Lords of the Earth
Campaign Nineteen
Anno Domini 1196 - 1200
Turn 61 Orders Due By: Monday, September 12th. Orders will not be accepted after Midnight MST on Tuesday, September 13th.
A |
Price Increase:
Due to increasing workload, beginning this turn (60) I will be increasing the price per turn to $7.00. I apologize for any inconvenience this decision may cause.
Missionaries
From this point, any player who sends missionaries to an uncontrolled area that is of a hostile organized religion will get no conversion result and a bunch of dead missionaries.
Leaders & Espionage Actions (
Interactions between the Hemispheres: at this point only the Seafaring cultures may sail between the Hemispheres. Once people hit Renaissance, then they may attempt to do so as well. So the New World players should stop trying to get to
Building units: The vast majority of units must be built in a city within your HBZ. The exceptions are as follows:
1) Ships may be built in a port outside the HBZ if it is the only one available.
2) Field forts may be built in any region at NT status or higher.
3) Inexperienced infantry may be built in a F region within your HBZ.
4) Nomad/Barbarian cultures may build units at a
In all these instances please be aware of the yard capacity for all ships and all heavy class units.
Some advice that will (hopefully) speed up processing time):
1) When players are increasing a city, please indicate what the new size will be.
2) For ships to be built for conversion to MSP, you can also put what route they’re going into in the Builds section. Projects may also be put in the Builds section.
3) When building a road link, indicate which region it starts in and which region it’s going to. Don’t give me city names.
4) For players who are not using a standard WORD or XTEL format, please put the information in the following order: Revenue; Maintenance, Investments, Builds, Transfers, Projects, Trade Routes, Intel Ops, Religious Ops, Leader Actions. When indicating an expense, please list gps first then nfp.
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
Thomas Harlan
Below are my Email and Regular mail addresses:
Email: ancaric@throneworld.com
Payment: When paying via Paypal, please send all funds to this account:
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.
The complete list of rules changes (including the happy stuff on Smallpox) can be found on the Lords 19 page on the Throneworld website. If you haven’t read them, please do so. Reading them will save you (and me) a lot of grief.
Taira Tankokazu, Daimyo of Kwanto, Shogun of
Diplomacy Shimane (f)
A quiet turn of building ships for MSPs and public works. A postal road link between Kwanto and
Rokaku III, Lord of the
Diplomacy None.
Rokaku dispatched generals Tamani and Tamluk to occupy
Mingfa Tengku, Beloved of Ganesha
Diplomacy None
No orders for this country as Leslie had other priorities this turn. He also had insufficient funds to pay for this country.
Gelar Taree, Prince of Maree
Diplomacy None
No orders.
Ghorgon, King of the
Diplomacy None
Ghorgon spent his time pouring funds into various city public works and sending fleets loaded with peoples and material for building
Xoing the Merciless, King of Shan’si, Watcher of the
Diplomacy No effect, unless you count the beheading of the diplomat as an effect…
Parhae was colonized back up to a (2/6). A diplomat sent to woo the Kin was beheaded and disemboweled by the locals, who then used the head as a football. Note: to Jeff: Look at your player’s notes please! I have been repeating myself on several occasions there and you haven’t been reading them I guess.
Cao Ai Tiao, King of
Diplomacy None
Work on the Great Walls in Hupei and
Wu Juan, Prince of Kwangsi
Diplomacy None
No orders.
Khavirhan, King of Champa, Lord of Vijaya
Diplomacy Preikuk (+6 to YfC)
The new King was determined to press his advantage while he could. The initial intel results went well, as Champan assassins ravaged the Khemer Intel and Government sectors. Raising additional troops, Khavirhan took to the field himself. After pausing in Preikuk to gather the army sitting there (and burning the city of
Issawa, Deveraja of the Kambuja
Diplomacy None
No orders submitted. So, yours truly had to cobble together something, and cobble I did, by gum. First off, Anucha ordered the road between Surin and Preikuk destroyed. Second, scraping together what little NFP was available, Anucha ordered walls built around Pattaya (lest the Champans just walk into the place) and additional troops raised to defend the capital. Finally the King dispatched his son to bring the troops parked in Surin back to Angor as well as sending orders to general Chandan north from Johor to assist. The reinforcements arrived in Angor just in time to avoid Khavirhan’s victorious troops. And there the situation stood. Finally, Anucha died in late 1197, an event rife with Melancholy.
Namdev, Raja of
Diplomacy Pundra (f)
Chitra, envious of his Chinese neighbor with his fortress-in-every-region lifestyle, decided to emulate it, ordering fortresses to be raised in Kalinga, Chandela, Palas,
Varun, King of Chola, Lord of Tanjore
Diplomacy Kalyani, in
The road between Satava and
Jawar Vikram, Emperor of
Diplomacy None
No orders. Mogli II died in late 1200 and was succeeded by his son, Jawar.
Kerk Borgha, Lord of Karakocho.
Diplomacy None
Alp died in late 1199 and was succeeded by his son without incident. Work continued on the Jungaria-Karluk road.
Hakim ibn Osman, Emir of Samarkhnad
Diplomacy Hazarajat (a), Kash (f),
Hakim continued to dispatch his diplomats hither and yon. In other events, Hazarajat was put under cultivation and a road link was built between Firoz Kohi and Kash. The link between
Chortan, Kagan of Khazar and Saksiny
Diplomacy None
Missionary work among the Bolgars continues apace. The postal road net from Levidia to Polovotsy and
Salal al-Hasan, Sultan of
Diplomacy Bostra (a)
Go directly to the war results below.
Masoud ibn Tajir, Emir of Emirs, Protector of the Caliph.
Diplomacy Dropped in the heat of the moment!
Things started out relatively quietly for Masoud…until word got out that he was still selling grain to the infidels, while the latter were waging war on the Faithful. Worse was news that Masoud had attempted to cover up his attempts to profit in this manner.
This DEFINITELY did not go down well in the Mosques and Midrasas throughout the Emirate. Even the Caliph snubbed Masoud when he came calling one morning. Although the unrest for the most part was primarily verbal, outbreaks of violence occurred in
Hoping to deal with this inconvenience, Masoud marched south with 29,000 cavalry were he linked up with the heir, Nouri, and 2,000 more horse (the heir had been there on a diplomatic visit when everything went ballistic). For the next four years, Masoud and his cavalry beat their heads in vain against the walls of
Mansoor al-Sheikh, Emir of
Diplomacy
Things here were pretty quiet. A new citadel, christened al-Mubarit al-Sheikh (or Shiekh’s Redoubt) was built adjacent to San’a (and if you think I’m putting the name on the map you’re nuts). The Adenite troops in
Constantine Paulos, Emperor of the
Diplomacy None
Orthodix missionaries continued to press their monotheistic ideas upon the locals of
Oleg I, Boyar of
Diplomacy Mordva (t), Pereaslavl (t)
Oleg continued to stitch his Kingdom back together.
Lech, King of
Diplomacy Little
More grain was shipped to the Byzantines and
Konstantine Viikberg, Duke of
Diplomacy None
Colonists were sent into
Martin Govner, Duke of
Diplomacy
On the domestic front, Martin ordered the construction of a great dike and ditch between Moravia and Bochnia (in order to keep those shifty Poles from getting any ideas). A road link was also built between Saxony and Westphalia and
Valdemar Germanicus, Emperor of
Diplomacy
The Italians continued their expansion into Tripolitania, landing over 44,000 troops and rebuilding
Henri II, King of the Franks
Diplomacy None
The Franks built up the walls of their southern cities and waited for the Spanish to do something…
Jose, regent for…
Miguel V, King of
Diplomacy None
The Spanish obligated the French (see below).
THE FRANCO-SPANISH WAR
Initial Intel and other stuff: An attempt on the life of the French Heir failed. French agents continue to ravage the
1196: despite the difficulties he was facing in the Capital itself, Joao decided on an aggressive approach. While Generals Gregorio and Cisneros and the elderly Prince Jose stood on the defense; the King, his son (and heir) Miguel, and General Stefano marched north to Bilbao gathering up additional troops that raised their numbers to over 100,000 elite heavy infantry, elite heavy cavalry and siege engineers. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Ricardo and Prince Diego crossed the border alone, in an attempt to convince some regional leaders to renounce their allegiance. Both were quickly caught and imprisoned (Secret Movement will generally be better for moving in the enemies back country).
For his own part, Henri (sitting with the fleet in
The French sat in
1197: At sea, Phillipe and Nacisse enter the Atlantic with the former entering the Bay of Biscay, detaching more ships (these go to Lieutenant Roche) and taking up blockade of
On land, Joao has the bit in his teeth. After plundering
1198: on the Briny, Gaspar continues to play hide and seek with Jose until May, when he’s finally caught and his 98 ship squadron is completely destroyed. Gaspar survives and his lighter eventually winds up in
Meanwhile, Joao subjects
1199: In
1200: undaunted by this check, Miguel orders another assault and
Eadric Harethson, King of the Angles and Saxons
Diplomacy: No effect.
Alarmed by the conflagration on the continent, Eadric put his navy on patrol in the
Erik Erikson, King of the Swedes
Diplomacy Adger (f)
Things up north were pretty quiet.
Gregor II Gregorson, King of the Norse
Diplomacy None
More supplies and equipment was shipped to the western colony of
Then this happy state of affairs was abruptly terminated when an Atakapan leader, Walnut Brother, was caught snooping where he shouldn’t have been. Further examination found several metal blanks for making axes hidden in his tunic. Needless to say, the Norse became rather irritated by all of this, to put it very mildly. They quickly clapped the Atakapan princess in irons, along with the leader Gray Apple. When Prince Hair Like Corn tried to intercede, he was cut down along with his 400 man entourage by the Jarl Hakon and his 3,000 man force. The Norse then extended to Walnut Brother an old form of ritual execution from their pagan past, the “Blood Eagle”, in which the individual’s rib cage is cracked open and his innards arranged like the wings of an eagle under the unfortunate’s outstretched arms. (I guess you have to kind of visualize it). So now the Atakapans have nothing to show for their diplomacy except that the knowledge that these terrible new-comers now know how to sail as far south as
Ishmael ibn Misr, Emir of Morroco
Diplomacy None
Ishmael had plans to support the French in his war against the Spanish, but no sooner had he put his army into the hands of his declared heir, Bulent, then the latter ran him through with a spear. He then took ten men and marched into Ishmael’s harem, where he proceeded to cut out the living guts of all twenty plus of the late Emir’s wives and concubines, in order to ensure that none of them were carrying any mewling brats that might threaten his position. The sheets of the odas ran crimson by the time he was through. He then slaughtered all of his brothers, whom his scum-puke filth father (may he rot in the clutches of Ibli for all eternity) he continued to sire after declaring him heir and leaving him to do scut-work so he couldn’t sire kids of his own. Finally he had the princes Kuzu and Kasurga strangled with bowstring, beheaded and put the heads on pikes outside the palace.
Needless to say, all of this kinda threw a monkey wrench into any attempt to become involved in the war…
Muhtadi Mujahid ibn Fadi, Fatamid Caliph of Egypt
Diplomacy None
Muhtadi raised more troops for Akbar and pretty much stood on the defense. See below for...
THE WAR
Constantinople, Estonia, Khazaria, and anyone else I missed versus Syria,
Initial Intel: an attempt to foment a mutiny among the Estonians in
1196: things started off rather slowly, with the Khan Chortan (fresh from securing his rule in Sairgh-Shin) marching south, accompanied by his subordinate Bulan and 24,000 heavy elite cavalry. Another Khazar force, of 3,400 light elite cavalry, under Bhagatur (and assisted by Naphbos) heads south as well, after adding another 1,200 xec at a stop in Urkel. By year’s end, Chortan arrives in
As for the Byzantines themselves, Emperor Demetrius hatches a plan to break the stalemate and give the entire
Meanwhile the Muslims had not been idle. After some discussion it is decided that while the main Muslim host would stand on the defense in
Finally, this year also marked the death of the Byzantine heir Diocletian.
1197: Blood in the surf: to the northeast, Bhagatur passes through Urmia, transits
But he does not know this and some debate occurs in the Byzantine councils. The Emperor is inclined to begin the invasion. Even if the diversion fails, it will prompt the Muslims to march south to rescue the Levantine coast. A month is spent debating the issue before Demetrius’ will prevails, the great Byzantine army rouses itself and begins marching south in September (in game terms Demetrius failed a Combat check (success would mean he stayed put) and then won a debate with General Ritan (first CHA check tied, the Emperor won the second check).
1198: THE EARTH WILL SHAKE.
Let us pause at this point to look at the armies in some detail;
THE CHRISTIANS:
The Byzantine Army of Constantine Demetrius:
3,200
11,800 Xystoni of the Scholae (59xec)
20,800 Kataphractoi (104hc)
51,800 Klibinarii of the Scholae (259hec)
37,200 un-mounted Kataphractoi of the Schole (186hei)
12,000 Lithoboloi (siege engineers) (60s)[*]
Subtotal: 136,800
The Estonian Army of Prince Elmo:
6,200 light infantry (31xi)
1,600 light cavalry (8xc)
6,200 cavalry (31c)
Subtotal: 14,000
TOTAL: 150,800
THE MUSLIMS:
The Syrian Army of Sultan Salal al-Hasan
5,600 light infantry (28xi)
13,800 infantry (69i)
7,400 heavy infantry (37hi)
9,400 cavalry (47c)
15,000 heavy cavalry (75hc)
12,000 heavy elite cavalry (60hec)
1,200 siege engineers (6s)
Subtotal: 62,600
The Fatamid Army of Wasim Umar ibn Muhtadi
16,000 cavalry (80c)
18,000 heavy cavalry (90hc)
24,200 heavy elite cavalry (121hec)
Subtotal: 58,200
The Adenite Army of Wakil al-Yemani
10,000 cavalry (50c)
Subtotal: 10,000
Additional Muslim Forces: (22f)
TOTAL: 130,800
Demetrius advanced full of hope. Alas it was in vain. The Muslims had not marched south to rescue the
The first round was a stalemate, neither side giving way. The Christians were led by General Ritan, a master of war. But the Muslims, under the overall command of the Fatamid General Ulat rose to the challenge and both sides fought each other to a standstill.[†]
Only with the second round of combat did the situation begin to unravel for the Christians. On their left flank, the Estonian contingent, commanded by the incompetent Prince Elmo inexplicable shifted position. Into the resulting gap plowed Wakil’s 10,000 Adenite lancers. Ritan managed to pull some forces over to that flank and Wakil’s forces were decimated, he himself falling in the melee. But the damage had been done and the entire Christian left wing began to crumble. Ritan started to pull back in general and the Muslims were quick to capitalize on this. Only after taking massive casualties was Ritan able to extricate some chunk of the army to fight another day. It was a crushing Muslim victory.
THE COST:
CHRISTIANS:
Byzantines: 107,600
Estonians: 14,000
TOTAL: 121,600
MUSLIMS:
TOTAL: 49,200
Of the casualties, the computer takes losses from roughly light units first, then regulars then heavies as well as taking inexperienced, then normal, then elites. Engineers seem to be taken last of all. In this situation, a core of some 29,200 Byzantine troops (87hec, 59s) escaped the battle. The entire Estonian contingent was wiped out. Of the Muslims, most of the Syrian losses were in infantry although some heavy infantry did survive. The Fatamids and Adenites, having only cavalry to lose lost that, in the case of the latter, to the extent that they were annihilated.
So what happened? Well this attempt at explanation is by no means anywhere near complete but some factors may have been:
1) The field forts coupled with a defend action. Steve had a good idea to try to lure the enemy armies south into saving
2) Number of leaders and the size of an army. The Christians went into the fray with three leaders (2 Greek, 1 Estonian) versus eight Muslim leaders (2 Syrian, 4 Egyptian and 2 Adenite). Extra leaders are very useful in helping control large unwieldy armies (and if there was ever a large unwieldy army, the Christian host was it). Extra leaders may also give you a favorable DRM if there are more of them then the army needs.
3) Quality of leaders. The purple prose regarding Prince Elmo raises an important point. Leaders with a combat rating of less than five have no business being anywhere near a battlefield. Even if they’re not the overall commander, a poor leader (and Elmo’s rating was a one, folks.) can be a major disaster waiting to happen. If the Byzantine heir, Diocletian, had not died of natural causes and accompanied the army, his combat rating of three would have made it worse. One of the Muslim leaders was poor as well, but they had enough extra commanders to offset the poor modifier.
4) Finally, sometimes it all comes down to a die roll. Remember that a high combat rating just indicates the chances for a success, it does not indicate the degree of the success. In the last combat round, the Byzantines rolled a “2”. This is a success. The Muslims however, rolled a “9”. Not only is this a greater success, it was a critical success, as that was their final combat rating. It is on these variables that the fate of Empires hangs.
The remainder of 1198 witnessed the arrival of the Khazar force under Bhagatur in Carhae and its defeat by General Ghul reacting out of the
1199 and Beyond: Chortan remained on react in
Kwazi, Lord of Kumbi-Saleh
Diplomacy Susu (a)
Kutukomla had grand designs for this turn, a great campaign against the Bani and Mossi followed up by war against the Kurfei, Kanuri and Hausa. Unfortunately, he had a fateful encounter with a spear-point while campaigning against the Mossi and got run through for his troubles. The army then acclaimed the late King’s brother Kwazi as king. That worthy then backtracked back to Kumbi-Saleh where he spent the remainder of the turn mustering support for his acclamation, particularly from the commander of the home army, Tutu Quatay. Fortunately, that worthy really didn’t feel like starting a bloody Civil war today and acceded to Kwazi’s fait accompli.
Morenike, King of
Diplomacy No effect.
Having smacked his neighbor around, Akintude turned his attention to domestic pursuits,
Susiseko III, King of Kanem and
Diplomacy Kanuri (nt)
Susiseko shuffled troops hither and yon, determined not to get caught unawares again. The Feudal troops of Ikego were also called up.
Ugo Wambolea, King of Bakongo
Diplomacy None
Work began on reclaiming Bandundu from the Jungle. Boanberi grew to a size three and the city of
Asserate IV, Chief of the Nyasa
Diplomacy Malawai (f)
Work continued on the Nyasa – Kilwa road link and was begun on another link between Nyasa and Makura.
Munyika II, King of Rozwi, Lord of
Diplomacy None
Kariba was cultivated and old Ntombhela passed on.
M’tesa IV, King of
Diplomacy
The
Xuts, Chief of the Tlingit, Lord of the Far North.
Diplomacy None
Ka-Seen died in late 1198 and was duly replaced. Chemakum was colonized to a (2/1).
Obsidian Coyote IV, Ruler of
Diplomacy None
All in all, a quiet turn in the GREATEST EMPIRE IN THE WORLD. Just some city expansions in the north: Chaw’see, Lassen, and Miwok city to size 3; Koos Bay to size 4; and New Teotihuacan to size 5.
Motega, Chief of the Anasazi, Lord of the
Diplomacy None
Let’s see, city expansion at home and expeditions at sea. The
Patamon, The Great Beaver of the Snake
Diplomacy None
Patamon decided to turn his attention to areas of his vast Empire that he had been ignoring of late. The northern postal road link between Kickapoo and Nameluni was upgraded to a royal road. A new eastern postal road route was set up between Scioto and Saginaw/Erie via
Swift Fox, Great Sun of the
Diplomacy No effect
Dancing Wolf died in late 1198 after a short illness. Events at home included the cultivation of Osage; the construction of a new port, Clifftown, in Taposa and construction of a road link between that place and the Yamasee lands in
Eagle’s Feather, Chief of the Yamasee
Diplomacy None
Catawba was put under cultivation.
Moya, Grand Hegemon of the Maya
Diplomacy None
Work on the great Imperial city continued. Two new cities were also built, Ita Laza, a port in Tepanac; and Aki
City (Region) |
New Size |
7 |
|
Itza Hatul (Cuyutec) |
4 |
Tahata (Huastec) |
3 |
Ilyani (Huave) |
3 |
Texcoco (Huexotla) |
7 |
3 |
|
8 |
|
Comalcalco (Popoluca) |
7 |
Tapachula (Tarascan) |
4 |
Iz Huala (Tepuztec) |
3 |
Tatelolco (Tlapocoya) |
6 |
Tres Zapotes (Totonac) |
6 |
Mitla (Zapotec) |
8 |
Lautaro, Lord of the
Diplomacy None
Feeling the pinch geographically, Tizoc dispatched over 27,000 troops on over 170 ships south to Akawaio. After off-loading the troops, the princes Pelantaro and Guarico marched across the Chibcha border into Cumangoto which was taken with little difficulty. Only after crossing into Caraca did the invaders encounter any resistance, in the form of over 25,000 troops commanded by Pech Toq and a coterie of Lieutenants. Guarico’s superior generalship managed to best the defenders who fell back into Caquetio. Guarico’s attempts to follow up on this success by attacking Caquetio were repulsed, however. And there the situation sat. At sea, Tizoc dispatched his heir, Lautaro to blockade the
Pech Toq, King of the Chibchan
Diplomacy None
The last wave of eastern colonization settled Yekuana (2/5), Arecuna (2/10), Camaracoto (2/8) and Cumangoto (2/8). Then the Arawak attacked and ruined everyone’s day.
Panib III, King of
Diplomacy Arana (nt)
Various colonization projects continued or were completed. Toratapa was settled to a (2/5), Timbira to a (1/8) and Suya to a (-/3).
Culja, regent for…
Atahulapa, Emperor of the Incas
Diplomacy None
The region of Huanco reverted to jungle, destroying two city levels and canceling a planned eighth one. Otherwise it was more city expansions:
City (Region) |
New Size |
Hauri (Ataura) |
9 |
Pusharo (Chinu) |
9 |
Paykikin (Choco) |
7 |
Huexotla (Cuilino) |
8 |
Queros (Mashco) |
9 |
Alta (Mura) |
7 |
Abancay (Pucara) |
9 |
Curva (Tacana) |
9 |
Tiahuanacu (Uru) |
9 |
Jauja (Wairajikira) |
9 |
Finally, Machicho died in late 1199 leaving a 5 year old son as heir. Fortunately, the Empire did not disintegrate. The elderly Prince Culja stepped in to run things until the boy came of age.
Amaru III, Lord of the South
Diplomacy None
Work on the Guanacane – Quillaca road continued.
Upulo, King of Shokleng
Diplomacy None
Colonization and development of the west continued with Terena,being settled to a (1/9),
Bakari, Emperor of the Mapuche
Diplomacy None
A new port, Caldera, was built around the citadel in Atacama. Colonization to the north and south continued with Chono being settled to a (-/2), Coquimbo to a (2/1), Atuel to a (2/4), and Millicayac to a (2/9). The capital, Quiroci, also grew to a size 8 port. Work began on a compilation of Southamerind religious belief and ritual.
[*] The ref begs your indulgence as Byzantine history was a bit of a passion of mine. As it is, I’m not sure if some of the terms used would apply to the Byzantine army (save Kataphract and Klibanrii and even for these two I’m not sure of my spelling). The others are from Classical Greek. I hope various Estonians, Syrians, Egyptians and Adenites will forgive me as I didn’t know the Baltic/Arabic equivalents.
[†] The computer determines who the overall commander is in combat depending on charisma (among other things). Thus the leader controlling the troops might not be the one who determines the result. In this instance it selected the best commanders of both armies. Subordinates do play a role however, see above.
[‡] Hmmmm, Baklava! Argle! The sign of a truly civilized people.