltic for me. One of my noble families was named Waiswilteitis, for instance.
Melanchlaenia begins as a Migratory Tribe in the Mod, which has the advantage of letting you send colonies of settlers around the map. There is a major empty spot with farmland around the area of Serbia that you can settle, and one of the territories there is called Iazygia. There is also a Scythian nation called Iazygia in southeast Russia in the game. This reminds me of the scholarly theory that a Slavic tribe called the White Croats migrated westward into Yugoslavia from Iranian-held lands.
The Mod changes the Baltic "Matrist" religion to the "Wera" religion, Vera being the Russian word for faith. This religion starts with only one shrine - in Sudinoia, and two total relics, one being the Perun thunder god idol and the other being the Spring Idols in Venedicana. However, the latter don't seem to do anything, as there is no shrine in Venedicana. The Melanchlaenians' pantheon in the mod is like the Baltic tribes' pantheon, except for perhaps a few added figures, like Medwidos, a bear figure. Medved in Russian means bear, and comes from the root words of Med (honey) + Ved (leading).
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The special territory "Decisions" related to the Slavs are building the historic Amber trade in Rugia, mining in Tantonum in the Carpathians and Cinnabar in Singidunum/Belgrade. Another special Decision for Slavic nations is to "Form Slavia," which you can do if you control a large swathe of land from Ukraine to the Baltics and east Poland. This changes your nation from your starting tribe (like Melanchlaenia) to "Slavia" and gives it a new flag. In 583 AUC, there was also a meteor that landed in Bersovia in Yugoslavia that I later made a Decision to move to my capitol. This created the "Rock of Ages" modifier that gave me a state religion boost in my Overview menu.
When I conquered the area around the Sea of Azov, I had a dilemma as to whether to stay pagan or convert to Judaism, because I acquired Jewish citizens there, and if I stayed pagan, it would slowly pressure them to convert to paganism. So in 545 AUC, I converted my nation to what Invictus renames the "Israelite Religion," using the new Jewish area for a new national capitol. Later, since I'd changed my religion to Israelite and the Egyptians had conquered Judea and razed Samuel's Shrine in Jerusalem, the Mod let me build a new Temple in my capitol, which at that point I had moved back to Blagoveschenskaya.
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Once I advanced enough, I chose the Democratic Republic form of government. At first, I personally preferred the Democrat faction, but after playing long enough, I didn't care very much which faction controlled the government's votes, and power seemed to rotate between factions over time. I added the Hebrews to my Noble Cultures list and added the Medians and Scythians to my Citizens list when I conquered Media and Scythia, respectively. I filled out the Baltic Miltiary Traditions, most of the Scythian ones, and the more productive Bactrian and Germanic ones.
The Invictus Mod ends at 1 AD. Although I conquered Rome and northern Italy and became the strongest power on the map, my nation was mostly limited to Central-Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia at that point. Some of my biggest weaknesses were from starting as a Migratory Tribe (the most primitive system) and from spending tons of Influence Points on converting to Judaism. I notice that my screen artwork for the victory screen (below), and the message along with it, is less impressive than when I played as Judea in another playthrough. The artwork looks more shaded and has fewer buildings:
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Once I conquered the Levant and parts of Ethiopia, I got messages occasionally mentioning that the populations in those places were converting to Judaism, since the Ethiopians included the "Beta Israel" community. The Egyptians had conquered Palestine, razed Samuel the Prophet's Shrine in Jerusalem, and moved its two relics to their own temples. So after capturing Jerusalem and part of Egypt myself, I made a new shrine to Samuel in Jerusalem and put the two relics back there. Fortunately, the Egyptians hadn't levelled the Second Temple Wonder.
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The Invictus Timeline Extender Mod's first event message about Jesus' death shows up in November, 31 AD. I had conquered Palestine and the city of Rome by that time, but controlling these lands didn't affect this event. In contrast, sometimes in the course of normal gameplay, an event happens where an upstart Character like a slave gathers a following and you get a choice as to how to treat them.
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Starting in the 1st Century and before converting my nation to Christianity, the Mod repeatedly triggers new group conversions of Christians and asks how to treat them. I always chose to tolerate them. Similarly, in my playthrough, I consistently chose to avoid killing characters, like killing POWs of defeated nations.
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The Timeline Extender lets you convert to Christianity starting in 101 AD. It took me to 108 AD to suceed. It was a little tricky because I needed a couple hundred influence points to move my capitol to Antioch, and create a non-Slave Christian majority there, and then choose the Christian Conversion option in the Decisions menu.
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The Timeline Extender Mod leaves the Maccabean Revolt Trigger in place, so if you have a Christian nation and control Judea, Judea asks to become a client state and revolts if you click "Everything is fine as it is."
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By 200 AD, my nation stretched from England and France to the Indus. In 165 AD, the Antonine Plague hit, and gave major hits to food and happiness in some provinces. As a result, I sold some provinces to my clients before the provinces rebelled. Some other territories rebelled and I turned them into clients. This is why I have some client states in my midst like Western Delta, Talas, and the Seleucid countries in Turkey. The strongest nations that I haven't conquered are Carthage, Shunga (India), the Ptolemies (Sudan), and Rome.
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77% of my nation became Christian, thanks in part to the strong 30% conversion power bonus that Christianity has. If you control certain territories that match certain saints' stories and then venerate the saints, the Mod lets you build a second shrine for those saints and gives you a special relic for each. I built shrines for:
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Scholars often associate the Melanchlaenians with the Yukhnovskaya Culture, which includes the archaeological site of Blagoveschenskaya Gora. Historians don't have a solid opinion on whether the Melanchlaenians and Yukhnovskaya Culture were Baltic, Slavic, or Iranian, but Baltic seems to be the most common identification for the Yukhnovskaya Culture because the names of waterways in the Bryansk Region are often Baltic. The three new possible Slavic tribes' leaders have names that sound Baltic for me. One of my noble families was named Waiswilteitis, for instance.
Melanchlaenia begins as a Migratory Tribe in the Mod, which has the advantage of letting you send colonies of settlers around the map. There is a major empty spot with farmland around the area of Serbia that you can settle, and one of the territories there is called Iazygia. There is also a Scythian nation called Iazygia in southeast Russia in the game. This reminds me of the scholarly theory that a Slavic tribe called the White Croats migrated westward into Yugoslavia from Iranian-held lands.
The Mod changes the Baltic "Matrist" religion to the "Wera" religion, Vera being the Russian word for faith. This religion starts with only one shrine - in Sudinoia, and two total relics, one being the Perun thunder god idol and the other being the Spring Idols in Venedicana. However, the latter don't seem to do anything, as there is no shrine in Venedicana. The Melanchlaenians' pantheon in the mod is like the Baltic tribes' pantheon, except for perhaps a few added figures, like Medwidos, a bear figure. Medved in Russian means bear, and comes from the root words of Med (honey) + Ved (leading).
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: In the Invictus Mod, the "Spring Idols" relic is described as in Venedicana, but it is not in a shrine and there is no way to put it in one.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. In the Invictus Mod, the "Spring Idols" relic is described as in Venedicana, but it is not in a shrine and there is no way to put it in one.
The special territory "Decisions" related to the Slavs are building the historic Amber trade in Rugia, mining in Tantonum in the Carpathians and Cinnabar in Singidunum/Belgrade. Another special Decision for Slavic nations is to "Form Slavia," which you can do if you control a large swathe of land from Ukraine to the Baltics and east Poland. This changes your nation from your starting tribe (like Melanchlaenia) to "Slavia" and gives it a new flag. In 583 AUC, there was also a meteor that landed in Bersovia in Yugoslavia that I later made a Decision to move to my capitol. This created the "Rock of Ages" modifier that gave me a state religion boost in my Overview menu.
When I conquered the area around the Sea of Azov, I had a dilemma as to whether to stay pagan or convert to Judaism, because I acquired Jewish citizens there, and if I stayed pagan, it would slowly pressure them to convert to paganism. So in 545 AUC, I converted my nation to what Invictus renames the "Israelite Religion," using the new Jewish area for a new national capitol. Later, since I'd changed my religion to Israelite and the Egyptians had conquered Judea and razed Samuel's Shrine in Jerusalem, the Mod let me build a new Temple in my capitol, which at that point I had moved back to Blagoveschenskaya.
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: If you are Jewish in the Invictus Mod and Judea has been conquered, you can make a new Temple in your capitol instead, it seems.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. If you are Jewish in the Invictus Mod and Judea has been conquered, you can make a new Temple in your capitol instead, it seems.
Once I advanced enough, I chose the Democratic Republic form of government. At first, I personally preferred the Democrat faction, but after playing long enough, I didn't care very much which faction controlled the government's votes, and power seemed to rotate between factions over time. I added the Hebrews to my Noble Cultures list and added the Medians and Scythians to my Citizens list when I conquered Media and Scythia, respectively. I filled out the Baltic Miltiary Traditions, most of the Scythian ones, and the more productive Bactrian and Germanic ones.
The Invictus Mod ends at 1 AD. Although I conquered Rome and northern Italy and became the strongest power on the map, my nation was mostly limited to Central-Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia at that point. Some of my biggest weaknesses were from starting as a Migratory Tribe (the most primitive system) and from spending tons of Influence Points on converting to Judaism. I notice that my screen artwork for the victory screen (below), and the message along with it, is less impressive than when I played as Judea in another playthrough. The artwork looks more shaded and has fewer buildings:
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: My artwork for my victory screen and its message when I played as Melanchlaenia, a migratory tribe.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. My artwork for my victory screen and its message when I played as Melanchlaenia, a migratory tribe.
Once I conquered the Levant and parts of Ethiopia, I got messages occasionally mentioning that the populations in those places were converting to Judaism, since the Ethiopians included the "Beta Israel" community. The Egyptians had conquered Palestine, razed Samuel the Prophet's Shrine in Jerusalem, and moved its two relics to their own temples. So after capturing Jerusalem and part of Egypt myself, I made a new shrine to Samuel in Jerusalem and put the two relics back there. Fortunately, the Egyptians hadn't levelled the Second Temple Wonder.
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: It was fun recapturing the two Jewish relics from the Egyptians and putting them back in the Jewish Temple.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. It was fun recapturing the two Jewish relics from the Egyptians and putting them back in the Jewish Temple.
The Invictus Timeline Extender Mod's first event message about Jesus' death shows up in November, 31 AD. I had conquered Palestine and the city of Rome by that time, but controlling these lands didn't affect this event. In contrast, sometimes in the course of normal gameplay, an event happens where an upstart Character like a slave gathers a following and you get a choice as to how to treat them.
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: In the Timeline Extender, the first message about Jesus' death appears in Nov 31 AD.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. In the Timeline Extender, the first message about Jesus' death appears in Nov 31 AD.
Starting in the 1st Century and before converting my nation to Christianity, the Mod repeatedly triggers new group conversions of Christians and asks how to treat them. I always chose to tolerate them. Similarly, in my playthrough, I consistently chose to avoid killing characters, like killing POWs of defeated nations.
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: In the years before converting my nation to Christianity, the Mod let me decide how to treat Christians.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. In the years before converting my nation to Christianity, the Mod let me decide how to treat Christians.
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: The Timeline Extender Mod has neat Christian historical event descriptions.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. The Timeline Extender Mod has neat Christian historical event descriptions.
The Timeline Extender lets you convert to Christianity starting in 101 AD. It took me to 108 AD to suceed. It was a little tricky because I needed a couple hundred influence points to move my capitol to Antioch, and create a non-Slave Christian majority there, and then choose the Christian Conversion option in the Decisions menu.
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: I achieved the conditions to Convert my nation to Christianity with the Timeline Extender Mod.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. I achieved the conditions to Convert my nation to Christianity with the Timeline Extender Mod.
The Timeline Extender Mod leaves the Maccabean Revolt Trigger in place, so if you have a Christian nation and control Judea, Judea asks to become a client state and revolts if you click "Everything is fine as it is."
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: In the Timeline Extender Mod, Christianity & Judaism are separate. The Maccabean trigger activates if you don't grant a Jewish client state.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. In the Timeline Extender Mod, Christianity & Judaism are separate. The Maccabean trigger activates if you don't grant a Jewish client state.
By 200 AD, my nation stretched from England and France to the Indus. In 165 AD, the Antonine Plague hit, and gave major hits to food and happiness in some provinces. As a result, I sold some provinces to my clients before the provinces rebelled. Some other territories rebelled and I turned them into clients. This is why I have some client states in my midst like Western Delta, Talas, and the Seleucid countries in Turkey. The strongest nations that I haven't conquered are Carthage, Shunga (India), the Ptolemies (Sudan), and Rome.
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: I played as Slavia with Invictus' Timeline Extender Mod and conquered from France to the Indus by 200 AD.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. I played as Slavia with Invictus' Timeline Extender Mod and conquered from France to the Indus by 200 AD.
77% of my nation became Christian, thanks in part to the strong 30% conversion power bonus that Christianity has. If you control certain territories that match certain saints' stories and then venerate the saints, the Mod lets you build a second shrine for those saints and gives you a special relic for each. I built shrines for:
- The Virgin Mary in Sepphoris (where Nazareth is), Cornelius in Stratonos Pyrgos (where he lived),
- St. Paul of Tarsus in Tarsos,
- St. Andrew in Patras (where he was martyred) and Byzantion (where he preached),
- Philip in Tarichaia (where Bethsaida, his hometown would be) and Hieropolis (where he was martyred),
- Nathanael in Tzur (where Derbend is, and where he might have been martyred), and
- St. Mark in Cyrenaica (where he was from) and Kanopos (where he might have been martyred).
Steam Community :: Screenshot :: The TImeline Extender Mod lets you convert to Christianity and make shrines for saints.
Steam Community: Imperator: Rome. The TImeline Extender Mod lets you convert to Christianity and make shrines for saints.
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