Britannia Hotseat Campaign Salon Thread

This is the Salon Thread for the Britannia Hotseat Campaign. Anyone can speak in this thread, in character only. The cultures available to role-play are British, Irish, Norwegian, Welsh, Scottish, or French if you are neutral. Create a name for yourself and a profession, and become an enlightened thinker!

Pertinent Links:

Britannia Hotseat Campaign OOC Thread

Britannia Hotseat Story Thread

Council of Britain and Ireland

Hello friends, and welcome to my home. I am Arnaud Touissant, historian, and I shall be hosting this political discussion.

You're probably wondering why I called you here. I have noted a stirring in the politics of Britannia over the last two years, with the International Council of Britain and Ireland being close by my home. I would like to hear your opinions of these events, as well as predictions for things to come. Let's open the forum now! Introduce yourselves to the group and speak your mind, I won't be a judge!

Under his breath:

That's up to your fellow salon-goers.

I shall get the conversation started by asking - what do you think of the impending war between Norway and Scotland? Who do you think shall be the winner, or the final result? I fear that this will be a long conflict.

A young Frenchman takes a sip from his glass of wine and stands to speak. He is tall and thin, and dressed in clothing that must have once been quite fine but are now rather threadbare, as if he had not others and was forced to wear them daily.

Monsieur Arnaud, I believe that all these threats between the Monarchs of those two kingdoms is only so much bluster, as is common among those peoples on the edge of the civilized world. Most likely the Norwegians will not challenge the Scots over such poor settlements as lie in the northern end of the Island of Britain, and will instead seek softer, more profitable targets, as their history as pirates will incline them to do.

Wise words my friend, what is your name? Introduce yourself!

I believe the Norwegians are going to be aggressive, but not over such rebel ilk settlements as Dunstaffnage or the Isle of Islay. The wealthy cities of Perth or Edinburgh may be a target as their massive fleet under King Haakon draws closer.

The young man bows.

Forgive my lack of manners. My name is Guillaume Blanchard. Your point is quite valid, but I wonder if the Norse would be likely to try to keep those settlements, or merely raid them? If they try to keep them, they may find themselves too close to the border of England, whose king is related to the Scottish monarch. If they settle for raiding, they will find themselves having to keep it up to sustain their armies upkeep. In such a way, they could find themselves having made more enemies than their skill at arms could handle.

What say you?

You have a valid point. The Norse have large armies and are typically fed on the basis of loot at the end of the road. Perhaps a similar method would be pursued until they can stabilize their economy.

What I find more interesting is the kind of situation Wales and England are in. Now that they are formally at peace, Wales has no natural route of expansion that would not bring it into conflict with England. However, it recongises that if it were to take on England, it would be best to bide its time until England is under attack from more of the other powers.

England, of course, probably realizes this and has only two basic options. It can choose to try to create a lasting alliance with Wales, but will probably need to make some territorial concessions to keep this alive. If Wales gains nothing over time, it will get more insolent. Of course, this is somewhat contrary to any English aims of unifying the Isles. So the other option is to strike at Wales at the opportune moment. Perhaps not immediately, as Ireland is more of a current problem, but without waiting so long that Norway and Scotland get over their differences and start looking south as well.

It"s a five way stand off (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly music playing in the background) and I'm eager to see where it goes.

A young Italian speaks up.

Hello good sirs, I am Niccolo from Florence.

The current situation in the Isles is indeed interesting. England seems to be adopting a peaceful mien after two centuries of expansionism. Wales, which until recently was content to defend herself despite a few cattle raids, is newly aggressive. An odd reversal of roles.

I hope for Wales sake that they are planning to make common cause with another power if they continue with this saber rattling. An obvious candidate would be Ireland, but the King there seems rather unbellicose despite the current state of war with England.

Scotland, also out of type, seems to be trying to act as a moderator. The only power that is acting consistently with the past is Norway with threats and talk of war.

Of course this could all be deception. Each power wants time to build up men and florins before showing their hand, their true intentions. I am surprised that no alliances have formed. Norway and England could have much in common, or Ireland and Wales, or Wales and Scotland.

All I know for certain is that the Isles are not large enough for five kingdoms. There will be blood.

A visiting merchant from Milan has been listening to these conversations with interest. Finally, with a glass of wine in his hand, he saunters over.

Talking about the "troubles" in Brittania are you? I've been up there for some trade. A bunch of backwards sots if you ask me. Not a one of them have a lick of class. Don't even know a good bargain when you wiggle it in front of their face.

Take Scotland for interest. Boy, the English King must have been desperate for a peaceful northern border to marry off his daughter to such an idgit. The King of Scotland is little more than a boy playing at a game of men. He doesn't even know he's being played by ole King Henry.

King Alexander is so grateful to get someone to "rodger" that he'll jump off of the rock of Gibraltar if his father-in-law orders it. And ole Henry is playing it to the hilt I tell ya!

Takes a sip of wine. Thinks for a second. Takes another sip of wine.

Take Scotland's relations to Ireland and Wales for instance. Is Scotland siding with his Celtic "brothers"? No! He's selling them out I tell ya! Now I don't mind selling out when the money is good. It's part of business. But selling out so someone else can get fat and gobble you up is just plain stupid!

Can't blame ole Henry though, no sir-ree! He's got to keep playing these dolts off of each other so they don't all turn on him at once! And as long as he can keep that brain-dead son-in-law of his on a leash, he has his place as the primary power in Brittania secured!

Drinks more wine

The true power to watch is the vikings. They can tip the whole thing over. Where ever they strike, it is gonna tip the balance of power I tell ya! The other four Kingdoms almost have a balance of power set up. But the vikings are gonna throw a wrench in the whole works! They have the potential to weaken someone enough that the others will jump on the wounded bull like a bunch of wolves.

My bet is that the vikings are gonna go for Scotland. And I bet ya that good ole loyal King Alexander will be too stupid to prevent it. All this noise about vikings going this way or that is just a smoke screen for where their really headed. And my money is on Perth as their target.

The merchant takes a florin out of his pocket, flips it, catches it in mid air, and slams it on the table.

Any takers?

Well sir, an interesting point you make indeed, but I think the true dolt of the Isles is weak King Brian of Connor...

Sorry, I should introduce myself - my name's Finnan and I'm a man of the cloth, studying theology at the seminary here in France.

My family are from County Down, and my brother there tells me the Irish are sick to the back teeth of King Brian and his oafish son Domnall.

All they want is someone to stand up for the old ways and for the dream of a united Ireland, and they see nothing from Brian but wavering and obfuscation.

Why can't he be more like LLewyllen of Wales - now there's a man whose heart beats true with the pride of Cymru!

The English are pigs and deserve to be driven into the sea by good Irish steel and stout hearts! If Brian doesn't strike at them soon he'll have a full-scale rebellion on his hands, and then we'll see who's a soft target for the Norse raiders...

Mark my words, it'll all end in tears for Ireland..

An Austrian nobles enters, stubbing down into the chair, at his endless travels to Brittania. Exhaling air he speaks with a thick german accent

Hello! I'm an Austrian noble, Dietrech sent here to observe these conflicts, and the next thing I know there is an all scale war going on here. These British men are truly fools. Bloodishly lusted men if I could say so myself. Well if I do say this conflict between Wales and England is truly facsinating. I have never seen a weak army such as wales ask for such a devious agreement, and such a powerful nation agree to it, Insane I say. And the next thing I know the Welsh attack anyways, bitter fools. But war is war.

I for one hope the Welsh get what's coming to them, the brutes.

Guillaume polishes off a second glass of wine and speaks

I wonder what the Welsh King is playing at? He seems to have offered a gift to the English. By exterminating an English town and acting aggressively, he puts himself squarely in the role of the "badguy". England can fight them secure in their moral superority and not worry about oposition from the other Kings of the Isles. Then again, perhaps by making the English the goodguys, and giving them a reputation to uphold, he hopes to prevent similiar treatment of Welsh cities during the war, and to attain a better peace settlement than if the English were unconstrained by a reputation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zim

Guillaume polishes off a second glass of wine and speaks

I wonder what the Welsh King is playing at? He seems to have offered a gift to the English. By exterminating an English town and acting aggressively, he puts himself squarely in the role of the "badguy". England can fight them secure in their moral superority and not worry about oposition from the other Kings of the Isles. Then again, perhaps by making the English the goodguys, and giving them a reputation to uphold, he hopes to prevent similiar treatment of Welsh cities during the war, and to attain a better peace settlement than if the English were unconstrained by a reputation.

---

Dietrch gives Guillaume a fishy look

Perhaps, or maybe something more devious.

Niccolo goes over the latest dispatches.

Ah, I failed to understand that England and Scotland have entered into a marriage alliance. This is true, correct?

This changes many things.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OverKnight

Niccolo goes over the latest dispatches.

Ah, I failed to understand that England and Scotland have entered into a marriage alliance. This is true, correct?

This changes many things.

---

OOC: This is a bug from CA. They state in the campaign startup screen for both Scotland and England that Alexander is married to Henry's daughter Margaret. But, Alexander is all alone in the family tree. Even his heir is not on the tree. And his heir's kids that come later will not be on the tree. And playing as England, I have tried to take their other princess and marry Alexander but he does not show up as a unmarried general.

So, I decided to go with CA's story and pretend that Alexander is married. Zim has happily played along. Alexander did just get married in the game to some random noble daughter but I'm ignoring that and just claiming Alexander's wife is Margaret.

As for an alliance, Scotland and England just start off neutral. So, no "marriage alliance" as a game mechanic. But we're RP'ing it that way.

OOC: In your test game, did you try to marry the English princess to Alexander as an unmarried general? You marry princesses to faction leaders in the diplomacy screen, just like faction hiers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Privateerkev

OOC: This is a bug from CA. They state in the campaign startup screen for both Scotland and England that Alexander is married to Henry's daughter Margaret. But, Alexander is all alone in the family tree. Even his heir is not on the tree. And his heir's kids that come later will not be on the tree. And playing as England, I have tried to take their other princess and marry Alexander but he does not show up as a unmarried general.

So, I decided to go with CA's story and pretend that Alexander is married. Zim has happily played along. Alexander did just get married in the game to some random noble daughter but I'm ignoring that and just claiming Alexander's wife is Margaret.

As for an alliance, Scotland and England just start off neutral. So, no "marriage alliance" as a game mechanic. But we're RP'ing it that way.

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zim

OOC: In your test game, did you try to marry the English princess to Alexander as an unmarried general? You marry princesses to faction leaders in the diplomacy screen, just like faction hiers.

---

OOC:

Doh! :wall:

Well, the fact that he is alone on the family tree when CA went through the trouble of writing stories about him being married is still a bug. Plus his 45 year old "heir" is not on the tree at all and neither is the family that heir will eventually get.

Why can't CA just playtest their games! :furious3:

IC: Guillame-"Niccolo, I believe that Alexander has been married to the English Princess Margaret since they were both about ten years old. I am sure such news does not reach as far as Florence, as both Kingdoms are hardly civilized and sit on the endge of Christendom.

I wonder if the Welsh King's change of heart is sincere? If so, it's a major accomplishment for the English, since they'd only be at war with Ireland".

OOC: That would take too much time and the game would miss being out by the holiday rush?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Privateerkev

OOC:

Doh! :wall:

Well, the fact that he is alone on the family tree when CA went through the trouble of writing stories about him being married is still a bug. Plus his 45 year old "heir" is not on the tree at all and neither is the family that heir will eventually get.

Why can't CA just playtest their games! :furious3:

---

Well now, I'm glad this misunderstanding has cleared up. The present status of Britannia is as follows.

England is at war with Wales and Ireland, allies with Scotland.
Scotland is at war with Norway and Wales, or at the brink, and allies with England.
Wales is enemies with England.
Ireland is enemy to England.
Norway is enemy to Scotland.

It will be interesting to see how the nations align themselves to carve themselves an Empire. I fear there will be only room for one to reign supreme in the end with all those left standing only mere vassals.

The Irish monk Finnan is laughing to himself..

Can this be right? Is the Welsh King trying the old "it was all a big misunderstanding" trick?

Or maybe there was some confusion? certainly events were developing very quickly..

If the Welsh attacked Shrewsbury in the full knowledge of the English peace offer perhaps they intended it as a warning against suspected treachery? If so, this would be brinksmanship indeed by Llewellyn...

The Austrian noble is in a knot of confusion

Ireland is with war with England? When the bloody heck did that happen.

The Milanese merchant speaks up

Scotland and England are not allies yet. Just neutral. Any deal they have has not been codified or made public. But, the Scottish King does have an English Princess for a wife.

As for Ireland and England, they have been at war for awhile. Hasn't anyone noticed?

OOC: Scotland and England start off neutral because the game does not recognize the marriage alliance. The marriage alliance is inferred in "real" history and in the campaign startup screen for both England and Scotland.

And the game starts with England at war with Wales and Ireland.

Of course, sir merchant, but from what I can gather, it seems that England and Scotland have an unnaturally close relationship for not officially being in a codified alliance. However, this could all turn south in a matter of years.

Norway took the whole world by surprise! Ireland has assassinated their Prince Magnus, so in return Norway has executed their King Brian O'Connor.

Surprise? Anyone who was surprised by this has not been paying attention...

The merchant sips some wine

A norwegian merchant enters the salon.

"Good day gentlemen, my name is Thorn Hakonarson, merchant from the Isle of Mann. I just saw the aftermath of the assasination of Prince Magnus - may he rest in peace, noble and brave man he was- it was like a hornets nest! People shaking their swords and axes and crying out for revenge! They searched the whole island for the assasin but he must have slipped through the search somehow. ... It is not the head of the assasin they want the most though, it is the very head of the Irish King, who no doubt was responsible for the assasination."

to the barmaid:

"bring me some wine! - takk skal du ha!"

sips some wine

"so, where I was, oh yes, the head of the Irish King. This is what they want the most and I can tell you they are ready to die for it. "

thinks for a moment

"I really do not know what was the Irish King expecting. Perhaps he though that the assasination of Prince Magnus will throw the warcouncil into confusion? I do not know ... Actually it gave the us the perfect reason to start a war and gave us the moral highground, which to be honest, I doubt that we ever would have gained in this conflict. Also, it just fueled the anger of the men already eager to fight *looks up* ... God be mercyful to the Irish because our soldiers wont ..."

sips more wine

"No big secret but they have already departed to Ireland, I do not know about the further events.

No doubt that we lost a great warleader but I trust the young Knud of Qaanag, he seems to be a capable man. Prince Magnus had an eye for picking his commanders."

Drinks out his wine.

"Excuse me gentlemen, I have to go, business calls, even in times like this. God be with you all."

Norvegian merchant leaves the salon.

Finnan snorts with derision

Irish assassin? I've never heard such a load of tripe in all my days.

Anyone with half a brain can tell that good King Brian (god rest his soul) was a man of peace.

The way I heard it Prince Magnus died in a rather..ahem..compromising situation with a red and black striped snake he was known to be.....overly fond of.

The Norse were ready with an invasion force some seasons before - they are using the disgrace of their twisted Prince as cover for a war they had long desired.

And the new King Domnall will be sure to wipe this scourge from the fair Isle and exact revenge for his fallen father.