The Throne Room is the place where we play collaborative and competitive games based around TW in its various incarnations. These have tended to take three forms: Hotseats, RPGs and Succession games. We have a steady nucleus of between 10 and 20 players across these various games and a strong sense of community centred around our shared belief that it’s fun to play TW campaigns with other humans.
In this regular piece we will provide a selection of stories, interviews and game updates to showcase the Throne Room in all its glory as a special part of the Org which cannot be found elsewhere.
Hotseats: A group of human players each control a single faction and fight for supremacy in a long campaign with a set of agreed rules. Most hotseats are played in M2TW and its various mods but RTW hotseats are also possible. The level of time commitment and RP involved can range from minimal to very involved depending on the game and the group involved but at a minimum players are expected to be able to play their turn with 48 hours notice.
RPGs: A group of human players each control an in-game avatar such as a family member or agent of a single faction. A set of rules dictates the ownership of property and the political interactions between the characters, who vie for power and control while working together to expand the empire. The level of RP is usually very high and most activity occurs out of the game rather than on the campaign map. Players are expected to be available to move their avatars and fight battles within a set period (usually a couple of days) while also participating in debates and votes to settle in-game issues. RPGs have so far been played in RTW and M2TW and their various mods, but this kind of game is so flexible it can be played in all TW titles.
Succession games: A group of human players take it in turns to control a single faction, passing the save to one another on completion of a set number of turns within the game. Sometimes the handover takes place at the death of the faction leader so that each player completes a ‘reign’ before passing the save to the next. It is possible to play succession games in most strategy games, including all TW titles and even other games such as EU3
Having set the scene, in our next update we will showcase the games which are currently in progress, report on games which are currently recruiting for players and we will interview a prominent member of the Throne Room community.
Welcome to Chapter One of our regular Throne Room update. Of course you've already seen our Introduction...In this edition we will attempt to tell the story so far of some of our current games. Then in subsequent editions we will provide updates.
We'll also highlight games which are looking for new or replacement players and in our From the Vaults section we'll dig out some old classic stories from games of the past.
This game started back in May 2009 so is approaching its second birthday and is played in version 6.2 of the popular Stainless Steel mod for Kingdoms. 47 turns have been played between 14 human players. This is the current grand-daddy of Throne Room hotseats and if we can keep it alive long enough (we're suffering from intermittent CTDs) we should be in for an exciting conclusion.
The story so far is:
- Hungary allies with HRE, Venice, Byzantines and Rus
- Egypt gets really big really quickly and scares the bejesus out of everyone
- France tries to get an anti-Egyptian alliance going, is frustrated by politics and turns isolationist
- Venice allies with Turkey and Egypt, putting itself in opposition to Christian Europe
- Turkey attacks Byzantines and hands Constantinople to Venice, angering Christian Europe further
- Spain starts a war with the Moors, who are allied with Turkey and Egypt
- Hungary takes out the remaning Byzantine settlements and Venice opportunistically joins in, angering the Magyar
- France and England go to war
- Hungary attacks Venice along with Sicily and HRE, wipes them out and takes Greece
- England becomes a French vassal
- Spain defeats the Moors
- Turkey attacks Hungary in defence of Venice
- Peace is negotiated between Turkey and Hungary
- Turkey attacks Sicily and starts a war with HRE, Hungary, Rus and Sicily
- Egypt joins in that war in support of Turkey
- France and England attack Spain, get beaten back
- HRE joins Iberian war in support of France/England
- HRE, Rus and Hungary defeat Turkey
And we're still playing. At this stage the Rus have the largest empire but the HRE are not far behind. Poor little Hungary (my faction) is sandwiched between them...
This game is in the vanilla version of M2TW and has eleven players.
The aim of the game is to complete, within the 40 turn time limit, as many achievements as possible. These are listed in the first post of the game thread. The idea being to incentivise a different style of play to the usual competitive hotseat game where all factions invade one another endlessly in a constant state of war. (Sounds fun, right?)
We're only on turn 22 and so far most factions have simply expanded into rebel territory and started to build their infrastructure. However, the HRE began invading its neighbours, quickly defeating Denmark, Poland, Venice and Milan while deposing the Pope and seizing Italy. The invasion of Sicily was the final straw for the eastern factions of Hungary, Turkey and Egypt who have launched a joint attack on the HRE. Will the HRE's French and Spanish allies join the war? Or will a peaceful solution be found?
Here is the diplomacy thread for this game if you would like some further reading.
We'll feature some of our other games in the next chapter to bring you up to date with them all - then we'll provide regular updates on all of them so you can keep in touch with the battlefields!
Currently Recruiting:
If reading about those games gave you the appetite to join a hotseat game, here are the games which are currently looking for new or replacement players:
- Dual Alliances: Double Jeopardy; needs a single player to take over the combined team of the Turkish and Moorish factions. Post in the game thread or pm TriforceV if you are interested.
- Clash of Gods; a new game which will be a deathmatch between two teams, one of Catholic and one of Islamic factions, this game is looking for a number of new players. Post in the game thread or pm Myth if you are interested.
It was hot, very hot, just as it always seemed to be that way in this Kingdom. The man on the horse wrinkled his nose. The city always smelt terrible when it was hot. It made it hard to think, hard to concentrate - yet he needed to do both at the moment.
Why have I been summoned? Why? he thought to himself. He had carried out his orders, the King's orders, yet he felt apprehensive. Gaza was taken and pillaged, all for the loss of but two knights. Indeed, he had still been carrying out the King's orders - March at best speed with the army to reinforce the army at Damascus - when the summons came.
What had gone wrong? What did I do wrong?
The King's chambers were just as they always were. Dark, cool, forboding. Standing proud and tall in the ante-chamber, the man waited, sweating from more than from just the heat outside.
"Enter" said the soft voice.
Entering through the curtains, the man came into the mix of darkness and candle-light. As always, it took a moment for the eyes to adjust to the drop in light before the figure on the cushioned couch came into focus. The figure was but an outline of a man, except for the eyes. The bright, shiny eyes pierced the newcomer and seemed to be searching him, reading him, judging him with their glance.
Nervously, the man bowed low and whispered in a suddenly dry throat, "My Lord".
For a moment, the figure did not stir. The eyes gazed silently back at the man. Finally, the soft voice spoke again, muffled from the mask, "Please sit down". The man quickly sat down, opposite the couch on which the figure lay. As he did, he noticed for the first time the multitude of papers scattered around the couch. Dozens of papers, parchments and letters, bearing all manner of seals and insignias.
As soon as he had sat down, the man began, "My Lord, I most humbly apologise for any offence which..." The man was stopped midsentence by an upraised hand from the figure. In the hand was a document, a letter, bearing a seal not known to the man. The man's heart began to thud faster and faster as he watched the King unroll the letter. What was in it? Was this the reason I was summoned? Was it his execution?
The soft voice spoke. "Jerusalem will not long survive in a war with the Muslims. Already, the Kingdom is divided. Of the northern states, only Tripoli answers to us. Edessa and Antioch have ceded and the Emir in Aleppo is openly hostile."
The figure paused and the brandished the letter to the man,
"But this is the future of Jerusalem. The Sultan and I have made peace."
The man began to panic. If the King had made peace with the Muslims and I had attacked them, had I violated the pact? Had I destroyed the future of this Kingdom? His heart stopped beating.
Unaware of the man's thoughts, the voice continued,
"Damascus and Homs have been surrendered to us. The eastern borders are secure. Peace has been restored between Christian and Muslim."
Relief flooded the man's body. He was able to breathe again, and his heart pumped blood once more.
"You have played you part well, and we thank you for that. Though peace with the Muslims has been obtained, the future is not yet secure."
The hand dropped the letter it was holding and picked up another. On this one was a seal that the man recognised. It was the seal of Joran, the representative of Jerusalem in the Court of the Caliph.
"News from the court speaks of trouble brewing in the north. Beyond the northern counties, a threat is growing. The Takavor in Armenia, it seems, is pulling away from us and towards the Turks."
The man frowned. The last that he had heard of Armenia was that were to be allies of the Kingdom. Strange that they would be courting the Turks against us. But perhaps I heard wrong. The man nodded to himself, it was quite some time ago that he had heard the stories about Armenia, after all.
"With the situation in the north as is, we have set a task for you."
The man ceased his musings about Armenia and focused on the eyes. Now that he knew his fate was safe, he was anxious to know what was to become of him now.
"It is time to strengthen the northern border. The counties of Edessa and Antioch are to be returned to the control of the Kingdom. It is our desire that you march the army of Jerusalem to the north and reassert our claim on the northern counties. Tripoli will assist you with whatever troops they can spare."
The man smiled at the mention of Tripoli. His uncle was a good soldier and campaigning with him was always a joyous affair. However, he frowned as he thought about what the King had first said. He saw a flaw in the King's plans, and felt he had to say something, yet he didn't know how to phrase it without offending the King. Tentatively, he inquired.
"My Lord, what if Antioch and Edessa reject your demands?"
The King's head tilted to the side. The eyes gazed intently at the man.
"Then you will force the demands upon them."
The voice had not changed in volume but there was an intensity in that sentence that frightened the man. The King is not one to be trifled with, I see the man thought to himself. How appearances can be deceiving.
The man waited for the King to say more, but he did not utter another word and just gazed at the man. The man understood that he was dismissed and so stood up, bowed and said, "It will be done My Lord".
The eyes twinkled back at him and the soft voice said, "Yes, we know it will."
A shiver went down the man's spine, and not from being in the cool room. Suddenly, he felt afraid again. He quickly turned to stride out of the room. As he did, he noticed something strange. The King had a third letter next to him, one that he didn't show the man. Though he couldn't see much of it in the dim light, from his angle it seemed the letter bore the official seal of the Roman Emperor. The man paused and looked back at letter, before leaving the room. Strange that he didn't mention that seeings they are one of our northern neighbors. It must not be important...
And so the army marched north, the man on the horse in the lead, its purpose clear.
The Kingdom would be united again under one banner.
Last edited by phonicsmonkey; 05-06-2011 at 04:36.
Welcome to Chapter Two of our regular Throne Room update. In this chapter we will continue to tell the story of some of our current games. Then in subsequent editions we will provide updates.
We'll also highlight games which are looking for new or replacement players and in our From the Vaults section we'll continue to bring you stories from past classic games.
We hope you enjoy our Tales from the Throne Room!
Current Hotseat Games:
The Levantine Struggle
This is a five-player hotseat in the Kingdoms: Crusades campaign. The game has reached the 14th turn and so far the notable event has been that the city of Jerusalem has fallen to the Egyptians. How will the Crusader states respond to this challenge? Further north the Turks have abandoned their Anatolian holdings to the Byzantines and re-located further east around Baghdad. Will they rebuild and attempt to push west once more?
Unification of the Isles
This is a five-player hotseat in the Kingdoms: Britannia campaign. The game has reached the 17th turn and a bitter war is raging between England versus Wales and Ireland. In the north, the Norsemen have defeated the Scots and have laid claim to their territory.
This is an eight-player hotseat in the Kingdoms: Teutonic campaign which has been slightly modified to make Norway playable by a human player. The game has only reached turn 6 but already Novogord has been eliminated by the Danes while the Teutonic Order wages war on the pagans of Lithuania.
Currently Recruiting:
If reading about those games gave you the appetite to join a hotseat game, here are the games which are currently looking for new or replacement players:
- Clash of Gods; a new game which will be a deathmatch between two teams, one of Catholic and one of Islamic factions, this game is looking for a number of new players. Post in the game thread or pm Myth if you are interested.
He was one of a multitude surging through the narrow lanes of the bazaar in Baghdad.
There were men there of every country in the world, their stalls, carts and trays overflowing with the bounty of the earth.
Exotic dyes, spices and reams of cloth of every hue and texture dazzled the eye. Food sizzled on grills and bubbled in pots, and an array of odours assailed his senses. Music came flooding from every direction, strange and haunting melodies that spoke of foreign lands long distant.
He left the bazaar and passed through the city.
In a square shaded by date palms he saw a throng of holy men engaged in lively debate. There were men of Muhammad and men of Christ, men of the Hindu gods and many more he could not recognise. They smiled and embraced each other as they spoke, and seemed to come to an agreement.
Past the square were the city gates, through which came a procession of carts loaded with freshly harvested produce. The line of carts stretched down the road to the horizon, and flanking the road on either side were fields of green crops and dark, earthy loam which seemed loaded with the promise of an endless fertility.
As he passed through the streets of the city it seemed to him that the people lived their lives in peace and harmony, unthreatened by war, hunger or religious oppression. He saw no signs of sickness or poverty, and no man he saw carried weapons.
Looming over the city was the Royal Palace. Now he was at the foot of the great stone staircase which led to the giant golden doors. Looking up he saw in front of the doors, seated on a dazzling throne the figure of an old man, the Caliph. Surrounding the Caliph were children of the city, seated at his feet and listening intently to his words.
He started to climb the stairs but as he placed his foot on the next step he slipped and, teetering for a moment trying desperately to regain his balance, he met the Caliph’s eyes and fell.
The Caliph awoke in his chamber. As he sat up on his hard cot the room seemed to be very dark and cold.
An unfamiliar rattling sound came from the darkest corner of the room. He heard the chattering of voices in an alien tongue, and harsh laughter rang out.
As his eyes adjusted he saw that there was a gaming table set up in the room, around which clustered a group of djinns. They were casting dice and gambling with pieces of gold.
He rose from the cot and approached the table as quietly as he could, shocked and overcome by the fearsome sight.
As he drew closer he saw that the surface of the table was a map, with the Caliphate and all the surrounding nations marked on it. The djinns were moving small squirming figures around on the map and seemed to be forcing them to fight.
In the part of the table which showed Azerbaijan a tiny knight on a white charger struggled with a giant eagle which tried to bear him aloft.
The djinns cackled and clucked at the sight.
The Caliph was no longer fearful but overcome with rage – he overturned the table in his anger, scattering the dice, gold and playing pieces on the floor, shouting and waving his arms at the djinns to shoo them from his chamber.
With a start they threw open the shuttered window and, grabbing his arms, bore him aloft from the tower and out over the city streets.
Below him Baghdad was aflame - the people rioted in the streets burning effigies, spurred on by the hateful diatribes of Imans. Sick and starving children roamed in packs stealing from beggars and tormenting mothers who wailed after their dying infants.
A host was at the gates, pounding on them with a great battering ram with the head of an ox. Behind them and to the horizon the land was scorched and barren under skies filled with black smoke.
The djinns bore him higher into the air as he struggled and wailed for release. Now he was miles above the earth and looking out into the east across the great desert.
On the horizon he saw gathering dark clouds and flashes of lightning.
Across the desert, from the east towards the city, great twisting sandstorms came, fifteen in number, tearing the palms from the earth and destroying all trace of life in their deadly path.
The Caliph awoke in his chamber which was bathed in the warm morning sunshine.
Interesting, he thought.
He meditated on the dream as he performed his morning prayers on the reed mat by the window. Afterwards he sat in a chair, lost in thought until a knock on the door interrupted his reverie.
The Vizier entered, with a pair of manservants, one bearing a tray of dates and unleavened bread, the other with the Caliph’s robes.
‘My lord Caliph, the Court is assembling. It is said that the Georgians and the Seljuks will today announce the peace that you have brokered between them.’
‘That is excellent news old friend. I will attend Court presently to hear the announcement. Have the palace ghulams prepare a feast for our guests.’
In Chapter Three we will focus on Role Playing Games (RPGs), provide some news regarding Hotseat games and dig out another favourite story From the Vault.
We have two RPGs currently in play in the Throne Room. We support our RPGs by providing dedicated sub-fora for the multiple threads that each game requires. These are linked in the game titles below. Both RPGs are open to new players subject to the availability of avatars. If you are interested in joining a game click on the link and post in the relevant sign-up thread. We’d love to see you there!
Kings of the Nile (KotN) is a roleplaying game where players control the Ptolemaioi faction from the Europa Barbarorum mod for RTW. Currently there are 12 players.
The Gamesmaster (Ibn-Khaldun) has played the first 3 years in the game to provide a more challenging and interesting starting point. When the game started the Ptolemaioi faction had lost 2 settlements. However, now the players have started hitting back by reconquering their lost lands.
The game has a different civil war system than the previous EB game "Will of the Basileus" or other Throne Room games like LotR, KotR etc. The intention is to encourage Player vs Player (PvP) online battles. The game rules also allow players to create their own kingdoms...if they can survive the wrath of the Basileus of course!
Other new features are Private Units and Private Funds. Players can use their own finances to recruit their own private army. Whether it is used to against the enemies of the faction or against other players is up to them.
Vassals and Valour (V&V) is an RPG set in Medieval Europe, using Lands to Conquer Gold, a mod for M2TW.
In V&V players take control of a noble in the Holy Roman Empire. After an initial Civil War period the Gamemaster (Cecil_XIX) played through 10 turns to provide a more challenging setting for the now nominally unified Holy Roman Empire to rebuild in after the devastating internal war it survived. Nobles of the Empire squabble and jockey for position politically to improve the position of their House. They can't afford to alienate their fellows too much, however, for beyond their borders enemies wait at all sides to redress past wrongs. Even if their immediate neighbors are taken care of, Austrian expansion to the east has drawn the attention of a massively powerful Turkish Empire...
Arguably V&V's most distinctive feature over past RPGs is a completely revamped system for province control and recruitment. Players have complete control over their lands deciding where every florin earned in them goes and who else (if anyone) can recruit from them, giving them much more autonomy than ever before. External threats and the power of the Emperor have thus far held the Empire's nobles together, but at any moment one or more of them could attempt to better their position by warring with their fellows.
Since our last update two new hotseat campaigns have begun, both using Stainless Steel 6.4:
Clash of Gods is a match between two teams, one of Catholic and one of Islamic factions. The object of the game is for the winning team to secure certain target territories from deep within enemy territory. The game is only on the second turn but already there has been a battle between the Spanish and the Moors, resulting in first blood for the Catholic team.
Wrath of the Khan 2 is a game in which everyone teams up against the Mongol invasion. The game has been rolled forward to the time of the Mongol invasion and non-Mongol factions allocated randomly amongst the players. The object of the game is to defeat the Mongols (played by yours truly) and to gain a certain number of territories from one or more of the other non-Mongol players. For the Mongols it is relatively simple: invade and destroy all who stand in their way! The Great Khan will arrive after a grace period of one turn and the battle for the Middle East and Europe will begin…
There are no hotseats currently recruiting for players but if you are interested in joining or hosting a game post in the Hotseat General Recruitment thread and we’ll see what we can organise. It’d be great to see you in the Throne Room!
From the Vaults
In the theme of RPGs, this time we bring you a story from the grandfather of Throne Room RPGs, King of the Romans (KotR). KotR ran for 16 months and at its peak had over 20 players involved in the game.
This story was selected by GeneralHankerchief, who had this to say about it:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
If there was one story that could truly set the stage for KotR's epic final act, this one would be it. For decades, a shadowy conflict had been brewing behind the scenes in the game, even as the Reich burned and were beset on all sides by enemies. The Brotherhood of the Illuminati, a secret society consisting some of the most prominent Imperial nobles, had been vying for more and more power in the name of saving the Reich from itself. However, some would say that this was all a sham and that they only sought power for its own sake, and many would say that their motives for gaining such power were harsh, potentially even too harsh.
Working against the Illuminati was a small faction of nobles, including the late Kaiser Elberhard, a chivalrous if not very authoritative man who always tried to do the right thing. By the time of this story Elberhard had been dead for some years, having fallen in one of the many battles in Italy against the Byzantine Empire. However, this story depicts the experience of one of Elberhard's aides as he flashes back to his master's dealings with the Illuminati over the years and wrestles with an agonizing choice of what to do with a certain piece of information. This information comes in the form of an escaped prisoner; one who knows a deadly secret regarding the Illuminati and a murdered Emperor, a secret which if revealed could throw the Reich into an utter civil war and spell the end of everything.
Providing a revealing look at the previous events and foreshadowing KotR's deadly and tragic conclusion, I could not think of a better story that sums up the intrigue and political maneuvering that King of the Romans was all about.
“He was trying to knife me!” the fat farmer pointed indignantly at the vagabond.
Jacobus Stoyan made no attempt to break free from the Teuton’s steel grip. The knights were all around him. It was hopeless. The brief burst of sunlight he had enjoyed was drawing to a close. As the skies darkened around him, the prospect of further pain and imprisonment loomed. The approaching shadow of death appeared almost inviting. But self preservation prevailed.
“I have information … important information. I demand to speak to your Komtur. I will not talk to anyone else.”
The Ritterbruder leading the Teuton initiates looked at his bedraggled captive and laughed: “By God, what makes you think I would waste the Komtur’s time with your jabbering?”
The Teuton looked at the broken eggs around Jacobus. “It is obvious that you are a common thief.”
He picked up Jacobus’s cruel dagger and studied it, before gesturing at the fat farmer: “This good man says that you tried to kill him. I should just have you hung as a small contribution to making Franconia safe for decent people.”
The cataclysm and the invasion of the Catholic Alliance had led to a wave of violence throughout Franconia. However, sponsored by successive Chancellors, the Teutonic Order was expanding out from Frankfurt - slowly pacifying the countryside, even as it sent waves of new recruits to the frontline armies. The Ritterbruder glared at Jacobus - seeing in his feral form everything the Teutonic Order was struggling against. Impatiently, he drew his sword and moved towards the prisoner.
“Damn it, why waste good rope …”
Jacobus watched the blade emerge gradually from the Teuton's scabbard as if time itself was slowing. His instincts urged him to fall to his knees, to beg for mercy. But Jacobus had been in battle. A higher part of his brain told him that those who were easiest to execute were the men who prostrated themselves, who threw away their dignity. Killing them was no harder than butchering animals. No, the ones who soldiers spared were the noble and the brave. Jacobus met the Ritterbruder in the eye and took a deep breath:
“I am a soldier, a Captain of Mercenaries. I would not deign to try to kill one so unworthy as him.” He gestured at the fat farmer. “Yes, I have seen better times. But has not Franconia herself? And indeed the Reich? Yes, I stole the farmer’s eggs. I was starving and he, evidently, is not. Yes, I have committed a crime … but not one that warrants summary execution.”
The Ritterbruder paused, reassessing his prisoner. “This information you spoke of…?”
“I have documents … evidence of matters of state that are of the gravest importance. But I will only speak to your Komtur.”
Documents. The word seemed to deflate the Ritterbruder and he visibly lost interest in his quarry. Documents. Who among the Brotherhood stationed nearby could read, still less want to do so? Although supposedly a monastic order, the Teutons were recruiting men for the strength of their sword arms rather than any monkish learning. Then a thought occurred to the Ritterbruder. Captain Jan! Formerly of Kaiser Elberhard’s retinue, the veteran Teuton was often to be found reading some obscure manuscripts stashed away in the bowels of the castle.
“I will not trouble my Komtur with your fantasies. But there is one brother who may wish to indulge you.”
*****
Captain Jan looked from the Ritterbruder to Jacob’s documents and back again with scarcely concealed excitement. It had been so long since he had been asked to do anything, however mundane or trivial. The death of his master, Kaiser Elberhard, at Bologna had led to an immediate collapse in Captain Jan’s fortunes. Without his patron, Captain Jan was merely a figure of mirth and contempt in the Reich - famous for being the hero who had bravely escorted the Reich’s treasury into the hands of the traitor Empress Theodora. The Teutonic Order had provided shelter, but offered him little work except overseeing the efforts of the Diendebruders. These young recruits were assigned with pacification duties and law enforcement as an initiation to the Teutonic Order before they were deemed ready to send into battle. An aging, grey haired veteran such as Captain Jan was seen as a suitable person to help mentor them.
“So you will do it?” the Ritterbruder asked, as if Jan’s willingness to read the documents and interrogate Jacobus only confirmed everyone’s views that the Captain was the saddest excuse for a Teuton in the castle.
“Yes, yes. These seals … they are important documents. Leave them to me.”
“And this one?” The Ritterbruder gestured at Jacobus. “Shall I have him thrown in the dungeon until you are ready?”
Jacobus tried not to flinch at the suggestion.
“No, no … sit him down there…” said Captain Jan absentmindedly, before seeing the poverty of his accommodation - he was not accustomed to having a guest in his quarters. “Oh, better bring another stool in here. I will talk to him in a minute, when I have finished reading … my God…”
“What is it?” asked the Ritterbruder.
“Leave him here and go.” said Jan, a hard edge entering his voice. And then he looked up at the Ritterbruder. “Believe me, brother, you are better off not knowing.”
*****
Captain Jan studied the documents for a long while and then finally looked up at Jacobus, aghast - as if the itinerant mercenary were an ancient and terrible shade from Hell.
It was all coming back to Jan, nightmarish things he had buried and tried to forget. But here was Jacobus, like a ghoul, uncovering the hideous corpses of the past.
Jan drew out a parchment from his own desk. A note he had long kept safe, one entrusted to him by Elberhard, his now deceased master, who at the time was Prinz. Jan compared the hand writing on the note passed on from Elberhard with that on some of Jacobus’s documents. He had hoped for the handwriting to match, but no - no powerful secret society could be expected to expose itself so carelessly.
“What’s that?” Jacobus asked, innocently, looking the parchment Captain Jan had drawn out.
Jan shook his head. “It does not matter.”
He hurriedly put the parchment back inside his desk, closing it firmly, as if hoping to rebury what was best left undisturbed. But it was too late.
Jan’s mind drifted back, as if reliving a recurrent nightmare. The parchment he had stored away had been passed on by his master, then Prinz, who in turn had received it on the eve of the last Diet before the cataclysm. It was a strange note, sent by a mysterious Order of the All Seeing Eye, advising the Kaiser to sideline his brother Hans and his ally Jan von Hamburg.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Greetings Prinz Elberhard,
It has come to our attention that Kaiser Siegfried is currently unavailable for contact due to matters of a private nature. Though we have preferred to deal with him directly in the past, we simply cannot allow this state of affairs to disrupt the relationship we have built with him. As you are known to still be in contact with the Kaiser, we are contacting you in the hope that you will, in turn, convey the following words to him:
The Order notes that in the upcoming Diet session, the Kaiser will be required to appoint two Electors to office: the traditional appointment of King of Outremer and, as a result of Frederich Scherer's resignation, the next Duke of Swabia. While this has not been part of our previous negotiations, we feel that we have proven our abilities to the Kaiser and stand ready to do what he has asked of us in the near future. Accordingly, we believe it would be only proper for the Kaiser to take our opinions into consideration when choosing the next occupants of these posts.
Regarding the King of Outremer, Jan von Hamburg has caused much conflict between the Eastern provinces and the Duchies. We believe that a more neutral and less controversial man would better serve the interests of the Reich during the coming term. There are already several of these to choose from in Outremer. Regarding the Duke of Swabia, Frederich Scherer was an exceedingly fair and impartial Duke, but his chosen successor, Hans, is not cut from the same cloth. If he is appointed Duke, the fractures and rivalries between the Houses will likely only intensify. Once again, for the good of the Reich as well as Swabia itself, we believe that a Swabian with a slightly less biased history would be a better choice for Duke.
Prinz Elberhard, it is regretful that our first formal communication must be in the nature of a simple courier request. Perhaps in the future we will find the opportunity to deal with you personally. If you wish to contact us, either to convey a response from the Kaiser or for your own reasons, you may reach us by leaving a note behind the paupers' grave marker in the cemetery at the Church of St. Maximillian in Rome.
What had shocked Captain Jan, and the Kaiser, most had been the politeness and matter of fact nature of the note. As if the new Kaiser should have recognised immediately that his job was to bow to the wishes of this secret Order. The Kaiser had not been long in identifying suspected members of this Order - starting with those who had most to gain from Hans and Jan von Hamburg not being appointed to the positions of power that they were due. As the suspects endorsed and supported each other, they spun a dance that drew in new suspects and strengthened the Kaiser’s existing suspicions.
Of course, the inaugural note had seemed innocent compared to the subsequent assassination of Kaiser Siegfried. Elberhard, Hans and Jan von Hamburg had quickly surmised that the secret Order of the All Seeing Eye were behind his assassination. However, they had no hard evidence for this belief. Hans’s investigation of the death implied it was the work of a prominent Bavarian, but Duke Lothar of Bavaria had quickly launched his own inquiry - fingering the Milanese and the Assassin’s Guild. The trail had gone cold, as cold as the corpses of the Milanese aristocrats Lothar had accused. With no solid evidence for their heinous accusations, Elberhard and Hans had been forced to remain silent for fear of public ridicule. At times even Captain Jan wondered if it were all paranoid delusions.
Elberhard had attempted to use Peter von Kastilien to infiltrate the Order, to provide the evidence he needed to uncover the secret Order as Siegfried’s murderers. Captain Jan had been present as Elberhard offered Peter a trade while the rebel was imprisoned in Rome - freedom and the future Imperial crown in return for Peter’s services against the Order. But while the new Prinz had proved eager to seek out his brother’s killers, the killers were less keen to seek out the Prinz. The plan failed miserably.
But the cataclysm had re-opened the wound. Elberhard had duelled Lothar in a proxy war for Swabia. But in the minds of many of the “Swabian loyalist” protagonists - Elberhard, Hans and Jan von Hamburg - it had not been a war for Swabia. Still less was it a war of Catholicism against Lutheranism. Instead, it had been a war against the secret Order. The war had ended with the fratricide at Bern and subsequent death of Hummel at Staufen. But while the conflict had been a victory for the Swabian loyalists, the wider conflict with the Order had merely been a draw. Captain Jan still had a copy of the terms of the ceasefire sent by Lothar to Elberhard.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Originally Posted by Lothar Steffen
Kaiser Elberhard,
Welcome back to civilization. I regret to report that it is not in as good as shape as it was when you were last here, but it is certainly doing better than Outremer.
I will get right to the point. You and I seem to have been fighting a proxy war in Swabia. You supported your brother, and I have supported those who wished to overthrow him. The situation is now resolved, and my allies have been defeated. However, your brother and Jan von Hamburg were both killed in the process, depriving you of two very influential supporters.
You may have emerged the victor from this round, but we are still evenly matched, you and I. If you attempt to move against me, I will defend myself with all my power. I assure you, that power is great and I have many allies. It would benefit neither of us to engage in such a war when the Reich is already so weak. So, I would like to propose a ceasefire in this quiet little war of ours.
Given your side's victories in Swabia, it is only proper that I give the greater concessions. I am not a fool and I know when I must accept some humbling. Therefore I propose the following terms:
1) Nuremburg is to be returned to Imperial control and will serve as the capital of the Reich and the home of the Diet until such time as Rome is recaptured. When Rome is regained, Nuremburg will be returned to Bavaria.
2) Neither Duke Lothar Steffen nor Kaiser Elberhard will speak ill of the other in public or attempt to make the other accountable for previous actions. The past will remain in the past.
If you agree to these terms, I will pay proper homage to you as Kaiser of the Reich and work with you to regain what we have lost. If you do not, I will rally my allies and prepare for war.
Please know that this offer of mine is an attempt to do what is best for the Reich; it is not an admission of defeat on my part, nor is it an expression of absolute loyalty to your person. You may believe me to be a criminal, but I think of you in the same way. It was Siegfried and his mad unification plan that brought this all about, not me. You aided him in his crimes and are as guilty as he was. Good and evil, right and wrong, are all a matter of perspective, my dear Elberhard.
So, shall it be peace, or war?
Lothar Steffen
Duke of Bavaria
So, Elberhard had chosen peace. Better to save the Reich, he had argued, than tear it apart in a continued struggle against the illusive Order. Captain Jan grew pale. Now the choice that Elberhard had faced was confronting him. He looked up at Jacobus. Kill him. Burn the documents. No one need know. The Reich could continue undisturbed. She was weak and sick, but growing stronger. Let her rest, regroup and recover. Forget the past. Honour Elberhard’s wishes.
And yet, Elberhard was dead. His brother, Hans the fighter, was dead - murdered in cold blood by a man he believed to be an agent of the sinister secret Order. Something hardened inside Captain Jan. He remembered what Jan von Hamburg had said when Elberhard had pleaded for restraint. Elberhard had begged Jan von Hamburg to try to save the Reich by avoiding escalating the Swabian conflict and bringing in more of the Order’s supporters out in the open alongside Duke Lothar. But Jan von Hamburg had hauntily retorted that a Reich built on compromise with the hated Order would not be worth saving.
Captain Jan looked up, his face set. His master, Elberhard, had been a good man but ultimately a politician. Elberhard's foul language and bluff manners did not conceal the fact that he was as keen on compromise and harmony as his father Henry. But Captain Jan was not a politician. He was a soldier of God. He would do what was right, even if the world burned as a result.
Jan spoke: “Jacobus, I believe you. And when they read these documents, the Kaiser and Chancellor will believe you too. I will send them on immediately.”
Jacobus heart leapt: “And what of me?”
Captain Jan contemplated the figure in front of him. Another soldier like himself, who had seen better times. Whose life had been ruined by being ensnared in crimes not of his design.
“You hail from Bohemia, do you not? I will send you to Count Becker. I believe he is an honest man and may be seen as impartial in this matter. He will keep you safe from the reaches of Duke Lothar. And one day you will be called to testify. When that day comes, your voice will carry more weight if you are sheltered within neutral Prague and not a vengeful Franconia.”
Jacobus stood up, eagerly - for the first time in many years, his future seemed bright. Captain Jan ruefully watched the man’s rise in spirits. If Jacobus’s future was bright, would it not merely be from the glare of the flames that were about to consume the Reich?
(graphics by Quirl, words by phonicsmonkey and Zim)
Welcome back to Tales from the Throne Room, our regular piece on the Org's community of hotseat and RPG gamers!
In this Chapter Four we'll invite you to join our new Total War: Shogun 2 RPG, provide an update on hotseat and RPG games in progress and share another of our favourite stories From the Vaults.
Total War:Shogun 2 RPG in development
Yes, you heard right! We're launching the Org's first RPG based in TWS2. We have several players signed up already but room for more so if you are interested in joining this game register your interest here and contribute to the discussion. We'd love to see you in the Throne Room!
Current Hotseat Games:
The Levantine Struggle
This is a five-player hotseat in the Kingdoms: Crusades campaign. The game has reached the 29th turn, the Fatimid Egyptians have been eliminated and the Turks are looking wobbly. With Jerusalem crippled by the long war with the Fatimids the major powers are the Byzantines and Antioch, who now face off for the ultimate victory...
Unification of the Isles
This is a five-player hotseat in the Kingdoms: Britannia campaign. It's turn 33 and the game appears to be entering the final stages. Wales and Ireland have taken some heavy hits in the most recent turn and for now it looks like the dominant English-Norwegian alliance will win out.
The Frozen North
This is an eight-player hotseat in the Kingdoms: Teutonic campaign which has been slightly modified to make Norway playable by a human player. The game has now reached turn 6 and we are down to five remaining factions: the HRE and Teutonic Order are allied and at war with Denmark and the treacherous Mongols. These two alliances look fairly matched and the war to decide the game should be a bloody and close-fought one. Poor Norway is holding on for now...just!
Glorious Achievements: A M2TW hotseat
This game is in the vanilla version of M2TW and started with eleven players. The aim of the game is to complete, within the 40 turn time limit, as many achievements as possible. These are listed in the first post of the game thread. We're on turn 36 so this game has four turns left to run. A war has been raging between Hungary, Turkey and Egypt on one side versus France, the HRE, Spain and England on the other. After an initial series of successes for the eastern alliance they were pushed back, losing Italy and much of Greece to the westerners. It appears that all seven remaining factions will survive to the 40 turn finish line and the question is now how many achievements has each faction been able to gather while at war?
Clash of Gods
This is a match in the Stainless Steel 6.4 mod between two teams, one of Catholic and one of Islamic factions. The game has progressed to its eighth turn, a crusade has been called on Moorish-held Silves and the Moorish Caliph has fallen in battle.
Wrath of the Khan 2
This is a game in which everyone teams up against the Mongol invasion. The game has been rolled forward to the time of the Mongol invasion and non-Mongol factions allocated randomly amongst the players. So far, by turn 5, the Great Khan's horde has exterminated the cities of Khiva, Urgench and Konjikala, killing 50 thousand civilians and 7 thousand of the Khwarezm Shah's finest troops in the process. Rumours have reached the Khan's ears that a group of nations are pooling their resources against him...the open question is, what is the Khan's intention? And exactly how many reinforcements are on their way from the far east to bolster his horde?
With so many games reaching their end it's time for a new generation of hotseat games to start.
End of the Third Age
This is a team match in the Third Age Total War mod. The Free Peoples and the Servants of Sauron will clash in war until a series of target cities is acquired by either side. The game has just started and we watch this one with interest!
Coming up soon will be a new Stainless Steel 6.4 grand campaign hotseat and with the Kingdoms games winding up we'll probably replace them with more of the same...so stay tuned and join a game!
There are no hotseats currently recruiting for players but if you are interested in joining or hosting a game post in the Hotseat General Recruitment thread and we’ll see what we can organise. It’d be great to see you in the Throne Room!
Current RPGs:
Kings of the Nile (KotN) is a roleplaying game where players control the Ptolemaioi faction from the Europa Barbarorum mod for RTW.
The number of active players is now three, so if you are interested in joining this game and the war against the accursed Seleucids, post here and join the fight!
From the Vaults:
This time we're going to continue the story of the first Broken Crescent hotseat in the Throne Room, Commanders of the Faithful, which ran for eighteen months between 2008 and 2009 and inspired a number of great stories, including this effort, originally posted by TheLemongate:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Konstantinopolis, beginning of Winter 1175
Manuelos Komnenos was sifting through reports from all over Asia Minor and Syria. Prospects looked good. Rebellious towns had been captured in central Anatolikon and Cyprus was once again Roman.
“At least this time that fool Kontostephanos hasn’t completely failed me.”
King Baldwin of Jerusalem had also sent his approval for joint operations in Cilicia. A positive step in bridging the gap between the two great branches of the Christian faith. The Empire had given shelter to Armenian refugees when the Seljuks had invaded a century earlier. Since then, relations between liege and vassal had waxed and waned. Though the little Cilician kingdom had helped both Latins and Romans, neither could fully trust them. Their deviousness and willingness to side with the Turks could not be tolerated and so an invasion was underway.
Tbilisi too had agreed to an alliance. Though Rome didn’t need the mountainous kingdom’s support in the immediate, the Georgians, through ingenious use of terrain, could resist for years to pressures from the East. A day might come when they would play a crucial role in Rome’s defense.
Nearly everything had gone according to plan. Nearly.
The Sultanate of Ikonion, Konya as the barbarians called it, had proven very aggressive in its negotiations. Not only did they not recognize Rome’s prior claim to rebellious towns still inhabited by Greeks and Romans, they threatened to storm Konstantinopolis itself while loudly clamoring their peaceful intentions at the court of the Arab Basileos…
“And to think that these mongrels, these barbarians feast only a few days ride from our heartlands in the very city where St-Paul himself gathered the faithful to perform the Eucharist!”
The Basileos was unnerved. He was a pious man. He had vowed to defend the holy places of Christendom whatever the cost to his person or to Rome. In his soul he was as much a crusader as his frankish allies but Turkish might was not to be underestimated. Unlike the Westerners, Rome had weathered the tides of time and had learned the hard way that patience can prevail where rash actions led only to disaster.
A sudden rustling of feet drew the Emperor from his musings. An aid entered his office.
“My lord, the men you requested are here.”
Manuelos answered with a nod.
The aid disappeared and ushered in a trio of eclectic warriors closely followed by four imposing varangian soldiers bedecked in full armor. The Basileos observed the men.
One was a warrior from Rus, a Kievan by the looks of him. His eyes were a pale shade of blue and his blond locks fell in waves from his helmet. He was dressed in an ample brown garment with little decoration. A vicious looking ax hung by his left side, while a byzantine-style sword was at his right hand. A large metal-rimmed shield made of wood was hung over his back.
The second man was from the steppes. A Cuman, or maybe a Turkman. His skin was darker then that of Greeks and Romans and his eyes had the cold black stare of Asia. His face was emotionless. One could barely discern a tiny smile creeping into the corner of his mouth which would send shivers down the spine of lesser men. Manuelos noted that there might have been as many as seven different blades on the mans accoutrement, each of a different and exotic design. The man must have let the small, compound bow for which his kin was known with his horse.
Finally, the last man was a Norman. Towering a foot above his two companions, he was a match in size and muscle even for the varangs which escorted him. His dress was simple for the occasion. He wore no armor and his bare arms showed the scars of many battles. Scars earned fighting Rome no doubt…
The Basileos admired the men before him. Some of the greatest warriors of this age, all come to sell their strength to Rome. And Rome was paying in gold and silver.
“How many men do you command,” he asked?
“Eighty knights from Apulia, armed and armored in the finest norman steel.”
“A hundred infantrymen from Kiev and another hundred from Novgorod.”
The asian looked at his companions and smiled:
“Five hundred horsemen from the steppes armed with bow and javelin.”
Manuelos was pleased.
“I shall take command of the host myself. We are to meet the Roman army at Dorylaion and move to the front at once. If the Turks want war, we shall bring them war!”
Welcome back to Tales from the Throne Room, our regular piece on the Org's community of hotseat and RPG gamers! (written by phonicsmonkey and Myth)
In Chapter Five we'll provide the usual update on current games and let you know what's coming up that you can sign up for.
We also feature an interview with Throne Room regular Nightbringer as well as finishing up with another old favourite story From the Vault.
Before we get started though, take a look at our Comprehensive Guide to Hotseat Play, written and compiled by our resident content manager Myth. It's a must-read for anyone planning to face off against other humans in a TW hotseat campaign!
The game is gearing up for an epic struggle between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Principality of Antioch. A clash of veterans and massive empires will mark the zenith of this game, while the much smaller and weaker Kingdom of Jersualem and Ottoman Turks have been reduced to supporting roles against the might of Antioch.
A bloody war has already began in the east, while the western nations still solidify their positions and assess the situation. The mighty Mongol Horde has all but eradicated the Kwarezmian Shah however the Cumans, ERE and Turks all make way with hordes of their own to meet the invaders of Genghis Khan.
This hotseat set in Tolkein's Middle Earth is still in it's early stages, not in the least because the mod has huge distances, low income for the human players and it does not allow forts to be built. While Mordor has started pushing Gondor at Osgiliath, Saruman of Isengard left the solitude of his stone walls and ballista towers, and attempted to take on nearly two full armies of Rohan's finest cavalry, and lost the battle in the process.
This is a game with predetermined teams of four factions each, who contest target cities between themselves, as well as the final game-winning prize: Jerusalem! Currently players have been replaced on both sides, but from the very start, the Crusader States (who are on the Muslim team) have quickly eradicated the AI-controlled Fatimid Caliphate and have began pushing into Greece and mainland Europe.
Meanwhile, in the West, the mighty Moorish Caliphate valiantly resists the onslaught of Leon-Castille , France and England.
This promising hotseat is still in it's early stages, and most all of our active players have joined in the fray! From the very start, the Eastern Roman Empire's position at the relative center of the map had made it a target. The Empire chose to make war on Sicilly as well as the massive Fatimid Caliphate. However, diplomacy played a keen part in having several more factions join the fray against the Romans. Meanwhile diplomatical failure (or victory, depending on whom you ask) has sparked war between the formidable Moorish Caliphate and the Kingdom of France. Will he be able to repeat Charlemagne's feat, or will the Moorish tide sweep across Western Europe?
This game is a direct remake of the previous Britannia game, which showed us much tension and back-and-forth non-stop battles for 30+ turns. Right now it is still in it's early stages, but already Norway finds itself with the Isle of Man blockaded by a superior Irish fleet. Meanwhile the traditional deathmatch of a Britannia game, Wales-England, has begun, with England's troops consolidating on the smaller nation, while Wales will have the fight of its life to look forward to!
Recently completed games:
Glorious Achievements - this M2TW hotseat capped at 40 turns has been won by Silvershield, and the last 10 turns were marked by true Total War! The HRE, commanded by Myth, taking over from TriforceV, had grown large and scary, but in a led-battles game with determined enemies in a team, no one is safe! Silvershield and his Hungarian troops managed to destroy army after army of the opposition, all while Thanatos Eclipse and his Spain backstabbed Nightbringer's France, allowing Silvershield to rake in more achievements than the otherwise very well positioned French Kingdom.
Unification of the Isles - This 41 turn massacre of a game was intense from turn 1. Wales, masterfully lead by Ignoramus, began a severe onslaught against England, led by Myth, all while Ireland, under the leadership of Nightbringer, prospered on its own island. Meanwhile up north, a deathmatch between Zim's Norway and Cecil XIX's Scotland had already began.
A fortunate (for Zim) turn of events had all of Scotland's FMs killed, thus turning them rebel and out of the game. For the next 30 or so turns, everyone was fighting everyone, apart form England and Norway who had formed a secret alliance which lasted until the end of the game, with Norway raiding and crippling Ireland while England slowly and meticulously turned the tide of the war with Wales and the bulk of Ireland's armies.
The Frozen North - This game was full of non-stop fighting pretty much from the start. While the Teutonic Order, led by Myth and the Holy Roman Empire (led by Slysnake) had forged an unbreakable alliance and with joint efforts, eliminated Nightbringer's Poland by turn 6, Visorslash's Denmark had managed to push back Ignoramus's Novgorod. Once again, Fortuna had her say and Novgorod's FMs were slain in a pitched battle, resulting in the faction turning rebel.
Thanatos Eclipse's Lithuania made a strong effort to wipe out a spread out TO, but their inferiority in autoresolve ultimately proved too much. Later, a joint backstabbing by the Mongols, lead by Phonicsmonkey, and Denmark, saw the end of the TO and HRE, though not by elimination but by Denmark getting the required number of provinces to win the game. The game had progressed to such a state however, that Visorslash's Denmark had grown too big and too rich to be reliably defeated in an AR game.
Upcoming hotseat games:
A remake of the previous Teutonic hotseat has all but started. There is one more faction slot left. Claim it now! This will be a led-battles game, so anyone can win.
A Shogun 2: Total War RPG is in the making, signatures will be available soon. Join the storytelling and roleplaying masters in the Throne Room's trademarked style of cooperative game!
Myth has been advocating for a rematch with the .net and a second "When Worlds Collide" game. We need one more player. Do you have what it takes to defend the .org's honour?
Interview with Nightbringer:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
- Hello Nightbringer!
Hi Phonics!
- So, what originally brought you to the Throne Room?
What originally brought me here was an invitation to participate in Dogs of War by its original host, Lemongate. I had been active in the .net Stainless Steel hotseat community for a while and his invitation was the first I heard of the .org. Once I had joined that game, I quickly started signing up for games here rather than the .net. I don’t want to start any controversy, but the smaller more intimate community here got me far more involved in the games, as did the presence of roleplaying in diplomacy threads and such.
- You won your first hotseat game, Dogs of War which was in Stainless Steel 6.2. What are your memories of that game and to what do you attribute your success?
One of my favorite parts of that game was the very tense relationship that developed between myself (Kieven Rus) and the Seljuk Sultanate, who were under the control of Barcamartin. He was at war with my ally, Hungary, and I was doing everything I could in role-play to convince him I was staying out of the war, while simultaneously building up for an attack. I was about to spring my trap when he caught me at my dirty trick and did some serious damage to my invading force. I just really enjoyed the tension of the diplomacy in that situation.
As to my victory, I think the key was building up my strength in a corner of the map while everyone else was at war. We were playing without rules against building destruction, so a lot of the rest of the world was a wasteland, while my lands in the North East were fully developed. By the time I went to war I had built up an enormous army, fleet, and spy network. This allowed me to simply plow through resistance despite losing the element of surprise. Also key to my success was the early alliance with Hungary, which allowed me to completely ignore my western border, freeing up a lot of troops for Northeastward expansion against the ai.
- Since then, which games have you enjoyed the most and why?
That is hard to say really, but I think Glorious Achievements was one of them. I came in late, but I built myself up really well only to have everything come crashing down in the last few turns of the game. It was a unique experience and taught me not to trust allies too much. I also found it very interesting how much I managed to expand and succeed for much of the game without really winning any battles versus other players. I feel like I made a lot of mistakes in that game but somehow managed to still do well for most of it.
I also like the way March of Time is shaping up, a lot of players seem interested in the diplomacy side of things and that is a big draw for me. I won’t go into too much detail fro fear of revealing my plans though.
Really, every game has something unique about it that makes it the most fun in one way or another.
- What did you think of the RPG, Vassals and Valour?
I found it very interesting I think is the best way to put it. It is a concept which has a lot going for it, but the sheer amount of rules was very intimidating at first. Figuring out both the politics and the mechanics of the game at the same time definitely made it harder for me to get involved. Once I was involved I started really enjoying the game. It is just such a different experience from everything else that it really breathed new life into M2TW for me.
- Would you join another RPG in the future?
I definitely would, but I think something with a little less potential for actual war between players would be more to my taste. Civil war is great in terms of role-play, but it is so hard to do mechanically that it bogged things down. I think a game with a more co-operative aspect might be easier to do. Possibly having the players battle against the host as a group in a setting like the 100 Years war. Or possibly two teams in the same conflict. This would decrease the chances of people actively trying to attack each-other, while still allowing for competition and possible betrayals where they join the opposite side in the war.
- I understand you are the all-seeing eye these days. How's that going for you?
So far it is going pretty well, although I would expect to see more of the map considering I am literally an all-seeing eye. I managed to get a crucial victory against Gondor and captured Osgiliath, but I am worried that my lack of cavalry is going to doom me eventually due to their power in led battles.
- You are clearly a Throne Room veteran: what tips would you give to new players?
One of the most important things, although pretty basic, is limiting your fronts. It is very hard to successfully fight a war in multiple places. Faction choice is one of the biggest factors in this. Due to the nature of the map, corner factions have two completely safe borders, making them much stronger than they might appear otherwise.
Along these same lines, try to force your enemy to divide their attention. If you are planning on starting a war, try to sneak small forces into positions where they can attack settlements behind enemy lines. This can occasionally be done with forests, but is much easier with armies in boats. If you get far behind their lines, they should have minimal forces in the area so your small army might take a settlement, damaging their economy and forcing them to send troops away from the front. If you can draw enemy forces back into their own territory, you then have a much better chance of taking frontier settlements, and forcing them onto the defensive should keep your own settlements safe.
- One last question Nightbringer: Reggae or Sci-fi?
Sci-fi, especially if you include fantasy. I grew up with the Lord of the Rings (the books), Star Wars (the originals), D&D, and Warhammer. I like Bob Marley, but I don’t know much else in terms of reggae.
- Thanks Nightbringer
Thank you phonicsmonkey!
From the Vault:
Continuing the story of the first Broken Crescent hotseat in the Throne Room, Commanders of the Faithful, which ran for eighteen months between 2008 and 2009 and inspired a number of great stories, including this effort, originally posted by Askthepizzaguy:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Wednesday, 10th day of MuHarram 571 Anno Hegirae, the year of the Hijra, التقويم الهجري July 30, 1175 AD, Christian Calendar
Karaman, central Anatolia
The seige of the rebel stronghold goes well. They have but a few infidel soldiers guarding their wooden walls, but a direct assault will still be costly. These people are outlaws and thieves, and recently bandits from the area were spotted in Konya, the home of our most magnificent Sultan. Kilij Arslan himself, the pious leader of the Anatolian Turks, commands the seige forces.
"Soon they will rejoin the civilized race of men,"Arslan said to Allah, with whom he frequently spoke. Allah said nothing in return of course, but Arslan knew that his deeds were pleasing to the lord, and counted only the Almighty among his allies.
But all that was set to change. The negotiations with Armenia had begun. Although we do not trust these people, we do not begrudge them their Christian faith. Indeed, Arslan is a man most pious, but most welcoming of other Men of the Book. And the rumors of an assault on Cilicia would put the young Turkish Sultanate in a very difficult position. Being wedged between three hostile Christian powers, the Roman Empire, the Georgian Kingdom, and the Holy Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Turks were but a struggling outpost of the Great Islamic Civilization.
Yes, truly the heart of the civilized world was at Baghdad, the nursery of the entire world and the center of all learned thought. The radical and heretical teachings of Christian Europe have clouded their scientific advancement, and they have for hundreds of years fallen behind the great Islamic Caliphate in terms of literacy and raw scientific knowledge. They call us barbarians, but do they speak the language of science, Arabic? It is we who have revived the ancient but advanced teachings of the European masters, the Greeks.
Our advancements over the Christians include the inventions of the astrolabe, the parachute, and an ingenious mathematical device known as the analog computer. Our knowledge of astronomy, physics, mathematics, and chemistry is matched by none in the known world. We developed the first true soap centuries ago, and the unwashed Christians still do not possess any. Still they call US barbarians while they battle plagues caused by their lack of sanitation and their severe poverty. The Islamic world is rich and beautiful, and we have no idols scattered around to divert our attention from the one True Faith, as the Christians do. Their sad devotion to that man in the white dress and pointy hat is probably the reason for their apparent lack of forward progress.
However, the Sultan still welcomes Christians in his land. Perhaps under our tutelage, they too will join the race of civilized men. Inshallah, they will prosper under Islamic rule. The Sultan sees great potential in the Europeans, if only they would welcome the teachings of the Prophet as much as we have welcomed the dhimmis; Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Mandeans, and, in the far east, Hindus and Buddhists. People of all faiths prosper under Islamic law, and unlike the intolerant peoples of Christian Europe who do not even welcome their brothers of the faith, we welcome Christians, Orthodox and Catholic alike, and their many different churches.
Allah has smiled upon the faithful in this rich and glorious land. The Islamic civilization spans from the distant shores of west Africa all the way to the distant Chin peoples of the far east, and still we are growing and bringing more infidels under the Prophet's enlightened teachings. If only there could be peace between the Christians and the Muslims, the world would be such a wonderful place to live, the Sultan observed. He vowed to bring about such a world, and make friends with the Christians, and spread his philosophy of tolerance and brotherhood to the war-torn peoples of Europe.
His overtures towards the Roman Empire, however, were met with much skepticism. Still, we have reason to believe there might be peace with them, as they are considering our offer of alliance in exchange for a demilitarization of our border, so that we may turn our righteous arms towards the Crusader infidels of the Muslim Holy Land, Jerusalem, who even now advance north towards Syria... for what diabolical purpose, only Allah can know. But we must find friends and allies, or else this land could be torn apart by war. The Sultan hates war... but he is prepared to fight, if the time should come.
A messenger arrives from the north, bringing good news:
"The Kypchak tribes of the North have united! They have pledged their allegiance to us in exchange for a military alliance against aggressors!"
The Sultan smiled. The northern tribes were no threat to us, and they were pagans, but they had great potential as friends and allies to become part of the Islamic civilization. If they would allow our Imams to spread the word of the Prophet, we will back them in battle against all foes. The Sultan dispatched an emissary towards the Georgian Kingdom, which is now allied to the Roman empire. Although these people had declared their intentions to expel the Muslims from Anatolia, our recent peace overtures have been welcomed, and they seem to be holding their swords. All is going according to plan, thought the Sultan. Surely nothing could happen now which would bring war to Anatolia. The Romans have been offered an alliance, and the Kypchaks have joined us, the Armenians and the Georgians are our friends... nothing can stop the peace process now.
Tales from the Throne Room
Originally Posted by Lothar Steffen
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