Lords of the Earth

Campaign Nineteen

Turn 53

Anno Domini 1161 - 1165

Turn 54 Orders Due By:     Saturday March 19th.  Orders will not be accepted after Midnight MST on Sunday, March 20th.

A

nnouncements

Contacting & Paying the Referee

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

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

        Please do NOT send payments to my Paypal account, use the one listed above.

Zero and Negative Credit: Consequences

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.

Agro Surplus

Important: it has come to my attention that players have been implementing the agro surplus rules incorrectly, assuming that they can just trade in agro for gold or NFP on a one-for-one basis. Please remember that what you can do with your agro surplus is tied to your Base (pre-tax rate) Income.  Look a table 2-17 on page 19 of the 5.10 rules for the conversion rates and what the gold and NFP can be used for.  If players continue to not pay attention to this rule when converting their agro, I will not allow conversions.

Rule Changes and Clarifications

        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

Economic Type                               Tech Level

Slave                                                                   1

Agrarian                                                                           2

Guild                                                                  5

Free                                                                                   8

Societal Type                                    Tech Level

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.

        Great Wall segments on a coast: I have made this a level 2 project to reflect additional hydro-engineering factors. (draining swamps, etc).

        The Care and Feeding of Islands: here are some guidelines regarding islands.

Unnamed:  May not be occupied or built on and are generally considered part of an adjoining larger landmass.

Named, but no (-/-): may be occupied but NOT colonized.  Cities may be built on them to a max size of three.  Islands of this type with an “H” are hostile and may have not have cities built on them.

Named, with an (-/-): may be colonized to a maximum of (1/#), cities may be built on them to the regular max for islands.

Very Important: Players desiring to build projects, cities, colonies or units on an island must ship the gold and manpower to build them there (unless of course, the island is your capital or homeland) Public Works may be built without shipment.

        Selling Agro Surplus: please remember that if you’re shipping surplus agro, you must pay to preserve it just as you would if you’re putting it into reserves.  Agro in reserves can be sold without having to do this as it’s already been paid for.

        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 turnYrdC 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.

Intrinsic Yard Capacities

        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.

Yard Capacities on the Stat Sheet

        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.

Increasing Intrinsic Industry

        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.

Yard Capacity Costs

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.

Map Stuff

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.

Japan & the Pacific Rim

The Taira Bakufu

Taira Shun, Daimyo of Kwanto, Shogun of Japan.

Diplomacy    Kyoto, in Aichi (f), Kagoshima (+4 YfC)

        Attempts to found colonies on Cheju Do and Kazan Retto failed due to the unsuitability of the places in question (see “The Care and Feeding of Islands” above), although both places were fortified.  A new port, Naha, was founded on Okinawa however.  Closer to home, Shun completed the subjugation of Honshu by crushing Akita.

The Moluccas Seahold

Rokaku II, Lord of the Spice Islands

Diplomacy    Palembang (ea), Sirivjaya, in Palembang (t)

        Rokaku began spreading his diplomatic tendrils into southern Sumatra.  At home, Buku Sulat grew to a size 5 city.

The Kingdom of Java

Nang Ha, Beloved of Ganesha

Diplomacy    Kupang, in Timor (ea)

        Sukarno died shortly after conducting a census of his island realm.  Other than that, things remain reasonably tranquil.

The Maree Kingdom of Australia

Taree II, Prince of Maree

Diplomacy    Arukun (down to EA due to change in RS)

        Taree died in late 1161 and was succeeded by his son and namesake, who (not surprisingly) continued his father’s policies.  Hundreds of farmers were shipped into Arukun, who quickly burned out the jungles of the region.  In addition, a new port, Akama, was established.  Similarly, Maree transports off-loaded another group of settlers on the inhospitable island of Tanimbar, where they built the thoroughly unpleasant little port of Wasietan.

The Kingdom of Samoa [DEAD]

Murillo, King of Samoa

Diplomacy    None

        Sendau died and was succeeded by his lieutenant Murillo, who vowed to continue resistance.

The Arikat of Maaori

Kamara, Regent for...

Ghorgon, King of the Southern Islands

Diplomacy    None

        For his part, Conan intended to fulfill Murillo’s expectations, dispatching over 9,000 elite troops in over 60 ships under a general also named Murillo.  Storming ashore, the Maori encountered fierce resistance that was only crushed after weeks of savage fighting.  In the end the last rebel strongholds were crushed and the Samoan stat went belly-up.  Conan’s ruminations on how to rebuild his Empire were interrupted by his death in late 1165.  A regent was selected to rule until Conan’s son came of age.

China

The Kingdom of Shan’si

Chao the Grim, King of Shan’si, Watcher of the Northern Marches

Diplomacy    None

        Chao’s forutunes were mixed.  The postal road link between Anshan and Koguryo was completed, as were two links between Ordos and Wuhai and Wuhai and Yanzhi.  A new city, Bitter Wind, was raised in Ordos while Jin’Xi and Golden Moon both increased in size (to 7 and 5 respectively).  On the other hand, a 3,000 strong attack on Suzhou was obliterated by the natives.

The Kingdom of Hupei

Cao Shen Han, King of Hupei

Diplomacy  Om’chu (nt), Koueichou, in Szechwan (f), Kaifeng, in Hopei (t), Fujian (c)

        Cao Shen continued to pour thousands upon thousands of taels into scores of projects.  Work continued on the KweichouOm’chou highway and work was finished on the road link between Jiangxi and Ganzhou in Kwangsi lands (at least Cao Shen’s half of it anyway).  The King also evidenced a Stalin-like paranoia by continuing to build Great Wall links, this time in the south.  The borders of Ghang’de and Maiao-ling and Kienchou were fortified and work was also started on wall segments further east and west.  Finally, Chang’ling grew to a size 14 city.

The Kingdom of Kwangsi

Chu Shun, Prince of Kwangsi

Diplomacy    Lingsi (f), Kiang’si (t)

        With a level of activity approaching Hupei levels (okay, not really); Chu Shun oversaw the construction of a new highway from Kwangsi to Nanling and hence into Ganzhou and up to the Hupei border (linking the cities of Kwangchou, Xiamen and Dayu in the process).  A new port, Chou, was built around the fortress in Lingnan and Kwangchou and Fuzhou both grew in size (to 6 and 3 respectively).

Southeast Asia

The Kingdom of Champa

Bao Dai IV, King of Champa, Lord of Vijaya

Diplomacy Laos (fa)

         Deciding to reduce the number of foreign commitments, Bao Dai withdrew his troops from Kedah and Panat, allowing them to go independent.  Closer to home, a new port city, Hue, was built in Mison and hald a royal road segment was built to the Kwangsi border at Lingnan.

The Kingdom of Kambuja

Chandarith, Deveraja of the Kambuja

Diplomacy    Kadaram, in Perak (fa)

        Work continued on the Mon – Nahon road link.  Angor grew to a size 7.  Elsewhere, General Teeratep led 15,000 troops into Thaton and converted the locals to the Hindu gods at swordpoint.

India

The Kingdom of Maghada

Vikram, Raja of Bengal

Diplomacy    None

        Vikram continued to pour colonists into the old Avan lands, settling Ava to a (2/5), Burma to a (2/3), Pegu to a (2/6) and Manipur to a (1/6).  A new city, Kassar, was built on the ruins of Pagan and a road was built to it from Shwebo in Burma.  Finally, the cultivation of the Arakan was completed.

The Kingdom of Chola

Gagan, King of Chola, Lord of Tanjore

Diplomacy    Manykheta, in Karnata (f)

        Things here were fairly quiet, although both Gangas and Belur were put under cultivation.

The Pratihara Empire of Kaunaj

Mogli, Emperor of India

Diplomacy    None

        No orders.

Central Asia

The Kingdom of Jungaria

Alp Arslen, Lord of Karakocho.

Diplomacy    None

        Alp minded his own business.

The Emirate of Samarkhand

Al-Haji, Emir of Samarkhnad

Diplomacy  Shadad (c), Firoz Kohi (fa), Khurasan (f)

        A new city, Isfahan, was built in Khurasan along the Silk Route.  Work continued on the Uzbek – Kush and OtarshKuldja royal road links and new roadwork was begun between Gurgan and Khurasan and Khurasan and Firoz Kohi.

The Khazar Khanate

Bashtu, Kagan of Khazar and Saksiny

Diplomacy    No effect

         Okey-dokey, first the boring domestic stuff: Levidia, Nogai and Urkel were put under cultivation.  Now for the exciting religious stuff!  After some consideration, Bashtu decided to embrace the Orthodox faith, marrying off one of his daughters to the Byzantines in the hopes that this would get some support from the Patriarchate.  On the whole, all of the Kagan’s former lieutenants deserted him and returned to the steppes.  Most of the regions and all of the cities however, embraced the new faith with little ado.  The exceptions were Torki, Urkel Bolgar and Kuban (the Chieftain of the last may have been more miffed over the fact that Bashtu tried to foist off his middle-aged sister on him for a wife).  Still, things could have been a lot worse.

The Near East

The Hamadid Sultanate

Hasan Ibn Yusuf “the Great”, Sultan of Damascus and Protector of the Holy Places

Diplomacy    Palmyra (fa), Circis (nt)

         In contrast to the whirlwind of activity last turn, Hasan contented himself with building a new city around the fortress of Abu Ghraib and making diplomatic inroads among the nomads to the south.  Muslim missionary activity also had some small success among the Armenians.

The Buwayid Emirates

Tajir ibn Ibriham, Emir of Emirs, Protector of the Caliph.

Diplomacy    Kurdistan (fa), Tabriz, in Azerbaijan (ea)

        Buwayid activity in the northwest continued with yet another port, Shirvala, being built in ShirvanWork also began on road links between E’ Burz and Shirvan and Shirvan and Azerbaijan.  A great deal of grain was sold to the Byzantines.

The Emirate of Aden

Umar ibn Ali, Emir of Aden and S’ana.

Diplomacy    Beylul (+16 to YfC), Sheba (fa)

        Hadramuht was put under cultivation and Abha grew to a size 4 port.  Old emir Ali died and was succeeded by his son Umar (no spring chicken himself).

Eastern Europe

The Eastern Roman Empire

Constantine Flavius, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Diplomacy    Pausanias of Rhodes (a), Crimea (a)

        The usual scads of money where sent out to Flavius’ immediate neighbors to buy tons of grain.  At home the usual scads of city increases with Volos (^3), Athens (^2), Varna (^5), Dorylareum (^4), Smryna (^9), Nicomedia (^9), Alexandretta (^4), Tarsus (^3) and Manzikert (^4) all increased in size.  On the down side, attempts top found a new city on Crete foundered (no pun intended) due to no ships being allocated to transport the money and manpower there to build it.  On the domestic scene, the Imperial heir, Paulos, married the Khazar princess Serakh to assist in furthering Byzantine influence among the steppe tribes to the north.  Finally, a series of attempts of the lives of several government officials left many looking over their shoulders.  None of the attacks were successful, but neither were any perpetrators caught.

The Principality of Muscovy

Igor III, Boyar of Muscovy

Diplomacy    Mordva (nt)

        Work continued on the Smolensk – Polotsk road.  To the south, Igor used a combination of force and diplomacy on his pagan neighbors.  Missionary activity among the Turks of Atelzuko garnered additional converts while diplomatic endeavors to the Mordvites also bore some fruit.  The inhabitants of Pereaslavl were less fortunate however, being attacked and enslaved and then carted off to work on the aforementioned Smolensk – Polotsk road.

The Kingdom of Poland

Stanislaw I, King of Poland

Diplomacy    Lausatia (f)

        Stanislaw continued to build up his cities, with Warsaw becoming a 5 and Krakow becoming a 6.  Work recommenced on the moribund DanzigPomerania highway.  Finally, the king dispatched his sons Lech and Wladislaw south to subjugate the Slovaks and Bakonites.  This was done after some difficulty, including Wladislaw being turned into a pin cushion by the arrows of the Magyars.

The Duchy of Estonia

Ahti Viikberg, Duke of Estonia

Diplomacy    Vaasa (c)

        Verityn died whilst on an expedition to lay claim to the uninhabited region of Vaasa.  His son, Ahti succeeded without incident.  Riga grew to a size 7 city and Livonia was put under cultivation.

Western Europe

The Duchy of Bohemia

Ewald Govner, Duke of Bohemia

Diplomacy    Slovenia (t)

        Things here were pretty quiet, just some city expansions (Brno ^2, Trier ^3, Bamberg ^5, Trieste ^6).

The Vernonian Empire

Valdemar Germanicus, Emperor of Italy

Diplomacy    No effect

        Aside from some ineffective diplomacy in the Alps, little occurred in sunny Italy.  The great Veronan navy continues to cruise the Ionian looking for trouble (with a brief side trip to Malta to drops off manpower and money to augment the fortress there (See “The care and feeding of islands” in the notes section.).  Pescara increased to size 10 and Milano to size 7.

Le Royaume de France

Gerard Capet, King of the Franks

Diplomacy:   Limousin (a), Gascony (a)

        Phillip died in mid-1163 of dropsy (a really disgusting way to go if there ever was one).  He was succeeded by his son Gerard, hero of the Navarre War and beloved by all (okay, by most).  While maintaining a watchful eye on the southern border, Gerard concentrated on internal matters.  Poitou was cultivated and a new road was built between Ile de France and VermandoisParis itself continued to grow (to size 10) and a new port, Caen, was raised in Brittany.

The El Reino De Navarre

Miguel II, King of Navarre

Diplomacy    Talavera (fa), Estremadura (c)

        The Spanish also benefited from the outbreak of peace by starting a new road between Navarre and Asturias.  In addition, Corunna, Madiera, Valentia and Lisbon all increased in size (to 7, 7, 7, and 5, respectively).  Finally, Catholic missionaries succeeded in converting the last Muslim holdouts in Talavera to the True Faith.

Northern Europe

The Kingdom of Wessex

Ehtelred Harethson, King of the Angles and Saxons

Diplomacy:   Cornwall (t)

        Deciding to take advantage of the open land, Ethelred dispatched hundreds of colonists into the old Welsh lands, settling both regions back to their old (1/6) values.  In addition, the French agreed to relinquish control of Wessex in return foe an undisclosed sum of cash (sorry Lorne, the CF op failed).  Finally, diplomatic work in the Cornish lands went well.

The Kingdom of the Svear

Gregor, King of the Swedes

Diplomacy    Trondheim (t)

        Drevs passed on in early 1163 and was succeeded without incident.  The new King, Gregor, oversaw the expansion of Vettermark (to size 10) and of Kristiansund (to size 4).  In addition, a new port city, Tronheim, was raised in Trondheim.

The Norse Kingdom of Iceland

Dag Jornson, King of the Norse

Diplomacy    None

        Dag continued his efforts both west and south.  An attempt to plumb the icy wastes of the North Atlantic resulted several lost ships and no results. Closer top home, a new port was built around the fortress of Stonehaven in the highlands and Dag’s admirals beat the lowland Scots of Strathclyde into paying tribute.

North Afriqa

The Maghreb Emirate

Bashar ibn Umar, Emir of Morroco

Diplomacy    None

        Bashar hurriedly raised new troops to replace the catastrophic losses inflicted last turn.  The walls of the cities of the Maghreb were also strengthened, lest they fall to hordes of invading GhanansBashar was immensely relieved when none showed up.  Further south, Muslim missionaries had even less success among the natives of Marampa and Boni (if that’s possible).

Al Fatamid Caliphate Al Qaira

Muhtadi Mujahid ibn Fadi, Fatamid Caliph of Egypt

Diplomacy    No effect (diplomat died before setting out).

        In the southern parts of the Caliphate, the Nubians were inundated with scores of Egyptian settlers who pushed the local Coptic population into the fringes of society.  Urban expansion also continued at a brisk pace with Serin, Heh Semna and Soba growing to level 4, Al-Qusayr to level 2, Memphis to level 11 and Alexandria to level 14.

        All this good news was muted by the death of Caliph Hussein at the end of 1165 after only five years on the throne.  His son, Muhtadi succeeded him with little fanfare and promptly cut trade with the Byzantines for no apparent reason (aside from the fact that the y were Byzantines, I suppose).

West Afriqa

The Kingdom of Ghana

Komla, Lord of Kumi-Saleh

Diplomacy No effect.

        Displaying incredible sangfroid (or incredible lunacy, take your pick), Komla ordered the beginnings of a cultivation project in Garou.  On a more prudent note, he also rebuilt the walls of the various cities in his realm.  See below to see how Komla’s nation fared in the ongoing war.

The Kingdom of Nupe

Ta’ziyah Surinama, King of Nupe and Oyo

Diplomacy None

        Gaining more foreign support, Ta’ziyah held his ground in Nupe while various allies marched to his assistance.

The Kingdom of Togo

Akroke, King of Togo and Akan

Diplomacy Niete (nt)

        Akroke raised more troops in expectation of the next Kongo attack...and was somewhat surprised when none came.

The Kingdom of Kanem-Bornu

Susiseko II, King of Kanem and Bornu

Diplomacy Kafin (fa)

        Susiseko decided to become involved in the Ghana war.  There was a great deal of confusion regarding how much manpower was available to mobilize and the number of available armories at hand to manufacture the armor for the new levies.  Initial K-B moves were also confusing as the player obviously wasn’t consulting his turn 52 stats when he wrote his orders which means that the ref had to “wing it” which makes for an extremely grumpy ref.  K-B fortunes are indicated below.

South Afriqa

The Bakongo Kingdom

Ugo Wambolea, King of Bakongo

Diplomacy    None

        After some deliberation, Ugo decided to switch targets, ignoring the Togoese and ordering his troops to march to the aid of the Nupans.  Unfortunately, this did not sit well with Prince Simbusi, who was not interested in anything that did not assist in regaining his old lands, not to mention allying with his old enemies the Kanem-Bornu and the Nupans.  So he decided to revolt against his father-in-law.  While his attempts to harangue the 13,000 troops under him had some initial success; the unfortunate prince was outmaneuvered by both Ugo and his lieutenant, Mbalha, who managed to retain the army’s loyalty.  Simbusi ended his days staked to an anthill for his disloyalty.

THE GHANAN WAR

Ghana vs. Nupe, Kanem-Bornu and Bakongo.

Initial Intel and Skulduggery: attempts to kill the Ghanan King Komla and his lieutenant Otheni fail.

1161 AD: Most efforts this year centered around massing various troops.  While Ghanan general Mutubi and Prince Mensaha stayed on react with over 27,000 cavalry in Songhai.  General Kuaku marches west depositing infantry garrisons in Kumbi-Saleh and Timbuktu.  For their part, Ta’ziyah and his son Chata stay on defense in the homeland with 28,800 infantry, whilst dispatching generals Leabua and Uncol with 9,400 troops and over 100 transports up the Niger to cause mischief.  Unfortunately, whilst running amok in Segu, the Nupans got ambushed by Mutubi reacting out of Songhai and were annihilated for their trouble (some 50 ships did manage to escape back downriver).

        Meanwhile, King Wambolea of Bakongo spent most of the year redirecting his armies away from the border with Togo and marching to the northwest.  By years end, A Kongo army of 24,600 troops (supported by 50 warships on the Lower Niger) was transiting Kwararafa (whose natives wisely kept out of the way).  Further north a Kanem army of 15,200 troops crossed the steppes of Kanuri before reaching Hausa at year’s end.

1162 AD: And now the Allies ran into difficulty.  While the Kongo army was marching through uncontrolled Kafin to reach Nupe, the Kanem army, under Susiseko, crossed into Gorouol from Hausa and began recapturing the place.  Mutubi reacted from Segu and pounced upon the invaders a month into their campaign.  The disinclination of the Kanem to co-ordinate any actions with their allies again cost them as Susiseko’s army was annihilated for the second time in ten years.  Ta’ziyah’s reaction when he heard the news was incredulity, why didn’t they march here to join us first? he yelled. 

        Two months after this disaster, history repeated itself with monotonous regularity when the combined Nupe/Kongo invasion marched into Gorouol.  Again the Ghanans reacted, again there was blood and slaughter as 27,000 Ghana cavalry smashed into over 53,400 Nupe/Kongo infantry and siege troops.  The results were horrific as Mutubi’s veteran knights rode down and butchered hundreds of enemy infantry.  Although Ta’ziyah led his troops fearlessly, the Ghanas were just too mobile and the Allies were hindered by poor battlefield intelligence and the ineptitude of the King Wambolea, who despite his delegating authority would have been better served had he stayed home. Reminder: a leader with an abysmal combat rating can still have a negative impact on a battle even if he’s not in charge.  After two days of this, the allies retreated.  Mutubi followed up on his victory by occupying Zerma and forcing the locals of both the region and the city of Dendi to pay tribute.

The Kingdom of Nyasa

Asserate III, Chief of the Nyasa

Diplomacy Chilwa (a)

        Asserate did some diplomacy and that was about it.

The Kingdom of Rozwi

Ntombhela, King of Rozwi, Lord of Zimbabwe

Diplomacy None

        The postal road between Rozwi and Shona was completed and upgraded to a royal road.  Rozwian troops also conducted a raid for slaves in Bassa.

The Kingdom of Vaal

M’tesa II, King of Vaal and Mapungubwe

Diplomacy Xhosa Kingdom (a)

        M’tesa decided to bury the hatched and sent his diplomat M’kosi to the Xhosa to see if he could cut a deal...

The Xhosa Kingdom [Absorbed]

Bambali, Chief of the Xhosa.

Diplomacy None

        Bambali kept a weather eye out for more aggression from his eastern neighbor and was somewhat surprised to receive an emissary from his erstwhile enemy proposing a unification of the two Kingdoms.  Bambali agreed to the deal as the ref was tired of running an open country with limited options for expansion if it continued to be independent.  So sue me...

North America

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.

The Tlingit People

Many Feet, Chief of the Tlingit, Lord of the Far North.

Diplomacy None

        Grey Owl died in early 1161 and was duly succeeded.  A new port, Aangoon, was built in Chemakum.

The following is from the undersigned North American Empires:

ATTEND, Oh you gods and you, Great Spirit, that we may speak with tongues of wisdom.

WE THE FIVE NATIONS, bound by ancient gods and by ties of blood and interest, have sat before the Council Fires together and spoken our hearts. The Great Spirit has called us to forge a new day for his beloved peoples and to this end we have forged this pact.

LIKE OUR BROTHER the buffalo, we gather side by side and present a single face to danger. Whenever any one of our number is threatened, we shall gather by his side, shoulder to shoulder, spear to spear
and defend him from whatever threat may come. An attack on any one of the Five Nations is an attack on all.

LIKE OUR BROTHER the wolf, we are each proud and alone. Though we now choose to form this pack, each of us shall honor the Great Spirit in whatever form seems best to us, and each shall look to his own house without interference from the others.

OUR HANDS ARE OPEN, but our shields are close by. We offer friendship to all nations and none need fear us who do us no harm.


TO THIS WE PLEDGE our lives, our lands, and our people.

THE NORTH AMERICAN TREATY ORGANIZATION
Patamon, Great Beaver of the Snake, Priest-Emperor of the Mississippian Empire
Buffalo Fog, Great Sun of the Natchez Confederacy
Dark Coyote, Emperor of California
Desert Wind, King of the Anasazi
Eagle's Feather, Chief of the Yamasee

 

California

Dark Coyote, Ruler of California

Diplomacy None

        Migration into the northwest continued with new colonies in Mono [^(2/6)], Klamath [^(2/4)], Tucannon, Nez Perce [both ^(1/4)], and Lemhi [^(-/1)].  SanFrancisco and Tula’ree both grew to size 7 ports.  In foreign affairs, Princess Itsina of the Tlingit was wed to the Californian heir, Obsidian Coyote III in a ceremony noticeable by its rather disgusting profligacy. 50gps on a wedding is a lot of gold, folks.  Or rather it used to be in the good old days of Lords, before the game became dominated by a bunch of jumped-up Donald Trumps playing to wring every last shekel out of an under-developed, rules-heavy system!  Back in ’86, I got 350gps total for the then leading position in Lords 1and you didn’t see me blowing it silly weddings and oodles of roads and great wall segments!  And I was happy to get that 350 gps, let me tell you!  I used to walk (uphill, both ways) to Louie’s Lower Level in the dead of winter when it was at least a frigid 50 degrees out to get my results from Thomas!  None of this pissant email crap or XTML printouts!  No sir, our stats were either handwritten or printed from a second-rate word processor!

        Damn kids these days...

The Anasazi Nation

Desert Wind, Chief of the Anasazi, Lord of the Chaco

Diplomacy None

        The Anasazi were in a flurry of activity (as is their wont).  First, the postal road between Tiwa and Chanute was upgraded to royal road status.  In addition, new links were built to the borders of Kansa and Okmulgee, to facilitate trade with the Michgamea and the Natchez (eventually).  To the north, the regions of Ute and Unita were colonized to (-/2) and (-/5) respectively.  The southern cities of Navolato, Guaymas and Eagle’s Bluff continue to expand (to 9, 9 and 4 respectively).  Finally, the Anasazi chieftain Jacy rowed south into the Gulf of Guayquil before returning home.

The Mississippian Empire

Patamon, The Great Beaver of the Snake

Diplomacy None

               Iroquois westward expansion continued apace with Dakota being settled to a (-/3) and Kansa to a (1/5).  Work also began on a postal road between Sangamon and Missouri and the latter region and OtoReminder: when building roads between two different terrain types, the higher terrain multiple is used.

The Natchez Confederacy

Buffalo Fog, Great Sun of the Natchez

Diplomacy None

        A new royal road segment was built between Atakapa and Mejcalero and Port Easy grew to a size 3.  Taposa was colonized to a (2/5) and Choctaw to a (-/3).  Atakapan navigators managed to explore the reaches of Cape Race before freezing temperatures drove them back to warmer waters.

The Yamasee People

Eagle’s Feather, Chief of the Yamasee

Diplomacy None

        Things were extremely quiet.  Chatot was cultivated.

Mesoamerica

The Toltec Hegemony of Chichen Itza

Alzure, Grand Hegemon of the Maya

Diplomacy    None

        Alzure continued to focus on the Empire’s Infrastructure with a slew of new road links ringing Lake TexcocoCopan, Comalcalco and Mitla all increased in size (to 4, 4 and 5 respectively).  The jungles of Lenca reclaimed the region.

The Arawak of the Islands

Tamox, Lord of the Islands

Diplomacy    None

        Carib development of the Caribbean islands continued apace, with additonal city levels being built in Indiatlantic (raising it to a size 2) and Ballanquilla (^ to a 4).  A new port, Trinidad, was also built on the Carib islands and Guantanamo got a new citadel.

The Chibchan Kingdom

Esteban, King of the Chibchan

Diplomacy None

        Work in the new colonies continued with Caraca and Yekuana being put under cultivation.  Work on the ChibchaAburra road continued as well.

South America

The Kingdom of Paraiba

Panib III, King of Paraiba

Diplomacy Suya (c)

        Paraiba colonization soutward continued with Jurucu being settled to a (1/4).  Iguaca expanded to a size 4 city and Taguatinga to a size 5.  Panib also ordered a census to be conducted of his Kingdom and this was done as well.  Finally, 800 troops under general Jakka were dispatched to claim Suya for the Kingdom (hmm, no one within any appreciable distance, that’s almost Mapuchean in it’s paranoia).  By turn’s end the general and half his force had been killed by various tropical diseases and the occasional Anaconda.

The Mighty Incan Empire

Cochari, Emperor of the Incas

Diplomacy None

        All in all, a fairly quiet turn.  Nicaro and Boruca were repopulated to their old levels of (1/4) and (1/7) respectively.

The Kingdom of Karanga

Amaru, Lord of the South

Diplomacy None.

        Work began on a new road link between Caranga and Guanacae.

The Kingdom of Shokleng

Urcon, King of Shokleng

Diplomacy None

        A new road link was built between Tucarembo and Charrua.  In addition, Arana was put under cultivation.  Colonists continued to set out to seek their fortunes in the great frontier with Arana being colonized to a (1/10) and Minuane to a (-/8).

The Mapuche Empire

Mochan, Emperor of the Mapuche

Diplomacy None

        Imperial development of the northern provinces continued apace with new cities being built in Millcayac (Caya) and Atuel (Akan).  In addition another highway was built from Mendoza in Oic to the new cities and hence to Echete on the Atlantic coast.  Otherwise, things were quiet.