Megas Logothetes' and Senators' Reports

[Ignoramus]

Only TC may take this save in order to adjust things concerning the Crusade:

http://rapidshare.com/files/134210022/LOTR-1114-7.zip

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I think TC already made all moves concerning the Crusade..
Look the posts above..

[Kagemusha]

I have to respectfully decline the offer of adoption of Makedonias, purely out of IC reasons.

[TinCow]

Taking the save.

[TinCow]

Save uploaded. It is now 1116.

http://rapidshare.com/files/13432511...116-1.zip.html
or
http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1116-1.zip

Changes made:
MoH for Makedonios Ksanthopoulos turned down as per this post.
7,320 added to treasury for 1116 Crusade costs.

I have implemented the final part of the Crusade Event, marked as #10 in my original post. You didn't think I'd let everyone who stayed at home be bored, did you?



GH has a story prepared for this, so please let him post his before posting your own.

Events of note in the starting scrolls of 1116:
Sicilian Princess comes of age.
Danish Princess comes of age.
Mustering Hall built in Dardanellia.
Caesarea besieged by the Turks.

[Andres]

Taking the save.

[Andres]

Here it's back.

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1116-2.zip

Moved Savvas back to Arta because troops were without supplies and getting demoralised after several turns outside a settlement..

[Cecil XIX]

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1117-4.zip
Defeated the Rebel stack, and Armatos got a MoH. Ironically enough, it's the same sponsor Makedonios had. PMs and a battle report to follow.

[Ignoramus]

Taking the save:

[TinCow]

Taking the save (one that Ignoramus provided to me, not the most recently posted one).

[TinCow]

Changes:
Rejected the MoH adoption for Armatos ek Naksou according to this post.
Added 7,320 to the treasury for Crusade upkeep for 1117.
Added 6,870 to the treasury for Crusade upkeep for 1119 (3 ships were disbanded, reducing upkeep).
Moved Gottfried de Payns, the Templar who was blocking the route between Antioch and Adana. His position was seriously screwing up the Crusade and Jihad armies.

Crusade Movement for 1117:

Kosmas Mavrozomis (Zim) is on a Mission from God. His startling luck has held beyond all possible expectations, and he has successfully arrived in Egypt. He now stands on the shores of a foreign land without allies or support. The cities of Alexandria and Cairo lie before him, but they are garrisoned and will not fall easily to such a small force, even if it is blessed by the Heavans. Still, it is a Mission from God. It's 106 miles to Cairo, he's got a full year lead, half a stack of Crusaders, it's the desert, and he's wearing a sun visor on his helmet.

Vartholomaios Ksiros (Rowan) spared no efforts in ensuring that his fleet was fully repaired and provisioned in Rhodes. Inspired by his efforts and his holy cause, the local laborers worked through the nights and within a few days the entire fleet was ready to sail again and with fresh provisions graciously donated by the local Christian population. Their morale greatly buoyed by these acts, the sailors of the fleet put all they had into the sailing and resumed their fabulous performance after their initial departure from Constantinople. If their skill and luck holds, they will make landfall in Egypt next year.

The vast open sea was daunting to the crew of Vissarionas ek Lesvou's (Ramses II CP) fleet, but they persevered. Large waves tossed the ship and rumors of Egyptian fleets gave many men sleepless nights. Still, moderate progress was made and Egypt is closer this year than it was last. With a strong push next year, landfall may be possible.

Their morale increased by the previous year's friendly race, the sailors of Annios Solomon's (woad&fangs) fleet set a similarly steady pace this year. Good cheer reigned in all quarters, prompting competition between the various shifts to see which one could perform better. Unfortunately, this revelry reached a peak with a bawdy celebration of the winning team one night, resulting in several days of hangovers and seasickness. As such, their progress was good, but not as good as it could have been. Egypt is close, but barring an act of God, it will not be reached next year.

Efstathios Laskaris (Ibn-Khaldun) gave a rousing pep talk to his crew at the beginning of year, urging them to improve their performance, for once. The speech seemed to have the desired effect, though perhaps it was the subsequent flogging of a particularly lackadaisical sailor that had the greatest impact. Regardless, good progress was made this year, and Rhodes is finally well and truly behind them.

The men of Stavros ek Amarinthou's (Knights_of_Palma) fleet were also greatly cheered by the previous friendly race with Annios Solomon. Unfortunately, they did not find quite as productive an outlet for their high morale. Instead, several nights of drinking and wenching on Rhodes scattered the crew across the entire island. Stavros eventually had to ask the local militia to aid him in rounding up the wayward men, and nearly the entire year was lost trying to relocate the crew and restore discipline. They finally managed to set sail, but almost no progress was made towards reaching their destination. The passing of Stavros ek Amarinthou will not be forgotten by the locals, however, who are already expecting the birth of a slew of Crusader bastards.

The makeshift repairs that Methodios Tagaris' (Tristan de Castelreng) men performed the previous year held until they reached Rhodes, preventing total catastrophe. However, the damage was extensive and a long stay in port was required to prepare the ship for the open sea. The crew are now freshly provisioned and ready for the voyage, but they are the last to depart the island of Rhodes and the prospect of reaching Egypt before the Crusade finishes is looking increasingly slim.

----------

As a Crusader has now landed in Egypt, the garrisons of Alexandria and Cairo have been boosted to 10 units (not counting a family member in Cairo) according to the rules for the Event. If the AI insists on moving these garrisons each year, I may have to play the faction myself each turn to make sure they stay inside the cities until the Crusade is done.

At the start of 1119, an adoption has been offered for Ioannis Kantakouzinos and an Explorer's Guild is offered for Antioch. These scrolls remain up. A mission has also been given to blockade Gaza. Annios Solomon has scurvy and a couple new Pagan Magicians have popped up. A Turkish Jihad army was seen moving southwest from Yerevan. Two Egyptian Jihad armies are passing Aleppo. An Egyptian army has disembarked between Corinth and Athens. The HRE Crusade army is north of Antioch. A French Crusade army has entered Byzantine lands near Bucharest.

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1119-1.zip

[Cecil XIX]

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/LOTR-1119-4.zip

Declined Guild Offer, moved Armatos to block the Jihadists.

[Ignoramus]

Taking the save.

[Ignoramus]

Save for TC only:

http://rapidshare.com/files/135455580/LOTR-1119-5.zip