[M2TW AAR]: Vignette III - HRE
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
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The Pentagonal Tower in Nuremberg
Being an extract from the journals of Adolphus Mann of Nurenberg, Doctor of Letters
August 28, 1080
Reynhardt was late this morning. Slovenly. He knows I detest his lack of punctuality. I know that he will probably never change.
‘Master,’ he said, bobbing his head slightly. His Adam’s apple protrudes slightly, giving him an unhealthy look. ‘I’m sorry about being late, I…I…I…was held up on the road. There was an accident – a cart full of pigs overturned – it was very crowded…’
Waved a hand to dismiss his excuse. He had been staring again at the Pentagonal tower, dreaming of being a knight. Fool of a boy. Not new. It’s been forty years up already. Muscles of a clerk, anyway. This is the best place for him, and I told him that, not that he appreciated it.
‘The tax scrolls, boy.’ Met with Graf Mandorf today to discuss our revenues. Sharp man. Hard man. Clever like diamond. Asks difficult questions. Worth cultivating.
Returned home late.
Welcome to Vignette III – a record of the struggles and tribulations of the Holy Roman Empire though many years of history. First, though, a disclaimer.
DISCLAIMER
I should confess that I was disappointed by the lack of separate periods in the campaign game. To my mind the most interesting HRE is the late Medieval Battle-of-Pavia HRE, in which semi-bourgeouis armies of handgunners and halberdiers wreak havoc upon arrogant noble foes with much more expensive armour. It is the HRE where Grafs and Landsherrs with improbable names and unfamiliar titles bicker constantly over the forests and cities of a Germany rapidly embracing the early Renaissance, where strange peasant cults constantly threaten the established order and where within each monastery there is a Reformation waiting to begin. It is the Germany of the novel ‘Q’. Absolutely historical. But to be honest I’ve yet to find a more entertaining version of the Mitteleurop of my mind’s eye than that of Games Workshop’s Warhammer universe – which may give some clue why the franchise has done so well in Germany itself.
As I find it quite difficult to write about early-medieval Germany, I have settled on a simple solution – ignore the problem. This will therefore be full of anachronisms, misrepresentations, inaccuracies and other bugbears of the slothful writer. For these sins, reader, and for the peculiar treatment of time in the game, please be forgiving.
Game is of course on VH/VH.
INTRODUCTION
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Das Reich
The HRE begins with six provinces: the castles of Stauffen and Innsbruck, and the cities of Nuremberg, Frankfurt (Capital), Vienna and Bologna, this latter playing host to the Emperor with his army. The campaign goals are to hold twenty provinces, eliminate the Milanese and eliminate the Danes. One way of achieving this would of course be to invent some seven hundred and fifty years ahead of time the concept of Blitzkrieg, smash Denmark, do the same to the Milanese, and quit before turn 30 rolled around. But that would just be too easy – and besides, I hope to maximise the chance of playing with some decent late-era troops.
HOUSE RULES
Think of the HRE and, especially if you’ve played MTW1, you are likely to shudder at the memory of generals with shockingly little loyalty. In fact, it’s not too much of a stretch to say that for most of its history, the HRE was characterised by its inconstant and fractious nature. Now the game models this with low loyalty for HRE characters, although this is far less pronounced than it was in MTW1, but this isn’t really enough of a penalty since you don’t really need generals to keep your provinces in order – low taxes and a sensible building policy will do that nicely.
So I decided to spice things up a bit for this campaign. Each different family member in this campaign will have their own agenda based on a number of factors: their traits, the bit of land I decide to give them, and the overall goal of the game. I’ll decide from time to time who gets funding – certainly at the start, it’s the Emperor who will get most of his pet projects approved in the first instance. Now, let’s meet our cast.
WHO’S WHO
Family
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In the prime of life, Emperor Heinrich and a moderate-sized army are based in Bologna. Since he’s in Italy, it’s a fair bet that this is where Heinrich perceives his sphere of influence to be. So Heinrich will have command of the German army in Italy and perhaps into the Balkans – and isn’t terribly interested in what happens in Germany Proper. He’ll need to pick up a castle en route, though, or rely on reinforcements from the North which may not be forthcoming for his best troops.
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Prince Henry is based in Staufen. Since from his castle walls he can faintly see the Rhine valley, any expansion of his personal power base will come at the expense of the French - and the Swiss castle in Bern would be a tempting bulwark against a possible attack from the ambitious Milanese.
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Heinrich’s second son, Leopold, has set his eyes east and to the endless possibilities offered by the wide plains of Eastern Europe. He will need to develop skill fighting the expert horsemen of those regions, though, and their new champions the Kings of Poland and Hungary.
Generals
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Possibly sizing themselves up for the Imperial crown are Maximillian Mandorf, Dietrich von Saxony and Otto von Kassel. They’ll make decent governors, and a good way of testing the traits system. Oh, and Mandorf looks promising. Watch him closely…he can only benefit from sharing a hometown with my narrator.
Well, that’s the scene set. Update to come after I’ve played the first few turns.
