Thinking of writing a Baktria AAR - Advices wanted

**SkyWalker** · 02-06-2008, 08:36

Hi everyone! I was lurking for a few months in this forum, reading AARs.
Finally I am inspired enough to write a AAR!

I am now thinking about trying to start AAR in middle of Baktria campaign i am doing right now. I actually thought of doing
AAR as I started the campaign but then I didn't bother as my objective was purly meeting VC.

But now I got a inspiring objective: conquer entire Alexander the Great's world from East, not West.

Now the problem is that it will be starting in middle of campaign (222BC, so exactly half a century after the beginning!), and
all starting FMs are dead long time ago. I don't really remember when i conquered each region, though i remeber sequence of expansion and most of forces deployed in those major battles.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Also, please excuse my poor english since it is my second language. If u see any errors (grammar or anything) please correct them. It will help me learn the language more effectively.

**PershsNhpios** · 02-06-2008, 10:45

Ok, well, firstly it is an Baktria AAR.

**d'Arthez** · 02-06-2008, 11:25

Don't worry about your English. It is so good, I would not have believed English was your first language.

.

Actually it is quite cool to start in 222 with an AAR. That at least ensures that you don't get the "same old conflicts" as reported in other AARs. I can't remember a Roman AAR in which a siege of Taras did not feature, to give an example.

Plus it start with a whole new diplomatic situation, so you have tons of options to give an original twist to your AAR. Not to mention with a more developed economy you can introduce all kinds of characters - scholars and what not to tell the story of the Baktrian Empire.

I'd say go for it.

**SkyWalker** · 02-06-2008, 16:23

@ Glenn Can't believe I missed it

Thanks.

@ d'Arthez Thank you for saying so

Fact is that i am not sill confident about my English yet, especially grammar, but I believe it should be enough to write a readable AAR.

I have some ideas as to whom will introduce and how AAR will be reported as, but I don't know whether i should spend significant time writing the "beginning" period or just start from where I am. The latter will save me trouble of remembering all battle details and diplomacy etc for last 50 years, but it will be too odd to just start from middle of nowhere. Thanks for comments.

I will think more about this and learn about including images in a thread, hopefully i have enough time to do so to post first part of story in a couple of days.

**The Wandering Scholar** · 02-06-2008, 16:31

Originally Posted by Glenn

Ok, well, firstly it is an Baktria AAR.

What? Where?

**underthesun** · 02-07-2008, 01:25

@Glenn

No, I believe "a" is the proper form of the indefinite article in this particular situation.

But hell, what do I know, I was born in Rhode Island, that little place so far removed from the Anglosphere....

Anyways, go for it SkyWalker. I'm in the middle of a Baktrian campaign myself. I'm not sure if I'm the one to give advice, I may have messed things up, turns out... :-o I could benefit from seeing somebody else's game firsthand.

**Barbarian** · 02-07-2008, 16:01

Hmm. I could write some similar too. Not to compete, but to compare and show this from a different point of view. It is 233 BC for me now, and I control 8 regions. The thing is, that Diodotos Baktrios, probably my best faction leader ever in all total games, is 60 years old now. I thought that there was a limit for the number of traits one man can have, but reading his info it seems otherwise. It takes some 20-30 minutes for me to read about all his traits and retinues. And there is almost no negative trait, he is not only a perfect general, but also superb administrator and expert in all kinds of knowledge, like mathematics or philosophy. The only negative trait I found, was the one that told that he is a proud hellen and despises other cultures, giving + 1 to unrest.

Now you see what I mean. He will surely die soon (or maybe his strong health will let him live until 90? He has been the Olympiakos for countless times

) So, I could start the AAR with words: „Our legendary leader is dead. He expanded our kingdom, repelled the fearsome invaders, and made a our small province into a great empire. He ordered to built temples, schools and roads, and obtained an unmatched respect among the people. But, is there anyone now, who could call himself a worthy successor of such man? What will happen to our lands, and who will watch over them?”
Not sure if my english is good enough for AAR. However, I mostly make only stupid typing mistakes.

Anyway, it could be an AAR in english, but with a strong Baktrian accent.

Ps: It is "A Baktria AAR", isn't it? "Baktria" doesn't start with a vowel, thus "a" can be used

**SkyWalker** · 02-07-2008, 20:25

@ Barbarian

It would be interesting to see other's AAR and compare with mine, go ahead if u want so. Hopefully ours won't be too similar to each other

Unfortunately for me, Diodotos Baktrios died of an earthquake that hit directly at Baktra, which killed nearly 8k citizens with him. Can't remember much of him right now. Luckily his son lived to govern the city, now a very capable administrator with huge influence. Diodotos ruled for only 7 years...

It somewhat confuses me whether to write a or an... but since "Baktria" follows after "a", i guess it should be "a". can't believe i am not sure about this after years of learning though...

**d'Arthez** · 02-07-2008, 21:17

In general, if the following word starts with a consanant sound it is "a". Otherwise it is "an".

So it is a Baktria AAR. Unless you have a peculiar way of pronouncing Baktria.

**PershsNhpios** · 02-09-2008, 02:52

The, "B" in Baktria is actually silent, in the English language it is most commonly pronounced, "Ark - tree - aaaaaaaaaa".
The length of the last syllable is dependent upon how large your ego is - I learnt this from Blitzkrieg80, my honey bun.

So this is why it is an Baktria AAR you are writing.

Anyway - get on with the story, most English writers here have worse grammar than you - especially the ones who write fiction!

**underthesun** · 02-09-2008, 15:11

Originally Posted by Glenn

The, "B" in Baktria is actually silent, in the English language it is most commonly pronounced, "Ark - tree - aaaaaaaaaa".

Really? I've NEVER heard it pronounced that way. I've always heard it pronounced like "Bak-tree-ah". Dictionary.com seems to think so too.

Maybe there's a difference between British and American pronunciation?

**Frodge** · 02-09-2008, 20:19

I think glenn maybe taking the piss

**overweightninja** · 02-09-2008, 20:42

Hey mate.
My 2 cents:
Don't try to write about the previous parts of your campaign, concentrate on where you go from now, that Alexander's empire objective sounds nice, as others have said there are a lot of AARs around at the moment and the different climate of a more developed campaign would be refreshing.

I think the a/an thing has pretty much been covered so I'll leave that heh, be proud that people are picking up on such a minor error, in all seriousness mate your writing would probably put a lot of English people to shame.

Best of luck with the AAR
Cheers