HRE NES

[Cyclotron]

Alright then, here's what's new -

I'm going to be working on the economic system this weekend. If all goes well, it should be done by the 9th. I plan to post an "update" for year 911 that should tell you more specifically what is going on at the start of the game, and so on. Once I do that, I'll be leaving for school on the 10th - My hope is that I will get orders (with your budget sheets) from all of you by next weekend, so I can do an update then. If Lord Nuclear arrives in this thread while I'm gone, he's free to start playing Swabia.

[appleciders]

Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria to Otto, Duke of Saxony and King Conrad of Germany:

My own borders have likewise been pillaged by Slavic raiders. While I regret that I can commit no troops to your cause, I support your actions.

OOC: I'll have those orders in this week, then.

[Cyclotron]

I have two posts for you today; the second one will come a little later. This first one is the requested generals description sheet, where you can learn the rumored virtues and vices of those guys who lead your troops.

You can sack a general at any time; he remains part of your "reserve of generals" and you can call him back later, though he might lose loyalty if he regards the removal as a slight. It is possible for other attributes to change in certain circumstances, though not likely. You may ask for a new General at any time; a new noble will be created, given random characteristics, given a description and a name, and made ready for use. Generals become available the turn after you call for them. To prevent abuse, you may only call up one general per turn. Generals called up become more well known, and thus never truly dissappear even when dismissed - particularly disloyal ones may be best removed by a knife in the back to keep them out of trouble, though if this is traced back to the Duke it can have dire consequences. More creative methods of taking out the trash are advised.

You can recruit a general from another land, if you are on good terms with them and they allow you to recruit within their ranks (typically this means a good ally). Foreign commanders may have different conceptions of tactics and strategy that can be valuable; a Magyar warlord will lead his men differently from a Muslim Cordoban general, even if they have the same statistics. Different lands also have different modifiers to their "ingenuity" rating, which governs their prowess at siege warfare and combat engineering - the Byzantines are masters of it, while the Vikings are quite poor indeed.

The generals are listed in no particular order for each duchy.

Franconia

Burggraf Reinhard von Fulda
This man is spoken well of by all – his men love him and a simple, elegant speech is usually enough to quell the merest signs of discontent among the peasants he administers. He is known widely as the Duke’s man. There are not even the slightest of doubts as to where his loyalties lie; they have fought together, and some say they are related in some now-obscure way.

Rhinegraf Gisfried von Ingelbeim
Most other nobles are of two opinions of this man – they either love him or hate him. While he doesn’t seem to inspire either through his general conduct, his masterful theories of tactics and warfare are widely respected by those who like him and envied by those who don’t. This trait of his would not be so inspiring of intense emotion were he not always so loudly trumpeting his willingness to try out all his tactics himself, sword in hand, on the front lines.

Landgraf Hildebert von Weinzberg
Mention of this man’s name puts a sneer on most people’s faces; he is widely held as a servile, obsequious dolt who simply craves the approval of his lord, and is loathe to do anything without consulting his advisors on what the Duke would consider best. Though widely mocked, he seems to suffer his indignities with sage resignation, and seldom loses his temper.

Bavaria

Burggraf Otto von Nordgau
This very independent-minded noble has gotten in trouble for being disobedient to his superiors in the past, but besides that is fairly well respected in social and military circles, and reasonably popular among his men. His family is prominent and has been a rival of the Duke’s family for some time.

Vizegraf Magenhard von Linz
This man is not widely known but is respected by his peers and acquaintances. Though perhaps not the brightest of nobles, dismissing math as the unmanly vocation of Venetians, Jews, and Greeks, he appears to be a decent, chivalrous, and likeable man who manages his estates competently and pays proper respects to his lord.

Markgraf Luitpold von Frelsing
To know this man is to know fear. He has a peculiar charm about him, and all who only know him indirectly have great admiration for him – but when he suffers the most minor irritation or perceived offense, he flies into a Herculean rage. His family and friends live in constant apprehension that he will descend upon them like a vengeful God; when he sees red, men die. Rumors that he murdered a village priest for berating him about his mistresses – and he has many, owing to his otherwise magnetic personality – are proving difficult to quash.

Freiherr Visloff der Kroat
A poor Knight of low status and foreign birth, this man has distinguished himself through his known bravery and gallantry in the field and a brilliant head for numbers. If anything, he is too chivalrous. His superiors are often exasperated at his slow, methodical, logical approach to any and every problem.

Swabia

Landgraf Welf von Stuttgart
A notably wealthy noble, this man is known by a few as intelligent and an excellent military theorist, though he always seems to be in the background of campaigns, letting others lead from the front while he makes his plans and amuses himself with strategic considerations. He talks little and is easily forgettable by most.

Landgraf Sibold von Zalringen
This man is known as a good, pious, and charitable man. He spends many hours in prayer, and lives in self-enforced simplicity, uncommon for a landed noble. His faith inspires his people and soldiers, and his is quite popular among all who know him; though not remarkable for much else, he is widely regarded as someone who won’t spend much time at all in Purgatory.

Wildgraf Matto von der Schwarzwald
This man is very popular among his fellow nobles. Owning sizeable but undeveloped estates in the Black Forest, he is a consummate host and socialite, and it seems nearly all the nobles in the duchy have hunted with him or dined at one of his many country houses. His many friends, when asked about any vices of his, all have a good chuckle at his seemingly legendary laziness.

Vizegraf Bernard von Thurgau
Known as ambitious and keen of mind, this man is noted as a skilled commander of soldiers, and reasonably popular as well. He has risen in the ranks quickly in his well known quest for power, which unnerves those above him.

Saxony

Burggraf Friedrich von Verden
This man is a loud self-promoter, constantly bragging about his bravery and prowess in combat. While his personal courage has been noted on the field against the Slavs, his skill as a leader is somewhat less impressive, and his headstrong nature has imperiled others before. Insinuations in this regard usually result in this man becoming very angry, and demanding that the matter be settled in personal combat, which he has proven himself to be quite skillful at.

Markgraf Burgund von Magdeburg
A decent, God-fearing, and well-educated noble, this man is not especially well-known or revered, but it is difficult to find much in the way of complaints or negative stories about him. He seems to be reasonably popular and has enjoyed some success on the battlefield as a leader and warrior – hardly worthy of a heroic epic, but certainly not bad either.

Vizegraf Gunter von Holstein
This man’s wealthy father paid for his instruction in Padua. He is learned in affairs both scientific and military, is literate, and has a good bearing on both mathematics and the conduct of warfare, often reading treatises on Charlemagne and Justinian in his spare time. An uncommon bookish sort in a world of illiterate warlords, he is otherwise nondescript.

Freiherr Heidolf von Dortmund
Granted knighthood by his duke following a brave stand against Viking invaders, this man is a favorite of the ruling family and is known to be fiercely loyal to them. He is handsome and popular, a widely admired leader of men that inspires them with his fearlessness and personal courage, though his tactics lack the brilliance and polish of some generals.

[appleciders]

Wait- so we all draw from this pool of generals? I'm confused.

[Micha]

Erm, you already have these generals. Look into your stats. The top four or so are Saxonian leaders... Would be good to have the liege in brackets after each name, or even better yet, have the generals sorted by liege.

Other than that, this is an impressive work, Cyclotron!

I think I can be satisfied with what I´ve got, a good mix of berserkers, siege engineers and calm analysts.

[Cyclotron]

Like Micha said, the summaries of your Duchies already name the generals in command of each of your armies. Just match the names with their descriptions here.

I'll see what I can do about organizing them better later today.

Actually, they were sorted by liege, but then I alphabetized them. D'oh!

[appleciders]

Ah. Yep, should have looked at my stats again.

[appleciders]

And yep, I've got two who won't listen to me, one boring one, and one who I must figure out how to promote... Hmmm... The plotting begins!

[Cyclotron]

The generals have been re-ordered for your convenience.

Originally posted by appleciders
And yep, I've got two who won't listen to me, one boring one, and one who I must figure out how to promote... Hmmm... The plotting begins!

Luitpold's description was the most fun to write.

[Cyclotron]

I've got a lot do do tonight, as I'm leaving tomorrow, but I'll try to give you the basics of the econ system, reformed:

The profitability equation constant has been decreased from 200 to 150, lowering incomes by 25% across the board. To make up for this, mining income has been added, with its own mechanic. A bit of trade is also discussed, as well as harvests and mine building.

The econ post earlier in the thread will be updated tonight with the new data, which should be good enough for you to make your budgets. All you have to do is allocate denarii; just say "1000 to new cathedral," it's not necessary to know how much the task actually takes to complete, that's my business.

See you all in a few days. And somebody get Lord Nuke over here!

[Cyclotron]

One quick note out the door: It's only fair that Franconia should have four generals like everyone else, even though they only have three armies. Thus, the next time Franconia decides to recruit a general, they will get a second one free, only that one time.

Ok, goodbye for real now.

[appleciders]

First of all, cut off all tribute to the Magyars. This should gain me an additional 400 denarii.

Second, sack Markgraf Luitpold von Frelsing. Accuse him of murder (which is apparently true) and offer to allow the Church the right to prosecute, execute, or whatever such thing they want. I hope his earlier murder of a priest and my move against him will help calm the Church, or at least slow down the movement against me. Give half his land to the Church and keep half myself. Give an amount of my holdings in Carinthia equivilent to the half of von Frelsing's land I took to Freiherr Visloff der Kroat, and promote der Kroat to a Graf. (I have a net gain of no land, I just want to keep der Kroat in Carinthia, he's a good general and I want him near the front. Plus, my land in Bavaria is more productive for me than my land in Carnithia due to lower corruption.) Interview other grafs and appoint a new leader of the Eppstein Levy. If possible, appoint a particularly loyal graf, one who has a distinguished military record.

Transfer the 300 Angonmen from the Regensburg Levy to the Magyar Border Guard.

Call up 200 men from Bavaria to be added to my army, specifically to the Regensburg Levy under von Nordgau. If I can use iron from Carinthia this turn and the iron mine in Carinthia produces at least 50% of base income, create them as Medium Spearmen (spear, shield, light). If I can't get that iron this turn or the iron is under 50% base income, create them as Light Spearmen (spear, shield, cloth). If I am reading the economic system rightly, the 200 Medium Spearmen would cost 1000 denarii (200 wages, 200 spears, 200 shields, 400 armor) minus whatever the iron covers. The Light Spearmen would cost 600 denarii (200 wages, 200 spears, 200 shields). Also, 100 denarii to build training grounds, barracks, and other incidental costs associated with expanding the army. Build these in Regensburg. Also purchase 300 pavises and distribute them amongst my army, so as to allow quick in-field fortification.

Mobilize all knights and sergeants. Assemble them in Eppenstein and Linz.

300 denarii to build iron mines in Carinthia.

300 denarii to improve farmland in Carinthia. Irrigate, fertilize soil, and purchase plows and beasts of burden. These should be community property, and shared and cared for equally by the whole farming community, since everyone only needs to plow every so often anyway, and this way even the poorest farmer will get to plow at least every once in a while.

300 denarii to reduce corruption in Carinthia by learning who's cheating me and punishing them. Middle-class people who try to skim off my profits should have their businesses confiscated and given to more trustworthy middle-class types. 90% of confiscated goods should be distributed amongst the poor, the rest should be given to the middle class. Make sure that the people see this as an attempt to reduce corruption, and that all they need to do to avoid this fate themselves is be honest.

50 denarii to hire prospectors to go out and look for new mineral resources, especially stone.

50 denarii to scouting and research and the like about the state of the Magyar armies.

[Cyclotron]

I've arrived at college. Once I get four sets of orders in - which means we need to fill Swabia's place - I'll make with the updating.

[appleciders]

I hope to have my final orders in by the end of the day.

Have you PMed Lord Nuclear yet? Is he in or out?

[Cyclotron]

I'm waiting for his response.

A Reminder for military PMs:

- it takes 1 turn to raise any amount of knights and sergeants, so raise them on the turn before the turn you want to move out on. They cost nothing.
- it takes 2 turns to raise and train new freedmen levies. Arming them is another matter. They will be ready to move out the turn after next if you call them this turn. They cost 1 denarius per man per turn.
- it takes 1 turn to raise mercenaries. Ask me about mercenaries available in different areas, and the number available. They can cost 1-5 denarii per man per turn, depending on the type.

Also:
- Armies without leaders are likely to experience desertion, especially if on a border or frontier.
- You can lead an army yourself, or command a garrison. This increases their morale and makes it impossible for the army to rebel against you or act against your orders (but there is always a chance you will die if you are in a battle!).
- Generally speaking, the more men at a border, the more effective it will be at keeping out raiders, but a big army can only do so much without appropriate border fortifications.
- It takes time and money to build up armaments for your troops, so plan ahead - though you can always take arms and armor from fallen enemies after battles, or trade with other Duchies or Kingdoms.