The Sons of Alexandros: Macedon

Welcome, traveler, to the land of hard mountains and harder men. We are the tribes of Macedon, a semi-Greek people living in the southern Balkans, just north of Greece proper. We have fought beside the Greeks, and against them, and our two greatest kings- Philip II and Alexander III- have conquered them. Alexander went further, driving the Persians back across the Hellespont, and pursued them to create an empire larger than the world had ever seen. This is our legacy, that epic triumph of Macedonian arms, which brings more than one warlord to our lands to rule as Basileus.

We are so powerful that the Creators of our virtual world decided our power in the hands of a visiting warlord was too powerful. Thus they removed our faction from the roster of those a warlord may choose to command. But we Macedonians are clever. By following this link, you may circumvent the will of the gods and take command of the best warriors of the known world.

The Land


Our land in this virtual world begins with our capital, a minor city named Thessalonica, which was founded forty five years before our Virtual World begins by King Cassander of Macedon, and named for his wife, the half-sister of our Megas Basileus Alexandros- whom you know better as Alexander the Great.

North of Thessalonica lies the large town of Bylazora, guarding the mountain passes against Dacian or Roman aggression from the north. Bylazora is not large, but it can grow.

To the south of Thessalonica lies Larissa, another minor city, and one which controls our gateway to the Greeks to its south. Larissa is a key city- from there, our warhost can strike quickly south into the Greeks of Attica and the Peloponnesus, or west to where the Brutii seek to conquer Greek Thermon.

Corinth is another of our cities, on the gulf that bears her name. A port, thus valuable, and little else make one wonder why we struggle so to retain this burg amid our foes. To be honest, the city itself has little to offer, but upon her lands rests the gigantic and wondrous Statue of Zeus- one of the Seven Wonders of the World. For this, my friend, for this we fight so to retain that city.

We once founded a city on the shores of Africa. Cyrene we named it, though it has since fallen to rebels and others. Be aware of the history of that city, my lord, because when the current lords rule so badly that the city rebels against them, betimes the city father of Cyrene send envoys to Thessalonica to inform us that Cyrene has shaken off foreign control and once again is a part of our glorious empire.

Our enemies surround us, but we are stronger. The Greeks to the South have Spartans, but little else that can threaten us. Their cavalry has long been a running joke among true warriors. To the north, The Dacians and Thracians may grow strong, but they are also far away. No, to the people of Macedon, the only true threats come from the Greeks and those Romans who invade from the west.

The Warhost


Our warhost is the most powerful army in the known world. We took the power of the Greek phalanx and our king Philip II improved it, and added heavy horsemen to our warhost. Then his son, Megas Basileus Alexandros, showed the value of that heavy cavalry throughout the known world.

The basis of our warhost is the phalanx pikemen. These men carry less armor than the Greek phalangites, but longer spears- the sarissa. They form the backbone of any Macedonian army- and often those armies of our fellow Successor kingdom, that of Seleucos. Even the Thracians try to imitate our ways- they too can train pikemen. A heavier version of these men are available from our Army Barracks. These are Royal Pikemen, the finest troops any nation can produce.


But as powerful and battle-worthy as our phalangites are, they are nothing without our heavy cavalry. Macedonian cavalry is known throughout the world as the Hammer, with which we smite our foes pinned against the anvil of our phalanxes. The finest of all Macedonian cavalry are the Royal Companions, elite cavalrymen from the highest-tier stables. These men are costly, but worth their weight in gold to any battlefield commander who excels in the use of horsemen.

Light Lancers can do in a pinch- they have among the highest charge bonuses in the Virtual World, though their light armor and weak defense makes them incredibly vulnerable in melee. But for the charge, lord, the charge! There these fine light horsemen on their small ponies excel.

We also have with us light troops, peltasts and archers, who rain death upon our foes and weaken them before they clash with our phalangites. These flesh out our army and make it suitable for battle in any terrain, against any foe.

We are a civilized people, despite the rumors you may have heard from the Greeks. Civilized people use engines of war, such as ballistae and onagers, hurlers of stone to smash down gates or flatten phalanxes in their footsteps. We too use these engines.

The Gods


We Macedonians have an entire pantheon of gods, whom we share with the Greeklings to the south, but only build shrines and temples to but four. These we chose as they suit our lifestyle and nation most properly.

Our Demeter is similar to the Roman Ceres, providing for increased harvests. Food fills the belly and helps the populace to grow, bringing forth more warriors to serve in our phalanxes and cavalry.

Zeus is the Lawgiver, and chief among our gods. His temples help bring law and order to our cities, and grant our governors good traits as time passes. Towns with temples to Zeus lawgiver riot far less often than towns without.

Artemis is the virgin goddess of the Hunt, sister to Apollo who lights the world with his flaming chariot. Artemis is also the goddess of the Bow, a weapon that becomes more and more visible on any battlefield. Her temples grant the smiths of the cities special skills in the production and modification of missile weapons, making her temples a necessary part of any war machine.

Ares is the last god to whom we construct temples and shrines. He is a violent god, the god of war. His worship we share with the Thracians as well, though with a difference from those savages, of course. Our Temples to Ares are closer to the Roman Mars, which grant experience benefits to troops raised or retrained in cities with his temples.

Of course, the other gods are jealous that we build shrines to only four. They repay us for their exclusion by striking us with a plague early in the campaign. This plague is deadly, but since we are clever, it is manageable. We know they strike us, so we keep our Royal Family out of the cities when it strikes, and keep them out until it passes. You, too, can learn how to dodge this divine retribution, now that you know of it.

The Mods

Alexander has become one of History’s Great Captains. His exploits are legendary, his realm the envy of the ancient world. As such, he has influenced very many people throughout history.

He has also influenced the creators of our Virtual World and those who visit to lead one faction or another to total victory. The Creative Assembly has even spawned an entire new expansion pack for RTW based upon him: Alexander: Total War, which uses our Virtual World as a base. You may learn more of this here.

Countless others have also added to our Virtual World with modpacks of their own, to flesh out and fill in whatever they think needs more, or could use a bit more. There is a Rise of Macedon modpack out there, as well as several Diadochi mods that flesh out the Successors of Alexander quite well.