View Full Version : Holy Roman Empire
Skie Mirror Silvanoshei
07-16-2003, 16:04
Let's start a new play-by-email campaign with the Germans.
To participate, you need:
1) MTW: Viking Invasion
2) WinZip (available here: http://www.winzip.com/ ) or WinRar (available here: http://www.rarlab.com/ )
3) A working email address that can accept files up to 1.5 MB
4) Time to play anywhere from 2 to 56 turns/years of your Emperor's life
Rules:
1) I'll be the hub. I pass the game to you. When you finish, send the game to me; I pass to the next guy.
2) Report here, in this thread, when you've sent or received the game, so we know it's alive.
3) Take screenshots during the course of your reign (press your F2 key). This helps the reader's understanding. (I think KukriKhan'll host your screenshots, if you cannot). jim@jimcee.com
4) Your summary can take any form (extra points for creativity), but must be written and posted here (in this thread) within 72 hours of the death of your Emperor.
Starting position: Year 1087. Normal. Global Achievements. First Ruler: Emperor Conrad I.
Sorry, Kukri I ripped off your rules, I hope it's okay.
List:
Skie Mirror Silvanoshei
KukriKhan
Demon of Light
Demon of Light
07-16-2003, 16:10
Normal difficulty? Oh well...
BTW: Kukri is having problems with that e-mail right now.
Skie Mirror Silvanoshei: Are you sure you can do this? As I understand it, you have one of the Almohad games and are next in line to receive the other.
Skie Mirror Silvanoshei
07-16-2003, 16:17
Maybe you're right Demon, maybe I should postpone this game.
The Witch-King
07-16-2003, 17:06
I'm willing to participate http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Skie - I don't think you need to postpone. I suspect that going first does not take too much time; IIRC, the starting kings are often quite old and the battles, if any, are small.
Your campaign has all my favorite settings, so I can't resist - please add me to the list.
The_Emperor
07-16-2003, 17:23
Ok put me down matey...
ralphwolf@clara.co.uk
I was thinking about starting my own Play by Email campaign, but I'll participate and wait until more of these get finished before doing so.
The Witch-King
07-16-2003, 18:07
Hmmm, for some reason I can't edit my posts. Anyway, here's my e-mail address:
ishamael_81@hotmail.com
The Witch-King
07-16-2003, 18:11
Hmmm, for some reason I can't edit my posts. Anyway, here's my e-mail address:
ishamael_81@hotmail.com
And if that one doesn't work:
qarnair@yahoo.co.uk
This sounds like a fun idea.
I only have M:TW so far (no VI). If anyone starts an email campaign with that, count me in.
Skie Mirror Silvanoshei
07-17-2003, 04:29
The current list is:
Skie Mirror Silvanoshei
KukriKhan
Demon of Light
The Witch-King
Simon Appleton
The_Emperor
sprucemoose
07-17-2003, 16:32
count the moose in big boy
im up for it.
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif
Skie Mirror Silvanoshei
07-18-2003, 00:20
Emperor Conrad II sat in his private apartments, sitting at a table, thinking of how much the Holy Roman Empire had changed since his crowning in the year of our Lord 1087. He thought of his joy at the birth of his daughter Klementine in 1088, and the sadness of being betrayed by his best friend, Otto von Wahren in 1093. So much had happened since 1096 when he lost Champagne back to the French for the loss of Lorraine. Conrad began to list in his head all of the events of the past 15 years of his life. As a matter of fact, he decided to write it all down in a diary, decorated with the eagle of the Empire on the front. He began writing:
1088 - I was overjoyed at the birth of our daughter, Klementine. The fact that I am the greatest power in Europe, militarily of course, didn't hurt either.
1089 - My happiness continued as my son Conrad matured, guaranteeing an heir to the throne. Meanwhile, in France, a piece of the True Cross was found and housed in Paris Cathedral.
1090 - Yet another Prince, in Rudolf, was born and Poland snubbed my offer of alliance.
1091 - I became not only the strongest man in Europe, but the richest.
1093 - Aragon became my very first ally, but this event was overshadowed by the betrayal of Otto von Wahren, Duke of Lorraine, who became an accursed French dog.
1094 - The newest French dog stole Lorraine from under my nose, while yet another Otto Wahren, Duke of Friesland, becomes another French dog. Although my son Prince Ludwig matured, the rejection of my offer to ally with the Papacy almost broke my spirit.
1095 - But of course, being the determined man that I am, I am not yet broken. I successfully took Lorraine back, while defending Friesland, killing one French dog. One down, many more to go.
1096 - My assault on Champagne was pleasing, but to my great frustration, I lost Lorraine again for the second time in two years. I suppose two is not my lucky number.
1097 - I allied with the English by marriage, but to my dismay Champagne was taken back by the dogs.
1098 - The first attack on Provence was repelled.
1099 - I lost Provence to the allied forces of the French dogs and the Italian asses. I allied with the Khalifah of the Almohads, and the English rats cancelled our alliance, on the false basis of not wanting any war.
1100 - One of my generals once again became a dog, this one who went by the name of Gottfied Uttenheim. I also had the love of my life, Princess Jutta.
1101 - I attacked Ile de France successfully and also defended Friesland with ease. I would say that my fortunes were looking up except I got excommunicated.
1102 - This year just wasn't my year. I lost Friesland and Burgundy for the mere profit of Flanders. I intend to avenge this lost.
Conrad closed the diary, with nothing left to write at the moment. As the year 1003 approaches, the limits for the Holy Roman Empire without limitation and Conrad's ambitions are boundless, and even if he seems like a incompetent drunk, he's going to suprise everyone.
I'd love to be next in line ( :
Sign me up http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
infinite@sb-bt.com
Skie Mirror Silvanoshei
07-20-2003, 21:16
Unfotunately, consider this campaign thing, as far as I'm concerned, over.
Was your empire overrun? What happened?
Some explanation might be in order.
Demon of Light
07-21-2003, 07:46
Cazbol: I agree that an explanation is needed. For now, though, there are other issues. First, this game needs an admin. Would you like to do it? You actually managed to complete the only successful e-mail campaign to date so you are certainly qualified. If you don't take it yourself, I'll do it. Or we can share the responsibilities. Whatever works for you. Just a guess but Skie Mirror Silvanoshei was just passed over by KukriKhan for BOTH Almohad campaigns so whatever kept him from doing that is likely making him unable to do this as well. Second, we need a new first monarch. I'll await your response oon that (if you decide to admin or help admin) but know that my personal preference is for Kukri to remain second, myself third and so on.
Everyone else: However it works, this game will happen. Just sit tight and the administrative junk will get sorted out soon.
Alright I'll administer this one. I assume I can turn to Demon of Light to fill in in times of trouble. I'll start as the first emperor, using the same settings and rules as Skie Mirror Silvanoshei laid down. I can not host screenshots. If you've signed up but discover that you cannot play, it would be most helpful if you tell me in advance so we don't waste time emailing you.
Nag and pester; the only way to administer.
The Witch-King
07-21-2003, 11:21
I'm glad to see that this campaign didn't die a silent death http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif.
KukriKhan
07-21-2003, 12:49
Super; I'm glad this didn't die.
I'll be glad to help out informally, if problems arise, and I'd be proud to be the second HRE Emp.
Finally, I'll be glad to host screenshots. Email them to me at t6001@cox.net with 'HRE' in the subject line; I'll upload them & return a URL to you for use here. Try to keep their size down enough that they'll display at 800x600 (makes easier reading/viewing for guys with older machines).
My reign has started. I'm Emperor Conrad II and am 30 years old, which gives me 26 years.
Those who read Skie's original post may have noticed that the stated objective was global achievements. To clarify, the objective is global domination.
The_Emperor
07-21-2003, 15:58
what is the list for this one? Same as the last one? (just with you starting it off this time)
Here's the list:
Cazbol
KukriKhan
Demon of Light
The Witch-King
Simon Appleton - email address needed
The_Emperor
sprucemoose - email address needed
oaty - email address needed
jLan
Kristaps
07-21-2003, 21:36
If still open, add me to the list.
e-mail: kristaps@caia.org
Demon of Light
07-21-2003, 21:56
I have both Dr. Appleton's e-mail and Sprucemoose's if they are needed.
I've added you to the list Kristaps. Note that this is not a GA game. It's global domination.
Sorry I forgot to mention my e-mail address
Oaty@earthlink.net
I played 11 years last night and my emperor is now 41 years old. I'd like to finish tonight but it might not be until Wednesday, depending on the number of battles. Speaking of which, we are at war with France.
sprucemoose
07-22-2003, 09:04
ello
my mail is redbarony88@hotmail.com
Cazbol - thanks for picking up this campaign; my e-mail address is simon.appleton@nottingham.ac.uk
My reign is over. The file has been sent to KukriKhan. He is 40 years old. France has fallen to us. Writeup will hopefully follow tomorrow or on Thursday at the latest.
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/1087stats.jpg
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/1087vV.jpg
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/1087map.jpg
1087: Much to my surprise I have become the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. I would like to attribute it to popular demand or the grace of god, but evil rumours speak of demonic influence. I knew little about the situation I face beforehand, but I can see I share borders with 6 major nations which puts me in a precarious situation. To make matters worse, my generals are all inexperienced and usually have very little loyalty to me. My two main objectives are to secure the borders and increase the loyalty of the troops. A third aim is to take the first steps in building the economy. I presume my successors will accuse me of placing too little emphasis on advancing our technology, but I've made the strategic choice to prioritize the economy over technology.
1093: This is indeed a peaceful world we live in. The major nations have spent these last 6 years engaged in diplomatic pleasantries. Not a single war has been declared and natural enemies coexist peacefully. I've used the time to vastly increase my army, albeit with primitive troops. I've also been able to increase troop loyalty by carefully selecting the leaders of the garrisons. The least loyal troops were then sent to attack the rebels in Pomerania under the leadership of my son, prince Conrad. The rebels retreated to the fort and we'll now starve them out.
1094: Loyalist rebellion in Pomerania was swiftly put down by prince Conrad. Victory was very easy as the rebels only fielded missile units.
1097: The dishonorable French have gone to war with us. The initiated it by bribing my garrison in Friesland. I sent in a larger force in an attempt to hold on to the province and soundly defeated the traitors. I will now divert all our resources to this war. If only England would join in on my side.
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/Pomerania.jpg
Friesland defended.vrp (https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/Conrad_II_Friesland_defended.vrp)
1098: The French invaded Lorraine with a somewhat larger force. My son Prince Ludwig defended the province. In the end it came down to a duel between him and the French general, who was a great warrior that just wouldn't die. Prince Ludwig was the only one left in his unit and so was the French general. A group of urban militia tried to assist Prince Ludwig but were only successful in killing the foe a second after he managed to kill my son. My troops then lost heart and fled the field so Lorraine is lost. We'll now try to counterattack but success is most uncertain.
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/Lorraine1.jpg
[Conrad II - Lorraine lost.vrp]
1099: Prince Conrad counterattacked Lorraine. The French army consisted of 3 units of peasants, about 6 of archers and 1 ballista. To my horror I found that they would be defending a bridge, which was especially bad because of all the archers. I charged the bridge with my infantry who were blocked by the peasants. It surprised me how effectively the peasants stood up to my professional soldiers. The French archers then decimated my troops who broke and ran. Just as Prince Conrad was beginning to withdraw our troops and give up the fight, the French got cocky and counterattacked across the bridge. One battered unit of my spearmen, my single archer unit and Prince Conrads knights were able to stop them and kill their general which severely disheartened the enemy. Prince Conrad then bravely charged the bridge and attacked the archers on the other side, supported by our own archers fighting in melee. The enemy routed and fled but the battle cost us very dearly in valuable men. After we took back our land the bastardly pope demanded that we return it to the French and cease hostilities against them. I'll rather be excommunicated than bow to that schwein.
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/Lorraine2.jpg
[Conrad II - Lorraine retaken.vrp]
1102: We gathered a large army of mercenaries and attacked Ile de France. Again the French defended at a bridge, only this time there were two bridges. Three units were sent to the bridge on the right, while the remaining force waited at the bridge on the left. The right bridge was badly defended and therefore we easily charged across routing the defenders. This led the French to send most of their remaining forces to assist the routing defenders, so we charged the left bridge taking it equally easily. Our force at the right bridge was defeated, but they had done their job of enabling our main force to cross. The French then turned back to the left bridge but had no chance of winning. Their king was slain and the remaining rabble fled for their lives. The French therefore have a new king. The castle in Ile de France is now under siege. Predictably the pope has excommunicated me but I'll get my own back by defeating his French lackeys.
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/IleDeFrance.jpg
[Conrad II - Ile de France taken.vrp]
1103: Expecting the French to try to lift the siege in Ile de France by sending in troops from other provinces I move into both Flanders and Champagne from Friesland and Lorraine. The English decide to join me in flanders and we defeat the French. We lost only 1 man while capturing only 6 and killing none, which bears testimony to the fact that we let the English do all the work and take all the casualties.
[screenshot and replay were forgotten]
I was uncertain about the attack on Champagne, mainly because the the French king, Jean II lead the defenders, but went ahead with it anyway. The French were strong in archers and ballistas so I chose to attack in awful weather, wind and rain. Prince Conrad started by personally attacking and destroying the 3 ballistas, losing some men in the process. The main force then attacked and as expected the only real resistance came from king Jean II. Prince Conrad fought him and had to retreat after becoming the sole survivor in his unit. The infantry managed to surround the king and eventually slay him and win the battle.
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/Champagne.jpg
[Conrad II - Champagne taken.vrp]
The French had no royal heirs so they're history. A pathetic history. The pope was none too please to hear of this and called upon crusades against us. Let's see what happens.
1104: We overran the fort in Flanders without any difficulties but will wait for the keep in Ile de France to fall.
1105: Our mercenary army which took Ile de France has now completed the siege of the castle. I believe that mercenaries should justify their high wages by fighting, so I attacked Normandy, which the rebels had taken from the English last year. The rebels fled without a fight so our empire grows again.
1110: The mercenary army was sent on a challenging attack on rebel Brittany. They lost although they did caused more casualties than they received. The deciding factor seems to have been the enemy general (5 star), whose unit had great valour (7). No great harm done as I’ll save a bundle on mercenary upkeep. In other news the Aragonese have been eliminated and the Spanish excommunicated.
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/Brittany.jpg
[Conrad II - Mercs lose in Brittanny.vrp]
1112: The pope just died and what do you know… at the age of 56, so my excommunication has been lifted. As I have now just turned 56 I fear I’m about to join him. At least I enjoyed one good year without that bastard.
1113: As expected, I am now coughing up blood. My son will now take over as Conrad III. Looking back I’m fairly pleased with my main accomplishment, i.e. defeating the French traitors, although this war delayed my plans for build-up. I’m convinced that my son will take us to further greatness.
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/1113stats.jpg
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/1113vV.jpg
https://jimcee.homestead.com/files/1113map.jpg
[End of battle screenshots and replays will be added later.]
KukriKhan
07-23-2003, 00:42
File received & it's playable. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Will begin tonight. When I'm done, do I sent my saveGame to you Cazbol, or the next player?
*here I'll map out my startegy, after I've reviewed the map*
I'm a hub. Savegames are to be sent to me and not to the next in line. I'll do that.
I intend to give people wake-up calls when their immediate predecessors are playing, and not send them the savegame before I've gotten a reply. Thus I hope to reduce waiting somewhat and avoid having two or more players starting the same reign.
KukriKhan
07-23-2003, 11:20
Excellent plan. Think I'll do the same in the Almo campaigns.
Demon of Light
07-24-2003, 00:41
My E-mail of choice for recieving this game is albertmaldonado@yahoo.com
KukriKhan
07-24-2003, 14:32
Out-of-character update:
Still playing. The year is now 1119. The French re-emerged in Brittany (1115) with @4K troops (mostly melee), and bribed their way to victory against the rebels there. We signed a non-aggression pact, and reinforced our garrison in neighboring Normandy.
Currently allied to all neighboring states, except Hungary, who declined intermarriage. The Spaniards & Almohads fight over Cordoba, and Egypt & Turkey have allied against the Byzantines.
No new acquisitions in this period. Using the peaceful respite to build forts, develop assets & improve internal loyalty/acumen. Keeping a wary eye on the French & Hungarians. Next likely acquisition: Prussia, then Lithuania.
What is the code for revealing the whole minimap? As far as I know it was something like mattes*t*ri but I can't remember.
KukriKhan
07-26-2003, 14:02
.matteosartori. illuminates the map (good for screenshots).
Played 2 more turns as Konrad III. Western Europe still at peace, and I'm preparing to take Prussia.
Thank you KukriKhan.
By the way, stating your emperors age may be the best way to keep us up to date on your progress, at least in VI.
KukriKhan
07-27-2003, 03:30
Oh yeah http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif It's 1122, Konrad III is 48 (8 years to go). Probably finish up tomorrow. I didn't use the heir-generating cheat, since there are 4 brothers & the HRE elect successors. Will try to maintain peace & acquire Prussia and Lithuania, so my sucessors have the start of a viable economic base.
Demon of Light
07-27-2003, 10:34
I guess that leaves me with a short reign. Maybe I'll come to power with kids and all will be well.
Kukri: How old am I and what is my name?
KukriKhan
07-27-2003, 15:55
Konrad II died on the battlefield in 1131, at age 56 - likewise his brother Rudolph (age 44), leaving the youngest brother, Herrmann II (age 31, that's you Demon of Light) to ascend the throne.
File zipped & mailed to Cazbol. Write-up to follow tomorrow. HRE acquired Prussia, Lithuania, Denmark, and Sweden - and is besieging Croatia (Hungarian). Hungarian aggression in the 1120's forced Konrad to eschew peacetime development for military conquest, so the borders are strong, but the internal Empire needs attention soon.
More details later.
File sent to Demon of Light. A wake-up call sent to his successor, the Witch-King.
Demon of Light
07-28-2003, 09:07
Herrmann was disconsolate. In a little over a year his situation had gone from stretched thin to desperate. It seemed that everyone wanted to tear away chunks of his empire for their own use. The Poles had attacked Bohemia. The Italians and Hungarians had lifted the siege in Croatia. The French had cancelled the treaty that binded them to keep the peace. All around him, Herrmann saw naught but ashes.
The war with the Italians had come as a surprise. The Italian Doge was no altruist so it was very perplexing to see him send his uncle at the head of a relief force. He gained nothing but a war for his efforts. Of course, maybe a war was precisely the reward he sought. Doge Marino I may be almost illiterate but he did possess a certain cunning. Using the pretext of aiding his Hungarian, Marino could expand his holdings if the war went well for him.
Th war with the Poles had not been a surprise. After the Italians entered the war, the Poles were hardly eager to be left out of the grab for land. Using their alliance with the Hungarians as a pretext, they had entered the fray. Only 100 spearmen defended Bohemia. These men proved to be little better than peasants and fled before a force numbering but 80 Poles.
All throughout his brother's reign, Herrmann had been troubled by the poor quality in Empire's troops. Now, his worst fears were confirmed. Valorless men had been allowed to serve in the army and the results had been disastrous. Lax and inadequate training had contributed to the disaster in Croatia. The men there had not known how to fight and didn't have the right weapons to fight. No surprise that they couldn't kill anything. Also no surprise that what had started off as the routing of a single unit of spearmen had spread with great alacrity to infect the hearts of the rest of the army. They all ran. Cowards.
With all this, at least one group of men could rejoice. Hungarian ambassadors had convinced the Polish and Italian kingdoms to go to war and the French to abrogate a treaty. Not a bad bit of work.
Great stuff, Demon of Light. Sounds like an exciting start to your reign. I'm surprised about the Poles, as they've always been my most reliable neighbour in MTW. Let's pray the French keep out of this
Finally some genuine action of the genuinely troubling kind. Too rarely does one get really excited about other players' reign but I'm all ears now.
The_Emperor
07-28-2003, 14:18
My advice is to crush the French on the Western Flank... That way we can Limit our wars to the east.
If you can drive the French and the English off the French mainland, then that leaves the Aragon/Navarre Bottleneck, and Flanders to Keep the English bottled up, to be wiped out at our pleasure. (Like the Danes)
And of course those French provinces are soo rich http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
KukriKhan
07-29-2003, 12:12
It will be another day or so before my summary is ready; sorry guys. I'll place it in one of my earlier posts, trying to keep a sense of time-sync.
Cazbol, do you need me to link those screenies & replays?
Thank you for the offer KukriKhan.
As I've never used pictures or links in my posts I'd like to give it a try myself this time, as a learning experince. If I fail miserably, then I hope I can turn to you for deliverance.
Demon of Light
07-30-2003, 04:47
sTILL AT IT
Demon of Light
07-30-2003, 09:42
Quote[/b] (The_Emperor @ July 28 2003,06:18)]My advice is to crush the French on the Western Flank... That way we can Limit our wars to the east.
If you can drive the French and the English off the French mainland, then that leaves the Aragon/Navarre Bottleneck, and Flanders to Keep the English bottled up, to be wiped out at our pleasure. (Like the Danes)
And of course those French provinces are soo rich http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
The French are a long and different story. Just on principle, it is always good to crush the French when playing as the Germans but it's all about ability and opportunity.
As for the Danes...what Danes?
Demon of Light
07-30-2003, 10:19
Though the situation looked grim, it was decided that now was the time to be bold. Our spies had indicated that the recent troop mobilizationsby the Poles had caused shortages in certain regions. Bohemia and Volhynia was attacked together with the Polish homeland itself. If plundered, Poland would be a broken central province for an equally broken kingdom. We also fortified our Italian frontiers. Our plans were met with success at all quarters. An Italian attack on Austria was repulsed and the Polish garrisons withdrew without a fight. Even better, Polish king and his only heir were now seperated from the rest of their kingdom in Silesia as our newly acquired territories kept them in place.
The year following this success was one of sacrifice. We enticed the Italians into taking Austria and let the Poles take Lithuania as we concentrated our efforts on the thrice cursed Polish king. He refused to offer us battle and retreated to his castle. (He later surrendered to us and was ransomed back for 8000 florins)The Italian capture of Austria bought us much needed time to train more troops. Since the beginning of my reign I had initiated a vigorous training program to create quality soldiers for the Empire's armies. Now, with Doge Marino I occupied in Austria we moved our freshly trained army of knights, men-at-arms and spearmen (improved from the glorified peasants that graced our ranks at the time of our defeats) into Milan. We hope that these quality troops can stand up to the Italians and eliminate them as a threat.
Nice reading, gentlemen. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
It would be great if we could see some pictures.
Good luck, Deamon, in dealing with the Italians.
Hope your men will pull themselves together a bit more this time.
Demon of Light
07-31-2003, 08:02
http://www.totalwar.org/cgi-bin/forum/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=15;t=9348
Check it out...
Prince Romendacil II
07-31-2003, 14:27
I'll play.
xxplatinum2xx@aol.com
The list:
Cazbol Conrad II 1087-1114
KukriKhan Conrad III 1114-1131
Demon of Light Herrmann II 1131-
The Witch-King
Simon Appleton
The_Emperor
sprucemoose
oaty
jLan
Kristaps
Prince Romendacil II
Demon of Light
08-02-2003, 19:32
I'm still here.
... and your progress?
Could you please state your emperor's age?
Yesterday was the 1 week anniversary of Demon of Light's reign. I think that calls for a celebration http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
I'm confident that we won't have reason to celebrate a 2 weeks anniversary. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pat.gif
Demon of Light
08-04-2003, 09:46
I think Cazbol is trying to tell me something...
I wonder what it could be?? Ah, yes Of course He wants a write-up.
Demon of Light
08-04-2003, 09:48
Herrmann's 35th birthday found him in a much happier mood. The news on all fronts was good. Though Austria still hadn't been recaptured, Volhynia and Lithuania had been. The Italians had ben caught flatfooted by his nephew, Friedrich and the Poles had lost two consecutive battles attempting to retake Poland. Slowly, the tide was turning. Still more reports were streaming in of the Italians being unable to match his troop concentrations along their borders and that the Hungarians were maintaining a static front.
Herrmann's good mood came to a crashing halt at the arrival of two messengers. The first was from the Pope. The swaggering cur informed Herrmann that he was being excommunicated for his aggression towards the Poles. Never mind that Lithuania had initially been part of the Empire. Never mind that the Poles had started the war. Herrmann had defied the Holy Father's wishes and was thus to be severely punished.
As though defying the odds that held that the second message could not possibly be worse than the first, the second messenger arrived with urgent news for the Emperor. The French had broken their neutrality and taken Burgundy. For a long while after, the messenger charged with delivering this message stood in awkward silence before Herrmann. The Emperor had the look of a man who didn't know whether to laugh or cry and in the end he did both.
Once more, Herrmann saw ashes. His borders, his armies, his resources, everything had been been committed. Now he had to find the men, the weapons and the money to face a new foe at a time when he had just struggled into a survivable position with the three foes he already had. To cry or laugh. It is well that history does not record what Hermann did. His reputation as one of the great saviors of the Germanic people would doubtlessly have suffered.
P.S: I'm further than this in the game. This is just where I am with the write-up.
I'd like to play too, pencil me in.
Demon of Light has completed his reign. The file has been sent to the Witch-King and a wake-up call has been sent to Simon Appleton.
The list:
Cazbol Conrad II 1087-1014
KukriKhan Conrad III 1014-1131
Demon of Light Herrmann II 1131-1157
The Witch-King Otto IV 1157-
Simon Appleton
The_Emperor
sprucemoose
oaty
jLan
Kristaps
Prince Romendacil II
thrawn email address needed
oops, email address is jonrohde@earthlink.net
Thanks
Demon of Light
08-05-2003, 22:13
Good luck to my nephew Otto. (It appears that the Spaniards are the faction to watch. They defeated the Almohads already.)
BTW: Viking Huscarles are available in Sweden.
KukriKhan
08-06-2003, 00:28
Moved to PlayByMail (PBM) Forum, on Cazbol's request.
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