Those #$@%#& Docks!

[Alexios]

I don't know how many times I gotta make this stupid mistake before I finally learn my lesson. But I recently had a situation where a Prince of mine was about to be become King (my current King was around 52). So, I decided to valor him up before the big ceremony by giving him a well-armed, well-quantified army and sending him on an "island hopping" mission to take a few islands away from the Byzantines.

Well, no sooner did the first battle come to an end when I realised the docks were destroyed and my King-to-Be sat there on the island like a trapped rat... Doh!!! This meant I had to wait 5 long years before I could get him the heck out, whilst my aging King lay there gasping on his deathbed back on the mainland. And to make matters worse, the Byz were fortified in a Citadel and the AI would not allow me to take it without a direct assault. So before I could even begin rebuilding the docks, I had to haul in some siege weapons, which took me another 2 to 3 years to organise & deploy, and take it by force (Hmmm… now that's strange… I'm able to bring units ONTO the island without docks, but unable to get them OFF? Where’s the logic in that, I wonder? )

Anyway, luckily my King had a second wind after taking a couple Tylenols, and I was able to get the Prince back to the mainland before the old man croaked. Thank God for small miracles!!

[Martok]

Heh. I feel for you Alexios.

I learned from that mistake early on when I was first playing the game. I believe I was playing as the English as I had invaded Ireland with my king. (It should be mentioned that by this point, I owned all of Britain, Scandanavia, and most of France.) It was quite the rude shock to suddenly see over half my empire rise up in rebellion, with the French and Danes both re-emerging as well!

[matteus the inbred]

Hmmm, does it not work that when your King dies your heir 'materialises' in your 'capital' (ie. the one with the most buildings) province anyway, regardless of what wretched distant hole he happened to be in when his father croaked?

Anyway, I've been caught by that and had to pay a very large and embarrassing ransom to the Irish, of all people, to get my Viking King and all his heirs and huscarles back...you'd think your troops would refrain from smashing up the docks when they loot and pillage, it's akin to flying in an invasion force and spending your first day burning all the Hercules transports and blowing up the runways...

[caravel]

One of the "side effects" of MTW. You send your king/prince/best general to take part in the glorious conquest of Cyprus and they succeed, though during the victory celebrations near the docks, the king/prince/best general leans upon a mouldy rotting, worm and barnacle infested support that is holding up the dock and the whole lot falls to bits. The celebrations are cut short when the army, having forgotten how to use a row boat and oars, realise that they cannot leave the island and are now marooned until a new port can be built...

Or...

Your men, having imbibed slightly too much the previous night, accidentally charge the port instead of the enemy... knocking down the castle and rebuilding it in wood on the way, while chopping a few storeys off the local brothel in the process....

Or...

The local "downgrade militia" appear on the scene:

"bad luck I'm afraid! The citadel fell to bits so we're going to have to downgrade you from a town militia to a town watch and, as always, knock the port down..."

"what the hell?"

"the law's the law sorry"

[matteus the inbred]

I reckon there's a story for the Mead Hall in there somewhere...!

[CrossLOPER]

One of the "side effects" of MTW. You send your king/prince/best general to take part in the glorious conquest of Cyprus and they succeed, though during the victory celebrations near the docks, the king/prince/best general leans upon a mouldy rotting, worm and barnacle infested support that is holding up the dock and the whole lot falls to bits. The celebrations are cut short when the army, having forgotten how to use a row boat and oars, realise that they cannot leave the island and are now marooned until a new port can be built...

Or...

Your men, having imbibed slightly too much the previous night, accidentally charge the port instead of the enemy... knocking down the castle and rebuilding it in wood on the way, while chopping a few storeys off the local brothel in the process....

Or...

The local "downgrade militia" appear on the scene:

"bad luck I'm afraid! The citadel fell to bits so we're going to have to downgrade you from a town militia to a town watch and, as always, knock the port down..."

"what the hell?"

"the law's the law sorry"

You weren't there so you can't say anything!

[Martok]

Hmmm, does it not work that when your King dies your heir 'materialises' in your 'capital' (ie. the one with the most buildings) province anyway, regardless of what wretched distant hole he happened to be in when his father croaked?

Yes, you're correct. Still, it doesn't help if your new king magically appears in a province that's in the throes of rebellion.

Anyway, I've been caught by that and had to pay a very large and embarrassing ransom to the Irish, of all people, to get my Viking King and all his heirs and huscarles back...you'd think your troops would refrain from smashing up the docks when they loot and pillage, it's akin to flying in an invasion force and spending your first day burning all the Hercules transports and blowing up the runways...

No kidding. This is one of the relatively few complaints I have with MTW. I can understand a certain number of buildings being torched and destroyed, but the port?? Yeah, it's never really made sense to me.

@Caravel: Hee! Those were good, man.

[Kavhan Isbul]

It can be a pain, but I guess it was meant as a mechanism that discourages island invasions. It is extremely painful if you play with the Danes and try to apply the pillaging strategy.
The port only disappears if you take the castle (assuming there is one built). I usually remember to withdraw any valuable generals from an island before storming the castle and send a spy there before the port is gone. These little islands tend to get extremely rebellious when your sea routes are cut off due to a naval war, and if there is no port, there is no way to send a spy and other agents.

[Motep]

One of the "side effects" of MTW. You send your king/prince/best general to take part in the glorious conquest of Cyprus and they succeed, though during the victory celebrations near the docks, the king/prince/best general leans upon a mouldy rotting, worm and barnacle infested support that is holding up the dock and the whole lot falls to bits. The celebrations are cut short when the army, having forgotten how to use a row boat and oars, realise that they cannot leave the island and are now marooned until a new port can be built...

Or...

Your men, having imbibed slightly too much the previous night, accidentally charge the port instead of the enemy... knocking down the castle and rebuilding it in wood on the way, while chopping a few storeys off the local brothel in the process....

Or...

The local "downgrade militia" appear on the scene:

"bad luck I'm afraid! The citadel fell to bits so we're going to have to downgrade you from a town militia to a town watch and, as always, knock the port down..."

"what the hell?"

"the law's the law sorry"

oooh...so true...funny yet sad...