Lords of the Earth
Campaign Nineteen
Anno Domini 1156 - 1160
Turn 53 Orders Due By: Saturday February 19th. Orders will not be accepted after Midnight MST on Sunday, February 20th.
A |
I will no longer be taking money directly for turns. Instead, players sending funds by mail should make all checks payable to Thomas Harlan and send them either to the 2nd Street address or to Thomas’ address, which is:
Thomas Harlan
3210 E. 23rd Street
Tucson, AZ 85713-2261
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Tucson, AZ 85711
Email: ancaric@throneworld.com
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Players at zero or negative credit at the time of deadline or will have a negative balance at the conclusion of processing will not have their orders processed, plain and simple. So get your orders and payment in before processing starts or life will become very unfair very quickly. Finally, players with a negative balance are liable to get their country reassigned without notice. You have been warned.
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:
Hands Off Trade and the IMA action (clarification): here’s what you can and can’t do regarding moving MSps around.
ú Inter-nation Trade Fleet: May be freely initiated, starting MSPs determined by computer. To add or move MSPs requires an IMA action.
ú Internal Trade/Fishing Fleets: May be freely initiated, starting MSPs are added by the player. Additional new MSPs may be added to an existing fleet. To move MSPs between existing fleets requires an IMA action.
Moving a fleet to a new port requires an IMA action, regardless of type.
Route Type: LTR and LTO routes always take precedence over any Sea Trade Route between nations. Keep this in mind when initiating routes. Once an LTO/R route exists between two nations it may not be converted to sea trade (barring events that force the route to close).
HBZ and Transports: please note that transports are mobile units for purposes of building within the HBZ, so if you want to build them in a port outside HBZ you’re out of luck most of the time.
ADDITION: Transports are assigned to or taken off a route at the start of the turn. Consequently, units assigned to a route may not be used for transporting stuff and MSPs converted to transports may not be re-converted back to MSPs in the same turn.
Allied Leaders Revisited: the following are changes to the rules concerning allied leaders. Any troops attached to an allied leader may not be detached for any purpose. They stay with the allied leader at all times. Allied leader units may not be demobilized, although they will go away if the player decides to reduce the control level of the allied region or if the allied leader dies and is not replaced. Players may build or assign additional units to the allied army but such units become part of the allied army and may not be taken back.
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).
Demobilizing Units: some of you are trying to demob units and rebuild them elsewhere on the same turn. This is a no-no, as rule 5.4.6 indicates. However, unlike the rules, I will allow demobilized units to be rebuilt elsewhere on the turn following their demobilization or later. The NFP simply go into your saved NFP slot.
The Homeland Income Multiple: has decreased to one.
Gold, NFP and Agro transfers: beginning immediately, any inter-player transfers will only become available to the recipients the turn after they are sent. So if someone sent you stuff on turn 41, you have to wait until turn 42 before you can use it. Gold and NFP will be placed in their respective saved sections. Agro will be placed in the reserves. Note: players sending agro must spend gold to preserve it in transit. Keep this in mind when deciding how much to charge for your surpluses.
Entrophy, or Viagra hasn’t been invented yet: any male Royal personages attempting to begat kiddies after the age of 50 has a severely reduced chance of siring any new bundles of joy. Just so you know.
AP reminder: please remember that it is the slowest unit of a given force that determines which unit modifiers apply to determining APs/year. So if your army of light, elite cavalry includes even one heavy infantry unit, the footsloggers are slowing everyone down. Also if a leader has a combat rating of four or less, he has a –1 AP per year modifier regardless of what he’s doing; unless he’s alone, in which case neither the positive nor negative Combat Rating applies. Thanks to the player who pointed out this error on my part.
WARNING!!! Players who insist on not keeping track of AP expenditure in their orders run an excellent chance that their leaders will do nothing the entire turn, so grit your teeth and do the math!
Shooting oneself in the foot: Just so you all know, if your king continues to produces heirs after he has an established heir in place (i.e. one who has generated stats, it always goes to the eldest male by the way.) the possibility of something bad happening upon the death of the monarch is increased.
INTEL STUFF: When performing Infiltration and Counter Infiltration Intel Operations, it is always best to specify which sector of your nation you are trying to protect or subvert. The sectors are listed in rule 8.3.11 in the basic rulebook but I will repeat them here: Espionage Service, Government, Royal Family, Military, Populace, University and Religion. Players who order an op against an unspecified target will have a SEVERELY reduced chance of success.
MORE INTEL STUFF (Leaders acting as an Ops or Bonus Point): Leaders conducting an Espionage action may need to be where the action is in order to conduct certain actions. For example, a Veronan leader attempting to act as an OP for a CM in Slovakia can’t be sitting comfortably in Venice.
Tech Level and Projects (NEW): certain Megalithic, Societal, Economic and Government Types are now dependent on a nations tech level. A nation must meet the minimum Tech Level requirements in order to engage in the following projects.
Megalithic Projects: the building nation’s tech level must equal or exceed the modified level of the project. (This is a change from the rules).
Government Type Tech Level
Tribal 1
Feudal Monarchy 2
Centralized Monarchy 3
Oligarchy 3
Imperial 3
Democracy 3
Dictatorship 8
Constitutional Monarchy 8
Federal Democracy 9
Slave 1
Agrarian 2
Guild 5
Free 8
Feudal 1
Caste 2
Clan 3
Open 8
A QUESTION OF TIMING: Certain builds take an entire turn to perform (although for clerical reasons are usually done at the same time as the rest of the builds). These are:
ú City Construction (both new and additional levels)
ú All Megalithic Construction Projects
ú Colonies: Okay, this only applies if the colony is placed in an already occupied region/city and the natives have to be or are otherwise suppressed or conquered. Example 1: an army conquers a region. The colony can only be created the following turn. Example 2: a player attempts to emplace a colony in an occupied region and it fails its revolt check. The colony can only be created the following turn. Example 3: as in 2 above but the region passed its revolt check. The colony may be created that turn. Example 4: as 2 above, except that the player conducted an RG action on the hapless inhabitants. The colony can only be created then following turn.
What this means is that you may not take advantage of a given build of this type on the turn that it is constructed. For example: you may not base MSPs or build PWBs at the increased city capacities until the turn after the construction is done. Similarly, PWBs may not be built in excess of a region’s old terrain type the turn it becomes cultivated or colonized to a higher GPv. So plan accordingly.
YARD CAPACITY: Yard Capacity costs are now assessed for all heavy units as well as all ship units. Below are the appropriate sections from the Modern rules supplement.
The construction of all ship units as well as all heavy-prefix land units requires the use of (in addition to GP and NFP expenditures) Yard Capacity of the appropriate kind. Each ship or heavy prefix land unit type has a Yard Capacity (YrdC) cost listed below. This is the Yard Capacity cost when constructing the unit. For most types of nations Yard Capacity can only be used at a Friendly City within your Homeland Build Zone. Each point of Yard Capacity provides one Yard Capacity point per turn. YrdC may not be saved from turn to turn. While Pre-Modern nations (nomads, barbarians, civilized, renaissance, etc.) cannot build the dedicated Yards that are prevalent in the Modern Era; pre-modern cities and trade centers have an intrinsic Yard capacity for the production of ship and heavy land units.
Cities, Trade Centers and Port Cities have “generic” Yard Capacities, as noted in the following table.
Table 3‑9. Intrinsic Yard Capacity
Source |
Capacity |
Notes |
|
Trade Center |
5 |
Usable only by Nomads or Barbarians for the construction of Heavy units (including ships, if in a coastal region). |
|
City |
GPv × 5 |
Usable for the construction of Heavy land units. |
|
Port City |
GPv × 5 |
Usable for the construction of ships and heavy land units. |
|
Note: Port City capacity is not separated for ground unit and ship unit construction. There is only one Capacity, reflecting the specialization of port cities for ship construction.
The city-based Intrinsic Yard capacity is listed on your stat sheet as part of the City description, between the city PWB and the City Type like so:
Avalon [3+30i15p4]
This city has a GPv of 3, 30 public works an intrinsic Yard capacity of 15, is a port city and has 4 wall points.
The only way that intrinsic Yard Capacity may be increased is through city expansion. Additional capacity gained through such expansion may not be used on the same turn that the city expansion occurs.
Important: HBZ and primate construction restrictions are still in force, so just because you have the capacity to build something at a given site, doesn’t mean that you will be able to if the city is out of your HBZ.
Unit Type |
YrdC Cost |
HI |
1 |
HEI |
1 |
HC |
1 |
HEC |
1 |
XT |
1p |
T |
2p |
HT |
3p |
XW |
1p |
XEW |
1p |
W |
2p |
EW |
2p |
HW |
3p |
HEW |
3p |
P = may only be built at a port.
Some discrepancies between the maps and the Stats program have cropped up:
None at present.
As a general rule, in discrepancies of this kind, the stats take precedence over the map.
Taira Shun, Daimyo of Kwanto, Shogun of Japan.
Diplomacy Toyama (a), Kyoto, in Aichi (nt)
Shun finished up his Honshu campaign by starving the city of Tottori into submission. At sea, Admiral Misuoke deposited another group of settlers on Okinawa and also successfully charted the route between the Ise Wan and the Kazan Retto Archipelago. Closer to home, the road link between Yamato and Aichi was finished.
Rokaku II, Lord of the Spice Islands
Diplomacy Luzon (f)
Rokaku continued to woo the Filipinos whilst shuffling merchant shipping around.
Sukarno the Just, Beloved of Ganesha
Diplomacy None
Continued to sit quietly.
Taree, Prince of Maree
Diplomacy Arukun (a)
An attempt to cultivate the jungles of Arukun came to naught as no transports were allocated to ship the manpower and materials to that place. The Banda Sea was successfully explored and the inhospitable, uninhabited island of Tanimbar was claimed for the Kingdom. Finally, the usual spate of city expansions occurred, Nowra growing to a size 10 and Yarram, Nambour and Kurrara each growing to size 5.
Sendau, King of Samoa
Diplomacy None
Sendau dug in further and vowed to resist to the end.
Conan, King of the Southern Islands
Diplomacy None
Not content to rest on his laurels, Conan ordered Generals Bubaker and Murillo to continue the attack on the Samoa rebels. This time the target would be Samoa itself. Unfortunately, Murillo’s 6,000 troops found the 4,800 dug-in defenders more than they could handle and quickly retreated to their ships after losing nearly half their number. Bubaker was killed in the scrum, clubbed from behind as he tried to extricate himself from the fighting. Muttering darkly about the difficulties in getting good help these days, Conan vowed to keep trying.
Chao the Grim, King of Shan’si, Watcher of the Northern Marches
Diplomacy None
Work began on a new postal road between Anshan and Koguryo. Golden Moon and Jin’Xi continued to expand (to sizes 4 and 6), and a new city, Iron Mountain, was built in Bao’Ding.
Cao Shen Han, King of Hupei
Diplomacy Funiu (f), Pienching, in Honan (f), Hwai (a), Ghang’de (f), Changde, in Ghang’de (t)
Okay, here’s the usual mind-numbing list of things that Cao Shen built this turn:
1) Fortresses in Kweichou and Hubei (the former is on the site of Chongqing, the latter is on the river).
2) A city level in Chang’ling (raising it to size 13).
3) A Royal Road between Hunan and Ghang’de.
4) Half a Royal Road between Jiangxi and the Kwangsi lands of Ganzhou.
5) A Great Wall section on the border between Hunan and Kienchou.
6) Began work on a Royal Road between Kweichou and Om’chu.
7) Finished the Great Wall section between Chiennan and Lanchou.
8) Finished the Great Canal between the Huang Ho and Yellow Rivers.
9) Finished Half a Royal Road segment between Kweichou and the Chanpan lands of Guizhou.
Any questions? There’ll be a quiz on this stuff you know...
Chu Shun, Prince of Kwangsi
Diplomacy Lingsi (ea)
Chu Shun ordered a new city, Dayu, built in Gunzhou. Kwangchou also was increased to size 5. Attempts to build a new royal road link foundered due to the fact that no instructions had been left for where it was from or where it was going. Trade was opened up with the Khemer to the south. Finally, Fujian was relinquished.
Bao Dai IV, King of Champa, Lord of Vijaya
Diplomacy None
Bao Dai died in late 1158 and was succeeded without fuss. Tonkin expanded to a size 5 city and a royal road link was built up to the Khemer border in Cochin.
Chandarith, Deveraja of the Kambuja
Diplomacy Preikuk (f)
For their part, the Khemer completed their half of the Cochin road, thus facilitating trade between the states. Mon was re-colonized to a (1/3) region and Pattaya was increased to a level 2 city. Further south, a Khemer army marched into Thaton and smashed the natives flat.
Vikram, Raja of Bengal
Diplomacy Pundra dropped to (c)
Vikram continued to oversee the re-population of the old Avan lands. Burma to a (1/3), Pegu to a (1/6), Ava to a (1/5) and Manipur to a (-/6). A new city, Shwebo, was also built in Burma.
Gagan, King of Chola, Lord of Tanjore
Diplomacy Karnata (f)
Did some diplomacy and that was about it.
Mogli, Emperor of India
Diplomacy None
No orders.
Alp Arslen, Lord of Karakocho.
Diplomacy None
Alp minded his own affairs. Khojend grew to size 2.
Al-Haji, Emir of Samarkhnad
Diplomacy Tashkent, in Otrarsh (a), Kar-Kalanis, in Bactria (f), Khurusan (ea)
Al-Haji continued the diplomatic work of his father, wooing the Persina s of Khurusan as well as the city peoples of Tashkent and Kar-Kalanis.
Bashtu, Kagan of Khazar and Saksiny
Diplomacy Kuban (a)
A new port, Kara-Kermen, was built in Polovotsy, near the mouth of the Dnepr. Grain and other goodies were also sent to the Byzantines (who seem to have a hankering for that sort of thing).
Hasan Ibn Yusuf “the Great”, Sultan of Damascus and Protector of the Holy Places
Diplomacy No effect
Throwing off the sloth of recent memory, Hasan set to work with a vengeance! New Royal roads were built between Jordan and the Levant as well as between Carhae and Mosul. In addition the postal roads between Syria and Aleppo, Jordan and Lebanon were upgraded to Royal roads, as was the postal link between Aleppo and Carhae. In addition, Lebanon was put under cultivation and a new fortress, Abu Ghraib, was built in Mosul (don’t look at me, I didn’t name it!). Finally, all of the cities of the Sultanate were refortified.
Tajir ibn Ibriham, Emir of Emirs, Protector of the Caliph.
Diplomacy Azerbaijan (fa)
Ibriham entered Paradise and was duly succeeded. A new road link was built between Media and El’burz and Shirvan was put under cultivation. Like many others, the Emir also continued to ship grain to the Byzantines in return for cold hard cash.
Ali Hajj ibn Muktair, Emir of Aden and S’ana.
Diplomacy No effect (and then some).
Diplomatic overtures to the recently conquered (and forcibly converted) leaders of Zeila and Beylal were received with cold indifference, despite the blandishments of Ali’s ambassadors. Closer to home, a new port, Jiddah, was built in Asir and Abha grew to level 3.
Constantine Flavius, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Diplomacy Ochiridia, in Serbia (t), Crimea (nt), Pausanias of Rhodes (t)
The usual spate of city expansions occurred. Volos to a size 2, Varna to a size 4, Thessaloniki to a size 10, and both Smyrna and Nicomedia to size 8. Much rejoicing was also had upon news of some success in convincing the Rhodians to rejoin the Imperial fold. In the capital, Constantine spent most of his time rearranging the merchant shipping within the Kingdom to his liking (and doubtless I messed up somewhere). Finally, Orthodox missionaries made some progress among the pagans of Ludgorie. Finally, subsidies were sent to the Buwayids, Russ, Khazars and various others who sold grain (and even to some who didn’t).
Pausanias, Lord of Rhodes
Diplomacy None
Continued to keep a weather eye out for trouble. Constantine’s emissaries came again and this time Pausanias decided to listen...somewhat.
Igor III, Boyar of Muscovy
Diplomacy Atelzuko (ea), Mordva (down to c)
Yet another eponymous port community, Igortown, was built in Polotsk. A road link was also started between Smolensk and Polotsk.
Stanislaw I, King of Poland
Diplomacy Little Poland (ea)
Urbanization continued with the expansion of Warsaw to a size 4 and Gdansk and Krakow to size 5. Grain was sent of to distant Constantinople in return for some cash.
Verityn Viikberg, Duke of Estonia
Diplomacy None
Aside from some missionary efforts among the Prussians, Estonia was fairly quiet.
Ewald Govner, Duke of Bohemia
Diplomacy Lubeck, in Holstein (f)
Ewald’s realm was fairly quiet. The royal road between Bohemia and Bavaria was completed and another spate of city expansion was done (Trieste to size 5; bamberg and Vienna to size 4 and Trier to size 2). Finally, the Slovenes embraced the Catholic faith.
Valdemar Germanicus, Emperor of Italy
Diplomacy Switzerland (ea), Tyrol (fa following allied leader death)
Valdemar continued his penchant of fortifying everything in sight by building a new fortress in Malta. The mighty Italian navy continued to patrol the Adriatic and Ionian Seas to discourage any wretched infidel Egyptians from getting uppity. Pescara grew to size 9 and Milano to size 6.
Phillip Capet, King of the Franks
Diplomacy: Aquitaine (f)
Peace broke out with the Spanish an event that lead to widespread rejoicing throughout the Kingdom. More partying was had in Paris itself, this time to celebrate the nuptials of the heir, Crown Prince Gerard and the newly converted Tunisian Princess Dhajina. In other events, Paris continued to expand, growing to a size 9. A new city, Chalons-Sur-Marne, was built in Champagne (which due to space limitations is referred to simply as Chalons on the map and in the stats). In addition, a road was built between Maine and Normandy and Brittany was put under cultivation. All in all, life was good.
Miguel II, King of Navarre
Diplomacy None
Trade was re-opened with the French and the northwest border heavily fortified against further Frankish treachery. Urbanization continued with Lisbon growing to level 4 and Corunna, Madiera and Valentia to level 6. Otherwise, things were pretty quiet as an uneasy peace settled on the Pyrenees.
Ehtelred Harethson, King of the Angles and Saxons
Diplomacy: Lancashire (t), Lothian (c)
Rousing from the toper that had afflicted him of late, Ehthelred set out to woo the northern parts of his kingdom. Closer to home, two new cities were raised: Sutterby, a new port in Lancashire and Ethelstun, in Mercia. Finally, a census was conducted.
Drevs, King of the Swedes
Diplomacy Trondheim (fa)
Both Missionary and diplomatc work continued among the Pagans of Trondheim. Frevs also ordered the construction of a citadel hard up against the capital of Vettermark, the better to protect it from enemies. Ill fortune struck when Drevs’ son (and Heir) Borje died in late 1159. As his other male son had predeceased the heir, Drevs named his grandson Gregor as heir.
Dag Jornson, King of the Norse
Diplomacy None
Dag continued to send colonists to the four winds. Man was settled back to its pre-genocide level (1/3), and, far to the west, the Pagans of Brattanhild were displaced by good Catholics. An attempt to plumb the seas to the west of Greenland was unsuccessful.
Bashar ibn Umar, Emir of Morroco
Diplomacy No effect
Suffering from an attack of extreme boredom, Bashar decided to get involved in the fighting to the south. To see how the Tunisians fared, see the Nupe-Ghana results below.
Fadi ibn Malik, Fatamid Caliph of Egypt
Diplomacy None
Fatamid ethnic displacement of the Copts continued with the town of Serin being settled by Egyptians and the region of Nubia being conquered outright. A new port, Al-Qusayr, was built on the coast of Suakin and Alexandria, Mamphis and Al-Kadir all increased in size (to 10, 13 and 7 respectively). The shpyards of the Caliphate were also humming with activity as shipwrights started rebuilding the Egyptian navy. Finally, Malik the Victorious, Smiter of the Infidels, etc, and so on died at the end on 1159. His heir, Prince Fadi was a rather unprepossessing fellow who proved himself an adroit administrator nonetheless.
Komla, Lord of Kumi-Saleh
Diplomacy None
Although he still was having trouble getting motivated, Komla continued to wage his war against the evil Nupites. Expecting some kind of tricky Nupe plan, the King ordered the main army, under Otheni to stay on react, while a much smaller force (40 ships and 1000 infantry under Kaswala set out again from Badiar to make mischief.
Ta’ziyah, King of Nupe and Oyo
Diplomacy None
Ta’ziyah dodged the usual assassination attempt while standing on the defense in Nupe itself. However, he did dispatch a sizable force of troops under Generals So Kol and Unc Col up the Niger to make mischief. Here’s how everyone’s fortunes panned out:
1156: In Fez, Crown Prince Misr is dispatched south to Awlil, where he awaits the main army. Back in the capital things get very, very ugly, when General Sadar, upon being given command of a substantial force of 33,000 troops, decided that HE’D rather be emir. Fortunately, Bashar’s spies get wind of the General’s treachery and Sadar ends his days hanging from a hook. The army is then sent south under another less effective, but more loyal commander, where it links up with Misr in August.
In the meantime, So Kol and Unc Col are sailing up the Niger with over 100 ships and over 9,000 troops and attempting to land at Segu. Unfortunately, The main Songhai army reacts to this and parallels So Kol’s squadron. The Nupans manage to land in Garou and manage to make off with a few shekels from the impoverished inhabitants. When So Kol dies at the end of the year, Unc Col tries his best to continue operations, but is not in the former commanders league.
1157: with his army, Misr heads into the great desert regions to the south east of Awlil. By year’s end he’s traversed Mauritania, and Walata and is heading into Adwaghost. Scouts ahead of the army warn the local nomads to give the army a wide berth if they know what’s good for them. The natives smirk and do so. To the south, Kaswala sails up the Niger (and just misses Unc Col coming downstream) to drop his ships off in Songhai and marching his troops around the headwaters of the Niger. By year’s end he’s crossing into Dogamba. Un Col drops what little booty they was to be had and gamely sets out from Nupe again. He heaves to off Songhai itself. Again Otheni reacts; badly outnumbered, Un Col hastily re-embarks.
1158: Misr traverses Adwaghost and Jenne and ends the year crossing into Ghana itself. Kaswala manages to browbeat the locals of Dogamba into paying tribute before marching into Zerma. Un Col returns to Nupe downhearted at his lack of success.
1159: Misr occupies Ghana and sets up siege lines around Kumbi-Saleh while Otheni blows two reaction checks and contemplates his navel. When he does react, however, he does so with a vengeance, storming into Ghana with over 38,000 troops. The Tunisians muster 33,000 to meet them but they are at the end of a very, very, long logistical tether (nearly 13AP to the nearest city, Rusicade, in Awlil). In the ensuing conflagration, the Muslims are virtually annihilated. Leaving over 26,000 dead on the field. Retreating back across the great deserts, the Tunisians are set upon by the locals, who account for another 5,000. Misr leads a mere 2,000 into Rusicade and safety.
In the meanwhile, Ta’ziyah roused himself from his defenses and marched into Zerma, where he gushed Kaswala into a wee greasy spot on the pavement. He then beat feet back to Nupe when his scouts reported that Otheni was marching back east. And there things rested.
Akroke, King of Togo and Akan
Diplomacy Niete (c)
Akroke contented himself with consolidating his hold on power although he did strengthen the field forts in the eastern regions of the kingdom, a precaution that proved wise (see Bakongo below, for more).
Susiseko II, King of Kanem and Bornu
Diplomacy Daza (f)
Still smarting from his recent military rebuff, Susiseko withdrew to his homeland to rebuild his battered armies.
Ugo Wambolea, King of Bakongo
Diplomacy None
Well, old Ugo decided that he simply couldn’t be content with Simbusi’s eastern possessions. He had to have the whole Enchilada. First off, Ugo ceded Kafin and Kwararafa (with Lakoja) to the Kanem-Bornu -- an act that infuriated Simbusi, who didn’t seek help from the Ugo just to have him cede regions to an enemy who he had repelled previously – the regions subsequently went independent as Susiseko had other problems on his mind at the time.[1]
In any event, Operations against the Togoans were problematic from the start. Assassins dispatched to try to slay the Akroke only wounded him. An attempted Naval raid and secret diplomacy failed when the leaders in charge died precipitously. Finally, the attack, by over 28,000 troops with Simbusi in command, splashed across the Niger and smack into over 25,000 Togoan troops under General Musawe, backed by enough field forts to make it next to impossible for the invaders to make any headway. After two days of bashing up against a brick wall, Simbusi pulled back into Benin, leaving over 13,000 dead on the field. Accusations of incompetence against Simbusi by Ugo soured the mood further.
Asserate III, Chief of the Nyasa
Diplomacy Chilwa (t)
Chilwa was put under cultivation and Ibo grew to level 2. Asserate II died and was succeeded without incident.
Ntombhela, King of Rozwi, Lord of Zimbabwe
Diplomacy None
The urbanization of the East African coast continued when Ntombhela ordered the construction of a new city, Empangeni, in Phalaborwa.
M’tesa II, King of Vaal and Mapungubwe
Diplomacy None
M’tesa decided that there was just not enough room in Southern Africa for him and that wanker Bambali. Accordingly, he dispatched over 12,000 troops under generals Tantor and Simba to expunge the Xhosa (see below for the results).
Bambali, Chief of the Xhosa.
Diplomacy Namaqua (f)
Bambali was saving his shekels for a rainy day...and was rather rudely put out by the Vaal invasion. On hearing of the fall of Nguni and Xhosa, he quipped, “that’s not cricket, eh, wot!” Gathering up his 4,000 troops, the King set out to give the blighters a jolly good thrashing and outside of Tshwanne, shockingly did so. The Vaalites, badly led and unsupported, were smashed and fled in rout. Bambali followed up by re-occupying Xhosa and expelling the invaders there as well. Tantor and Simba were killed in the disaster. Hints: attacking with leaders possessing low combat ratings is asking for trouble. The more incompetent leaders in the army, the worse it can be. Also, the further you are from a controlled city, the worse your chances. Of course, in this instance, Bambali was also a good leader. Overwhelming the enemy with sheer numbers will work if his leadership is as poor as yours (or worse).
NOTE: As I’ve just remembered that the Precolumbian trade range is two, I’ll be correcting any routes that are over this in range. Sorry about the error.
Grey Owl, Chief of the Tlingit, Lord of the Far North.
Diplomacy None
Chemakum was put under cultivation.
Dark Coyote, Ruler of California
Diplomacy No effect.
Yokuts colonization and settlement of the northeast continued. Mono and Klamath were settled to (1/6) and (1/4) as well as being cultivated. Tipai was settled to a (2/5). New colonies were established in Tucannon (-/4) and in the mountains of Sawtai (-/3). Finally, Kettenpom was raised to a size 10 city.
Desert Wind, Chief of the Anasazi, Lord of the Chaco
Diplomacy None
Aside from the usual city expansions (Novalato and Guaymas to a size 8, Eagle’s Bluff to a size 3), things here were pretty quiet.
Patamon, The Great Beaver of the Snake
Diplomacy None
Not much new here. The usual plethora of projects: a postal road link into Nameluni from Chippewa, construction of a new bridge across the Middle Snake, colonies established in Oto (-/1), Muskegeon (2/10) and Sauk (2/10), more gold sent to the Yamasee and the obligatory meat helmets. As I said, nothing new...
Buffalo Fog, Great Sun of the Natchez
Diplomacy None
Taposa was colonized to a (1/5) and Buffalo Ford increased to a size 2 city. More gold was sent to the Yamasee.
Eagle’s Feather, Chief of the Yamasee
Diplomacy None
Flush with funds (bloated and gorged some would say) Eagle’s Feather continued to send colonists out to settle new lands. Muskogee was settled to a (2/6) and Chatot to a (-/3).
Alzure, Grand Hegemon of the Maya
Diplomacy None
Alzure continued to develop the infrastructure of his mighty empire. Another branch was added to the royal road net, this one starting in Popoluca and ending in Ulva, via Kekchi and Tahwahka, the latter two regions also being put under cultivation. In addition, Chichen Itza grew to a size 10.
Tamox, Lord of the Islands
Diplomacy None
Tamox ordered the construction of a new port, Indialantic, in Calusa. Ballanquilla also went up a level (to size 3). At sea, Admiral Cacama continued to explore the southern reaches, discovering the mouth of a wide river that discharged a great current into the surrounding seas.
Esteban, King of the Chibchan
Diplomacy None
After some consideration, Esteban decided to start some colonies (since everyone else was doing it, why not him?). Settlers were sent east, colonizing Caraca, Yekuana and Arecuna to (-/4), (-/5), and (-/10) respectively. Work was also begun a road link to Aburra.
Panib III, King of Paraiba
Diplomacy None
The royal road between Gueren and Camacan was completed. In addition, Nanuque, Ibicari and Iguaca grew a level (to 2, 2, and 4, respectively).
Cochari, Emperor of the Incas
Diplomacy None
Viracocha died in early 1159 and was succeeded by his heir, Cochari. To the north, Cuna, Guayami, and Achi were all re-colonized to their old levels. The more questionable policies of the Empire were also continued as Prince Cota lead over 13,000 troops on a blood-soaked campaign of extermination in Nicaro and Boruca. The natives, expecting the worst, fought fiercely and casualties were not light. In the end the murderous task was accomplished however.
Amaru, Lord of the South
Diplomacy None
Amaru did little and said less.
Urcon, King of Shokleng
Diplomacy None
A new road link was built between Kaingan and Tupi. Charrua was colonized to a (1/4), while Arana was settled to a (-/10). Charrua was also put under cultivation.
Mochan, Emperor of the Mapuche
Diplomacy None
The Emperor Mochan wants all his neighbors to know that he claims the desert region of Pehuenche for the Mapuche Empire (especially the sand flies and alkaline water holes). If any other monarch even remotely entertains the slightest iota of a thought to claim these precious wastes, the Emperor’s armies will fight to the last man to retain control of this God-forsaken wilderness. That is all.
Well okay, not quite. Both Atuel and Milcayac were cultivated and colonized to (1/#) regions.
[1] That is, I thought that the player had quit and ran a set of orders for the K-B. The player then subsequently turned up but announced he would be unable to turn in orders.