We already tried the multiple paths route. Originally the Athenians, Spartans, and Macedonians were one faction, the Hellenes, which had the choice between the Greek city-states (which also included a bit of the Thebans, in addition to the Athenians and Spartans) and the Macedonians, while the Britons and Gauls were one faction, the Celts. Eventually it was decided to divide the Hellenes and Celts into several more distinctive factions, which eventually led to the decision to add the Mauryans an