Dark Ages NES

[appleciders]

Map is updated. I originally uploaded it, then forgot to change the link, but it's fine now, and I think it was when you posted that. And while (nearly) everyone agrees that a taxed border is better than a closed one, many still feel that it's wrong to tax these pilgrims.

Lyon's position has as much to do with game-balance issues as anything; I may or may not shift it.

[laurentius]

Holy Crap! I'm away touring European cities insane drunk orgy under disguise for a few years and the Greeks invade me!? Talk about a hangover, Whoa!

[appleciders]

Yeah... Bad things happen when people percieve their leaders as weak. It's just generally bad for all concerned

[foolish_icarus]

The death of Pippin the Short and Generally Overconfident is coming at the hands of the Servants of God. Plus internal issues. Stay tuned (not literally).

[foolish_icarus]

Hwaet!

In the domestic arena, select cities and municipalities will continue work on universities and technical institutions of learning, medicine, trades. Scholarship in the language and texts of Arabic, Latin, and Greek will be especially encouraged; the Arabic for the holy text and the Latin and Greek for the great learning of the classical age, of which we will try to acquire adequate numbers of copies to make them available for study.

Continue constructing our fine new navy at Barcelona. Boatbuilders and other craftsmen who are skilled but perhaps not experienced enough can use this opportunity to learn from the master artisans and engineers, as a lot of manual labor will certainly be needed.

On to War!

A new battle force, the Army of the Loire, will be assembled and trained in Burdigala in order to prepare to face the resurgent threat of the dishonourable enemy Franks. Whom we will continue to try to cultivate allies among the minor discontents and would be chieftains to turn them against their heavy handed rulers. So recruits will be gathered for the army, and trained to become in the next few turns, roughly half Heavy infantry, and about a quarter each light cavalry, and cavalry archers.

Bavarian border patrol warily watches the borders of Bavaria.

Army of Tolosa will advance north to support the army of Tours.

And the army of Tours, with the tactical help of the Army of Tolosa, will use scouts and spies to closely track the movement of the Frankish armies. The army of Tours will partially engage with and harass the Parisian army then withdraw about halfway to Tours, where Army of Tours and Army of Tolosa can engage with Parisian army. Note that all heavy siege weaponry that cannot be used on the field of battle will be left in Tours to increase the armies' speed and maneuverability. If no Frankish armies follow our withdrawal, we'll just keep harassing them and engage in pitched battle if the opportunity arises.

The army of our new Germanic protectorate/vassal is encouraged to run rampant in Frankish lands or otherwise engage or distract their armies in any way they please so long as they observe the distinction between Frankish lands and our lands.

[foolish_icarus]

In summary, I win. From the Brittanic isles and the Moroccan nomads to the lands of Scythia and the Ganges, all will hail the Greatest Caliph, Foolish ibn Icarus!...

The emir tossed and turned in his sleep, then lay still and slowly opened his eyes. A dream had come to him--but was it a dream only, or a Prophecy?

[appleciders]

I know people are busy, but there's nothing happening here. Nothing. I should just update and screw you all over. Anywho, BP and Foolish have orders in. Come on, everybody!

[foolish_icarus]

how long has it been since we've gotten new blood? What the hell. I'm going to petition Dan and Mark for a forum name change. Suggestions for what (if they agree) it should be changed to?

[bipolarbear]

I love your phrasing up above foolish the whole was it a dream or a prophecy.

I can't really think of anyways of effectively stirring the metaphorical pot.

I'd definitely agree that we could use some new blood, but nodbody ever seems very interested when I tell them about it. With the exception of Ciders.

[appleciders]

Yeah, I just don't know many people that would like this kind of thing. My friends who're into gaming don't have the patience or interest in history, and my friends that like history aren't so much into gaming.

[appleciders]

Update started. Due to my busy, rehearsal-and-homework-filled life, expect an update Sunday evening or Monday.

[appleciders]

Third Update: 755 A.D.

Bavaria:
In a not-entirely unexpected attack move, the Bavarian Army of Lyon and the remnants of the Northern Recruits attacked the recently reinforced Iberian Army of Tours. In an only slightly more surprising move, the Frankish armies co-ordinated their attack on the Army of Tours with the Bavarian attackers. The surprising aspect of the attack was the betrayal of the chieftains who had recently sworn loyalty to Iberia in favor of former Bavarian masters.

The Iberian forces were well rested, well supplied, and in a defensible position atop a hill. In accordance with the Caliph's orders, however, they began to break camp to prepare for an attack northward into Frankish lands. Iberian spies gave reports of a Frankish attack from the north, so the Iberian armies began their fast march northward, leaving their seige equiptment behind in order to gain manuverability. As the Iberian army marched, their scouts reported a Frankish army of moderate size had joined the Parisian defense force, probably the Frankish reserves. As the cavalry began to move ahead, to begin their harrassing attacks against the Frankish scouts, a group of Bavarian huskarls, disguised as local peasants, slipped in amongst the lightly armed and armored archers and caused a bloodbath before slipping away before the heavier infantry could retaliate.

The Iberian cavalry were called back to help defend against further attacks, but none came until nightfall. The Frankish army, marching with full drums and carrying torches, attracted the bulk of Iberian attention as they hit the Iberians from the north. The Bavarian armies, coming in from the east, carried no torches and hit the poorly defended Iberian flank.

The battle raged through the night, with heavy losses among both the Franks and Iberians, until the Iberian army managed a retreat westward at daybreak. The Franks and Bavarians initally allowed the Iberian army to escape, but pursued after resting and treating the wounded. The depleted Armies of Tours and Tolosa succeeded in reaching the safety of Tours, where they took shelter and prepared themselves for a seige. The Bavarians and Franks arrived three days later to find a fortified, well stocked city ready to resist their assault.

As the Bavarian and Frankish armies sped westward to pursue the Iberians, they left behind the Bavarian Rebels to gaurd the captured siege equiptment from recapture. Unfortunately, the Bavarian Rebels were soundly defeated by the Iberian Border Guard, who moved northward at the news of the battle, and found only these weak Bavarian vassals to fight. In a swift, vengeful battle, the rebels were utterly destroyed.

Little else occured in Bavaria. Military recruitment was slightly up after news of the victory in Gaul reached Vienna.


Iberia:
The loss in Gaul shocked the Iberian population. A recruitment drive was met with a massive desire to revenge Iberia against the heathens, and the new army at Burdigala has been formed, even larger than all but the wildest of the original estimates. Military advisors predict a continuing interest in the military strength of Iberia for a long time, and domestic advisors warn that further losses could make the Caliph extraordinarily unpopular.

The Universities at Aquae and Carthage continue to grow, solidfying Iberia's reputation as a leader in the sciences and mathematics. A continued influx of intellectuals into both these cities is bringing a steady source of foreign money into Iberia. However, these cities are now limited by their mediocre port facilities, which weren't constructed to handle the level of traffic now pouring onto the docks.

The navy-building project in Barcelona has continued to produce high-quality ships, both for military and civilian use. Barcelona has grown extraordinarily quickly, now sprawling out over the countryside.


Rome:
A continued lack of orders from the Emperor has resulted in continuing chaos across Italy. Rampant looting in Rome and other cities has made Rome once again an attractive target for barbarian looters, and only the strong Bavarian and Byzantine buffers have kept the barbarians out of Italy. Desertion has begun amongst the outlying armies of the Empire.

Bari and Naples fell to Byzantine armies this turn, firmly establishing the Eastern foothold on the peninsula.

Byzantium:
Byzantine armies continued their march through Italy, taking the cities of Bari and Naples. A fortification project in Bari built new walls around the city, making it much harder to retake.

A series of Byzantine defeats in the East are chronicled below. Many new recruits have joined the army, seeking to defend their homeland and their religion against the Muslim invaders.

Arabia:
The Arabian empire seems to have declared war on Byzantium, although no formal declaration has been declared.

A suprise midnight attack against the Byzantine navy at Gortyn quickly damaged several key Byzantine ships. This quick move gained the upper hand for the Arabian navy, but when the Byzantine ships understood the situation and utilized their feared Greek Fire, the tide swung back in favor of the Christian navy. The Arabian ships, however, succeeded in maintaining close enough combat that several Byzantine ships caught fire as well.

The naval battle ended in disarray, with both forces retreating. Both fleets sustained heavy damage during the battle, although Arabian commanders are claiming a tactical victory, based on the greater strength of the Byzantine ships.

However, a massive invasion force crossed the Byzantine border at Kayseri, marching full force towards the city walls. The defenders quickly decided not to engage in the open field, prefering to defend the city walls. The archers and heavy infantry took up their positions on the city walls, while the cataphracts set out to try to disrupt the Arabian supply lines during the long siege to come.

There was no long seige. The Arabian catapults pounded the city walls, failing to breach them but forcing the defenders to keep their heads down, preventing an effective defense. Siege ladders weer brought forth, and while they were thrown back time after time, the Arabian soldiers eventually took control of the upper battlements, and finally the gatehouse. The city's gates were raised, and the Muslim cavalry and camels flooded in.

The sack of Kayseri was near total. Arsonists among both the attackers and defenders destroyed the city almost totally. The heat from the flames ruined the mortar of the walls, which collapsed in short order. Kayseri's population was mostly killed, with only a very few prisoners taken. Those few who were captured would not convert to Islam, and so were slain out of hand.

Unfortunately, some of the defenders slipped out during the chaos, and more used the attack as cover to assassainate several key officers. This prevented the Arabian command structure from reining in their pillaging forces.

Further to the north, the Army of Jerusalem, reinforced by fresh recruits, marched against the city Ordu. The long march from Jerusalem tired the army greatly, while the green recruits were unused to the hardships of a forced march. News of the attack against Kayseri had spread through the Byzantine empire, and the population of Ordu had mobilized to defend it, along with the Army of Ordu and the survivors of the sack of Kayseri.

The Byzantine army, having seen the effectiveness of an Arabian siege, elected to defend themselves in the field of battle, where their cataphracts could be most effective. With their reinforcements in place, and the lines of defense drawn, the Byzantine commanders had high hope for their defense.

The battle went more or less as hoped for the Byzantine defenders. The Arabian commander, seeing his outnumbered, tired forces waver, only engaged briefly before retreating back into safer territory.

In the Arabian homeland, the population trusts the Caliph's declaration of war only so far. They demand a reason for this massive attack.

France:
While the French army was victorious, it was deeply injured by the Muslim armies. A rebuilding of the army has been ordered, to replace those who gave their lives at Tours. King Pippin has ordered that all who fought at Tours should never pay taxes for the rest of their lives, to thank them for their service.

UMK:
A continued interest in sea trade has brought more wealth to the UMK. The trading fleet has continued to ferry scholars and scientists to Aquae and Carthage, and Morgan Freeman has ordered a military build-up, including the fortification of several cities.

[Tassadar500]

What exactly happened to my war camels and archers that also joined the Army of Jerusalem?

[appleciders]

You caught me in the process of updating. Look again, it's fixed.

[Tassadar500]

I see. Also, wouldn't a Jihad get many people to sign up to the army? I don't see any increase.