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  • Tales from the Throne Room - Chapter One

    by
    phonicsmonkey
    Published on 05-06-2011 02:28
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    Welcome to Chapter One of our regular Throne Room update. Of course you've already seen our Introduction...In this edition we will attempt to tell the story so far of some of our current games. Then in subsequent editions we will provide updates.

    We'll also highlight games which are looking for new or replacement players and in our From the Vaults section we'll dig out some old classic stories from games of the past.

    We hope you enjoy our Tales from the Throne Room!

    Current Hotseat Games:

    Dogs of War: A Stainless Steel Hotseat

    This game started back in May 2009 so is approaching its second birthday and is played in version 6.2 of the popular Stainless Steel mod for Kingdoms. 47 turns have been played between 14 human players. This is the current grand-daddy of Throne Room hotseats and if we can keep it alive long enough (we're suffering from intermittent CTDs) we should be in for an exciting conclusion.

    The story so far is:
    - Hungary allies with HRE, Venice, Byzantines and Rus
    - Egypt gets really big really quickly and scares the bejesus out of everyone
    - France tries to get an anti-Egyptian alliance going, is frustrated by politics and turns isolationist
    - Venice allies with Turkey and Egypt, putting itself in opposition to Christian Europe
    - Turkey attacks Byzantines and hands Constantinople to Venice, angering Christian Europe further
    - Spain starts a war with the Moors, who are allied with Turkey and Egypt
    - Hungary takes out the remaning Byzantine settlements and Venice opportunistically joins in, angering the Magyar
    - France and England go to war
    - Hungary attacks Venice along with Sicily and HRE, wipes them out and takes Greece
    - England becomes a French vassal
    - Spain defeats the Moors
    - Turkey attacks Hungary in defence of Venice
    - Peace is negotiated between Turkey and Hungary
    - Turkey attacks Sicily and starts a war with HRE, Hungary, Rus and Sicily
    - Egypt joins in that war in support of Turkey
    - France and England attack Spain, get beaten back
    - HRE joins Iberian war in support of France/England
    - HRE, Rus and Hungary defeat Turkey

    And we're still playing. At this stage the Rus have the largest empire but the HRE are not far behind. Poor little Hungary (my faction) is sandwiched between them...

    If you want to know more, browse the in-character diplomacy thread or the story thread where we post AARs.

    Glorious Achievements: A M2TW hotseat

    This game is in the vanilla version of M2TW and has eleven players.

    The aim of the game is to complete, within the 40 turn time limit, as many achievements as possible. These are listed in the first post of the game thread. The idea being to incentivise a different style of play to the usual competitive hotseat game where all factions invade one another endlessly in a constant state of war. (Sounds fun, right?)

    We're only on turn 22 and so far most factions have simply expanded into rebel territory and started to build their infrastructure. However, the HRE began invading its neighbours, quickly defeating Denmark, Poland, Venice and Milan while deposing the Pope and seizing Italy. The invasion of Sicily was the final straw for the eastern factions of Hungary, Turkey and Egypt who have launched a joint attack on the HRE. Will the HRE's French and Spanish allies join the war? Or will a peaceful solution be found?

    Here is the diplomacy thread for this game if you would like some further reading.

    We'll feature some of our other games in the next chapter to bring you up to date with them all - then we'll provide regular updates on all of them so you can keep in touch with the battlefields!

    Currently Recruiting:

    If reading about those games gave you the appetite to join a hotseat game, here are the games which are currently looking for new or replacement players:

    - Dual Alliances: Double Jeopardy; needs a single player to take over the combined team of the Turkish and Moorish factions. Post in the game thread or pm TriforceV if you are interested.

    - Clash of Gods; a new game which will be a deathmatch between two teams, one of Catholic and one of Islamic factions, this game is looking for a number of new players. Post in the game thread or pm Myth if you are interested.

    - The Hotseat General Recruitment thread; post here if you want to announce your availability for hotseats or are recruiting for one.

    From the Vault:
    Here we will showcase some well-loved games and stories of the past.

    This week, Commanders of the Faithful, the first Broken Crescent hotseat at the Org.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Originally posted by rossahh
    Jerusalem, 1175 AD


    It was hot, very hot, just as it always seemed to be that way in this Kingdom. The man on the horse wrinkled his nose. The city always smelt terrible when it was hot. It made it hard to think, hard to concentrate - yet he needed to do both at the moment.

    Why have I been summoned? Why? he thought to himself. He had carried out his orders, the King's orders, yet he felt apprehensive. Gaza was taken and pillaged, all for the loss of but two knights. Indeed, he had still been carrying out the King's orders - March at best speed with the army to reinforce the army at Damascus - when the summons came.

    What had gone wrong? What did I do wrong?






    The King's chambers were just as they always were. Dark, cool, forboding. Standing proud and tall in the ante-chamber, the man waited, sweating from more than from just the heat outside.

    "Enter" said the soft voice.

    Entering through the curtains, the man came into the mix of darkness and candle-light. As always, it took a moment for the eyes to adjust to the drop in light before the figure on the cushioned couch came into focus. The figure was but an outline of a man, except for the eyes. The bright, shiny eyes pierced the newcomer and seemed to be searching him, reading him, judging him with their glance.

    Nervously, the man bowed low and whispered in a suddenly dry throat, "My Lord".

    For a moment, the figure did not stir. The eyes gazed silently back at the man. Finally, the soft voice spoke again, muffled from the mask, "Please sit down". The man quickly sat down, opposite the couch on which the figure lay. As he did, he noticed for the first time the multitude of papers scattered around the couch. Dozens of papers, parchments and letters, bearing all manner of seals and insignias.

    As soon as he had sat down, the man began, "My Lord, I most humbly apologise for any offence which..." The man was stopped midsentence by an upraised hand from the figure. In the hand was a document, a letter, bearing a seal not known to the man. The man's heart began to thud faster and faster as he watched the King unroll the letter. What was in it? Was this the reason I was summoned? Was it his execution?

    The soft voice spoke. "Jerusalem will not long survive in a war with the Muslims. Already, the Kingdom is divided. Of the northern states, only Tripoli answers to us. Edessa and Antioch have ceded and the Emir in Aleppo is openly hostile."

    The figure paused and the brandished the letter to the man,

    "But this is the future of Jerusalem. The Sultan and I have made peace."

    The man began to panic. If the King had made peace with the Muslims and I had attacked them, had I violated the pact? Had I destroyed the future of this Kingdom? His heart stopped beating.

    Unaware of the man's thoughts, the voice continued,

    "Damascus and Homs have been surrendered to us. The eastern borders are secure. Peace has been restored between Christian and Muslim."

    Relief flooded the man's body. He was able to breathe again, and his heart pumped blood once more.

    "You have played you part well, and we thank you for that. Though peace with the Muslims has been obtained, the future is not yet secure."

    The hand dropped the letter it was holding and picked up another. On this one was a seal that the man recognised. It was the seal of Joran, the representative of Jerusalem in the Court of the Caliph.

    "News from the court speaks of trouble brewing in the north. Beyond the northern counties, a threat is growing. The Takavor in Armenia, it seems, is pulling away from us and towards the Turks."

    The man frowned. The last that he had heard of Armenia was that were to be allies of the Kingdom. Strange that they would be courting the Turks against us. But perhaps I heard wrong. The man nodded to himself, it was quite some time ago that he had heard the stories about Armenia, after all.

    "With the situation in the north as is, we have set a task for you."

    The man ceased his musings about Armenia and focused on the eyes. Now that he knew his fate was safe, he was anxious to know what was to become of him now.

    "It is time to strengthen the northern border. The counties of Edessa and Antioch are to be returned to the control of the Kingdom. It is our desire that you march the army of Jerusalem to the north and reassert our claim on the northern counties. Tripoli will assist you with whatever troops they can spare."

    The man smiled at the mention of Tripoli. His uncle was a good soldier and campaigning with him was always a joyous affair. However, he frowned as he thought about what the King had first said. He saw a flaw in the King's plans, and felt he had to say something, yet he didn't know how to phrase it without offending the King. Tentatively, he inquired.

    "My Lord, what if Antioch and Edessa reject your demands?"

    The King's head tilted to the side. The eyes gazed intently at the man.

    "Then you will force the demands upon them."

    The voice had not changed in volume but there was an intensity in that sentence that frightened the man. The King is not one to be trifled with, I see the man thought to himself. How appearances can be deceiving.

    The man waited for the King to say more, but he did not utter another word and just gazed at the man. The man understood that he was dismissed and so stood up, bowed and said, "It will be done My Lord".

    The eyes twinkled back at him and the soft voice said, "Yes, we know it will."

    A shiver went down the man's spine, and not from being in the cool room. Suddenly, he felt afraid again. He quickly turned to stride out of the room. As he did, he noticed something strange. The King had a third letter next to him, one that he didn't show the man. Though he couldn't see much of it in the dim light, from his angle it seemed the letter bore the official seal of the Roman Emperor. The man paused and looked back at letter, before leaving the room. Strange that he didn't mention that seeings they are one of our northern neighbors. It must not be important...





    And so the army marched north, the man on the horse in the lead, its purpose clear.

    The Kingdom would be united again under one banner.

    This article was originally published in forum thread: Tales from the Throne Room started by phonicsmonkey View original post
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