Set in Europe at the time of the migration of nations (about 200-450 AD), Against Rome takes the player to that part of the continent that has not yet succumbed to the Roman Empire. This vast territory, which the Romans disparagingly called barbaricum, is the home of numerous primitive nations. The player takes control over one of these barbarian tribes, who as a whole stood out for a pronounced lack of cultural achievements, combined with a ferocious belligerence. Skirmishes, raids and plunderings were the order of the day for these barbarians and are, therefore, the great theme of this game. Based in a small village, the player and his barbarians roam the vast forests of Germania or the barren steppes of eastern Europe to raid other settlements in their search for food, weapons and gold. These resources will help the barbarian chieftain expand his settlement and, above all, increase his reputation. While his tribe grows and flourishes, the leader obtains fame and experience and grows to be a master of warfare, until the player's barbarian empire is finally ready to take on the superpower of the time - the mighty Roman Empire and its apparently invincible army. Special features of the game: 3 playable barbarian nations, such as the Teutons. Each nation features 10 different character types (mainly warriors) and at least 15 different buildings. Moreover, each nation features their own special skills, formations, heathen magic etc. In historical battles, the player can also control the Roman army. The scenarios offer 5 markedly different sceneries complete with the appropriate animal life. The dazzling game world includes animated plants, wild animals, numerous weather effects and other natural phenomenons. Against Rome includes 48 scenarios in 5 game types: 4 learning scenarios, 5 endless scenarios for single players, 5 multiplayer build-up scenarios, 5 multiplayer death match scenarios, 5 historical battles, 24 campaign scenarios. All multiplayer scenarios are designed for up to 8 players. Typical easy-to-grasp RTS control.

Against Rome is a battle-oriented strategy game. It has an RTS-typical basic section that is completely built around the innovative and easily operable battle system. This battle system is clearly the centerpiece of the action. A further game-play emphasis is placed upon the differentiability of the three playable barbarian tribes which each have extremely differing characteristics.

The barbarian village : Buildings and Production

The barbarian village is the home of the tribe and at the same time the center of resource production. Each village has a fixed defined settlement area. All buildings that you erect in your village must be situated within the boundaries of this settlement area.
The main house in which all the resources are stored that you will need in the game, is located in the center of every village. Warriors are also equipped for battle there.
You can erect the remaining buildings in your barbarian village as wish around the main house within the settlement area. A building can have up to two upgrades, whereby each upgrade improves the special characteristics of the respective building.
Each barbarian tribe can only ever have one home village. They are however free to give up an old settlement at any time e.g. in order to move to another village that they have captured.

The population The inhabitants of your village are called “Free people”. The houses in your settlement can contain any number of male or female “Free people”, but there is a maximum number of inhabitants for each village. This top limit is dependant on the number and upgrade status of the houses you have erected in your settlement. Free people have two important game values: life points and morale. Life points are not only used up during battle but also in times of famine. As long as you make sure that there is always enough food in the main house, your village inhabitants will not suffer from any shortages. The morale of the village inhabitants is summarized in the so-called village morale, which is also the basis for the morale of the units which you organize and equip in your village. You can employ the Free people in your tribe to produce resources, you can turn them into warriors or use them to form civil units to supply the warriors and plunderers of other settlements. Your Free people remain unarmed and cannot be used in battle as long as they haven't been equipped as warriors. They will also not leave your village for this reason.

Resources You can produce six different resources in your village: Food, wood, stone, equipment, gold and horses. You need food to feed your barbarians. Stone and wood are required for the erected buildings and also serve as raw materials for the production of equipment and gold. You need equipment, horses (for warriors on horseback) and sometimes even gold to equip your warriors. Resources are produced by the Free people in their respective buildings. The number of Free people which you employ in such production buildings influences the speed with which the desired resource is produced. Production buildings are thereby considered as “ inexhaustible” resource sources - after they have been built, they can be used indefinitely. It often makes more sense to rob the required resources from a different settlement. If however you prefer to rely on supplying your own resources, you will soon discover that you are able to install a stable, reliable economic system without great problems that can keep you supplied with the resources you require.

The Barbarian army: Warriors and units

You can arm Free people in the main house of your settlement to become warriors. Each warrior requires a small proportion of the resources stored there for this purpose. When your new warriors leave the main house, they automatically form themselves into battle units with a maximum number of 20 people. Each battle unit only contains warriors of one specific type and is equipped with unit life points and unit morale. This is made up of the average values for life points and morale values of all warriors in this unit. ..
The warriors of a unit no longer have to be selected and controlled individually. Now just a simple click on the unit symbol is sufficient to activate the entire unit.
Contrary to the Free people, battle units can of course leave their settlement at any time - as can also civil units, leaders and priests which are described further below. As soon as a unit has left its settlement, it starts to lose more and more life points, because it no longer has access to the food supplies stored in the main house of your village. This loss of life points however takes place at a relatively slow pace and only really causes trouble if you leave your warriors without supplies for a longer time.
When a unit returns to your settlement and you do not need it anymore, you can disband it in the main house. This thus returns you at least some of the resources which you originally used for arming your warriors. The former warriors are now once again Free people at your disposal.

Battle units and formations

One of the most important characteristics of a battle unit is its capability of being able to form different formations. A formation type can have an effect on the battle value of the warriors as well as their mobility. Battle units can adopt the following formations

	Bunch formation: This formation reflects the barbarian confusion that gives each warrior the greatest possible personal freedom for mobility but does not have any particular advantages in battle.
	Marching formation: This formation is adopted in rough terrain and simplifies advancing.
	Battle formation: The is the classical, usually two-tiered, slaughter row. The warriors at the front have an attack bonus whilst the warriors in the second row can defend better.
	Defense formation: All warriors in a unit that has adopted this formation get a defense bonus. A defense formation cannot move but remains rooted to the spot.
	Attack formation: All warriors in an attack formation have better attack values and can move at top speed.

Civil units

Civil units fulfill a number of important tasks in Against Rome. Each civil unit consists of a maximum of four Free people, whereby each Free person can additionally lead a pack-horse. This way civil units can take on important transport functions in the game. For example they can supply injured or starving warriors outside of settlements with food. They can also transport all the resources necessary for the construction of artillery cannons, which they cannot only build but also man.
The civil units are virtually indispensable for the infamous raids of the barbarians- only they are capable of plundering the enemies settlement and bringing back the stolen resources to their own village.

Barbarian Life: Special characteristics

The culture of the Barbarian nations was dominated by two important personalities at the time of the emigration of nations: the heathen priest who was often reputed to be gifted with all sorts of magic powers and the active leader in whose hands the fate of the entire tribe lay.
These figures are therefore both accordingly given a special importance in Against Rome.

Places of sacrifice and heathen magic

Heathen priests can use up to four different magic spells in Against Rome. These magic spells are all battle-oriented so that any Barbarian army that takes itself seriously should be accompanied by one or even several priests.
Weaving heathen magic spells costs the priests so-called magic points. If a priest has used up his magic points, he can replenish them again at his nation's places of sacrifice. A place of sacrifice must be previously “loaded” before it can supply its priests with magic points. They do this there by sacrificing Free people from their nation, thereby transforming their life points in this way to magic points.
The number of places of sacrifice which you can set up in your settlement also determines how many different magic spells your priests can use.
Each nation in Against Rome has of course different magic spells.

Leaders and their glory

The most important characteristic of a Barbarian leader is the respect in which he is held by his tribe. This respect is measured in so-called glory points in Against Rome. A leader always receives glory points if and for how long his warriors do battle against an enemy. If an enemy is defeated, the leader gets additional glory. If this type of battle is lost, he too loses glory points.
You can use your leader's glory points in two ways in the game: you can either use glory points in order to temporarily strengthen the morale of units which are in the close vicinity of the leader or you can use the glory points to trade in for new capabilities or characteristics for your nation or your leader.
These new capabilities or characteristics are split into three areas:

	Building options: you can carry out building upgrades or erect completely new building types for your nation by using glory points.
	Military options: you can trade in your glory points for either new warrior types, new unit formations, the capability of building artillery pieces or even nation-specific special characteristics.
	Personal options: you can of course use your leader's glory points to make him an even more mighty leader of your nation by improving his personal battle value or his capability to motivate units as described above.