Champion of the North

[Tristrem]

Hi everyone, as you can guess i'm going to be starting my first aar soon. I just wanted to get the details to maybe drum up some interest.

I will be writing about my campaign as the Norse in BKB's Supermod 2.1 . It will be written from the perspective of a Champion Beserker who is a loyal protecter and adviser to the king.

I plan on showing a gradual progression from using viking troops in early, towards a more standard european army as the empire grows.

To make this aar possible I modded the game to give the Norse a Champion Beserker as part of their starting forces in Norway. To make the game more interesting, I will be using viking Karls as the back bone of my army. Therefore I changed their unit size to 100 to reflect this accurately.

I've already started playing so the first entry should come within a week.
Cheers and have a good weekend everyone.

[Ferret]

sounds good, I always like Scandinavian AARs

I'll have to look up that mod as well, I've not heard of it before but it sounds good.

[Martok]

Very cool. It's been a long time since I've seen a good Scandanavian campaign, as well as it having been a while since someone posted an AAR from BKB's mod. Can't wait!

[Tristrem]

Introduction

This land is cold, and so are the men who live here. This land is my home, it has given me everything, yet it has given me nothing. I am a champion of my people; I have never bought my own drink since becoming a man. The people here respect me, and also fear me.
I am Lord Duatr, Lord of Norway, and Champion of the Berserkers. I serve my king as loyal protector, and personal advisor. As Romans in Constantinople would say, I am his Achilles. I have known Olaf, King of the Norse for many years. I helped him forge this kingdom from the pretty warlords who once held power over men. Having saved his life countless times in combat, the king is forever indebted to me. This is the reason why I am the Lord of Norway. The people of this kingdom love me, because many do not fully embrace Christianity. I have to, because of my position, but most know that it is an embrace in name only, for I do not practice this religion. One of the freedoms that have been granted to me in secret is the ability of worship the old gods. These are the gods of our people, not this weak god of the Europeans. Alas I digress…

The Kingdom is in the smallest it has ever been. Once the people our lands owned a major portion our Europe. Our people had lands in Normandy, the Land of the Steppes, Sicily, and the British Isles. Many of those countrymen turned their backs on us. They broke away and now have their own petty kingdoms. As a result our once great but loosely connected empire is a shadow of what it once was. The king and I rule over the lands of the Norse, but not much else. Our only other possession is the lands of Orkneyjar and Caithness, a small trading post in the north of the British Isles. We still have one of the largest fleets, but our military is substandard to both the other people of Scandinavia and the kingdoms of mainland Europe. We will have to rebuild our military, and also use cunning diplomacy to survive.

I intend to write the history of our kingdom so that one day people will be able to look back and remember our greatness. I will try as my duty permits to recount every year in this journal. If I am to perish the journal will be passed on to the next champion, and this task will be his to complete.

[Tristrem]

sorry there hasn't been any update in a while, life has been busy, I've been trying to get a summer job for the past 2 weeks, but anyway, here is the first entry with more to come soon. I have notes for up to 1100 so i'll be trying to write everything soon.

1087 A.D.
I write this in the year 1087. I am now the official Lord of Norway. Because of this I am the closest advisor to the king outside of the royal family. However, since King Olaf’s sons are still considered boys I am his most important Advisor. This year was a time of reflection for our kingdom. First we looked at the income of our great nation. Most of our income comes through trade, not farming. This is because of the short growing season we have this far north. Therefore trade is our economic priority. We have one of the largest fleets in the Atlantic, rivaled only by our neighbors to the south, the Danes. King Olaf wants to keep our advantage over the seas, since trade is our major source of income. Therefore he ordered the building of another great fleet of longboats to help keep our naval superiority intact.

Next we took stock of our military. Overall it is very weak; it cannot even stop the raids the Swedes commit across our borders. Our army looks more like the armies of the Christian kingdoms to our south; they are not made to fight the tough men of Scandinavia. Therefore, I suggested that we invest in a proven winner, the Viking forces of old. The men now Christian, but they have not lost their ferocity. The king was concerned that these men were just as likely to raid our people, as they were the people who are our kingdoms enemy. I told him that we are champions of our people, Him, and I. These warriors would follow us to the end of the earth and die for us if necessary. Olaf agreed, and we started the long process of converting our military into the old traditions of the Vikings.

Finally we look at the vast lands that composed our kingdom. Our lands include Norway in Scandinavia, and the lands of Orkneyjar and Caithness in the northern tip of the British Isles. Norway is under constant threat from small scale raids. Olaf wants to put an end to these raids because they steal our money, and kill our people. Therefore he ordered the construction of watchtowers along our border with Sweden. King Olaf explained to me that his goal as king is to unite the Scandinavian people under the flag our the Norse. As for Orkneyjar and Caithness, they are just small trading outposts he said. But, Olaf has great plans for this land. He wants it to become a major trading post in the British Isles, and to be a foothold on the island, from which we will eventually conquer the whole islands from, but alas right now these are only dreams. Next year I will report on our progress.

[Tristrem]

had a chance to write some more, therefore i will post some more

1088 A.D.
This year we have seen great progress in our kingdom. Our series of watchtowers has been completed, and raids across the border have greatly diminished. Our army will now be more prepared to stop the seemly constant raids. Going along with our military plan, Olaf has started the construction of a spear maker in Norway. Our new fleet is half complete, and trade is booming. Now the king and I are starting to plan our eventual conquest of Scandinavia.

1089 A.D.
Our new fleet has been finished, and has set sail for the region of Skagerrak, linking our ports with the Danish ones to the south. This year we have been blessed with a new found friend and ally, the Normans of England. A representative from their leaders came to talk to King Olaf. He offered trade and friendship to our people. Olaf replied that both kingdoms are descendant from the same people, and it is only natural from brothers to band together. In private the Olaf told me that this is an alliance of convenience, and reminded me that we both share the same dream of conquering the Isles for our people.

1090 A.D
This year we have two blessings to report. First and most importantly the King’s first born, Olaf, has finally matured and become a man. I have watched this boy grow from a young age, and have personally trained him in hand to hand combat. He has never been defeated by an enemy, and is a Great Warrior of our people. However, outside the art of combat and war this man is a bit strange. I cannot put a solid reason to it, but he just seems a bit off. For now he will live with us here in Norway and learn to govern from his father. After 5 years of training in governing our people he will set sail and govern our lands in the British Isles.

For our other announcement worth noting, we received and emissary from the Kingdom of Hungary. They wished to be our allies, and trading partners. Our King said that our peoples will be staunch allies. Together we will become fat and rich from trade, and we will rule great kingdoms for many centuries to come. Later in private Olaf told me that this was an unexpected surprise, and that since we have no interest in their lands no harm can come from an alliance with these people.