Thoughts for a Tale

[Schrödinger]

So, here I am again, wondering what to write, running ideas through the sieves of my mind and pondering how well-received and appreciated they would be among the men of the seventh hill. It is only recently I got back into total war, with Chivalry and Europa Barbarorum for Rome, and Sicilian Vespers, Stainless Steel and Broken Crescent for Medieval my chosen forms of enjoyment from the sickbed. And with sickly inevitablity, I needed to write something. Something big, something good, something better than before. I re-read After Manzikert: Romanorum Redividus (my biggest previous story) and it seemed overly facile, badly written and presented, all in all, a clumsly work of a jack of the trade.

Now I am older, more experienced, my hands are worn with the ravages of time, my breaths ragged and my hair lank. I want to write, to escape the hollow and weakening vessel of my body that deserts me in the merest extremity. I will lie with my eyes closed, dreaming of Constantinople and of Rome, of 'Byzantine' politics and a medieval cosmopolitan melting pot. Of Franks, Turks and Romans. I turn my hands to a keyboard and I am disappointed. I make no sense. I hover between the Euphrates and the Tigris, or the Rubicon and the Tiber. No aid comes from within me, so I seek it on the outside.

___________________________________

I would write a Roman AAR, perhaps with Chivalry, perhaps with Broken Crescent, a tale of politics in an ancient city, forever in the shadow of her forebear. Of men, women and deeds. I would seek guidance. I am vague and I know it. But after an absence of many years, I know nothing. How goes TWC? What story grips the masses? Tell me all, and I shall attempt to write a tale to balm my wounds.

Regards (and hoping I make sense)

Tweety

[Hesus de bodemloze]

Well it looks like you play a lot of mods what do you think of using like one RTW mod and one MIITW mod use a faction like let's say the romans in EB and play as one of the italian factions in a MIITW mod make there stories cross each other in one big adventure.

[Schrödinger]

Is there not already a story based on such an idea? It would seem good, but no-one embodies the Romans for me more than the Romans. I feel now after rumination I will do an ERE MII:TW one, story based, but I know not which campaign to use. At the moment I think either SV Dark Age/ Early or Stainless Steel Early. I hope to make it truly last, not flicker briefly before falling into flame like my Epeirote tale.

EB is too slow on my PC for me to play and write, too much scripting for my old computer

Whatever, I will publish something this week at least, even if nothing is to come of it

[Hesus de bodemloze]

Yeas there was such an idea already but that doesn't mean you can't use it. Try Dark Age as there are already a lot fo SS AAR out there.

[Schrödinger]

Actually, yeah, thinking further I think that would work well, especially with ERE, looking at characters family history and stuff. Thanks for the interest and the idea Hesus de Bodemloze. I did consider a Danish Dark Age mod but I do not think the atmosphere of a barbaric pagan Danish King raiding northern Europe is one I am best suited to or enamoured with. More for Byzantine intrigue, I hope.

I think I will go with the Komnenian dynasty and a Roman AAR, but concentrating a bit more on internal politics, characters and rebellions rather than blizing Europe. If anyone here has played Crusader Kings (from Europa Universalis series) then they will know a bit of the gameplay I will write about, even if Medieval cannot represent it properly. Hopefully a character driven AAR which I can keep going for ages. Seriously, if I play it right I think I can have story carry me a long way, hopefully following the dynasty all the way.

I will be playing with Chivalry II:Siclian Vespers with some small personal modifications of my own on the Early Era I think, very pretty battle screenshots as well as a capable diplomatic model.

Anyone who read my previous AAR, After Manzikert- Romanorum Redividus, this will not be much like it, although I will retain Flavius Balgiarotes, Mikhail Szekeres and Michael Phillipus as key characters.

[SonOfAlexander]

I understand your problem...

Coupla reccomendations:

1. Tomorrow the latest Critic's Quill is released - depending on the editor's decision, it may contain my article about why people write about what they do for AARs, etc. That could be of some help.

2. The idea of a melting pot sounds pretty good. If you let one culture, eg, Romans take it over and build it up until it is a bona fide Roman settlement, then move in with a v. different culture and take it, you might be able to get that sort of effect and expand upon it through your writing.

Hope it helped

[Hesus de bodemloze]

I will be looking forward in reading your new AAR Tweety. I love a good political plot with some backstabbing here and there, reading how some rebel peasants get slaughtered is some nice stuff as well.

[Schrödinger]

Thanks guys again, I've started writing now,

Sons of Alexander:- What is the Critic's Quill? Excuse my ignorance, I last posted seriously/consistently sometime last year I think, much has passed me by.

Hesus de Bodemloze:- that kind of thing is exactly what I love. Although this time it probably won't be a random peasant mob that gets slaughtered.

[SonOfAlexander]

That's alright, the CQ isn't a year old - in fact, we're releasing (should have been today, but there's been an error...) our half-year edition, number 13 now! Link to Issue 12 in my sig. It basically reviews AARs and has other such ways of talking about them, etc. So obviosuly it might be useful for you, especially as I've just written an article on it