Scotland Rising

**BigMac** · 01-29-2008, 01:24

Hello all, this is my first post, and my first M2TW AAR. I'm a semi new player. I've had the game for some time, but haven't put a lot of time into it. As such, this AAR will be written in many cases from the eyes of someone who isn't 100% sure of the game mechanics, and I'm hoping that will lead to a better narrative, since I don't know what to expect.

I'm not going to be bogging myself down with a lot of rules, my biggest rule is stay alive. :P That said, there are some things I like to do: I like to play my generals the way they are (i.e. a dread general will massacre the populace, a chivilrous general will be lenient, etc). I don't like being excommunicated, so I will be avoiding that. I won't be cheating, or exploiting in any way, of course.

I'm actually hoping for input from all of you on what you think Scotland should do next. Let's play this together. I'm the king, and you're my Council of Nobles.

The game will be played with Stainless Steel 5.1 mod, on VH/VH. I've never played Stainless Steel before, so this is going to be a rude awakening I'm sure. I've read up about it, and I think I know most of what to expect. I really like the changes that it brings.

Anyway, with that all said, I'm editing my pictures and writing up the first post as we speak.

Stay tuned.

**irish king** · 01-29-2008, 01:48

good luck, as for advice ive never played stainless steel but i recomend going for york first and then take inverness, (thats if map is the same)

**BigMac** · 01-29-2008, 03:04

1080 AD

Scotland is little more than 2 provinces held together by a would be king, and his sons. They are no stranger to hardship, living in the rugged north they've had to fight hard for everything they have. And still, there are clans who oppose them. And beyond the clans, an entire world who have only just begun to recognize their existence.

King Mael, 50 years old as of this writing, leads the rugged Scottish people with his 40 year old Queen Mairghreid mac Donnchada at his side. Together they've brought into this world 4 sons. Donnchad, 24 years old, crown prince and heir to the throne. Domnal, 22 years old and currently the Duke of Inverness-Shire. And finally Eideard and Etmond, 10 and 8 respectively, the two youngest Mac Donnchada family members.

King Mael and Domnal have always seen eye to eye, they share many of the same values. Donnchad on the other hand has a mind all of his own. As of late, Donnchad's voice has carried much weight with the Council of Nobles. While the King's stance is that peace should be maintained, and the clans should be brought together through diplomacy, Donnchad and the Nobles believe it's time for action.

Rather than lose the supporters he's worked so hard to gain, King Mael gives in, and allows Prince Donnchad to form an army to reunite the clans by force.

That same year, with forces from both the standing army, and suplemental forces from Inverness and Edinburgh, the Prince moves on his first target; a nomadic group of rebels in the mountains between the two provinces.

The attack started early in the morning, and didn't go past mid day. The Prince's forces outnumbered the nomads vastly. The conclusion was fore drawn.

Despite facing a highly organized, numerically superior force, the nomads march on, showing no fear.

Once in range, Donnchad orders his archers to loose their arrows. In the same breath, he shouted to his bodyguards to charge. No one expected it, and the Prince was half way to the enemy before his bodyguards caught him. The first barrage had hardly struck ground before the cavalry had finished their charge.

Before the next barrage could strike ground, Donnchad withdrew his cavalry, having scored several kills in the charge, and not a single loss. The Scottish archers threw wave after wave of arrows at the dumbstruck nomads, until finally they could take no more.

The nomads retreated, and the Prince followed. Those who were not fell by the arrow, fell by the blade or under hoof.

All but 1, that is. The Prince's bodyguard spotted a survivor, and were about to give chase, when Donnchad called them back to formation. A single nomad was left alive, allowed to run for the safety of the mountains, to tell the tale of those who crossed Prince Donnchad.

---------------

OOC: There's the first chapter. I've actually played the first 12 years in the game, and this chapter only covers the very first turn. :P I had planned on covering all 12 years in the 1st chapter, but I underestimated how long it takes to put these AARs together. I'm tired, and will continue tomorrow.

Anyway, more to come as Scotland reunites the clans. Stay tuned for Chapter 2: Reunification Part 2. We go after Dublin and York next, with a couple surprises thrown in.

**BigMac** · 01-29-2008, 03:30

@Irish King: York is my first objective, you'll read about that in the next chapter. I just wanted to hit the rebels because I'd heard combat was more difficult in Stainless Steel. That battle ended well, but I did out number them 3:1. I found out in later battles exactly how hard it is.

Inverness is actually part of Scotland to start in SS. The down side is that all of Ireland, spare Dublin, is owned by... well... Ireland. :P They're not just rebels in SS, Ireland is it's own faction.

**BigMac** · 01-29-2008, 03:35

Oh, and I should add that Ireland (the island) is made up of 3 provinces, not just dublin as in vanilla. Ireland itself starts with 2 provinces, and Dublin as rebel on it's doorstep.

By the way, why can't I edit my posts? Is that something that comes once you have been a member a certain amount of time, or is that just disabled on these boards?

**Ramses II CP** · 01-29-2008, 03:39

Once you're a member you'll be able to edit your posts. I think there's a guide about becoming a member in the Entrance Hall forum.

Keep up the good work with the AAR!

**BigMac** · 01-29-2008, 08:37

1081 AD

News of the massacre of the nomads by the Prince troubled King Mael, his wife Mairghreid, and his son Domnal. But they knew there was no other way. If they were to see a united Scotland in their time, this would have to be the answer. The world was advancing at an alarming rate, and they were at a stand still with diplomacy. With the Council of Nobles firmly backing Prince Donnchad, the King had to go along with the plan, or risk losing the support of the budding empire he had worked so hard to form.

To keep his mind off of the turmoil on the frontier, the Domnal and the King instead focused inward, towards building up the financial infrastructure of their settlements.

Mael Giric mac Mail Muire, a promising young merchant is the first of a corps of merchants to be hired to seek out resources the Kingdom could use for profit, and other advantages. Mael Giric is promptly sent to the tin mines south of Edinburgh to hone his trade.

While he had enough on his mind already, King Mael could not help but think about their southern neighbors, the English. Mael was distrustful of the English. They were expansionists, deceitful, and what's worse, influential and powerful.

With this thought on his mind, it just so happened that the young English princess Adela Plantagenet was making a trip through York. Aengus, Scotland's senior diplomat reported her presence to the King. Aengus wanted to know what the King would have him do.

King Mael pondered this for many days. An alliance is out of the question. It's doubtful they would even accept. But if they did, that would leave the only route to the mainland across a vast spann of ocean, instead of across the short English channel should England eventually fall to Scotland. Indeed, a conflict between the English and the Scots was inevitable. The English' expansionist ways would eventually lead them to be the sole owner of the island, and the Scots need a clear path to the mainland.

But war at this point was out of the question. What little army Scotland had was already indisposed with the "reunification". And even if they weren't, as much as Mael hated to admit it, Scotland's rag tag miscreants were no match for the professional armies of England... Not yet anyway.

Finally the King informed Aengus to open negotiations for a Trade treaty, just something to keep the formal lines of communication open. Aengus followed the order, and the deed was done. After some careful negotiations with Princess Adela, the trade treaty was in place.

Prince Donnchad was angry when he heard the news. As much as King Mael disliked the English, Donnchad hated them 10x worse. After thinking about it for a few days however, Donnchad relaxed and accepted the situation. A trade treaty after all will bring in money for Scotland. It will lead to improved relations. Perhaps one day, even an Alliance... And Donnchad could think of nothing more pleasing to him than sacking a few English cities while under the pretense of a peaceful diplomatic visit.

Donnchad thought of nothing else on his entire voyage south to the small rebel settlment of York, and it is said that he broke his smile not once.

1083 AD

It wasn't until two years later, with Donnchad already well on the way, that King Mael received the official request from the Council of Nobles for the capture of York. This displeased the King. Not only that he was left out of the loop in his own kingdom, but that York was the target. York is a town full of English rebels. As such, England would have the right to lay claim to it. Invoking the wrath of the Kingdom of England was not on King Mael's to do list. He sent a messenger on his fastest horse towards York to caution Donnchad against this action. The messenger never returned.

The army prepared to enter York. They had made camp just a few kilometers north the night before. That night Prince Donnchad received a visitor from one of the King's loyal messengers. The messenger stated that the King advised against the assault on York. When questioned further on the matter, as to whether this was an order or just the King's "advice", the messenger admitted that the King had given Donnchad broad authority on the matter, and the message was merely the King's word of caution. The messenger was dismissed. Later that night he was seen sneaking out of camp towards York, presumably to warn the citizens there, and was promptly executed.

It was a crisp fall morning. There was a chill in the air, but the sun had risen above the mountains and already melted away the frost from the night before. Having lived in the cold north all his life, one would think the Prince would be immune to it's effects, but he was not. He despised the cold.

The towns folk had been alerted to their presence. Despite the slaying of the wayward messenger the night before, it's hard to mask the approach of 700 men towards a small farming village. The nomads years ago had been taken by surprise, caught off guard in the wilderness. This time the enemy knew they were coming. Not that it mattered much, they were farmers and peasants, not at all a match for the army Donnchad had assembled.

He was impressed however by the number of bowmen they brought forth. 2 divisions all told. Mostly hunters, and the rest barely trained enough to draw the bow, let alone have the arrow fly straight, but impressive for a small village none the less.

The army was on the edge of town now. The Prince ordered his Archers forward, to take up position with their sights down the main street.

Sure enough, the foolhardy peasants took the bait. They sent their best units forward, fully equipped spearmen, no doubt looted equipment from the English. They thought in the close quarters of the village the archers so far ahead of the infantry would be easy targets. They underestimated the power of 4 divisions of archers firing directly at single targets down a narrow village street.

The spearmen took several losses and retreated. The peasants retaliated by using their own archers, but 2 divisions against 4 could not put enough wood in the air. As time went by peasants would regroup at the town center and muster the courage to brave the firing squad. Each time they retreated back to the town with less men, and even less morale.

After several hours of attack and retreat by the rebels, the street flowed with blood. It was quiet. The most quiet day the Prince had ever witnessed. The rebels did not venture into the street anymore. They were far from tacticians, but they had come to the correct conclusion that the street was a death trap. There was only a hand full of them left, cowering in the city center. They thought of retreat, but where would they go? North is Scotland, south is England, east is sea, and west is unknown mountainous terrain. No, if they were going to die, they would do it here at their home.

It became apparent to the Prince that he would make no more headway with his archers. The peasants had learned their lesson. And he intended to ensure they would not be able to pass that lesson to another generation of rebels.

Prince Donnchad ordered the infantry forward, and led the charge with his heavy cavalry bodyguard division. The fighting, if it could even be classified as fighting, was quick and decisive. More of a slaughter than anything else. It reminded him of the nomads years ago.

When the dust settled, much to the amazement of his brothers in arms he ordered that there would be no more loss of life in York. The town would be occupied by the Scottish army, who would defend her until the time came to leave on another conquest.

While heartless, the Prince was not stupid. He had heard and understood the words of his father. These were not nomads. They were not barbarians. They were English rebels. While Donnchad's hatred for the English bordered on mania, he knew the English would be upset that their citizens, be they rebels or not, were now under Scottish rule. The very least he could do to keep up relations with England was to treat the surviving townsfolk as civilly as possible.

Besides, having seen the destructive power of the Scottish army first hand, he doubted very much that the townsfolk would ever take up arms against the Scots again.

------------------------------

OOC: Decided to make the Reunification all one chapter. One more part left, the capture of Dublin. So the Reunification will be 3 parts total, all the 1st Chapter.

Then again, there is still Carnevaron. I'm not sure if I'll include that as part of the Reunification of the clans, or if i'll leave that for the expansion of the Kingdom. So Reunification might have 4 parts. Haven't made up my mind.

Anyway, next stop is Dublin, and a surprise visitor...

p.s. "Mael Giric mac Mail Muire"... man, what an awful name. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it? Probably a bug in the name creation. I just refer to him as Mael Giric.

As for the story line, it's set in stone until I finish the next part of the Reunification, as I've already played until that point. But I'd appreciate any comments on my narrative style. I don't like to write actual conversations, I like my AARs to be more of a historical text than a novel.