Lords
of the Earth
CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR
(OLD WORLD)
The Age of the Crusades
Turn
36
1176 ~ 1180 Anno Domini
537 ~ 541 in the year of the Hegira
Announcements and items of note
General Stuff: I’m
going to start charging from Turn 37. What I’ll do is set up a Paypal account and we can go from there.
Version 6: Lords
24 uses version 6 of the basic rules
The Map: Remember,
I’ve initially cut the map back to just Western Europe, Africa and Central Asia. So if you’re up for it then drop me an email at (lords24gm@throneworld.com) and I’ll set you
up. Old players of the open nations get first choice.
Current Active Non-Player Nations (ANPN) – these are
the only open player positions:
The
Hungarian Eflak Tribes – a horde that’s come out as
the dominant one in Eastern Europe
Ar Rassid Imamat as Sa'Na – a small trading nation in Arabia
The
Duchy of Poland
– Eastern Europeans
Heyrenik'un
Armeniam – the most eastern of all Christian kingdoms
The
Varangian Rus of Kiev – more Eastern
Europeans
The
Wadai Bedouin – a sub-Saharan horde
The
Kingdom of Spain
– in Spain…
Mercenaries: I’ve
added these into the fax this turn
Tithes and Tribute: I think these are automatically updated by the stats program, so no
need to declare them in your orders.
Non-Player Nations: Non-Player Nations are nations which can be influenced
by player nations. The primary method of doing this is through conducting DP
(Diplomacy) actions on them. All the normal levels of control are applicable to
NPNs. Their RV is the sum of all their Friendly and
Homeland Regions and Cities. There is an
extra level of control over Allied and that is Free State. A Free State is the same a
fully player controlled nation but one where you do not want to merge your
nation with the NPN. Feudal Allied, Allied and Free State NPN’s
under your control provide leaders and armies to do your bidding; all others do
not. Also, when an NPN king dies, a roll will be made to see if the level of
control degrades. Note: It is hard to increase the status of NPN nations. Don't
be surprised if your diplomacy attempts don't succeed rapidly. It is
recommended that you spend lots of gold, time, and intel (Support Diplomacy operations) when doing
Diplomacy on NPNs.
Control
|
Tribute
|
You
get...
|
You
can...
|
Cost to
you
|
Claim
|
0%
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
Non-paying
Tributary
|
0%
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
Feudal Ally
|
0%
|
--
|
Use the NPNs army as a Feudal Ally
|
--
|
Tributary
|
Up to 25%
|
Gold
|
--
|
--
|
Economic Ally
|
Up to 50%
|
Gold
|
--
|
--
|
Allied
|
Up to 50%
|
Gold, stat
sheet
|
Issue orders to
leaders
|
Normal turn
cost
|
Free State
|
Up to 75%
|
Gold, stat
sheet
|
Build and
invest with their GP and NFP, issue orders to their leaders.
|
Normal turn
cost
|
Incorporated
|
100%
|
Regions and
armies are added to your stat sheet
|
NPN becomes
part of your nation
|
N/A
|
Active NPNs:
When a non-player nation becomes
active, either through player activity or fate then it will undergo its own
agenda. This usually means expanding its borders by the best means at its
disposal, be it diplomacy or conquest.
Active NPNs will
not attack or attempt to lure away regions of a nation with a greater MSI. They
will attempt to gain regions of the same language and religion first before
looking further afield.
If there are no candidate regions or their
imperial size is such that they are inflicted with taxation penalties, they
will concentrate on improving their internal affairs.
Active NPNs are now
available for a player position.
A list of NPNs will
be included in the MSI table as well as a listing in the newsfax
as to who has any influence in them or their activation status.
The Pope - The Pope is currently run by the Western Roman Empire – see the rules below if you want to
control his eminence
Control of the Papacy: In Lords 24 we will not always have a player Pope (or
Caliph etc for that matter) and the following rules are used to determine which
player faction controls the Pope’s actions. This can change anytime due to the
make up of the votes. If the Papacy becomes an active NPN it will pursue its
own goals, independent of the controlling faction. Also, if it becomes an
Active NPN it will be subject to the Active NPN rules and become available for
a Player.
As long as there is a non-player Pope the
following rules are in effect:
- Each Catholic Nation may declare their support for a
faction or none at the end of
each turn.
- Each nation is allotted a number of votes and the
faction that has the highest number of votes will control the Papacy.
Votes are allocated as follows:
- Each Catholic Nation: 1 vote
- Each Catholic Religious Order: 1
vote
- Whoever controls the city of Rome: 3 votes
- Whoever controls the city of Constantinople: 1 vote
(since the patriarchate of Const. is now part of the Roman Church)
- Whoever controls the city of Thessaloniki: 1 vote (since the patriarchate of Thessaly is now part of the Roman Church)
- For each Cathedral status within
regions or cities controlled by a nation: 1/2 (one-half) a vote
- Whoever is crowned Holy Roman
Emperor: 1 vote (in addition to the national vote)
Each turn, each Nation must
include on their orders how they will cast their vote. Nations or Orders may
abstain from voting (and will, if they do not indicate their vote). In the
unlikely event of a tie, no faction will control the Pope.
The controlling faction must
appoint a player as spokesman for the upcoming turn. That player will receive
the Papacy stat sheet and can issues orders for the Pope in the following turn.
They will however be charged the normal turn fee.
Other campaign 24 Old World specific
rules...Are listed on the website, under "Rules”. I recommend
looking at them, since although the L24 specific rules and clarifications are
not listed on this newsfax, they all still remain in
force and "not seeing them on the newsfax"
is not an acceptable reason for not knowing about them.
How to make your GM
happy (PLEASE READ! REALLY!):
Please send any and all Lords24 correspondence to lords24gm@throneworld.com or stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk .
LORDS 24 WEB RESOURCES
The Lords Twenty-Four homepage is at:
http://lords.throneworld.com/lote24/index.html
All of the on-line resources, including order forms, mailing lists and
web-sites for Lords of the Earth are summarized on this page:
http://lords.throneworld.com/?page_id=2
You can subscribe to the Lords 24 mailing list by pointing your web-browser
at:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/lote24
…and following the instructions on that page.
VARIOUS FEES AND LEVIES
At the moment the turns are free….
We are using the latest v6.3.5 of the basic rule book that can be found here
http://lords.throneworld.com/players/loterule/rules.html
Turn
37 Orders due by: February 16th 2008
Without further ado, the news for these years in Lords 24 history...
EASTERN EUROPE
Mercenaries
|
Troops:
|
12c,2hec,11xc,1hei,18i,6xi,2t,5w
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c6, s5, w3
|
Duchy of Poland
(Roman Catholic Barbarian Non-Player Nation)
Ziemowit Curlybeard,
Duke of the Poles
Ziemowit continued to expand his borders with
Lausatia, Bialoweza and Volhynia all pledging non-paying tribute. His expansion
into Bochnia was curtailed when the Eflak took those lands by force.
The Hungarian Eflak Tribes
(Asiatic Pagan Nomadic Non-Player Nation)
Khan of the Eflak Tribes
The Eflak’s move north and take the regions of Bochnia, Galich and Goryn. The people of Bochnia were
enslaved and replaced by the Khan’s own while Galich
and Goryn suffered the same fate under the Bulgari. Ludgorie pledged
non-paying tribute to the Khan while Dobruja was
settled. A heavy blow to the khan came from the north when he met the forces of
Thakir the Uighur near the border town of Edirne (see the
Uighurs).
The Rum Khanate of Turkiye
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Alp Arslan, Khan of the Turkiye
Alp Arlsan
raised six-hundred heavy cavalry and his first two elephant companies in Bithnia. ten light transports were
created in the shipyards of Bursa.
More money and effort was poured into the road between Bithnia
to Phrygia. Aware of his own mortality, Alp Arslan raised his brother Mustafa to be his heir and
another brother is appointed to the court, taking the name of his more
illustrious brother as homage. Lucius remains in Apamea and persuades the city to join the Khanate shortly
before his death. Bishop Asculias took command of the
transports raised in Bursa and set out to
evacuate Pausanias from Sicily.
He manages to remove one thousand cavalry from the island before the Fatamid invasion – Pausanias then wisely pulled away from
the shore and watched the Egyptians landing from a distance.
The Varangian Rus of Kiev
(Eastern Orthodox Civilized Non-Player Nation)
King of the Rus
The Rus move out into Yaroslav,
Rzhev, Murom
and Suvar, claiming tribute in name only from these
lands.
The Western Roman Empire
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Theodotus, Emperor of the West Romans
Christophorus’s grand project, the royal church of
the imperial family, was completed shortly before his death; the mad emperor
was finally at peace. Theodotus moved through to
Thessaly to pick up the six-thousand horse left there last cycle before moving
onto Macedonia
where he was greeted by Peter the Bulgarian. Theodutus
then took command of Peter’s two-thousand horse, wary
of any threat to the Empire’s lands. The princess Eudokia
remained in the capital Ochridia to oversee the
Empire’s finances. Eutychos of Ochridia
travelled to Thessaly to take command of five
companies of engineers and then returned to the capital to make use of their
skills in protecting the city. A large gift was received from the Pope.
The Western Uighur Khanate
(Asiatic Pagan Nomadic Open Empire)
Khagan Grumash
Thakir dismantled the walls of Praha
and forced the lazy Czech garrison of two-hundred men into active service.
Realising that settling in the lands of Bohemia
was a bad idea he gathered the tribal councils together and outlined his plans
for the Uighurs. The Khanate would once again head for the steppe but this time
their Czech and German vassals would come with them. The people of Franconia, Moravia and
the city of Praha
would forgo their sedentary life and take to the wagons under the duress of the
Khanates sizeable army. The tribes settled in Bohemia,
Austria and Slovakia would
lead the way even though they were outnumbered by the westerners. The Khan
moved down through the Magyar and Romani lands where their khans offered
tribute, moving away from the Eflaks. The Uighurs
then travelled through Translyvania, Ialomita and across the Danube
to Dobruja. Near the border with Thrace was a small town of Edirne where the Khan of the Eflaks had gathered his forces of Magyars, Bulgars and Cossaks. Refusing to
give ground to the Uighurs, the Eflak force of 44,000
men met the 60,000 commanded by Thakir. Fate was on Thakir’s side when the Bulgar
wing was turned and the Eflak’s fled. Many were cut
down in the ensuing pursuit as the Eflak pulled back
to Ialomita; a mere four thousand horse surviving the
battle with the losses on the Uighur side being only four thousand or so.
Sadly, Thakir was mortally wounded and failed to survive
the day to see victory become his. Many thought that the Grumash
would not be the man that Thakir was, living in his
shadow for so long, but despite his weakness he pulled the victorious Uighurs
together and pushed onto their goal of Thrace. Thrace was heavily fortified with
no less than thirty strategically placed forts and the Byzantine army of thirty
thousand men on standby for just such an event. Again fate was on Grumash’s side as the Byzantine ruler, Theodore, was
indecisive and foolish. He committed his best cavalry to the vanguard, only to
see them cut down by the Uighur elite. The Uighurs then sliced through the
Byzantine defences and slaughtered their army. Theodore himself was grievously
wounded and managed to barely pull back to Constantinople with the remnant of
his army, numbering six thousand heavy cavalry; the Uighurs lost a mere sixteen
hundred light horse in the pursuit. Thrace was placed under the
protection of Grumash.
THE
MIDDLE EAST
Mercenaries
|
Troops:
|
5c,3xc,7i,2xi,3t,3w
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c6, s5, w3
|
Heyrenik'un Armeniam
(Roman Catholic Barbarian Non-Player Nation)
Hieriea Amirspala
With the troubled Oriental Roman Empire to the west, the Armenians looked
east and south for new lands. Azerbijan, Arbiliq and Kurdistan were forcibly taken along with the
city of Tabriz.
The Buwayid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sufjan ibn Awud
Awud raised two thousand horse
in Mesopotamia as well as greatly improving the sanitation of Mosul. A number of ageing members of the
royal family were struck down at a feast to celebrate Prince Ayub’s introduction to court including Salena,
Nedra Awud’s wife and Salena’s daughter Yasmin. Awud took control of the Sultanates army but passed away
through old age shortly afterwards. Sufjan took
control of the army from his dying father and man aged to sire a son. Omar
travelled to Cilicia and gained an alliance
with the region, albeit in tribute only. Osman was
killed on the way to Adadan by bandits and so the
Sultans plans for the region were unfulfilled. Hannad
and Abdul-Nur concentrated on Edessa and persuaded Qumri
to provide greater support for the Sultan in time of need.
NORTH AFRICA
Mercenaries
|
Troops:
|
3c,10xc,10i,5t,5w
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c6, s5, w3
|
Empire of Egypt
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Badr II
Badr II travelled to Damascus with the entire royal family and Mankides al Greki. His intention
was to bring the Emirate into closer ties with the Fatamids
dynasty. The hand of Nefarra, Maryam
and Fatema were offered in marriage as well as the
chance of brides for himself and his sons Badr, Zahid, Jabril and Zal. Fatema, a spinster for
sixty-two years took poison rather than submit herself to such an ordeal - even
if the marriage was supposed to be political. Shul'tan
also accompanied the Sultan but suffered terribly on the journey north, passing
away this cycle. Badr III took control of the
Sultanate in case anything should happen to his ageing father and managed to
sire a son. Roads were built between Thebes and Dongola and onto Axum. The
word of the prophet was heard throughout the Sultanate and
even further a field in the Rum Khanate as many were led to doubt the
teachings of Rome.
In far Axum, Assam oversaw the building of the
new road, making sure that the rebellious natives did not stir. Zahid took command of the royal navy of sixty warships,
accompanied by forty transports. A marine force of four thousand men was added
to provide support. Zahid then set out for Sicily, landing on the
beaches with his invasion force. He quickly pushed aside the local defences and
suffered a minimal loss of twelve hundred men.
The Cypriot Pirates
(Sunni Islam Seafaring Religious Order)
Jamis,
Diplomacy: None
Content to spend their time at ease.
WESTERN EUROPE
Mercenaries
|
Troops:
|
38c,4ec,17hc,7hec,5ei,3hei,31hi,33i,2s,3ht,2t,19w
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c5, s4, w4
|
Das Deutches Konigsreich
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Frederick Barborossa, Holy Roman Emperor
The woods of Meissen were cleared and preparations
for the transfer of the regions to the Uighurs was underway when Thakir moved his nation south. More grain was shipped to
Orkney in exchange for gold. Frederick himself oversaw the defence of the
Empire from Swabia, aided by Bruno. Muttaer Kramer returned from Franconia
empty handed after the Uighurs had forcibly moved the population south with his
tribe. A large sum of gold was returned to the Jewish bankers. Brankoening travelled north to Holstein
and managed to gain a grudging acceptance of the Empires claim to the region.
Jarldom of Orkeneyjar
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Bjorn Torvaldson, Jarl of Orkney
Large amounts of grain flowed into Kirkval from France
and Germany.
The walls of Kirkval were extended and improved along
with the fortifications in the Hebrides. Some
improvements were made to the streets of Armagh and regions of Ulster and
Strathclyde. Any information on the whereabouts of Yngvarr,
the rebellious prince, were beaten and cajoled out of his supporters at court.
It seems he's escaped into Africa. Bjorn Torvaldson avoided the Icelandic patrols and under a flag
of peace entered Armagh. Envoys were sent to
the Icelandic king to talk to Bjorn in Armagh
and a great banquet was made in their honour. The ageing Bjorn stumbled from
his seat when the Icelandic envoys arrived - "Let out two Nordic peoples
end this fratricidal
raiding, and learn to live together, before our common enemy, the
Saxon wolves, devour us separately" - he boomed out to the visitors. Many
months of negotiations followed and eventually a treaty was sealed with the
wedding of Wulfgar to an Icelandic princess. Lar Svenson was invested as the
feudal lord of Armagh as reward for his
imprisonment and given four hundred spears as his personal levy. He died before
the cycles end. Harald and the charming Feric also attended the negotiations and helped secure the
treaty - Iceland
would no longer be at war with Orkney and would in fact provide Bjorn with gold
to pursue his goals in accordance with the alliance between the two island
nations.
Kingdom of Svear
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Erik Gustafson, King of the Svear
Erik commissioned four new trading ships to be put to use on the most
lucrative trade routes as well as opening trade with the Icelanders.. The road from Kopparberg to Uppsala was completed. Erik travelled to Segervik and persuaded the city to fully join the Kingdom
before taking control of the army again in case of any invasion. Stalhandske travelled to Hordavil
with armfuls of gold and the promise to complete the post road to Kopparberg
but even with the help of Engelbrekt, his arguments
fell on deaf Norwegian ears. Engelbrekt fell foul of
the more dodgy parts of old Hordavil and was found
floating in the dock one morning. Olaf returns to Uppsala after meeting Karl at Kopparberg and
handing over the two thousand spears to him so he could travel up to Jamtland.
Norman Kingdom
of France
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Louis VI, King of France
Much gold was sent from Orkneyjar in return for
grain and supplies. The sanitation of Cherbourg
preyed on Louis’s mind and was greatly improved. The royal road was completed
between Cherbourg and Paris. The cleanliness of Cherbourg sorted, Louis settled down to
married wife and a plenitude of children were born,
providing him with many heirs to his kingdom. Prince Fulbert
took a wife in Chmapagne and gained the support of
the region. Poor Lionel dies in captivity in a Uighur prison. Lotulf was caught unawares by bandits in Vermandois and
killed along with the able Bishop Adhemar.
Principality of Salerno
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Ricardo Castillo, Prince of Salerno
Ricardo furnished Naples with a new garrison
of one thousand foot before moving back to Campania to oversee the Principality. He was
blessed with a son and daughter before his wife died. Miguel Urbano managed to extract tribute form the Tuscans. Salerno was also making good progress in Sicily before the Egyptians arrived. They
barely managed to escape the island before the Moslems captured them. Progress
was made in Apulia in bringing the region closer to Naples. Thanks to the Papal efforts the
breakaway kingdom of Savoy was destroyed and Savoy returned to Salernese control. Switzerland also came under Salerno’s influence when Scungili
was defeated.
Saxon Kingdom
of England
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Edward, King of England
Quiet times in the lands of England…
The Akramid Caliphate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Mehkmod, Regent to the Caliph of the Akramids
Estremadura gained a mighty fortress south of Elvas
while the orchards and fields of New Castille were
greatly improved. Lisbon
was joined to Elvas by a royal road. More converts
were found in Galacia. Neema,
daughter of Mohamar died suddenly at only
thirty-eight. Mehkmod took control of the Caliphs
army and aided by Akbar and Achmed kept a keen eye on
the Caliphate’s borders. Shalmanser brought Badajoz fully into the Caliphate while Ali Ibn Salin was only successfully
in claiming rights to Salamanca.
The feudal ally of Talavera was not needed and the region dropped to a
non-paying tributary.
The Kingdom
of Spain
(Roman Catholic Civilized Non-Player Nation)
King of Spain
Spain pushed its borders out into Leon, Galacia and Gascony in an attempt to
stop Akramid influence.
The Knights of Malta
(Roman Catholic Civilized Religious Order)
Grand Master Stephan
A large amount of gold was received
from the Pope to help support the fledgling order. Two companies of engineers
were raised in Valletta
along with four light warships. Stephan oversaw the defence of the island from Valletta while Modesitt
travelled back from Swabia. Modesitt contracted a flux on the journey across the Ionian
Sea and died shortly after arriving in Malta.
The Papal States
(Roman Catholic Civilized Religious Primacy)
Pope Victor II
The Pope dispensed largess to the
Western Romans and to the Knights of Malta before travelling north to Bohemia to spread the
word of god to the heathen Uighur. He arrived to see the Uighur leaving and the
remnants of the old Czech population coming in from the hills. The able
Cardinal Lorenzo moved to aid Salerno
in their time of needs. Unfortunately for the Savoyard’s this meant removing Scunguli from his new kingdom. Over six thousand Papal
envoys descended on the hapless rebel and despite able aid from the Duke of
Switzerland, the Savoyards were defeated and Scungili
fled with the remnants of his army. The Papal losses were around fifteen
hundred men, mainly foot but with some cavalry. While the Savoyard losses came
from the few fortresses protecting the countryside. The Duke of Switzerland
bowed to the Papal banner and pledged to aid the Pope in time of trouble.
However, on the ceding of the newly conquered lands back to Salerno, the Swiss committed to allow the
Salernese free access only. Latium
was greatly improved in the hope of better harvests in the starving Papal States.
United Isles of Iceland & Eire
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Non-Player Nation)
Sven Olafson
Despite his misgivings, Sven was
swayed by the Orkney’s offer. No longer would the two island kingdoms be
enemies but instead the Icelander’s would offer Kirkval
tribute for their protection from English aggression.
AFRICA
Mercenaries
|
Troops:
|
10i, 5c, 5s, 5w, 5t
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c4, s3, w1
|
Usama-Yoruba Onium of Ibo
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
M'Bwanza, The
Curious, King of the Ibo
The regions of Zerma,
Gurma, Niete and Kam benefited greatly from M’Bwanza’s
hand. Much wilderness was cleared and the lands put under the plow. A'Damana marries a Gagnoan princess. M'Bwanza
marries locally and has several children before his wife dies in childbirth. Gagnoa and Zaria
willing join with the kingdom. Itogo spent many a
month searching the shadows for anything untoward but came to the conclusion
that the kingdom was safe from the enemy within.
Meanwhile in deepest southern
Africa….
To the glory of Unkulunkulu,
the highest of all and the creator of all humanity, the Emperor of the Mwene-Mutapa consecrated a glorious shrine in Great
Zimbabwe. Out of Uhlanga he came with the gift of
life and it is only fitting that the Mwene-Mutapa
will spread his word to all nations.
Elsewhere…
The Mongols moved to incorporate
the Tatars, Buryats, Liao and Merkits
within the great khan’s domain. The Wadai Bedouins
moved out to the oases of Ayn Al-Ghazal, Al-Kurfan
and Yanaka-Dhinga. Gezira was enslaved and the Coptic
replaced by loyal tribesmen.