Dread Knights of the Realm

[Askthepizzaguy]

Roleplaying/Succession game

The Dark Lord is planning his next conquest, and is seeking only the bravest and most bloodthirsty among you to be his loyal pawns.

The game is Medieval 2: Total War, with either Lands to Conquer 3.1 or Broken Crescent 1.5 as the mod. Those who seek to serve their Dark Lord will be granted command of one of my armies. You will fight all battles involving your character, and will be given oppurtunities to advance in rank.

Ranks:

Dark Warrior- (lowest ranked, captain)
Dark Knight- (low ranked, general/FM)
Dread Knight- (mid ranked, family member)
Death Knight- (high ranked, family member)
Dark Apprentice- (Second ranked, Faction Heir)
Dark Lord- (Commander, Faction Leader)


The Dark Lord will control the campaign map, you will control your forces on the battle map. Should you prove yourself worthy in battle, you will be promoted in rank and you will be granted control of your own army on the strategic map, and will be given general targets and priorities, but you will remain autonomous unless you fail to achieve your goals. In the event of the death of the Dark Lord, the strongest Death Knight in the land will become the new Dark Apprentice, and the Dark Apprentice will become the new Lord.

All who join the game will begin as a low ranked captain, (Dark warrior) but if you serve the Dark Lord well, you will be promoted in rank and will be given the choice to continue serving as captain of your local army in the hopes of becoming a Man of the Hour general, or you will be assigned a general or family member (if no generals are available). You will also be granted the title of Dark Knight.

As Dark Knight, you will have your own general to command on the battlefield and you will be given more troops, but you will not be able to move your avatar on the campaign map.

Should you continue to serve the Emperor well, you may advance to the rank of Dread Knight, and will be given the chance to remain as your assigned family member, or choose your own. With this advance in rank, you will be granted the ability to move your general and all troops under his command anywhere on the campaign map, so long as you complete your assigned tasks within the given turn limit. You must ask permission from the Dark Lord to recruit mercenaries, but most requests will be granted.

If you manage to eliminate a rival faction or greatly impress the Dark Lord, you will attain the coveted rank of Death Knight, and you will be allowed to move anywhere you please on the campaign map, use mercenaries, and build forts, and you will be granted lordship of a port or castle to commission ships and recruit your own troops. If your actions displease the Dark Lord, however, you may be knocked back in rank at his discretion.

Death Knights will be allowed to become the next Dark Apprentice, should the previous Lord die and a new one is crowned. This puts you next in line to command the empire itself. As the Dark Apprentice, you will be allowed to recruit whatever forces you want from any settlement, and you will be able to command all unclaimed captain-led stacks and garrison forces, and you can request that specific buildings be built in settlements. The Dark Lord may override any of your orders, but cannot override troop movements.

Tax rates, agent movement, building construction, most recruitment, and primary command of all unclaimed forces rests in the capable hands of the Dark Lord himself, whose reign will end with his death. There is no council, no senate, no legislature, and no voting. You serve the whims of the Dark lord and command his forces.

Other rules, if any, will be added later, and are at the discretion of the Dark Lord. This game will be somewhat similar to KoTR, succession games, and other roleplaying games, but on a much smaller scale than KoTR/LoTR, with no legislative/voting sessions, far more control in the hands of the faction leader and heir, and fewer players.

However, in order to recruit as many knights as possible, I am opening a poll to determine the game version and faction out of a short list of my preferences.

Game Version:

Lands to Conquer 3.1 (preferred)
Broken Crescent 1.5 (adequate)
Vanilla 1.3 (last resort)

Factions:

Vanilla/LTC

Moors
France
HRE
Hungary
England
Russia
Milan
Sicily

Broken Crescent

Turks
ERE
Jerusalem
Georgians
Abassids
Khwarezm
Ghorids

_______________________________

We will play by email, and you will be given 72 hours to complete your move, or it will be skipped and played by the Dark Lord. All interested players will be assigned a captain and given a small force until there are no more available, and then they will be placed on reserve duty. Promotions in rank should happen quickly thereafter, making more room.

This is purely for the fun of roleplaying a character and simulating the effects of commanding and being commanded. Instead of debate, there will be decrees and orders given, and all knights are expected to follow them. You will get to fight battles and advance in rank, and perhaps one day you will become the Dark Apprentice and will be groomed for controlling the empire after my death.

You must advance to the rank of Death Knight to be considered for the role of Dark Apprentice.
____________________________

Current Players:

Game moderator- Askthepizzaguy

Dark Lord- (current Faction Leader)- Askthepizzaguy
Dark Apprentice- unassigned
Death Knights- none
Dread Knights- none
Dark Knights- none
Dark Warriors- Ramses II CP, The Lemongate, Rossahh, Merlox, Tristan de Castelreng

[The Lemongate]

I'd rather BC then LtC, though I'll go with the flow

Which also means I'll join if/when this starts up

[Ramses II CP]

Obviously I'd be in, especially if it's BC.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Ok the trend seems to be going Broken Crescent. Very well, I will endorse Broken Crescent if it is the majority pick.

Welcome Lemongate and Ramses, I know you will serve the Dark Lord well...

[rossahh]

Georgia all the way. Good position + good troops = TOTAL WAR.

[Askthepizzaguy]

May I assume, Rossahh, that you wish to join the ranks of my Death Knights?

[rossahh]

Dare I say you may presume correctly.

[Askthepizzaguy]

OK, we have 5 players now, and more are allowed to join, so I say let's get it started. I'm casting my vote now...



THE WINNER

Broken Crescent
Ghorid Sultanate

runner up:
Georgia (I would have voted a tiebreaker)


I'd like to announce that Tristan de Castelreng will be joining us. He should fill the role of a Death Knight quite nicely...

[Askthepizzaguy]

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/DreadKnights-01.sav

Turn one of the Dread Knights of the Realm RPG.

All relevant forces are invading southeast to repel the Hindus. There are some generals available, however I haven't deployed the Dark Warriors yet. This seige and the next one should go well, then I will divide my minions and send you off to destroy Sindh and the Rajputs for me.

The greatest among you will command the two generals which are already spawned, and if you can Man of the Hour promote them, you will be a member of the royal family.

For now, I am recruiting the first captain-led army. It will include some horse archers, so it should be easy defeat smaller forces and promote yourself to family member.

If anyone wants to see the moves so far, thar be the save.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Turn 2: Pindi and Lahore have fallen, and my initial objectives are now complete. We have enough income to support our current forces for a while, plus the expected expansion will help us.

Now, I am ready to deploy my Dark Warriors. The Ghorid Empire seeks only the finest and bravest, and especially the most ruthless to take on our enemies, the heretic Rajputs and the backwards Malikate of Sindh.

You will all be assigned a captain, and until you are promoted twice you will be under my control until the battle begins, as you must follow orders.

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/DreadKnights-02.sav

The save has been uploaded, if anyone cares to look at it. Here's how it will work: When your forces are in position for battle, I will email you the save file. You will play the battle, and save the game as DreadKnights-##A (or B or C, depending on your turn number)

When all Dark Warrior-controlled battles are complete, I will finish the turn and begin the next one. At some point you will control your own characters on the campaign map, and on your turn you may move them, and if you have permission to build/recruit things, you may do so at that time.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Dark Lord always takes the save and begins the turn, then it will go by ranks, Dark Apprentice, Death Knights, Dread Knights, Dark Knights, and Dark Warriors.

I have divided our forces to form 4 mini-stacks of good troops, with the current Lord (soon to be dead) en route with another half stack to reinforce.

In the upper left hand corner, this is the current Lord's reinforcement stack. They will assist whomever volunteers to beseige Multan.

Those who volunteer to reinforce the warrior who beseiges Multan will be considered for a promotion.
If the Dark Warrior takes Multan, he will become a Dark Knight.



This is Dark Warrior force A, which consists of two heavy cavalry and some basic infantry. This force may be unable to take Multan alone.



This is Dark Warrior force B, which consists of one heavy cavalry, two missile cavalry, and some basic infantry.



This is Dark Warrior force C, which consists of mercenary cavalry, heavy cavalry, missile cavalry, and some basic infantry.



This is Dark Warrior force D, which consists of one heavy cavalry, one missile cavalry, axemen, spearmen, and javelins.

____________________

Who volunteers to beseige Multan? Should you beseige Multan without reinforcements, your force may be vanquished, and the Dark Lord will be displeased. However, if you convince your fellow warriors to back you, you both will have a greater chance at glory and victory, as well as winning the favor of your Lord.

Those who volunteer for either the seige or the reinforcement mission will be granted command of their forces next turn, if there is a sally.

The Lord is on his way with reinforcements, which could arrive next turn. The bold will advance, the timid will remain safely behind.


__________________

EDIT: Merlox has volunteered to beseige Multan with Group B. He will be assigned a captain, who unfortunately changes name anytime he enters a settlement or fort.

Others may also beseige... I recommend you beseige together, so that you can reinforce one another. Whomever is attacked by the sally will be the commander.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Current Players:

Game moderator- Askthepizzaguy

Dark Lord- (current Faction Leader)- Askthepizzaguy
Dark Apprentice- unassigned
Death Knights- none
Dread Knights- none
Dark Knights- none
Dark Warriors- Ramses II CP, The Lemongate, Rossahh, Merlox, Tristan de Castelreng

[Askthepizzaguy]

Turn 3:

Mitankot and Jalandahar are under seige, the former by the Dark Lord, the latter by the Dark Apprentice.

Multan is under seige by Captain Alauddin (temporary avatar for Merlox)

This is our current situation.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Captain Alauddin is the first to command his forces. Remaining are the avatars for Lemongate, Ramses, Tristan, and Rossahh. If you wish to command one of the mini-stacks, declare which one you want (A, C, or D, with E en route) and you can decide to beseige with Alauddin, reinforce Captain Alauddin, or remain in your fort.

If you don't declare your desires within the next 72 hours, I will decide for you and command these forces. You may decide to command a different stack altogether, which is also fine, but you cannot advance in rank without being aggressive.

From now on, OOC stuff will be in spoilers, and IC stuff will be plainly seen.

[Merlox]

"I, Captain Alauddin has accepted the Great Dark Lord's orders. Now moving and beseiging Multan. I though, Call out to the other brave captains of the region to come assist with the cause and the Dark Lord's will! Those brave enough to come and aid, Will be not only brave and glorious!, but maybe even found to be in higher standings with the great dark lord himself, and to that, We will sing and drink after the glorious siege is finished!"

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Alright guys, I've taken group B to the city and besieging it., I'm announcing to all that I am seeking aid, Any ways, I wish you all luck and even more luck for the ones who do decide to come! See you there!
~Merlox

[rossahh]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I'll take group C.

I volunteer to take Uch in the name of the Dark Lord. A risk to bypass Multan no doubt, but surely one of the other Dark Warrirors will assist Captain Alauddin in the seige.?

[Askthepizzaguy]

ic-

The Dark lord is unimpressed.

Bah! Uch is nearly garrisonless! A true warrior would show some spine and assist the outmanned forces of Captain Alauddin! However, if you can manage to take Uch with the small band of troops I have granted you, with no reinforcement, I may change my mind about you.

-1 influence

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC- While not one of the options given, I will accept your request to beseige Uch, Rossahh. The Dark Lord will instead divert his forces to Multan to assist Captain Alauddin, and repeats his call for the other Dark Warriors to assist in the battle of Multan.

Also, please note that IC speech may not reflect my personal feelings on the matter.

[rossahh]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

You just got burnt by Lord Megatron!

You would rather a warrior reduce himself to the level of assistant when there are other enemies in need of killing? And what need of aid does Alauddin have from the Dark Warriors when the Dark Lord himself already marches to Multan?

[Askthepizzaguy]

ic-

The Dark Lord is ready to smash the insolent fool with his heavily armoured gauntlet, but for reasons he can't explain, restrains himself.

The reinforcements which you speak of may not reach Multan in time for the sally, it isn't clear whether or not the troops have enough marching strength. What I do know is, those Dark Warriors I have specifically ordered south into Multan are in range, and if they would be willing to not abandon their fellow warrior in exchange for personal glory, I would be more impressed.

I could simply order you all to assist the warrior Alauddin, which is my royal privilege, but I felt it prudent to test your bravery and your loyalty by offering you all a choice. Revealing, your choices have been!

Alauddin, vastly outnumbered, ordered into a battle he is likely to fail, bravely or foolishly follows orders exactly, while your men take the easy or wiser road. We will see which, soon enough. I am impressed by Alauddin's bravery and devotion to orders, but if he dies in combat, there will be no plunder and reward for him, and I will be far less impressed. While your dubious plan to take the easier settlement is less glorious and risky, you might indeed be taking the wiser path, and that is why I have allowed it.

If you return with the head of the garrison commander of Uch, and your forces largely survive the battle, while most of your fellow warriors have committed themselves to the Multan seige, I will reconsider your standing in my empire. I pray this gamble pays off, for your sake.

My Dark Apprentice is not as understanding as I am.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC- while at this stage I could simply order all your forces into the seige of Multan, thus ensuring victory there, it's possible my orders would not "reach you in time", and your captains might have made strategic decisions in lieu of my direct commands. Also, I had originally intended that my minions would be able to make decisions to go off on quests of personal glory in conquest of lands in the name of the Dark Lord, and I realize that may not be possible if all of my orders at this stage of the game are absolute. So, while I disagree with your target, I agree that your desire to go off on your own conquest is compatible with the spirit of this game.



In the meantime, however, I don't think the Dark Lord can reach Multan in time, and if no one else volunteers to assist in the battle of Multan, and my warriors are smashed and my Empire is denied it's prize, I will be most displeased.

[Ramses II CP]

OOC: I'll take A. No idea what my captain is named as I can't check the save at the moment.

IC: Great Master, it will be my honor to lay siege at Multan alongside my, ahem, worthy compatriot! As you require ever do I serve my Lord!

Let the pathetic rebels of Multan pour forth their might against us, and I will line the roads with their heads as an example to any other who might dare to raise arms against the Dark Lord. They are filth, not worthy even to have their bones trodden upon by you. I will grind their corpses to meal and have my slaves feed the remains and their families to pigs!

I adjourn now to ready myself for the battle.



OOC PS: RL has really hit hard lately so my time is more limited than normal. I'm hoping next week things will calm down a bit.

[Merlox]

IC:
Alauddin soon finds that one of the captains responded to his assistance request and smiles.
Ahh!, A dependible brother that I could depend on for assist!, I thought I was soon to be alone on this siege after word that the other captain had abandoned my call for aid, and went for a much easier target for just mere self glory, Our siege doubles now, with more infantry and the mounted troops you brought! These rebel's will never know what they are facing against, For the will of the Dark lord himself, We will conquer Multan in his name!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: Nice. people coming to help me, Hopefully more to come, But hey, thanks! I needed the help as you could see, I was very outnumbered!

[_Tristan_]

*Groveling*

Master.... I'll take command of Army C, if you would... Point me to where you deem my presence necessary, and I shall go... Master...

[Askthepizzaguy]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: I'll take A. No idea what my captain is named as I can't check the save at the moment.

IC: Great Master, it will be my honor to lay siege at Multan alongside my, ahem, worthy compatriot! As you require ever do I serve my Lord!

Let the pathetic rebels of Multan pour forth their might against us, and I will line the roads with their heads as an example to any other who might dare to raise arms against the Dark Lord. They are filth, not worthy even to have their bones trodden upon by you. I will grind their corpses to meal and have my slaves feed the remains and their families to pigs!

I adjourn now to ready myself for the battle.



OOC PS: RL has really hit hard lately so my time is more limited than normal. I'm hoping next week things will calm down a bit.

The Dark Lord nods with a satisfied smile on his face, the kind of evil grin which would cause even the proudest and most virile warrior to defecate in his armour, and lets loose a howling cackle which would cause doves to attack one another and the victor to feast upon the victim.

I must remember to keep an eye on this one...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

*Groveling*

Master.... I'll take command of Army C, if you would... Point me to where you deem my presence necessary, and I shall go... Master...

This one seems to know his place. Should he prove equally obedient in battle, and make my enemies grovel and beg for mercy as he does, then he shall become a high ranking knight.

I just might take this one along with me on my personal missions of carnage and destruction.

____________________

There is one who has not yet responded to my call, and we will wait for him just a small while longer, but after that I will assign him his mission and the battles will proceed as planned.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC- Lemongate, we're all waiting on you!

[rossahh]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I thought I had Group C

[Askthepizzaguy]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Indeed you did, Rossahh. Probably just a typo on the Great Tristan's part.

D, Tristan?

[The Lemongate]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Dark Army A - Ramses
Dark Army B - Merlox
Dark Army C - rossahh
Dark Army D - Tristan

At most, I can grovel for this turn, but I don't see any forces to command

[Merlox]

Turn 3:

Mitankot and Jalandahar are under seige, the former by the Dark Lord, the latter by the Dark Apprentice.

Multan is under seige by Captain Alauddin (temporary avatar for Merlox)

This is our current situation.

Captain Alauddin is the first to command his forces. Remaining are the avatars for Lemongate, Ramses, Tristan, and Rossahh. If you wish to command one of the mini-stacks, declare which one you want (A, C, or D, with E en route) and you can decide to beseige with Alauddin, reinforce Captain Alauddin, or remain in your fort.

If you don't declare your desires within the next 72 hours, I will decide for you and command these forces. You may decide to command a different stack altogether, which is also fine, but you cannot advance in rank without being aggressive.

From now on, OOC stuff will be in spoilers, and IC stuff will be plainly seen.

Lemon gate, your army is En route, ofcourse you're not gonna see your army!

[The Lemongate]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

But how do you expect me to oversee forces of which I know neither the position nor the numbers? Once I know where and what they are, I will make a decision based on that information, in the meantime, I trust ATPG to command the imaginary E Army

[Askthepizzaguy]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

simple misunderstanding it seems. I should have sent another screenshot which depicts stack E, en route.

I'll send E somewhere.

Here are the forces of Dark Warrior E, Captain Saifuddin (Lemongate)



The forces of Dark Warrior D, Captain Nusrat (Tristan) are assisting in the battle of Multan, under my orders.



The forces of Dark Warrior C, Captain Amin (Rossahh) are beseiging Uch, with some small assistance from the Dark Lord in the form of one of my personal generals reinforcing him in the fort adjacent.



The forces of Dark Warrior B, Captain Alauddin (Merlox) are beseiging Multan, with the forces of Dark Warrior A, Captain Hassan (Ramses) also assisting as reinforcement.

To ensure that any sally from the enemy must go through Dark Warrior B, the forces are deployed such that A and D will arrive from the east and west, ensuring all participate in the battle.

Dark Warrior B is instructed to fight the battle very carefully. He will lose much influence if it is not only his own forces which are destroyed in the battle.

[Askthepizzaguy]

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/DreadKnights-04.zip

The save file is uploaded. All of your armies have been reinforced by the Dark Lord.

I advise caution... dont take any unnecessary risks. If any of you wishes permission to fight your seige battle, do so now. Otherwise, we wait until the next season to begin the slaughter.

[The Lemongate]

O Great One! my meager forces will march where you command! If your Lordship wills me to Multan, I shall run to the siege until my feet bleed and have the enemy suffer for every grain of sand that tore through my flesh on the journey! Or I could whip my men to Uch and ensure captain Amin succeeds in taking the city!

But if you believe, O Supreme Sovereign, that my forces would be better used on fresh victims, I could be sent south against the upstart Sindhi who I am sure would be scattered before the dreaded warriors of Ghor you have seen fit to purvey this undeserving servant, or even move into the lands of the foolish Hindi who renounce any lord and master!

I humbly await your wishes Master!

[Merlox]

My Great Lord!, The enemy has not sallied out, They are hiding! The spies inside of the city have the gates open, It was the best time to attack. I, Lead the frontal assault into the front of the castle, which all of the enemy was waiting, Outnumbered, I proceeded onward! while, Captain Hassan and Captain Nasrat sneaked their armies in the second entrance, from there, Nasrat ordered his troops to attack the flanks of the already engaged garrison saving many lives in my army causing most of them to surrender!, While the battle was going on, Hassan took his army to the castle and seized it with almost no resistance!, It was a perfect plan my lord!

The results of the armies though, was more heavier than I expected. Charging 554 into the gates, 161 of us perished in the quick minutes.. but It was large enough so the enemy was fool hearted enough to leave there flank gates for us!, Nasrat came in from the flanks, His reports confirm only 38 of his troops perished, For my brave companion Hassan, He reported losing 3 of his men.

After the battle, We rounded up the troops, 205 of the enemy surrendered!, They are presently being executed as we speak!, and the city being sacked!, all of the wealth will be going right for you my Lord, and may we praise you on the spy that you sent in, to give us this golden opportunity!

Also Great Lord, Even though my army had suffered some what of a loss, It is nothing, and we are able to go back into a fight if you wished it. We are ready my lord.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Results: Alauddin start: 554, Men lost: 161, Men left: 393. Men Killed:217(110)
Hassan 367, 3 , 364, 12(9)
Nasrat 426, 38, 388, 95(95)

Sacked, 5174 money

[Ramses II CP]

Captain Hassan bows deeply to the Dread Lord before speaking.

Great Master my men are fresh from capturing the objective at Multan against paltry resistance! (Muttered: thanks, of course, to the sacrifices of my noble fellow captains) I beg of you, give me leave to ride forth and seek further battles in your name, as there is no need for these valiant soldiers to lay about the fort praying that battle comes to them.

I will not presume to suggest a direction, but I will say that I feel my forces well suited to combat with any enemy!