Dawning Empires

[No Dachi]

Welcome
Please note that new players are welcome at any point in the game, as long as there's territory free for taking.

Rules for Dawning Empires

Rules: Basic:
1. My word is final and absolute. Disputing it makes me annoyed. Annoying me makes me strike you down with the Hand of God.

2. As my word is final and absolute, any desicions by any of the Sub-DMs that you wish to dispute must be disputed through me and me alone. Do not waste my time with pointless disputes. Wasting time with pointless disputed desicions makes me annoyed. Annoying me makes me...

3. Do not be rude about my map drawing skillz. Being rude about my map drawing skillz makes me annoyed. Annoying me makes me...

4. Read the rules through fully before posting. They are not particularly long and have been divided into a number of bulletpoints in order to keep your brains from imploding at the sight of so much text due to your short attention spans.

5. The first step in your path to world domination is making your kingdom. Its history can be pretty much anything you like (note that this is a real-world alternative and there are no elves, etc). At the start of the thread you are all feudal monarchies. Other kingdom information like cultural background and such is appreciated.
5.b. With this done you decide where to allocate your ten civilization points. These points allow your race bonuses in whatever fields you allocate them too. The fields can be seen further down the rules. You can allocate a maximum of three points to each field. Bear in mind that putting all of your advantages in archers, knights and spearmen will leave you militarily weak in the later stages of the game.

6. Once you have selected a region to form the basis of your empire get started by posting a budget (see Rules: Economic).

Rules: Economic
1. The common standard currency is EP, or Economic Points. You may translate Economic Points into your nation's own currency as you wish (five EP to a groat, seventeen to a shilling, whatever), but to avoid confusing me/the Economic Sub-DM you will post all your budgets entirely in EP.

2. Resources are abstracted. This means that they're present in the world and do affect stuff, but for conveniance neither you nor myself have to worry about them.

3. An in game year passes once every two RL days. Each RL day thus comprises six in game months. The time it takes for a year to pass will lengthen as the thread goes on.

4. Once every eight years you should post a budget. A budget informs the Economic Sub-DM of how your kingdom/nation will spend its money. Use the following template for your budget, minus the notes in italics:

---

Budget of the Kingdom of Dachiland, FY 1080 (FY means 'For Year'. The game starts in AF, 'After Fall', 1080)

Total income FY 1079: 100 EP (this is your total income from the previous year)
Total re-invested 1079: 20 EP (re-investment is an abstracted way of accounting for government-funded improvements to economy and society. In the early ages this includes things such as improving farming methods and building roads. In the later periods it encompasses things such as launching communications satellites and drilling for oil)
Growth rate FY 1079: 40% [i](your growth rate is in effect a measure of how much your kingdom's economy expanded by over the past year. The growth rate directly affects the boost to your total income you gain from re-investment. Your growth rate will rise with a happy populance and a peaceful existence and fall with trade embargoes from your neighbour states, war, civil disorder, DM-initiated plague, etc)
Total Income FY 1080: 100+8 = 108 EP (this is how much you gain each year from now on. The increase to income is the percentage of your reinvestment equal to your growth rate. 40% of 20 EP is 8 EP, so this is the amount that the Kingdom of Dachiland's income grew by)

Bureaucracy: 10%; 11 EP (Bureaucracy is paying for your government. This involves paying for your king's luxurious lifestyle in the early ages and paying MPs/senators/whatever in the later stages. 10% is a good value for Bureaucracy. Far below it causes governmental paralysis and far above it causes innefficiency)
War: 30%; 32 EP (War is the amount of funding your military gets. It is divisable into procurements and upkeep as seen further below)
Internal Security: 10%; 11 EP (Internal Security is the funding for your spies and such. High internal secutiy gives you a better chance of reducing the amount of information the enemy can learn from within your territory and makes more information about then available to you)
Re-investment: 40%; 43 EP (re-investment is the amount put toward works that improve the economy. Generally speaking, high re-investment yields high economic growth)

War Spending

Procurements: (Procurements are new military units that are to be added to your armies)
2 Spearmen - 4 EP
1 Halberdiers - 8 EP

Upkeep (Upkeep feeds, clothes, pays and resupplies troops that you already have in your order of battle. You start paying the upkeep costs of a unit a year after you procured the unit)

10 Spearmen - 20 EP

---

And that's it. It might look complicated but do trust me when I say that with the italic text gone and once you've done a few of them, it will become very simple to draw up a budget.

5. Additional budget requirements/options such as 'Social Welfare' will come available to you as the thread progresses.

6. Address any questions regarding budgets to me or the Economic Sub-DM.

Rules: Military
1. Know that NPC kingdoms and nations will not always be pushovers. In fact, most of the time they will not. You must conquer through strategic, diplomatic and political cunning. Early on, marrying yourself into royal bloodlines is a good way to peacefully merge with other nations, but they won't usually accept unless you have a history of good relations.

2. You are strongly advised to marshall your troops through generals. Generals are a special feature of Dawning Empires. A General has four simple statistics that positively (or sometimes negatively) affect troops under his command.
2.b. You will each recieve two Generals at the start of the game, their statistics randomly generated by myself.
2.c. Your Generals stats are easily displayed in four numbers, for example, 5,7,8,3
2.c.i. The first number (in this case, 5) is your General's loyalty. A high loyalty is good because it reduces the chance of the General defecting or even leading an uprising against you. A low loyalty will also cause problems if you lower the General's importance (by removing troops from his command, etc)
2.c.ii. Your General's second number is his offensive capability. A General with a high offensive capability will, unsurprisingly, perform well when attacking,
2.c.iii. Your General's third number is his defensive capability. A General with a high defensive capability will, unsurprisingly, perform well when defending.
2.c.iv. Your General's fourth and final number is his logistical capability. Logistics is the art of supplying your troops. A General with a low logistical capability will often fail to adequately supply his troops, leading to disaster, while a General with a high logistical capability will organise a well-defended supply chain to bring food and ammunition to his army. Logistics will usually only pose a problem if the General is operating outside of your borders.
2.d. You will gain more Generals over time. A warlike country produces many Generals.
2.e. Your existing Generals' stats will rise or fall with their battlefield experience. An average General whose forces are routed by a cunning enemy will lose confidence in his abilities, and his offensive stat will fall. Am average General who wins a few easy battles will learn some important lessons, his offensive stat willr rise.

3. Keep track of your own armies' size and organisation. I will not do this for you. If you invade without an adequate record of your armed forces for me to examine, the consquences will be dire.

4. It is the Medeival period, and the concepts of justified war have not yet evolved. Remember this, the NPC nations will.

5. Because it is the Medeival period, naval technology is very poor. You won't get anything other than light coastal ships untill the Rennaissence hits home.

6. All players start with 4 units of Peasants, 1 unit of Mounted Knights and 1 additional unit of their choice.

7. The starting unit of Mounted Knights does not require upkeep.

Rules: Scientific
1. You choose one scientific advance each budget from the tech tree. You will then discover this advance by the next budget and be able to implement it. You will always get one scientific advance per budget.

2. Scientific advances come in many categories. Some advances yield new units, others improve your existing ones, others may give you a commercial or even scientific (some advances lead to gaining instant bonus technology) advantages. Some, such as Socialist Theory, open up new game concepts.

Lists: Units
At present, the following military units are available to you. All units come in groups of 200 unless otherwise specified. Included with each s a short desicription and their upkeep and procurement cost. Note that feudal units have a high upkeep cost in relation to later units, because of the method in which they are raised.

Infantry

Peasants - P 1 EP, U 1 EP
Peasants are worthless farmers who have been pressed into service by their feudal masters and given poor quality weapons. Peasants are poor quality soldiers that route easily and fight badly.

Spearmen - P 2 EP, U 2 EP
Spearmen are a little better than peasants. They are themselves peasants, but they have been given better drilling in combat and better weaponry. Spearmen are armed with shields and spears and make stout defensive units, though their morale is frequently poor and they are vunerable on the flanks.

Spear Sergeants - P 4 EP, U 4 EP
Sergeants are the middle rank of the feudal system, generally wealthy farm owners. They have better morale and equipment than Peasants or Spearmen, and are better at resisting attack. Spear Sergeants are good in defense and can perform basic offensive actions.

Men-At-Arms - P 6 EP, U 6 EP
Mean-At-Arms are proffessional soldiers with medium armour, a heavy sword and a kite shield. They are excellent offensive troops and can hold their own defensively. Their heavy armour protects them from light missile weaponry but makes them slow and vunerable to heavy missile weaponry.

Missile Infantry

Archers - P 2 EP, U 2 EP
Archers are the ranged equivelant of Peasants. Their aim is usually fine, but their weak bows lack the power to pierce armour and in rain their effectiveness if reduced. They have poor morale, and despite short swords will be cut down in close combat. They are fast but have no armour.

Crossbowmen - P 5 EP, U 4 EP
Crossbows fire laterally (this means that the Crossbowmen always have to be at the front of your army to fire effectively), but are more powerful than the bows of Archers and better at piercing armour. They also require less skill to aim. Crossbowmen have crossows and light armour. They are very poor in close combat, resorting to using their crossbows as clubs.

Longbowmen - P 4 EP, U 6 EP
Longbowmen are formed from yeomanry, farmers payed by the land to practise archey with the heavy bow in peacetime. Longbow arrows can pierce armour like a hot knife through butter and have tremendous range, but the upkeep is very expensive since the soldiers that form its units are proffessional. Longbowmen don't cost much in procurement since much of the yeomens' equipment is their own. They have short swords and bucklers and are profficient in close combat, though only very lightly armoured, and unable to hold out against combat infantry.

Arbelesters - P 8 EP, U 5 EP
Arbelesters are well armoured, but slow and poor in close combat. They carry very heavy crossbows that can slice thorugh armour with even greater ease than longbow arrows. The arbalests themselves are very expensive, and so Arbelesters have a high procurement cost. Arbelesters have poor morale

Skirmishers - P 2 EP, U 2 EP
Skirmishers come in small groups of 80. They carry large wooden shields, light armour and a number of heavy javelins. They are good at closing down on enemy archers, their shields offering them protection, and can inflict reasonable damage on armoured infantry. They fight reasonably in close combat but are highly vunerable to cavalry and medium/heavy infantry.

Cavalry
All cavalry come in units of 60

Light Cavalry - P 2 EP, U 2 EP
Light Cavalry are basically Peasants with horses. They are poor fighters but are perfectly able to harry a routing enemy and scout. They will be massacred by spearmen and heavy cavalry. Light Cavalry have a good chance of catching Horse Archers.

Mounted Sergeants - P 6 EP, U 6 EP
Mounted Sergeants are capable medium cavalry. They are well armoured and equipped with heavy lances and swords. They are good multi-purpose troops able to harry a routing enemy and scout, as well as being very good at attacking an enemy on the flanks. They will not hold against heavy cavalry.

Mounted Knights - P 8 EP, U 12 EP
Mounted Knights are heavily armoured shock cavalry with swords and heavy lances. Their horses have armoured barding. They can route Peasants and even Spearmen alike, but are slow and vunerable to heavy missile infantry. They are very expensive to keep maintained. Mounted Knights are formed form the ranks of lords and barons and are often ill-disciplined, charging prematurely in the name of honour and glory.

Horse Archers - P 5 EP, U 5 EP
Horse Archers are tactically very useful. They are lightly armoured and very fast, allowing them to move into position and fire a few volleys into the enemy, then retreat before it can retalliate. Horse Archers also carry swords and can be used to chase down fleeing troops. They are not combat troops in nature, and the General that sends them into hand-to-hand combat with fully-formed enemy troops will lose the battle.

Artillery
All Artillery is purchased in the form of artillery pieces (a Catapult unit contains one Catapult).

Ballista - P 4 EP, U 4 EP
Ballistae are artillery from ancient times that throw a heavy bolt long distances. They are reasonably accurate but slow to reload and virtually inneffectual against stone fortifications.

Catapult - P 6 EP, U 6 EP
Catapults fling large stone projectiles long distances. They are slow to reload and too innacurrate for use on the field of battle, but can steadily wither away enemy fortifications.

Trebuchet - P 10 EP, U 10 EP
Trebuchet fling heavy stone projectiles over very long distances. They are very slow to reload but highly effective against fortifications. They are also very expensive to build and maintain.

Naval
One ship to a unit. Remember that medeival navies suck. They won't be playing an important role for a while. Ships can be wrecked in storms.

Cutter - P 8 EP, U 8 EP
Light naval craft confined to coastal waters and able to carry 100 men (so you'll need two to carry all units, since a cavalryman+horse counts as two infantrymen)

Caravel - P 12 EP, U 12 EP
Larger, faster sailing ship that is still confined to coastal waters. It can carry 200 men.

Galley - P 16 EP, U 16 EP
Galleys are larger vessels able to sail out on the seas, but not to the other continents. Galleys can carry two hundred men. They are reasonably fast and are less likely to be wrecked than a Caravel.

Maps of the World
The physical map shows the terrain of the various regions of the world.

Pale green = grassland
Dark green = forest
Yellow = desert
Grey = mountainous
Blue lines = major rivers
Blue = sea
Red line = regional border


The political map shows how the world is divided between the various powers vying for supremacy over it. Grey regions are NPC nations, each comprising one region only (on the NW continent, anyway). The colours that represent players are shown on the map.

Players, Kingdoms, etc

Crazy, Kingdom of Roldem
Starting income: 105 EP

Duke Reiner of East Fold - 3/7/4/8
Duke Raykir of West Fold - 5/3/10/2

Fluffie, Kingdom of Ios
Starting income: 90 EP

Lord Bentley of the Friendly Arm Inn - 6/2/10/6
Lord Gerard of Beregost - 7/1/9/5

Phang, Kingdom of Mittelreich
Starting income: 90 EP

Lord Gwythenwyn of Lymbryd - 10/4/2/5
Lord Cassanata of Brossana - 9/5/5/5

Badger, Kingdom of Badgerdom
Starting income: 90 EP (base)

Lord [-] of [-] - 3/5/4/6
Lord [-] of [-] - 9/6/3/5

Lestat, Kingdom of Lestaria
Starting income: 89 EP

Lord de Berre - 6/8/9/8
Lord Mestrin of Ethreal - 3/10/3/6

PK, Kingdom of Phoenix
Starting income: 105 EP

Lord James the Pierce - 4/10/6/8
Lord John the Saint - 4/8/7/7

Twin
Starting income: 90 EP (base)

Lord [-] of [-] - 3/7/7/1
Lord [-] pf [-] - 2/1/6/4

Hewitt, Kingdom of Terra Australis
Starting income: 86 EP

Lord [-] of [-] - 8/2/10/7
Lord [-] of [-] - 7/7/9/7

Inspectre
Starting Income: 50 EP (base, mostly mountain)

Lord [-] of [-] - 9/7/2/10
Lord [-] of [-] - 8/2/9/5

Tech Tree
You will always get one advance per budget (one every eight years at the moment). You can always research any advance from any of the three areas that is in the first column. The advances in the second column require the corresponding advance in the first column to have been researched before you can begin researching them. I will add the tech trees for subsequent ages once you reach them.

Medieval Age

Military
Heraldry (gives: none) > Chivalry (gives: improved Heavy Cavalry)
Levying (gives: able to instantly assemble two Peasant units from each region in time of war) > Militia (gives: one unit of extra Spearmen if region is invaded, capability to build Halberdiers)
Improved Fortifications (gives: major towns more resistant to capture) > Border Fortifications (gives: invading armies held up slightly at border, recieve 'early warning' of invasion)
Basic Training (gives: slightly better quality troops) > Foraging (gives: troops less vunerable to starvation through poor supply, when moving through rich territory)

Economic
Crop rotation (gives: small bonus to agriculture) > Improved Agricultural Tools (gives: slight increase to grassland nations)
Improved Forging (gives: slight increase in income for mountainous nations) > Improved Steel (gives: slight increase in income for mountainous nations)
Mercantile Houses (gives: slight increase in income for nations with coastlines) > Artisan Guilds (gives: slight increase in income)
Improved Shipbuilding (gives: better naval units) > Compass (gives: ships less likely to be lost at sea)

Scientific
Medicine (gives: none) > Surgeons' College (gives: none)
Fine Glass (gives: none) > Astronomy (gives: none)
Alchemy Theory (gives: none) > Basic Chemistry (gives: none)
Ethics (gives: none) > Constitution (gives: possibility of unhappy nations forcing Kings to adopt constitution)

Other
You can post your first budgets and begin official IC actions such as annexing your neighbours from this point onwards.

[Phang]

Initial Unit 6: Arbelesters

Budget of the Kingdom of Mittelreich, FY 1080
Total income FY 1079: 90 EP
Total re-invested 1079: 0 EP
Growth rate FY 1079: ~
Total Income FY 1080: 90EP

Bureaucracy: 10%; 9 EP
War: 57%; 51 EP
Internal Security: 10%; 9 EP
Re-investment: 23%; 21 EP

Procurements:
Crossbowmen, 2 units (5*2 EP)
Men-at-Arms, 2 units (6*2 EP)
Skirmishers, 1 Unit (2*1 EP)
Horse Archers, 2 Units (5*2 EP)
Longbowmen, 2 Units (4*2 EP)

Upkeep:

Arbelesters, 1 Unit (5*1 EP)
Peasants, 4 Units (1*4 EP)
Mounted Knights, 1 Unit (12*0 EP)

Research:
Mercantile Houses
____________________________________________

Duke Phang, of the Brfrwyd region, surveyed his new home: the Seat of the Fallen, the great palace of Ware. The coronation, such as it was, occured tomorrow. Today, his first duties began. He had overseen construction of the new barracks and archery range in the port of Lymbryd, and the last king had built some very competent facilities in Massana, in the Northern plains.

He sighed. He still didn't know what divine incidence of fate had brought him to the throne but he was satisfied with it. The Harryd had accepted him simply because they respected his father, and the Ensana were happy because he wasn't attempting to exterminate all of them: a rare trait in a Harryd nobleman.

He walked back to the throne room thoughtfully. There was much to do. The runners had returned from [Badgerdom] and Lestaria; the diplomats had successfully secured a peace with each nation. However, the Thelaron delegation had never returned; Phang had a good suspicion the area was comprised entirely of bandits and low tribesmen; reputedly, no-one had ever seen someone from the region, let alone find out what the inhabitants called it. Well, thought Phang with a mental grin, I guess we'll just have to see!

"You! Captain Arta!"

The Ensano stiffened and turned to face Phang.

"Sire?"

"The runners from Thelaron have not been sighted. It is three months now since King Eora sent them out. I sense little interest in peace from our neighbours to the North - ha, if they even exist. Send runners to Massana and Brossana; train me an army. Oh, and empty the knights from Lyfrada also; it is about time they served a purpose."

The captain nodded with some reserve.

"As you wish, sire. However, I think it would also be wise to prepare a reserve army, should the war go wrong. After all, Ensana territory is endangered by this action."

"Of course. An excellent idea. See to it. Oh, and captain? You shall be in charge of that reserve army. Cassanata shall lead the offensive army; a good show of equity to put the Ensana in charge of both armies. Or something. Anyway, Gwythenwyn shall accompany him as a deputy; he has faded as of late, no matter how commited he may be. Some work in the field should liven him up, I think. Off you go, captain."

"Sire." Arta bowed and walked out of the throne room. As he did so, Phang noted an old gentleman standing tactfully in the corner.

"Ah..Lord Mwyrin, yes?"

"No, sire, I am his successor. Lord Mwyrin was attacked by bandits last week. I am Sir Lythna."

"I see. I am assuming, sir Lythna, you are here as attaché for commerce?"

"Correct, sire."

"And as I recall, you're pushing for an increase in coastal trade?"

"Well remembered, sire."

"Very well. You have eight years and the full resources of our kingdom. Except money. You can't have any money."

"I see, sire. That shouldn't present too great a problem, sire."

"Yes, it will, but you'll work round it. You have plenty of time. But by my next budget I expect radical improvement."

"You shall see it."

"Good! Off you go, leave me be."

"Very good, sire."

As the attaché walked out, Phang sat back in his chair. Hopefully, everything would be this easy.

[Crazyboy]

Budget for the Kingdom of Roldem FY1080

Income 1079: 105 EP
Re-investments 1079: 0 EP
Growth 1079: 0
Total Income 1080: 105 EP

Spendings:
Bureaucracy: 10%; 10.5 EP
War: 30 EP
Internal Security: 10%; 10.5 EP
Reinvestments: 54 EP

Military Spending:

Procurement:
2 Men-At-Arms - 12 EP
2 Horse Archers - 10 EP
2 Spear Sergeants - 8 EP

Upkeep:
4 Peasents - 4 EP
1 Mounted Sergeants - 6 EP
1 Mounted Knights - Kings Unit.

Research: Crop Rotations.

[Killer-of-Lawye]

I'll claim that landlockd territory just east of Inspects I think. You know, the one south of that icey gulf with the two rivers? North of one of the red ones? Do we still get 10 bonus points to apply to various areas?

[Killer-of-Lawye]

The kingdom of Likothania
Ruler: Queen Silias
Feudal Monarchy

The kingdom of Likothania is a landlocked kingdom in the center of the world (NW continent). Its land encompasses a wide variety of terrain, from the harsh and jagged peaks of the mountains to the west, to the green fields and ancient forests of the east. Despite all of this, Likothania is viewed as a predominantly mountain kingdom. The capital is nestled in a large vale in the mountains, and the country makes most of its wealth off mining and smithing. The people of Likothania rarely see eye to eye with the other cultures of the continent, due to their rather odd view on genders, amongst other things. A line of queens currently rules them. An oddity that is reflective of their leanings towards being a matriarchal society, as opposed to the more common patriarchal ones.

Resilient Economy- Level 1
Improved Economic Integration- Level 1
Improved Mining- Level 2
Improved Armour- Level 3
Improved Fighters- Level 1
Improved Bombers- Level 1
Improved Education- Level 1

[No Dachi]

All
Christmas and Boxing Day have both passed, and I want to see you posting. The first eight year 'turn' will begin tomorrow unless I'm asked to delay it, and so you should try and post a budget by then.

KoL
All excellent. I know which region you want, but I need to know what colour you want to represent you on the political map. Your civilization advantages have been noted. Your income is a base of 80 EP and has risen to 94 EP by merit of Improved Mining.

[Fluffie]

Budget of the Kingdom of Ios, FY 1080
Total income FY 1079: 90 EP
Total re-invested 1079: 0 EP
Growth rate FY 1070: ~
Total income FY 1080: 90 EP

Bureaucracy: 10%; 9 EP
War: 51%; 46 EP
Internal Security: 10%; 9 EP
Re-investment: 29%; 26 EP

Procurements:
2 units of Mounted Knights (16 EP)
1 unit of Horse Archers (5 EP)
2 units of Longbowmen (8 EP)
2 units of Spear Sergeants (8 EP)

Upkeep:
1 unit of Mounted Knights ('the Royal Knights') (0 EP)
1 unit of Horse Archers (5 EP)
4 units of Peasants (4 EP)

Research:
Heraldry

[Planetkiller II]

Budget for the Kingdom of Phoenix FY1080

Income 1079: 105 EP
Re-investments 1079: 0 EP
Growth 1079: -
Total Income 1080: 105 EP

Spendings:
Bureaucracy: 10%; 10.5 EP
War: 30 EP
Internal Security: 10%; 10.5 EP
Reinvestments: 54 EP

Military Spending:

Procurement:
2 Mounted Sergeants - (P 12 EP, U 12 EP)
2 Horse Archers - (P 10EP, U 10 EP)
1 Mounted Knights - (P 8 EP, U 12 EP)

Upkeep:
4 Units of Peasants (P 4 EP, U 4 EP)
1 Unit of Mounted Knights (P 8 EP, U 12 EP)
1 Unit of Horse Archers (P 5 EP, U 5 EP)

Research: Mercantile Houses

[Hewitt]

ooc: Just the basics for now. When I get back to Brisbane I will write in more detail.

Culture/History - Originally a farming region of one of the great empires of the early ages, Terra Australis was but a single township with few scattered villages and farms when she broke way at the dawn of the age of darkness. The rulers at the time, knowing that the stronger, more established kingdoms to the north would soon overwhelm them in any war quickly made certain that it was known that Terra Australis was to be a neutral state, neither supporting nor opposing any nation. This they did by opening the kingdom borders to any who wished to come and very quickly trade took root and thrived in the political-free environment. Every year refugees poured into the country from countless, unknown wars seeking the rumored sanctuary of the tiny land down south.
For centuries they came, bringing new trades and new skills. Early exports of wheat, barley and cotton were soon backed up with glass, textiles and ale. While the rest of the world suffered with endless war, Terra Australis flourished in her isolated corner of the earth.

It is now 1080. The dark times have come to the end and the once steady flow of refugees has slowed to that of a trickle of settlers. But new problems face Terra Australis. Her lands once covered with roving wildlands has long since given way to endless plains of farmland. Once tiny villages in remote regions are now thriving centres for hundreds of new townships. Overcrowding in some areas is starting to reach unhealthy levels and this is no more obvious than in the kingdom's capital where nearly three quarter million souls struggle to make a living in amongst the dirt-smeared, stone cobbled streets squashed between the old border wall and the Blue Palace of Australis. But despite all this the populace is well kept and healthy. Many jobs exist in one of the many trades of the kingdom and there is a large variety of food to go around... for now at least. Terra Australi engage themselves in many different kinds physical activities when not working, most locally developed but others brought in from immigrants. Communities usually take part in friendly competition during festivals for small prizes and bragging rights.

And as is the way with most popular events, much local ale is consumed in the process. MUCH local ale...

At present Terra Australis is a peaceful, happy place. But many see harder times ahead and are turning to the recently crowned Hewitt the first for answers to the many problems that have been predicted to rise. It is has all given rise to an unique delema that the new king must decide whether or not to embrace.

Terra Australis needs more land. Terra Australis needs to expand. Terra Australis must do what it has NEVER done in the entire span of it's history.

Terra Australis must go to war...



Budget of the Kingdom of TERRA AUSTRALIS, FY 1080

Income 1079: 86 EP
Re-investments 1079: -
Growth 1079: -
Total Income 1080: 86 EP

Spending:

Bureaucracy: (10.5%) 9 EP
War: (58.1%) 50 EP
Internal Security: (2.3%) 2 EP
Reinvestments: (29.1%) 25 EP

Military Spending:

Procurement:
1 Trebuchet (P 10 EP, U 10 EP) - 10 EP
3 Men-at-arms (P 6 EP, U 6 EP) - 18 EP
3 Longbowmen (P 4 EP, U 6 EP) - 12 EP
Upkeep:
4 Units of Peasants (P 4 EP, U 4 EP)
1 Unit of Mounted Knights (Special) (P 8 EP, U 0 EP)
1 Unit of Men-at-arms (P 6 EP, U 6 EP)

Research: Crop Rotation

[Inspectre]

Budget of the Kingdom of Strife, FY 1080

Total income FY 1079: 84 EP
Total re-invested 1079: 0 EP
Growth rate FY 1079: 0
Total Income FY 1080: 84

Spending

Bureaucracy: 10%; 8.5 EP
War: 56%; 47 EP
Internal Security: 10%; 8.5 EP
Re-investment: 24%; 20 EP

War Spending

Procurements: - 38 EP

2 Spear Sergeants - 8 EP
3 Longbowmen - 12 EP
2 Horse Archers - 10 EP
1 Mounted Knights - 8 EP

Upkeep - 9 EP

1 Arabalester - 5 EP
4 Peasants - 4 EP
1 Mounted Knights - 0 EP

Research

Improved Forging

[vampire_lestat]

Resilient Economy - lvl1
Improved Commerce -lvl1
Military Advantages
Improved Archers - lvl1
Improved Siege Artillery - lvl1
Improved Sail Ships - lvl1
Improved Leadership - lvl1
Scientific Advantages
Improved Education - lvl1
Miscellaneous Advances
Advanced Culture - lvl2
Diplomatic Prowess - lvl1

King Lestat of Kingdom of Lestoria
Lord de berre 6/8/9/8
Lord Mestrin of Ethreal - 3/10/3/6

Army
mounted knights -1 unit
peasents- 4 units
Longbowmen- 1 unit

cash
89 EP (base)
currency, lestoran crown. one lestoran crown = one EP.

Budget of the Kingdom of lestoria, FY 1080
Total income FY 1079: 89 EP
Total re-invested 1079: 89 EP
Growth rate FY 1079: 0%
Total Income FY 1080: 89EP

Bureaucracy: 9 EP
War: 30 EP
Internal Security: 8EP
Re-investment: 40 EP

spending on teh army-
1 * Spear Sergeants - P 4 EP, U 4 EP
2 * Spearmen - P 2 EP, U 2 EP
2 * Longbowmen - P 4 EP, U 6 EP
4* scirmishers - P 2 EP, U 2 EP
1 * Mounted Sergeants - P 6 EP, U 6 EP

Population - 2.9million (land's bigger than England from what i can tell, but its pretty heavily forested /ooc/ shouldn't i get some kind of a bonus for that, ie wood as a material is plentiful...\ooc\)

reserch - crop rotation.

/ooc/surely there should be a reserch that yields advantages to forested nations too?\ooc\

[No Dachi]

Lestat
No, there shouldn't be. Ha. .

[Crazyboy]

*Duke Reiner marched with diliberate steps into the Kings private chambers. He stopped three paces from the King's desk and waited patiently while the King pondered over some trivial matters of state. After a while he looked up*

"Ah. My good Duke. Glad you could make it. I've got some very important business to be taken care of. It seems our 'good' neighbours to the east of us think little of our trade caravans and seem be to neglecting to give them safe passage through their territory. I've sent messages and spoken to them time and again about this and it is time we took action. Take our newly formed King's Rhûn Army and take our neighbours land from them! The deserve it not"

"Yes my leige. I shall set out at once. I presume the Army already have their orders?"

"Indeed they do. Make our Kingdom proud my good Duke"

"I shall crush them before our mighty steeds. We shall prevail my Lord"

"Oh. One last thing before you go. I've sent for Duke Raykir to accompany you. I know you are old rivals and good friends. But Duke Raykir seems to be getting lax in his tactics of attack. I would like him to learn more. Plus, if things go badly on the battle field, he is a master of defence and can help you out alot."

"Yes mylord. It will be a pleasure working with him again. It has been a long time since we both were together on the battlefield."

*The Duke nodded as the King dismissed him, then turned and marched out of the King's chambers. His footfalls seemed more firmer and quicker as he marched out to his troops and led them off towards the Kingdom's eastern boarders and off to battle*

Kingdom of Roldem OOB

1st King's Rhûn: - Duke Reiner, Duke Raykir
1 Man-At-Arms (200 Men)
2 Spear Sergeants (400 Men)
2 Horse Archers (120 Men)
1 Mounted Knights (60 Men)

1st Reserves:
4 Peasents (800 Men)
1 Man-At-Arms (200 Men)
1 Mounted Sergeants (60 Men)

[No Dachi]

All
Most battle posts will be more flowery than this one, which is short because the bastard forum ate my damn post and I had to type this one instead.

Long story short...
Dukes Reiner and Raykir almost immediately began to disagree about the approach to conquering Noremont, despite Reiner being in command. A runner from the King ordered that Tirenne, Estrilia and Selrié (capital) were to be conquered in turn and settled the dispute by countenancing Raykir's approach. Reiner reluctantly turned the army away from Selrié abd instead headed for Tirenne. Lord Merienne of Noremont, with the bulk of the army in Tirenne Castle, learned of the invasion just two days after Reiner crossed the border and quickly gathered the army before marching to meet Reiner. Since much of Noremont is plains, only the army guarding the eastern border is predominantly infantry, with Merienne's army in Tirenne being mostly cavalry, similar to the Roldemi 1st King's Rhûn.

Reiner and Merienne met eachother on either side of a small farming village named Surue-a-Plaine. Merienne, having reached the settlement slightly ahead of Reiner, had had plenty of time to assemble his men. He did so in a flat line atop a low ridge running southeast to northwest. Reiner arrayed his own men in a similar line whilst considering the situation.

Roldemi 1st King's Rhûn; Duke Reiner 3/7/4/8
1 Men-At-Arms (200 Men)
2 Spear Sergeants (400 Men)
2 Horse Archers (120 Men)
1 Mounted Knights (60 Men)

Noremont l'Armee du Tirenne; Lord de Merienne 7/8/6/4
1 Mounted Knights (60 men)
2 Mounted Sergeants (120 men)
2 Crossbowmen (400 men)
4 Spearmen (800 men)


Duke Reiner quickly saw that he was considerably outnumbered and that a good number of the enemy troops were spear-armed, making his cavalry vunerable to them. Reinder decided that the only way he would be able to win the battle would be to draw off the enemy cavalry and annihalate it, before destroying the large infantry force by outmanouevreing it. Assembling his Spear Sergeants and Men-At-Arms in a flat line running parrallel to the ridge, Reiner personally led the Mounted Knights along with both units of Horse Archers around to the right flank of the Noremont troops, where the Horse Archers began to pepper the Mounted Sergeants with arrows. Lord de Merienne directed one unit of Crossbowmen to return fire, but every time the Crossbowmen got in range Reiner would move the Horse Archers around to a new position. Presently, de Merienne lost his nerve and ordered the Mounted Sergeants and his own personal unit of Mounted Knights to chase the Horse Archers down and destroy them. Despite the actions of the Roldemi Horse Archers, l'Armee du Tirenne had lost only 18 Mounted Sergeants thus far. 162 Noremont cavalry thus charges down the ridge toward their tormentors, wherupon Duke Reiner sent the Horse Archers off away to the right. The number of Mounted Sergeants dwindled steadily as the Horse Archers, quick and nimble, led them around the battlefield. Presently, with de Merienne's Mounted Knights tired from the chase, the horses exhausted by the weight of their own barding and of the armoured warriors on their back, began to lag behind the Mounted Sergeants. At this, Duke Reiner, whose own knights had been sitting idle the whole time, charged forward and engaged the Noremont nobility. A pitched battle ensured, but the fresh Roldemi knights quickly gained the upper hand. Lord de Merienne broke off the engagement after losing half his number and withdrew back toward the Mounted Sergeants, now down to 80 man and horse between them, before charging the Roldemi knights (with 46 men) en masse. Steel clashed on steel. The Horse Archers, quickly realising that their General would be either dead or routed without their help, charged into the backs of the Mounted Sergeants. The result was a very close battle, but eventually the Roldemi cavalry won thanks to their superior equestrian tradition, and put de Merienne along with the Mounted Sergeants to flight.

This small victory still left the problem of 1200 Noremont infantry holding their position on the ridge. However, they were now without a General, and the Roldemi had total cavalry superiority. More quick raiding by the Horse Archers thinned the ranks of the crossbowmen, but Reiner was growing rapidly more and more impatient. Presently he ordered the Spear Sergeants and Men-At-Arms to move forward, trusting in their armour and shields to protect them from the Noremont crossbow bolts. Under a constant hail of missiles the Roldemi infantry advanced, losing around 100 men before they reached the ridge. However, the infantry did eventually begin the charge and met the enemy Spearmen hand-to-hand. At this point the Horse Archers charged the Crossbowmen from behind, inflicting heavy losses, while Duke Reiner led the remnants of his Mounted Knights into the flank of the Noremont spear line. The Crossbowmen were quickly put to flight, whereafter the Horse Archers began to worry the rear of the spear line. Superior Roldemi equipment won the day as the poorly-armed Noremont Spearmen were finally put to flight.

Surue-a-Plaine can be judged as a costly Roldemi victory.

Casualties (killed and captured)

Roldemi
30 Men-At-Arms (170 remaining)
128 Spear Sergeants (272 remaining)
56 Horse Archers (64 remaining)
42 Mounted Knights (18 remaining)

Noremont
48 Mounted Knights (12 remaining)
74 Mounted Sergeants (46 remaining)
165 Crossbowmen (35 remaining)
476 Spearmen (324 remaining)

Generals

Roldemi
Duke Reiner's stats have not changed.

Duke Raykir has learnt the importance of attacking the enemy's flanks when attacking; 5/3/10/2 >> 5/4/10/2

Noremont
Lord de Merienne has suffered a severe loss of face, and a slight loss in his confidence when defending. 7/8/6/4 >> 7/8/5/4

Situation post-battle
The remains of l'Armee du Tirenne are holed up in Tirenne Castle, prepared for a siege. l'Armee du Monrue will not be able to reach Tirenne for another six months. The 1st King's Rhûn are unnopposed in southern Noremont, although both Duke Reiner and Duke Raykir agree that they will not be able to hold a siege with their present numbers, and that without siege equipment they have no hope of storming Tirenne Castle.

[Inspectre]

Upkeep - 57 EP

1 Arabalester - 5 EP
4 Peasants - 4 EP
1 Mounted Knights - 0 EP
2 Spear Sergeants - 8 EP
3 Longbowmen - 18 EP
2 Horse Archers - 10 EP
1 Mounted Knights - 12 EP


Reavers - 0 EP Upkeep
Commanded by: King Argus Zenith
Location: Windralia
1 Mounted Cavalry

1st Strife Division – 45 EP Upkeep
Commanded by: Lord Paltor of Arlia
Location: Arlia
1 Arbalesters – 5 EP Upkeep
2 Horse Archers – 10 EP Upkeep
2 Spear Sergeants – 8 EP Upkeep
1 Longbowmen – 6 EP Upkeep
1 Mounted Calvary – 12 EP Upkeep
4 Peasants – 4 EP Upkeep

Homeguard – 12 EP Upkeep
Commanded by: Lord Winthrop of Frost - 8/2/9/5
Location: Windralia
2 Longbowmen – 12 EP Upkeep

Warrior King Argus Zenith, lord of Strife, was sitting in his throne room in the Castle Windralia, considering his strategy. They had finally broken free of the hated nation to the south's grip, and done severe damage to its northern army. It seemed unlikely that there was any going back now, and instead of a war of independence, it was now a war of survival between the two nations. Argus would personally see to it that he would be the one to bury the southern nation along with its king.

Argus was interrupted from his musing by the entrance of Lord Paltor, who walked to within a few feet of the throne, then kneeled. "My Lord, you summoned me?"

"Yes, my old friend. I have a job for you. But first, we need to wait for Lord Winthrop . . . he is also on his way here."

A few moments later Lord WInthrop also entered, and soon joinned Lord Paltor in kneeling before their new king.

"Good, good. Now that you're both here I can explain our new strategy."

Argus got up off of the throne and walked over to a nearby table, motionning his friends to follow. On the table was a crudely draw map of the area, outlining at least most of the major cities in the area, including those part of the hated nation to the south.

"The southern king has pulled his armies back behind his fortified towns and roads. At the moment, there is little that we can do, lacking any seige weaponry whatsoever. However, I do not intend to sit idly while the old fool gathers his strength to slit our throats. Since we can't tear our his heart, we'll cut off his limbs instead."

Argus moved his finger from the soutern nation, to one just north of Strife.

"This kingdom has long been the ally of our hated enemy. It is only a matter of time before they recieve word of our rebellion and begin to launch an attack against us. Therefore, we shall destroy them first, before they realize that its time to mobilize their forces. We shall break through their mountainous defenses quickly, not stopping until we reach their capital. And once there, we shall capture it, and throw down their king. And when our old friend sends word asking for reinforcements, the new king will tell him no."

Both lords shared the predator's smile that had appeared on Argus's.

"Now thenn, onto the actual strategy. Lord Paltor, you will move your forces from Arlia up to Windralia, and then from there form up with the Reavers. The two of us will then head for the northern nation's borders, and beyond, its capital. Meanwhile, Lord Winthrop, you will bring your longbowmen up from Fort Tomasa, up to Windralia, to protect it in the event of an enemy attack from elsewhere."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Excellent. Tomorrow, we set out for my coronation, on the other king's throne!"

*****

The Next Day . . .

"Come, my loyal followers, I have a coronation, and I don't want to miss it!"

With that, King Argus Zenith, accompanied by Lord Paltor and his personal bodyguards, the Reavers, made way for the northern kingdom's borders.

Rush for the Capital

Units Involved in the Attack:

Reavers
Commanded by: King Argus Zenith
Location: Windralia
1 Mounted Cavalry (60 men)

1st Strife Division
Commanded by: Lord Paltor of Arlia
Location: Arlia
1 Arbalesters (200 men)
2 Horse Archers (120 men)
2 Spear Sergeants (400 men)
1 Longbowmen (200 men)
1 Mounted Calvary (60 men)
4 Peasants (800 men)

[Killer-of-Lawye]

Generals ND?

[Killer-of-Lawye]

Budget of the Kingdom of Likothania, FY 1080
Total income FY 1079: 94 EP
Total re-invested 1079: N/A
Growth rate FY 1079: N/A
Total Income FY 1080: 94 EP

Bureaucracy: 10%; 9.4 EP
War: ~40%; 37 EP
Internal Security: 10%; 9.4 EP
Re-investment: ~40%; 38.2 EP

War Spending

Procurements:
Horse Archers – 5 EP
Ballista – 4 EP
Women-at-Arms – 6 EP

Upkeep
4 Peasants - 4 EP
1 Knights -12 EP
1 Longbowwomen - 6EP

Research: Crop-Rotation

Story posts to come soon....

[Fluffie]

Somewhere near Crazy's capital, a runner from the kingdom of Ios asks for directions, before quickling galloping off again. Not much later, the rider reaches the gates of Rillian. Stating his identity and nature of visit, he is led in and given directions to the whereabouts of King Crazy.

King Crazy is handed a wax sealed letter, as soon as the runner has found said King...

The letter speaks of many matters, some unimporant and minor such as the quality of the beer this period of year and the looks of certain maids in King Fluffie's castle. However, there are also more important matters written down, such as the rebuilding of Ulcaster and an again expressed gratitude for the support given by Roldem when the now King Fluffie seized power.

However, those things are not so important - what is, is the main reason this letter was sent. King Crazy might have expected it when the letter speaks of the Kingdom of Ios, whose King Fluffie recently learned of it's southern neighbours attacking their eastern ones, offering it's support if the King of Roldem should so want it.

And yeah, that's it. Nice post, no?

[No Dachi]

KoL
Ah yes, my apologies.

Lady [-] of [-] - 4/7/8/2
Lady [-] of [-] - 8/6/8/2

Inspectre
If you're planning to change those orders, do so today.

[Crazyboy]

*Crazy looked over the letter. News travelled fast. Already word of his attack had spread. He pondered over the letter for a while. His good friend and now neighbour to the north, Fluffie was offering him help. And he'd be glad to recieve it.

He called over a messenger, and wrote down a reply, folded up the message and sealed it with a wax stamp. He handed it over to the messenger, who then hurried off to deliver the message*

- Some Time Later -

*The messenger, covered in mud and soaking wet, stumbled into Fluffie's hall. It had been raining, alot, and the messenger had a bit of trouble getting through a few villages without falling. He bowed before the King before handing him the message, which was a bit wet. Shaking off the mud, and breaking the seal, Fluffie opened the letter. It contained just as much useless information about the very much desirable maids now working in Crazy's castle and the very undesirable ones being sent off to some remote country, and of a new brew now being made called 'Rum', which was exceeding nice. Among other thigs, the letter
said Crazy would very much appreachiate Fluffie's help with the pesky eastern neighbours, and all sorts of other information regaurding Crazy's current actions*

Orders for the Front:
Man-At-Arms unit and Mounted Knights are to be pulled back from the seige and replaced with Man-At-Arms and Mounted Sergeants from the reserves. The Injured Man-At-Arms and Knight units are to be placed in the reserves until their numbers are re-formed. Duke Raykir has been issured with orders to return to Rillian, while Duke Reiner has been told to keep his forces in the south of Noremount, but move to a more defensible position, away from Tirenne castle, and await for enemy reinforcements to show up, while reinforcements head his way. He has been given orders to ambush any enemy units if he gets the chance and has been given full control of what he does and where he moves (even to withdraw to friendly territory if he feels he has not much chance of surviving any confrontations)

[No Dachi]

The 'War of Passage' continues in Southern Noremont
After initially looking as though it would be forced to withdraw and regroup in its home territory, the battle-damaged 1st King's Rhun set about making camp in Franchemontagn, a small but reasonably prosperous village atop a small hill - the most defendable position in the miles of endless, open plain. Roldemi morale was riding on a high following the Battle of Surue-a-Plaine; the Roldemi soldiery werepleased at their victory, and thanks to the logistical skill of Duke Reiner they were well fed and clothed. Throughout the Winter they remained in Franchemontagn, living partially off supplies from Roldem and partially off the richness of the land around them. Duke Raykir had been recalled to Roldem along with the army's retinue of knights and the men-at-arms. However, just as the snow and ice began to thaw it was evident that the 1st King's Rhun's run of good luck was about to end. Lord de Merienne's beleagured force in Tirenne Castle had also been using the time to rest. Whatsmore, l'Armee du Monrue had finally reached the city, having force marched its way from Noremont's northern border through the snow and bitter, bitter cold. With no attempt to contain the force within Tirenne Castle, or even disrupt its communication with the rest of Noremont, Lord de Merienne was free to leave the castle and meet with the second army. Although he had been given orders to harry any advancing reinforcements, Duke Reiner was completely unaware that l'Armee du Monrue was anywhere near him, having been assured by several Noremont merchants that it would be impossible for l'Armee due Monrue to march south through the passes in winter. At any rate, Duke Reiner is not an experienced defender, and he had neglected to put out scouts in the surrounding area.

Lord de Merienne, however, was not so presumptuous. Employing a new offensive strategy, he marched his new large army southwest in the direction of Roldem, putting out a large number of scouts as he did so. The thick thawing snow worked to de Merienne's advantage as it slowed his army's progress. Within five days of marching, de Merienne had not only located the 1st King's Rhun at Franchemontagn, but had also learned of the reinforcements sent from Roldem, approaching Franchemontagn from the southwest. The small reinforcement force under Lord Reymin ((4/4/4/4)) had been caught out in the open in mid winter as it marched for Reiner's force. Lord Reymin, fearing the loss of men to cold and hunger, and himself unwilling to travel in such conditions, had sought shelter over the winter in a small town near the Noremont side of the border. With Spring approaching, Reymin had once again set off toward his destination. De Merienne immediately sent almost all of his cavalry in a wide loop around Franchemontagn to intercept Reymin's small reserve force. Reymin, an inexperienced and arrogant man, was marching northeast without any scouts and with his men in poor order, confident that whatever remained of the Noremont Army in the south would not dare to attack him. He was taken by surprise, then, when a large cavalry force under Lord de Bruine (4/4/4/4) set upon his force two days from Franchemontagn.



Roldemi reserve force; Lord Reymin 4/4/4/4
1 Mounted Sergeants (60 men)
1 Men-At-Arms (200 men)

l'Armee du Noremont cavalry force; Lord de Bruine 4/4/4/4
2 Mounted Sergeants (120 men)
1 Horse Archers (60 men)
2 Light Cavalry (120 men)


Lord de Bruine immediately threw caution to the wind and charged the Roldemi force, judging it to be vastly inferior to his own and, spotting its poor marching order, confident of easy victory. Disorganised and caught off-guard, Lord Reymin used what little time he had to arrange his Men-At-Arms in a flat line, keeping his own unit of Mounted Sergeants slightly behind and on the right flank. The Noremont Mounted Sergeants smashed into the line of Roldemi Men-At-Arms, their lances giving them an immediate advantage, but after cuasing substantial damage with their initial charge found themselves bogged down. A stalemate ensued. The Noremont Light Cavalry attempted to swing the battle in their favour by hitting the Men-At-Arms' flank, but here Lord Reymin leapt into action, his Mounted Sergeants engaging both units of Light Cavalry and inflicting heavy casualties on each. Seeing that his men losing ground and that he was about to be outflanked, de Bruine disengaged and drew his men back into a flat line to regroup, using the superior speed of his cavalry to escape the Roldemi Men-At-Arms. Lord Reymin, in an unusual stroke of wisdom, decided not to attempt to run down the enemy force, and instead rearranged the Men-At-Arms in a flat line, preparing for a second attack by the Noremont force. It came reasonably quickly. Having reasoned that the Roldemi troops had no ranged troops at their disposal, de Bruine moved up his Horse Archers and had them fire at the Men-At-Arms unnopposed. Although the Horse Archers were recieving no return fire, their bows lacked the power to penetrate the Men-At-Arms' armour, and this combined with their kite shields the Men-At-Arms took relatively light casualties before the Horse Archers ran out of arrows. De Bruine, now fearing defeat and return to the rest of the army in shame, decided to throw everything at the Roldemi line at once. The initial charge by the Noremont cavalry very nearly shattered the Roldemi line altogether, but tenously the Men-At-Arms held their ground and fought back. Meanwhile, Lord Reymin once again charged the enemy flank and, after some fierce fighting, routed both units of Light Cavalry. De Bruine, surrounded and fearing for his life, disengaged and fled the battlefield, his men following him.

The end result was a victory for neither side; although the Roldemi had fought off the attack, they had been badly mauled in the process and would now be little help to Duke Reiner.

Casualties (killed)

Roldemi
119 Men-At-Arms (81 remaining)
26 Mounted Sergeants (34 remaining)

Noremont
72 Mounted Sergeants (48 remaining)
68 Light Cavalry (52 remaining)
24 Horse Archers (36 remaining)

Generals

Roldemi
Lord Reymin 4/4/4/4 >> 4/4/5/4

Noremont
De Bruine vanishes back into the anonymous obscurity from whence he came.

Situation post-battle
De Bruine's force came back to de Merienne's camp in bits and pieces, with de Bruine himself the last to return. Supposedly, he has been stripped of his title in disgrace. The remains of Lord Reymin's force reached Franchemontagn two days after the battle and are now under Lord Reiner's command.


Duke Reiner, caught by surprise by the appearance of l'Armee du Noremont and with a numerical disadvantage of over 2:1, has since withdrawn from Noremont in good order. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that the King of Noremont is greatly angered by what he refers to as 'Roldemi teachory', and intends to take the fight to Roldemi soil. Lord de Merienne's united Armee du Noremont has been reported as near the border, while Prince Nephil is said to be raising a second army in northern Noremont.

[Fluffie]

Upon receiving Crazy's letter, King Fluffie immidiatly sends of another runner, this one to deliver the simple message that King Flufife is gathering his army and that he shall begin his march as soon as possible. Like the message states, Fluffie indeed recalls all his forces to Ulcaster, as well as both his Lords.

Lord Gerard is to be the steward (or stewart?) of Ios while Lord Bentley and King Fluffie are waging war with their foes. Preparations for the long marches are made and the Iosi force will soon be ready to depart their home in Ulcaster.

[No Dachi]

Fluffie
Steward is correct.

[Fluffie]

Some time later, King Fluffie and Lord Bentley, along with 3 units of Mounted Knights, 2 units of Horse Archers and 2 units of Spear Sergeants begin their journey towards Roldem. Under the command of Lord Bentley, all but the King's Knights make way to Crydee, this being the closest to the Roldem border with Noremont. Once there, they will probably learn of the Noremont army approaching and defensive as he is, it is most likely that Lord Bentley will find the closest Roldem army, to try and coordinate a joint defence (this being where Bentley excells in).

Meanwhile, trusting Bentley to take good care of his share of the army, Fluffie and his Knights speed towards Rillian, hoping to meet King Crazy there, to discuss the course of action they shall take from there on against Noremont.

And, with all of the above going on, Lord Gerard now rules in Fluffie's stead, from Ulcaster, still Ios' capitol (capital?). He has 4 units of Peasants and 2 units of Longbowmen under his command to defend the country. With the bulk of that force (2 units of Peasants, 2 units of Longbowmen) home in Ulcaster, Beregost and the Friendly Arm Inn each have been assigned 1 unit of Peasants, whose use mainly is to patrol the borders...

[Crazyboy]

*Sitting in his Castle, looking off to the east, King Crazy pondered over the message in his lap. He turned to the messenger, and just nodded. He knew what message he had to send, and left immeditly.*

- Some Time Later in Noremont -

*Duke Reiner, who was dining with Lord Reymin and discussing the finer points of serving maids, was surprised when a messenger burst into his tent, followed by his old friend Duke Raykin. The newly arrived Duke nodded his greatings and handed over a letter, sealed with the Kings seal*

"The King is recalling the army back home. It is apparent that you will be need fresh men and supplies soon. The King has seen the wisdom in your request. You'll be heading home at first light. The King has request I take charge, as I have more experiance in defence."

- The Next Day -

*The small Roldemi force broke camp and set off back home, towards the large town of Crydee, the nearest large settlement on the Roldem-Noremont border.*

[Phang]

~Meanwhile~

His grand army prepared, Phang watched their final parade through Ware as they marched North to Thelaron. Phang thought back to his last words to Cassanata:

"I need you to retrain Gwthenwyn out there: He has fought no battles with tools beyond the sword and the spear. Show him the value of the bow. Damnation, utilise it yourself. Live off the land, look to skirmish and always remember: A man on horseback still has a head for a bolt to pierce. Make your opponent learn this. In fact, don't: put the damn bolt through his head first. Godspeed, general. Return soon with some riches for me. And for your people; if this campaign succeeds, Thelaron will be given to the Ensana should they so wish it. The Harryd will find their land in the south, goodness willing. Your kingdom awaits your success."

[vampire_lestat]

Lestat, sitting in his throne room, having counsels on the art of war from his generals (Lord de berre 6/8/9/8
and Lord Mestrin of Ethreal - 3/10/3/6), the three of them were looking over the map of the world, and noticed that the kingdom directly to the right of lestoria should be easily overwhelmed by a massed invasion force. Summoning in a servant, lestat gave the man brief orders:-

"find out what kind of a force i would be facing, should i choose to invade this nabouring country, and do not forget the price of failing your king"

as the servant leaves lestat pulls out a knife from behind his belt and digs it into the centre of the land bordering his country (ON THE RIGHT, just to make sure nobody thinks i'm invading them), and says to lord de berre

"You will take this country for me. As soon as we recieve news of what you will be facing for me."
army available:-
1 * Spear Sergeants
2 * Spearmen
3 * Longbowmen
4 * scirmishers
1 * Mounted Sergeants
4 * peasents
1 *mounted nights

[Killer-of-Lawye]

Lady Firlasha of Shilisnael
4/7/8/2
Firlasha, the ancient word for fire in the old Likathian tongue, fits her name well. A young, headstrong baroness, ready to prove herself and bring glory to her house and her Queen. A brash Knight her self, she rides a great white stead with blue enamel amour and barding. Very capable on the offence, and well trained on the defense, she is a formidable opponent, unless she is far from her homeland that is. Like most brash Likathians, supply trains and rations are the last thing on her mind.
1 Knights
1 Horse Archers
1 Women-at- Arms
1 Ballista
Lady Silithnael of Silisnos
8/6/8/2
Loyal cousin to Queen Silias, Silith is a capable commander. As such, she is in charge of the home brigade. Slightly less brash than most, she favors the discipline of Longbowwomen over the rash excitement of charging knights. However, she hasn’t fully escaped the Likathian curse of romanticism, and is rather found of the local peasantry’s nationalistic defense of their Queen, and has not yet thought to train their ranks any. Regardless, she is not a woman you’d want to see on the ramparts of a city you are planning to siege. Likewise, she has given little thought to logistics.
4 Peasants
1 Longbowwomen

Expect me to draw and post a map soon.

Short cultural notes.
Although the dominant sex is female for the likathains (I know, it is a bit of me hacking a race from my head to come up with a quick idea, but I think their unusual flavor should make them enjoyable to play.) they do have male noblemen, male knights, and men at arms. Though they value the limberness of the female form in combat over the pure physical might of the male, they aren’t to dumb. However, men are still below women in society for the most part, and it would be rare to see the leaders of the forces being a male. That said, most Likathian units have a fairly even smattering of both sexes. I understand that technically this should put them at a disadvantage if it were real life, especially in this time period, but in the name of simplicity and a bit of fantasy, lets just call the effect negligible. To a Likathian, merit is more important than birth, so although a male may not be a great ruler, he can still be respected as a good soldier, diplomat, and farmer, ECT by the populace at large. As a downside, this means the nobles don’t have as great of a hold on the populace, leading to some small internal strife on the local area. Simply put, a bad low ranking noble is hard pressed to keep more capable ones from pushing him out, sometimes with small armies of his or her own peasants.

[No Dachi]

All
Just a quick note here:

Siege equipment is very important at this stage if you want to conquer a NW continent region quickly.

[No Dachi]

War of Passage extends passed Roldemi border
After winning the initial encounter with the armies of Noremont, the 1st King's Rhun of Roldem have now retreated back across the border into their homeland, the united Armee du Noremont under Lord de Merienne following closely behind. The two sides have undergone a morale reversal. The bruised and battered 1st King's Rhun, tired and cold from force marching through the not-quite-thawed snow, now hold in Crydee, a fair distance in from the border, desparately trying to build up their strength in preparation for a battle that they do not believe they are capable of winning. In contrast, l'Armee du Noremont is in high spirit. They have driven the invaders from their land, and now march on that of the invaders themselves. The urge for vengeance is strong, and several villages on the Roldemi side of the border have been burned as de Merienne's army moves toward Rillian. But Lord de Merienne had not banked on the Kingdom of Ios intervening. Now a small but well-trained and decidedly dangerous Iosi army under Lord Bently, a man renowned throughout the continent for his ability at defense, is marching southward to meet with Duke Reiner's flagging force.

Politics in the Roldemi camp have grown foul. Duke Raykir, sent to relieve Reiner of command and take it himself, is very pleased with himself, but Duke Reiner is brooding over his loss of status. Meanwhile, Duke Raykir made immediate strategic changes. Abandoning Crydee, a town not large enough to hold a force the size of the 1st King's Rhun in a prolonged siege, Raykir immediately marched northeast with all possible speed, aiming to rendevous with the allied Iosi force before Lord de Merienne learned of it and split them. Duke Raykir met with Lord Bently a week after breaking camp at Crydee. The allied kingdoms now had a force matching de Merienne's in size and with a vast superiority in cavalry, particularly heavy cavalry, but with neither Lord Bently nor Duke Raykir being capable on offense and Duke Reiner sulking too much to contribute, the Iosi-Roldemi army was forced to, after locating the enemy with scouts, merely attempt to block its path and force a battle. De Merienne was reluctant to engage the force, knowing that any battle as such would be difficult, and instead elected to burn Crydee, which Raykir had left undefended in his haste to meet with the Iosi army, and withdraw back toward the border. Three days of pillage and loot followed, resulting in the death of around 400 Crydee townspeople and substantial damage to the economy, Crydee being an important trading settlement ((-2 EP to your total income)). With this accomplished, de Merienne turned his army around and marched back to the border.

The end result is indecisive; both armies are still very much in tact, both are reluctant to engage the other.

[Crazyboy]

Oi you. Idiot. Crydee aint no town fs.

[No Dachi]

Originally Posted by Crazyboy

*The small Roldemi force broke camp and set off back home, towards the large town of Crydee, the nearest large settlement on the Roldem-Noremont border.*

So, from your own hand, Crydee is a town. You did say it was on the border but the burning and pillaging happened all the same.

[Crazyboy]

You sir, assume too much.

[No Dachi]

All
I'm declaring a period of slowed battle time. This will freeze everything game-wise as it was on December 31st in order that I can get the results of the battles back to you sooner than five in-game years later.The year is frozen at 1084, in effect. I will be re-DMing Crazy's latest round first.

[vampire_lestat]

can you post some military stats for me (read my last post to see whomb's)?

[No Dachi]

All
DMing/whatever will come tomorrow.

[Crazyboy]

I is startin' a new.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kingdom of Katishi

Government: Shogunate
Capital: Kazuki
Flag: Crimson Dragon all uppy and downy like with two swords crossed behind it
Currency: Shi
Other Info: Ruling class is made up from the remnants of the Ryu (Dragon) clan. The Ruling Lords are Samurai warriors and fight many of the battles on the front lines with their troops.
History: Once one of the most powerful clans on the [island name], the Ryu clan fell from grace when their great enemies and rival clan, the Kuro clan, blamed the assassination of the great Emperor on the Ryu clan's leader. The Ryu clan fiercely denied the claims, but failed to come up with any evidence proving their innocence. In an attempt to restore some honor upon their clan, the six great leaders committed ritual suicide, leaving the clan greatly weakened. The Kuro clan then took this opportunity to strike out at the weakened Ryu clan, starting a short, but fierce civil war. For months, the two clans and their allies fought, but the Ryu clan lost ground fast with the death of their six greatest leaders and generals. With many defeats, the allies of the Ryu clan abandoned them, and left the war, weakening the clan even more. The Kuro clan, taking much of the Ryu territory, gained many of the Ryu's former allies, each eager to grab a piece of the rich land that was once the Ryu's. Then something happened the Kuro clan didn't plan on. One of their highly place advisors, seeing the death and destruction from the war, let out the truth. Gathering evidence of the Kuro clan's involvement in the assassination of the Emperor, he fled from the Kuro Clan's capital to the last stronghold of the Ryu clan. He was soon found out and was chased far. For a week he fled on foot, ever with the Kuro hunting him. The Kuro clan then started slaughtering all Ryu clan members to stop the traitor from reaching Ryu territory. Fearing for the lives of many innocents, the advisor hid much of the evidence, then gave the rest to his servant and sent him as a messenger to the last Ryu stronghold. The advisor then gave himself up, in the hope of stopping the slaughter of the Ryu clan. It didn't. The messenger though, managed to slip through the Kuro lines to the Ryu stronghold, not being pursued, as the Kuro clan thought that they had managed to retrieve all the evidence. Along with word of where the evidence against the Kuro clan lay, and their plans for an assault on the Ryu stronghold, their last Shogun, Crazy Ryu, saw that their staying and defending was hopeless. Rather than let the remains of his people die, the commanded the remains of the Ryu clan to take hold of any ship they could and sail away east. In this way, 15,000 members of the Ryu clan, mostly woman and children, bordered the remainder of the Ryu's fleet and many ships that they stole from neighbors, and sailed away from their homelands. Their Shogun vowed they would return for vengeance.

----------------------------------------------------------

Budget for the Kingdom of Katishi FY1080

Income 1079: 105 EP
Re-investments 1079: 0 EP
Growth 1079: 0
Total Income 1080: 105 EP

Spending:
Bureaucracy: 10%; 10.5 EP
Military: 49%; 52 EP
Internal Security: 10%; 10.5 EP
Reinvestments: 31%; 32 EP

Military Spending:

Procurement:
4 Spear Sergeants - 16 EP
2 Men-At-Arms - 12 EP
1 Horse Archer – 5 EP
1 Trebuchet - 10 EP

Upkeep:
4 Peasants - 4 EP
1 Horse Archers - 5 EP
1 Mounted Knights - Kings Unit.

[No Dachi]

With exams out of the way, I can now continue with this thread. DMings today/tomorrow/sunday.

[No Dachi]

Originally Posted by Phang

~Meanwhile~

His grand army prepared, Phang watched their final parade through Ware as they marched North to Thelaron. Phang thought back to his last words to Cassanata:

"I need you to retrain Gwthenwyn out there: He has fought no battles with tools beyond the sword and the spear. Show him the value of the bow. Damnation, utilise it yourself. Live off the land, look to skirmish and always remember: A man on horseback still has a head for a bolt to pierce. Make your opponent learn this. In fact, don't: put the damn bolt through his head first. Godspeed, general. Return soon with some riches for me. And for your people; if this campaign succeeds, Thelaron will be given to the Ensana should they so wish it. The Harryd will find their land in the south, goodness willing. Your kingdom awaits your success."

I still need to ascertain whether or not you are actually going to stick with these orders.

[Lakhim]

No Dachi, do you mind if I join in?

[Phang]

Originally Posted by No Dachi

I still need to ascertain whether or not you are actually going to stick with these orders.

look at me, im posting!


consider them baleeted.

[No Dachi]

Originally Posted by Lakhim

No Dachi, do you mind if I join in?

Not at all. Pick a region, a political map colour, race advantages and then do your initial budget.

[Lakhim]

I'll take the two islands off of the NW Continent, or that snake like territory above yellow (Hewitt, I believe). I'll assume a base income of 85 EP, holler if you have a problem with this

Budget of the Kingdom of Urbanica, FY 1084

Base Income, YS (Same as FY, just in local form, stands for Year of the Sovereign) 1083: 85 EP
Income Growth, YS 1083: 0 EP
Income, YS 1084: 85 EP

Spending:
Bureaucracy- 9% (7.65 EP)
Military- 20% (17 EP)
Re-investment- 71% (60.35 EP)

Military Spending:
One Peasants - U 1 EP (3 Disbanded, YS 1084, weapons stockpiled)
Mounted Knights - U 12 EP
Galley - U 16 EP
Total Upkeep- 17 EP ~20%

Research:
Mercantile Houses


Civ Bonuses:
Improved Agriculture: 3
Improved Commerce: 3
Improved Modern Warships: 2
Improved Submersibles : 1
Improved SMG Infantry: 1

[lantadors evil twin]

Budget of the Konigsmark FY 1084

Income 1083: 900c [90 EP]
Reinvested: 0
Growth: 0%
Total Income 1084: 900c [90 EP]

Spending 1084
Bureaucracy: 10% - 90c [9 EP]
War: 30% - 270c [27 EP]
Internal Security: 20% - 180c [18 EP]
Reinvested: 40% - 360c [36 EP]

War Spending
Upkeep - 100c [10 EP]
...4 Peasants @1 = 4 EP
...1 Mounted Sergeants @6 = 6 EP
...1 Mounted Knights* @0 = 0 EP
Procurement - 170c [17 EP]
...1 Longbowmen @ 4 = 4 EP
...1 Spear Sergeants @ 4 = 4 EP
...1 Mounted Sergeants @ 6 = 6 EP
...1 Light Cavalry @ 2 = 2 EP
...1 Peasants @ 1 = 1 EP
Total: 270c [27 EP]

Research: Crop Rotation

Advantages
...Improved Heavy Cavalry - 2
...Improved Commerce - 2
...Improved Gunpowder Infantry - 2
...Improved Rifle Infantry - 2
...Advanced Culture - 1
...Diplomatic Prowess - 1

-----

Armies of the Konigsmark

Lord Isenair of Normark (3/7/7/1)
...1 Light Cavalry
...2 Mounted Sergeants
...1 Mounted Knights

Lord Erienne of Sunmark (2/1/6/4)
...5 Peasants
...1 Longbowmen
...1 Spear Sergeants


-----

The Konigsmark has long been a divided land, forged through the conquest of King Dane Isenair many centuries ago. The five provinces which make up the kingdom rarely see eye to eye, and it is only the iron will of its rulers that have kept it from fragmenting.
The strongest allegience is between the provinces of Konigsmark and Normark, since the Isenair line rules both lands. Even so, tensions between the two have flared up from time to time as rulers of Normark try to claim the throne. The provinces of Ostmark and Westmark are fairly content to live under the rule of Konigsmark. Both provinces lacked any unified rule prior to Dane's conquest, and they have prospered ever since. The Sunmark is the most troublesome, always seeking ways to undermine the authority of the monarch. In recent years, they have been pacified somewhat by having Sunmark nobles leading the southern army of the mark. At present, the Konigsmark is fairly peaceful, but it is likely that the old feuds will renew before much longer.

Hannah walked slowly across the courtyard of Westhelm Castle, watching her knights as they helped train the local peasantry. She wished there were more troops like them, but the army of the Mark had always been small. If it were not for the speed of the northern army, it was likely it would be too small to even hold the land together. She sighed as she approached the main gates, knowing that the leaders of her two armies awaited her inside. These meetings rarely went as planned, and so she tended to keep the two generals as far apart as possible.
As she walked in, the generals stood up. On her left was Lord Thane Isenair, her half-brother and ruler of the province of Normark. He led the northern army. To her right was Lord Markus Erienne, ruler of Sunmark and leader of the southern army. She had to trust them to carry out her orders, yet she was fairly certain that either of them would stick a knife in her back given half the chance.
"Thane, I want you to ride north, but through Ostmark. Raise as many troops as you can for the northern army. You ride fast and light, I want you at Norhelm. Markus, march through Westmark and Sunmark and raise troops for your army. Garrison yourself at Sunberg."
The two generals nodded, accepting their orders. Thane offered his opinion.
"We would do well to find allies nearby. Perhaps we should send messengers to our neighbours."
Hannah nodded in agreement. "Send riders from Ostmark, they should make good time. They are to convey our greetings and offer a lasting peace between our nations. Send them north and south, but don't bother with the west. The forest will slow them down too much."
The two generals saluted as they accepted their orders, then walked out to marshal their troops.

[Hewitt]

*Sweat dripped off Hewitt's brow as he faced off his new opponents with his sword. He had been fighting for a good three hours now, practicing like he always did at these hours on this day of the week. And thanks to this nightly ritual, King Hewitt the first was the defending champ of the annual kingdom swordfighting contests three times running and many times before hand.

This year however, his reign there will end.*

Must focus. Eyes. Feet. Body language...

*Suddenly one of his three opponents broke from the circle around Hewitt and came at him from the side. Hewitt only just caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and barely had enough time to bring his cane sword around to block the guardsmans blow. With practiced skill Hewitt whipped his blade upwards suddenly, catching the man in the wrist who immediately yelled out from the stinging pain that forced him to let go of his weapon.
Just as Hewitt was going through this motion the other two guardsman selected for this foray moved forward in unison and tried to catch Hewitt off guard. But one man suddenly gave out startled shout as Hewitt struck him in the face. This man had be going for an overhead lunge; the other had thrust forward. Hewitt managed to avoid the stabbing movement by stepping back swiftly and managed to disarm his last opponent with a twist of hs own sword before a second attack could be made.

The whole exercise had taken no more than thirty seconds.*

Lord Brend of Dawn: (8/2/10/7)*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* Showing off again I see master Hewitt? I take it that you still have an unhealthy facination with that stick of yours yes?

*King Hewitt the first, lord of the morning and ruler of the blessed lands of Terra Australis simply gave the 50-odd old knight an amused grin and immediately dissmissed the battered and bruised guardsman. Lord Brend was an aging man indeed but despite the streaks of gray in the oldman's brown hair and bushy beard his bright green eyes still burned with the intensity of youth and his six-foot frame was lean with toned muscle. Hewitt's lifelong mentor had enough strength and skill to beat off many opponents in any means possible including the pen as well as the sword. The man was dressed in the royal livey of his position,all blue with gold threading and a stunning embroidry of the gold dragon australis upon his chest. The pin holding his golden cloak to his garments was a smaller version with blue sapphires for it's eyes marking him as the Captain-general of Terra Australis.

Just behind Lord Brend stood his thirty year old son, Lord Gwain of the Barrow Downs (7/7/9/7) also Hewitt's lifelong friend and partner in crime of many childhood misdemenors. Ten years ago Gwain had decided to - like his father before him - roam north into the unknown lands. Hewitt had wanted to go with him but royal duties as a prince forced him to stay. The self-made frontiersman returned seven years later with tales of distant lands and foreign battles. And that is how Lord Gwain stood before him now, all dressed in armor and ready for battle.

Only this time he would be fighting for his own country.*

Hewitt: Is everything set?

Lord Gwain: The troops are assembled and awaiting us at New Springs m'lord just as you ordered. The royal guards are preparing as we speak and will be ready as soon as you are.

*Hewitt simply nodded as he toweled himself off. Lord Brend had a stern look upon his face, the kind of look he always had when he thought his student was misbehaving.*

Lord Brend: You do not have to do this Hewitt. My son is quite capable of leading the expeditionary force on his own. Your presence with him is not needed, your place is here with your people.

*Hewitt had begun to change into his riding gear close at hand.*

Hewitt: You and Gwain both know that I trust you fully. I was denied my chance to explore the unknown before Lord Brend and I will not miss this opportunity now. Besides if we are to take these and further lands I want know from personnel experience what war is really like. This country has never been at war for a thousand years. If I am to help my people to my uttermost fullest, I must become wise in things that they are not.

Lord Brend: *Looks thoughtful* Very well your majesty if you believe want your doing is right then by all means do it. *Turns to Gwain* Just you see to it that he comes to no harm, you know how hot headed he can be.

Lord Gwain: Heh. No worries father.

Hewitt: HEY! I'm still here remember!

* * *

1 week later...

*On this day 19th of January in the year of our lord 1084, the new army of Terra Australis sailed across the border from the town of New Springs under the command of Lord Gwain of the Barrow Downs. Accompaning them was none other than the ruler of Terra Australis, King Hewitt the first, there to offer the services of his sword and to learn the ways of war from one of the very few of his kin to have crossed the border before.

Back in the city of Terra Australis Lord Brend of Dawn, now crowned steward of the dragon sat in the king's study as he set about organising the defence of the nation while most of it's forces were abroad amongst other things. Yet it was the well being of one spirited little prince and his slight older adopted brother that he worried about the most and in his heart he prayed for them to return to him soon.*


Terra Australis Expeditonary Force
Commander-in-chief
Lord Gwain of the Barrow Downs (7/7/9/7)

600 Men-at-arms (3 Units)
600 Longbowmen (3 Units)
1 Trebuchet (1 Unit)

King's Guard
Commander-in-chief
King Hewitt the first of Terra Australis (*/4/4/4)

60 Mounted Knights (1 Unit)

[No Dachi]

It's nice to see you guys are kindly increasing my workload by invading more.

I will definitely do one DMing (Inspectre's, since he posted first) tonight.

[No Dachi]

The War of the Autumn Mountains
King Argus Zenith, ruler of a land freshly risen from the shackles of its former rulers to the south and hungering for vengeance at years of unjust rule, has invaded Ascatia, the kingdom to its immediate north. Ascatia is a long time ally of Laskow (the kingdom that Strife broke free from), and so King Zenith ordered it to be conquered, partly for strategic reasoning and partly in order to expand the borders of Strife, a small and landlocked region entirely set in mountains. As the last races of summer died away, the Strife army reached the border with Ascatia and, the border being mountainous, the war was thus christened 'The War of the Autumn Mountains'.

The ill-planned invasion ran into problems almost immediately. Mountains are very difficult terrain to move and supply a large army through, and with winter fast approaching, many of the passes through the mountains would soon become unusable, vlocked by snowfall. As such, Lord Paltor of Arlia, commanding the main invasion force, decided that there was no option available but to attempt to force his way through one of the lower passes, through which main roads are layed, and which are open the year round. Unfortunatly, there are only three such passes into Ascatia, and all three are fortified. Three border fortresses made of wood and manned by strong, if not particularly large, garrison forces. The fortress on the road to Ascatia's capital would have to be taken if the army of Strife was to move at all, and so Lord Paltor reluctantly drew up a plan for assaulting the castle, having no decent siege equipment.

The army of Strife prepared to attack at dawn, when it was reasoned that the garrison would be at its least capable. Inside wooden walls of the fortress were 200 Ascatian Men-At-Arms and 200 Crossbowmen. Lord Paltor's plan relied on Longbowmen shooting fire arrows to set fire to the keep and barracks, reducing the coherency of the enemy forces, and in using Arbalesters to keep the heads of the garrison down while armoured infantry could move into position with battering rams hastilery made from pine trees of a nearby forest. Unfortunatly, the Strife '1st Divsion' lacked heavily armoured shock infantry, and so in its place the Spear Sergeants were used as the initial wave of attacks, a poor substitute. The attack began largely according to plan as hail of lighted arrows rained down on the keep and barracks, catching the Ascatian garrison off-guard. The roof of the barracks building was, luckily, thatch and caught fire very quickly, burning and collapsing inward before the fire spread to the wooden walls of the building. The arrows that hit the keep were not so effective, and the minor fires that resulted were quickly put out with water taken from a well within the fortress' walls. Arbalesters moved into position and, using the superior range of the expensive steel-stringed crossbows to their advantage, managed to keep the Crossbowmen inside the fortress surpressed whilst inflicting light casualties. However, the Spear Sergeants moving into position with the battering rams found themselves under fire nonetheless from Crossbowmen using arrow slits in the walls. The battering rams set to work on the fortress' gate, with the Spear Sergeants sustaining more casualties from crossbow bolts with every minute, but eventually the gates collapsed. With no other options that Spear Sergeants charged the Men-At-Arms within the compound directly. What followed was a bloody battle in which the Men-At-Arms, heavily armoured and better equipped for fighting on foot, largely came off better in. Unfortunatly for the Ascations, the Strife infantry carried a substantial advantage in its numbers, and after over and hour of bloody close quarters combat, the fortress was taken.

Although the road to Ascatia is now open, the victory on the Asareth (Ascatian capital) Road Fortress is a hollow one. A lot of Spear Sergeants were lost in the battle, so many that it is likely the 1st Strife Division will have difficulty doing anything unless it can get out onto the open plains beyond the border mountains, where its cavalry can be used to full effect.

Casualties

Strife
238 Spear Sergeants, spread between the two units as you please
12 Longbowmen
38 Arbalesters

Ascatia
All forces defending the border fort are either dead or captured.

[Hewitt]

ooc: Just adding a bit more to make things more interesting... I hope

Foxtrot River, North Bank...

*1200 men in blue livie baring the gold dragon of Australis wander about performing various multiple tasks involving with the landing. As they do this 60 nobles coloured in similar fashion, patrol the area on horseback, their long lances trailing golden streamers. In the midst of the camp, Lord Gwain and King Hewitt use the time for a little discussion. However, they are approached by a messager...*

Messenger: Ergent dispatch from the capital your majesty. *Bows. Hands over the message then leaves.*

Hewitt: Hmm... *reads the note* It's from your father, Lord Brend. It's a last 'request' that I leave the field of war and return to the throne.

Gwain: He is worried about you m'lord as am I. We both know why you have really come along on this little expedition.

Hewitt: *Raises an eyebrow.* Oh?

Gwain: I've known you all my life Hewitt so you can stop pretending you have no idea what I'm talking about. I mean "learn the way's of war indeed"... you already know them from my father - this is about your father isn't it?

Hewitt: Ok. Discussion over. Get the troops ready as soon as you can and I will-

Gwain: Don't change the subject!

Hewitt: How dare you! I am your king! As your king I must as you to desist this line of conversation at once!

Gwain: *Steps closer and speaks softly.* And as your friend I must not...

*Hewitt simply grunts.*

Gwain: Your father, the previous king of Terra Australis is dead Hewitt.

Hewitt: My father is still alive damn it.

Gwain: My father told you the story involvng his demise and you must accept that.

Hewitt: I will not...

Flashback...

*20 years ago...

A much younger Lord Brend and King Rogar, ruler of Terra Australis back then are fighting off a band of soldiers wearing unknown colours back to back. The battle is fierce and many wounds are received but soon ten men lay dead at the feet of Brend and Rogar. Rogar has a deep slash down his back and his left arm hangs limp. Brend has multiple cuts a bruises and a nasty gash in his forehead. Both are breathing heavily.*

Brend: Sire, more soldiers will be upon us soon. There is a village not far from here wear we can get patched up and reacquire some horses.

Rogar: Then let us be gone the- *ACK!*

*Brend looks down in horror to see an arrowhead sticking out of Rogar's chest all covered in blood. Rogar falls to his knees and a loud roar erupts close by.*

Rogar: *cough* Go Brend! *Splutter* You cannot win this fight.

Brend: I won't leave you m'lord we die together!

Rogar: NO! *grabs hold of Brend's shirt* One *cough* of us must return to Terra Australis. *choke* It cannot be I... it must be you... *sputter*

Brend: But why m'lord why? *Tears start forming in his eyes*

Rogar: You must teach him how to be king. *gag* *hack* *cough* Teach him how to be strong yet kind. How to rule...

*Suddenly a foreign soldier leapss into the clearing and Rogar rises to his feet and cuts him down. Brend begins to rush after him but Rogar knocks him back.*

Rogar: GO! *more soldiers begin to appear* GO NOW! Take care of my son for me!

*Comforts his new attackers. Brend stands where he is caught between two conflicting emotions - obey and protect.*

Rogar: Please Brend... I beg of you, do not allow my son to be fatherless...

Brend: *sobbing* Y-yes my lord... My god have mercy upon me but I will do as you ask.

*Brend runs away crying for his good friend and lord as scores of soldiers engage then overcome the failing king. As the memory fades out all that can be seen is a mass of armoured men kicking King Rogar as he lay dying on the ground.*

Back to reality...

Hewitt: *Looks upon Gwain with fierce intensity.* Whether or not my father is an ailing prisoner or a lifeless corpse I WILL find him. I don't care if that means conquering the world, as long as I live I will discover the truth behind my fathers passing and so help me if I can further the prosperity of my people in the process then by no means shall anyone stop me do you understand Gwain?

Gwain: I understand my lord.

Hewitt: Good. Now if you don't mind, let's get things moving. I'm anxious to learn whatever you can teach me about battle and conquest...

[Richpur]

Heliosia
(Hell-ee-os-ee-uh)

Just to the south of Twin's country.

Map

Heliosia is split into four provinces:
· The Duchy of Eryx
· The Duchy of Aescul
· The Earldom of Gram
· The Barony of Antium

Economic & Political Climate.

The Duchy of Eryx is the capital province of the country. While in years long past the overall Emperor of the four provinces was a matter of some dispute and changed frequently, this changed with the marriage of the two duchies into one force and the threat of invasion from the north. Helios was established as the reigning city and each successive emperor occupied it, regardless of province of origin leaving control of their home province to their next of kin.

The Duchy of Aescul is currently suffering from the after effects of a war with the as yet diplomatically unrecognised country to her north which resulted in the loss of significant amounts of forest holdings. The two Duchies are historically very close, their ruling families being intermarried, however the recent defeat in the absence of Eryian assistance has somewhat strained these relations of late.

The Earldom of Gram is mostly plains, the human population spread out over the province in farmsteads. Gram itself is mostly a trading centre for the region with the only permanent structure being the Earl’s palace itself. While technically the rest of the city is transitory with the coming and going of various vassals trading goods, a number of the ‘tents’ have been sited there for more than a generation and are beginning to resemble canvas mansions.

The Barony of Antium lies to the country’s east, stretching from the borders of Eryia to the coast. Antium itself sits on the coastline, built up around the port complex, which over the years has drawn in every major shipwright in the land. Currently the barony is suffering a minor economic decline due to the problems in Aescul causing a shortage of timber. This has however strengthened ties with Eryia as the former secondary matter of farming comes into the fore and the bulk of the population spreads back from the coast.

Military

Eryia is home to the imperial guard and the miners in the southern mountains tend to be well organised into mining teams and are thick of arm, lending themselves well to military duty with but a small amount of training. The militia force around Eryx itself consists of two units of peasants.

Aescia is for the most a densely wooded region, causing most people there to be hunters or woodsmen. Having been recently engaged in fully-fledged warfare in the north this region starts with a division of one peasant unit and a unit of archers.

Gram has a single unit of peasants guarding its southern borders, mainly relying on the width of the river along their northwest to slow attack from that direction. Due to the mainly agricultural basis of this province and the nomadic nature of its minor nobility, it is unlikely to produce any notable military force.

Antium has no military presence. While the baron keeps a small retinue of household guards for ceremonial purposes, the province’s security is almost totally reliant on Eryia and Aescia.


Racial Advantages

Resilient Economy 1
Improved Economic Integration 2
Improved Agriculture 2
Improved Mining 1
Improved Heavy Infantry 1
Diplomatic Prowess 1
Advanced Culture 2


Preferred Colour

RGB : 20,40,80

[edit] added map link [/edit]

[No Dachi]

All
Just got back from skiing in Austria. At present I'm very tired, so I'll get some of this stuff done tomorrow. This will start with the review of Lakhim's/Rich's kingdoms to make sure everything's in order. I may also do a battle post depending on how much needs to be DMed for the particular campaign.