Lords of the Earth
Campaign
Nineteen
Anno Domini 1266 - 1270
Turn 75 Orders Due By:
Saturday October 6th at
Midnight PST.
Hi, I’m Kas,
your new GM. I am still working through Colin’s system of working the game. In
fact a portion of this newsfax has been done by Colin, though I have read
though and edited it.
I may change
some things in the coming months. Let me know if there is anything you’d especially
like to see changed, and I will consider it.
Build Chart (Important): This campaign is currently using the 5.10 build charts. But really soon now, like turn 75, we will switch to the V6 build charts and well as the rest of the V6 rulebook.
Your turn costs… $7.00.
Some advice that
will (hopefully) speed up processing time):
1) Remember that units may have YARD costs now!
2) When players are increasing a city, please indicate what the new size will be.
3) 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.
4) When building a road link, indicate which region it starts in and which region it’s going to. Please don’t give me city names.
5) For players who are not using the standard Excel 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.
Players sending funds by mail should make all paper style checks payable to Thomas Harlan and send them to his address, which is:
Thomas Harlan
Below is my Email address. All snail mail correspondence should go
through Thomas’ address above.
lords19gm@throneworld.com
Payment: When paying via Paypal, please send all funds to this account:
If you haven’t paid for your turn, you don’t get your stat sheet.
Map Stuff: the maps have been updated. A lot of annoying stuff has been deleted and many roads have been redrawn. Cities within a country’s HBZ are now indicated by their names in color (either white or red) and capital cities have their names enclosed in a box.
Horde Blocks: the following horde blocks are
available for play if anyone wants to start up there: Khirgiz, Betpak, Mongol,
Hsia-Hsia, Liao and
Fractional NFP: You may now save fractional NFP. Any spending of NFP must be in whole units however. At some point, when the updated rules are completely implemented, you will be able to spend fractional nfp on things like ship crews.
The New Field
GPv+1
* Siege/2 (at least a 1) * Tax Rate
If your control level/tax rate > 0%, then you get at least one fort.
Missionaries: from
this point, any player who sends missionaries to a region or city area that is
of a hostile organized religion and
controlled by another player will get no conversion result and a bunch of dead
missionaries. Note: I really badly worded the old iteration of this rule, my
apologies...).
Leaders &
Espionage Actions (
More on Leaders & Espionage Actions: I am beginning to get the feeling that this rule is being abused and I may excise it entirely in the near future.
The Cause Mutiny Operation (CM): players attempting this operation must produce a valid reason as to why the mutiny would occur or it will automatically fail. And no, “Because I think it should succeed.” is not a valid reason.
The HC Operation: from this point forward, all HC operations must be done in the Capital (if the nation has one) or the Homeland region. If the monarch is female and the HC die roll is successful, she may do nothing but HC for a full year (measured in AP) and undergoes a leader mortality check at the conclusion of that period. If the HC check is unsuccessful, she may do any other activity that you’ve put in her orders.
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.
The complete list of rules changes (including 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 a lot of grief.
Taira Fujita, Daimyo of Kwanto, Shogun of
Diplomacy None
An expedition to the icy northern waters
off of Takama was a success, with much Vulcanism in evidence. Closer to home, the usual passel of
cites expanded, with Heian reaching max!
In
Kyushu in the
Tekalameme, Lord of the
Diplomacy None
The
inter-island arrow to the
Doongara, Prince of Maree
Diplomacy None
Admiral Aroona and Princess Hanya died during this period.
Xoing Feng, King of Shan’si, Watcher of the
Diplomacy Lang Shan (ea)
Missionary
activity continues among the Turks and Manchus with both Mancou and Ch’in being
completely converted and inroads being made elsewhere. A
In
the city of
Cao Dao Wang, King of
Diplomacy None
Expecting
an attack on their heartland, the King and General Tong Fu stayed in
This
insanity (as Fu viewed it) was too much for the elderly general, who retired to
his apartments and died – a broken man – soon after.
Cao Wen Kai, King of
Diplomacy None
In
the city of
The
civil war between Hupei and
This
proved wise, as the Kwangsi had decided to invade the southern reaches of
Various
Admiral
Tau Saou Son did not fall victim to
such indignities – for he was active on the
“Fools!”
Raged Admiral Tau, watching the huge ships sit, stuck in the mud-flats,
“I-I-I-I-DIOTS!”
A
number of the shipwrights were dragged out into the street and beheaded. This
made Tau feel better, but did not rescue the ships. Finally, after ordering a
few more beheadings, he set sail down the river with all of the ships which could manage those waters. Leaving the
fifty war-junks behind, to “protect” the city.
Tau
did not encounter any Honan warships on the river (strangely, the
As
Tau had traveled however, he had observed each of the river cities – found them
all fortified and crowded with angry
General
Cao Man Kai, meantime, had led an army of some 75,000 men to “mop” up the
pitiful
“Hmmm…
looks nasty,” Kai thought, and marched onward to the east. As soon as his army
had left
Kai
knew nothing of this however, and continued his victorious march to the sea
along roads lined with cheering throngs, paved with flowers and garlanded with
virgins hanging from the windows. Eventually he reached
Kai
was suddenly Emperor. And though the whole situation seemed rather chaotic, he
found it a pleasing prospect, all in all.
The
only possessions that actually
changed hands between Hupei and Honan were Chekiang, where Admiral Tau’s fleet
wound up at the end of the turn, and
Wu Juan II, Prince of Kwangsi
Diplomacy None
King
Wu Juan II ordered a bunch of infantry to built, and marched north across the
country picking them up, eventually attacking
His
father’s campaign against the hated Honan led off with Lin Yao the Bold and a
force of 62,000 light cavalry and mountaineers attacking into Ghang’de – which was
ravaged… the garrisons along the Great Wall did their best, but were too few
and too scattered to prevent the southern barbarians from spilling over into
the province, raiding to their hearts content and then scampering off into the
mountains of Kweichou for more fun…
Just
to the east, Wu Juan II and his main army plowed into
Unfortunately,
one of those same merchants sought audience with the governor – and then
murdered him upon attendance. In the ensuing confusion, battalions of Kwangsi
engineers attacked the Wall at critical points and forced entry. The Kwangsi
army poured through the breaches and slaughtered the confused and demoralized
garrisons.
Wu
Juan had hoped the raid into Ghang’de would draw off the
The
resulting brawl, at Chang’sa between the 190,000 Kwangsi and 177,000
Wu
Juan’s army was battered, too, and the city of
Chang’sa
fell within the month.
With
the province captured, Wu Juan dug in on the southern side of the Yang’tse,
hoping the battered
The
raiding force still active in the east spent the remainder of the turn burning
farms, looting temples and generally raising hell in Kweichou, Chiennan and
Khavirhan III, Maharaja of the Khemer People, Prince of Champa, Lord Protector of Java
Diplomacy None
Amaravati,
in Dai Viet grew to size 6 and a royal road was built between Khemer and Phan
Rang. Missionary activity in
southern
Gunaratna, Rajah
of
Diplomacy
The Raj ordered the
construction of a slew of
Jagrav, King of
Chola, Lord of Tanjore
Diplomacy Jihjhoti
(ea), Avanti (fa)
Jagrav shuffled some troops around and built some ships. Not as many as he would have liked because we’re using the 5.10 build chart, but some. Some cities also continued to grow.
Al Harrat, Lord
of Karakocho.
Diplomacy None
The home region was colonized to a (3/6). Colin allowed Sean to do this because his country is so poor. It’s normally not allowed.
Al Abdi ibn Abdi,
Emir of Samarkhnad
Diplomacy None
Al
Abdi paused in his re-conquest of the southern rebels. A
Bulan, Kagan of
Khazar and Saksiny
Diplomacy Torki (nt)
Deciding to expand his
horizons a bit, Bulan ordered waves of settlers to colonize the eastern
wilderness. Pelym was settled to a
(-/6) and Rezh to a (1/6).
Urbanization closer to home also continued with Khazaria growing to size
three and
Alik, The Sword of the Faith (Sayf al-Din) Protector of the Caliph.
Diplomacy None
Emir Momoud ibn Azzam ibn Hassim (Momo), reached the divinely decreed age of 15 years, within which he must marry. His trusted advisor and regent, Alik, who considered him a son, made their ties more concrete, by accepting Momo as a son-in-law through marriage to Alik’s granddaughter, Fatima.
In deepest gratitude, Sultan
Momo decreed his “grandfather” Alik Vizier, the The
Sword of the Faith (Sayf al-Din). A very special title, indeed.
(Ahhh, the love).
Soon after all of this
came to pass, however, the Romans invaded Buyid lands from the north, causing
complete panic in
“We fight, for the honor of the Dar-al-Harb and all Islam!”
Faruq al-Motresh, Sultan of
Diplomacy None
Faced with incipient
disaster, the Hamadids threw all of their resources into replacing the lancers
slaughtered by the Greeks, as well as bolstering the garrisons of their cities.
And even despite the gloom pervading the councils of Faruq and his generals,
work continued in the countryside of
Despite his failure against the damnable Greeks, Lord Azeddin was rewarded by the Sultan with the hand of his daughter Zarina, a lissome 18-year old who well pleased the general. Pleased, too, were the Cappadocians (Kurds mostly) who had grown rich on the profits of raiding the lands of the Greeks. Many of them now became Sunni, seeing as how they could afford more than one wife!
Faruq also summoned
Selahadine home from the sea, entrusted him with the remainder of Azeddin’s
army (plus whatever else they could scrape up) and sent him north… Gemayl, who
had been Selahadine’s second in the piracy campaigns off
Ishaq ibn Mansoor, Emir of
Diplomacy Adulis (nt),
Diplomatic endeavors among
the Omani failed but where more successful among the Copts (hmmmm….). The city of
Basil I, Proconsul of the East.
Diplomacy None
“I
am Alexander reborn,” Basil declared before his (truly) mighty army. “We have
already given the Syrian dogs a good whipping, now we will clean up the rest of
their nest of vipers, destroy
A
mighty cheer greeted this declaration, for there was not a Greek alive who held
any good feeling for the Saracens, particularly the puling, cowardly lot hiding
in
Indeed.
Secret arrangements had been made (or so Basil was informed by his new wife,
Thea – the daughter of old Emperor Ion of the Eastern Empire) to allow a
combined army of Byzantines (the stub of the Eastern Empire now ruled by
Theophanos), Khazars and Romans (that would be Basil’s own wrecking crew) to
march through Buwayid lands to attack the Syrians. Thus Basil and his huge army
tramped east through
There they received something of a surprise, for the Buyid border guards fled screaming at the sight of them, and no one greeted them with flowers, and things were (in fact) downright hostile. More irritating to the Proconsul where the failure of the Khazars to arrive at the agreed-upon meeting place, and the cowardice of the Byzantine cataphracts who were lagging far behind the main body (Leitrius being delayed four months behind Basil’s troops due to mustering difficulties).
The
Romans thus advanced through hostile territory and were forced to forage for
supplies wherever they could find them. This caused great hostility amongst an
already hostile land – and not a word issued forth from
So
large was the Roman army, however, that no one dared raise a hand against them.
In this way, Basil reached
Faced
with 116,000 Buyid troops Basil laughed, stunned at their stupidity. He did,
briefly, wish that Leitrius’ cataphracts had ever caught up with him – but the
Byzantine general had taken sick in
Basil
forced a crossing of the
Back
on the
Basil resolved Alik’s immediate problems by marching north into Arbiliq after being reinforced (finally) by Stefanicus’ heavy horse. The Roman army was now truly isolated, however, and ravaged most of the province to provide supplies. Basil and Stefanicus then invaded Syrian-held Carhae (seeking the shortest route to friendly territory) while Alik and his army closed up behind them, restoring order in Arbiliq.
Between them the Roman armies now numbered 290,000 men – tired, hungry, facing enemies on every side. Against them the Syrians had fielded 93,000 horse – much of it light lancers. But Selahadine was a general of the age, and he showed no fear. Instead his cavalry swirled around the fringes of the massive Roman host (much of which was heavy infanty), attacking and withdrawing, nipping at their heels… and as Basil and Stefanicus advanced, they found the land bare before them – wells poisoned or filled with sand, nothing but carrion to eat.
At
Jozera Selahadine suddenly attacked the right wing of the Roman force
while Azeddin’s horse-archers were raising an enormous dust cloud some miles
away to the left. Basil’s heavy infantry took the brunt of the attack and
shattered. Stefanicus panicked, seeing the Romans flee past his cataphracts and
fled the field. With the right collapsing, Basil turned the van and was
attacked while in motion by Azeddin’s wing. Luckily for the Romans, the Syrian
general was almost immediately wounded and withdrew. Basil was able to rally his
men and punch out to the north. Three months later, his battered force reached
Though complete disaster had been averted, Basil’s far-flung campaign had left the Asian provinces of his kingdom undefended – and while he had been away, Syrian and Cappadocian raiders had ravaged the provinces of Vaspurakan, Psidia, Galatia, Cilicia, Isauria, Lydia and Phrygia.
Theophanos Konstantinos, Emperor of the
Diplomacy No effect
Theophanos
bought peace with the rebels across the Bosphorus by selling them Ion’s
daughter Thea and 49,000 cataphracts for Basil’s ill-starred campaign into
Olga, Boyaress of
Diplomacy None
A
national campaign to convince the nobility in Goryn, Rivne,
Dansk I, King of
Diplomacy No effect
Not much happened. Two
leaders died due to hard drinking and pining for the battlefield.
Jaak Viikberg, Duke of
Diplomacy None
A
quiet time for the Estonians, who polished their shiny ships, and built roads and
universities. There was happiness
across the land for the birth of the Czar’s 4th daughter.
Kurnik Govner, Duke of
Diplomacy None
Efforts
by the Duke to construct a grand new fleet fell afoul of the simple matter that
the shipyards in
A peculiar series of accidents cut a wide swath through the Ducal ranks – Goldbull, governor of Carinthia, fell from his horse; Dirken, mayor of Munich, slipped on an icy patch outside a beer-hall – and Sumava XV died in his sleep, leading to a new round of appointments by the Duke.
Govner
also exercised his Christian duty by dispatching that new fleet, and the
existing forces at
Cardinal
de Morra, dispatched by the Holy See to deal with the advent of the Adepts in
Further
south, Rainalducci (another Papal emissary) failed entirely to dislodge the
Adepts at large in
Lucius IV, Bishop of
Diplomacy See below...
A
new Church was founded in chilly
And
then the ref decided to really give the Pope something to do. To whit, a
heresy! The Adepts of the Free Spirit, were active in
1)
Regions/Cities experiencing Adept activity will be marked on the map with a red
cross. Papal holdings in those
regions and cities will garner income at one level less than their normal
one. Cathedrals will generate
income as if they were Monasteries; Monasteries as Abbeys; Abbeys as Churches;
and Churches won’t give squat. The
control web will be intact and the actual holding will not be affected (see below for an important exception to
this) they will just generate income at the lower level. The Holy City of Rome will never have
Adept activity and therefore, will be unaffected.
2)
Papal actions (and secular actions in support of the Papacy) in areas or cities
affected by heresy will have a sharply decreased chance of success. It’s hard to raise money to build that
new monastery when some gits are screaming that you’re the Whore of Babylon and
the new structure is just another sign of the Mark of the Beast.
3)
The heresy will spread on its own accord at an irregular rate. Some turns it will spread one
region/city in all directions, some turns it won’t spread at all. All-non RC regions will be unaffected by
any of this.
4)
Each city or region where the adepts are active will have a secret Charisma
value that will be determined anew every time a leader attempts to suppress it. To attempt to suppress the Adepts in a
given region or city a Papal leader
must attempt an opposed CHA check (using the Preach action) against the CHA
value of the Adept infested region or city. If the leader gets a higher success
effect than the region/city, the heresy in that place is successfully suppressed
(N.B. it can return however). If
the leader gains a critical success against the Adepts, the heresy has been
decisively crushed in that region or city and it will not recur there except
under very rare circumstances. In
the event of a tie, there is no effect.
If the Adept gains a higher success effect than the leader, the heresy
either spreads or gains a bonus against all subsequent attempts to suppress it,
(depending on where it is). If the
Adepts get a critical success, the heresy spreads two regions instead of one
(and in this case a region or city that was decisively suppressed can be
re-infested).
5)
In most cases, secular leaders can also attempt to rid a given area of the
adepts in the same way as Papal leaders.
However (and read this well), if the Adepts get a critical success in the
CHA check, the local heresy then explodes into a revolt against the secular and
Papal authority, all church holdings in the region or city are destroyed, the
ref generates a player position for the rebels and you all have a major
headache on your hands as new religion is born.
Heeding
the call of his faithful, the pontiff also dispatched Cardinal Pantel‚on with a
small Papal fleet to harry the Saracens in
Valdemar IV, Emperor of
Diplomacy None
Unwilling
to garrison worthless desert, the Emperor ordered Ad’Diffah and Lybian
abandoned. His generals in
Valdemar, though still quite young, did his manly work begetting – but was rewarded only with daughters. “My sons, where are my sons?” He lamented, ignoring the one boy already born to him.
In
the east, Titus Minimus – newly dispatched to command the defenses of
Antoinne I, King of the Franks
Diplomacy None
Le Fran‡ais s'est assis sur leurs piles ‚normes d'or et n'a fait
rien. And, Chevalier Etienne died. Tienne, Etienne.
The
rise to prominence of the Adepts led to an immediate response by the Church –
no less than Il Papa Honorius III betook himself to the French countryside,
accompanied by only a few clerks and guardsmen, to preach against the heresy of
the Adepts and to show (by his own, perhaps foolish, example) that the Church
had not lost touch with the common people. This humility was well received in
Vermandois, where the locals then drove out the Adepts. The reception in
“Perhaps,” he thought as the carriage rattled away from the city gates, “I should have brought all those guardsmen after all…”
Cardinal
Allucingolli found and equally cold reception in
Marco Aroca II, King of
Diplomacy None
King
Marco, concerned with his own mortality, proclaimed his young son Rodrigo heir
and elevated the boy to the principate. Missionaries were dispatched to Morroco
(where they found a bit of a foothold due to the general chaos of the war) and
the
Sebbi Cearlson, King of the Angles and Saxons
Diplomacy: None
Lord
Woald died at the somewhat young age of 32. The news was sad, but somewhat lost
amidst the many public improvements
taking place around the cities of the kingdom. There was a spate of road building,
improvement of sewers, making of distilleries, and the building of pretty shops
in
Erik IV, King of the Swedes
Diplomacy None
Swedish
development of the north and in the Baltic continued. Gotland was settled to a (1/7) and a new
port,
Erik Ottarson, King of the Norse, Dragon King of the Isles
Diplomacy None
Norse
colonization in the west continued apace.
Naskapi was put under cultivation and Malecite colonized to a
(1/9). An expedition to explore the
Florida Straits was unsuccessful, although a small force was dropped off in
Lucayo and the
Umhad ibn Aslar, Emir of Morroco
Diplomacy None
The emir took steps to ensure the succession – Aaraez Savash was wed to princess Sishin, becoming an emir-ite. Prince Zafar (the emir’s uncle) was made his heir, and was then twice-blessed with a son of his own. Many generals were dispatched to patrol the coastline, as Umhad expected a fresh Christian invasion. His fears would be realized, first by assassination attempts on his own life, and that of General Mahmut, and then by a veritable flood of Catholic missionaries into Morroco. As fast as they could be hunted down and killed, more kept coming… like rats in the granary.
Fayed ibn Mutadi, Fatamid Caliph of Egypt
Diplomacy None
In the midst of the war, the Caliph Muhtadi fell ill during the summer of 1267 and then died of some ague which paralyzed his limbs and stopped his breathing. His son, Fayed, then became Caliph without opposition – as he was well loved and well spoken and promised to be (if not wise) then an astute ruler.
Merchants crossing the great sand sea brought news that the isolated inhabitants of Siwa oasis had begun to convert to Catholicism.
vs
|
March 1266 |
Prince Anwar ibn Abdul, the bashar of the Egyptian armies on |
|
April |
Syrian fleet under Durhaz Gemayl leaves A
Catholic uprising in |
|
May |
The wounded Fatamid general Anwar ibn Abdul (convalescing
in a villa outside of Bohemian invasion fleet under Admiral Sumava sorties from Syrian
fleet enters the Fatamid
main fleet under Hamrid al’Bashir sweeps out into the Cardinal
Panteleon’s Italian corsairs attack the coast of The
Italian army in Africa, commanded by Duke Severis, having marched out of
Lybia crosses through Severis’
men were hardened to the desert by now, however, and crushed the local
tribesmen. They then proceeded to loot everything they could find to loot,
and to slaughter the inhabitants of the villages. |
|
June |
Sumava’s Bohemian invasion fleet – seeking to reach Reggio
on the Calabrian coast – sails directly into the Syrian patrolled waters of
the The
northern Bohemian fleet, commanded by Arnim, finishes muster at The
Fatamid army on Pantaleon’s
Italian corsairs raided Kabilya and looted several mosques before
withdrawing in the face of the local garrison. Severis’
Italian knights still slaughtering peasants in Gefara. |
|
July |
Arnim’s Bohemians sail down the Pantaleon’s
corsairs attempt to raid the coast of In
Severis’
Italian knights still slaughtering peasants in Gefara. In
|
|
August |
Arnim’s Bohemians brave the Claudia
Drusilla and her Italian halberdiers finally tramp back into Severis’
Italian knights still slaughtering peasants in Gefara. |
|
September |
Armim’s Bohemians pass through the The
Fatamid main army crosses Severis’
Italian knights still slaughtering peasants in Gefara. A
force of Spanish caravels raids the coast of |
|
October |
Arnim’s Bohemians transit the Straits of Gibraltar. |
|
March 1267 |
Arnim’s Bohemians enter Gades. The
Spaniard raiders attack Arguin, but fall afoul of the local garrison who
surprises them while they are putting ashore (by accident, really) and in the
fight on the beach, Captain Guadalcazar is killed. His squadron then flees
north. |
|
April |
Arnim’s Bohemians sail into the Pantaleon’s Italian corsairs attempt to slip through the Severis’
Italian knights still slaughtering peasants in Gefara. |
|
May |
The Bohemian Northern Fleet, under Arnim, raids the coast
of Severis’
Italian knights still slaughtering peasants in Gefara. Guadalcazar’s
Spanish raiders return to Andalusia, carrying his body with them (packed in
salt) which is then interred in the cathedral at |
|
June |
The Bohemian Northern Fleet, under Arnim, raids the coast
of The
Fatamid main army under Muhammad al’Muhammad attacks the Italian defenses of 280,000
Egyptians stormed the Italian defenses, attacking along the entire length of
the Eastern Wall in wave after wave of troops. Drusilla’s 140,000 veterans
answered with a great shout of “Deus Vult!” and rained arrows, burning oil
and massive stones onto the Saracens. Unfortunately the frontal assault had
been a feint. While the Italians were engaged in repelling the attacks, the
Fatamid cameleers had swung far south into the desert and then swept in
behind the Europeans. Drusilla
was forced to abandon the Wall and fall back in a fighting retreat to Severis’
Italian knights still slaughtering peasants in Gefara. |
|
July |
The Bohemian Northern Fleet, under Arnim, raids the coast
of Severis’
Italian knights still slaughtering peasants in Gefara. Muhammad
al Muhammad’s Fatamids besiege |
|
August |
The Bohemian Northern Fleet, under Arnim, raids the coast
of Back
at the straits of Naso
and Govner’s armies mass 175,000 veteran knights, men-at-arms and
well-drilled levies… still, they must land on a hostile shore and fight their
way inland through Moslem fortifications… the intial attack was repulsed with
moderate casualties. Naso, fearing he would be trapped between the staunch
Moslem defenses and the strait when the Syrian fleet returned broke off the
attack. Thanks to the nimble seamanship of Countess Govner and the German
fleet the Christians were able to withdraw across the strait in good order. Severis’
Italian knights still slaughtering peasants in Gefara. The
Fatamid general Fawad begins marching towards Gefara, having learned of a
Christian army on the loose in that land. |
|
September |
Severis’ Italian butchers suddenly find themselves cut of
in desolated Gefara and an enormous Fatamid army is fast approaching… his
only chance (and a slim one at that) is to flee west along the Maghreb
highway to the Straits of Gibraltar, where an Italian garrison holds the Rock
on the far shore. With all haste the Italians ride west into |
|
October |
Fawad’s Fatamids reach Gefara – find the land desolate and
in ruins with Severis’ army fled – and rest. |
|
March 1268 |
Too cold to fight. |
|
April |
Severis’ Italians continue west through Kabilya. So far they have not encountered
any Maghrebi armies – garrisons yes, which they have avoided, and the
Saracens have avoided them. In
Gefara, Fawad decides to turn back
to |
|
May |
Severis’ Italians ride into |
|
June |
Severis’ Italians now (much reduced) attempted to circle
around the pursuing Maghrebi by taking to the hills – still trying to work
their way west. Aaraez Bahis brought
them to battle again, however, on the border of Kabilya. The Christian
knights (now only the most battle-hardened core remained) retreated into a
narrow defile and there made their stand. Three times the Maghrebi lancers
stormed down the wadi against the
Italians. Three times they fell back, leaving their dead heaped against the
Christian line. On the third attack, Prince Zafar was killed and the Moslems
fell into disarray. At
that moment, Severis and his knights charged, crashing into the disordered
Saracens and breaking through their ranks. Leaving confusion in their wake,
the Christians escaped into the countryside again. |
|
July |
Severis’ Italians, now disguised as Arabs, rode west into |
|
August |
Bahis’ Maghrebi pursued Severis into Cheliff, but failed
to intercept the Italians. |
|
September |
Severis and his men managed to slip past the Maghrebi
patrols into Zirid where they are successful in leaving a false trail south
into the high |
|
October |
Everyone went home for the harvest. |
|
March 1269 |
Severis’ African Legion strikes boldly out of the
mountainous border with Zird, dashing across Morroco to reach the ferry at the Gates of Hercules. They ride
hard, making one last throw of the dice, hoping to reach Christian Spain and
safety… but Bahis has finally caught up to them, and the Maghrebi general
knows there is only one way home for the infidels… A
desperate battle erupts at Tangiers as the Italians try and fight
their way through to the crossing. Severis has taken the measure of his
enemy, however, and his knights just charge pell-mell into the midst of the
Maghrebi lancers. They do not even attempt to fight, just crash through… the
Moslems swirl away, attempting to dart in behind the heavily armored
Europeans – but Severis’ men are already at the docks[3].
The ferries had been withdrawn from passage in the strait years before, and
now many are seized. Before Bahis can bring his army to bear, Severis and his
men had escaped. |
|
April |
The African Legion lands in |
|
May |
Nada |
|
June |
Nada |
|
July |
Nada |
|
August |
Nada |
|
September |
Nada |
|
October |
Nada |
|
March 1270 |
Admiral Sumava suffers a heart-attack and dies. Princess
Joanne assumes direct command of the Bohemian army in |
|
April |
Nada |
|
May |
Nada |
|
June |
Nada |
|
July |
Nada |
|
August |
Nada |
|
September |
Nada |
|
October |
Nada |
|
|
|
Kwazi III, Lord of Kumbi-Saleh
Diplomacy Tamarasset Oasis (nt)
Deciding that a land trade
route with the Maghreb was preferable to a Sea route, Kwazi ordered 34,000
troops into
Tseke, King of
Diplomacy Whydah,
in
Yet another port, Baluba,
was built, this one in
Ju I, King of Kanem and
Diplomacy None
A new road link was built
between
Shaka II, Chief of the Nyasa
Diplomacy Luba
(f)
Shaka died in mid 1267 and was succeeded without incident. Maniamba, Ibo and Zoma all grew in size (to 3, 5, and 5 respectively).
Shaka III, King of Rozwi, Lord of
Diplomacy None
A spate of lion attacks troubled the Lords of Zimbabwe; carrying off old Queen Nande brought great peace to Shaka’s palace and even the gruesome deaths of lords Umbutu and Munika were only cause for great feasting.
Shaka II, King of
Diplomacy Betisimarsaka
(nt)
Port
Zulu grew to a size 5 port while the capital,
Pox
Reminder:
You CAN
repopulate regions at the reduced 10nfp/10gps per level. The reduced rate ONLY applies to
repopulating old levels. New levels
(for those regions hit by pox before they had reached their full colonization
potential have to be colonized at the regular rate. Cities destroyed by the pox must be
rebuilt as new cities.
Aak'wtaatseen, Chief of the Tlingit, Lord of the Far North.
Diplomacy None
The Tlingit hunted in the arboreal forests, fished in the rich, cold waters and sang the songs of their fathers. Old Ka Seen passed away in his sleep, beneath a blanket of cave-bear fur – and despite his very young age, his son Aak'wtaatseen was acclaimed as the chief of the Northern People.
Obsidian Coyote V, Ruler of
Diplomacy None
A
new road link was built between Panamint and Gosiute and a
Desert Fox, Chief of the Anasazi, Lord of the
Diplomacy None
Desert Wind died in 1268. All of the king’s lieutenants also perished at one point or another during the turn. Despite this, things continued to hum right along with the rebuilding and so on and so forth and etc, etc.
Food
was sent to the
Kahailo, the Great Beaver of the Snake
Diplomacy None
A
quiet turn among the
Red Bird, Great Sun of the
Diplomacy None
Things
were pretty quiet here as well, although the
Quatayilla II, Grand Hegemon of the Maya
Diplomacy None
Desiring
to increase his trade revenues, Quatayilla ordered construction to begin on a
great canal linking
Jiqamo, Emperor of the Incas
Diplomacy None
It was a good five years for the harvest, but a very bad time to be a leader of the mighty Incan Empire. Both King Ataxalpa and his son Jaqyll, died of a mysterious illness within days of each other. Other leaders soon followed suit: Melixa, of some kind of chocolatl overdose, and Qit and Syxalta, of an embarrassing lovers quarrel.
Amid so many noble deaths, the resettlement of Huanco, Moche, Moquequa, Nazca and Wairajikira went almost unnoticed by the common people. All attention was upon the postal runner’s flag, as every town, village and city awaited the latest qipu carrying news from the capital… was it a conspiracy, a new plague, the wrath of the sun god?
General Zit – one of the few remaining commanders within the Empire – believed conspiracy, and all signs and portents pointed towards auqui Jiqamo, the foremost of the royals to survive this latest calamity. Zit dispatched a wing of eagle knights to arrest the prince, but those stalwarts – once they had come upon the noble son of Ataxalpa and beheld his calm certainty – refused to lay hands upon him. Indeed, Jiqamo bestowed presents and excellent words upon them, and won them to his side as friends.
Now
Zit and his adherents were defeated, and many of their supporters driven into exile. Jiqamo secure the royal precincts, took his brother Jaqyll’s daughter Anta-Anclla as his wife and assumed the throne. This was not enough to assuage his enemies, however, for the exiled princes found refuge with the clans and principalities of their wives – leading to the secession of Ataura (and Huari), Chimu (and Pusharo), Choco (but not Paykikin), Huanco (but not Cuatico), Moquequa (and Arequipa), Nazca (but not Ica), and Pucara (but not Abancay).
Trunka, King of Shokleng
Diplomacy None
No one knew what happened, but we’re pretty sure something did.
Peltuish, Emperor of the Mapuche
Diplomacy None
Chono, Huilliche, and Neuquen were re-settled to (1/#) each.
[1] We ran this battle three times. The first two times the Romans were annihilated in disasters of Carrhae-like proportions, but we felt sorry for Ben since all of his allies had abandoned him in some way and his bold plan wound up being absolutely the worst thing he could have done. So finally we took out all of the distance/isolation modifiers and just let the two armies fight it straight up.
[2] Those who wish to read up on the Adepts
can start with Norman Cohn’s The Pursuit
of the Millennium which was the first major work to examine the group in
any detail.
[3] Severis threw a Critical Success on this
battle roll. The previous times, he was just thumping the