KotR Out of character thread VI

[gibsonsg91921]

too bad neither me or sigismund is knighted cuz then we could travel ourselves

[FactionHeir]

Econ: edited my post above about the time you replied.

I sent Xdeathfire a PM already asking him to name at most 1 settlement ICly OOC for obvious reasons.

[Kagemusha]

It seems that my cavalry force will be at the best tiny.:sweatdrop: Im not so sure that the Austrian mostly infatry army can take on another so heavy cavalry army like this one was. I think that this was the closest battle so far for me in this PBM and i could have lost it.

[FactionHeir]

Cav heavy armies are devastating, especially Mailed Knights. Those are the cheap and effective even in late game. I used those to kill Mongols in SP (high valor veterans of course) :D

[gibsonsg91921]

i love cav heavy armies

[Kagemusha]

The battle report is up.:yes:

[AussieGiant]

i love cav heavy armies


That's why we have to limit them. They are too powerful.

God forbid someone actually loses a battle in this game. The lose of face would be huge :beam:

Will someone running this show tell me when I'm knighted...otherwise I'll be getting drunk somewhere and beating dogs out of frustration!!!:wall:

[AussieGiant]

Holy Hell Kag,

50% casualties and you won. That was a close call.

Get your trousers to Ragusa, we can re-arm and then lets go kick some Hungarian ass cheeks.

Sorry to the rest of you fella's but I'm pulling rank on this one :whip:

[gibsonsg91921]

geez! the AHA is in tatters

[FactionHeir]

AG: Hans lost his first battle. Check the reports section ;)

[StoneCold]

Kag, good battle there, very close... :)

AG, you could lead the reinforcement to the Durrazo to reconstitute the AHA.

Edit: Ok, saw that FH did this already. :P

[AussieGiant]

I have no idea what's going on now :inquisitive:

Are we going north to relieve Zagreb and Budapest or are we hanging around Daruzzo and spanking Venetian's?

I'd suggest Kag and FH that the priority is to defend what we already have rather than taking anything from the Venetian's at this stage.

Do we have a latest save?

[StoneCold]

FH updated his chancellor report. Apparently all of you austrian nobles are galloping south to reinforce Jonas near Durrazo. Not yet in the position to initiate siege yet, I think. So still have time for a change in plan.

Maybe abandon the infantry in the AHA, allow them to slowly follow behind, and go north as a full noble force and use the forces from BHA to reconstitute a traditional army?

[Kagemusha]

Arent the Bavarians moving to take care of Hungarians? I bet that if we can get just atleast little more men=cavalry to AHA.We could siege Durazzo and fight an defensive battle againt the Venetians sallying from there.Assaulting the full stack there could be a suicide.:sweatdrop:

[AussieGiant]

Thanks SC, I'm going to read the report now.

Keep in mind the Army composition Kag.

Econ and myself reminded FH about that. There are 4 nobles in Ragusa plus enough foot to reinforce you nicely.

That's why I said I'm pulling rank. There can really be on two General Body guard's in one army...that mean's you an I Kag for the purposes of Knighting.

It's clear now that Lothar Steffan is going have a shot at Zagreb, and there are reinforcement being sent to Budapest. As there is only 2 units sieging it I guess FH is going to auto calc that.

[FactionHeir]

Yes, TC offered to use 5 regiments to fight the Hungarians and we'll see what he's worth ;)

In other news, Dutch_guy fought and won the battle at Thorn losing only 130 men and occupying the fortress. Ansehelm should be very happy.

[AussieGiant]

FH are you sending all the infantry in Ragusa down south also?

What are you going to do with all these GB's? :beam:

[StoneCold]

They are. But I think AG wants to be the one to save his dukedom. :P Not to say he doesn't trust his friend, but it is his to save...

I think I agree with him, Ragusa shorten the massive Austrian border but taking of Durrazo will lengthen it again. I think Leopold always intends for the attack to be more of a raid than a take and hold battle.

Edit: bleh, need to type faster... :P

[Kagemusha]

Maybe we could hire few Frankish merc knights?Im pretty sure that if we leave the Venetians be they will follow us shortly.But then we will have time to get some reinforcements also, basicly its same to me.After you are knighted Aussie the problems on that front will be all yours.~;)

[AussieGiant]

Hey chaps.

SC, I've got no problem with Lothar lifting the siege at Zagreb. He and I go waaay back to pre-primary school for nobles :2thumbsup:

Kag, that's a good idea about the Mercenary knight's. FH can we do that?

And you correct Kag, once knighted you can leave me with a boarder the size of China...I'll have to blood your sons so I can split the House Army in two to do this work.

And Leopold's excursion into Venetian lands was not to take any provinces but to simply go raiding. I have no intention of taking Durrazo at the moment.

[FactionHeir]

At the moment, I have sent AG down with 3 pavise crossbows to Kagemusha who is standing outside Durazzo (not sieging as this would provoke a sally and he might not win that). The rest stays inside Ragusa for now as garrison.

I'm shortly going to put up the first events of 1224 into the C&G reports, but in short, the most important news are:

Hungary has taken Zagreb and occupied it.
Milan besieges Florence and has attacked a regiment of pavise crossbows on the road with another small stack they landed. I retreated from battle so we wouldn't lose those. We are thus now at war with Milan.
Hungary has been excommunicated by the pope.
Markus Steffen and Siegfried von Kastilien have come of age.

[Kagemusha]

Aussie I think in that case we just have to go and pick a fight with the Venetians when we meet them somewhere. I think my character and his pagan magigian has lot to do after the commanding duties of Von Mahren are over. I think its about time to add some gazolin to the flames of Reich´s politics.:2thumbsup:
Btw what are the Danish doing? I would love to get up into North to kill some of them bloody vikings.:smash:

[econ21]

Kagemusha - can I just check, it's only your sons and not Jonas who have joined the House of Austria? Sorry I missed that. Please confirm and I'll change the playlist.

[FactionHeir]

Yes, according to the story that is right, econ.

[Kagemusha]

Yep.Jonas didnt join Austria but his family did. He is still the count of Magdeburg.There will be more about things concerning these issues in the stories thread soon.:yes:

[FactionHeir]

Just to inform you that Hans has engaged the Hungarian rear guard (3 dmt feudals) and defeated them and as he looked for the large Hungarian host, he found them besieging Constantinople. Since his army was too weary to assault them this year still, he decided to take only his cavalry and engage the Hungarians in hope of aiding our Byzantine allies.
Now, this would be fine normally, but I should note that the battle I'll be fighting in a minute, has my force at 4 knights and nothing else (Hans' GB, 2 Feudal, 1 Mailed Knight) with the Constantinople garrison against a full stack Hungarians. Odds are 1:2
Hope no-one minds this ahistoric composition, but that is the only way of helping our allies in time and I think it can be justified as above.
Fry me after the battle :)

[FactionHeir]

Chancellor's Report 1224 AD is now final. Going over to 1226.

[StoneCold]

Good Battle there. I would have thought it would be a closer affair, guess the lack of a general really tip the balance.

Why not send Jobst to help out the English in Antwerp, they are still there right?

[OverKnight]

I've lost count how many times we've saved Constantinople. . .The Byzzies definitely owe us a fruit basket or something.

I look forward to the battle report, should be an interesting read.

As for moving the cav ahead of the rest of the army, as long as it is a temporary thing, I don't see a problem. When I was Chancellor, I moved the BHA's cavalry ahead to seize Marseille, the rest caught up next turn.

[FactionHeir]

StoneCold: Yes, good idea. He's almost at Frankfurt anyway which should allow an easy transition over :)

I think the most difficult part was to get back into TW battles. Haven't touched the battle mode for at least two weeks now and didn't feel too familiar with everything right away. Once that was gone though, it was just tactics to make the Hungarians split forces and break formation to charge them down from several sides, run a few feints to get them to follow you and mercilessly crushing them. That they just stopped and stared at me for the first 3-4 minutes helped though to have the Byzantines get closer and divert some attention eventually.


OK: As long as they keep the alliance and don't start attacking us, I'm happy :D
Hope that Bavaria feels better with the Milanese gone now too.

Btw, I've just added the end of turn savegames for 1222 and 1224 to the end of the reports. Didn't have a 1220 end of turn save anymore however...

Please also comment ICly in the diet on the report and its contents and whats happening in the empire and the usual bickering :feedback:

[FactionHeir]

Yes you are part of the battle AG, now get out of the diet :p

[AussieGiant]

Sorry!

I'm getting excited!!:oops: :beam:

[FactionHeir]

Feel free to fight the battle in SP to see how it is if you want to.

[AussieGiant]

I most certainly will tonight, but after Kag does the honours.

Maybe before hand if he is late.

Still I wont tell anyone.

[FactionHeir]

At least this battle allows me to spend some time writing up mine. ~:) Its already up to 30% in the battle reports section, mainly introduction and pictures with arrows.

[Stuperman]

wow, I stay in rome for a bit and the BHA is dismantled and usurped!!!

:D:D

I've got no warts which is good, TC is taking part of the BHA to Zagreb to relieve the siege? or an army assembled from garrisons?

I still have to read the diet, stories, and battle reports, but it look sall good so far~:cheers:

@ AG Comming to Canada? if you are in Northern Ontario gimme a Call!

[FactionHeir]

The BHA is still well above the recommended strength but currently led by Captain Kurt as there is no qualified commander for it, other than yourself.

Lothar Steffen has taken 3 dismt feudals and 2 armoured sergeants to besiege Zagreb, which luckily had most of its garrison removed by the Hungarians. I guess if he's unlucky, the Hungarians will return and try to lift it, but that should be rather unlikely as I have moved the rest of the BHA about a turn's march from him. He was confident to use his small force against the full garrison however, so if they attack him in a field battle, that shouldn't be too big of a difference. Good way to get knighted.

[AussieGiant]

Ok so it seems there are quite a few Canucks around.

I'm going to be in:

Toronto from the 9th to the 11th.
Ottawa from the 12th to the 13th.
Montreal from the 14th to the 15th

Then back to Toronto from the 15th of June to the 17th of July.

Anyone in the area that would like to catch up should PM me.

Please note...drinking will be involved. Those of you who are allergic should not attend. I am Australian!!

And I love Canadian Beer!!

Pitty the Senator's are getting destroyed in the Stanley Cup.

[FactionHeir]

Battle report with pictures is now final. Results are considered sent and known to the diet.

[AussieGiant]

And if anyone is wondering why there has to be a limit on GB's and Mounted Knights in our armies...please read FH latest Battle report.

Excellent work FH. :beam:

[FactionHeir]

My losses would have been much higher if their artillery didn't start going mental and rotate 180 constantly until the Byzantines arrived to divert some attention :p
Cav is strong, yes, but only if you know how to use it properly and if you have ample opportunity to hit their rear/flanks. Having reinforcements basically solves that problem. If it were just my 4 knights vs their horde. Probably an average or close victory.

[OverKnight]

Having looked at the latest save, it looks like Damascus is a party and everyone is invited. Keeping the Crusade intact while wearing down the Mongols and taking the city is quite the strategic problem.

[FactionHeir]

Fret not, for your chancellor has made all necessary arrangements ;)

[AussieGiant]

Edited out

[FactionHeir]

Pssst don't spoil it. You can post about endings after they have occurred timewise, but not before, without spoiler tags and warnings.

[AussieGiant]

Crap, should I delete?

[FactionHeir]

Put in spoiler tags at least. Best two of em.
And the battle is more than easy if you do it smartly. If you want to know how, PM me.

[OverKnight]

Having flipped through my English (Australian) to English (American) dictionary, I'm LMAO. Such language in the Diet. :no:

What would the Queen think?

[FactionHeir]

She would be "not amused"

[Stuperman]

well, I just got the save, have to figure out what that whippersnapper Hans has done to My BHA ~;)

I'll be on later tonight.

[AussieGiant]

Yes I went a little overboard but it was extremely boring with you all not saying anything.

The language is colourful without going too far...I hope:laugh4:

It is role playing of course. Arnold does have some type of foul mouth trait. And as for the Queen, well as much as she is the Queen, some humour is always welcome.

[FactionHeir]

Been reading the :gah2:zette just now and found the M2TW articles to be well written. And TC's comment about the early internet was more than a funny read.
Almost feel tempted to let 3/4 of the empire rebel :D

[OverKnight]

You might be joking FH, but engineering a mass rebellion (a civil war being impossible with the game mechanics) might serve as an effective OOC brake on our expansion. I still want to take out the Aztecs and see Panzerphants.

Think of it, the Reich's rolling along, triumphant but for a few hiccups and suddenly, with the death of Kaiser Henry perhaps, half or a quarter of the provinces rebel. It sounds far fetched, but large empires often fragmented after the death of a strong ruler. Think of how we would have to scramble to reestablish control while our enemies circle around us gobbling up loose provinces.

I'm sure it could be doable by abandoning cities or console commands. Of course it would require a OOC vote.

Just a thought.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Hmm, a rebellion would work. I was thinking of perhaps waiting for the Black Death but that's way off.

[TinCow]

A rebellion would be interesting, but it wouldn't really seem right unless there was a serious split in the Diet between two very different parties. It could happen in long-term sense, but right now there simply isn't enough conflict to justify it. Several players will be dying and getting new avatars relatively soon. If they chose to play dissenters or otherwise ally themselves with radical groups, it could build to something.

[OverKnight]

I wasn't proposing a Civil War (avatar vs avatar), just a peasant uprising/fragmentation where the Diet is intact but several territories go to the rebel "faction".

[Ignoramus]

Nice as that is, I doubt any players would be willing to give up their city to rebels.

[TinCow]

Hmm... there's an idea for future game rules (not KOTR). Rebellion mechanics. Is it possible to give cities/castles to other factions by console? Autorebellions might be interesting, but there would have to be an easy way to do it. Knocking down all the happiness buildings and disbanding the garrison would be annoying.

[gibsonsg91921]

i think we should focus on attacks from the exterior before we have interior woes.

[AussieGiant]

I'd say we keep plugging away.

The plague will hopefully do something when it comes, plus the Mongol's should do some damage and well as the Tank Elephant Nation.

I'm cooking up some stuff, so it should get interesting sometime soon.

[econ21]

I think we are at a tipping point - the AI posed a significant challenge at the end of my term in office. We had to pull back from Krakow; were stalled - and counter-invaded - when we went for Thessalonica; had to give up on Edessa. We took only one European province in 10 turns (Rheims) and lost another (Thorn). That gave the AI time to build up significant forces. The battle Kag just fought with 50% losses is an example of the result.

But if we start taking bites out of France, Hungary, Venice and Denmark, it will soon be all over. If we do want to spin the game out long enough to get to America (which I do, although I am not fixed on that), I think we should hold the present frontiers for a while - if we have to conquer something, give it back (without demolishing everything). We are big enough already and should find something to do other than just expand everywhere. This is mainly OOC reasoning, but even from a role-playing point of view, Medieval nations did not ceaselessly try to expand their borders.

[AussieGiant]

Agreed.

We could start coming up with IC issues. Not that they should be artificially created to fit the OC reasons, but there were many issues to expansion that were greatly effected by the internal working of medieval nations.

[TinCow]

I just took a look at the game and, contrary to what I had been led to believe, France is not out of it. Just from what I can see with FOW on, they have several full stacks defending their cities and near our borders. The Danes also have big stacks around the area and we already know that the Venetians and the Hungarians are causing problems. Top that off with the arrival of the Mongols and I think we'll have more than enough battles to worry about without even thinking of expanding. Let's just let things play out naturally and I suspect it will be fine.

[Ignoramus]

Even with full stacks, we've proven that the AI armies stille can be thumped quite convincingly.

I am worried that with a fully fledged empire it is now up to us to how quickly we win.

On another note, do any of the KoTR veterens want to join Magna Carta as non-playing barons? I understand that not everyone's keen on fighting multiplayer battles, but I would welcome up to 5 non fighting players(like the Will of the Senate Upper House).

[Ituralde]

Yeah, I think we'll have enough in store for us without creating problems OOC just yet. Not that I'm opposed to an IC rebellion that is.

Sorry for my absence of late, but I have been busy and have fallen into a small motivational pit. I'm back on top though and have just surveyed the situation.
The situation around Damascus is tempting to strike at the Mongols. Mabye go down in a blaze of glory, but taking four other avatars with me, might not be considered good sportsmanship. Have to find another way to get out of this one.

[OverKnight]

We can always hope another obscure game mechanic will blow up in our faces, just like automatic Crusade ambushes did. :laugh4:

[Stuperman]

well, we could always try and re-conquor the roman empire of a thousand years ago, but an IC rebellion sounds like more fun.

and last night sucked, Ottawa lost, then I go to console myself in M2TW and find that while gerhard has lost the warts, his 'feeling poorly' has gotten worse to 'hypocondriach(sp)' with -6 hp I'm a little hesitant to send him into battle.

[TinCow]

You could always have a glorious death. There are plenty of Steffens to go around.

[AussieGiant]

well, we could always try and re-conquor the roman empire of a thousand years ago, but an IC rebellion sounds like more fun.

and last night sucked, Ottawa lost, then I go to console myself in M2TW and find that while gerhard has lost the warts, his 'feeling poorly' has gotten worse to 'hypocondriach(sp)' with -6 hp I'm a little hesitant to send him into battle.

Yes it's looking grim for the Senators now.

Gerhard's just not have a good time of it now hey. Maybe it's time to just retire and take a new avatarv :)

[Stuperman]

that's what I was thinking, although with 1.25a the no-going back trigger is gone I think, there may be hope after all.

[econ21]

that's what I was thinking, although with 1.25a the no-going back trigger is gone I think, there may be hope after all.

Personally, I think Factionheir should just use the consol to remove those witch traits. Gerhard is still young and it would be a shame to waste the avatar. Maybe wait out the 4 turns or whatever it was in the abbey, but after that he's served his time and should be rehabilitated!

[FactionHeir]

He will be rid of all the witch traits except Hypochondriac eventually, but I think using console to remove all bad traits is maybe a bit over the top considering we like to RP our characters.
That said, there is still hope for him if we capture a Byzantine settlement with Public Baths or a Muslim settlement with a Bimaristan to cure him of that too.
Besides, having low HP to begin with makes it easier to get Brave and BattleScarred :)

[edit]
On another note, I'll be trying to either speed up or slow down the game this week. I got a major thesis due next Wednesday and still have much work to do.

[TinCow]

I agree with FH, the console shouldn't be used unless the traits were acquired due to a bug. Anything that is acquired naturally, good or bad, should be dealt with. Remember, I had to turn Max into a religious fanatic simply to justify the addition of a retinue member. That was not the path I had wanted to take him on. If it hadn't been for that one retinue addition, Max would have been Heinrich's right hand man the whole game.

[StoneCold]

Oops, looks like gibsonsg's avatar bought the farm in the battle for Durrazo. He will have to be assigned another Avatar now.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=1567135&postcount=189

[FactionHeir]

econ: Its time for you to battle with Bayan the Wrathful who leads a large Mongol army to attack you. Odds are 3:2 in your favor.

[AussieGiant]

Has Kag finished the Durazzo battle!!??

I also got him killed in a second fight. He was shot in the back of the head with a crossbow bolt :dizzy2:

[StoneCold]

AG, looks like kag finishes his battle and now it is econ's turn.

FH, so the mongols initiate the battle? cool... :D

[FactionHeir]

AG: In my first try at that battle I didn't lose anyone by using the tactics I sent you. When I tried it again, I think Jonas bit it against the initial MK charge as he ended up walking into the mass of them for some odd reason or another instead of letting his GB fight.

TC: If its legal, can you add Knight to the titles of Ehrhart in the Mausoleum?

[AussieGiant]

Ok so Kag is done and yes the mongols have pulled the pin and gone straight for the big enchilada of the HRE...

...the pipe hitt'in Henri they call him, and boy is this one gonna be a hum dinger!!

Now econ...will you replay this if you lose? :)

[StoneCold]

FH, so what is going on with the 2nd Crusade by Leopold?

I believe Elberhard is not yet a crusader, maybe have him join up as a crusader too and send him off with reinforcement to Leopold?

[FactionHeir]

What happens with the crusade is decided after the outcome of econ's battle.
I think I intend to have them assault the force besieging Damascus in a night attack however. I could send them Elberhard with a few mailed knights as reinforcement, but he wouldn't be able to join the crusade as there are not enough units left in Aleppo to do so unless I were to split off troops from Leopold's army which I don't intend to do (not good roleplaying to split the troops just to create a new crusading army of one man)

If they win the battle, I'll be using the two nearby spies to open the gates so they can take Damascus this year still.

[econ21]

Now econ...will you replay this if you lose? :)

Of course not, but don't get suspicious if you don't hear from me until tomorrow night. I've brought a lot of work home tonight and think this battle is not one to be rushed. Let's call it a period of mourning for Erhart von Mahren.

[FactionHeir]

Reminder: Please do not post openly battle tactics/exact results of this battle until after its fought. PMing each other is fine.

[AussieGiant]

Of course not, but don't get suspicious if you don't hear from me until tomorrow night. I've brought a lot of work home tonight and think this battle is not one to be rushed. Let's call it a period of mourning for Erhart von Mahren.

Ok Econ. It seems we will not have to worry about them being passive hey!

With all that said good luck with the Mongol's.

I'm looking forward to Kag's write up so I can post in the diet with all the details at my disposal.

I must say I fought that battle 3 times and the last two with some very good advise from FH and I always lost an avatar. Those mailed knights are great.

Maybe we should ban them from our own armies as a handicap?

[StoneCold]

FH, about Elberhard, I am not concerned about the reinforcement. More about the avatar being the only one in the holy land not being a ex-crusader. Weird ICly, but not unheard of I think. We still cannot get the stupid pope to agree on an alliance?

[FactionHeir]

As in my C&G report, the pope even refused 10k florins and maps for alliance

[TinCow]

TC: If its legal, can you add Knight to the titles of Ehrhart in the Mausoleum?

Done. Added his other titles too.

[StoneCold]

Probably because the Byzantines, we have help time twice in battles? When they accepted your request, you just help them defeated the Hungarian siege, right? Does it work like that?

I think you mean we are offering access to the pope and not asking of access to their land right?

[FactionHeir]

We have to be allied before we can discuss access with the pope (I did edit my post)
Alliance and mil access both consider your global reputation. Ours is Dubious at the moment, which is quite bad, so alliances and access are difficult and expensive to get.

Good work TC.

[econ21]

If we take Damascus and get perfect relations, I wonder if the Pope would accept an alliance and later military access? For in character reasons, we really need that military access for our self-appointed role as defenders of Jerusalem - although I guess we could role-play the Pope being difficult (I seem to recall several "neutrals" in the World Wars being difficult with the allies when faced with a German threat).

[FactionHeir]

Our relations were on outstanding with the pope for the past few turns and he never accepted, even a generous offer. If we had more than 20k florins at the start of a turn, I wouldn't mind upping above 10k and tribute, but our massive military in outremer that I trained in anticipation of the mongol invasion is costing loads in addition to modernizing exisiting forces to imperial knights. I guess after the end of the crusade, sacking damascus and killing the mongols, we should have a lot of florins to spare. Likely in a turn or two if all goes well.

[edit]
We'll be able to train Forlorn Hope in two turns or so. Its time to start considering whether to up it to 2hp or not and whether to do any other changes (like enabling DGK and general rebalancing) I suppose.

[Kagemusha]

The battle report is up.:shame:

[Ituralde]

Too bad gibsonsg! Just as the House of Austria got a merry band, one is taken from us. Seems like someone didn't want you to leave your merchant days behind.

That's one of the reasons though why I don't like to fight with multiple Bodyguards in one army. When you're forced to use them as cavalry it gets hard to keep track of the generals.
This ties in directly with the situation around Damascus. I'm gonna post my thoughts IC in the Crusader Council right away. Wouldn't want to waste young avatars. :beam:

[StoneCold]

Btw, I read the battle report. It doesn't seems to indicate the death of the avatar in the screen shot. Kag, was there an indication of death of a general during battle? I always thought if a general died his BG will be grey out or is that just for the commanding general? Just a game mechanics question as I do not have the game, and RTW has been uninstalled.

[FactionHeir]

Greying out occurs in RTW but not M2TW. There is an indication, as in either the "A Noble Death" message or a cutscene, depending on who is affected and some randomness in the game.

[StoneCold]

Thanks.

Looks like Elberhard could get his crusader title with the rest of the avatars splitting from Leopold's army. Did the Mongols captured any other cities or did they make a beeline for Damascus?

[Ituralde]

Just a comment to the OOC part of your post FH.

I always thought that Army composition doesn't apply to Crusader Armies. Could be wrong though. If I am, I might still act against it. The Diet can impeach me for it if the wish. :clown:

[FactionHeir]

The latter. They are attacking Damascus and heading for Jerusalem

Ituralde: Crusading armies are only exempt on the limit of GBs but not knights and other things. The first crusade was special as we had an edict removing the limits. I don't know if it would really be counting as acting against it, as there isn't an IC rule to prevent other compositions - its an OOC rule.

[Ituralde]

Ah well, looks like we'll have to see then.

Don't plan on making a huge uberstack of cavalry anyway.

[AussieGiant]

Firstly Kag,

Amazing write up. That was certainly intense to say the least.

Second, I don't think we should do any modification to any files or anything at this stage. Army composition must be maintain in my view in order to make this Mongol invasion "real".

We've lost and avatar, and I think it's for the best that there is some type of realistic setting for our role playing. There are more than enough avatar's in reserve so people are not left out (something I'm keenly aware of), but uber game playing is something I strongly advise against as there is no "story".

There plenty of battling to come and it's only right that we should feel the pain and lose of fighting for out land.

So...god, I'm knighted and at a bitter cost IC.

[FactionHeir]

Don't think an über-stack of cav would beat Mongols.
From SP experience, you need missile cav or long range missiles and a solid infantry line. Best if you have a catapult or trebuchet with you too.
The way to kill mongols is to have them attack you on the field by forcing their hand using missiles. Charging them only gets your troops exhausted and shot down.

I think the most fun experience I had with Mongols was when I was playing the Moors. Main stack had a good general, 10 peasant crossbows (long range), 4 dmt christian guards, 2 gran jinetes, 2 desert cav, 1 christian guard. Reinforcements were a general with 6 akinjis, 4 peasant crossbows, 2 christian guard and loads of arab cavalry and alan mercs. As attacker I stood on a hill and shot them to pieces while they didn't dare charging my army. Each time a crossbow was depleted i'd withdraw it to get my reserve in.

[TinCow]

Just a comment to the OOC part of your post FH.

I always thought that Army composition doesn't apply to Crusader Armies. Could be wrong though. If I am, I might still act against it. The Diet can impeach me for it if the wish. :clown:

Technically, the abolishment of army limits was only done for the first Crusade and the legislation authorizing it is long gone. If you're going to do a night attack against a single stack, you'll have to deal with a normal army setup. However, if you're actually suggesting a kamikaze attack on all of them without a night attack to split them, I would personally be willing to look the other way. That's ballsy enough (and certain enough to get you killed) that you're entitled to everything you can get your hands on.

[AussieGiant]

Don't think an über-stack of cav would beat Mongols.
From SP experience, you need missile cav or long range missiles and a solid infantry line. Best if you have a catapult or trebuchet with you too.
The way to kill mongols is to have them attack you on the field by forcing their hand using missiles. Charging them only gets your troops exhausted and shot down.

I think the most fun experience I had with Mongols was when I was playing the Moors. Main stack had a good general, 10 peasant crossbows (long range), 4 dmt christian guards, 2 gran jinetes, 2 desert cav, 1 christian guard. Reinforcements were a general with 6 akinjis, 4 peasant crossbows, 2 christian guard and loads of arab cavalry and alan mercs. As attacker I stood on a hill and shot them to pieces while they didn't dare charging my army. Each time a crossbow was depleted i'd withdraw it to get my reserve in.

Something to keep in mind FH as I'm sure I will be heading east in my old age.

[FactionHeir]

Well I suppose you'll get to fight the Timurids, but the tactics against them are different, as they got long range artillery. For Timurids I'd chose an army with halberds, spears, at least 3 ballistae, 3 or so missile regiments and rest heavy cavalry. Use fire and shoot down their elephants first to make them go amok and then have them come to you while you tell your arty to stop and watch their army get massacred by their own elephants.

Still, both of those enemies you can't use cav heavy armies against. Cav heavy works well against normal factions only.

[AussieGiant]

Even better advise.

So a question. Now that I'm knighted due to Kag's frontal assault which has left me not wanting to see blood for awhile, where do I post orders for the AHA and further movement?

[FactionHeir]

You don't have to really. If you really want to post something, you can do that in the C&G reports topic or via PM. Anything is up to my disgression though and currently I tend towards having the AHA or at least some general with a capable army build watchtowers and forts across Zagreb region after its retaken and have them hunt down the invasion force that attacked Zagreb if its still within Imperial territory. Durazzo will get a decent garrison and I'll have Zagreb supply a few troops down there. Best if you could get one of the other Austrians knighted in the meantime so they can take over garrison duties at Durazzo while Jonas goes back to Franconia.

[TinCow]

Anything is up to my disgression though and currently I tend towards having the AHA or at least some general with a capable army build watchtowers and forts across Zagreb region after its retaken and have them hunt down the invasion force that attacked Zagreb if its still within Imperial territory.

Technically you still have to comply with Ituralde's orders for the AHA, since they were given in a timely manner and are valid.


Orders for the Austrian Household Army:

The Austrian Household Army will be led by Jonas von Mahren.
As soon as a Austrian noble, who is not on Crusade, gets knighted he will take over command of the Army.

Jonas von Mahren will have full control over the movements of the Army. I have contacted him, that he should bring the siege of Thessalonica to an end, one way or another and return to the Austrian homeland. He should pick up the younger Austrian nobles on his way north and defeat the Hungarians loitering in our territory.

You've done pretty much everything indicated there except "defeat the Hungarians loitering in our territory." However, since Arnold is now Steward, he can legally give you new orders which remove that as a goal. So my legal ruling on the matter (if it counts for anything) is that you have to use the AHA against any Hungarians in Austrian territory, unless Arnold gives new orders. If he gives new orders, it is (like you said) at your discretion (within the limits imposed on you for using Household Armies - such as you can't take them out of the House's territory.).

[Stuperman]

What's up with the forlorn Hope? I know of the 2handed bug, but isn't that fixed?

And as for the big battles, I hope some are in Bavaria land, as commander of the BHA for nearly 50 years (I think) I've fought 3. and am now contridicting myself, as I earlier said I was hesitant to bring Gerhard into battle. Oh well, I'll just have to wait and see.

[AussieGiant]

TC,

I'll send you the usual fee :2thumbsup:

FH,

Most of it's just roleplaying as its inline with what Ituralde said before.

I don't really want to keep Durazzo. It makes this eastern border a shocker.

[TinCow]

With Durazzo as an offer, peace with Venice might actually be possible.

[Stuperman]

With Durazzo as an offer, peace with Venice might actually be possible.

How long have we been at war with them? (since Hienrich's riegn? or has there been peace with them since?)


@ FH or AG were you going to leave any military buildings standing>?

[FactionHeir]

Hmmm maybe the pope will like a small outpost ~:)
If both econ and you agree, I'll use it in negotiations, although its value is now much depreciated due to the extermination (settlement value in negotiations are equal to its population and income)

What TC said was pretty much what I had planned, in terms of hutning down the Hungarians, so there shouldn't be any probs with your new orders.

Stuperman: I wouldn't see why Durazzo should be razed.

[AussieGiant]

I'm not fussed.

It's a nightmare province in the game right now and I'm stretched enough without it.

If a friendly neighbour can be arranged then I can concentrate on the Hungarians in the future (which is my plan).

Please go ahead and bargain.

[FactionHeir]

There is no such thing as a friendly neighbor except if its the pope and you are a good christian :)

[AussieGiant]

There is no such thing as a friendly neighbor except if its the pope and you are a good christian :)

I know, but the Pope is an option. There are other neighbours that are not inclined to attack isn't there?

[FactionHeir]

According to the scripts, only the pope won't ever backstab or attack you if you are neutral/allied.
Any other faction including trusted allies (which we cannot have with our bad global rep) have at best a 90% chance of holding the alliance.
Oh, and vassals are totally peaceful too, but I doubt we'll see one for at least 2 more chancellorships.

[AussieGiant]

According to the scripts, only the pope won't ever backstab or attack you if you are neutral/allied.
Any other faction including trusted allies (which we cannot have with our bad global rep) have at best a 90% chance of holding the alliance.
Oh, and vassals are totally peaceful too, but I doubt we'll see one for at least 2 more chancellorships.

FH....I've said you're a genius when it come to this game...but you know too much for your own good :beam:

So hell give it to the pope as part of the deal in the East. See if he can say no to that!! :laugh4:

[TinCow]

Since it's a newly conquered and unassigned land, you'll have to get the Kaiser's permission to dispose of it. Personally, I would prefer that it not be given to the Pope. I like him being limited to the East and it will just cause more problems if Austria ever decides to expand south again.

[Stuperman]

@TC Agreed

[Ituralde]

Yeah I've noticed a rise of Build orders threads for newly conquered settlements in the Chancellor's Report threat. Some people seem to forget that the city they just conquered still has to be given to their house in the end. :beam:

Oh and concerning the battle against the Mongols. I don't really plan on getting killed in that battle, but facing a Mongol army three times my size may well spell disaster in the end. I can take the responsibility for Leopold dying but I don't want anyone to be mad at me if I get his character killed. That's why I would feel better if no other avatars came along. Less to worry about. :beam:

[FactionHeir]

Erm small problem AG. When Sigismund joins your stack he becomes commander due to higher command rating. I guess I'll have to split him before the knighting battle.

[flyd]

Oh and concerning the battle against the Mongols. I don't really plan on getting killed in that battle, but facing a Mongol army three times my size may well spell disaster in the end. I can take the responsibility for Leopold dying but I don't want anyone to be mad at me if I get his character killed. That's why I would feel better if no other avatars came along. Less to worry about. :beam:

But Fredericus must go. Don't worry about him too much. He hasn't been in many battles, but I have never paid a great deal of attention to his safety. The bastard still survived, and I imagine picked up the "Courageous" trait from the ordeal. Which, in-character, is also the reason he must go. Read the description of the trait. He is not staying behind! I really don't mind if he gets killed, as long as your writeup makes it sound glorious. Feel free to use him as ordinary cavalry, I always have.

[FactionHeir]

I have left you in Leopold's stack.

[gibsonsg91921]

gosh dangit! just when i get a general avatar he dies :no:

[OverKnight]

That indeed sucks gibsonsg91921, a small consolation is that there are other avatars available. However, none are in Austria at the moment. Perhaps you should consider Franconia, Swabia or Bavaria? If you're looking for immediate action, Franconia and Swabia would be better bets at this point.

[FactionHeir]

Alright guys. Two battles coming up, non crusade related.

1: FlyDudeDutch_guy gets to fight 2 Polish crossbowmen blocking his way (he may autoresolve if he wishes or have me fight it)
2: TinCow assaults Zagreb

If Xdeathfire wants, he may attack the French near Paris but that is not imperative.

48 hours deadline in total for both battles. Please post/PM if you are fighting.

[econ21]

1: FlyDude gets to fight 2 Polish crossbowmen blocking his way (he may autoresolve if he wishes or have me fight it)

I thought you said FLYdude was in Leopold's stack? Has Dusan Kolar sent the Mongols some Polish crossbowmen to help them out? :laugh4:

[FactionHeir]

Errrr I mean Dutch_guy SORRY :)

Currently in process of uploading kotr1228-2

[gibsonsg91921]

ill go with franconia cuz thats where ehrhart used to live before i got him.
who's available there?

[FactionHeir]

A lot of von Kastilien.
Check the C&G first page.
Also not listed there (I think) is Siegfried von Kastilien, a new avatar (check last page for that)

[StoneCold]

Econ, so Henry survived?

[gibsonsg91921]

i guess ill go with fritz von kastilien, the next oldest son after ansehelm

[FactionHeir]

Alright gibson, Fritz is currently umm good question, where was he....I think he's in Italy garrisoning Florence...or was it Bologna. Somewhere there :p

StoneCold: You'll find out in a bit once econ finishes writing ;)

[gibsonsg91921]

cool - but isnt he from franconia? whats he doing in bavaria lol
idc i love italy

[FactionHeir]

He was besieged until last turn inside Florence. Where do you want him?

[StoneCold]

Also due to the same stupid game mechanics that allow your previous avatar to be spawn in the capital. Else you avatar would probably have spawn in the same stack as Jonas when he came of age and probably wouldn't have died a gruesome death... :P

Damn... cliffhanger... come on, at least show the results? :P

[TinCow]

We have friends over for dinner tonight, so I doubt I'll be able to fight my battle until tomorrow night. So, Dutch_guy, feel free to take the save.

[FactionHeir]

You could get your friends hooked on PBM :D

[gibsonsg91921]

i guess ill put him whereever works best for the reich

[gibsonsg91921]

actually can i take peter von kastilien? im looking at the traits and his seem more desirable.

[econ21]

Econ, so Henry survived?

Yes, but his army did not. :no:

Battle report is up.

[StoneCold]

Wow...

Econ, you seems to have miss putting up the butcher's bill. But even from the last pic, I can see your troops are almost gone.

[econ21]

Good catch - I've just posted the butcher's bill.

I've never fought Mongols before in M2TW. Originally, just after the last Diet, I had thought I could attack two Mongol stacks and win. Now that would have been a sure fire way to go out in style (or ignomy, running from the battle screaming like a girl...).

[GeneralHankerchief]

econ, do you mind if I use Kurt in a quick story? Nothing bad will happen to him/I won't do anything with him that you disapprove of.

[econ21]

Sure, GH - go ahead.

[StoneCold]

haha, you are brave, econ... :).

Looks like the only thing that is intact in your army is the crossbowmen, are they in loose formation during the artillery duel? They definitely need to be replenished again with spears and calvary before they can be a effective force again.

[econ21]

No, I kept the crossbows in close formation - I had six in a line, so screening them was a problem even then. And I figured close might deal better with any Mongols who got past the front line. Plus, loose formations sometimes don't seem to skirmish quickly enough and get caught.

As it happened, the normal Mongol horse archers played nice and just stayed back, shooting. By contrast, the heavy archers walked right up to the crossbows at the beginning and then charged, while Bayan was just jaw-dropping. I doubt the crossbowmen lost many to enemy fire - I rather suspect the horse archers preferred to rip up the closerby melee infantry and cavalry I had.

[StoneCold]

The Steffen family looks like blessed with genuis commanders... :P

Any idea where are the other Nations of the Crusades?

[AussieGiant]

I'm lovin it ECON!!

Excellent stuff.

I'm sure Ituralde is checking he has everything correctly placed in his trouser's, before sticking himself in the mongol horde back yard!! lol!

Still, armies can be replenished, commanders can't. You got rid of one of their top line generals...there's only 4 more to go!!

Ituralde, you're up!!

[StoneCold]

Ituralde, Fredericus is not young... :P he is only 5 years Leopold's junior.. :P

[Ituralde]

Everybody who's younger than him, is young... :laugh4:

[StoneCold]

hahah... but he is a balding white hair dude now just like your avatar...

[FactionHeir]

Great read econ. Looks like you had some very intense battle. Hope the many pavise were worth it :)

[FactionHeir]

Chancellor's report for 1227 and 1228 are now up to date with previously hidden information.

Also, forgot to mention, but we can hire Gothic Knights at Sofia. While this may be a wow-factor, ever since 1.02 and shield fix, they aren't all that great anymore.

[TinCow]

Just to reinforce my previous statement, I will be playing my battle when I get home tonight, about 6:30pm EST.

[Stuperman]

Wow, nice job econ, and good luck TC

I auto-resolved the battle the other day (loaded the Assult in durazzo save) and won so I wasn't too worried. But still you Anihilated thier army, only several more to go. ~:D

[Kagemusha]

Great battle Econ!:bow: It seems that soon there will be lots of action in the outremer thanks to our Mongol friends.:charge:

[TinCow]

I'm right in thinking there are multiple waves (3?) of Mongol stacks, right? It's not over when these 5 are defeated, is it?

[econ21]

I heard there are three waves, with the second the largest. I've never experienced it though and don't know if the later waves will appear at Baghdad as the first wave fortuitously did. (In another run through of this PBM, the first wave turned up faraway in south Russia (Yerevan?) which would have been a major disappointment.)

[FactionHeir]

Yerevan is still in ME, just under Sarkel mountains.

There are 3 waves. The later waves featured even tougher generals and rocket launchers. Takes a long while to get them to appear though. They appear at the same point where the first wave did.

[econ21]

OK, looking at the Citadel FAQ, I guess I meant north of the Caspian sea rather than Yerevan. They really were far, far away from us and spawning there would have been a major disappointment as we would have had virtually no interaction with them. I did not do any reloading to get them close to us, but am happy they came where they did.

I've updated the FAQ to say waves 2 and 3 appear where wave 1 came.

[Kagemusha]

Yep FactionHeir is right.The rest are coming your way also. Im looking forward to Ituraldes assault against the Mongols. With even victorious battles with about 50/50 casulties the Crusader Kindom could be in lot of trouble,specially if the Egyptians and Turks chip in also.:smash:

[AussieGiant]

Well that's some pretty imposing news.

3 waves hey. It's going to be decades of high intensity war down there.

[Stuperman]

There are 3 waves. The later waves featured even tougher generals and rocket launchers.

Mongols flying Apaches? sounds like fun. :inquisitive:

[TinCow]

Well that's some pretty imposing news.

3 waves hey. It's going to be decades of high intensity war down there.

And then the Timurids after that, and they're even worse.

[StoneCold]

Well, if the appear in Russia, the HRE mainland will see the hordes instead of in th Outremer, Franconians and Austrians will see some serious actions if that is the case, with the poles and huns probably wiped out.

[StoneCold]

And then the plague just when you need your economy the most. :D

[FactionHeir]

Btw, I forgot to mention it before.
In a few of my reports you can see mentions of Adolf der Bartige doing some hidden stuff.
Well, he finished what he was doing: spy on Jobst and his army and spy the Danish survivors as well as the battle ground.

If anyone together with Warluster or just on their own wants to write the alternative more or less true and complete story on what happened with the Danes, feel free to.

[Stuperman]

Hey

What ever happened to the investigation into the 'event' that lead to our current war with the danes?

is it just being written off OOC as game mechanics, and mostly ignored IC
or what?

[FactionHeir]

See my post above.

Also, I have dug a bit through the file and noticed that Sane is an AntiTrait to Hypochonndriac, so if you stay in a settlement with a church for any amount of time you can become Sane. Also finishing church buildings gives a Sane boost. Maybe there is yet hope for Steffen :p

[Stuperman]

Just a church? or will the Cathedral in rome work too?

[FactionHeir]

Any church type. I think that's why I subconciously was buildng the cathedral.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Wait, the Cathedral in Rome was just built in your term?

[FactionHeir]

I just started construction on it this turn, yes.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Whuh-oh. Heinrich ordered construction of the place back in the late 1150s. Heh.

[FactionHeir]

Well, maybe Heinrich will rise from the grave to thank his grandson? :D

[GeneralHankerchief]

One story at a time. :wizard:

[econ21]

Good story, GH. Sorry if Henry's wheez proposed in the Council of Crusaders seemed to deflate it - although I don't think it did. Your story did not sound that doom laden to my ears: more Starship Troopers than All Quiet on the Western Front.

If my proposed wheez goes too far in terms of exploiting game mechanics, I apologise. Duke Leopold or the Chancellor could always reject it or better it (they are smart guys, in and out of character :bow:).

[GeneralHankerchief]

I was actually thinking of Full Metal Jacket meets Lord of the Rings, but whatever floats your boat. :tongue:

[TinCow]

I was actually thinking of Full Metal Jacket meets Lord of the Rings, but whatever floats your boat. :tongue:

This is my longsword. There are many like it but this one is mine.

Personally, I want to see Leopold take them all on. Victory or death!

[StoneCold]

FH, why is a teutonic knight unit in Elberhard's stack not on crusade? Is he the one holding back the stack's movement?

[FactionHeir]

I moved Elberhard with the infantry over first and then joined the crusade (explains low movement) and later decided to give him Teutons too as the knight limit was not reached. At end turn it auto joins though, so no worries. Don't want to abandon/rejoin as that may cause him to become a coward ;)

[StoneCold]

Ok, thanks, not sure abt the crusade mechanism... Btw, none of the crusade from other nations reached the middle east yet? I thought a few nations' army stacks passed by us before we formed our crusade?

[FactionHeir]

France is stuck north of Innsbruck, Portugal still at Pamplona, Spain in Northern Africa and we defeated the Venetian stack inside Durazzo and the Danes north of Staufen.

[OverKnight]

The Venetians in Durazzo had taken the cross? We were besieging a crusade army? Or did they leave the Crusade to attack our forces?

Another thing I just noticed is that all three of the remaining orginial avatars (Leopold, Henry and Otto) are clumped together in Outremer. I thought Crusading was a young man's game. :laugh4:

[FactionHeir]

Well you guys did bring a lot of young avatars and if Hans wasn't stuck in Hungary he'd join in the fray too for his second crusade. If you guys get hit too bad by the Mongols though, he might just have to (but with Gothic Knights) :D

The Venetians inside Durazzo were a crusade army resting I think. At least the banners they had in Kagemusha's screenshots had the crusade annex. At least we didn't get excommed - the current pope is merely 34 years old.


But nothing beats an assassins blade if it had to be... :wizard:

[OverKnight]

God help you if you fail to assasinate the pointy hatted one though. Also, he is one of own, or at least used to be an Imperial Cardinal.

[FactionHeir]

Would require an edict by the diet anyway to do it, so he's safe

[econ21]

From the crusader thread:


OOC: *runs off to sell Rome to the highest bidder*


It's no joke. I was going to gift Rome to the Papacy at the end of my period of office as the Chancellor. I cut and paste lots of quotes from the Diet to prepare a story based on past disputes over Rome to reflect Henry's torn feelings on the matter. But then I decided it would be the straw that broke the PBM camel's back and desisted.

[OverKnight]

:dizzy2: Really?

I can only imagine the uproar. . .

I don't think it would have broken the PBM's back, but I can only imagine the the fleet of Charter Amendments that would have been launched that day.

[gibsonsg91921]

wow rome is our crown jewel

[TevashSzat]

I think what I'm gonna do is to mop up any French forces around Paris, swing up to Bruges, take it, and come back to defend before the French could react. Bruges is relatively isolated from most of the French so it shouldn't be that hard to take. Factionheir has mentioned taking Angers or Toulouse, but they seem to be surrounded by too many French territories and think it would be pretty hard keeping them.

Looks like that with the mongols in the Outremer, there are some pretty intense battles. Too bad I would be able to fight in any of them. Maybe the Timurids though, but I don't think this PBM will last until then

[gibsonsg91921]

we can make it last long enough to get to timurids

[GeneralHankerchief]

but I can only imagine the the fleet of Charter Amendments that would have been launched that day.

Been launched that day?

Try the next Diet session for starters. I don't care if it's a different character, I'll find some justification. Rome is mine! :viking: :furious:

[gibsonsg91921]

i for one would have been peeved

[AussieGiant]

Ok guy's that it.

Unfortunately I've check out of my home and will be heading to Canada until July 17.

That means all battles that need to be fought by Arnold will be infact conducted by Ituralde.

Damn!! Sometimes I hate my job!!

[GeneralHankerchief]

Have fun AG. :canada:

[AussieGiant]

Thanks GH.

Good write up by the way. I can't wait for these series of big intense battles.

I can feel some real history is about to be written in this PBM :2thumbsup:

Damn I wish I was able to fight my battles!! I'd be just hammering the Hungarians.

[FactionHeir]

It certainly would have made Henry as popular as Heinrich :D

Ahhh safe travels AG

[AussieGiant]

Thanks FH

[StoneCold]

Good Luck AG

TC, your story post sounds more like a glory hungry nut than a chivalric knight. If I am the senior commander in the battle, I would have lots of second thought about knighting you after seeing that display... :P

[TinCow]

That was the entire point of the story, StoneCold.

[OverKnight]

I liked the battle report TC, it certainly conveyed that even though Lothar is a skilled general, he's still a callow youth. If he was alive today, he'd be camped out at a spawn point pwning n00bs to max out his stats.

Hopefully as events progress he'll gain some wisdom, or at least some humility.

[Kagemusha]

I think what I'm gonna do is to mop up any French forces around Paris, swing up to Bruges, take it, and come back to defend before the French could react. Bruges is relatively isolated from most of the French so it shouldn't be that hard to take. Factionheir has mentioned taking Angers or Toulouse, but they seem to be surrounded by too many French territories and think it would be pretty hard keeping them.

Looks like that with the mongols in the Outremer, there are some pretty intense battles. Too bad I would be able to fight in any of them. Maybe the Timurids though, but I don't think this PBM will last until then

Why is Swabia constantly taking cities without so much as edict?

[Stig]

Good point Kage

Sides I think we should leave France alone and allow to rebuild. Otherwise this game is easely over, without having gone to the new world


I suggest giving cities back to France in exchange for peace.

[FactionHeir]

Swabia has taken 1 city this session which is Paris. What do you mean by constantly?
New HA orders are allowed as TC pointed out a few pages back.

[Kagemusha]

Swabia has taken 1 city this session which is Paris. What do you mean by constantly?
New HA orders are allowed as TC pointed out a few pages back.

Well isnt Paris enough for this Chancellor term? We are going fast towards the victory condition and i thought that allowing to conquer cities was a thing that should be decided in Diet.:smash:

[StoneCold]

Kag, I know what you mean, that's why I started that discussion a few days back, but was over-ruled... so maybe you can start a CA in the next diet to limit expansion again. :D

TC, I know that is the aim of your story, but if I am the chancellor, I would have difficulties justifying my decision to knight your avatar given the craziness of your action, other than your kill numbers... :P Maybe a provisional knighthood which will be confirm or strip in further campaign depending on performance? :P

[FactionHeir]

Well isnt Paris enough for this Chancellor term? We are going fast towards the victory condition and i thought that allowing to conquer cities was a thing that should be decided in Diet.:smash:

Any further conquest would be at the chancellor's disgression as to whether to continue old or take up the new orders. Considering Paris has loads of French stacks surrounding it, the prospect of taking another French city is rather low at the moment.

StoneCold: I was thinking of whether to knight Steffen or not. Provisional knighthood is actually a good idea. Need to think a bit more on that.

[TinCow]

TC, I know that is the aim of your story, but if I am the chancellor, I would have difficulties justifying my decision to knight your avatar given the craziness of your action, other than your kill numbers... :P Maybe a provisional knighthood which will be confirm or strip in further campaign depending on performance? :P

Not knighting him would be entirely justified and would work well with my story. I encourage it.

[FactionHeir]

Well, the BHA does need a leader though and while the taking of Sofia reduces the Hungarian threat somewhat, there are still loads of half stacks floating around and being trained at Bran.
I think I'm going to have to talk to Lothar's dad :p

[Stuperman]

If lothar's knighthood is just provisional, he can earn his full knight hood when we take out the Milanese. I realise that this is a bit away, I was hoping to have Corsica and Sardinia under siege by the end of FH's Chancellorship. I'll issue new orders to the BHA once the situation at Zegrab is under control. (I guess most of this could [should?] have gone IC, meh)

@GH is Henery had given up rome, Conrad and Gerhard might have found some common ground

edit: Just saw FH's post, hhmmm.....the milanese might have to wait....

[Ituralde]

Too bad! Should have taken the save yesterday to my thing with Leopold. Looks like it is harder to have im die in glorious battle than I thought.

Am I the only one who finds it ironic that two of our most chivalrous generals opt for the quite unchivalrous Night attack, while one of our most dreadful generals wants a chivalrous head on battle?

[FactionHeir]

Well night battles aren't necessarily unchivalrous. It saves lives and allows for further negotiations and peace instead of total annihilation;)
Charging headon against 3 stacks is also not chivalrous behavior towards those serving under you :p

[Ituralde]

The fun thing about it is, that after I had a look at the saves I came up with the exact same plan that econ21 proposed, where I attack from the South. Well so much for my brilliant surprise plan. Now all the glory will go to the Emperor. :beam:

I will reply in the Crusader Council and then I would like to download the current save and fight this battle, one way or another. Mabye I'll flip a coin to see how brave I'll be in the end. :2thumbsup:

Is this alright with you FactionHeir?

[FactionHeir]

So are you going with Henry's original plan or his modified plan that incorporates my suggestion?

[Kagemusha]

Good luck on the battle Ituralde! I hope Leopold comes out alive from it.:yes:

[Kagemusha]

Great battle Ituralde!You made defeating Mongols look very easy and its not.:bow:Edit: Great end for an great character.

[FactionHeir]

Fairly well fought. Maybe you should have gone by the first plan and taken all 3 at once.

[Ituralde]

Thanks!

It was great fun and I have to admit the real difficulty was to get Leopold killed during the battle. Also I couldn't let him die to early otherwise I'd loose for sure. The first one was quite difficult, while I found that battling Khan Jebuk is quite easy as he tends to rush at you. Aradai the Wrathful on the other just takes a nice defensive position and let's you have a go at it.

I uploaded the next savegame 1128-5 and also a Leopold save. It's just the last save where he's alive, maybe that's helpful for the Mausoleum or some such.

It was also a nice feeling to just execute 25000 florins worth of enemies.

And I urge everyone to try out the battle against all three stacks, did it for enjoyment at the end. It was wonderful. Just looking at the masses of soldiers comingt at you, fighting desperatly and then suddenly seein the horizon full of reinforcements. Looks like one of the armies arrived late and you had only been battling half of them. :no:

Fun times! :2thumbsup:

[FactionHeir]

Hehe, fighting all three at once was fun. I think the worst about that was actually kerping toward the timelimit. Once Aradai was dead, all his reinforcement units were down to steady/shaken when they reached my lines, making them easily routable.

[gibsonsg91921]

geez now mainland austria is just arnold and sigmund von mahren

[Stig]

They gained 2, and now the lost 2

[Kagemusha]

Maybe we should throw who ever marries Hedwigis Von Saxony next to Austria? Btw has there been proposers for her?I think i might be intrested playing eventually one of the children from that marriage.

[FactionHeir]

Wonder who Ituralde will play as next. Austria lacks avatars yet again.

There have been no proposals so far, but that may change. I'm planning to accept any suitor (even if they got only "generally loyal")

[Ituralde]

I haven't decided whom to take either.
Thing is, that there's still two von Mahren gals who could marry. Could obviously, but if we continue to kill characters at this rate, it should happen soon. :2thumbsup:

I'm just a Austrian at heart!

[flyd]

I tried the three-stack battle yesterday, but instead of conventional tactics, I decided to go with an epic charge at the Mongol center, ignoring the horse archers. It wasn't long before the entire army was completely encircled by horse archers, but I did destroy two of the Mongol infantry/lancer cores, along with Aradai and the Khan, as well as some of the horse archers. Unfortunately, there were too few men left by the time the third group arrived on the flank.

Good job on the real battle, Ituralde. I'm glad to see that you didn't try to keep Fredericus out of trouble. He is the only one left in his bodyguard, has double-gold-chevron experience, and a bunch of new bravery and scar traits. He just won't die.

[TinCow]

I think the Mahren girls will eventually get proposals. Henry and Otto won't last much longer either. With 4 avatar losses in such a short period, plus the addition of a few more territories, marriage proposals should start popping up again. I would suggest that all marriages be accepted, but adoptions should only be accepted if they are for Austria.

[FactionHeir]

Its quite likely we'll get a few MOTH next time I send a captain to take out a few rebels. Guess I'll need to save/reload to know who the MOTH goes to.

[Stuperman]

Well, I'd be a little descriminating..I remember there was one proposal that had an 'activley disloyal' trait, as much fun as that would be to RP, I doubt he'd last long with the CPU haveing lotsa money for bribes.

[StoneCold]

Kag, in your diet speech, you forgot about Otto, he is still alive... :P

Good battle Ituralde.

[GeneralHankerchief]

My condolences! Leopold was an excellent character. A fitting end. :bow:

[Kagemusha]

Kag, in your diet speech, you forgot about Otto, he is still alive... :P

Good battle Ituralde.

Well after weeks of heavy drinking Jonas tends to be bit disoriented. So dont wonder if there will be lot of very wierd stuff coming from his mouth soon.~;)

[StoneCold]

hhaha.

Wow, so the entire mongolian first wave is wiped out with the strike by Otto? That's much faster than I expected, still wished they started an empire instead of trying to hit Damascus as their target.

[OverKnight]

I have updated the history. I wil fight the battle tonight. I need caffeine if I'm going to kill Mongols.

Ohhhh. . .someone had to do it. . .

Otto hears of Leopold's death, he screams:

KHAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!

[StoneCold]

Sigh... Leopold wasted a good chance to do that... haha. I don't think Otto can do a heroic death scene now as the remaining army are quite well match... :P Oh, and good luck. :)

[FactionHeir]

With all those troop deaths I believe I can build a building or two more next year :D

[StoneCold]

FH, so did the Mongols sack Baghdad or is that just a story in the story thread?

[FactionHeir]

Just a story I think. Baghdad never got sacked by Mongols.

[GeneralHankerchief]

It was just a story. I have no knowledge of whether or not they actually did it; I just remember them doing it in another one of my games.

[FactionHeir]

Btw, still noone taking up the offer of writing a true/alternative story for the ambushed Danes and the aftermath?

[gibsonsg91921]

hey once henry gets whacked by natural causes whos gonna be the new prinz? Jobst has no children of age - is it gonna be hans or is the loopy game mechanics gonna switch it up? it could be hans, elberhard, or arnold, or gunther, or anyone. im anxious to find out tho

edit - looked into the future - its siegfried kastilien! i shoulda picked him lol

[GeneralHankerchief]

I believe that there was talk of using the console command to select an heir after the Kaiser died - i.e. who the Kaiser will be after Jobst dies. Can't remember what we decided though.

[FactionHeir]

A while ago I did that test and found it would be you. Haven't tested it recently though and found that it can be quite random. If Jobst gets whacked though, the game designates Hans as heir.

As for the console business, it didn't quite work as I had hoped. Only works for designating heirs if the current heir dies.

[Northnovas]

Btw, still noone taking up the offer of writing a true/alternative story for the ambushed Danes and the aftermath?

I will take a run at it and see what I can come with that would be worth reading.

[Warluster]

Btw, still noone taking up the offer of writing a true/alternative story for the ambushed Danes and the aftermath?

I did last week.

[FactionHeir]

I did last week.

That was your version and Luka was not exposed though, plus lots of uncertainties that can be cleared up.
What I have done since your story post was to send an experienced and independant spy to spy on Jobst's retinue and the Danish army that he fought (the remainders of it)

So there might still be more potential for stories.

Well done OK btw

[Ituralde]

Nice fighting Overknight, I like how badly we're getting mauled by the Mongols. Finally some costly battles.

Just a quick note that I'll be gone over the weekend. Gonna delve into the whole new character process once I'm back.

Oh and to something mentioned earlier, Leopold would have been one of the few to approve if Rome would be given to the Papacy. He has basically demanded it ever since. But since he's dead now, kind of a moot point. :beam:

[AussieGiant]

OK and Ituralde,

Amazing stuff. I can't believe the mongols are exterminated.

Truely impressive.

Ituralde, are you staying in house Austria? If you have any advise as the ex Duke I'd appreciate it.

[StoneCold]

AG, Leopold is the son, Arnold is the grandson of Henrich. :P