Lords of the Earth
Campaign Nineteen
Turn 36
Anno Domini
1076 - 1080
Turn
37 Orders Due By Friday, 18th,
2003
Hello: I’m Colin Dunnigan, Thomas has asked me to take over running this game for an
indefinite period. I’m going to TRY
to keep the game as unaltered as possible although the processing price has
gone up to $5 per turn. Sorry about
that.
Below are my Email and Regular mail addresses:
4858 East 2nd Street
Tucson, AZ 85711
Email: ancaric@throneworld.com
Payment: When paying via Paypal, please send all funds to this account:
If sending checks by mail to Tucson, go ahead and fill them out to me.
Warning: if your account falls into arrears for any amount your position will be declared open unless you make concrete arrangements with me to pay your balance. (By “concrete” I mean, I’ll have x amount to you on or before y date). Please don’t fall behind, I really don’t like being the heavy and I daresay you won’t like it either.
As mentioned above, I’m going to try to keep alterations to the rules to a minimum (a double “yeah, sure” regarding my chances). Here are some things to keep in mind:
1) There are no censuses.
2) “Hands Off Trade” is in effect and the ships on various trade routes will be deleted in a couple of turns (unless they’re warships on anti-piracy work).
3) Cities and regions are separate areas for all purposes.
4) Leaders are now numbered consecutively on the stat sheet.
5) A couple of countries (mostly non-player) that were Seafaring or Barbarian have become civilized.
6) I’ve reformatted the Megaliths section in accordance with the latest version of the STATS program.
7) Player’s are encouraged to name their leaders and heirs, in some cases I have named some individuals, feel free to change these.
8) Allied Leaders: looking over some of the player-less countries, I’ve noticed a large percentage of troops under allied leaders, doubtless in an attempt to reduce support costs. While I don’t want to disallow this practice, I will be making loyalty checks for any such “augmented” forces from here on out. Failure indicates that feckless ally decides to carve a kingdom out of your Empire. The chances of this increase if there are few non-allied troops about. So don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
9) Female Leaders: while I don’t want to disallow them totally, the Dark Ages were a pretty male dominated time. Consequently, a female Royalty member may only become Queen, Empress, Regent or Heir if they have a Charisma of AT LEAST 10. A Princess will only become an active leader if her Charisma is at least 8 (eight) or greater. Any Charisma statute less than this will result in no generation (although you can still marry them off). Any existing Female Rulers, Heirs, Princesses may remain. The only exception to this is if the sole available heir is a princess, in which case she becomes ruler regardless of Charisma (and the subsequent DF check gets an big bad negative modifier as the local nobility resents the presence of a female giving orders and intruding on their bailiwick).
10) The Homeland Income Multiple: this will decrease to x1.5 on t38 and to one on t40. If you didn’t get your doubled homeland income this turn, simply calculate it and put it in your orders with a note reminding me what it is.
Kondo Nobunaga, Diamyo of Yamato.
Diplomacy Shikokou (t)
Mitsou died at the ripe old age of 83 and was succeeded without incident by his son, Nobunaga, who immediately embarked upon an ambitious program of expansion: the postal road between Shimane and Yamaguchi was upgraded to a royal highway; the cities of Heian, Hagi and Tottori all expanded in size; and a new port city, Kyoto was built in Aichi. Trade was also opened with Kwanto to the north, although the Empire’s armies were also expanded to take into account any potential threat from the Empire’s new neighbor.
Taira Ishida, Diamyo of Kwanto.
Diplomacy Toyama (t)
Deciding to start his reign off with a bang, Ishida headed north into Nigata at the head of some 5,000 troops and smashed the local clans into pulp. The Diamyo then returned to Edo and attempted to sire a son on his new wife, recently acquired on a diplomatic trip to Toyama by Ishida’s lieutenant, Yabu. No success so far…
Gatumao, Lord of the Spice Islands
Diplomacy Timor (ea), Pajajaran (t)
Gatumao, tiring of the lethargy that had afflicted him of late, sent his diplomats out to plea, cajole and wheedle. Closer to home, Buku Sulat grew to size four and a merchant fleet was commissioned to take advantage to the lucrative trade between the various islands of Gatumao’s watery realm.
Nardu, Prince of Maree
Diplomacy None
No Orders
Kamut, King of the Southern Islands
Diplomacy None
No Orders
Kim On Rhee, Prince of Koguryo
Diplomacy Silla (fa)
Aside from some diplomacy among the Southerners
in Silla, the Koreans kept to themselves.
Han Wong Lang, King of Huipei
Diplomacy None
As befit a great Empire, Han Lang thought big (or kinda big). New road links were built between Tangchou and Shentung and between Honan and Tsainan. In addition, Fukien and Ghang’de were put under cultivation. Thousands of laborers sweltered and slaved to lay the new roads and plow the new fields of millet and rice for the Empire. An attempt to increase the rural public works of Shensi and Shentung came to naught as it was discovered that the land couldn’t support any further investments of that nature. Han Lang threw a minor fit when he found out.
Chu Lai, Prince of Kwangsi
Diplomacy Nanling (nt),
Lingtung (nt)
Aside from getting (nominal) acknowledgement that he was the top dog in southern China, Chu Lai kept a low profile.
Bao Dai I, King of Champa, Lord of Vijaya
Diplomacy Dai
Viet (ea)
Bao Dai, like so many others decided to pour the massive budget surplus into various builds and projects. Both Yekten and Vijaya benefited from massive expenditures in internal infrastructure, roads, bridges and sewers. The army was also increased in size to protect the realm.
Jayavarman II, Deveraja of the Kambuja
Diplomacy Phan Rang (t)
Combining the carrot with the stick, Jayavarman trekked to Phan Rang to woo the local ruler into joining the nascent Khemer state. A Royal marriage between the Deveraja and some local regal doxie helped smooth things along considerably. To the north, general Sa,asenthai marched into Siam at the head of over 2000 troops and, after a tough fight, smashed the locals into submission.
Back at home, Angor increased to size four.
Shambramaba I, King of Ava
Diplomacy Pegu
(ea), Mon (c)
Shambramaba kicked off his reign by descending upon his neighbors in Pegu with offers of marriage and alliance. The World has many dangers, from the Khemer to the Pratihara. Wouldn’t you rather face them united rather than divided? The offers were accepted with some alacrity.
Sachetan, Emperor of India
Diplomacy Anhivarta (neutral, following allied leader
death), Dahala (t following allied leader death).
A
great diplomatic effort to woo the Maghadans into
joining the Empire failed as the delegation, accompanied with huges coffers of gold, one of Sachetan’s
daughters, and a really cool traveling circus (oh sorry, that was the
delegation) was politely turned away at the border. Further bad news came from the west, as
hundreds of Hindu missionaries were harassed and killed by the Muslim locals in
Edrosia and Sind, whom the
former had tried to convert to the Hindic faith. The
missionaries sent to Nepal were simply ignored.
Things
were more successful on the domestic front as two new road links were built
between Tarain and Chitor
and between Rajput and Jaunpur. You
can never have too many roads the Emperor opined. His sycophants nodded agreeably to this bon mot.
Prashant, Raja of Bengal
Diplomacy Chandela
(f), Palas (nt)
Prashant sent his diplomats hither and yon in an attempt to
improve the position of his realm, especially vis a vis the Pratiharans (or “The Colossus of the North” as the Raja
liked to call his northern neighbor).
Results were mixed, although the mouth of the Brahmaputra
was secured for the Kingdom. On the
domestic front, massive expenditures on urban public works were undertaken in
both Bihar and Aisha, and both cities expanded in
size as well.
Rhama, King of Chola, Lord of Tanjore
Diplomacy Chera
(nt)
Aside from some diplomatic efforts among his neighbors, Rhama kept pretty much to himself. Trade was opened with Maghada in the north (yay!) and with Rajput as well, but the latter was lost when Anhivarta went neutral (boo!).
Hamid, Emir of Samarkhnad
Diplomacy Otrarsh
(c), Bokhara (nt),
Khwarzim (fa), Turkmen (fa)
Hamid contented with increasing his diplomatic influence among his immediate neighbors.
Omar Ibn Batutta, Emir of Damascus.
Diplomacy Aleppo (f), Levant (f), Lebanon (c)
Omar’s diplomats (not to mention the Emir himself) were very busy on the diplomatic front, with excellent results. In domestic affairs, massive spending on public works within Dmascus was the order of the day and, of course, the obligatory military build-up for additional security in the cockpit that is the Near East.
Ali, Emir of Emirs, Protector of the Caliph.
Diplomacy None
No Orders
Flavius Heraclius, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire
Diplomacy Dobruja (at war!), Moldavia (hostile), Pechneg
(nt), Sparta, in Morea (a)
Just before setting out on a diplomatic trip to Dobruja, Heraclius was devastated to learn of the death of his son and heir, Constantine. (Actually ole Constantine died many turns ago at age seven, talk about being late for one’s own funeral). Aggrieved, the Emperor appointed his second son, Flavius as heir. More good news was to follow. In Dobruja, the Emperor seriously screwed up his diplomacy roll and barely managed to escape being lynched. The reception to Byzantine diplomats in Moldavia was only slightly less frosty. Only in Pechneg were natives at all receptive to any message these $*%^#8 Greeks had to bear. Oh and in Sparta too, but they’re already #*%^#* Greeks, so that hardly counts.
Only at home was the news at all encouraging, a new city, Manzikert, was raised in Psidia and a road was built linking it to Sinope, on the Black Sea coast. Finally, trade with the Kievian Rus was established.
Igor Bratislav, Boyar of Muscovy
Diplomacy Bah!
For Wimps!
You’ve got to hand it to old Igor: he at least has Moxie (or something, that’s for sure). Disdaining all of this “goodie-goodie diplomacy drivel, the Prince raised slightly over 5000 troops and marched into Chernigov and smacked the locals around thoroughly. Pleased by this success, Igor pressed on into Kiev, where his advanced scouts informed him of the presence of a sizable Kievan army and some pretty formidable walls arounf the old trading center. Outnumbered (not to mention mightily chagrined), Igor quickly withdrew back into Chernigov and wondered what to do next.
Ivan I,
Boyar of Kiev
Diplomacy No
Effect
Bryan died and was duly replaced. Although the new Prince, Ivan, did put money into building up the armies of the realm, (which served him in good stead, see above); his efforts to win friends and influence people among his immediate neighbors came to naught.
Lore, King of Poland
Diplomacy None
No
Orders
Villem Viikberg, Duke of Estonia
Diplomacy Turku (f), Veposkava (f)
Old Duke Dimitri died at the end of 1076 at the ripe old age of ninety-six. His heir, Villem, picked up the reins of power and immediately set about putting “his” Duchy in order. The wilds of Latvia were put under the plough and the region is now cultivated. The cities of Tallinin, Riga and Jekapils were all expanded a level and the petty principalities of Turku and Veposkava were encouraged to align themselves more closely to the Estonian state.
Wolfgang Govner II, Duke of Bohemia
Diplomacy Holland (f), Amsterdam, in Holland
Deciding that he simply had to have the Dutch in his pocket, Wolfgang sent a vast delegation, outfitted with lavish bribes and gifts across the Rhine into the lands of his father’s old foes. There, greasing a great many palms, the Bohemians managed to convince the local ruler there to bury the hatchet (no, not in Wolfgang’s skull). Closer to home, Brunswick expanded to a level two city.
Gaius, Emperor of Italy
Diplomacy Corsica (a), Bastia, on Corsica (f), Illyria (c)
Gaius, determining that the Empire was just not secure enough, worked on putting the realm’s defenses in order. The fortress in Verona had new walls added and, more impressively, two Great Wall sections were built along the borders between Verona and Carinthia and Slovenia. In more peaceable news, Venice expanded to a level four city.
William, King of the Dutch and Walloons
Diplomacy: None
Absorbed in the Bohemian Juggernaut.
Phillip, King of the West Francia
Diplomacy: Anjou (f), Ponthieu (f), Rennes, in Ponthieu (f), Champagne (f), Nivernais (f)
Phillip, being blessed with an extraordinarily adept diplomatic corps (all with the ability to talk the locals into a stupor); concentrated on consolidating his hold on his own demesne, with thoroughly spectacular results.
Charles, King of Burgundy
Diplomacy None
Still stinging from the loss of Swabia and Freiburg, Charles decided to look to the Kingdom’s defenses, lest anyone else try to take advantage of his situation. Several thousands more troops were raised to further swell the ranks of the army; new walls were built around Basel, Lyon and La Croix and a military road was built between Basel and Lyon to facilitate the movement of troops.
But it was not all paranoid militarism and scaremongering, thousands of gold were poured into various urban public works throughout the realm, and the city of Lyon was expanded to a level four city.
Branden, Duke of Normandy
Diplomacy None
Position shut down due to low viability and poor location.
Sancho, King of Navarre
Diplomacy Valencia
(ea following allied leader death), Old Castille (f)
A hectic turn ensued as several Navarrite plans were knocked into a cocked hat due to the death of various leaders on assorted errands. A catastrophic diplomatic misunderstanding was narrowly averted when a Royal Scribe noted that the invitations to the Sancho’s impending nuptials to Princess Donabella of Old Castille indicated that the bride was mis-named Anna of Aragon. Fortunately, production of the invitations was stopped before they could be distributed. What would Sancho think? What would Anna think? What would Donabella think? Sheesh! The repercussions boggle the mind. Less chaotically, Arles and Tortosa both grew in size to level four.
Olav, King of the Swedes
Diplomacy Agder (fa), Smaland (a)
Like so many other monarchs this turn, Jamerik kicked the bucket and was succeeded by his son, Olav, who quickly found things to do. Diplomats were diospatched hither and yon and a new port city, Bergen, was raised in Norway.
Harald Olafson, King of the Norse
Diplomacy Faeroes (a)
Throwing off the slough of years, Harald roused himself to action. A new fleet of sleek long-ships was built, insuring that any Tom, Rik and Erik couldn’t just come in and conquer the place. Reykjavik was also expanded in size and an effort was made to tidy the place up a bit. Finally, the Celts of the Faeroes were induced to align themselves more closely to their neighbor to the North.
Mohammad ibn Hanno, Emir of Tunisia
Diplomacy Kabilya (f), Utica, in Kabilya
(f)
Old Hanno kicked off (another ninety-plus year old guy rolling around in a wheelchair, calling his son “Billy” and offering to pay him a dollar to kill him).
Anyway, the new Emir, Mohammad was content to invest thousands of gold into urban public works and engaged in a little diplomacy close to home.
Mohammad ibn Ibrihim, Fatamid Caliph of Egypt
Diplomacy None
Like his namesake to the west, the Caliph was content to pour funding into much needed improvements in city sanitation and infrastructure. In addition, the cities of Memphis and Al Kadir also expanded to size four apiece.
Maracatu, King of Songhai and Hausa
Diplomacy None
No Orders
Chitambo, King of Akan, Lord of
Benin
Diplomacy Ife (t)
Things
were fairly quiet in Chitambo’s neck of the woods,
although Akan city did expand to a size four and some
funds were put into making the cities of the kingdom slightly more livable.
Akencheres, King of Nubia
Diplomacy None
Akensebek died and was succeeded without incident. The new Negus, Akencheres started his reign out by ordering the movement of the entire government apparatus to the city of Pwenet, in Adulis, on the coast of the Red Sea; the better to rule his fairly large realm. Cultivation projects were also undertaken in Alwa and Kassala, with thousands of hectares put under the plough. Coptic missionary activity in Djibuti was markedly unsuccessful.
Namodu II, King of Bakongo
Diplomacy N’Gao (f), Brazzaville, in N’Gao
(f)
Yes, you guessed, it, Namodu croaked and was succeeded by his son (and namesake). The new King engaged in a veritable orgy of city expansion, as Kinshasa, Bokona, Cabwola, Brazzaville and Rava all increased to size four.
Shaka, King of Rozwi, Lord of Zimbabwe
Diplomacy Kafue (ea)
Deciding things where just a damn sight too pedestrian around here, Shaka decided to disturb his neighbors. Massing over 4,000 warriors, the King led his troops into Gorongo, where the natives were brutally conquered and enslaved, being carted back to serve as helots in the great cultivation project now being undertaken in the homeland. The empty province was than repopulated with friendly settler, who were just thrilled to be sent into the steaming jungles of Gorongo (let me tell you!).
Swimming Beaver, The Great Beaver of the Snake
Diplomacy Erie
(f), Adena, in Erie (f)
Well, by gum, Swimming Beaver didn’t die and consequently: a) didn’t have to leave the Empire to an heir, and b) was able to concentrate on a number of projects, primarily city expansion. Adena, Fox River, Cahokia, Kaskaskam and Rockwood all grew in size, the first four to 4, the last to size three. Mississippian diplomacy also bore fruit.
Obsidian Coyote
Diplomacy None
Obsidian Coyote relaxed, ate some really nifty peyote, and tried to begat another son. In this he was unsuccessful (probably the peyote). In other events, both Mokelumne Hill and Tuolumne increased in size; the former to size 7, the latter to size 4. Another wave of colonists settled in Ipai, bringing it to a (2/2) province.
Kamchuka
Diplomacy Navajo
(f), Tiwa (f), Caracol, in Tiwa (f)
Like many of his neighbors, Kamchuka, concentrated on regional diplomacy among his allies and city expansion at home. Chaco, Chicu, Snaketown and Caracol all grew to level four cities.
Soaring Eagle, Great Sun of the Natchez
Diplomacy None
Deciding to make a clean breast of things, Soaring Eagle embarked on a slew of domestic projects. The cities of Grand Village (formerly Ayoel); Port Easy (nee Tangipahoa) and Oyster Bay (the city once known as Powhaten) all increased to level four cities. Grand Village also had a citadel installed to improve its defenses. Two new port cities, Texarkana and South Port arose in Tonkawa and Karankawa respectively. Finally, cultivation projects were undertaken in Chitmacha and Mejcalero. In other events, Soaring Eagles lieutenant, Whispering Weasel, embarked on a voyage of discovery up the to the Carolina coast and into Chesapeake Bay before returning.
Itzamna, Grand Hegemon of the Maya
Diplomacy Huexotla (a), Naco, in Lenca (a)
Like just about everybody else, the Grand Hegemon decided to blow his substantial wad of accumulated lucre on a massive bout of city expansion: Tecoco, Naco, Chichen Itza, Tula, Tikal, Tlateloco and Ednza all blossomed in size. All save Tlateloco grew to size four; Tlateloco grew to size three.
Canom, Lord of the Islands
Diplomacy Taino (ea), Colon (f), Ciguayo
(a)
Things were pretty subdued here as well, although both Guantanamo and Nicoll’s Town both increased to size 4.
Lanric, King of the Chibchan
Diplomacy None
Pretty quiet here too, San Cristobal and Apure both were expanded to level four cities.
Panbi, King of Paraiba
Diplomacy None
The plague of rampant bucolic living continued unabated as Panbi contented himself with -- Yes! That’s Right! -- city expansion. Tyr-Sog, Sulan-Qu and Mixoxa all grew to size four. (Hey man, this is the twenty-first player-less country I’ve processed, I’m beginning to see double).
Mayta Capac, Emperor of the Incas
Diplomacy Chavin (f), Moche (f)
Having nothing better to do, the Great Inca decided to engage in an orgy of urban expansion: Huari, Maranga, Cuzco, Queros, Chanchan, Areqquipa, Ica, Abancay, Curva, Tiahuanacu and Jauja all were expanded to size four cities.
Nati, Duke of Shokleng
Diplomacy None
Aside from improving the overall appearance of the capital, Curutiba; Nati pretty much kept to himself.
Graphite, King of the Mapuche
Diplomacy None
Indolence ran rampant here as well (if such a thing is possible). Santiago and Bahia both expanded to level three cities and settlers continue to move into the Pampas of Puelche, raising it to a (1/7) region.