Frentani

The Frentani are a medium-sized Sabellic faction located in central Italy near the Adriatic Sea, along the coast of Samnium.

Their starting neighbours are the Marsi, Samnites and Dauni.

In-game Description
"The Frentani are an offshoot clan of the Samnites whose migration to the coast allowed them to act independently of the larger Samnite federation. Despite their Samnite origins, the Frentani associate more closely with their neighbours the Marrucini, Peligni and Marsi."

Starting Cities

 * Anxanum:
 * Pallanum:
 * Histonium:
 * Larinum:
 * Arx Calela:

Strategy
The Frentani's starting city is exposed to attacks from the Marsi and it might become necessary to deal with the Marsi through warfare or diplomacy while still in the process of uniting your starting territory.

Regarding your first target for expansion, each of your neighbouring factions have their pros and cons. The starting border with the Marsi is the most threatening to your capital city, and their defensible coastal territory a geographically good target, but the Marsi do have a bonus to melee damage that makes their units slightly stronger than yours. Expanding in the other direction along the coast, into the Dauni, is also a geographically sensible strategy, but they benefit from the Illyric roster which is better than your own Sabellic roster in the early game. The Samnites do not have a combat advantage over you, but annexing their surrounded inland territory would complicate your borders more and expose you to many new neighbouring factions to keep your borders secure against. The exact best target will probably depend on random factors such as AI vs AI conquest and scripted events.

Trivia & History

 * As mentioned in the in-game description, the Frentani were historically an offshoot of the Samnites. Their in-game attributes reference this, as they are similar to those of the Samnites but with the bonus to Livestock Farms switched for an equivalent bonus to Fisheries. A comment in one of the faction entity files reveals that this was done on purpose, to make them "like Samnites, but coastal".
 * Depite being descendants of the Samnites, their role in historical events was much more similar to that of the neighbouring Marsi. Like the Marsi, the Frentani first appear in history as allies of the Samnites against Rome during the Second Samnite War, but became Roman allies shortly after that war's conclusion. Like the Marsi and unlike the Samnites, they remained loyal to Rome during the invasions of Pyrrhus and Hannibal. They are also noted for joining the Marsi and Samnites against Rome in the Social War of 91-87 BC, though they do not seem to have played a significant role in its events.
 * The faction's icon is a dolphin. Its design seems to have been taken from coins found in northern Iapygia, not very far from its border with the Frentani.