There’s a free update out for Total War: Rome 2, and yes, of course it’s Halloween themed. It adds the Lemuria festival and a new seasonal challenge called Nightmare Mode.
Lemuria was apparently an ancient feast during which restless spirits were ushered away by first offering them beans, and then banging cooking pans together. How effective this was is open to debate.
Nightmare Mode sounds a bit more interesting. Toggle it on from the game options menu, and your troops will begin to suffer nightmarish hallucinations. “Harpies descend from the skies as a terrifying atmosphere envelopes your forces,” explains Creative Assembly. This, as you would expect, causes your troops’ morale to run out far quicker than normal.
Completing a campaign battle in Nightmare Mode will net you a new Steam achievement. So there you go, cooking pans, beans and harpies. The free update is out now, and should automatically be downloaded to your game.