Hey Anno Community,

In today’s DevBlog we would like to focus on the Campaign and the story of Anno 117: Pax Romana – your path as Roman Governor, the characters you will meet along the way and the obstacles you will encounter.

Just a little disclaimer for this blog post: mild spoilers for the first part of the campaign ahead! So, if you want to go into the Anno 117: Pax Romana campaign completely blind, then we would recommend skipping this DevBlog – and while you wait for the next one to be published, feel free to check last week’s DevBlogs on diplomacy and rivals, and the one on multiplayer!

A story and its purpose

If you played previous Anno titles, then you probably already know roughly what to expect from the campaign mode: it provides the context of the world you are building – whether it’s industrial revolution, futuristic reconstruction or a colony on the moon.

You will follow a protagonist through a series of challenges and discoveries: in this way, the campaign act as a tutorial or onboarding experience, as it gradually introduces game mechanics like needs fulfilment, resource management, diplomacy and so on.

In the campaign, your city doesn’t just grow – it evolves alongside the story. As you hit certain narrative milestones, new parts of your city’s development open up. These moments aren’t just story beats, they also shape how your sandbox experience unfolds, making the whole journey feel more connected and alive.

How this applies to Anno 117: Pax Romana? Let’s have a look together.

“When the Emperors call, we mortals answer”

You should all know by now what’s the general setting of Anno 117: Pax Romana: it is the year 117, time of the Pax Romana (= “Roman peace”), an era of relative stability in the Empire; you will take on the role of a Roman governor, explore the provinces of Latium and Albion, build and manage cities and productions.

The campaign in Anno 117: Pax Romana is split into two main parts, which are then further divided into different chapters. Just like in Anno 1800’s campaign, you will see your empire grow and expand while you play the campaign; to ensure that you can keep playing in this world as much as you want, the campaign turns into a sandbox game once you finish the final chapter.

But who are you in Anno 117: Pax Romana, exactly? Well, for the first time in an Anno game, you will be taking the role of a specific character. Right at the beginning of Campaign Mode, you will face your first choice between two siblings: will you play as Marcus, Ninth Son of Decimus of the Delta, or Marcia, Eligible Daughter of Decimus of the Delta?

Marcus Naukratius

He is the youngest son of Decimus, Governor of Lower Kemet and the Delta. Tired of his son’s erratic behaviour, Decimus put him to work in the imperial granaries, supervising the monthly grain tally. One day, Marcus is summoned by Emperor Lucius and asked to take the role of Governor of a forgotten senatorial province in Latium – not too far from the heart of the empire, Rome.

Marcia Tertia

As her name suggests, she is the third Marcia (Tertia = third) born to the wealthy household at Naukratia – she is a quiet and observant daughter. Like most girls her age, Marcia is expected to marry but has little say in the matter. Soon she must leave home behind to join her future husband, a Roman governor: little does she know what part she will have to play.

Welcome to Juliana, Governor!

After a long voyage, your character finally arrives on an almost-empty island not too far from the heart of the Empire: here you will be welcomed by Emperor Lucius and his beloved wife Julia. To put it bluntly, whether you choose Marcus or Marcia, you will feel like a fish out of the water. Growing up you never thought you would end up governing your own island, so feeling very much out of your depth is on the cards. Despite your inexperience as leader, you will get to know your role and slowly adjust to the new challenges, especially thanks to Ben Baalion, your trusted advisor: expert slave of the imperial court, he will accompany you along your journey, through all the ups and downs.

The first thing you might spot on the island along the overgrown vegetation and the local fauna roaming free, is ruins. On this island there once was a lively city named Ambrosia. A terrible eruption of the nearby volcano, Old Occasus, destroyed the great city of Ambrosia. Your first duty as a governor (or his wife, in Marcia’s case) is to rebuild it anew as Juliana – named after Julia, the wife of the Emperor.

After trial and error, things start falling into place. Being a Governor is not so bad after all, isn’t it? Well… Sorry to inform you, but this balance is soon disrupted by a sudden and tragic event – but we won’t mention here today because… spoilers. Let’s just say that a new character enters the scene, Calidus – who we can safely describe him as a “difficult character”. Calidus forces seize the Senate, and he declares himself Emperor.

If you thought things were complicated for you in the beginning, then we have not-so-great-news for you: they get worse. Suspicious of all people to close to the previous Emperor, he exiles you to the North of the Empire, where no civilised Roman wants to be – Albion.

Your mission here is “simple”:  bring stability to these new lands, that have recently been conquered by the Empire. Here you will learn what it really means to be a Governor with all the difficult decisions and responsibilities it entails.

A whole new world of decisions and responsibilities

While we don’t want to dive too much into the second part of the story as we don’t want to spoil it, it’s important to talk about the main theme. Here, you will learn how to transform this exile into an opportunity: it is the time to show the Emperor and the other characters what you are capable of.

You will understand what type of Roman Governor you really are through the decisions you make here. As you already know, when arriving in Albion, you won’t be arriving in an empty world: the Celts have made this wild land their home; they thrive in a place you perceive as alien, by taking advantage of the marshlands and the harsh weather.

If you’re curious about Albion and its environment, feel free to check our devblog dedicated to the province and its choices here, plus an extra one on its deities, military options and discoveries.

Emperors

As we mentioned earlier, at the end of the second part of the campaign, the game will turn into sandbox. This means you’ll be able to play in the world that you’ve built as much as you want.

We have talked about choices a lot in this blog (and previous ones). Not only do they affect the way your cities will grow, but they will also affect your relationship with the Emperor – he’s watching your action closely.

Once in sandbox mode, if you decide to go against the Emperor, then another choice will come your way: pick a different Emperor or keep Calidus – it’s up to you. The other option is having Julia as Empress.

When starting a sandbox game, during game setup, you get to choose which Emperor you want to start the game with.

Calidus

Your loyalty to Roman customs doesn’t go unnoticed with Calidus. Uphold them, and you’ll earn his respect. But ignore tradition or decline his requests, and his reputation with him will suffer. His favourite deity? Mars, of course. Considering he was born and raised in military camps, it should not be a surprise. After all, he thinks that the only way to defeat enemies is to use force against them.

Julia

Unlike Calidus, Julia is not a fan of force: she prefers negotiation to overcome enemies. Embracing Celtic tradition and choosing the Romano-Celtic path will not provoke backlash from her, on the contrary.

She is a political animal and – being nobility herself – is largely oblivious to the needs and troubles of the lower classes.

Each Emperor will reward different behaviour by you and may react negatively to some others of your actions.

We hope you enjoyed this DevBlog on the story mode and campaign in Anno 117: Pax Romana! If you enjoyed it and would like to dive into more details about it, a reminder that previews of the game are now out – so make sure to check out what your trusted gaming website or Anno creator says!

You don’t have to play Anno 117: Pax Romana all by yourself, if you don’t want to. You can invite friends or family to build and settle with you – or in direct competition with you. Let’s talk about the multiplayer mode in the game.

Multiplayer Game Modes

As is Anno tradition by now, we offer you a few options:

Play PvP with up to three other governors competing with you. These three slots can be filled by human or AI opponents, so you can, e.g., play against two friends and fill the fourth slot with dear Concordia. Grab the best islands before your friends do, forge treaties and alliances or engage in warfare, fighting on sea and land.

You can also play co-op, meaning you and up to three other (human) players play as the same governor. You share resources, money and islands and have to coordinate your actions. The further you progress, the more you’ll appreciate sharing responsibilities: why not let your buddy take over the management of Albion why you take care of Latium? The mode is also ideal to onboard friends or family members who are new to Anno 117: Pax Romana.

And finally, you can mix both: Play as a group of four friends against three AI opponents! Or go crazy and create a 4v4v4v4 match: 16 players across four teams battling it out.

While previous Anno games restricted multiplayer to sandbox mode, there’s one significant change in Anno 117: Pax Romana: The campaign can be played in co-op with up to three friends.

Game Setup

Setting up a multiplayer game is more flexible than in the past: We do not distinguish between singleplayer and multiplayer as strongly anymore. The game setup screen allows you to set it up as you want, by inviting only AI opponents, only human players, a mix of both or none at all (for a peaceful game). Multiplayer is invite-only, i.e. other players need to be on your friends-list. If you tick the “Friend Game” option during setup, friends can join your game without being invited first.

Each group (or individual players) can decide in which province to start. If you’re playing in co-op, the respective “group leader” takes this decision for the entire co-op group.

Similar to how you can fill empty slots with AI rivals even during the game (as mentioned in the Diplomacy DevBlog), the same is possible with human players. You can invite friends to turn a singleplayer game into a co-op one or fill empty slots with human opponents at any time.

Special Settings

There’s one new system here as well, however: co-op live savegames. This option has to be activated by the host in the setup screen. Live savegames are stored in the cloud and only ever store the latest state of the savegame, not keeping any savegame history.

This allows you and any other player from that savegame to continue the co-op game on your own, and then (re-)invite your friend (or any other friend) later: you don’t have to be online at the same time to play the co-op savegame together.

If your team mate is currently playing, you can simply join by loading the latest save – no need to coordinate a fixed time for everyone to be in the lobby for the game to start.

Anno 117: Pax Romana allows for cross-platform matches if the option is enabled. If your friends are playing on a different platform, that’s no longer a problem in Anno 117: Pax Romana thanks to cross-play.

Trade and alliances or war and conquest – how are you interacting with your partners in multiplayer?

Q&A

Let’s answer a few questions we’ve already seen online here at the end of the blog.

Q: Are there multiplayer speed settings in Anno 117: Pax Romana?

A: No, speed controls are limited to singleplayer. We are, however, open to looking into this topic again in postlaunch, should there be high demand by our community. The active pause functionality is available and can be activated by the host.

Q: Can I use mods in multiplayer?

A: Yes, but it requires all players to activate the same mods.

Q: Will all players require to own a certain DLC in order to use it in a multiplayer match?

A: Yes, similar to mods, all players will need to own/use the same gameplay DLC content in order to play together. These are selected while setting up the game.

Q: Can I select my avatar player logo (“sigil”) and name?

A: Names can be fully customized or chosen from a random selection. Additionally, each player (or group leader) can pick an avatar, logo/sigil and player colour. The same options are true in singleplayer, of course.

Q: Is the day/night cycle available in multiplayer?

A: Yes, since the feature is cosmetic-only, each player can select their preferred time of day individually.

Q: Is there a text or voice chat in the game?

A: Anno 117: Pax Romana does not feature text or voice chat functionality.

So much on the topic of multiplayer for today, we hope we answered all questions on the topic with the blog, but do not hesitate to let us know if there are any burning questions left!

We mentioned the campaign already in today’s blog and that’s where we continue soon: with a closer look at Anno 117: Pax Romana’s campaign and story. Stay tuned!

You’re not alone in the world of Anno 117: Pax Romana! In additional to neutral traders and (not so neutral) raiders, other governors are also settling islands in the name of the Empire.

As is tradition in Anno, multiple different characters make up the ensemble of rivals and it’s up to you while setting up your game which ones you want to play with (or none at all).

And even if you plan to ultimately subjugate or conquer them, it never hurts to know the rules and possibilities of Diplomacy! In the following paragraphs, we’ll take a closer look at the diplomacy system of Anno 117: Pax Romana: who are you interacting with, what information can be found on the diplomacy screen, what are your diplomatic options and… what about the Emperor?

If you prefer a more audio-visual overview, don’t miss out on our past livestream (click here) with Lead Game Designer Andrea, Game Designer Dominik and Gameplay Programmer Jannik on the topic.

Meet your rivals!

Rivals general

When setting up your game, you can choose up to three rival governors to settle the world alongside you. These other governors come in different “flavours”, as in: some are more peaceful or overall easier to handle, others are aggressive expansionists and yet again others may even prefer to just settle in only one of the provinces.

A quick look at the overview screen can tell you a lot about their character and their playstyle: even a advanced-difficulty rival might not be a warmonger but excel in economic and diplomatic matters.

Today, we’re taking a look at three of them to use them as examples.

Some characters from Latium

Dorian is an athlete, a popular one at that, with statues made after his likeness. He appreciates governors who – like him – emphasize health and cleanliness for their people and construct places of art and competitions, like the theatre or (even better) the giant amphitheater.

He’s not the biggest fan of war and would much rather be friends. Importantly, Dorian will only settle in Latium and not expand to the province of Albion. Accordingly, he also isn’t interested in which choices you take on the topic of Romanization.

Tarragon is a military veteran of many campaigns, even if now – aged – he really only wants a peaceful retirement: tending fields, taking naps below olive trees and maybe teaching a young governor a thing or two. This makes also one of the easier rivals.

While generally a friendly neighbour, if you get on Tarragon’s bad side, he’ll show you that his years in the Praetorian Guard very much still count for something.

Concordia is a former vestal virgin, devoted to the Roman gods and therefore places a heavy emphasis on religion and Roman virtues. She’s keen on expanding her already not insignificant influence further while championing her ideals which she would prefer other governors to adapt as well. Excess and luxury as well foreign traditions like those practised by the locals in Albion are a thorn in Concordia’s side.

One other character we have already introduced a few weeks ago: Athr, an ambitious Celtic ruler in Albion. Check out this blog to learn more about him.

Generally, you can find out much more about each rival by interacting with them, listening to their comments and following each of their story lines.

Interaction – Diplomacy Screen

Alright, you have found Concordia’s or Dorian’s island, time to open the Diplomacy Menu. Here all governors (and raiders, if present) are listed, as is their current diplomatic status (at war, peace, defensive treaty, …) with you. Upon clicking on one of them, the panel on the right offers you additional information:

• Currently signed treaties
• Your power balance (military, economic, prestige, …)
• The character’s lore
• The character’s difficulty and traits
• The effects you gain when allying or subjugating the rival

Interactions

We don’t just want to learn about Dorian’s upbringing, of course, but enter negotiations. This leads us to a new screen that gives you an overview of all available diplomatic options.

The screen is separate into available actions at the top and potential but not (yet) available actions at the bottom. These range from treaties over asking for a loan or offering a loan to declaring war.

Hovering over each action gives you a clear breakdown of which reasons influence the character to accept the action, or why it’s not available yet. These reasons are a mix of:

• Personal preferences (e.g. high hygiene for Dorian, high belief points for Concordia)
• Recent events (e.g. a recent war or you having declined an offered treaty)
• Already signed treaties (e.g. a trade treaty)
• Character traits
• Prestige, which is used for most calculations related to diplomacy
• Your military power

Here we wanted to provide you with more transparency than in the past to better understand why some actions are possible and others aren’t. The reasons also give a good indication of what to do to improve the relations with a specific rival.

If you want to go deeper into their reasons, click the button of the actions (the non-greyed-out ones) to get a more detailed list before committing to a treaty, for example.

Treaties are a way to not only improve relations but also secure yourself and ultimately even come out on top the diplomatic way. Trade treaties to buy or sell goods at their harbours, defensive pacts to assure the peace of protect yourself against another governor and alliances to confirm your friendship and assure each other of long-lasting support no matter what.

Some diplomatic options first have to be researched (e.g. Large Gifts or Alliances) or are tied to other systems, like your standing with the Emperor. One such option is appointing a rival governor as specialist.

Appointing rivals as specialists

You have proven to be not just a competent, but the strongest, most able and certainly also most beautiful governor – so much so, that other governors would bend their knee to you. Let’s take a look at subjugating rivals.

To subjugate a rival governor and make them become your vassal you will need to either:

• Have an alliance with the rival in question (finishing their personal quest chain does help a lot) and be stronger than them, or
• Hold the title of (pro-)consul, bestowed by the Emperor (more on that later), be stronger than the rival and have a significant sum of money ready.

If you fulfil the requirements, subjugating a rival will turn them in your vassal: all their islands become vassal cities, you can then either take over or demolish, their ships become yours and the respective rival joins your entourage as a unique powerful specialist who you can slot into your villa.

War – the continuation of policy with other means

You want to not just subjugate your opponents but remove them from the map? Take over their islands? – Well, there is always war, of course.

While the details of waging war are a topic for a different DevBlog (check out this article on land combat), the declaration of it is very much a diplomatic topic.

Upon entering the “war declaration” screen for poor Dorian here, we’re not only presented with a comparison of our military might and potential allies that would join each side, we can also choose between two types of war.

All-Out War is exactly that: everything from ships over civilian buildings and of course entire islands is free game. If your goal is to remove an opponent from the map or at least greatly reduce their influence, this is the way to go.

The Emperor, however, doesn’t look too favourably on large scale warfare within his domain and may at some point intervene.

A Limited War is useful when it’s just about taking an island that your opponent has settled before you had a chance or if its location is just too strategically vital. Civilian buildings and ships can’t be attacked (meaning your trade routes should be safe) when this option is selected.

Whichever option you choose, it comes with a cost: depending on a few factors like the number of islands you already own, your reputation with the emperor and your overall prestige, declaring war will cost reputation with the Emperor. The lower your reputation following this war declaration, the more likely the Emperor will intervene on your opponent’s behalf and order you to put an end to hostilities.

The Emperor?

You are, after all, a governor as are the likes of Dorian or Concordia – and above you, the Emperor is watching your actions. He’s therefore also always visible in the Diplomacy menu, as is your reputation with him.

Of course, he doesn’t care about minor things like the production chains you set up, or individual houses placed and ships built. He cares about governors keeping the imperial peace and adhering to Roman traditions.

Emperor Calidus was born and made in the military camp. Hell-bent on change, he is a champion of ordinary Romans everywhere.

Although ruthless, tough and pragmatic, he is also gregarious, down-to-earth, honest and good-humoured.

Break treaties and wage war (see previous chapter) and he might feel the need to send a stern remark. Stray too far from Roman traditions in Albion and your reputation with him will also suffer. On the other hand, fulfil one of his occasional demands and he’ll look more favourable on you.

Your overall reputation with him brings bonuses or disadvantages, e.g. lower costs when settling new islands – or trade embargoes with neutral imperial traders.

Get on his bad side, be branded a rebel and deal with the consequences which involve the might of the imperial fleet and army. If you manage to stand your ground, he’ll begrudgingly name you pro-consul (note: it’s not possible to usurp the Emperor or “leave” the Empire).

Alternatively, become his most trusted advisor and be given the title of consul. Each title comes with additional bonuses that make your life as a governor significantly easier – for example, the Emperor himself will send his army to your aid should anyone dare declare war on the (pro-)consul of Rome!

Outro

And what if you launched a new game without any NPC (or pirates) – or defeated all of them already – and start feeling a bit lonely in the world of Anno 117: Pax Romana? Well, don’t worry, at any time in the game you can invite any NPC of your choice to your game assuming you have open slots left. If you defeated them once, you can’t bring them back, however. Yes, we saw you using the “AI Shipyard” mod for Anno 1800 😉

For today, that’s the overview of the diplomacy system of Anno 117: Pax Romana. A roster of different rivals with their own goals and reasons to act in certain ways, as well as the diplomatic actions to form treaties with them, subjugate rivals to make them your vassal or wage war in order to establish dominance.

There are a few other rival governors, as you have seen on a screenshot earlier in the blog, and we’ll introduce them to you in the coming weeks. Any questions left unanswered? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us on any of the other channels.