Lords of the Earth
CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR
Turn 65
1321
~ 1325 Anno Domini
683 ~ 687 in the year of the Hegira
New for T59
Paths to victory:
There are several options open to a player when an NPN has been defeated
- Take
the victory conditions (see NPN rules) available for NPNs and allow the
NPN to go its own way. This is a useful option if you do not want to
increase your imperial size or bother with the NPNs internal affairs.
- Keep
it as either Pacified or Pacified Tributary. You will not get victory
conditions but will get income from the NPNs Homeland/Friendly regions and
cities. Also, as the years from conquest marker goes up it may turn
Friendly or Tributary. Using this option treats the NPN as a super-region.
- Old
school, you will have to take the regions you want and conquer each in
turn. If the capital is taken then some of the NPNs ratings will be added
to yours if higher. The NPN will cease to exist.
Dealing with hordes:
Hordes can be dealt with a number of ways rather than just an outright battle.
These are
- Threaten
them. Hordes respond to a show of strength and may leave you alone if
confronted with enough force.
- Bribe
them. They are looking for gold and lands to settle or pillage so if you
offer them it on a plate they may well go away. They may also just take it
and attack anyway.
- Use
diplomacy. It does work and I suggest chucking in a royal princess or two.
You can also use a combination of the above. If the horde
becomes a FA or A, you can direct its attacks or its path of migration.
New for T57
Non-player rules update: I’ve updated the NPN rules to fit
better with the Lord’s system. Please check them out.
New for T56
New movement and action rules: I know that they didn’t meet with
overall approval last time around but I will be implementing the proposed
movement/action rules for T57 (see here). Any current player that
takes them up will be given a 2 turn bonus to their credits but they can
continue to use the current method for the time being. All new players will
have to use them. I’d rather stick to the standard rules but there is no way
Lords is sustainable as a long-term game (and I want 24 to be long-term) unless
there is some simplification for the GM.
The areas that cause me
the most processing grief are movement, AP calculation and garrison changes.
New for T53
Restrictions on Royal Marriages: Due to the complications arising
from these rules only K, H or P leaders can benefit from a Royal Marriage. Members
of the Royal Family that have not come into play are not considered eligible.
Also, Primate, Order and Secret Empire positions are not eligible for marriage
bonuses. These are meant to be diplomatic arrangements between sovereign
states.
New for T52
East – West Split: I’m going to try to split the
East and the West parts of the game so that I can process the orders quicker –
don’t know if or how it will work yet but lets see if it’ll happen
New for T51
No Orders: If I don’t get any orders in for a position and the
player doesn’t answer my emails then I’ll put the position back to a NPN and
put aside the players cash (if any) until they pick it or another nation up
again.
New for T50
Request Royal Marriage: Used to ask a NPN nation for a bride for one of
your Princes or a suitor for one of your little Princesses. Cost is 6AP,
Charisma based. The leader doesn’t have to be in the NPNs capital but if he
isn’t then he needs to be in your homeland/capital.
New for T49
Naval Reaction and Blockade: Naval Reactions can only occur
when there is action in a Sea Zone that the fleet is based at. The fleet has to
be based from a port and not the Sea Zone. Also, the Reaction can only occur
when your own lands or those of an ally benefiting from a Defensive Pact
marriage bonus are attacked. It also applies to any merchant fleets you operate
through the Sea Zone in the case of piracy.
Naval Blockade’s only work if your fleet is based in the same Sea Zone
as the target port and you spend all (every single one) of your APs in the
blockade. The fleet must be based from a port and not a Sea Zone.
New for T48
The use of fleets for Reaction and mitigating the effects
of Pirates: My
understanding has now changed since we GMs have had some discussion on the
list. The use of Reaction has been explained on the Wiki and Patrol is no
longer used in the Base Rules.
Reaction
Trade Route Escorts
- This
is specific to Lords 24. Units can be assigned to a trade route to act as
static convoy escort using the G type leader. Note this is not as good as
patrol as the warships assigned will only reduce the effects of piracy,
not capture or destroy the pirates themselves.
Updated NPN and Primacy rules:
Yep, been tinkering again but I feel a almost serene sense of satisfaction with
my latest offering. See what you think.
Added the ability to hire
mercenary captain when there is no mercenary company available: See the mercenary tables
New for T47
Improved cultivation at TL5: If a nation has reached the dizzy
heights of TL5 than it can benefit from improved cultivation. You can Improve a
cultivated homeland region from 2GPv to 3GPv, or any other controlled
cultivated region from 1GPv to 2GPv. This is a level one megalithic
construction.
New for T46
NPNS: I’ve tweaked the NPN and Primacy/Order rules a little to make them
fit better with the 24 game. I’ve also reduced their overall RRV to make
diplomacy easier.
Second Positions in the East: As I’ve not got a lot of players
in the East, I would be willing to allow a second position from existing
players. Let me know if you’re interested.
New for T45
New Rivers: I’ve added in some new possible rivers onto the map.
These are rivers that were once passable by light traffic (remember Cogs cannot
travel on rivers) and have now become silted up. You can dredge a stretch of
the river (along one region border edge) as a 0.5 level project.
Gripes:
Agro as conversion –
this has restrictions (see 2.11.5.3) which I will be enforcing from now on.
Rivers can only support light
ships – as far as I know Cogs cannot travel on rivers. This also includes Cogs
built for trade.
New Primates: We have two new Primate positions this turn. Jumal
Skyfather, which is an Estonian god and the Coptic Church based out of Axum.
New for T44
Minor islands and City States: I’ll be allowing minor islands (Corfu, Jerba, Wight etc) and city states to be used as
locations from T44. Just let me know the rationale behind why you want it
separate and if reasonable I’ll add it in. Once they are created as locations,
they obey all the rules of islands etc. However, their Gpv cannot go above 0.
Flooding: The last few turns have seen a massive increase in the
amount of flooding that has occurred. It appears that the years are getting
warmer and wetter. As a result of this some of the minor rivers on the map are
once again becoming passable to river traffic.
Denmark:
Following on from the Minor Islands stuff, you can see that Denmark is now separated out to Jutland and
Syaland (Zeeland).
Announcements and items
of note
General Stuff: Please use my Paypal account (stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk) for all
Lords’ 24 payments. If you cannot use this facility then please let me know and
I will see what I can do about filtering US funds to my account. I may also
stop using the throneworld email address due to the mass of spam I’m getting!
Order Form: Please use the standard excel
order form from now on. I’ll update the site with a link to it next week when I
get some time. This is important as it helps me process the turn more quickly.
THIS IS NOW MANDATORY.
Non-Payment: some of you still owe me some
cash. Although it may come as surprise that this is not my main source of
income, I see it only polite that you pay for the occasionally night out. So,
if you’re under zero next turn I’ll not process you orders.
Version 6: Lords 24 uses version 6 of the
basic rules
The Map: The map now includes India as well as Europe, Central Asia and Africa. I’ve greyed out repeated areas on the maps to
make my life easier. However, this means some player nations are split across
more than one map. I may increase the size of the main map but I’ll have to
think on this.
Tithes and Tribute: I think these are automatically
updated by the stats program, so no need to declare them in your orders.
Control
of the Papacy and Religious Orders: 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, Papacy
Rules. I’ve also added some stuff about gaining support from their armies
How to make your GM
happy (PLEASE READ! REALLY!):
Please send any and all Lords24
correspondence to lords24gm@ymail.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 cost $5 – please
pay up of you owe
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
Western Europe
Heiliges Romisches Reich
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Hubbert, Holy Roman Emperor.
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To offset the
lethargy of the previous years, huge investments were made in the quality of
the Empire’s army, its very infrastructure and it university. The Emperor’s
own guard was swelled by six thousand new recruits, one third of which were
drawn from the noble elite. Prince Jarung was dispatched to Austria where he was to gain a
promise of military aid. The city of Wurzburg
was also to pledge its support to the Empire.
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Norman Kingdom
of France
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Jean, King of France
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The region of
Hainault enjoyed the growth throughout these years of peace. Tours
and Bruges
were also to see the benefits of peace with the latter’s harbour being
cleared of the rat-infested slums that had sprung up over the past generation.
Guillaume and Gerard continued to be vigilant for any sign of the Shadow King
or his minions but nothing was revealed during Charles’s extensive search of
Paris or the Ile de France. The
Gascon’s still had loyalty to the old Aragonese regime and overthrew
Charles’s appointed overlord. Charles ruled from Paris and added another three children to
his growing brood.
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The Kingdom of Olbia
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Hecto , King of Olbia and lost Aragon
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The elders of Saragossa decide to renew their ties with their old Aragon
rulers. The peasants of Gascony rose up
against their French imposed rulers and also declared for Aragon. Alexander led the efforts
to bring Sardinia fully into the kingdom.
His success was only marred by the death of Ramon in 1323.
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The Principality of Salerno
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Ricardo V Durazzo, Prince of Salerno
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The rich lands of Tuscany were fortified
against any possible Ligurian attack. In the east, the Vai Traiana and Via Claudia
were built to connect Taranto up to Ravenna and connect to the Via Salaria out of Rome. Ruling from Naples, Ricardo V takes
an active role in training his son, Carlo Martello, to become his heir. Ricardo and Alessia watch with pride as the
future duke follows in his father's footsteps. Undaunted by the stubbornness
of the Veronese population, Prince Luca continued his efforts to bolster the Guelph faction in Tuscany
and gain support for the Duke of Salerno. Frustrated with the intransigence
of the Neapolitan guilds and petty nobility, Duke Ricardo appointed Giovanni
di Lara, an important Florentine gentlemen, as Podesta of Napoli. As an outsider with no vested interested in
local affairs, Ricardo hoped that di Lara could sway the citizens to more fully
embrace the benefits of fealty to the Durazzo family. His efforts saw some
progress but the distrust of the Neapolitans continued to slow the diplomatic
progress. Pietro Orsini - known as La Tempesta for his temper - took control
of the Army in Tuscany.
Obizzo d'Este, persisted in his efforts to draw the Livornese more firmly
into the Salernitan camp. The young
Marquis of Ferrara devoted himself and much of his purse to the task but was
dismayed when his efforts soured relations with the garrisoned city. Ugo di
Suilli, the Duke’s Vicar-General, took ill in 1321 and was unable to pursue
his goal bring the Tuscans fully into the Duchy. Teodoro Palaiologos, the
Marquis of Monferrato, was an exotic newcomer to the Duke's court. A grandson of the Oriental Roman line, he
was passed over for the Oriental throne when his step-brother succeeded as
Oriental Emperor. Instead, he
inherited his Italian title from his mother, the now dowager-Empress-Consort
Eirene - formerly Violante di Monferrato, heiress to the Margravate. A loyal Guelph thanks to his mother's upbringing,
his popularity in the Florentine court brought him to Duke Ricardo's
attention. The Duke commanded Teodoro
to raise more condotierri in Naples, and move
north to join Pietro Orsini and the Vicar-General in Tuscany.
Along the way, he gathered small forces of troops from garrisons in
southern Italy.
Ramon de Cardona, the Captain of Il Reggimento Nero, transferred most of the
forces under his command to the Pietro, the Count of Gravina. He then took his 800 remaining siege
engineers and moved north to Venice. Upon arrival, he attempted to hire
condotierri from amongst the cities population but found that most had
hurried south to catch the coin of Monferrato. His gold was spend on a
useless bunch collection of drunkards and cripples whom de Cardona angrily
dispatched from his sight on his first inspection.
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Western and South Africa
The Mwene-Mutapa
Empire
(African Unkulkulun Civilised Open
Empire)
Ikko Addi, Emperor of Mapungubwe
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Work was started
in clearing the jungles of Phalaborwa to make way for new farms. Nyambo II
was content to rule from Mwene-Mutupa and dictate the affairs of state to his
generals. His penchant for the hunt proved his undoing as the Emperor was
mauled by a rogue lion while hunting in the Great Park.
He had not named an heir but it was obvious that Ikko Addi should take his
place. Ikko Addi moved quickly cement his control and continued with his
father’s work. One of Nyambo’s last wishes was that Zimbabwe become part of the
empire and to these ends Prince Nyambo III was dispatched to conquer the
baboons and wildebeests that ruled over those lands. Waismula continued his
life’s work of organising the Empire’s garrisons before his death in 1325. In
Sofala, Gabbo finally managed to convert all of the cities nobility to the
greatness that was Unkulukulu. Although Albare was not as successful in
Gorongo as the province held onto its ties with Hindu Betis.
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North Africa and Moslem Spain
The Empire of Egypt
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Badr al-Mahmud, Sultan of Egypt
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The aged Imam Assam
died during these years and was closely followed to the arms of Allah by Jel
Laddin and Kamal el Dine. Badr al-Mahmud swept up the Nile
at the head of his thirty thousand men. Dongola, Thebes, Faiyum all fell before his host as
he neared the Egyptian heartlands. Aybak Ali Mahmud commanded the forces in Alexandria and was
prepared to defend the city. Whether this was for the Emperor or for his own
ends was unclear. However Aybak was betrayed by his guard, captured and
handed in chains to Prince Badr. Badr claimed the Egyptian crown for himself
before quelling any opposition from Mansura. Zaid’s woes continued when news
of his son’s death at the hands of Badr’s henchmen reached his new court in Syria.
Far Crimea rebelled along with Sevastopol.
Also to rebel were Ad’Diffah, Gebel-Garib,
Nubia. Sinai
and Cyprus
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The Akramid Caliphate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sameer, Caliph of the Akramids
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With the change of Kaliph in Baghdad, Imam Artiman is recalled to the
city. The Akramid army was augmented with ten thousand men, mainly cavalry
but some elite marines under the command of Tallhd. In Seville, Sameer, ordered the construction
of several catapults and siege towers. The road out from Portugal was extended to Leon , bringing the isolated northern province directly under Sameer’s
control. With the Pope otherwise occupied, some converts were made on the island of Sicily. Tiroman joined Sameer in
ruling the Caliphate from Andalusia. After
gaining a bride from Leon,
Tiroman was blessed with a healthy young son. Prince Amaar collected the
seven thousand cavalry based in Elvas and escorted them to Sameer in Andalusia. Once in the province he took command of the
ten thousand light cavalry stationed there and looked towards patrolling the
Caliphate’s borders. Masteri continued to patrol the seas off the Caliphate’s
coast. He was aided by Tallhd until the latter’s death in 1323. Prosper and
Mehmed were tasked with gaining a bride for Tiroman from Leon. Their diplomacy helped the
region maintain its ties with the Caliphate.
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Arabia and the Middle East
The Buwayid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Najib, Sultan of the Buwayids
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Najib took
advantage of these years of peace to improve the canals and irrigation
channels throughout the Sultanate. The grasslands of Selucia were put to the plough
and new farms build throughout the province. Najib spent the majority of his
time ruing from his court in Mesopotamia. He
was blessed with another three young sons by the fertile Abigale. Zubair
Raheesh continued to spend time with the Emir Sayf of Qom and managed to persuade the Persian to
accept Najib’s sovereignty. Raheesh was not to survive to see the treaty
completed as he contracted some foul eastern disease and perished in 1323.
Prince Aalam was in charge of the defence of the Sultanate with his eight
thousand cavalry in Mesopotamia. It was then
left to Raheel Rabbani to command the twenty thousand men of the Eastern Army
from Persia.
Yafi Shamsad was instructed by Najib to improve relations with the lands of
Bandar. Shamsad was prepared by extensive knowledge gleaned from years of
patient study by agents of the Sultanate. However, this appeared to go
against Shamsad’s negotiations as the agents had missed some vital parts of
Bandar’s tribal hierarchy.
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Other News
The Chalbi
Emirate expanded their hold over East Africa
by conquering the lands of the Harari, Sidamo, Kea, Shoa and Walaga. All fell
with ease, although the Emir was wounded by a Sidamo warrior. The Rashidun recall their Imams on the death
of the Kaliph while the Coptics still struggle to gain a foothold in East Africa.
Scandia and the Out Isles
Jarldom of Orkeneyjar
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Aegir Nicholson, Jarl of Orkney
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The
walls of the old Svear capital were built high and strong and the city
renamed Stockholm
to mark the new era of Orkney control. Walls were also built around Nordheim
in Gronland and expanded in Kirkval and the cities citadel. More warships
were commissioned for Aegir’s fleet in Kirkval and some of the eastern Dhow’s
built despite their unsuitability to the northern seas. The Orkney clerics aided Le Martueau de
Dieu in their expansion eastwards by building Order Houses in Smaland, Skanet
and Skane. Aegir himself spent these years ruling from his island fastness
with his Svear wife Hel at his side; the royal couple were blessed with three
children. Despite the best efforts of Dunaldur to recruit more sellswords to
the Orkney flag, none were forthcoming. The years of peace in Europe had sapped the supply of landless men. The gold
given to Dunaldur was spent on various agents and in-betweens as Erikson
tried to acquire some men. He contested the rumours that it had simply ended
up in his own estates. So Bragi Jotunson was entrusted with the Orkney army
in Skandia. Aegir kept a close watch on the wayward Prince and was pleased
that he remained loyal to the crown. He moved from Kirkval to Skanet after
joining up with Lief, recently returned from Gronland. Also with Bragi was
his brother Prince Edvard and his four thousand axemen. Arriving in Skanet
after collecting the Norwegian garrison, Lief and Alfred transferred control
of their men to Jotunson. Alfred was to die shortly after from a fever and
took no further part in Aegir’s plans. Lief then collected Brother Pierre and
the Bishop DeBole and escorted them to Fjordane. However, the Svear had
claimed the province for themselves and there was little they could do except
spend the remaining days idle in Hordavil. Olaf Arnoldson of the Svear had
thought long and hard about his relationship with his mighty neighbours in
the Orkneys, and given that he was now joined by marriage to Aegir, decided
to pledge his allegiance to the Orkney crown. However, Aegir had already set
in motion other plans. Frustrated by the slow place of diplomacy over the
previous years he ordered Bragi and his army to take control of the remaining
Svear provinces to the south. Skane, Halland and Smaland were undefended by
the Svear and fell easily to the Jotunson princes. Outraged by what he saw as
a spurning of his pledge of allegiance, Arnoldson broke off all relations
with the Orkneys. Njord spurned the offer of a military alliance with Connaught but instead accepted their minimal allegiance
to Kirkval. Before his death in 1323, Brother Louis of the Marteau managed to
raise an Order House in far Nordheim.
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Saxon Kingdom
of England
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Harry I, King of England
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The Cornish lands were
greatly improved and the grain harvest dramatically increased. Wells grew to
rival London in size and beauty of its
numerous parks; although York
was also growing rapidly. The English settlers sent to Saragossa were turned away when the city
returned to its Aragonese rulers. The cultivation of Asturias began as resources flowed from London to the English possessions in Iberia. The upper reaches of the
Ebro were dredged down to the border with Catalonia
prompting King Harry to enter negotiations with the Order of St Denis to
allow the work to stretch to the Mediterranean. King Harry encouraged the idle merchants of
London and York
move west to Wymeswold and start trading from that city while he ruled from London. The Lord
Harrington travelled from London to Asturias and onto Navarre
where he intended to meet with the elders of Saragossa. However, the city had recently
declared for Aragon
and refused entry to the Englishman. His removal of the garrison in Asturias
also proved unwise as as soon as the English had left their lands the
Asturians returned to Aragonese rule. Lord Thomas had some success in Santander as the city had severed its old ties with Aragon.
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Eastern Europe
The Varangian Rus of Kiev
(Orthodox Civilized Open Empire)
Anastasia, Queen of the Rus
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To celebrate years
of peace, Queen Anastasia of the Rus renamed Kiev city to Varangia. Grain was shipped
from Kiev’s
reserves for Orkney gold but Anastasia was dismayed to find that some had perished
during the previous years due to flooding of the granaries. The Orkneymen
were not to receive as much as expected but hopefully the good relations
between the nations would not sour.
The old Bulgari Bogdan lands of Pechneg were put to the plough as the
steppe was pushed back to the region’s frontiers. From Kiev,
the old postal road over the Dnepr
Bridge saw the first
blocks laid to improve its capacity. As the reach of Kiev extended southwards, the Moldavians
saw an influx of missionaries to turn them away from Allah. Some gains were
made in the southern Steppe. Trade was established to Calania in Salerno and Alexandria.
Russian ships were also able to reach Valetta in Malta from Pechnograd. Anastasia took a husband from the Kievian
nobility and was blessed with a healthy son and two beautiful daughters. She
was able to spend time away from her growing family to rule the kingdom after
a long honeymoon. Brother Bernard of the St Vladimir Order died of a fever on
the Moldavian steppe as he helped Andreyev convert the Muslims. In late 1325
a rider came from Cossack Cuman demanding tribute from the Rus. The great
horde had returned from the Steppe and felt strong enough to threaten its
immediate neighbours. Khwarzim and the Ademids had also received demands for
tribute.
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The Grand Duchy of Poland
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Boleslaw Poznan, Grand Duke of Poland
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Mieszko Poznan
died of a sudden heart attack in 1323, his son Boleslaw had not been declared
his heir but was quick to gain control of the Duchy.
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The Kingdom of Hungary
(Eastern Orthodox Civilised Open Empire)
Ladislaus Hunyadi, King of Hungary
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Quiet times..
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The Kingdom of Estonia
(Jumali Skyfather Civilised Open Empire)
Konrad II, King of the Ests
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Konrad ruled from Estonia
and augmented is own personal guard with a further two thousand elite
cavalry. The road from Latvia
to Daugava was completed in 1324, linking the province with the rest of
Konrad’s lands.. Prince Victor was sent to aid old Jaan in convincing Kur of
the benefits of joining the kingdom. Despite Jaan’s death on the road to Kur,
Victor managed to get some support from the Kurish nobility. Bishop Tooni of
the Skyfather was sent to Musa to also gain more support from that region but
had little success with the pagans there. The Cossacks also sent demands to
the Ests for gold to be sent through their Bolgar allies.
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North America
The Huron Confederacy
(Open Empire)
Dooyentate, Chief of the Huron
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Dooyentata moved
to Ossossane where he established his permanent camp. Trade envoys were sent
to the Iroquois as he ruled the confederacy with the aid of Thodatowon.
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Dooyentate, Chief of
the Huron
(Open Empire)
Grey Hawk, Chief of the Iroquois
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Grey Hawk took a
bride called White Dove in Iroquois and laid the foundations for a new city
in those lands
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South America
The Chimu Kingdom
of Chanchan
(Open Empire)
Acahuana, King of the Chimu
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The great Chimu
army of over twenty thousand men was disbanded and land granted to all the
veterans in Ataura. While Acahuana ruled from Moche, Thonapa and Urco were
sent to Pucara to make a claim on the province.
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The Mapuche
(Open Empire)
Raiel, Chief of the
Mapuche
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Raiel built a city
that bore his name in the Mapuche lands and opened his treasury to spend
money on improving those lands. His efforts in Pichunche saw the region
acknowledge Raiel’s claim
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Chichen Itze
(Open Empire)
Hunac Ceel, Chief of the Chichen Itze
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The lands of Maya
benefitted from improved irrigation and trade was started with the Zapotec
over the mountains. Hunac Ceel ruled from Maya while Hunac Ral and Ronal Huc
were dispatched to gain the full support of Tikal in Quiche.
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Zapotec Mitla
(Open Empire)
Tepuz, Chief of the
Zapotecs
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Great canals were
built to bring fresh water to the farms of Zapotec. Trade was established
with the Chichen Itze and the Triple Alliance. Tepuz himself ruled from Mitla
after taking a bride from Acatla. It was left to Toton and Cuyut to escort
the new bride to the king from Acatla. The marriage brought a new alliance
with the city and the Zapotecs
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Central Asia
Glorious Khwarzim
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Abu I-Ghazi Bahadur, Khan of the Khwarzim
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After
spending many years ignoring the charms of his wife Sela, Abu finally managed
to sire three new daughters as he spent the remainder of his time at court.
Old Hikmat was ordered to patrol the Khwarzim lands from Turkmen but fell ill
in early 1321 and died of a fever in the autumn of that year. Amal Ali
managed to outlive Prince Hikmat by a few years and commanded the forces out
of Turkmen on the Prince’s death. His death in 1325 came from chasing bandits
across the Kyzl-Kum. Basir attempts at diplomacy with the Khazar came to
nothing as the nomadic tribes of those lands would have nothing more to do
with the soft easterners. However, in the fertile lands of Saksiny, Bilal
El’Amin was able to gain the promise of gold from their Emir Dagobet. The
White Cossacks demand tribute from Abu after their defeat of the Tzin horde.
The Ghazni attack Kash with sixteen thousand men, including levies from Balkh, Ghazni, Registan
and Sistan. The Kashi hold then off for almost a year before they break but
in the fierce fighting that ensued the Ghazz leader was killed along with
Registan and Sistan. They then move onto Shadad to face the Shadad King and
their three thousand warriors. Cut to pieces by the fierce warriors and
virtually all of the Balkh
and Ghazni forces destroyed for little loss to the defenders.
.
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India
Pratihara Kingdom of Kaunaj
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Guram, Raja of Kaunaj
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After the Tzin
attacks of previous years, new colonists started to arrive in the lands of
Tarain and Uttar Pradesh. Several forts were scattered around the nation to protect
against any further attack. The province
of Chela is ceded to
Tripuri. The populations of Sind, Edrosia and Sahis saw a great number of
converts to Vishnu; Sind was finally
converted fully to Hindu. Further influence in the Kekataar was gained when
prince Kuresh was sent to aid the order. During these years Guram ruled from
Kaunaj and sired two strong sons and a beautiful daughter. Despite the
marriage of Anishwarya to King Sandhu of Tripuri, Sandhu decides that he is
more able to control the destiny of his people and decides not to integrate
with the great Kaunaj. He still pledges a strong alliance with Kaunaj. The
Dharan army of twenty thousand men poured into Dahala from Pawar in the
spring of 1322. Initialy, they were faced by the Tripurians led by Tilman and
his four thousand men. However, Shivaji of Rajput and his Nadavarian ally
were primed to expect Dharan treachery and raced east to protect the Rajputi
ally. With their Rajputi support, the Tripurians now numbered nearly eighty
thousand men including a force of four thousand elephants. Faced with such
overwhelming numbers Lilii’s men turned and fled, many were cut down by the
pursuing Rajputis and few survived to long trek back to Anhivarta. Pawa the
Brave was crushed beneath a massed elephant charge as he tried to rally his
men. Lilii and Paga III were captured as they tried to escape. With the news
of Lilii’s defeat, Pawar rebelled from its new overlords. The Rajputi losses
were slight with only a few infantry succumbing to the Dharans. As the news
trickled back to Dharan lands, the lords of Madurai were also to rebel. Tilman pushed
onwards through the Pawar lands, retaking them for his king and captured the
valuable region of Anhivarta without much struggle. The Nadavarians raided
into Vengi, Madurai,
Chola, Sangas, Karanata and Satava while Shivaji pushed onto Vijayanagar
where he laid siege to the city. Not content to wait for the defenders to
surrender, he ordered his men to attack the city walls in vast numbers.
Having already destroyed the small defence of Satava , Shivaji found that the
Dharan capital was undefended and walked easily into the city. When the city
fell, Avanti, Belur, Chola, Nasik,
Surashtra and Vengi all rebelled. The Ceylonese attack the Gaurdians in
Seylon with six thousand men but are routed by the defenders four thousand.
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The Western
Dhara
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Pajama IV, King of the Dhara
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Karali the rebel
dies in prison, forgotten by his captors. Rustia the Short enters the city of
Manyakheta and
manages to gain an economic alliance. In Satava, a vast army of over fourteen
thousand men was raised for the conquest of Tripuri. Lilli the Strong took
control of the army and moved into Pawar. His force now numbered over twenty
thousand men, about half of which were mounted. Pawar had been ceded by the
Tripuri as a sign of good faith and was easily conquered by Lilli. Pajama
then made the decision to attack Dahala from Pawar. He ordered Lilli to move
his force into the Tripuri heartlands and finally end the resistance from
Sandhu. His decision proved unfortunate as the Tripuri’s overlords, the
Rajputi, had foreseen such an event and Lilli’s attack triggered an
overwhelming reaction from both the Tripuri and the Rajputi. (See Kaunaj for
more details). Little remained of the once great Dharan kingdom after the
punishing attacks by the Rajputi and Tripuri; Pajama was forced to surrender
to Shivaji and many of his provinces rebelled.
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The Palas of Bengal
(Hindu Civilised NPN Empire, Friendly to
Kaunaj)
Hardeep, Palas of Bengal
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The great city of Gaur increases in size
and its walls rebuilt. The great road was extended and pushed on out from the
mountains of Tz’Uk’An while the road was completed to Thimpu and Gangtok. Bengali
sponsored attackers rampage throughout the Wheel temple causing havoc amongst
their clerics. While some influence was gained with the Kekataar,
missionaries to the mountains of Tz’Uk’An and Om’Chu had little success in
converting the Buddhists of those lands. King Hardeep ruled from Gaur and
sent Prince Rajesh to Bhutan.
The Prince was accompanied by Dharam and the Brahmin Deeth and managed to
smooth over some of the antipathy felt towards the Bengali by the Bhutanese.
Thaton gathers their scattered forces into one mighty army of seventy
thousand men and move to liberate Brma. The Dagger forces numbered nearly
twenty five thousand and even though they managed to inflict huge losses on
the Thatonese, the liberators sheers numbers told as the Dagger elite were
all but wiped out. In 1322 they were pursued into Manipur. This time the
Dagger forces were completely eliminated. The Thatonese general, Cheo Khun
Sa, liberated Samatata with ease in 1323 before attacking Assam in
1324. The city of Shillong was taken from Bengal.
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South East Asia and the Islands
The Kambujadesa
Empire
(Hindu Civilised Open Empire)
Thao Pen-Pen, Emperor of the Khmer
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Selatan saw a
further influx of colonists from the mainland. Khmer missionaries were again
active in Siam
and Surin but were still thwarted in their attempts to convert the Buddhists
there. Relations with the Annamese could have taken a turn for the worst when
several Khmer agents were capturing while attempting to poison bureaucrats
from the Annam
government. When news of the failure reached Thao Pen-Pen, he dispatched Cho
Tae to Champa to protect the Khmer borders from any Annamese retaliation.
Thao Pen-Pen continued to rule from Khmer and meddle with mercantile affairs.
He was blessed with two healthy sons during these years and declared Sovann
Pen-Pen as his heir once he reached his majority
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The Dai Kingdom
of Annam
(Buddhist Seafaring Open Empire)
Bhadramonte, King of Annam
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In the far
north-west province of Laos, a new
city called Muang Sua was built. Further east in
Lingnan, more colonists arrived to repopulate the province decimated by the
Mongols years ago. These years also saw the royal raod from Dai Viet to
Nampung complete. Haramasanta was given the golden opportunity to prove
himself as an aid to the king only to be caught stealing from the royal
treasury. He was executed just months after taking his post. King Bhadramonte
himself continued to rule from Annam
and deal with the merchants of Tonkin. His
attempts to gain influence with the Greater Wheel came to nothing. Duke Lieng
Maio was dispatched with his army of sixteen thousand to take the provinces
of Lingtung and Nanling from the Cha’ang’sha. His delay in attacking due to a
logistical mix up proved fortuitous as the Cha’ang’sha army had only months
before been defeated by Koueichou and both provinces were virtually
undefended. Maio was able to take them with no loss to his men.
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The God Empire of Sri
Vijaya
(Buddhist Seafaring Open Empire)
Singhassari, The God Emperor
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Quiet times for
the islands.
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Manchu’ko and Nihon
The Minamoto
Shogunate
(Shinto Civilised Open Empire)
Kojiro Yasumori, Shogun of the East
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The might of the
Minamoto army was loaded into ships at Shimonoseki
and commanded by the able Reiji and Prince Katsu set sail across the Inland
Sea to anchor just outside Kagoshima.
The Tairans had word of the fleet as it sailed into the bay and dispatched a
force of ten thousand men to make sure the invaders were repelled. Reiji had
over double that number and was confident of victory over the stubborn
Tairans. Luck turned against the Minamotans and no matter how hard Reiji
tried to make the beach, the Tairans were there to stop him. His losses were
enormous and eventually Reiji was forced to flee back to Shimonoseki with the remnants of his once
great force.
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The Goryeo Kingdom
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Wang Yong, King of Goryeo
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Five thousand cavalry were raised for protection of the realm and another
two thousand men for the Hsuing.Nu. Wang Yong ordered that trade should begin
with the Gobi and Laio tribes and with the
Mongols. All these rotes were to go through Goryeo’s ally Khitan. More gold
was sent to the Grand Khitan but Nam Ye Yu’s diplomacy with the khanate came
to nothing. Wang Gyeong Eop was to offend the Suifenhe khan and caused a
souring of relations with the province. However, Nam Ye Tu’s efforts in Ch’in
saw the province ally itself with Goryeo; the diplomacy was helped by the new
road up from Manchou.
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Nihon-no-Tenno
(Shinto Civilised Religious Primate)
Fushimi-tennō, Emperor of the Chrysanthemum Throne
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A time of peace
and solitude.
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The Land under Heaven
The Kingdom of Koueichou
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Kai Shang, King of Koueichou
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The garrison of Szechwan was augmented by one thousand men and a large
contingent of cavalry, numbering over seven thousand, was raised in the
province for Prince Kai Sung. The prince also took command of over forty thousand
men from Dai Shang before moving to Ghang’De. In the province, Kai Sung was
joined by Cho Mai who had taken command of a large battalion of sappers. It
was here that Kai Sung learnt of his father’s death. With no time to mourn
the prince was determined to act on his father’s last wishes and capture the
valuable province on Hunan from the Cha’ang’sha. His force was also joined by
Wo Sung and Rao Ling before the attack. Despite the province being heavily
fortified and defended by over twenty thousand men, Kai Sung’s superior
knowledge of the arts of war and his overwhelming numbers saw the Cha’ang’sha
flee in panic when their leaders were captured in the first Koueichou
assault. Kai Sung’s force was not without loss as six thousand died in the
assault. Cho Mai’s sappers were attacked from their flank and being virtually
unsupported were cut down. The Cha’ang’sha army was either killed or
scattered by Kai Sung’s attack and on his arrival to Cha’ang’sha itself, the
king of those lands surrendered to the prince.
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The Empire of the
Western Song
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Zhi Kuo, Emperor of the Western Song
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The
city of Tao Chou in Ordos
was rebuilt and despite their best efforts, missionaries in Hsia-Hsia were unable
to convert the pagan tribesmen there. Zhi Kuo was content to rule from
Chang’An and was blessed with two daughters during these years. He commanded
his generals to watch for any incursion by the hordes that plagued his
northern frontier.
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The Kingdom of Chengshi
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Xiang Lo, King of Chengshi
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Xiang Lo is
declared Tsing Tao’s heir and becomes king on his father’s death in 1324. His
brothers He Long and Chai Shao join him at court. Shong travelled to the Tairan
ally of Taiwan
with Tian and Hong to persuade the Japanese ally to forgo its ties with Taira
and become part of the growing Chengshian kingdom. Shong had almost pulled
the Taiwanese away from Taira when the sudden death of Tian during a brawl
near Tainan’s
docks caused a halt to the negotiations. However, the Tairan’s hold on the
island was only tenuous after Shong’s efforts. The lands of Fukien
were cultivated as new farms were built along the Min river.
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The Kingdom of Chiang’Ning
(Buddhist Civilised Open Empire)
Song Tao, King of Chiang’Ning
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In Shentung the port of Zhengzhou
was built on the Huang Ho to provide a northern trade outpost as the great
city of Pienching
was in the hands of the Wudan. Kiangsu and Taiping
also grew in size. Over ten thousand men were raised for Song Tao, many of
which were heavily armoured horse. Diplomatic efforts in Tangchou saw an
improvement in relations with the province.
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