Do your Generals (or anyone else) get funny ideas during a campaign?

**Tony Furze** · 07-23-2008, 06:49

Maybe it's the way I play, or just my role playing penchant, but I find my Generals especially start taking over the gameplan.

To explain: at the moment, as the Egyptians, I was busy avoiding attacking other muslim factions. (This is Vanilla MTW VI, so that means Turks and Al Mohads) That left only the Byz. They attacked Syria, left it and a rebellion took place.

Enter Shahinshah who is looking for a bit of glory. He has been made Chief Justice , but that's not enough. In order to impress Sultan al Mustali I and gain a provincial title, he has to prove himself. So he takes Syria quite easily. The Sultan sends a message to return Syria to the Turks. (Sultan al Mustali is a very very noble, and by the book kind of guy. Shahinshah, true to character, ignores the message and the Byz invade Syria, with none other in command than Emperor Alexius I.

Shahinshah withdraws, then attacks, knowing his strength lies in attack, especially with Camels

To Shahinshahs horror and disgust, the Emperor doesn't even take part but runs off. From that point on Shahinshah is bent on getting the head of Alexius and pursues him as far as Rum.

Does anyone else have similar experiences?

I had to put the whole campaign on hold due to Shahinshah...

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Shahinshah!

The runaway emperor.

**Martok** · 07-23-2008, 08:02

Oh yes, I definitely do a certain amount of roleplaying when it comes to my generals, sometimes with far-reaching consequences.

I remember a Sicilian campaign from earlier this year in which one of my generals (forget his name) nearly got the entire kingdom excommunicated whilst in pursuit of his monstrous ambition, as he became a tad obsessed with trying to conquer Venice.

He eventually wound up deposing the reigning king (a weak fool) later on in a terrible civil war. A sizable chunk of my Mediterranean empire was lost in the fighting that followed the general's seizing of Palermo -- the Egyptians reappeared in most of their old territory (including the Holy Land), while my garrisons in Constantinople and Asia Minor found themselves attacked & besieged by a suddenly-resurgent Byzantium (thanks to some loyalist rebellions in their favor) -- but order was eventually restored in the end.

**Tony Furze** · 07-23-2008, 13:30

In a previous campaign, Najamuddin Ilghazi of Aleppo was in Antioch when a French Crusade struck. He lost most of his men defending but contracted an obsessive hatred for the Franks.

I'm still puzzling myself, but over the next decade he persuaded the Sultan to send a fleet to the French coast all the way across the Mediterranean. ( Now I have the map in front of me- an excellent one by WebWing) The fleet stretched from Egypt to Toulouse. By then Najamuddin had got his act together and went with his stack.

He ransacked Toulouse , dug in and then, much to my amazement, attacked Burgundy and destroyed the French Chapter House.

**Matrim** · 07-23-2008, 18:20

One of my favorite wayward-generals was some years ago, about the last time I played. You know, before college and psuedo-marriage tied me down. I was the Danes, took Sweden/Norway, and then hunkered to build a trade fleet, and maybe jump into Livonia.

Well, all this did not go according to plan. My King, you see, was very fond of... his female guests. So within some short time, before my ships even reached as far as Spain it seems, I had 8 sons. 8 Princes, complete with royal knights soaking up my royal coffers. That and a small standing army, the fjords of Scandinavia could not feed my troops!

It was around 1115 (thereabouts) and my florins were in the red. So I choose out my best prince, a 6-star monster for so early in the game, with Skilled Attacker, Killer Instint, Secret Pride, and a couple of other super good combat virtues. Oh, and he was absolutely out of his mind. Crack-Brained. Never a good sign. But hey, this madman was my best general.

So I send him to raid northern Germany, you know, bring back some grain for my men, and oats for my horses...

Within 5 years, he had smashed 4 german armies, each time outnumbered and on the attack, at least once crossing bridges. The HRE dissolved into civil war, and the amount of looting done put a nice jingle in my piggybank. I moved in to permanently possess Saxony, Pomerania, and Brandenburg, but would go no further without my Mad Prince returning with the bulk of my forces. After a couple of years I sent for him; my messenger found him playing darts at a chateau in the Swiss Alps, Dead Drunk with at least four high-born Ladies running around naked. Of course, he was married to an Italian princess who was scandalized by that little affair, and her father as well. So the Italians began marching into southern Germany to behead him and HIS little general.

At least that's how I saw it, lol!

By the time my fleet reached the Adriatic, Venice was firmly in the hands of a madman, and the Italians were shattered without an heir.

**Martok** · 07-23-2008, 23:05

Heh. Great story, Matrim!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Empirate** · 07-24-2008, 00:04

Some could have lost heir status over time, with the succession going on. Those surplus royals could have been disbanded then, though.

**Matrim** · 07-24-2008, 01:43

Originally Posted by Martok

Heh. Great story, Matrim!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

I could have misremembered, but I do remember it being quite a bit, and Empirate may be right in that some were simply Royals by that time. I just remember several units of them sitting around. I kept only one son at home when I sent the others out, just in case they were destroyed.

But yeah, except for a little overzealous imagination (blame my poetic license), that was a true story. A little shrouded in foggy memory, but yeah.