Mamertines

The Mamertines are the only playable Sabellic faction in the Invasion Sandbox of the Eagle King DLC. They are a naval invader, with various possible starting locations in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coasts of Sicily and southern Italy.

Unlike other playable factions in the Invasion Sandbox, even factions in the same faction group as the Mamertines are hostile and will not assist them. This is because the Mamertines represent a band of raiding mercenaries without any allies, a fact also reflected in their unique combination of faction attributes.

In-game Description
"The Mamertines were originally Campanian mercenaries invited to Sicily by Agathokles of Syrakousai. After Agathokles' death, some of these mercenaries travelled to Messene (the new name of Zancle). Initially accepted in peacefully, the Mamertines eventually rose up and bloodily took control of the town, from which they would lead frequent attacks on other Sicilian cities afterwards."

Possible Starting Locations

 * Off the coast of Latium, near Antium.
 * Off the coast of western Lucania, near Elea and Pyxous.
 * Off the coast of western Bruttium, near Clampetia and Terina.
 * Off the coast of northeastern Sicily, near Mylae and Zancle.
 * Off the coast of northern Sicily, near Himera and Panormos.
 * Off the coast of western Sicily, near Eryx and Lilybaion.

Starting Brigades
When composing your starting army, the Mamertines have 16 points to spend, with the following options available: In addition, you will receive a Light Warship and as many Small Transport Ships as are needed to carry every brigade.

The default loadout consists of 3 Javelineers, 3 Spearmen, 2 Light Pilum Swordsmen, 1 Noble Cavalry and 2 points to spare.

You will be given 800 gold to start.

Historic Starting Generals
When playing this faction in a sandbox setting, the player may choose to start with one of the following pre-defined historic generals instead of a generic one. These characters usually have far better bonuses than can be obtained with the generic starting generals.

Strategy
Unlike other playable factions in the Invasion Sandbox, you will not encounter friendly factions anywhere as even your fellow Sabellic factions will be hostile to you. As such, when choosing your starting position you do not need to consider the locations of potentially friendly factions, as all factions will simply be hostile.

The Mamertines have a unique mixture of faction attributes which heavily penalizes your gold and food income from Cities, Farms, Livestock Farms and Fisheries. It may therefore be wise to prioritize staffing and upgrading Vineyards and Mines instead, as they are unaffected, and to settle in an area with a high proportion of the latter types of resource buildings. You will nonetheless have a very difficult start economically, as you also start with a very low amount of gold.

You will almost definitely need to use your army aggressively in the early game to balance your economy. Your brigade's food levels can be temporarily maintained by scavenging staffed enemy resource buildings, and your gold income can be augmented by the "pillaging" gold earned upon capturing an enemy city. Both of these additional sources of income are significantly enhanced through your faction bonuses to pillaging and scavenging, and can help you sustain your economy in the early game.

The Mamertines notably do not start out with any colonists, making initial assimilation slightly harder. Your bonus to city assimilation rate may eventually make up for this after you've unlocked the Colonization skill in the Economic skill tree, which should likely be a priority.

Plan your playstyle while composing your starting army. Do not waste your starting points on Heavy Warships if you're going to more or less immediately make landfall. They are only worthwhile if planning to settle an area far away from your starting location, or when thinking of a naval raiding playstyle (for which the Mamertines' faction bonuses are well-suited).

Trivia & History

 * The Mamertines took their name from Mamers, the Oscan form of the name of the war god Mars.
 * As referenced in the in-game tooltip, the Mamertines were historically a band of Campanian mercenaries hired by king Agathokles of Syrakousai, that ended up seizing the city of Messene/Messana (the later name of Zancle) after becoming unemployed upon the death of Agathokles in 289 BC. Using Messene as a headquarters, the Mamertines launched raids far and wide across Sicily and also became a threat to the nearby shipping lanes.
 * The Mamertines allied with Carthage against Pyrrhus of Epirus during the latter's invasion of Italy and Sicily. Pyrrhus initially conquered several Mamertine cities, but the tide changed when the local Greek cities turned against Pyrrhus and allied with the Mamertines to drive him out of Sicily. The Mamertines even continued to attack Pyrrhus after he had retreated back to the Italian mainland, though Pyrrhus managed to defeat them in a costly battle.
 * A conflict between the Mamertines and Syrakousai in the 260s escalated when the Mamertines allied Carthage to protect against Syrakousai, and then appealed for Roman help against Carthage after falling out with their new protectors. This led to the First Punic War of 264-241 BC, which ended with Rome annexing most of Sicily including the Mamertines.
 * Their faction icon depicts an Italic warrior, with the design being taken from ancient Mamertine coins.