History VideoGame / RomeTotalWar

** Any traits or ancillaries for Generals which imply homosexuality are universally negative. Lower levels typically decrease influence and fertility, while the higher levels of the traits can devastate command rating and troop morale, not to mention dropping influence and fertility even further. For the Roman factions, these can also hurt your popularity with the Senate and the people. This one is a bit odd since homosexuality in the ancient world ''wasn't'' an inherently negative thing, with many famous Romans and Greeks known to have engaged in same-sex relationships.[[note]]Among the Romans, their negative homosexual traits such as "Minion" imply that the general is on the recieving end of the relationship, which was indeed considered unseemly in high society.[[/note]]

** There are two ways to take cities in the game: by assault or by siege. The latter method involves surrounding the city on the campaign map until a specified number of turns is up - this depends on such factors as the size of the city and its level of defences. A siege is naturally much lengthier and much less exciting than an assault on the city, but avoids a high level of casualties and prevents damage to the settlement, thus allowing one to leverage upon its economic output or use it for troop production right after taking it. Garrisons also shrink in size as sieges go on, simulating the effects of hunger and desertion, so even besieging a settlement for a few turns before assaulting it can reduce casualties for the attacking army. Garrisons, however, can sally out at any time during a siege and will lift the siege if they defeat the enemy during this battle. This is all historically accurate as during the time period represented by the game, generals much preferred to lay siege to settlements and starve these into surrender rather than launch risky direct assaults for the reasons outlined above. Alternatively, they resorted to bribery to weaken enemy defences or outright secure the surrender of these settlements, which is also represented in game by how diplomats can bribe cities into joining you.

* BottomlessMagazines: Averted. All missile units from slingers to onagers have a finite supply of ammo and will no longer be able to used their ranged attacks when they run out.

** There are two ways to take cities in the game: by assault or by siege. The latter method involves surrounding the city on the campaign map until a specified number of turns is up - this depends on such factors as the size of the city and its level of defences. A siege is naturally much lengthier and much less exciting than an assault on the city, but avoids a high level of casualties and prevents damage to the settlement, thus allowing one to leverage upon its economic output or use it for troop production right after taking it. Garrisons also shrink in size as sieges go on, simulating hunger and desertion, so even besieging a settlement for a few turns before assaulting it can reduce casualties for the attacking army. Garrisons, however, can sally out at any time during a siege and will lift the siege if they defeat the enemy during this battle. This is all historically accurate as during the time period represented by the game, generals much preferred to lay siege to settlements and starve these into surrender rather than launch risky direct assaults for the reasons outlined above. Alternatively, they resorted to bribery to weaken enemy defences or outright secure the surrender of these settlements, which is also represented in game by how diplomats can bribe cities into joining you.

** There are two ways to take cities in the game: by assault or by siege. The latter method involves surrounding the city on the campaign map until a specified number of turns is up - this depends on such factors as the size of the city and its level of defences. A siege is naturally much lengthier and more boring than an assault on the city, but avoids a high level of casualties and prevents damage to the settlement, thus allowing one to leverage upon its economic output or use it for troop production right after taking it. Garrisons also shrink in size as sieges go on, simulating hunger and desertion, so even besieging a settlement for a few turns before assaulting it can reduce casualties for the attacking army. Garrisons, however, can sally out at any time during a siege and will lift the siege if they defeat the enemy during this battle. This is all historically accurate as during the time period represented by the game, generals much preferred to lay siege to settlements and starve these into surrender rather than launch risky direct assaults for the reasons outlined above. Alternatively, they resorted to bribery to weaken enemy defences or outright secure the surrender of these settlements, which is also represented in game by how diplomats can bribe cities into joining you.

* SaveScumming: Unfortunately required to level up your agents. Even if one is trained in a city with beneficial relevant upgrades, [[RandomNumberGod comes with a high "natural skill" trait, and picks up a useful ancillary]], he will still have less than a 50% shot at assassinating or infiltrating even the ''easiest'' targets. The best thing to do is save and just keep trying [[LuckBasedMission until he succeeds in his mission]]. After enough successful missions, his skills will increase so that this becomes less necessary. This is also true for naval battles, since they can ''only'' be resolved automatically.

* EasyLogistics: Played straight. You can send armies to the other side of the world and they'll be just fine from a logistics standpoint. They won't suffer any sort of attrition no matter how far they go and even if they are completely cut off by hostile enemies. The units can easily be retrained back to full strength in any city with the appropriate buildings. Need to replenish your unit of Roman legionaries in a freshly conquered Alexandria? No problem!
** During the time period represented by the game, large-scale campaigning did not typically occur during the winter months due to the challenge of supplying military forces of significant size. In the game, your armies perform equally efficiently at any time of year.
** It is also possible to garrison a tiny village of 400 souls with a huge army of thousands of professional soldiers without any impact on supply. In fact, generals and armies can be left in the middle of the desert for years and even decades and suffer no attrition whatsoever.

-->-- ''Forever''** During the time period represented by the game, large-scale campaigning did not typically occur during the winter months due to the challenge of supplying military forces of significant size. In the game, your armies perform equally efficiently at any time of year.
** It is also possible to garrison a tiny village of 400 souls with a huge army of thousands of professional soldiers without any impact on supply. In fact, generals and armies can be left in the middle of the desert for years and even decades and suffer no attrition whatsoever.

-->-- ''Forever''

* StartingUnits: Several factions start with a unit or two they will not be able to recruit more of until they upgrade their cities, which can take dozens of turns. The biggest example are the Spartan Hoplites the Greek Cities start with. The Spartans are a top-tier unit that won't show up again for a long, long time and even then can only be recruited in limited numbers in one city. Perhaps justified by them being the best infantry unit in the game.

''Rome: Total War'' is the third game in the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' franchise of strategy games. Starting around the time of the [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars First Punic War]], the game allows the player to take control of one of several factions vying for supremacy in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. As the title suggests, Rome is one of the big players here (initially as UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic and later UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire), and is in fact divided up between three families, the Julii, Scipii, and Brutii, as well as the Senate. If the player controls a Roman faction, his goal is not merely to forge an empire for himself, but, when the time comes, to take on the other Roman factions in a brutal civil war with the ultimate goal to be declared Emperor.

In 2021, the Creative Assembly announced a [[UpdatedReRelease remastered version]] of the game and its [=DLCs=], called ''Total War Rome: Remastered'', a comprehensive re-release of the game, including hundreds of changes such as new building and unit models, 4K resolution, enhanced environment textures, modern graphical effects and lighting systems, unlocking 16 previously unplayable factions across the base game and expansions, new tactical systems for both the strategic map and battle map, a massive rebalance of the entire tactics side of the game, cross-platform multiplayer and the addition of the Merchant agent type from ''Medieval II''. Also, certain modding restrictions from the original game were removed.

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Bringing large numbers of [[CannonFodder poorly-trained, poorly-equipped, and inexperienced soldiers]] to a battle with the intention of crushing the enemy through [[ZergRush sheer weight of numbers]] is unwise if the opposing army has higher quality and more-experienced troops. If the opposing army is able to rout just a few of your units, the rest will be more prone to fleeing even if they haven't suffered nearly the same number of casualties.

* AnythingThatMoves: Generals can acquire traits and ancillaries implying that he is a massive womanizer, openly and promiscuously gay, and into bestiality. These traits are ''not'' mutually exclusive.

** Cataphracts. While they are the slowest horse cavalry unit, they're still much faster than any infantry. Their FoeTossingCharge is second only to ''elephants'' in the game and their heavy armor allows them to go toe to toe with with all but the most elite spear infantry in a protracted melee battle. The only things keeping them from reaching game breaker status is their massive recruitment and upkeep expenses, as well as being extremely high in the tech tree, so they won't show up until very late in the campaign.

* MercenaryUnits: It is possible for a General out in the field to recruit mercenaries, providing that they have space for them in the army, and their faction has the money to pay for them. In many cases, said mercenaries are simply a [[PaletteSwap reskin]] of another unit, but a few are not. In any case, such units resemble members of a native faction - Barbarians, Greeks, Easterners, Africans, and a lone Roman-styled pre-Marian triarii-type unit. Also, while it is possible to upgrade a mercenary unit's weapons and armor, they can't replace casualties, save from merging with another unit of the same type. All come with a price tag, and while some are worth it, like Mercenary Hoplites, some are little better than Peasants, like Numidian Mercenaries who have a lower melee attack or break quickly like Eastern Mercenaries. Still, if one has the money, and they are in a mercenary rich territory, it's not impossible to build up a fully stacked army within a few terns, especially in Anitolia. Also, if one just turned an enemy general, and settlement, to their side, recruiting a few mercenaries can keep the population under control for a few units to be recruited in order to keep the peace.

* AscendedExtra: A Captain (the default leader of an army when no General is present) who wins an epic battle can be adopted into the ruling family, allowing him to become a General, governor, and possibly even the eventual Faction Leader.

* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: Peaceful occupation of a city that you've captured ''is'' actually an option, however, it very quickly becomes impractical. Even enslaving the population becomes impractical as you expand, as the enslaved population is transferred to your other governed cities, leading to increased unrest and squalor in those cities. This really only leaves you with the option of ''exterminating'' the populace of your newly captured cities in order to avoid these issues. It also gives you the best "looting" payout and reduces the unrest and squalor by the most out of the three options.

* NecessarilyEvil: Even the largest cities will inevitably succumb to overpopulation and squalor which will put their public order and income into the negative. The only ways to alleviate and slow the onset of overpopulation and squalor is to set the tax rate at maximum and to slaughter the populace of a conquered city. It also helps to not upgrade your farms as well.

* BladeOnAStick: Spear units are the basic "trained" (ie, not Peasants) unit for nearly every faction in the game. They range from the various undisciplined but tenacious spear "hordes" of the Barbarian factions to the "Town Watch" glorified militia of the Western European "civilized" factions to the Militia Phalanx Pikemen of the Greek influenced factions to the "Desert Infantry" of the Persian and African factions. Some, like the Greek Phalanx Hoplites are elite units who can form an impenetrable StoneWall of shields and spears from the front. Nearly all serve as AntiCavalry, even the weaker units who don't get a special bonus when fighting cavalry can still take them down with surprising effectiveness.

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Among the many other advantages it brings (increases to command, influence, troop morale, popularity, protection from assassination...), your Faction Leader having traits that fit this trope will greatly reduce unrest and the probability of revolt across your empire. Even conquered provinces who resent being under the heel of a foreign faction are somewhat soothed by knowing that at least their conquerors have a reputation for valor, fairness, and honesty. The same is also true for any Generals you have situated as governors within the province they are governing.

* BadassInCharge: Depending on their personality traits, your Generals can fit this ''and'' any number of the other BadassTropes. A General with the "Intelligent" trait or who has a "Tutor" ancillary would be a BadassBookworm. A General who also has a lot of great governing skills would be a BadassBureaucrat. The list goes on...

* JokeCharacter: The Western Roman Empire in Barbarian Invasion get a unique general called Gratianus the Lily-livered who starts out with every negative morale trait that he can have.

* GuideDangIt: Managing the traits and retinues of your family members and agents without a guide handy is quite frustrating, both for gaining good ones and avoiding bad (frequently crippling) ones. Even approaching two decades since the game's release, questions about traits and ancillaries are still some of the most common questions on ''Total War'' forums. Further, nowhere in the game is it mentioned that you can move ancillaries between two characters who are in the same city or army. It's incredibly helpful to pass the good ancillaries of aging characters onto younger counterparts, potentially keeping them in for generations.

** One of the starting Carthaginian Admirals is called 'Admiral [[StarWars Akbar]]'. Even funnier if you stumble onto a large enemy fleet.