SS 6.4 - "Europa I" - Late Era

[Húrin the Steadfast]

https://img545.imageshack.us/img545/7108/castleq.png
SS 6.4 - Late Era - RR disabled - Savage AI - Very Hard/Very Hard
Objectives: Have 30 regions + the amount of regions you own from the start of the game. Have 100 prestige.
Administrator: Húrin the Steadfast (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?95221-H%FArin-the-Steadfast)

This is a SS 6.4 hotseat with complex mechanics like Infamy, Prestige and National Stability.
RPG is optional but strongly encouraged. Players who write stories ( 200+ words without spam) will receive financial bonuses added to they're faction. The bonus is 1500 gold per story. The bonus is only added by 1 story every 1 turn, making more stories then one in a turn does not give you more gold. Also, some pictures won't hurt.


FACTIONS

Kingdom of England - Rougeman (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?93911-Rougeman) - Infamy 0/30 - Prestige 5 - Stability - 0.1
The Egyptian Caliphate - Nightbringer (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?33927-Nightbringer) - Infamy 0/30 - Prestige 7.5 - Stability - 0.05
The Moorish Caliphate - Mithridate (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?94564-Mithridate) - Infamy 0/30 - Prestige 14 - Stability - 0.05
Holy Roman Empire - freakkriek (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?95229-freakkriek) - Infamy 0/30 - Prestige 2 - Stability - 0.1875
Kingdom of Sicily - OPEN - Infamy 0/30 - Prestige 5.5 - Stability - 0.1
The Crusader States - Myth (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?59196-Myth) - Infamy 0/30 - Prestige 5 - Stability - 0.2
Republic of Novgorod - LooseCannon1 (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?93828-LooseCannon1) - Infamy 0/30 - Prestige 0 - Stability - 0.2


NATIONAL IDEAS
Every faction must choose a national idea, that will give a certain bonus from the start to his faction:

Imperialism: Gain 100% prestige from all settlement captures and vassals.
Mercantilism: Receive 125% more prestige from merchant income modifier.
Centralization: Receive an additional 35% of your starting florins at the start of the game.
Band of Brothers: Receive a 3/4 stack army with random quality in a random position of your territory.
Propaganda: Reduce your Infamy gain by 50% from all modifiers and increase your Infamy reduction every 3 turns by 50%.
Diplomacy: Gain +2 Prestige for each ally. Lose no prestige from failing to join allies in wars.
Divine Intervention: Ability to make your faction immune to any military aggression from other human factions for 5 turns. Can be used in any point of the game for one time only.
Administration: Receive 75% less stability loss from negative bonuses.


NATIONAL STABILITY
Each faction has a Stability meter, which ranges from -3 to +3. The lower it is, the more negative bonuses you receive. The higher it is, the more positive bonuses you receive. Stability is influenced by: Prestige, Casus Belli, financial status, diplomatic relations (how many factions at war with, how many allied), current war progress (how well are you doing in your current war against a human).
Bonuses can be: Financial, army morale (chance for some random units to desert), population amount.

National Stability is updated for factions every 5 turns. These are not limited and new ones will be added without notification. National Stability modifiers are:


*have prestige +25 or more +0.2
*have prestige +50 or more +0.3
*have prestige +75 or more +0.4
*have prestige +100 or more 0.5
*not bankrupt 0.1
*allied with 5 or more 0.1
*at war with nobody +0.15
*war with human successfull +0.1
*have 50,000 florins or more +0.2

*have prestige -25 or less -0.2
*have prestige -50 or less -0.3
*have prestige -100 -0.4
*bankrupt -0.1
*war with 5 or more -0.1
*war with human unsuccessfull -0.15
*have more then 20 regions -0.05
*have more then 30 regions -0.1
*have more then 40 regions -0.15


INFAMY
Each faction has an Infamy meter, which ranges from 0 to 30. The higher it is, the more negative bonuses you receive. The lower it is, you receive no effects. Infamy reduces over time. Infamy is increased by: Human enemy settlement captures, battles won, destroying human factions, forceful vassalization.
Negative bonuses can be: If over 30 limit, all other factions receive financial bonuses for capturing settlements from you. Also they do not need Casus Belli to declare war to you. Also all positive stability and prestige effects are reduced by 50%.

Infamy is updated for factions every 5 turns. These are not limited and new ones will be added without notification. Infamy modifiers are:


*reduce in 5 turns -1.5

*human settlement capture +1
*battle won against human +0.2
*destroy human faction +10
*force human to become vassal +5
*betray ally +3
*break an agreement +1.5


PRESTIGE
Each faction can acquire Prestige. This ranges from -100 to 100. If you reach 100, you have completed one victory condition. You receive no effects if it is higher or lower.
Prestige is increased by: Human enemy settlement captures, battles won, destroying human factions, having vassals, merchant income, capture important settlements (Jerusalem, Constantinople, Rome, London, Krakow, Kiev, Cordoba).
Prestige is decreased by: Losing settlements, battles lost, not joining wars declared by allies, betraying allies, being at war with too many AI factions (4 or more).

Prestige is updated for factions every 5 turns. These are not limited and new ones will be added without notification. Prestige modifiers are:


*human settlement capture +1
*battle won against human +0.2
*destroyed human faction +15
*have human vassal +5
*merchantilism +0.5 per 500 income
*important settlement captured +5
*stability is 3 +10
*have more then 20 regions +2
*have more then 30 regions +5
*have more then 40 regions +8

*Lose settlement -1
*battle lost against human -0.2
*don't join wars declared by allies -3
*betray ally -5
*break an agreement -2
*at war with 4 ai factions or more -3
*stability is -3 -10


CASUS BELLI
Casus Belli means "reason for war". You must have Casus Belli, if you declare war on a human faction. Also if you decide to declare war on a human faction, you must announce your Casus Belli choice in the thread. Casus Belli choices are:

No Casus Belli - (Decrease National Stability by 2, 0% infamy increase, 0% Prestige increase)

Aggression - "They are a threat to our faction" (100% infamy increase, 75% Prestige increase)
No conditions.

Imperialism - "They would be better off integrated into our faction" (100% infamy increase, 150% Prestige increase) for:
Destroy faction.

Reconquest - "They hold regions that are originally ours" (0% infamy increase, 100% Prestige increase) for:
Capture specific settlements that were originally yours.
Sicily: Ragusa, Durazzo, Tunis, Rome, Ancona.
Moors: Palma, Valencia, Toledo, Lisbon, Silves.
HRE: Bruges, Arhus, Venice, Dijon, Zagreb.
England: Caen, Rennes, Caernarvon, Edinburg, Galway.
Novgorod: Reval, Mensk, Bryansk, Kiev, Serdobinskaya.
Egypt: Kerak, Jerusalem, Acre, Nicosia, Qarisiya.
Jerusalem: Damascus, Antioch, Gaza, Aleppo, Alexandria.

Defender: If the attacked player wins the war, these modifiers apply: 50% Infamy, 100% Prestige for: Everything, unless "Reconquest" settlements are taken, in which case Infamy hit is still 0%.


RULES
BASIC
Reloading IS ALLOWED.
Every turn must be played within 24 hours of the previous post made. If a player needs to be subsituted, then he must PM the Admin(me).
If a player does not announce a need for substitute and is over the time limit, he will be removed from the hotseat once that happens 3 times.
Everything that happens in the hotseat should not be taken personally by any player of this hotseat.
Players are not allowed to attack other human factions in the first 2 turns. The game starts at turn 2, so you can only start attacking human factions at turn 4.
BATTLE
If an army is defeated, it may not move the next turn. Also it may not be attacked the next turn. The last part doesn't apply, if the army retreats into a fort, settlement or fleet.
Player VS Player battles must be autoresolved showing the battle pictures of mouse over odds and results, also siege equipment or spies, if it is a siege.
You are not allowed to completely destroy human armies. They must have a way to retreat.
You cannot attack fleets inside ports.
You are not allowed to move your fleet away from a blockaded port. You must destroy the blockading fleet first.
You cannot keep your fleet in docks, if your fleet has armies in them. This rule does not apply to any agents.
SETTLEMENT
Only military and religious buildings are allowed to be destroyed.
You can only destroy buildings once you have control of that settlement for 3 turns(including the turn captured). So if you captured a settlement in turn 10, you can destroy buildings on that settlement at turn 13.
You are not allowed to destroy buildings, if that settlement is under siege.
If you receive a settlement, that is gifted to you, you must disband all units inside that settlement except one.
Only 2 forts per 1 region are allowed. If you control 10 regions total, you can make a maximum of 20 forts in the game.
Extermination IS ALLOWED.
AGENTS
You need at least 2 spies to open gates of a human settlement or fort. Against the AI, only 1 spy is needed.
Assassins cannot sabotage. Assassins are only allowed to assassinate other agents in their own regions.
No exploiting merchants in the form of a merchant stack.
CRUSADES AND JIHADS
Crusades and Jihads are BANNED.
DIPLOMACY
You are not allowed to ally Papal States.
You are not allowed to gift a region, that is in a war zone(bordering by land a faction you are at war) to another faction. You may gift a region, that is not in a war zone if you have controlled that settlement for 3 turns (including the turn captured), so if you captured a settlement at turn 20, you can gift that settlement to another faction at turn 23.
You are not allowed to intentionally destroy your own faction. This includes but is not limited to moving your armies into obviously bad positions, gifting most of your regions to any other faction etc.
EXPLOITS
All bugs, exploits and cheats are not allowed to be used in the game.


MAPS
Turn 1
4464
Turn 5
4958
Turn 10
5276

[Myth]

Hello and welcome Húrin (read the book a few months back, loved it btw!).

I like this idea and I would participate but there are some details to iron out:

1. It requires a lot of Admin intervention to enforce the rules/bonuses/penalties. Some of them may not even be possible in SS without modding or the Admin playing EVERY non-human faction.
2. You can't force players to uphold the diplomatic penalties or bonuses versus other factions. If a faction declares war for no reason and goes to -2 how am I supposed to act? Is it not the point of hotseats that I may choose my own faction's reactions and ations?
3 Before giving us the starting options to choose from and various bonuses, it is imperative to explain to everyone what each of your new game mecahnics do and what they mean. I've played very little EU and it was too sluggish for me and seemed too much like Sims where I had to breed kings and princes, then a medieval war game.

So, what is prestige, infamy, stability etc.? How are they measured? Who keeps track of the numbers? How do they affect the M2TW game?

If this is played in SS Early without timeskipping the starting gold bonus is laughable because we play VH which means 10k starting gold. 25% of that is 2500 which is insignificant for Early SS where you have more gold than you know what to do with anyway.

May I suggest skipping forward in time to about the year 1200? SS's early era units are too boring, even with RR off. Oh, and you must determine how victory is achieved. Will this still be a conquest/landgrab classical HS game? Do we play by the Grand Campaign victory conditions for each faction?

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Hello and welcome Húrin (read the book a few months back, loved it btw!).

I like this idea and I would participate but there are some details to iron out:

1. It requires a lot of Admin intervention to enforce the rules/bonuses/penalties. Some of them may not even be possible in SS without modding or the Admin playing EVERY non-human faction.
2. You can't force players to uphold the diplomatic penalties or bonuses versus other factions. If a faction declares war for no reason and goes to -2 how am I supposed to act? Is it not the point of hotseats that I may choose my own faction's reactions and ations?
3 Before giving us the starting options to choose from and various bonuses, it is imperative to explain to everyone what each of your new game mecahnics do and what they mean. I've played very little EU and it was too sluggish for me and seemed too much like Sims where I had to breed kings and princes, then a medieval war game.

So, what is prestige, infamy, stability etc.? How are they measured? Who keeps track of the numbers? How do they affect the M2TW game?

If this is played in SS Early without timeskipping the starting gold bonus is laughable because we play VH which means 10k starting gold. 25% of that is 2500 which is insignificant for Early SS where you have more gold than you know what to do with anyway.

May I suggest skipping forward in time to about the year 1200? SS's early era units are too boring, even with RR off. Oh, and you must determine how victory is achieved. Will this still be a conquest/landgrab classical HS game? Do we play by the Grand Campaign victory conditions for each faction?
Hello. I will answer your questions in the order you asked:

1) The admin intervention i will be making will only be through the console, as i am not a modder.
2) The point of those bonuses and penalties is to make the players more responsible, as the game now has a lot more consequences.
3) I explained the mechanics a bit in the first post. You need to specify what you want to know. But basically they are there to make the game more complex and harder to play. I am not sure if Prestige will be implemented though, probably not.

I will be handling most of the things that go on in the hotseat, the players do not need to do more.

The game will be played in Late Era, like i wrote in the title.
National Ideas are not final and are just there to give you an idea of what they are. The +25% gold start capital was pretty random.
The game mode will be Hard/Hard as i have always used it and think its the best.
The 2 hotseats i have hosted back in twcenter.net have both been with skipping turns, however it takes a lot of work to do it, so i prefer to start from turn 1/2.
The victory conditions will be something like this: Control 40 regions + the amount of regions you own from the start of the hotseat.

Lastly, the mechanics Stability and Infamy will be shown in the first post about every faction. This will make it easier for me to check them and players to see as well. It will be interesting.

The ruleset will be mostly standard from twcenter.net. The important parts are that reloading is allowed and its auto-resolve against humans only. However if the majority opposes these rules, i will change them.

There will also be map pictures in the first post every 5 turns with no delay. The hotseats of this forum seems to lack them.

If you have more questions, please ask.

[Mithridate]

As stated on .com Im in :)

[phonicsmonkey]

Welcome to the Org and to the Throne Room Húrin the Steadfast!

As I said over at the TWC I really like this idea and think it's somewhat similar in approach to our Glorious Achievements game in that it tries to create outcomes that are not like in a typical hotseat.

I particularly like the idea that you can be penalized if you go to war without a cassus belli.

You should find the guys here a good spice of innovative thinking to refine your ideas and get this game off the ground.

If you want a large group of players and don't find enough on one of the sites alone you could consider dual-hosting the game across both fora as TriforceV did with the Dual Alliances game.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Another Estonian in here?!

Anyway, I'll be following this. Looks interesting.

[Nightbringer]

Welcome Hurin!

This looks very interesting to me as well, but I do have a few questions/concerns.

Concerning nation stability:
What do you mean by ai influence on cities?

What would you think of including number of regions controlled into this calculation? This would help represent the fact there there are significant problems associated with large empires.

What exactly would the penalties be? The console is pretty limited in what it can do really. You can change money, population, build buildings, and not much else in terms of cities. You can't change happiness levels or anything like that.
Basically, I like the idea of stability, but I can't see how to actually implement it. I would love to hear your ideas on this though.

concerning Infamy:
I personally don't like the thought of including mechanical things like this in player decisions of who they want to trust or not, as figuring that out and acting it out is a lot of the fun for me.

When you say other players will get bonuses for attacking a player with infamy, what do you mean by this exactly? Financial benefits?

That said, I like the idea of Casus Belli as it gets players thinking about what the purpose of their wars is.

One way I can conceive of implementing infamy would be in combination with prestige.

The way I am thinking, prestige would be this.
The victory condition for achieving victory would be reaching a certain level of prestige. Lets say 100 prestige.
You can gain prestige through a variety of actions, including things like.
Capturing settlements.
Controlling resources with merchants. (could get really interesting I think, making the "merchant sub game" actually come into play.
Having vassals.
Building high level governmental and/or religious buildings.
Holding cities that hold religious significance. (Jerusalem for all, Constantinople for Orthodox, Mecca for Islamic, etc...)

Infamy would play into this by being a modifier on the level of prestige required. For example, if you have 3 infamy (on a 0-10 scale) it could subtract 30% from the amount of prestige you gain from any action.
Alternatively, Infamy could give additional prestige points to players that capture cities or take resources from you.
Stability could also be made into a prestige point modifier potentially.

I don't want to highjack you game though, I'm just throwing out ideas.

I also really like the concept of national ideas, and I think having a good variety of these with significant bonuses would be really fun. They could potentially play into the whole prestige thing as well, modifying the amount of points you get for certain types of actions. Making them secret choices by players could also be interesting.


Anyway, I am definitely interested, and would love to hear what you think of my ideas.

[Myth]

So long as we are clear on the rules I'm game. Oh, and not getting negative impact for no Cassus Beli is too big of an advantage to be allowed at turn 1. I know I'd take it over any of the other options for sure. Provided we work out a system of how infamy is addressed diplomatically.

[Rougeman]

im in

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Nightbringer:

AI influence means which kind of effects does your settlements have, whether negative or positive. If a settlement has a lot more positive effects then negative, then it will influence the stability by a small amount. I am still thinking about that, how well that can be abused.

Adding number of regions controlled to the calculation is a good idea. I will implement that, however it will have a small impact on the stability.

The penalty effects on low stability would be financial. But also sometimes a small portion of units would be deleted due to low stability of your faction which would make the troops desert. Also reducing some population on some cities. These are only in the cases of very low stability though.

About infamy: It is not a matter of who you can trust or not, you can still make those decisions yourself. It is there to prevent factions landgrabbing too much too quickly and playing more carefully. The bonuses other factions will get are financial. For example, if you capture a certain settlement from the infamous player who has gone over the limit, you will get an amount of florins from it. Possibly even not need a casus belli to attack that faction.

I really like your idea of Prestige and will implement it like that with some added conditions. However not having vassals, as i believe that can be abused.

Infamy being a Prestige modifier is a good idea. However the scale will be like this:
Everyone has 0/30 infamy at start. If you go over 30 the other faction bonuses comes into effect.

Stability will also be effected by Prestige and Prestige will be effected by Stability.



Anyway i believe i have enough together to create the hotseat including the rules. I will update the first post.

You can already start picking factions, as you know the mod is SS 6.4 so gogo.

Oh and by the way, if there are any artists out there, i would be glad for a large rectangular title screen. I cant offer you anything for it though, just putting it out there.

[Rougeman]

England

[Nightbringer]

Excellent!
As far as vassals went, I was thinking along the lines of human players that agree to be vassals, never ai factions as I agree that that could be abused.

As for faction, I'll take the fatimid caliphate.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Okay finally edited the thread.

Please choose an idea too.

The modifiers of each mechanic might be changed without notice as there are a lot of factors.

[Mithridate]

Fatmid, dang NB took em...
Moors

Diplomacy

[Myth]

I still need to read over everything but great work! Question on the start:

is this vanilla LATE SS 6.4 or is it EARLY SS 6.4 moved forward? Cause in the rules you have "The hotseat starts at turn 62, so you can attack other human factions at turn 64."

I haven't played much Late SS so I ned to take a look at the starting conditions, but I would probably take the Mongols or if they are not allowed, the Teutonic Order or the Crusader States. Honestly I can do wit a lot of factions either way. This game is just what we've been needing - something more refreshing, new and restricted on the total landgrab we usually get in a massive FFA hotseat.

[Nightbringer]

I like the rules for the most part, but I think there could be a few modifications.

For one, I think the diplomatic national idea is far too strong.
Since prestige points allow you to win the game, receiving 100% more is a huge boost.
Also, the one's that are just starting bonuses are a little lackluster.

Here are a few ideas of mine.
Imperial: Gain 100% prestige from all settlement captures and vassals.
Mercantile: Gain 100% more prestige from merchant domination
Centralized State: Gain an injection of cash every 3 tens equal to 10% of your treasury, * your stability. (dived by if stability = negative)
Band of Brothers: Receive a full stack army with random quality in a random position of your territory.
Propaganda: Reduce your Infamy gain by 50% from all modifiers.
Diplomatic: Gain .1 prestige/turn for each ally. Lose no prestige from failing to join allies in war.
Divine Intervention: Ability to make your faction immune to any military aggression from other human factions for 5 turns. Can be used in any point of the game for one time only.
Organized: Suffers 75% less stability loss from stability penalties.

As to merchant domination, I think it might be easier to track if it simply is based on income from Merchants. Say, +.5 prestige for every 100 florins of merchant income, calculated every 3 turns. (I'm sticking with the 3 turn update you chose for the stability etc...)

Also, what exactly are the penalties for infamy now? And also, how do the prestige and infamy %s work in regards to Casus Beli.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Myth: Sorry i copied the rules from my other SS 6.4 hotseat and that part just was left in by accident. The game starts will probably start in turn 2 Late Era, not early.

Also, Mongols are not allowed.

Nightbringer: Prestige is not the only victory condition, however i will change it to something else.

I liked some of your suggestions on ideas, but i will not add them all.

I changed some ideas, if you want to change if you already picked, then post so.

By the way, you cannot gain prestige every 3 turns by the modifiers. The modifiers are there stationary. For example: If you have captured a settlement, you receive 1 prestige and thats it, not one time every 3 turns. Same with having a vassal or 2. Having 2 vassals only gains you 10 prestige, not 10 prestige every 3 turns.

[Myth]

If the Mongols are not allowed to be human will their stacks be disbanded? I don't want to play the CS and have my whole cosmos revolve around pushing back a Mongol tide that just crushed the AI K-Shah in late SS.

Also, why H/H and not VH/VH? VH battles give morale bonuses to the AI, which are much needed since flank-raping them is so easy.

[Mithridate]

If mongols are Removed i might take the kwaz :)


- something more refreshing, new and restricted on the total landgrab we usually get in a massive FFA hotseat.
But i like massive landgrabbing :O

[Myth]

Also, make it so that National Ideals are secret at the start of the game. Players have to observe what penalties/bonuses others get to figure them out. This is also to ensure that no one decides to reject alliances to a Diplomat or gang-rush an aggressive NI faction.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

The Mongols power will be reduced. VH/VH will be used and National Ideas will be secret. Mithridate if you wish to change your idea, then PM me.

If someone objects to those things say so in this thread.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

We really need some more people here though.

[Nightbringer]

Alright, looks great, sending you my national idea choice. Also, a last couple basic questions.

For casus belli aggression, it says 100% prestige increase, 75% infamy increase. Am I correct that this means you gain 100% of the prestige points for taking settlements etc... from the faction you are attacking, and only 75% of the infamy points you would gain for doing. e.g., capturing a settlement from that faction would get you 1 prestige point, and .75 infamy points.

Also, you listed that "Assassins are only allowed to assassinate other agents in their own regions." Does this mean you are only allowed to target enemy agents that are within your borders? If so, I don't see why that needs to be the case.

Finally, we generally have used a rule at the .org that siege weapons can only be used to breach walls according to their type. Ballista can't break any walls, catapults and mongonels, may only break wooden walls, and trebuchets may break any walls. Do you want to use this rule. If not, no problem, I just wanted to clarify.

Edit:
Oh, and when you use divine intervention, are you still allowed to take hostile actions against other factions?
And on second thought, i am going to wait to choose my national idea till I see what the player base is, and what their faction choices are.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Alright, looks great, sending you my national idea choice. Also, a last couple basic questions.

For casus belli aggression, it says 100% prestige increase, 75% infamy increase. Am I correct that this means you gain 100% of the prestige points for taking settlements etc... from the faction you are attacking, and only 75% of the infamy points you would gain for doing. e.g., capturing a settlement from that faction would get you 1 prestige point, and .75 infamy points.

Also, you listed that "Assassins are only allowed to assassinate other agents in their own regions." Does this mean you are only allowed to target enemy agents that are within your borders? If so, I don't see why that needs to be the case.

Finally, we generally have used a rule at the .org that siege weapons can only be used to breach walls according to their type. Ballista can't break any walls, catapults and mongonels, may only break wooden walls, and trebuchets may break any walls. Do you want to use this rule. If not, no problem, I just wanted to clarify.

Edit:
Oh, and when you use divine intervention, are you still allowed to take hostile actions against other factions?
And on second thought, i am going to wait to choose my national idea till I see what the player base is, and what their faction choices are.

Yes, although those terms apply only if you fill out the conditions. If you fail to do so, you receive negative benefits. Less prestige gain and more infamy gain.

Yes

I dont like the siege weapon rule, i prefer players can use whatever they want.

When you activate Divine Intervention you are not allowed to attack human factions for the duration that they are not allowed to attack you too, aka 5 turns.

By the way, if you people want your ideas to be secret, you need to PM me the choice or it will still be public.

[Nightbringer]

gah, double post, sorry.

[Nightbringer]

Okay. Just out of curiosity, why are assassinations only allowed within your own borders?

Also, Zim, phonicsmonkey, Cecil XIX, Ignoramus, The King

This game seems up your ally, interested?

[Húrin the Steadfast]

I have always used that and there has not been a problem. Just a preference of playstyle i guess.

[Myth]

Ballistae can't open anytying in SS. Also in SS Mangonels are Tier 3 siege weapons like Trebuchets, not Tier 2 (unlike the Teutonics expansion). I'm on from my phone, i'll make my faction and NI choices on Sunday. I don't like spies being allowed to open doors when loading is allowed. What is to stop me from making 2 then loading untill the doors swing open and i get to assault?

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Ballistae can't open anytying in SS. Also in SS Mangonels are Tier 3 siege weapons like Trebuchets, not Tier 2 (unlike the Teutonics expansion). I'm on from my phone, i'll make my faction and NI choices on Sunday. I don't like spies being allowed to open doors when loading is allowed. What is to stop me from making 2 then loading untill the doors swing open and i get to assault?
Well nothing but others can use that against you as well. This was the best choice out of all i believe.

[phonicsmonkey]

Also, phonicsmonkey

This game seems up your ally, interested?

I am interested but I have decided I'm not going to be able to join for two reasons. Firstly I'm already in two large and two small hotseats as well as the LotD RPG so I'm really over my personal limit of games right now. Also I can't reliably play within 24 hours due to work and family commitments as well as the timezone I'm in.

So while I find this idea really interesting I'm going to have to stay on the sidelines.

Húrin the Steadfast didn't you have some guys at TWC who were interested too? (Three over there now I count them, which makes seven in total, eight including yourself)

Why don't you set up a thread at each forum and share the game across both? The save can be passed from one to the other when necessary. This is what I meant earlier by dual hosting.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Okay i have invited people to register in the forum and join in the game, as i do not want to host a dual hotseat. Secondly, i was hoping there would be more hotseat players then just 5-10 in here...It is kind of sad.

[phonicsmonkey]

Okay i have invited people to register in the forum and join in the game, as i do not want to host a dual hotseat. Secondly, i was hoping there would be more hotseat players then just 5-10 in here...It is kind of sad.

I can understand why you wouldn't want the hassle of running a game over two sites. Thanks for inviting them here!

We have about 20 active players across all the games but I guess they aren't all interested in this one.

[freakkriek]

hi,
Hurin thanx for the invite
i'll take the HRE if that's possible
and for the idea i'm still chosing but i'll edit this post as fast as possible I just wanted to be sure of a place in this hotseat ;-)

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Still need national ideas from Rougeman and Nightbringer. Also Mithridate, Mongols will not be removed, but will be weakened significantly. Please let me know of your answer if you wish Moors or Khwarezmian.

Lastly about "Reconquest" Casus Belli. I will let you people know which settlements are considered originally yours, so you can use that Casus Belli. But only when we have all the players which are 6 to 9.

[Dallor]

I will take Denmark, I'll pm you the choice of my National Idea?

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Yes but as its customary for me to ask new players:

How long have you played?
Did you read the rules and accept them?
Are you a member of twcenter.net?

[Dallor]

How long have you played? I have played on stainless steel for quiet some time, can't put a time on it dough.
Did you read the rules and accept them? I've read them and I accept them
Are you a member of twcenter.net? Yes my username there is Adelwolf.

[LooseCannon1]

Well, Hurin if this game gets going you will find yourself with a lot of work. Are you going to be playing or just administering? I suggest just administering because you will be very busy checking saves every three turns to verify point totals. As it's not going to be a "skip" game (i'm refusing to join anymore of those. The AI is just too stupid to build my empire.) and you seem to be limiting it to 12 or less I'll join in as Novgorod.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

I will not be playing, as i am aware it would put too much work for me.
By the way, it will not be a skip a few and the players will be 9 or less so you can join right away.

[phonicsmonkey]

Welcome to the throne room Dallor and freakkriek!

[Nightbringer]

Welcome to the throne room Dallor and freakkriek!

Yes, welcome!

[freakkriek]

Yes, welcome!

thx for all the welcomes... :)
i'm checking this forum out to see if the hotseat community here is more "alive" then at twc since the beginning of a game has been there a real wonder there

hoping for a challenging game
c ya in game Nightbringer and to bad you can't join us phonicsmonkey hpefully we'll meet in another game

[Myth]

OK I'll go with the Teutonic Order. I'll PM you my NI.

[Rougeman]

Ill pm my NI once all nations are locked in

[freakkriek]

so loosecanon wants Novgorod
and Myth TO
so that brings the total number of players to 7... come on guys only one more and it can start

[Húrin the Steadfast]

I am fine starting with 7 players too, however i still need the ideas of Rougeman, Myth and LooseCannon1. If anyone else wants to join, they can join during the game.

[freakkriek]

i'm game for starting now...

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Ideas missing from Rougeman and LooseCannon1. Also added a section to first post about RPG. Will make it shorter here. Basically RPG is encouraged. 200+ words without spam and you will receive 1500 florins for each story. Will be added to your faction every 5/10 turns. Deciding which.

[Myth]

Good idea! I'll whip up a title image for this game. Any preferences?

Hold on, Húrin the Steadfast I wish to change my faction choice (and national ideal probably). I took a look at the TO's starting position and it's quite underwhelming, I thought they had more armies to begin with.

Regarding the Band of Brothers NI, are the units chosen at random from what the faction can recruit at the start? Any exceptions? Is each unit slot rolled for separately?

Also, during the grace period at the beginning, we just cannot attack human players right? Can we attack the AI? Can we take actions with agents? Can we move our armies in human faction's territories?

[phonicsmonkey]

Basically RPG is encouraged. 200+ words without spam and you will receive 1500 florins for each story. Will be added to your faction every 5/10 turns. Deciding which.

This is such a fantastic idea I might implement it across all my games! You should be called Hurin the Innovative

[Húrin the Steadfast]

This is such a fantastic idea I might implement it across all my games! You should be called Hurin the Innovative
4441

In twcenter.net for some hotseats it is pretty common.

I still need NI from Rougeman then we can start.

Myth: If you need reference then i like these kinds of title pictures:
https://img710.imageshack.us/img710/4607/wis.gif
https://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6263/wotkn.jpg

But the picture definetly needs to be rectangular, everything else is your own free will.

Band of Brothers NI will be complete random, the stack is not formed by what your faction can recruit at start. There may even be elite units in there, or peasants. Some units may have many slots, others only 1. However i am still thinking on where i can find the unit names for console...

During grace, you cannot attack human factions or take any other hostile action towards them. This includes hostile actions with assassins/spies. Also, you cannot move into enemy human territory during grace. You are allowed to attack AI during grace period.

Also if you wish to change faction or NI, just pm me.

[Myth]

Heh, since I made both of those images It's an easy reference to follow :laugh4:

I am definitely changing my faction, I'll PM you later on today.

[Nightbringer]

However i am still thinking on where i can find the unit names for console...


export_descr_unit (or maybe just descr_unit) in the ss6.4 data folder
:)

[Myth]

Húrin the Steadfast when do you want the game to start? I don't want to slow it down, I just want to iron out some details with fellow players before I settle on my faction choice.

[freakkriek]

Húrin the Steadfast I just want to iron out some details with fellow players before I settle on my faction choice.

what do you mean????
come on you already know everybody here since you play a lot. you have the adventage that every one will believe you when proposing alliances or plans... is it really necessary to already make pre-game alliances??

[Myth]

I always do my diplomacy before the start of the game. I even advise players to do it in the guide. That being said I haven't contacted anyone who I won't cross paths with in the early game.

[freakkriek]

That being said I haven't contacted anyone who I won't cross paths with in the early game.

ha.... meaning me =D

[Myth]

Húrin the Steadfast My final faction choice is the Crusader States. My National Ideal remains the same.

freakkriek well meaning mostly everyone actually :laugh4:

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Okay, still waiting on Rougeman...

Cant prepare the save before everyone says their NI.

[freakkriek]

[MENTION=95221] My final faction choice is the Crusader States. My National Ideal remains the same.

wow brave idea.. i think i've never seen a hotseat where the crusaders survive....
can't wait to see what you do... :) since you've just became my rolmodel :p

[QUOTE=Húrin the Steadfast;2053429806]Okay, still waiting on Rougeman...

Cant prepare the save before everyone says their NI.

hurry rouge go go go

[Rougeman]

hurry rouge go go go

sadly i posted the PM a few minutes after he went offline

[freakkriek]

timing is a bitch =p
but ok then it'll start any moment now
can't wait guys

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Okay creating the save now. Will be up night of today or tomorrow.
In the meanwhile please make sure you have the correct SS 6.4 setup to prevent bugs.

Here is the correct setup to use:
4462

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Okay save is up.

Things to note:
1)Factions can be viewed by all of turn 2. I know some people will see what your faction idea is but to prevent that i would need to wait to get passwords from all 7 players, which will take too much time.
2)Please use prefix EU_ before your save name.
3)Before starting to play your turn, make sure you have correct setup i have said in the previous post.
4)Remember the thing i said about RPG.

Also i didnt notice that there were a file attachment system on this forum so i will currently upload it to a 3rd party website.

Anyway, Sicily is up!

EDIT: Fixed save, new link here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?285bx3c673q524z

[Dallor]

Turn played, now it's Egypt's turn.

http://www.mediafire.com/?3apb903s7q0vwd3

Stored the file here.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Also for the new players: Remember to PM the next player after you have played your turn.

EDIT: A song to start the mood :yes:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYKUeZQbMF0

EDIT2: Also added Reconquest settlement names in first post under Casus Belli. Not historically accurate i know. Also note that you do not need to capture them all in one go to fulfill the requirement. 1 is enough.

[Dallor]

Here comes a perhaps stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway, sometimes AI themselves call a crusade or a Jihad, are you then allowed to join it or not? If it was not called by a human player?

[Húrin the Steadfast]

No you are not allowed to join it.

[Myth]

My final faction choice is the Crusader States. My National Ideal remains the same.

wow brave idea.. i think i've never seen a hotseat where the crusaders survive....
can't wait to see what you do... :) since you've just became my rolmodel :

hurry rouge go go go

Hehe thanks freakkriek I will do my best not to disappoint! The survival of the CS largely depends on how many Muslim factions are human controlled and if it's AR or lead battles. If you want to see a beastly CS game see how SilverShield developed them in Clash of Gods!. He took out the AI controlled Fatamids in SS Early in 8 turns I think, WITHOTU using a Crusade.

[Nightbringer]

Of course, it also depends on whether the muslim factions are hostile to the CS... :)

I will be able to play my turn sometime tonight.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

How come there are sudden bursts of people browsing the throne room every now and again? Right now i see 24 when there are normally 2-3.

[Dallor]

Of course, it also depends on whether the muslim factions are hostile to the CS... :)



Lol 't seems like you've struck a nice deal with each other, or I'm just jumping to conclusions ^^. Anyways I'd be fun if the Middle east would be controlled by two major factions, because then a backstab is never far away.

[Nightbringer]

HRE up!
freakkriek
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10019

[freakkriek]

"Hear ye Hear ye,

The noble Kaiser Frederick The Champion has declared his lands to be open to all trade.
All representatives of all countries and all religions are welcome in his lands and will be treated as fellow kinsmen.
All trade rights will be accepted, all map information will be given if equally shared.
All quarrels with His Holiness the Pope will be forgotten and forgiven."

This is the message that spread throughout the know world. Kaiser Frederick payed almost 500 messengers to ensure the delivery of his message to all kings, sultans and Tsars of some importance.
The opening of the borders and search for new trade didn't happen without reason.
Ever since his quarrel with The Pope the Kaiser was sucked into all sorts of internal problems which did not benefit the Empire one bit. After a particularly pathetic problem where the soldiers complained about the pillows in their barracks Frederic snapped. He ordered all the armies under his command to march in his lands...

This continued for several months. Those months were the worst months in the German soldiers life, they marched seemingly without purpose through mountains, plains, fields,... The morale became so low that the captains warned Frederic about the possibility of a mutiny. The Kaiser replied with the now famous words
"The eagle isn't meant to walk but if it will help him survive he'll walk till the end of time".

The Kaiser unmounted his horse and started marching with the soldiers. Our Kaiser is compassionate.
The Kaiser ordered the death of every man that wouldn't keep up the pace. Our Kaiser is strict.
The Kaiser kept marchingwith his troops for two whole months. Our Kaiser is fit.
The Kaiser held after the last day of his "Great March" a wrestling Tournament. Our Kaiser is fun.
The Kaiser rewarded his wrestling Champion with a field promotion and brotherly hug. Our Kaiser is US.

After this march Frederic got an unwavering army, commanders loyal to the bone and a country filled with people who knew that The Kaiser would let this empire be all it could be!





4482

England is up.

[Myth]

The marketplace was hot and crowded - the yellow desert sun above mercilessly showered the land with scorching heat. The dry air mixed with the dust and sand blown over the streets by the eastern wind and both mingled with the sweat that poured from underneath his mail and doublet. All that made Baudouin de Lorraine quite unhappy to be out here instead of the cool stony cellar of some tavern or better yet - near a fountain in the gardens that abounded in the inner courtyard of the keep.

Jerusalem had been theirs for over a hundred years yet the knights of Europe were still strangers here. The crowded marketplace was full of colorfully dressed people - men in red and green and yellow robes, baggy trousers and peculiar boots with curved tips. Veiled women, rattling with the sound of the gold coins sewn to their headdresses and woven in their belts, loud merchants trying to out yell one another, each urging the buyers to gaze at his wares. The scent of spices, of charred lamb and of sweat dominated the area, and the strange wild barking of the Saracen men or the hissing of the Jews made little sense to the French knight. Everyone here was dark of skin, at least so could be judged by their faces. Baudouin himself had been as pale as marble when he had first set foot here, so many years ago. Now his face had grown more rugged, his beard had thickened, and the arid winds and unforgiving heat of the Levante had given him a complexion that would fool his own mother if he were to present himself as a Moor or Saracen.

His mail rustled as the knight tried to vanquish an itch that originated deep beneath the chain, the padded leather doublet and his smallclothes. It soon became apparent that it would be easier to fly than to subdue this itch trough his armour, and that annoyed Jean greatly. Somewhere to his right a merchant was shouting "Sharba! Sharba!" and that was all he needed to hear. He approached the stand, produced some copper coins, minted not but a year ago with the likeness of his Majesty King Jeran, and he took a long and deep swig of the cool and sweet drink the locals made. This particular kind tasted of lemons, honey and spices, and smelled faintly of rose petals, and it was God's own blessing for days such as this one. And such days were far from uncommon.

Jean saw the German long before he was spotted himself. Tall - a giant even amongst Europeans, the knight towered over the local folk like a thing of legend. Jean himself was quite an able bodied man, well over six feet, strong and durable, with years of training and several campaigns under his belt, and with a hefty number of scars to show for it. His own tabard was black with a white cross - another thing that brought him discomfort, as it made him feel as if he was baking in a furnace whenever he were exposed to direct sunlight. If not for his size, Jean envied the German for his Order's tabard. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem had inverted the combination, with a black cross on a white field. Much more prudent when one was doing war in the desert.

Jean allowed himself to be disgruntled with the uniform of the Order when he had the time to be alone and brood, but his faith and loyalty to the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem ran as deep as the marrow in his bones. Everyone who valued their sanity did not use the full name of either of the three knightly Orders unless ceremony or special occasion required it. Thus, they would still be the Teutonic Knights, the Hospitalliers and the Knights Templar. Jean felt sadness when he gazed upon the face of his comrade. Ludolf was blond and blue eyed, like so many of his countrymen, and the sun had tanned his skin red, especially on the cheekbones and the nose. He had not been able to grow tanned despite spending so much time here. This was still amusing to Jean, though he would not make jape of it.

"Brother!" The Teutonic knight exclaimed and grasped Jean's forearm in a grip that could crush rock. The Frenchman returned the gesture and they embraced with smiles on their faces.

"Come to see me off mein freund?" Ludolf's voice boomed like thunder. His shoulders were wide, thick with muscle even beneath mail and tabard. He maintained a great blond beard and the arabs and persians took extra effort to keep their distance from the frank. Germans, French, English, Venetians, Hungarians, Danes - they were all franks to the natives. It was amusing, and somewhat ironic. Jean thought little of such ignorance, but that was to be expected when peoples from two ends of the world met. Plus, Ludolf could be called much worse than a frank. Though probably not in his presence.

"Oui, how could I not? It seems as yesterday when we first met in the port of Venice. Now we part ways. Such is the will of God." Jean answered with a calm voice and they made their way trough the crowded market. The local folk gave them little more than a scared glance and quickly scurried away from their path. Except for the children, who ran around yelling and laughing, dressed in little more than rags. They were not afraid to bump and push into merchants or caravan guards or even frankish knights. Their innocence showed wisdom, as they regarded all men equally, or rather - they disrespected all elders equally. The Frenchman smiled.

"Ja, indeed eleven years have come and gone, and there is still more of God's work to be done. At least I will see the green hills and lush forests of the Empire once more. I would hate to die in the sands without doing so. And mein wife of course, though It has been so long I hardly remember what she looks like."

Jean nodded. He himself had left a wife and two infant children when he departed to do God's work at the age of nineteen. Her name was Claire and he remembered her vividly. Even if they had spent only ten months together after his father arranged for their marriage, he had grown fond of the girl. This girl was now a woman of twenty eight, and she would probably not recognize her Lord husband when he came back. If he came back.

The two knights spoke French - the Burgundian dialect. It was the best form of French Ludolf could muster, and he did rather well, even if his words sounded as if chiseled from rock instead of flowing like water as the language would allow.

"I have never liked the cold of northern Europe, though now I long for air that is not filled with dust and heat as if rising from the bowels of Hell itself! What of these... Lithuanians? I've received word that your campaign so far has been a success. Do you think the Order will come back to do God's will here in the Levant once the pagans have been subdued?"

Ludolf scratched his neck and inspected the black beneath his nails with a concentrated look. "Success yes, but not complete victory. Also, I have overseen the packing and shipping of the last of our possessions - I think we shall not be coming back here, nor to Acre. Unless His Holiness commands it, though even his bidding has a limit. It cost us mountains of gold to transport everyone back to the shores of Europe."

Jean's thoughts went to Antioch. They had lost it to the Fatamid Caliph, and it was a bitter defeat to suffer. Acre was a fine citadel to have, but Antioch was an important center for pilgrims, sea trade and all three orders had erected places of worship and chapter hoses there.

"I think His Majesty may yet send us to reclaim Antioch and Damascus. The war is far from over, and I am loathe to not have you at my back, sir." Jean was honest, and he smiled at his comrade. The German furrowed his brow and looked down for a spell.

"It would be a dangerous gambit. Bloody business that - assaulting such strong positions. You will lose men, and the Saracens will lose men. Yet knights are hard to replace, and his hordes of camel riders are endless. And Caliph Al-Kamir is no fool - he will strike at Jerusalem and Acre while your armies are North. How long do you think the King will last without the Holy City we were sent to protect? How long until desertion and attrition make you lose more ground, more men and more strongholds? You have Krak de chevaliers and the Templars have Nicosia but those too will be overrun in time, so long as you lose even a single foot of soil to the enemy. A dangerous gambit indeed."

Jean nodded. Such a war would be to the great disadvantage of all involved, especially the pilgrims and small folk. Yet what was to be done?

"If it is the will of the King we may do naught but collect our swords and courage and do his bidding, no? We all joined these Holy Orders for salvation of our eternal souls. Well, most of us did. But death is not something we should shun away from."

"Yet you must not embrace it either. Watch yourself little French man, and make it back safely to Europe. I will take you to Bavaria and you will taste real ale, not that horse piss you drink in France, hahaha!" The knight bellowed loud enough to turn a few gazes towards them. Except for a camel that was stoically standing besides them, gazing into the cracks of a nearby wall. These beasts had more courage than some men Jean knew, and that was in itself funny, or sad. It was all a matter of perspective.

[Rougeman]

Mithridate

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Very nice RP so far, however i would like to see some picture too.
Anyway, a reminder that you can only receive the bonuses with RPG from every 1 turn. That means that even if you make RPG stories more then once every turn, only one time counts. This is to prevent RPG writers having too big of a financial advantage after non-RPG writers.

[Nightbringer]

Do battle reports count as RP?
I was planning on doing one for this turn since I haven't figured out what I want to write about more fully. Plus, full on story writing has never really been my thing.
Also, could we start a courtroom for the game? If we are putting emphasis on RP I would love to have a designated place for diplomats, since diplomacy RP is the kind I like best!

[Húrin the Steadfast]

I think we should keep all RP in this thread. And yes After Action Reports also count as RP.

[Nightbringer]

Okay, we have generally done separate courtroom threads here to keep things clear, but we can try mixing it together too.

To everyone,

A messenger, garbed in elegant dark green silks, and bearing a gold encrusted scroll case, arrives in your capital with a small escort. The scroll he carries is an invitation for all leaders to send diplomat's to the city of Alexandria of the Ayyubid Dynasty.

Upon arrival (assuming you send a diplomat), your diplomat is escorted to a large domed building near the coast. Inside, they are led through a curtained doorway into a spacious and well lit room. The roof is open in the center, allowing sunlight and the fresh sea breeze to flow down onto the large circular table that is the central focus of the room. Bowls of figs, almonds, and pomegranates, and lain out on the table, and a stick of incense burns in the center, mixing with the smell of the nearby Mediterranean pleasantly.

Several men dressed in white silk stand attentively near the table, holding trays of crystal glasses filled with clear water.
At each of the two doorways to the room, a stern looking, but silent Mamluk stands at attention, his eyes scanning your diplomat as he enters, clearly checking for any signs of weapons.

Seated at the table, in the largest and most lavishly cushioned chair, is a portly man dressed in flowing red embroidered robes leans back, surveying the entering diplomats. A full beard and fashionably trimmed mustache adorn his round face, and he appears quite welcoming and jolly in all but his piercing green eyes which apart from being quite unusual for his ethnicity, having a piercing nature to them that makes one feel rather uncomfortable.

This man waves a hand for your diplomat to come to the table, and introduces himself as Abu Fadi El-Amin.

[Mithridate]

Miswar looked out over the desert as the sun set, thinking back on the days event. Sultan Tahirs message had arrived hours prior, changing everything for him and the household.

Out on the rocky, sand covered plains he observed as some farmers returning home to their families after a merciless day under the sun. Forever amazed over how pointless they and their lives where while yet being absolutely vital to the Sultanates existence. How they carried them all on those worn backs, planting the very seed of all of their futures in the meager soil.

Now, by the command of the Sultan he was their master in all but title. Tahir had put all his authority on him and declared holy war for the reconquest of Iberia, the decree being that all men in iberia must be allowed the true teachings of Allah and not forced to the Christian faith. No true Muslim can stand aside and watch their neighbors be turned from the one true god.

"Tahir have spent too much time in Cordoba and luxury if he thinks me to sit aside in this great war, I shall show our people who I am and what I am capable of! No Portugiese, Aragonese or Castilian shall stand against me as i do the work of god, I will lead them on the path of the true faith or i shall destroy them."

The armies of moor where already massing but they where to fight under his banner and not the one of his father, he would see to that.

Novgorod up

[LooseCannon1]

Myth Crusaders up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10023)

[Myth]

Húrin the Steadfast, why are we not using Huge unit scale? :confused:

Sicilly (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10025) up. Dallor

[Dallor]

Nightbringer

You're up.

http://www.mediafire.com/?7aj8hbykfqpyoo9

[Húrin the Steadfast]

I guess i forgot, sorry.

[Nightbringer]

I guess i forgot, sorry.

Thats okay, its not a huge deal... :earmuffs:

HRE up! freakkriek
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10026

Does nobody want to come to my courtroom?

Also, when is it that you get the money for RP posts?

[freakkriek]

Kaiser Frederick walks restless in his tent. In order to make his empire great he must have friends... powerfull friends! To have agreements is one thing but to have the agreements followed is another question. Luckily the Kaiser has two more diplomatic weapons in his arsenal. His son and heir, Heinrich, is still unmarried but needs a wife quickly to produce offspring that in one day hopefully will inherit the world. Secondly his daughter Elisabeth von Hohenstaufen is in need of a husband.

Frederick instructs his finest diplomats to spread the word that any faction heir that marries his daughter can count on his unwavering loyalty and gratitude, a dowry worthy of an Imperial princess.
The country of the princess that marries Heinrich will be protected and considered equals as long as their offspring rule the empire but a fitting dowry is expected.

Now the only thing the Kaiser can do is wait...



England is up Rougeman
4553

[Nightbringer]

Wow, we really are moving fast!

Are people interested in having diplomats together in a city? I find it makes general proclamations easy to disseminate, and also promotes some good debates over international policy, and some good boasting by the diplomats of successful empires.

here is an example of how that has gone in the past for those of you who don't usually play here
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?130302-The-Grand-Wager-Glorious-Achievements-Diplomacy-Thread

[Húrin the Steadfast]

I believe the best time to add RPG money is after every 3 turns, the same time as i check all modifiers.

[Rougeman]

Mithridate

[freakkriek]

Are people interested in having diplomats together in a city? I find it makes general proclamations easy to disseminate, and also promotes some good debates over international policy, and some good boasting by the diplomats of successful empires.

fine by me, it's a good idea

[Myth]

Started working on the title image.

https://img13.imageshack.us/img13/7800/castlejk.jpg

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Looks good!

[Myth]

It comes out much more washed-out than it is as a file on my screen. I think firefox messes with the colours somehow.

I think it's better now, plus I fixed the spelling mistake:

https://img545.imageshack.us/img545/7108/castleq.png


Just put this (removing the two spaces before and after IMG) at the top of your first post Hurin.[ IMG ]https://img545.imageshack.us/img545/7108/castleq.png[/IMG]

[Mithridate]

Cagliari and palma taken with minimal losses to our forces, Silves and Valencia both under siege as our spies failed to open the gates... Miswar smiled and addressed the messenger

Good, send in the Sicilian then go refresh yourself. I have need you to carry a message on the marrow.
The man bowed and swiftly exited the large chamber, the guards closing the heavy doors behind him.

By the time the doors opened Miswars servants had served fresh fruits in bowls, one the heirs pedestal and one on the pompous cushions arranged for the Emissary while heavy incense filled the room with exotic aromas and leaving a minty taste on the tongue.

The Sicilian looked like a small man, slightly hunched as he approached. Miswar was relieved that the man spoke arabic as even the mans namem Lorenzo D'altemundo sounded like an atrocity when he attempted to pronounce it. The eyes of the diplomat flashed nervously over him and the surroundings, yet Miswar thought he saw a glimmer of deep intelligence non theless. He inclined for the man to seat himself on the cushions with a greeting.

"It is good that our Sicilian neighbors could send a man so quickly, you are welcome in my city but i must keep this brief as im leaving for war. My father have given me full authority over the Caliphate and with those rights i offer trade , map information and should you accept, an alliance between our two great peoples. United hold over the Mediterranean cannot be contested, our fleets will have an iron grip on the rich trade while we prosper in friendship."

Novgorod up

[Dallor]

Cagliari and palma taken with minimal losses to our forces, Silves and Valencia both under siege as our spies failed to open the gates... Miswar smiled and addressed the messenger

Good, send in the Sicilian then go refresh yourself. I have need you to carry a message on the marrow.
The man bowed and swiftly exited the large chamber, the guards closing the heavy doors behind him.

By the time the doors opened Miswars servants had served fresh fruits in bowls, one the heirs pedestal and one on the pompous cushions arranged for the Emissary while heavy incense filled the room with exotic aromas and leaving a minty taste on the tongue.

The Sicilian looked like a small man, slightly hunched as he approached. Miswar was relieved that the man spoke arabic as even the mans namem Lorenzo D'altemundo sounded like an atrocity when he attempted to pronounce it. The eyes of the diplomat flashed nervously over him and the surroundings, yet Miswar thought he saw a glimmer of deep intelligence non theless. He inclined for the man to seat himself on the cushions with a greeting.

"It is good that our Sicilian neighbors could send a man so quickly, you are welcome in my city but i must keep this brief as im leaving for war. My father have given me full authority over the Caliphate and with those rights i offer trade , map information and should you accept, an alliance between our two great peoples. United hold over the Mediterranean cannot be contested, our fleets will have an iron grip on the rich trade while we prosper in friendship."


Lorenzo D'Altemundo would first hesitate, then he would quickly reply without having to consult his king. " I'm sure our king would accept, well, our prince certainly does, I've had a word with him before we left. He said that I should try and persuade you into an alliance since you generously propose this already I believe we have ourselves an agreement. I will surely sent for the prince to come so you two can have a great feast and discuss some of the details of this alliance."

After this he would hunch forward a bit toward Prince Miscwar. He would slowly whisper: "In my honest opinion you should make sure you make all the arrangements with the prince, the king is getting rather old. It would be best if you and the prince would settle on everything M'lord since he will take over the crown in a matter of years."

Lorenzo would slide back to his cushions, with a soft smile he would start telling a story wich would explain a lot about the current events.

"One day there were two other empires here where ours currently are, the were called Carthage and Rome, both crumbled due to time. But at their greatest moment both were magnificent. If they wouldn't have waged war live as we have now would be completely diffrent, they would have ruled the Meditteranian still. As soon as my Prince will have settled his bussiness in Italy, we should, like Carthage and Rome should have done, devide the sea between us two, it would be an alliance wich will go into the books of history. Two empires, of diffrent faith, working togheter to make sure that no lesser countries attempt and take the sea that is ours. Our fleet will be magnificent and off course a safehaven for every merchant. It still happens to often that poor merchants, or even navy ships get attacked by pirates when we will bundle our powers this all will be over. There however is one country that we must look towards with cautious eyes. I've heard of another alliance between people of diffrent faith, equally strong as ours will be. You must know you brothers of the faith, the Egyptians? They have made a strong alliance with the once glorious crusaders who now have deminished into pure corruption, no longer serving the lord but only serving their own lust for power. This is a problem we will have to adress. There are many, many powerfull countries who will see our powerfull alliance as unholy, but fear not we togheter, like family will overcome them. Those Spaniards will certainly succumb to your mighty army's I'm sure, but please my friend we should think about the future, we have to make sure that we will controll this sea, because as you know controlling the see is an extreme advantage. If someone would try to invade you by sea they would first have to come trough our strong navy, we can cut off their commerce togheter we can accomplish everything."

The diplomat would take a large inhale of breath after this explanation and take a sip of wine. He'd then look towards Miswar once again, I'll arrange a meeting between you and the prince?

[Mithridate]

Miswar bites down on a juicy grape, trying to hide his excitement

A meeting between princes, future rulers to be... yes, make the arrangements. I will travel to Valencia where he can meet me, or Palma should he wish.There is no doubt in my heart that we shall come to a mutually beneficial agreement, but consider our great nations allies from this day fourth!

[LooseCannon1]

The save for now, I'll write something soon. Myth Crusaders up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10029)

[Myth]

I'll play it tonight, though this smaller unit scale really bugs me. I also think I'll resize the title image, it's too big and doesn't fit well after the automatic resizing the forum software does.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

If it bugs you, do you know how to fix it? Restarting the hotseat is not an option unfortunately.

[Myth]

The rocking of the litter and the stillness of the hot, sticky air inside was beginning to set her stomach foul, but somehow the girl endured it. It was narrow, with space barely for her tiny frame and that of her lady in waiting, and of course the ever looming shadow of her mentor and guardian, now sitting still, with lips pressed together in constant disapproval, and clutching her rosary beads as if they were a flail.

Yolande de Brienne sighed and instinctively raised her hand to loosen the conical headpiece strapped to her head with linen wraps, but a sharp stare from Sister Magdalene was all that she needed to reconsider and in defeat, return her delicate pale hands back to her lap.

"It was courteous of Caliph Al-Kamir to send his servants to fetch us all the way from the gates." Alanetes' voice was low and timid, and the girl was too obvious in her attempt to make this trip more bearable. Sister Magdalene eyed her from the opposite end of the litter and replied curtly.

"If they would have had carriages instead of this appalling and barbaric means of transportation, perhaps I would have been more impressed. Even allowing our own carriage to the palace would have sufficed, but forcing honourable ladies to be paraded trough the town on such a contraption is almost an insult in itself."

Yolande smiled at her mentor and resisted an urge to blow air down her cleavage. Her breasts were almost going to burst from her corset and small beads of sweat ran down from her neck and into the cleft between the two orbs that so easily reduced men to gibbering idiots. She was being hailed as one of the most beautiful women in the world, if not the most beautiful.

*paused*


Sicilly up. (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10031) Dallor

[Dallor]

Here Nightbringer

[Nightbringer]

freakkriek
hre up!
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10035

[freakkriek]

When word reached the Kaiser that the English had launched an assault on the French he didn't waste a second. First he ordered his trusted diplomat Helwig to try and establish an alliance with the mighty English empire.
Secondly he called all his troops to arms and invaded France. In only 6 months two french cities were already besieged. The invasion can already be called a succes.

Further more on the diplomatic front some decissions have been made. Poland has proven themselves to be worthy of an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire. A diplomat was send to greet the Crusaders States representative and hopefully a beautifull friendship will blossom between those kingdoms.
Diplomats are being trained daily in order to have a easy way to communicate.

The Kaiser proposes to find a city, where all diplomates could gather in order to speed diplomatic agreements.
A city central in the world would be best so the Kaiser proposes Rome as diplomatic meeting point.

England is up Rougeman
4652

[Rougeman]

The English King agrees with the Holy Roman Emperor, the city of Rome is the perfect candidate for diplomatic negotiations for all nations.

Mithridate

[Nightbringer]

The Abbyusid Sultan sends word that since the emissaries of the great nations have not seen fit to meet in his own lands, he will consent to send a man to Rome.

[Mithridate]

Minswar dully looked at the dancers as they swirled around the floor, sitting in the hot halls all day dealing with dignitaries and officials of the Caliphate was the part of ruling he did not care much for. He wanted to be out in the field, fighting for God and the people. It should be HE and not the old relic of a father out there fighting, Iberia was in turmoil and all he was doing was eat, drink and "rule" what was self sustaining.

To the Northeast the Aragon King have fallen to our forces, a javelin basically having torn his head off mid-charge, His army left to rot in the sun.
To the West the Lazy king of Portugal was killed in his bed as our forces stormed the city, the main Portuguese army having been eluded.

Sighing once again, he withdrew to his harem letting the feast continue without him. A ship would take him to Iberia on the morrow, to then sail to Rome with an emissary.

Novgorod up

[Myth]

I will continue my story post tomorrow, It's already 12 am now...

[Nightbringer]

Abu Fadi El-Amin paces into the courtroom in Rome, a distinct frown evident upon his face. He looks around at the room, paying particular attention to the guards.

Hgh, Alexandria would have been better. Ghulams are far better disciplined than this lot. He mutters

Likely to stab us in the back, don't you think? He says, turning to face the second man that has entered the room.

This man is dressed in military attire, but the emerald studded leather under-layers of his armor, and the gold trimmed silks he wears show he is no mere soldier. He walks with an easy gait, and unlike Fadi he seems quite at ease as he paces over to take a seat at the table.
Hardly a fitting way to enter another man's court Fadi. Come, let us sit and we shall see what is to come to pass.

Fadi still looks troubled, but he takes a seat by the second man's side, still eying the guards. The second man turns from his comrade and gives a friendly smile to the gathered diplomats.

Please excuse him, he has been quite grumpy ever since we left Alexandria, I think the ship didn't agree with him.

Fadi give an indistinct grunt at this

In any case, allow me to introduce myself, I am Hamil al Azir, military advisory and friend of the Sultan, my sea sick friend is Abu Fadi El-Amin. The Sultan has sent us here to ensure that the Abuyyids are not forgotten in world affairs. I hope you will introduce...

Fadi interrupts Hamil at this
I intend to do more than that, and just in case our host gets any idea, a full guard of Ghulams waits outside. If you try anything...

Hami rolls his eyes at this, but remains silent.

[LooseCannon1]

Crusaders up! (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10042) Myth

[Myth]

Sicilly up. (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10044) Dallor

[Dallor]

Nightbringer

[Nightbringer]

freakkriek
HRE up!
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10045

[freakkriek]

4754 England up Rougeman

The Kaiser has send his representative to Rome in order to convene with the greatest powers in the world.
The German diplomat send was a legend within his own country, as part of a wager he once talked a man out of commiting suicide and then reconvinced him of doing it anyway. The Kaiser called him once his Royal Snake and thus this is the Title he commonly uses when presenting himself. The snake is only called in when all other means of solving a problem have been used since his solutions are always stained by murder, deceit and bribes.

Rome:

After a long journey the snake enters the room where the Papal guards are posted to assure a safe environement to discuss politics. After hearing the tumultuous speach of the Egyptian emissary he decides to stand and present himself as well. "Welcome all, I am whom is commonly referred to as The Royal Snake." In the eyes of the Western diplomats he sees a glance of recognition, in the eyes or body language of the Moorish and Egyption diplomats he sees hower no sign of acknowledgement for his repution. The Snake is stunned for a moment by his 'annonimity'. "The German Empire is a honest and open-minded empire. My Kaiser has send me here with only one assignment. I was ordered to find out which plans those other great country, who are presented here, have with our world. Trade rights are in my Kaisers eyes nothing but a reward as for contacting us. These rights will never be refused. There is however one last message I should deliver. The Kaiser is a very loyal person who will never betray his allies but his sense of honour also forces him to get in an immense fury when other countries try to steal territories for countries already weakened by his royalness. So consider this a warning, when you try to attack a country be sure Our empire is not already at war with them, if so you can just ask if our Kaiser would like you to join his war. If however you just steal those territories this will be considered an attack on our own lands and will get the same response as such. To be perfectly clear, No country that has a representative here should attack Hungary now!"

After his speech the Snake left the speaking chair and went to those eastern diplomats who didn't seem to know him. He is curious about there vision for the world...

[Nightbringer]

Fadi speaks
Your emperor sends a man named the snake to represent his "honest and open minded empire?" Surely your name is some jest that the Western diplomats know, for this seems quite the contradiction to me. As for our plans, we shall be keeping the details to ourselves, but you need only know that so long as none of the nations of the pope stand in our way, we shall be quite friendly with them.

The Romans have long been hostile to us, and given the great success of our armies in their recent campaigns, we lay claim to all the lands of the Romans for the time being. No nation, other than our great friends in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, shall set foot there.

[freakkriek]

The Snake stands up and speaks
The Holy Roman Empire will lay no claim on those "other" Roman lands.
I however one small remark... It's remarkable that the Egyptian representative has a problem with my name since snakes are especially revered in Egypt. If I'm not mistaken almost every household believes that their house has a serpent guardian. Many families still provide a bowl of milk for their serpent protector, believing that calamity would come upon them if the serpent were neglected. You don't have to look so surprised I pride myself in trying to understand each culture before engaging in diplomacy with them. Just consider the Holy Roman Empire as a big house for which I'm one of the protectors.

[Rougeman]

The English Diplomat gestures to the Envoy of the Emperor 'my king wishes the families of The English King and the Roman Emperor to be joined with the marriage of the kings daughter to the emperor's son, who, if im not mistaken, has been looking for a wife, does your prince accept this offer?

the King also has been dealing with the rebellions of the british isles, and will unite britain and ireland!'

Mithridate Moors up

[Mithridate]

The moorish Caliphate wish to extend a friendly hand to the English crown. Perhaps your diplomat outside Lisbon could make a short stop and speak with the Caliph or his son?

A NAP would be of interest as well as trade rights.

Meanwhile, our diplomat has started his journey to rome where he will engage in diplomatics with the other leading powers of the world.

Novgorod
LooseCannon1

[Nightbringer]

OOC: was that still the case in medieval egypt? I thought most of those practices died out during the roman period.

[freakkriek]

OOC: was that still the case in medieval egypt? I thought most of those practices died out during the roman period.

OOC: not really, if you read up on the animalism in Egyptian history you'll see that the Snake never really faded in their religion. I know that there aren't a lot of mentions for this but when you actually go to egypt you really find traces of crododiles, snakes and falcons in almost every place and situation. http://answering-islam.org/Books/Zwemer/Animism/chap11.htm - this is the link for an extract from a very interesting book, it covers snakes in the 9th paragraph counting from the bottom. I realise that this probably isn't really a REAL main main-belief but I think it shows a knowledge over the day to day life in Egypt and since I was trying to let my diplo have a clever answer i think it fits =)

[Nightbringer]

OOC: not really, if you read up on the animalism in Egyptian history you'll see that the Snake never really faded in their religion. I know that there aren't a lot of mentions for this but when you actually go to egypt you really find traces of crododiles, snakes and falcons in almost every place and situation. http://answering-islam.org/Books/Zwemer/Animism/chap11.htm - this is the link for an extract from a very interesting book, it covers snakes in the 9th paragraph counting from the bottom. I realise that this probably isn't really a REAL main main-belief but I think it shows a knowledge over the day to day life in Egypt and since I was trying to let my diplo have a clever answer i think it fits =)

OOC: cool thanks for the info, and yes, it does seem like it was still around. Good answer.

IC:

Fadi frowns slightly at the clever comeback from the Holy Roman diplomat, but Hami has a short laugh at his expense before replying to the diplomat

Well said Snake, I haven't seen someone shut Fadi up so well in many a year. I'm glad to know that you take such an interest in our ways.

Hami stands and gestures for the Snake to walk with him
Come. let us speak in private.

[LooseCannon1]

Myth Crusaders up! (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10053)

[Myth]

Can this be delayed until Sunday? Elsewise I'll have NB sub me. Nightbringer, the password is the same as the one for CoG!

[Myth]

Sicilly up. (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10062) Dallor Thanks for waiting. I'll continue with the story (one overdue and the new one for this turn) but tomorrow or Tuesday.

[Myth]

A warrior enters the meeting hall. It is a spacious, lavish place, decorated with marble statues and great paintings of saints and martyrs. Outside, the many churches and basilicas of Rome can be heard, singing the praise of the Christian God with the ringing voices of their bells.

The man is plainly dressed, but his gloved hands are ornamented with a signet ring and a smaller golden wedding band. He wears the three blue wolves on a white field, and is obviously a Knight for some Count or Marquis in France. However, the dominant thing about his looks, other than his muscly body and grey stubble on his chin, is the tunic of the Knights Templar - a red cross on a white tabard. It is clear this man represents the united forces of the west in the Levante.

"My lords. The Kingdoms of Jerusalem, Antioch and Edessa have united under my liege. The holy Orders of the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitallier have banded together to ensure the stability and prosperity of the Levnate which we now call our Kingdom. It has become clear that the enemy is not the Fatamid Sultan, a Caliph of their Faith, but the wild and treacherous Turks, who's raids upon good Christian pilgrims started our holy voyage and lead us to this situation. We have allied with the Ayuabid Caliphate and wish to take the holy war to the mongrel raiders that dethroned the Eastern Romans and even now threaten to spill into Christian Europe.

Our knights, once kinsmen to you who are English, German and Danish and French and Sicillian, are now united for the supreme cause of God almighty. We are Westerners but now pledge our lives and spill our blood for the Levant and the holy places of Jerusalem, Antioch and Acre, of Damascus and Edessa. Our faith is impenetrable and our knights are the best warriors the nations of Europe had to offer, indeed as they heeded the call of God and went to do his Holy Work. We have agreed to trade with all whom we could approach, and we are open to talks of land and doing more of God's work."

[Nightbringer]

Hamir, having finished his talks with the Snake, strides over to the new emissary, smiling openly. Fadi remains seated, still looking sour, but paying keen attention to what the other diplomats are up to.

Ah, welcome friend of the Ayyubids, I am glad to see you have made it safe and sound. The seas have been quite dangerous of late, Venetian pirates in particular are proving their reputation. In any case, come sit, did you perhaps bring some of your famous French wine with you?

Fadi moves his chair over, giving Hamir a disapproving look as he does so and then turning to speak to the emissary.

I am glad to see that you are here, but would remind your King that Antioch and Edessa are still under the surveillance of the Sultan, to be turned over to his control in due time.

[Myth]

The Templar slightly bows his head.

"Of course, seigneur, I talk of the people and the orders. Formal control over these counties is still in your hands, and it shall remain as such for some years. I have not brought wine as I myself have taken to my vows and am removed from such worldly vice.

My lords of the west and north, I wish to warn against any move towards aggression against the Caliphate. Consider the consequences of such action as most dire. Also, we are certain that none shall heed our claims of Greece proper as we have none such by right. In due time, we may yet revisit the subject of spreading Catholicism into these ancient lands."

[Dallor]

Nightbringer

and hurin when is update on map etc coming?

[Nightbringer]

freakkriek
HRE up!
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10063

[freakkriek]

England up
Rougeman : 4945

As the Conquest of France and Hungary advances as planned there is also time for love in this world.
The Sicilian Heir charmed his way into our lady Simones heart and after a long discussion her dowry was established...
When Sicily succeeds in bringing all Italy under their control the Kaiser will graciously give Bologna to complete the Unification of Italy.
On the other hand our Prince and Heir also fell in love with an English princess called Margaret...
one of the more beautifull women in the world. Since the marriage was based on true love a real dowry wasn't asked of the Kingdom of England just their friendship was enough to accept with the marriage.

The Kaiser bends over his map of the known world, for which he payed 50 explorers a great deal of money to complete.
As his mind is forming a thousand thoughts he start mumbling.

"Ok Friederick, to the North you are protected by your Danish allies, in the North-East you have your Polish allies, in the East you will destroy the Hungarian forces easily, in the South you have your trusted Sicilian friends, in the South-West you are destroying the French in devastating victories and the West is guarded by the powerfull English allies.... but why do I have this feeling I am still missing something?? I see Europe's map and I see how the controlling powers will divide it and rule it in all properity but why oh why do I still feel like a common peasant deciding which piece of land i will work an this year and which part i'll leave to recuperate."

"Maybe I just need a friend far away from my borders who can teach me non-european tactics and offer me a new perspective on things...
Let's just see what my Snake can get in Rome..."

[Húrin the Steadfast]

When turn 7 starts i will start adding cash individually. At that time as soon as a player posts the save, i will edit it and repost it. The rest will come soon.

[Mithridate]

Bump

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Infamy, Prestige and Stability updated. These are from turn 5. If you feel that you should have more or less, PM me. Also map of turn 5 posted. Lastly changed "important settlements" in Prestige, deleted Paris and added Krakow instead.

[Rougeman]

Mithridate

[Mithridate]

Novgorod

LooseCannon1

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Novgorod can play with this save, since he has not posted any RP i will not add any money, the rest of you who have posted RP wait for my saves.

[LooseCannon1]

Crusaders up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10072) Myth

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Lol. Since Mithridate posted the save as turn 7, i named the crusaders save turn 7 as well, but i only realised that it was turn 6 still. Although now the money adding will not only happen in one turn, instead turn 6 and 7. So the next money adding will happen starting in turn 10.

6k florins added to Jerusalem.

[Mithridate]

Sry bout the turn number mixup :)

May i ask how much im getting?:bounce:

[Myth]

Húrin the Steadfast Sicilly up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10074)

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Use this save.

[Dallor]

Nightbringer

you're up

[freakkriek]

Húrin the Steadfast
to change save ;-)

[Nightbringer]

Nightbringer

you're up

How much $ did i receive?

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Dallor received 1,5k florins.

Nightbringer receives 4,5k florins.

Nightbringer use this save.

[Nightbringer]

HRE up!
freakkriek + Húrin the Steadfast
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10076

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Use this save.

Also, i will change the time it takes for me to add money from 3 turns to 5. I will still add money on turn 10, however the next time will happen on turn 15, turn 20 and so on, because it currently takes too much time for me to administer all of these things since the hotseat is also moving fast.

[freakkriek]

Húrin the Steadfast ,
is it possible when you add money to always insert how much you got?? thx in advance

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Ah yes sorry i forgot. You got 7,5k florins. Since you posted so many stories, it also includes the cash got for this (7) turn. So if you post another story this turn it will be counted as turn 8 story.

[freakkriek]

Rougeman and Húrin the Steadfast
england up 5022

In the flourishing city of Marseille

The Kaiser decides to throw a banquet in honour of the prosperity and greatness of his Empire, in short he is quite pleased with himself.
France has been dealt with, Hungary has no response to their invasion and those pesky Flemish rebels will never dream of autonomity ever again.
The only nuissance is that damn Pope... threatening with excommunication if wars are continuined or alliance kept...
That damn pope should know better then to meddle in the affairs of kings...

Meanwhile in Rome the Snake tries to get the attention of all the gathered diplomats.
His first attempts fail since the attack of Sicily on Rome has them preoccupied...

The Snake gets annoyed and pulls out a blade and rams it in the table in front of him. This gesture escaped no one. Everyone fell silent.
Someone mumbled "How did he get a blade past those pesky guards?". As has they've been waiting for this question the guards storm to the table and confisquate the weapon. The captain of the guard thoroughly embarrassed by this security breach asked the Snake with anger in his voice "How did you get this weapon inside, everyone gets searched before entering this domain?" The Snake just shakes his head in disbelief and replies: "Do you honestly think I am the only one here with a weapon close at their disposal? That's just naive captain. Return to your post since I am of no danger now as you can see. But I will swear I'll never be so revealing with any weaponery ever again." When the Snake returns he mumbles "..thinking no one has a weapon here... I have no doubt in my mind he came armed.." while his eyes wandered to the Fatamids diplomats but it isn't clear who he is focusing on.

"Anyway before is start with my statement let me reassure all of you that it doesn't really matter who owns the City I am sure the Sicilian King will be just as generous with his accomodations for us as was the Pope. So if i may continue now...
It has been a good year for the Reich. All target settlements fell under the mighty German sword and friendships have blossomed. And as usual I have to remind every one that map information is a appreciated gift and will be equally rewarded."

After this the Snake came from the Speakers Platform and left the room...

[Nightbringer]

Fadi cracks his first smile as the Snake humiliates the guard

Perhaps some of you westerners do know what you are about after all. As for my accommodations, I hope thy shall improve. The Pope offered little more than a bard, and I have been having to actually pay to stay within this muddy city.

Fadi looks pointedly at the Sicilian diplomat

I'm sure my Sultan would take it as a sign of friendship if his diplomats are given the finest treatment. And I don't mean those damn prostitutes your pope sent over, I mean good clean and dignified quarters. Some food would do us good as well. You can't expect us to stay here with nothing to eat, can you? Also, perhaps these idolatrous painting could be removed from the courtroom. It seems quite disrespectful in my opinion. And...

Fadi continues to lecture the Sicilian on the various ways he believes the courtroom could be improved for several minutes while Hadi watches bemusedly, finally speaking once Fadi has wound himself down.

To get back to diplomatic matters...

Fadi Accommodations are diplomacy! They display exactly how important these lords think we are

Eh, yes, in any case. The Sultan wishes it to be known that Ayyubid forces have captured the city of Constantinople. Our men fought bravely indeed, defeating a massive latin army with very few casualties. It should also be known that the city was spared from looting.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem has requested that they be granted this city, but given the heroics of the Sultan's men, and the importance of this place, it shall remain under Ayyubid control. Western Greece however, which has been claimed by the Sultan, shall be put under the control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in due time. It is hoped that this shall create a peaceable buffer zone between the lands of the Prophet, and those of the pope, occupied by friends of the first, and followers of the second.

I hope this is agreeable to the King of Jerusalem? It should also be known that the Sultan has already demonstrated great kindness to this Kingdom. He has handed over Antioch and Damascus, two great cities, in return for much less wealthy provinces captured by the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

[Dallor]

The Sicilian Prince would overlook Venice and would be overthinking about his current situation.

~The Pope has warned me then if I attack, my entire people will face excomunication, this I can not allow, I must ... I must... retreat.~

One of his captains would come, he would already be missing an eye from a previous battle.

"Your Highness we are ready to attack."
"Well...-

Suddenly an arrow would come and go straight trough the head of the Captain, falling motionless towards the fall the captain would try to utter a last word but fail
The Prince would stand up take by anger.

< Prepare the towers and the ladders, I will have their heads on pikes by the end of this day I swear it>
The army would go forward, The Prince getting armoured by his servants would be cursing those damned Venetians.
After a long and bloody fight Venice would be taken and as promised the heads of every surviving soldier put on a spike.

A few days later an emissary of the pope came to the conquered city of Venice. The Prince would let the man come to his room and talk with him privately.
" Good day your highness I come bearing terrible news."
" What is it? Did our Holy Father pass away"
" No Your highness you have been excommunicated"
-The Prince's cheecks would turn red of Anger.-
" Well then you should be on your way now shouldn't you?"
" I'm terribly sorry your Highness"

-A guard would come in after the departure of the messenger of the pope.-
" Angelo, go to Napels as quickly as you can and give this letter to my nephew afterwards give this letter to my good friend Buenovito D'Nueva in Rome, do not get stopped by anyone."
-Angelo would nod sagely and leave immediately.-

Weeks later Buenovito D'Nueva would find himself in the courtroom alongside all the other diplomats with a small smirk on his face. After having the Ayyubid's and Holy Roman's diplomat speak he would silently stand up and demand attention.

"Come come my friends, I must say that I was impressed by your knife /snake/ you certainly seem to have a poisonous sting."
-He would smile warmly towards the Holy Roman diplomat.-
" As you all might have noticed my fair King has decided to take Rome, however this does not change things for us my friends. You will still all be allowed to stay her and enjoy the pleasures of this fine city. If all, things will improve."
-Buenovito would take a sip of his glass of wine taking his time, letting the diplomats wonder about coming events for a while.-

"Every diplomat here will be granted /proper/ arrangements, you will all get your own room, food and drink whenever you please. This however is pure speculation as we do not know how the battle will end. As to your magnificent capture of the fine city of Constantinople I can only congratulate you and your Sultan Fadi. This border you suggest is fine for Naples, however let it be known that not a single army is tolerated on the peninsula of Italy. For when the dust settles you will find a United Kingdom of Italy."

[Húrin the Steadfast]

At the first sight of florins, people started RP'ing more.

5057

[Rougeman]

Mithridate

[Mithridate]

Nobgorod LooseCannon1

How do i remove old attatchments? Its almost full

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Wait you didnt wait for my save...

[Mithridate]

i dont need money atm? :D

Could we take it next turn, and ill wait then. If not i can replay
Húrin the Steadfast

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Alright just skip Moors and Novgorod. Mith you will need to remind me the next time to add your cash.

[Mithridate]

Will do

[LooseCannon1]

Skip Novgorod? Did you want me to play my turn? Or are you talking about florins for role-playing?

[Mithridate]

Skip Novgorod? Did you want me to play my turn? Or are you talking about florins for role-playing?
Florins, you have not made any roleplaying have you?

Either way if you havem its all my fault... can you live without the money for one turn?
If so, apreciated

[LooseCannon1]

Florins, you have not made any roleplaying have you?

Either way if you havem its all my fault... can you live without the money for one turn?
If so, apreciatedIt takes me forever to post so I haven't roleplayed. The combination of an awkward chair/desk/keyboard layout and being Commander-in-Chief of the the grammar police:laugh4: means it takes twenty minutes to type this. Spellcheck for some reason doesn't fix your typing. It only "thinks" something is wrong. Anyway crusaders up with the actual turn 7 https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10082 Myth

[Húrin the Steadfast]

I think that is everyone who have florins added, so the next time is turn 10, also the same with infamy, prestige etc updates so continue playing as normal. So both updates will be coming on turn 10, 15 etc from now on. If i have missed anyone for money adding, let me know.

[Myth]

The Templar raises with a sudden movement as he hears of the gathering armies. The knight clenches his jaw sternly and regards the Sicillian diplomat with contempt.

"Armies are gathering around Roma to lay siege to this Holy City of Catholicism, and I hear that one of your Counts commands the men. I leave now, but my King in Jerusalem shall hear of this atrocity! Being excommunicated by the Holy Father is yet no reason for such insanity!"

He storms off the building, and shouts without turning his back. "I head North, for the more pious kingdoms of Eruope. Should any of you have need of me, seek me near Milano!"

Sicilly up. (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10084) Dallor

[Nightbringer]

Hami

Oh, yes, I didn't think. I suppose this attack upon Rome is not a simple military action is it. You are actively putting yourself in opposition to your entire faith aren't you?
Well, it doesn't really concern myself, or my Sultan, but I would advise caution. Hami nods towards the exiting Tempar

Well, I suppose one of us had better get to Milanao so we don't loose contact.

Fadi
Hah, I simply didn't care Hami, but apparently our blessed allies certainly do! In any case, if we must split, it looks like things might get interesting around here.

You go Hami, I can handle myself in a den of thieves better than you, and I am looking forward to seeing if the Sicilians really can live up to the luxury they promise.

Hami nods and departs, but after a few seconds several Ghulams come to the entrance to the court room, fully armed and armored, and stand at attention near the Papal guards.

We are here to ensure no harm comes to the Sultan's envoy during the coming battle. the captain says, his face masked by his full helmet

Fadi smiles, but offers no explanation of how an armed squad of Ghulams got into the city.

[Dallor]

Nightbringer

[Dallor]

The Prince would have swiftly travelled to Rome to help in the Assault, however the morning of the battle, The Holy Father himself appeared with some regiments of papal guards.

The Prince goes to mount his horse, and afterwards he looks at his troops and decides to give them a little pep-talk.

< Men, Men gather come here. >
< This is the holy city, I know some of you are afraid to enter it, let alone attack it, but do not fear. Remember this, there that army that awaits us is that of his Holiness, the man who has condemed us all as heretics. He says we will all go to purgatory, is that what you want lads >

The army would seem a bit in bad moral not a single cheer would be heard.

< But I have a proposition for you my men, how about we burry this fake pope and take the holy city to go and beg for forgivness in the city of the lord himself. >

Some of the men would be nodding approvingly.

< How about we show the man who dares say we are heretics that we are no such thing and we will it prove it with blood. >

The men would start cheering.

< Let's ride, my men let's ride >

The whole army would start charging towards the city, the ladders infront, and most importantly the Prince infront with his loyal bodyguard screaming encouragments and praise to everyone.

After a short battle the city would be taken however the Pope had escaped and set up camp a bit further.
The prince would take his knights and ride out to finally end the life of this /fake/ pope.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=Before the Battle of Rome in the courtroom.=

Since Rome was completely surrounded the Templar was taken prisoner but was held in lord-like tents. After the battle he would be returned to the courtroom.


=Afterwards in the courtroom with the diplomats.=

The Papal guards would have been called out to help defend the city and would have been brutally murderd, the Ghulams however would remain untouched and so would the courtroom during the entire duration of the battle.

The prince would enter the courtroom with a certain air of self-confidence.

My diplomat has informed me of the current events that have taken place in this room, I will however for now take his place.
But first let me ensure you that security shall be strict, but everyone shall have the same priviliges, you are all free to go where you want. However you dear templar stormed out without giving us a chance to reply, I will reply to you since now you seem so noble to stay here with us for a short moment, afterwards you can go as you please.
He would first nod towards the Ayyubid diplomat, do not take offence in what I will say now it is not meant in that way.

Now you Templar listen good and decently.

You accuse us of laying siege to the Holy City, that is true, we are in fault here but we merely come here to rid the entire faith of a corrupt pope. You however have forsaken your duty towards all the Christians, I uphold my principles, I uphold the principles of our faith. You however lay with the muslims, you were send there to conquer Jerusalem, in that you have succeeded but now you lay at the feat of the Ayyubid Sultan, is that what our pope commanded you to do? I fear not, you were sent to kill /infidels/. You do not do your duty so first do your own before you take the moral high-ground and accuse besieging the Holy city and killing a rightous pope, while we actually save the Christians rulers of a corrupt pope and we save Rome of corruption by taking away this pope

He would then adress the Moorish and the Ayyubid Diplomat.

Due excuse me for calling you infidels as you now I hold both your people with great admiration and friendship. This is perhaps because I am not that religious, however the kingdom of Jerusalem, the /crusaders/, are meant to be extremely zealous they have clearly lowerd their standards.


20 Sicilian guards would enter the room and one would go to stand in a pre-determined place of the room.
These guards will make sure there will be no misconducts while we controll the city.

He would look towards the "snake" in particular. Such as blades being smuggled in this room of friendship.

He would now adress everyone.

Also when leaving this room you shall find servants with the colours of your noble house, they will serve you and make sure you recieve proper treatment in this fine city, the best rooms and food.

Upon still seeing the Ghulams he would sigh softly.

Your soldiers are no longer needed we will garantee your safety here dear diplomat. He would be adressing the Ayyubid diplomat

[Nightbringer]

Well, then I suppose they can stay and ensure your safety my friend, who knows, agents of your former pope may still be lurking nearby.

In any case, I take absolutely no offence. Since I believe you to be an infidel yourself, I can hardly be surprised that you would say such things about Muslims.

However, you should not disrespect the Templar. While I could not agree more about the barbaric nature of the crusades, the Kingdom of Jerusalem has come to see reason and no longer follows such false beliefs. He has become a well liked ally of the Sultan, and the people of the Dynasty now hope that those of the Kingdom of Jerusalem may someday join us in our ascension to Paradise.

Besides, our Sultan's feet are quite clean, and the rugs of our palaces are magnificent. Many would consider themselves lucky to lie at his feet. After all, even squatters may find salvation through true belief in Alah, and what better place to squat than in a palace?
Not that I wish to imply anything... Fadi smiles sardonically at the Templar

Officially, the Sultan cares little about these squabbles among the Christian Church, but should a war begin he shall support those who have proven themselves friends. At this point in time, the Kingdom of Jerusalem alone has done so, but others are making progress I hear.

Additionally, it should be known that the Abuyyid Dynasty voices its support for its brothers in faith in the west.

[Dallor]

The Prince would smile softly, although I highly appreciate your concern for my safety it is not needed. I know that the Ayyubid Dynasty is a strong one, and that offcourse you shall support your allies if there ever comes a conflict. But however I must ask that the Ghulams are send away since it is equal for everyone here, no one of the other diplomats have brought a unit of hardend warriors with them. It would seem like you are trying to intimidate us.

But that it seems you have mis-interpreted my little speech, what I ment by my sneer towards the templars is this. We are all gathered here as gentlemen in this room of friendship, you do not run away from your friends without letting them respond to your accusations.

I'm certain that your rugs are fabulous and that your sultan's feet are clean. I completely support the peace between your fine Sultanate and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, however I merely responded to his accusations of my duties as a Christian king. As you will all see when the dust settles, Sicily simply wants to unite the whole of Italy and afterwards thrive trough trade.

-He would release a short sigh.-

If you will excuse me now I must go and rest from the hard battle, I have come straight to this room afterwards to assure you all that your safety will be remained however I must go tend to my wounds now.

The prince would set off and the diplomat wich left before would re-enter the room.

[Nightbringer]

Fadi nods his head and gives a wave to the Ghulams who immediately depart.

Very well, I do not wish to appear a brute.

[Dallor]

The Sicilian diplomat would aproach Fadi, come let us talk in private.

He invites the Ayyubid Diplomat to come with him to a private room next to the courtroom.

[Nightbringer]

Fadi accepts the invitation and follows. Meanwhilec Hami re-enters the court.

[Dallor]

They would come in a room with a table and a few chairs. Come have seat my dear friend, I will give you a proposition you can not refuse.

He would sit down and take a sip of a glass of wine.

My dear friend let me put this delicately, my prince, our people, wish for our kingdoms to have a strong bond. As you put correctly your sultan does have fine rugs and clean feet however is a strong bond is to be made between our people we will not be at his feet but as his equals. I truely believe that both our dynasties could benefit from a mutual beneficial alliance. Since we have no plans of expanding outside Italy and you seemly are keen on expanding it would be perfect. Our money coffers would fill due to Italy's riches and you would become even more powerful.

The man would smile softly.

As soon as we have the entire peninsula of Italy we can obviously talk about gifts, or even loans of large sums of money whenever you might need it for your expansion plans. I know that you consider Crusade's to be filth so how convenient would it be for you to have an ally with an army next to the pope, to attack and kill him whenever he does you harm.

The diplomat would again take a sip of wine and await awnser.





-ooc-
Important for all the other rp'ers me and Nightbringer are currently in a private room next to the courtroom you would not be able to hear the words we speak.

[freakkriek]

Meanwhile in the court

The Snake approaches the Templar and asks: "So my friend what is your kingdoms goal actually? We all heard the response of the Sicilian King to your accusations. I mean i perfectly understand why an alliance with the mighty sultan benefits you. He even gave you some cities to aid in your growth. The sultan is truly a generous and kind soul" *nodds at Hami*

"But one might wonder what the future is for this Templar haven in the Levant? I don't mean to prod but I am just curious what our other knightly brothers in arms plan. To be honest the Kaiser's idea was that you would try to form a new "greek empire" on the foundations of the old Byzantine Empire. But since the sultan, in all his wisdom, has chosen to keep this pearl of the Black Sea one might wonder what the point is to invade Greece anymore?"


OOC: you know it's your turn right nightbringer?? :-)

[Nightbringer]

HRE up!
freakkriek
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10088
"OOC: you know it's your turn right nightbringer?? :-)"
Yep, I was at work! :)

[Nightbringer]

Fadi listens intently as the Sicilian speaks, and seems pleased by his words

I am sure such a bond is possible, but we must confer with our allies before making any binding agreements. You will get a better reply as soon as possible.


In the courtroom, Hami turns to the Snake
Our hope is that one day the Kingdom of Jerusalem may join us in the Islamic faith, but in the meantime we hope that they may serve as mediators between the Dynasty and Catholicism.

As such, they shall be set up in Western Greece, and shall bear the full support of the Sultan as he reunites the Muslim world in the East.

[freakkriek]

"OOC: Yep, I was at work! :)"
ok, thx for the quick play then :p

England up: Rougeman
5096

In the courtroom, the Snake turns away from the Templar and bows to Hami while replying

"The Crusader States shoud praise themselves lucky with such an eloquent and protective ally as yourself. You even provide answers to you allies when they are posed questions."

The Snake turns away from Hami and while passing the Templar he whispers

"Whenever you want to discuss your future without the glare of your Egyptian Cobra's just send me a message."

The Snake walks to the window and watches the clouds passing by. He starts talking but to no one in perticularly.

"Well I reckon this is a good a time as any to mention the Kaiser and the Sultan of Cordoba have signed an Alliance. We hope this will lead to a peacefull eastern border for our empire as well as a flourishing trade. The Moorish Merchant are welcome in our lands and shall not be touched. We expect the same from them.

On that note, The Kaiser has started sending out merchants to all corners of the world, let it be know that an assassination or acquisition of this merchant shall be interpreted as a direct attack on our nation!"

After this the Snake opens the window and inhales the fresh air while mumbling

"God must be a diplomat himself, there isn't a greater job"

[Nightbringer]

I did not mean to be presumptuous in answering for the Templar, I merely meant to make the intentions and hopes of the Sultan clear concerning the matter.

[Myth]

The Templar turns abruptly and regards the other diplomats with a stern gaze. He eyes Hami and a glint of dangerous zeal passes trough his eyes. The others are reminded that he is first and foremost a knight of a religious order, and such men are rarely know for their tolerance of insults.

"My King does not squat, and it is a fool that one who belittles his allies for personal amusement. Your ruler is just, I pray he did not send fools to do the job of honourable men. If Fadi speaks more of such matters, make sure that they are the will of your Sultan or else have him be prepared to back his words with a blade."

He then turns towards the remaining Sicillians and clenches his jaw.

"If your comrades and rulers were as much as interested in history and war as they were interested in coin and prostitutes, you would not spurt such gibberish and make fools of yourselves. The mission sent unto us first by pope Urban II and then our subsequent wars, were always to ensure the peaceful passing of pilgrims from Europe to the Holy Lands, and the securing of our Holy Cities that are depicted in the blessed Bible. As such, we have struggled bitterly with the formidable armies of the east. None of you know how riding in the desert feels like, with sand in your eyes, thirst in your throat and a horde of Mamluks on your heels. None of you have seen a war trained Destrier rear and throw a knight from the saddle, just because he smelled a camel. None of you have held a siege for two years, surviving on prayer and the leather from your boots and belts!

You speak boldly for a curs raised between silk sheets and milkmaids cooing over his being fed and bathed. Has a Sicillian foot stepped on foreign soil? Have your swords drawn blood apart from that of your Catholic brothers and the defenders of Roma? You have great demands for merchants with knives strapped to their side. Taking Roma has been done for your King's gain and nothing more. Our business in Outremer is our own and I shall discuss it only with those who would be able to see further than they could piss. Unless such a man has been presented to me, who knows Jerusalem from his mother's village, I deem you unworthy for my attention!"

He then signals the emissary of the Holy Roman Empire and nods for him to come to the side. The two men whisper and it is impossible for anyone else to hear what they are saying.

[Myth]

The rocking of the litter and the stillness of the hot, sticky air inside was beginning to set her stomach foul, but somehow the girl endured it. It was narrow, with space barely for her tiny frame and that of her lady in waiting, and of course the ever looming shadow of her mentor and guardian, now sitting still, with lips pressed together in constant disapproval, and clutching her rosary beads as if they were a flail.

Yolande de Brienne sighed and instinctively raised her hand to loosen the conical headpiece strapped to her head with linen wraps, but a sharp stare from Sister Magdalene was all that she needed to reconsider and in defeat, return her delicate pale hands back to her lap.

"It was courteous of Caliph Al-Kamir to send his servants to fetch us all the way from the gates." Alanetes' voice was low and timid, and the girl was too obvious in her attempt to make this trip more bearable. Sister Magdalene eyed her from the opposite end of the litter and replied curtly.

"If they would have had carriages instead of this appalling and barbaric means of transportation, perhaps I would have been more impressed. Even allowing our own carriage to the palace would have sufficed, but forcing honourable ladies to be paraded trough the town on such a contraption is almost an insult in itself."

Yolande smiled at her mentor and resisted an urge to blow air down her cleavage. Her breasts were almost going to burst from her corset and small beads of sweat ran down from her neck and into the cleft between the two orbs that so easily reduced men to gibbering idiots. She was being hailed as one of the most beautiful women in the world, if not the most beautiful. Green eyed, blond and fair of skin, with noble and delicate features - a true French princess, even if she remembered little of her distant homeland.

Her mission today was that of an emissary - a royal messenger and diplomat that could not be easily ignored. She was nervous, her stomach in a tight knot, as she pondered her situation and that of her father's kingdom. The honour guard around her litter was of twelve knights Hospitallier, clad in steel and black tabards, with the visors of their helms lowered and their lances arrayed as a garden of death-inducing trees. On the other side rode the Templars, white tabards, shining steel plates and crosses etched in their shields. Behind her, French and English knights who were now of her royal father's household. All of them were excellent warriors - pious, proven in battle, good on horseback and on foot. Deadly with lance and sword and mace and all the other knightly weapons. They were also versed in poetry, chess, song and dance.

And they were a speck of steel amongst a vast sea of veiled men with dark eyes and curved sabres and scimitars. If the worst should happen, the men were instructed to extract Yolande and her two companions and charge down the road, making a break for the gate where the guards had been bribed to let the portcullis drawn long enough for them to slip away. A sound plan, and better than nothing, but somehow she doubted that if the Caliph wished it, they could leave Cairo with their lives.

"I find the litter a rather refreshing means of travel. See? How can a carriage do that?" Yolande's voice was mild but energetic. What she meant was that they had began going up a fight of long and shallow stairs, the gentle rocking of the litter a reminder that the men who carried them had experience in their job. That was reassuring.

"No more Parisian French, Yolande. Practice your Arabic - are you not an envoy?" Sister Magdalene scolded her, and crossed her arms. The brown rosary beads rattled angrily as if to agree.

"I think... that the Caliph... will-"

"shall" - the nun corrected her.

"...shall be most pleased with my father's proposal. Peace, stability and flourishing trade. What else... could he wish for?"

Sister Magdalene nodded and Alanete clapped in excitement and giggled girlishly. Yolande's maid-in-waiting was a pretty, dove-like creature. Black haired, blue eyed and pale as a porcelain doll. She was neither as busty, nor as regal as Yolande, but still possessed an earthly beauty common to all French maids.

"You have learned much, mademoiselle. Truly!" the girl exclaimed and smiled, much to Sister Magdalene's disapproval. If the old nun could do battle with half as much skill as she could disapprove of something, they would have needed no honour guard of knights.

"We have reached the palace, mon princesse." The leader of the guard was a Hospitallier named Jean, he held renown as the best lancer this side of Rome.
"Good. Then shall we come out in all our splendor?" Yolande asked with a coy smile and earned herself another disapproving stare from her mentor.

"By all means, please do, and be welcome to my palace."

The voice startled her. It belonged to a slim, dark skinned man, dressed in lavish silk robes and adorned with precious jewles the likes of which Yolande had not seen before. He spoke French, the dialect of Britanny, and he spoke it much more aptly than she herself did Arabic. The princess blushed, and not as a means to charm her host. The Fatamid caliph was a handsome man, who possessed a disarming smile and an aura of ease about him uncommon in rulers of other nations. Yolande stepped out, and her entourage followed. They found themselves on an impressive square, with a crowd gathered on all sides about them, and a double line of Ghulam warriors keeping the way to the palace clear. The palace itself was grand, tall and spectacular. Decorated with the peculiar eastern style of colourful and detailed ornaments, and pointed arched doors and windows. Tall minarets littered the skyline everywhere around them, as to remind Yolande of Allah's mighty grip on this once Egyptian city.

"Please, join me, and let us discuss the future of our people." The Sultan spoke easily, calmly, as if he had not done her a great honour by coming out to greet her himself. He glanced at her breasts, so generously exposed, and for a moment she could read a mixture of lust and contempt in his eyes. Such were not the ways of their faith and their women, beautiful as they may be, hid themselves from all the world bar their husbands. Good. He was still a man, after all, even if he were the Sultan of her father's enemies.

[Dallor]

The Sicilian Diplomat would shout out in anger.

You sir need to know your history, the same pope wich gave you the crusade gave our forefather, the Norman King all the priviliges he wanted because he was a /true/ pious man. The Grandfather of my king was the one to unite Sicily and put away the influence of the Caliphs.

He would now raise in Volume.

You call us mere merchants and you call yourself the great warriors because you know what is it to fight camels. My friend we have been at war with the Moors before your fathers even saw the coasts of Jerusalem. Do not dare lecture me on fighting Arabs my people have fought them for a big part of their life.You say we are currently laying in silk. That is right but it is silk we earned by god. We earned it by fighting of the Muslims, when it was really needed when they were in Sicily. As you know Sicily is rather close to Rome we then protected Rome and we did so now. So once /you/ have learned your history you can open your mouth.

He would deminish in volume.

The Moors who are now our noble allies because they no longer set claim towards Sicily and have shown great friendship towards us.

-ooc-

What I said about king Roger is true I've looked it up ;3

Far more subtle than the Crusades, but far more successful over the long run, was Urban II's program of bringing Campania and Sicily firmly into the Catholic sphere after generations of control under the Byzantine Empire and the Aghlabid and Fatimid emirs. His agent in the Sicilian borderlands was the Norman ruler Roger I. In 1098, after a meeting at the Siege of Capua, Urban II bestowed extraordinary prerogatives on Roger, some of the very same rights that were being withheld from temporal sovereigns elsewhere in Europe. Roger was to be free to appoint bishops as a right of ("lay investiture"), free to collect Church revenues and forward them to the papacy (always a lucrative middle position), and free to sit in judgment on ecclesiastical questions. Roger I was to be virtually a legate of the Pope within Sicily. In re-Christianizing Sicily, seats of new dioceses needed to be established, and the boundaries of sees established, with a church hierarchy re-established after centuries of Muslim domination.

[Mithridate]

Having quietly entered in the heat of argument, a small man with silken velvets and clearly hailing from Bedouins takes the floor:

My name is Al-Fazari and i represent the Moorish Caliph or more accurately, his son whom now rules. Sicily proved themselves worthy warriors and men with honor, their clam over Italy is something we not only support but endorse as the papacy is a corrupt force that needs to be put down.

Looking over to the Abayyids, he made an almost theatrical bow

May friendship blossom between us, as it clearly have between you and the crusaders. You are an inspiration to us all having ended the long and heavy bloodshed between our faiths.
It saddens my heart that the Catholics in Iberia would not stop until all of us where dead or forced into their faith, that our armies are forced to wage bloody war for our survival. Any man should be allowed to chose his faith, not forced into it for that is the only way to reach salvation!

After quickly composing himself he walked over to the snake, grabbing his hand with both of his and shaking it with a smile
Your Kaiser long opposed the pope in various ways, we are in your debt and wish to assure you and all the catholic nations that any christian in our land will be treated as a brother.
Our faith tells us to accept other faiths, not fight them and Christendom is our sibling faith, therefore not to be accursed or oppressed!

Our official religion may be Islam, but we will not force any man, woman or child to join our belief!

[Rougeman]

Mithridate

[Mithridate]

Novgorod LooseCannon1

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Reminder LooseCannon1

[LooseCannon1]

Sorry, thought I posted this. Crusaders up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10092) Myth

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Reminder Myth

[Myth]

Nightbringer will have to sub me.

[Nightbringer]

I'm in the middle of paper writing, so I might be delay on that. sorry... :(

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Okay we will wait. I do not want to sub, because i take no part in the game and i don't know the wishes players might have while subbing or movements to make.

[Nightbringer]

I need a password! :)

Myth, Húrin the Steadfast

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Password sent a few hours ago.

[Nightbringer]

sorry, I haven't been home. Will be in about two and a half hours.

[Nightbringer]

Italy up Dallor

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10098

[Dallor]

5178



Nightbringer

[Nightbringer]

freakkriek
HRE up!
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10101

[freakkriek]

england up
Rougeman

RP later
5201

[Rougeman]

Mithridate

[Mithridate]

Rougeman invalid link

Also, im pretty sure that im the moors :)

[Nightbringer]

Rougeman invalid link

Also, im pretty sure that im the moors :)

i'm confused, the link works for me and it is named "moors"

[Mithridate]

He swapped the saves :)

[Mithridate]

Novgorod, will type stuff soon^^

LooseCannon1

[LooseCannon1]

Crusaders up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10113) Myth

[Myth]

Húrin the Steadfast my password has been changed and tomorrow I'm going away until Tuesday. If you can't reset it now have NB sub me again.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Didn't Nightbringer tell you the password? Well okay, Nightbringer sub again please.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

I pressed end turn for crusader, with a new password. Turn 10 map added to first post.

Sicily up Dallor.

[Mithridate]

Such a long way until its my turn again :(

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Yeah this is going extremely slowly. We are doing about 6 days per 1 turn, which is horrendous. I would appreciate for the sake of the hotseat if you people could play more often.

[Mithridate]

Slow forum, but it seem like it all slowed down when we had to wait for gold to be implemented (costs a lot of time anyway)
There are a few slow people atm... annoying but people have lives i guess

You can add gold at any time unless im mistaken, just grab a save when you see an opening imho :)
We had a good pace at the earlier stage, losing this much momentum is not normal.

Also, thank you again for arranging this. Seems very interesting thus far

[freakkriek]

yeah most of the times the first 4 countries are played pretty quick so
anyway Dallor will have his save up by this evening

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Well actually i have found a code to fix the money adding issue. I can now open any save and give money to whatever faction. The code is this:
add_florins <faction>, <amount>
Example:
add_florins hre, 5000

That should speed things up a bit.

[Dallor]

Nightbringer

[Myth]

Sucks that I was skipped...

[Nightbringer]

Sucks that I was skipped...

I'm sorry Myth, I have a hellish schedule this quarter with multiple tests/week and things have just been slipping past me a lot on here.

I will try to get my save up tonight.

[Nightbringer]

freakkriek
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10126

[Myth]

No problem man, it's just the perfectionist gamer in me that is annoyed at it. The CS is still going to rock this game hard regardless of missing one turn :laugh4:

[Nightbringer]

I think a fair number of your troops continued on their movement paths, so at least that wasn't skipped.

[freakkriek]

Rougeman
5308

After a very well prepared and copious meal, Snake rises

"First of all I would like to thank the Sicilian King for our accomodations, I can't remember the last time I've been recieved which such regard."

*a small smile was made to the Sicilian diplomat*

"Secondly my Kaiser would have you all know that the Mighty Republic of Novogrod has deemed itself a worhty ally and longtime friend. We wish them a golden future and hope that they can bring the great Steppes to unity. And as with all his allies the Empire will come to their aid if attacked by any foe."

*The Snake pauses and sips from his wine...*

"The Kaiser also wishes to congratulate their friends in Cordoba with the quick conquest of Iberia... It has been a marvel of military abilities. And a testament to their power. A aknowledgement is in order and well deserved."

*a bow was made in direction of the Moorish diplomat*

"Our explorers also found our Egyptian friends at Greek shores and were surprised by the apparent easy task they had in conquering Greece and almost Turkey. Congratulations are offered. The Egyptian Cobra will soon dominate the Middel-East and make it blossom."

*a bow was made in direction of the Egyptian dignitaries*

"And of course our English friends will not be forgotten! Securing an Island Kingdom is a daunting but rewardsome venture and is as far as we can see nearly completed. Such dexterity can only be admired."

*a bow was made in direction of the English diplomat*

"So let us raise our drinks and be proud of our nation's growth in these troublesome years!"

[Rougeman]

Mithridate

[Mithridate]

Novgorod LooseCannon1

[Nightbringer]

[i]Both Ayyubid diplomats raise there glasses in toast. Fadi with water, Hami with wine.[i]

[LooseCannon1]

Crusaders up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10131) Myth

[Myth]

Sicilly up. (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=205&id=10134) Dallor

[Dallor]

Terribly sorry I've totally forgotten this, I'll this first thing tomorrow.


EDIT: Here it is.

Nightbringer 5426

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Reminder Nightbringer.

[Nightbringer]

Sorry about he delay, I have 5 turns up right now, as well as a book to finish and a paper to write. I will try to get this one up tonight.

[Nightbringer]

HRE up! freakkriek
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=279&id=10144

[freakkriek]

Rougeman

5471

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Do not play. Wait for my save.

[Rougeman]

edit: aw damn, was uploading, ill just play after you edit the save

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Okay since i just finished calculating, you do not need to replay. I will use the moorish save.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Prestige, Stability and Infamy updated.
Money bonus:
HRE - 4,5k
Moors - 6k (Including money not received @ turn 7.)
Sicily - 6k (Posted 5 RP stories, maximum allowed was 4. 1,5k will be added in turn 15 unless you post more then 5.)
Egypt - 4,5k
Jerusalem - 3k

Moors up. Mithridate.

[Mithridate]

Novgorod LooseCannon1

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Reminder LooseCannon1

[LooseCannon1]

Crusaders up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=279&id=10149) Myth

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Reminder Myth...

[Myth]

Sicily up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=279&id=10151) Dallor

[Dallor]

Can't play today nor tomorrow, skip me plz.

[Myth]

Can't play today nor tomorrow, skip me plz.

Ask for a sub. I'd do it, but considering we might come at odds later on you might not trust me to do so.

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Egypt up Nightbringer

Moors i accepted your offer, but please resend your message next turn.

Changes:

Stability:
at war with nobody from +0.1 to +0.15
have prestige +25 or more +0.2
have prestige +75 or more +0.4

Prestige:
stability is +3 from +5 to +10
stability is -3 from -5 to -10
at war with 4 ai factions or more from -2 to -3

Infamy:
from reduce in 3 turns -1 to reduce in 5 turns -1.5
If over 30 limit, all positive stability and prestige modifiers effects reduced by 50%

[Nightbringer]

HRE up! freakkriek
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=279&id=10158

[freakkriek]

Rougeman

5574

[Rougeman]

Mithridate

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Reminder Mithridate.

[Mithridate]

Novgorod up!

LooseCannon1

[LooseCannon1]

Crusaders up (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=279&id=10162) Myth

[Myth]

Sicilly up. (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=279&id=10166) Dallor

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Reminder Dallor.

[freakkriek]

just got reply from Dallor. He'll put his save up by this evening

[Húrin the Steadfast]

Sigh...will skip later.