Lords of the Earth

Campaign Nineteen

Turn 37

Anno Domini 1081 - 1085

 

Turn 37 Orders Due By      Friday, August 29th, 2003

 

A

nnouncements

 

        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:

 

lords19pmts@throneworld.com

 

        If sending checks by mail to Tucson, go ahead and fill them out to me.  Note: as a rule of thumb, I prefer to receive payment through the Throneworld account.  However, this is a preference, not a diktat, if you can’t access the account, or if paying by Paypal just makes you antsy in general (or it’s just darn inconvenient) go ahead and send a check.

        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.  What follows is…

 

A Handy Guide to Determine Your Ref’s Attitude Towards You if You are in Arrears

If you run up a negative account balance it can be difficult to determine the level of emotion the referee may have towards you.  What follow is a convenient guide to let you know exactly where you stand.

 

-$5.00 or Less: hey, it happens.  Please pay your balance as soon as possible.

 

-$5.00 -- -$10.00: c’mon, it’s not like this game is really expensive.  Please pay your balance.  Your kids will thank you for it someday.

 

-$15.00 or More: Urge to kill rising!

 

Modifiers: people who try to make arrangements with me regarding payment (or partial payment) will generally get a favorable hearing.  Generally, players who exceed two turns of debt without keeping me apprised of their situation will be dropped and word will be sent out to the other campaigns warning the refs of the offending player’s deadbeat proclivities.  Players who run up a negative balance and then drop w/o repayment, will have their names sent out to other referees as mentioned above and will have massive karmic debt for being a scoundrel and lout.

 

Lords Two

 

As many of you know, I am also running Lords 2.  To this end, processing this campaign will be affected.   Although the date listed above is the due date for next turn’s orders, it may not automatically lead to processing the turn starting that weekend, especially if I am hip-deep in processing the other game.

 

Rules Stuff

 

        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. Change: well okay, I guess there are.

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).  Change: okay, players may now rearrange MSP among existing (not newly initiated) trade routes by having their King (only) perform the Intervene in Merchant Affairs (IMA) action.  This costs six AP and can only be conducted by the ruler of the nation.  Ship units will still be deleted as they are converted to MSP when placed on the route and may only be converted back into heavy transport units at a cost of 4MSP and 5gps per unit.

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.

 

 

Map Discrepancies

Some discrepancies between the maps and the Stats program have cropped up:

1)      Sukkur and Punjab are Shi’a.

2)      Mon is a wilderness region.

The map has been corrected.

 

As a general rule, in discrepancies of this kind, the stats take precedence over the map.

 

Japan & the Pacific Rim

 

The Empire of Japan

Kondo Nobunaga, Daimyo of Yamato.

Diplomacy    Shikoku (ea)

        Nobunaga, deciding that there just wasn’t enough room in Nippon for two dominant political forces, decided to thrash the insolent whelp Ishida and prove to him exactly who was “president of this damn club!”  Massing of 40,000 troops under his command, the Daimyo marched north looking for a fight (see below for the outcome).

        On the domestic front, work began on a new road link between Yamato and Aichi and the foundations of a new port, Tokushima, were laid in Shikoku.  A diplomatic expedition to the islands of Cheju’do was ruffled to find no one in attendance with which to parley.  What now!  The emissary wailed to no one in particular.

 

The Taira Bakufu

Taira Ishida, Daimyo of Kwanto.

Diplomacy    No Effect

        For his own part, Ishida suspected some sort of aggression was forthcoming from his southern neighbor (“a more scurvy dog never walked beneath the light of the Divine Sun” he was wont to comment).  The failed attempt on his life by an assassin was certainly proof enough, as was an equally unsuccessful attempt to foment unrest in Nigata province.

        Consequently, when the great Nubonagan host plowed into Kwanto itself, Ishida was there to meet then at the head of over 32,000 troops and a multitude of forts, castles and other sundry impedimentia.  Although Nobunaga had the edge in numbers, Ishida was fighting for his ancestral lands, with which he was quite familiar.  Consequently, Nobunaga was roundly thumped, spanked, and generally made to look silly.  Chagrined, the southerners withdrew in reasonable order, leaving the fields and rice patties littered with over 9,000 dead.

        Back in Aichi, it was briefly debated whether another attack should be attempted.  The proposal was roundly shouted down.  The northerners were just too well dug in to pry out.  More troops Nobunaga thought, more troops…  In the north, Ishida’s other plans were also scuttled due to the need to keep an eye on the southern army licking its wounds (though still formidable) in Aichi.  Stalemate looms…

 

The Moluccas Seahold

Gatumao, Lord of the Spice Islands

Diplomacy    Davao, in Mindanao (f), Kupang, in Timor (f), Kediri (t)

        Deciding that he had spent just too much time sitting in the sun and drinking coconut milk; Gatumao decided to work off his poi gut by beating up his immediate neighbors.  Accordingly, he set out with his favorite drinking buddy, Kibroku, 1000 troops and over 50 ships and ravaged the Philippine Islands and Taiwan.  He than returned to his haunts in Buku Sulat and resumed his vacation.  In more peaceable pursuits, Molluccan diplomacy made some pretty impressive inroads among the locals.

 

The Maree Tribes of Australia

Nardu, Prince of Maree

Diplomacy    None

        Life in the Great Southern land continued at its usual leisurely pace.  Nowra expanded to an eight level city.

 

The Arikat of Maaori

Kamut, King of the Southern Islands

Diplomacy    None

        No Orders.

 

China

 

The Goreyo Kingdom

Kim On Rhee, Prince of Koguryo

Diplomacy    Silla (a)

        Strenuous efforts to gain the allegiance of the southerners in Silla finally bore fruit.  On the domestic front, Kaiching expanded to a size four city and a new port, Pusan was built on the southeastern coast of Silla, allowing trade with Kwanto.

        Kim watched the fireworks in Japan with trepidation for what successful warlord in Nippon didn’t immediately set his sights on foreign conquests once he had unified the islands?

 

The Kingdom of the Yangtze

Cao Dao, King of Huipei

Diplomacy    Houma (ea)

        Old Emperor Han went to his eternal rest and was succeeded with little fanfare by his son, Cao Dao.  The Empire continued to hum along under its new ruler with a road link being built between Anhui and Kiangsu and some diplomatic activity to the north.

 

The Kingdom of Kwangsi

Chu Lai, Prince of Kwangsi

Diplomacy    None

        No Orders

 

Southeast Asia

 

The Kingdom of Champa

Bao Dai I, King of Champa, Lord of Vijaya

Diplomacy No effect.

        Adopting an ambitious plan, Bao Dai set off to secure several princely states to the north and northwest.  To this end, he set forth at the head of roughly 36,000 troops.  First to fall was Mison, browbeaten into paying tribute.  Next, the King marched into Annam and secured the region before dispatching roughly half of his army under the heir to the northwest into Korat (which was also made to pay tribute).  Bao Dai next focused on reducing the city of Tonkin, which was accomplished only after a bitter siege.  The King spent the rest of the turn settling colonies of Champans throughout Annam, creating a delightfully stratified society with a sullen Buddhist population living under their Hindic overlords.

        While this was going on, the Royal heir, Nguyen, had his hands full, occupying Nan Chao and reducing the city of Tai’li, both of which took quite some time to accomplish.  In the end though, the Champan Kingdom now extends from the Mekong Delta to the foothills of the Himalayas.

 

The Kingdom of Kambuja

Jayavarman II, Deveraja of the Kambuja

Diplomacy    None

        Jayavarman decided to outdo his eastern neighbor in expanding his caste-ridden realm among the Buddhist principates to the north.  The King himself led over 2,000 troops into Surin and had a fine old time thrashing the locals and settling Hindic communities among the Buddhist population.  Jayavarman’s henchman, general Samsenthai, meted out similar policies in Siam and Nakhon; using his 4,000 troops to repress the scum-sucking Buddhist pukes.

        In more peaceable pursuits, Angor grew to a level five city, while a new port, Krug Thep, was built in Siam.

 

The Kingdom of Ava

Shambramaba I, King of Ava

Diplomacy    Thaton (c), Mon (ea)

        As opposed to his neighbors’ violent policies, Shambramaba continued to use diplomacy to persuade and cajole his immediate neighbors to tie their fortunes to the Avan cause.  At home, a great many projects and construction was delayed due to incomplete control over certain areas.  [Note to all: a region must begin the turn with a status of non-paying tributary or higher in order to construct anything there.]  Despite these setbacks, much was accomplished, a new port, Pakira, was built in Pegu, along with an accompanying citadel and California split-level penthouse offering a spectacular view of the Siam Wan.  In addition, a road link was built between Pakira and the capital Pegu.  Finally, Shambranaba ordered a census to be conducted within his realm.

 

India & Central Asia

 

The Pratihara Empire of Kaunaj

Sachetan, Emperor of India

Diplomacy    Jihjhoti (f), Somantha, in Surashtra (a)

        Pratiharan fortunes were decidedly mixed.  On the plus side, Sachetan ordered a census of his realm to be undertaken (which was subsequently not carried out as a leader needs to be assigned to do this sort of thing); and a clutch of cities all increased to size four (Benares, Agra and Delhi).  On the debit side of the ledger, diplomatic attempts in Sukkur and Punjab came to naught as the Shi’a residents of those places wanted absolutely nothing to do with Sachetan and his “pagan empire”.  Similar sentiments were also directed against the various missionaries sent to Sind, Edrosia and Und to try to convert the locals.  This backfired as the Muslim majority in those lands soon drove out the missionaries (or left them hanging from various gibbets).

 

The Kingdom of Maghada

Prashant, Raja of Bengal

Diplomacy    Palas (t), Assam (t)

        Continuing to keep a wary eye on his powerful neighbor, Prashant continued to build up the defenses of the Kingdom and to increase its influence abroad.

 

The Kingdom of Chola

Rhama, King of Chola, Lord of Tanjore

Diplomacy    Chera (ea), Pandya (fa)

        Aside from some diplomacy, Rhama minded his own business.

 

The Emirate of Samarkhand

Hamid, Emir of Samarkhnad

Diplomacy    Tashkent, in Otrarsh (c), Turkmen (a)

        Samarkhandi diplomacy continues to be, well, let’s just say it continues.  The Emir of Tashkent was somewhat mortified to inform Hamid that he had no daughters available to wed such a worthy individual as himself.  However, he didn’t complain over much when Hamid claimed the city for Samarkhand anyways.  At home, two new cities were built, Dzambul, in Turkmen and Heart in Bokhara.

 

The Kingdom of Saksiny

Bulan II, Kagan of Saksiny

Diplomacy    Khazar (t), Patzinak (at war!), Urkel (at war!)

        The Kagan Bulan, having clawed his way to the top of local politics, now set his sights on winning friends and influencing people in his immediate neighborhood.   A diplomatic trip to Khazar went well, with the Kagan marrying the daughter of his Khazarite counterpart.

        Flushed with this success, Bulan pressed on into Patzinak, where the Khan there was distinctly unimpressed.  Not to mention offended when the Kagan committed some indiscretion or some such in the process of negotiations.  Enraged, the Patzinak ruler drew his scimitar and ran Bulan through.  The unfortunate man’s head was sent back to the court in Sarigh-Shin with a declaration of war.

        Adding insult to injury, a diplomatic trip to Urkel fared just as poorly, the diplomat Bhagatur also coming to a sticky end amid much blood and other assorted unpleasantness.

        These events had a rather cooling effect to say the least.  Fortunately, Bulan had a cousin of the same name (what a coincidence) and that individual quickly stepped into the breach, having inherited two mightily pissed-off neighbors.

        Note: those have to be the worst diplomacy rolls I’ve EVER seen.

 

The Near East

 

The Hamadid Emirate

Omar Ibn Batutta, Emir of Damascus.

Diplomacy    Mosul (ea), Lebanon (f), Jordan (a)

        The Emir and his diplomats were quite busy, rushing hither and yon and generally making a nuisance of himself.  On the other hand, the results were good, so the locals can’t have been too bothered by it all.  Work also began on a postal road linking Damascus with Antioch and trade was opened with the Buwayids to the east and the Fatamids to the west.

 

The Buwayid Emirates

Ali, Emir of Emirs, Protector of the Caliph.

Diplomacy    None

        No Orders

 

Eastern Europe

 

The Eastern Roman Empire

Flavius II, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire

Diplomacy    Isauria (fa), Cilicia (fa), Galatia (ea following allied leader death), Psidia (f following allied leader death).

        As ever, the Byzantines were busy, and as ever, their fortunes were mixed.  At home, the cities of Sinop and Manzikert both grew in size.  On the other hand, old Emperor Flavius died of scrofula at the end of 1083; leaving the Empire in the hands of his son and namesake, who was tied up in various diplomatic endeavors in southern Anatolia when he got the news.  Elsewhere abroad, the Romans continue to use rather forceful and vicious means to control the western shores of the Black Sea.  The Dux Palladius, at the head of 20,000 troops, marched into Dobruja and, after conquering the place, systematically exterminated the entire population, leaving the place desolate as his troops pressed on tinto Moldavia, which was also secured, despite fanatical resistance on the part of the locals, having seen the fate dealt out to their southern neighbors.  Later the Magister Militarium Calligulus resettled Dobruja back up to a (1/6) region.  Finally, missionary work continues to meet with some progress against the Muslims of Georgia, though efforts on the part of Prince Cleon among the pagan Pechnegs were not successful (though the locals found his ranting about same substance versus similar substance highly amusing).

 

The Principality of Muscovy

Igor Bratislav, Boyar of Muscovy

Diplomacy    Diplomacy?  We don’t need no stinkin’ diplomacy!

        Igor, feeling restless, decided to expand the boundries of his realm yet again.  Massing over 20,000 troops and accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Oleg the Dumb (or Silent, if you want to be more charitable), the Boyar marched into Smolensk and smashed the region into submission.  Kirivitch was next to feel the bite of Igor’s steel, also being conquered fairly easily.[i]

        Things were more problematic on the domestic front (Igor’s proclivity to wave his mace at his advisors while screaming “IGOR SMASH PUNY FLUNKY TO BITS!!!” didn’t help either).  On the plus side, Muscovy and Chernigov were both put under the plow and two new cities (well, okay, wattle and daub towns) were raised; Respublika, in Muscovy and Chakasiya in Chernigov.  In addition a census was conducted within the Kingdom (proving that Igor had some wits and all that grunting and belching wasn’t indicative of anything more than bad table manners– “YOU!  SPINDLY GAME MASTER!  DON’T WRITE BAD THINGS ABOUT IGOR!  IGOR NO EFFETE BYZANTINE FOP WHO EAT WITH FORK!”)

        Ahem…

        On the negative side of the ledger, an attempt to build a postal road between the new cities was delayed in order to take advantage of the lower rate for cultivated.  Note: a region that becomes cultivated through megalithic construction does so at the end of the turn, so anything built within must be done so at the construction cost of the terrain in existence at the start of the turn.  Finally, an attempt to train elk and reindeer to serve as cavalry was an absolute (though highly amusing to the casual viewer) failure.  More Rus warriors were injured in the fool project than in the fighting in Chernigov last turn.

 

The Principality of Kiev

Ivan I, Boyar of Kiev

Diplomacy    No Effect

        Ivan continued to oversee the ever-expanding city of Kyiv (now at size six).  Trade was opened up with the Muscovites to the north and diplomatic efforts in Polotsk continue to be spectacularly unsuccessful.

 

The High Republic of Hellreiger

Lore, King of Poland

Diplomacy    None

        No Orders

 

The Duchy of Estonia

Villem Viikberg, Duke of Estonia

Diplomacy    Kalinin (a), Yaroslav (t, down from ea, oops!)

        Desiring to increase his influence in the Baltic, Villem dispatched the Jarl Mickel with a squadron of 28 ships and several hundred soldiers and colonists and ordered him to establish a colony on the island of Saarema.  This Mickel did, and then he died, a cause for some gloom.  Aside from this and some mixed diplomacy results, Villem’s realm was otherwise quiet.

 

Western Europe

 

The Duchy of Bohemia

Sabastian Govner I, Duke of Bohemia

Diplomacy    Friesland (ea), Slovenia (c)

        The Duke, ever solicitous to the defensive needs of his realm ordered several new fortresses constructed: two citadels, one off or Brno, the other off of Vienna; and a fortified landing place on the Rhine in Alsace.  Wolfgang also laid claim to Slovenia as part of his duchy.  Wolfgang died at the end of 1085, leaving the ducal crown to his young son, Sabastian.

 

The Vernonian Empire

Gaius Caesar Germanicus, Emperor of Italy

Diplomacy    Malta (nt), Malta, on Malta (nt), than both lost (see below); Illyria (fa), Corsica (f)

        The Emperor continued to pour funds into urban expansion as Taranto, Reggio, Milano, Ravenna, Torino, Pescara and Massa-Carrara all increased in size (Reggio to a six, all the others to four).  The Duke of Corsica was co-opted into the Veronian polity by means of marriage on of Gaius’ daughters: one Fidelia.  Gaius’ diplomatic efforts o Malta were spoiled when the Fatamids joined the party (see below).  Efforts along the Adriatic continue to make some progress.

 

Le Royaume de France

Phillip, King of the West Francia

Diplomacy:   Kingdom of Burgundy (f)

        Deciding that the best way to deal with his southern neighbor would be to co-opt him; Phillip sent his entire diplomatic corps down to Basel with orders to cajole, wheedle, bribe and persuade.  For his own part, Charles jumped at Phillip’s offer with alacrity, as he was old; his son was nowhere near an age to be considered fit to rule; and his Kingdom was hemmed in on all sides.  Only the Swiss objected to the deal by declaring their independence.

 

The Kingdom of Burgundy [Absorbed]

Charles, King of Burgundy

Diplomacy    None

 

The El Reino De Navarre

Sancho, King of Navarre

Diplomacy Asturias (f), Bilbao, in Asturias (f)

        Sancho continued to work on controlling his far-flung domains.  Two Royal road links were built:  the first between Navarre and Aragon; the second between Old Castile and Leon.  Navarrite diplomacy in the north was also successful and some minor headway was made among the Muslims in Valentia.  Finally, Wessex and Cornwall were cast off.

 

Northern Europe

 

The Kingdom of the Svear

Olav, King of the Swedes

Diplomacy    Smaland (f)

        Aside from some diplomacy, the Swedes remained quiet.

 

The Norse Kingdom of Iceland

Harald Olafson, King of the Norse

Diplomacy    Faeroes (f)

        Harald continued to invest in his fleet of Long-ships.  No one was going to take advantage of him, by Thor!  In more peaceable pursuits, Reykjavik continued to grow, expanding to a size five city; and a new port, Stornoway, was built on the Faeroes islands.

 

North Afriqa

 

El Zirid Emirat Al Mahidya

Mohammad ibn Hanno, Emir of Tunisia

Diplomacy Baelerics (fa)

        Aside from some diplomacy among the Iberians of the Baeleric Islands, Mohammad kept a low profile.  A similar attempt to woo the people of Granada was aborted at the last minute when it was realized that the maps were in error (and the ref is a yogurt-head) and that the region was in fact, controlled by the Navarrese.

 

Al Fatamid Caliphate Al Qaira

Mohammad ibn Ibrihim, Fatamid Caliph of Egypt

Diplomacy    Petra (a)

        Deciding he just had to do SOMETHING to get out of the lassitude that had been besetting him of late, Mohammad decided on a bit of aggression would be just the thing to brighten his mood.  Accordingly, he set out with some 8,000 brawny soldiers transported by over 70 ships and sailed west.  Making landfall at Malta, Mohammad’s men stormed ashore and subjected the place to a ruthless sack (not that there was much there to pillage).  The port of Malta was also pillaged, garnering even less loot.  Slightly disappointed, Mohammad’s troops spent the next few days making scary faces at a Veronian diplomat, who had had the singular misfortune to be present wooing the local despot when the Fatamids showed up.  Much fun was also had by making the unfortunate fellow either dress up like a chicken, or stuffing him in a large box with air holes, a carrot, and some shredded newspaper (in case he had an accident).  Rapier like wit, those Fatamids

        Bemused by his little excursion, Mohammad claimed the island for Egypt, placed a garrison and returned to Cairo.  Note: Malta has been looted.  It will recover to a (1/2) region on turn 39.  It gpv will not rise past that level.

        Back at home, the cities of Cairo, Memphis and al-Kadir all expanded to sizes 15, 5, and 5 respectively.  If memory serves, Cairo is now the largest city in the world.  “A glittering cosmopolitan metropolis” some would say, “a fat fetid frog sitting on the banks of the Nile” others would opine.

 

West Afriqa

 

The Dia Kingdom of Songhai

Maracatu, King of Songhai and Hausa

Diplomacy Oyo (ea)

        Maracatu, growing bored, decreed the construction of a great “Golden House” I which he and his growing band of courtiers, flunkies, whores, catamites and other less savory folk could cavort and frolic to their hearts’ content.  At last I can live like a human being, the King was recorded as saying as the great (and tacky) structure began to blight the skyline of Timbuctu.

        But it was not all fun and games (oddly enough, considering the King’s temperament).  The Royal Road between Songhai and Sudan was completed; the city of Ayoru grew to a size 5; the region of Senegal was put under the plow; and a census was conducted of the population of the realm (or, at least the population of the King’s pleasure quarters).

 

The Twifo-Heman Nation

Chitambo, King of Akan, Lord of Benin

Diplomacy Benin (nt)

        Chitambo continued to expand and improve his nation.  Two new ports, Lome and Lagos, arose on the coasts of Yoruba and Ife respectively and Akan was increased to a size 5 city.

 

East Afriqa

 

The Makuria Kingdom of Nubia

Akencheres, King of Nubia

Diplomacy    None

           The predawn stillness of the little nowhere town of Serin was shattered by the tramping of many iron-shod feet.  Akencheres was flexing the military might of the Kingdom, as many thousands of crack troops poured into the region and generally being very intimidating.

           Further south, a fleet of Ethiopian transports and warships set sail from various ports along the Red Sea coast and set out in the direction of the Rising Sun.  A month or so later, the fleet hove to off the island of Kutch, and began unloading soldiers and settlers, the latter constructed a small port city, Dire Dawa, on the spot and settled down.

 

South Afriqa

 

The Bakongo Kingdom

Namodu II, King of Bakongo

Diplomacy Matadi (f), Cabwola, in Matadi (f), Rava, in Vili (f)

        Namodu, fresh to the throne, was content to continue the diplomatic efforts within his own domain.

 

The Kingdom of Rozwi

Shaka, King of Rozwi, Lord of Zimbabwe

Diplomacy Kafue (f)

        Shaka continued to mind the store.  Cultivation projects were undertaken in Gorongo and Kafue and continued in the homeland itself.

 

North America

 

The Tlingit People

Blue Hair, Chief of the Tlingit, Lord of the Far North.

Diplomacy None

        The Tlingit started off strong, establishing colonies in Timishian and Kwakiutl (which are now a (1/5) and (1/7) region respectively); and increasing Ahwahnee to a level two city.  An attempt to browbeat the Comox into accepting a colony within their lands did nothing more than annoy the natives who thrashed Greyhair’s 1000-man force and sent him packing.

 

California

Obsidian Coyote

Diplomacy None

        Things continue to be quite pleasant among the Yuroki.  Mokelzuma and Tuolumne continue to grow (to sizes 8 and 5 respectively).  A small set of big-ass canoes (which the Modoc are quite adept at making, so don’t snigger).  Set out from Berkley and headed for points north, returning to Eureka, several years later, tired, frost-bitten, but otherwise encouraged.

 

The Anasazi Nation

Manchuk, Chief of the Anasazi, Lord of the Chaco

Diplomacy Hohokam (f), Snake town, in Hohokam (f)

        Kmachuka died and was succeeded by his son, Manchuk; who contented himself with continuing the diplomatic work of his father.  Oh, and siring a couple of heirs.

 

The Mississippian Empire

Swimming Beaver, The Great Beaver of the Snake

Diplomacy None

        Deciding that some expansion was also in order for his people, Swimming Beaver dispatched colonists to both Croix and Kaskinapo, colonizing them to  (0/9) and (0/6) regions respectively.  Cahokian and Kaskakam also increased to size five cities; and a royal road link was built between Michigamea and Sangamon.  Swimming Beaver also sired three kids in as many years, putting paid to the rumor that he had gone to seed.

 

The Natchez Confederacy

Soaring Eagle, Great Sun of the Natchez

Diplomacy None

        The Natchez were rather quiet.  South Port grew to a level 2 city, while attempts to penetrate the mysterious Planet of the Apes, er, I mean the Chesapeake Bay continued to meet with failure.

 

Mesoamerica

 

The Toltec Hegemony of Chichen Itza

Itzamna, Grand Hegemon of the Maya

Diplomacy None

        No Orders

 

The Arawak of the Islands

Canom, Lord of the Islands

Diplomacy    Taino (f), Havana, on Colon (ea), Ciguayo (ea following leader death), Port-au-Prince, on Ciguayo (a)

        Like his Anasazi counterpart to the west; Canom concentrated most of his activities on diplomatic efforts.

 

The Chibchan Kingdom

Lanric, King of the Chibchan

Diplomacy None

        Lanric, becoming old, senile, and not a little paranoid, ordered the construction of an 8,000-man army to ensure protection of the realm.  And that was about it, actually.

 

South America

 

The Kingdom of Paraiba

Panbi, King of Paraiba

Diplomacy Gueren (f), Sarth, in Gueren (a)

        The Paraiban Kingdom was fairly quiet, although the King’s diplomats were, as usual, very busy.  In addition, colonists were sent into the wildernesses of the northeast and settled the region of Shoco to a (0/2) region.

 

The Mighty Incan Empire

Mayta Capac, Emperor of the Incas

Diplomacy None

        The Emperor was displeased, both with the structure of Incan society and with the widespread prevalence of slavery within the realm.  But how to address these problems without offending the vested interests?  These questions the Emperor pondered long and hard.  Oh, that and siring three squalling, squealing children in as many years…

 

The Duchy of Shokleng

Nati, Duke of Shokleng

Diplomacy Kaingan (a), Sao Paulo, in Kaingan (f)

        Taking a page from his neighbor to the north, Nati dispatched a wave of colonists westward into Heta, which was quickly settled to a (0/10) region.

 

The Mapuche Nation

Graphite, King of the Mapuche

Diplomacy None

        Things remained downright bucolic in the Southlands.  Both Santiago and Bahia expanded to size four cities and a census was conducted.  An attempt to colonize Puelche to a level 1 region was scrapped when it was discovered that such a colony had been emplaced last turn.

 

Yawn…blink, blink…

 


 



[i] Ah, such unrestrained violence in the name of expanding one’s realm reminds me of the heady days of Lords!  Before all the wussy intel and religious rules!  Louie Burgers anyone?