The Critic's Quill: Issue 16

**Juvenal** · February 04, 2010, 12:53 PM

Letter from the Editor
Dear Readers, welcome to another issue of the Critic's Quill. This time we have, in addition to our usual selection of AAR reviews and articles, a rather unusual interview from Kallum - member of the recently burgeoning von Döbeln family of TWC. (But don't worry, he has promised not to skip his medication any more in future.)

As always, the opinions expressed in this publication are the personal ones of the writers. Should you feel the need to take us to task, or simply want to comment on the reviews, then please post in this thread. If we have got anything of a factual nature wrong, then it will be corrected.

We hope you enjoy this issue...

From the Editor, Juvenal

Table of Contents

Interview Section

Basileia ton Romaion: An Interview With Kallum von Döbeln by... Kallum von Döbeln!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

AAR Review Section

Never Near Argos
A Europa Barbarorum Epeirote AAR by Mediolanicus

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

I must first apologise, for I meant to review this AAR far sooner, but things have got in the way. Anyway, Never Near Argos. Well, it’s a historical tale, and as the title reveals, is all about the Epeirotes. It focuses on the tales of their most famous leader - the unlucky champion, Pyrrhus of Epirus - as he fights campaigns in places ranging from Macedonia, to Italy, to the East where he tangles with the Diadochi. Mediolanicus’ idea is to give the reader a taste - or more a banquet - of what happens as Pyrrhus tries to follow Alexander.

History
The AAR is extremely historical, and one of the most fastidiously detailed. It reads a little like Fixiwee’s AAR, to those who are familiar with it, but is even more history like and less AAR like than that. Mediolanicus talks about ‘transcriptions’, murals and archaeological records, and as well as things like mentioning everything 3rd party, putting tiny holes occasionally in the plot and acting as though everything has been studied or is a piece of archaeological evidence - it gives it a different quality to every other AAR I’ve ever read.

This will, of course, put some people off. It is certainly less AAR like, with few features that are familiar to AAR readers, but the feeling of reality is very well-spun. The records make it feel so much more militaristic and real; showing us all the sorts of decisions Pyrrhus has to make as a commander. Whereas most AARtists would talk about this from Pyrrhus’ point of view for a bit of drama, we simply get the results, and the difference to other AARs is in my opinion highly refreshing. I would certainly urge anyone to take a look, even if it sounds off-putting.

Pictures/Visual aids
Although I said that Mediolanicus doesn’t really use pictures, that’s not strictly true. There are some stratmap shots, so we know where his troops are in Macedonia or Italy, there are MS Paint diagrams of battles that Pyyrhus fights, and a few little touches like ‘artistic impressions’ - shots of troops charging with a bit of a blur. He also has this example, which I particularly like:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

They’re only little things, but they really do spice up the AAR an incredible amount. Just these little bits of colour, they make a historical account seem far more interesting, whilst remaining the originality of Mediolanicus - a sort of completely factual account, with no bias or sympathy towards any person, except possible for the end of the AAR, where he summarises the problems Pyrrhus had as throughout his life.

Recommendations
There are some flaws though. Firstly, the English isn’t always correct, but he admits that it is not his first language, and it really is nothing worth complaining about. More importantly, there are a few visual stymies which almost put me off a bit. Maybe it’s just me, but throughout the text, Mediolanicus has put a few… stumbling blocks in.

First, when he mentions names, he sometimes does this (this example comes from his description of the ‘painting’ above):

'...we know the painting once hung in the history gallery of Lord G___ B_____ of G_____…’

Personally, I think it cuts through the flow of the text. Most of the time, I don’t think they’re real people, so what’s wrong with just making one up and writing it? If they are real, then why do you have to blot out their names? I just think it’s un-aesthetic, that’s all.

The font also isn’t brilliant - Arial or Book Antiqua, if I’m not mistaken - but I can hardly talk, having used the same font(s) myself for much of my AAR before switching to Palatino Linotype. But font, of course, isn’t everything. The final problem I have with the layout is these wee bits - ‘[…]’ - that he puts between paragraphs. Again, just a little thing, but they interrupt the text very rudely in my opinion.

*****

Unfortunately, Mediolanicus ended the AAR very soon after it had begun, due to feeling that thanks to RL issues he would not be able to continue (nor at the same quality either). But he managed to finish the tale for Pyrrhus, and still rounded it off very well. For any who want to go and see it for themselves, it’s all on the first post of THIS THREAD.

Happy reading,

Review by Son of Alexander

Danish Domination
An M2TW Danish AAR by Frederick II

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Story
Danish Domination is the story of Denmark's rise to power in Europe. Focusing mainly on the King and his closest Generals and Advisers, the author takes us on a whirlwind campaign of war, treachery and despair. This AAR follows the rise of Danish power in the Baltic and the forging of a new empire. The AAR was played and written using the Vanilla version of Medieval II with fairly standard house rules, something that seems to be a growing trend these days.

Writing Style
The Author has an interesting writing style to say the least. While reading this piece I was utterly engrossed in one sentence, living the story and imagining the events. In the next sentence however, I was left scratching my head and wondering what? It is clear the writer has some talent for crafting a good fable, but seems to fall behind a bit when building sentences and stringing events together. The impression I got was that time has relatively no meaning in this story, as different sentences seem to be taking place in a different tense. For example.

Now, not only wer the people becoming more and more religious, but the Governmant as rolling in it from Award money, and a new trade agreement with Poland, delivered by Ingrid herself(However, rumors of an affair between the Princess and the Polish Captain were common street talk for the next Year).

As you can see, that sentence starts off in the present, describing current events and the goings on the Kingdom. By the end of the sentence though, we are told that an event that couldn't possibly have happened in the space of a few words has in fact been going on for a year or more. The author seems to know where he wants to go with the story and has adequate ability to throw in little juicy extras such as an affair with a Princess. But his sentence structure needs some work, as it stands any reader will most likely feel jolted ahead a few years at a time when reading certain passages. I would encourage the writer to find a better way of writing in these little side events and maintaining a clear tense and time line when describing events and other parts to the story.

Another point I feel I must make is the interesting use of punctuation and grammar used by the author. If you read the sentence it does make sense but it looks and feels very messy. See below.

However, just before the Attack was to begin, a Beautiful Hungarian Princess had gotten into Diplomacy with Ingrid, Charles's Sister, and Now, for an Alliance, Map information and Trade priviledges, The Princess, named Pioska, was to Marry Charles. He, although Happy as she was Beautiful and Denmark had a new ally, was Surprised.

*chuckle* There are quite a few comma's there in that first sentence that probably should have been replaced by periods. When reading this passage in particular I had the feeling of falling or tripping over my own feet, as the writing seems to do. The author actually has quite a talent in bringing together many facets of an event into the one sentence! While it can be a gift in a way it can also be a curse, as hardened readers will probably be a bit bamboozled by all the information being thrown at them and without proper punctuation being used. Rewriting the sentence to make it more readable and adding some periods would make the story flow a lot smoother and would go far in keeping the readers happy and engrossed.

Images
The images of an AAR can make or break it in some cases. A weak story accompanied by lots of interesting and unique pictures can save it from the flames of destruction, as many people will just get caught up in the pictures, telling their own stories with their imaginations. A very strong story that is in depth and keeps the readers hooked doesn't necessarily need many pictures or illustration, if at all. This piece does have pictures but they really don't add to the story or give the reader anything other than a snapshot of the author's campaign at that point.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

As you can see, we have a typical campaign shot here with absolutely nothing done to the image. No cropping, altering, saturating or even resizing. What you see if what you get with this screenshot, which is adequate for illustrating the events in your story.

It's a shame really that the author makes no attempt to beautify his illustrations. I find that large and unaltered screenshots are just messy and look cheap. True to form, the story continues with more simple screen captures.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Critique
Now for the hard things that I feel need to be said. This AAR is really image heavy and story light. It started off OK, short but sweet passages of text only, that informed us of unfolding events and things happening with the fledgling empire. It began as mildly interesting and was worth the continued read, if only to find out what happens next. By the end or up to the most recent update, the semblance of story has been replaced with a multitude of images. I know that they say one picture is worth a thousand words but as a writer, you need to write your own story, not rely on pictures to tell it for you. The format of the evasive writing also changes around three times over the course of the piece, something that in my book is a big no-no for progressive content. Either edit your previous posts to reflect the new style or just stick to what you started with and be happy with that. Touching on the images, I strongly encourage the author to work on these. A little bit of cropping or resizing goes a long way in enhancing your story and fleshing out the text. Pictures should never be the focus of your piece, they should be an accompaniment only and help to illustrate to the less imaginative readers exactly what is going on.

Summary
Judged as a story, this is a mediocre AAR at best, a picture book at worst. The plot needs a lot of work, both in depth and complexity. Characters need to be explored and their backgrounds developed, readers can't know and love these people if they know nothing or next to nothing about them! As previously mentioned the images need to stop taking over the story and the writer needs to have a good think and dream up some interesting twists and turns to keep the readers interested.

Although Frederick may not have intended the story to stand by itself, I strongly encourage him to work on the issues mentioned above as they can only improve the quality and complexity of this piece. Cut down on the images and work on the sentence structure and most importantly the grammar and punctuation. In closing, worth a read, but don't expect anything from the writing beyond plain and simple.

* * *

Bit harsh maybe but I got frustrated reading this AAR. I hope I didn't let my frustration show too much in the review.

Review by Saint Nicholas

The Maharatha Confederacy
An Empire Total War AAR by Majonga

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

The Maharatha Confederacy represents the debut of another budding AARtist in the Total War Center. Our author, Majonga, is off to a strong start. It’s a refreshing piece of work – the first AAR that I’ve seen to take place in India – and one with a unique perspective.

The Maharatha Confederacy is written in the third person, in a sort of history-book style. We watch a small federation of maharajas, led by a shrewd female Minister, forge a major Asian state from the bottom up. With its documentary approach, it may or may not be your cup of tea. Whatever you do, though, don’t write it off at that; Majonga has creatively spun a prime tale of intrigue and suspense.

And I’m serious; I was on the edge of my seat on more than one occasion. The tension between major players on the Confederacy’s political scene makes for a potentially explosive account. It was the interwoven politics that impressed me the most with this story, and the defining feature of Majonga's AAR.

Another positive: Majonga is a faithful writer. He updates often, which is more than I can say for myself. As I reader, I'm sure you will appreciate the regular reports.

With that, let’s plunge into the nuts and bolts of this narrative.

Plot
At the outset of the story, we see a motley collection of warlords and aristocrats struggling to build an independent state. Their main obstacle in this effort is the Mughal Empire, which considers the Confederacy as a rebellious child that must be brought back into the family.

A strong leader is needed to lead this alliance into their uncertain future, and a strong leader they have. But not the kind of leader you would expect. Tarabai I, a female in a world of men, has climbed to the top of the Confederacy with a combination of feminine charm and cold political calculation.

She is on one hand graceful and alluring; on the other hand, a sometimes-brutal leader of Machiavellian proportions. Her prominence is due to her ability to use her natural beauty to attract men to her side – men who are so desperate to gain Tarabai’s praise that they have pledged to her their allegiance. And her enemies? Well, Tarabai’s enemies see her darker side. Some are even fed to her pet lion for amusement and as an example to others.

Tarabai, therefore, wields significant power. She holds the services of three important leaders, each one vying for her… favors. But as much as this solidifies Tarabai’s status, it can also bring her down. The jealousy that these three men hold for each other is brought to a head when one asks her hand in marriage.

She is forced to refuse, of course, because without the support of all her maharajas, she is nothing. In his bitterness, her suitor withdraws his armies, eliminating almost half of Maharatha’s military strength. Such is the vulnerability for a Confederacy; Tarabai herself has little military strength. She relies on the loyalty of her generals.

The fascinating politics continue throughout the story, as Tarabai manipulates the Confederacy by picking and choosing new leaders that rise to prominence and continue to support her rule.

This is just a taste of the intrigues and intricacies of The Maharatha Confederacy. It really sets this story apart from others. Avoiding the pitfall of making the AAR a simple game report is rather a theme of mine, so I was especially pleased to see Majonga’s success in that area. He plays the game, and uses the game, but he also takes it to a new level. His creative roleplay really makes this story.

Style
As I mentioned before, The Maharatha Confederacy is written from an historical perspective. This platform is an important factor behind Majonga’s ability to paint a realistic tale that surpasses the limits of ETW.

Also worthy of notice is Majonga’s creation of a biography for each major political character. Short and sweet, these pieces add a lot of depth and context to the story.

Similarly, Majonga started out concentrating on politics and skimming over the battlefield. The first important battle receives about 6 sentences with no screens. But Majonga was quick to improve, and his battle descriptions continue to improve as he writes. I would encourage him to continue with this trend as his AAR matures.

The general structure of his updates flow like an article. He begins by telling us the year. Next, he outlines the political situation of the Confederacy, giving us the general status of the nation, and providing some specific examples as the story continues. Next, he tells us the military situation. This includes the status of Tarabai's generals, the strategic situation, and a report on major battles that occur in that year.

I enjoy this style; it is thorough and easy to understand. This style sets Majonga apart from other AARs.

But there are definite things to improve. As I mentioned before, Majonga updates regularly. There is a downside to regular updates. It's easy to get rushed, and when that happens the plot and style suffer.

The grammar in this AAR is generally good, but slip-ups are not uncommon, and the spelling is a bit dicey in some spots. This can be solved by a good word processor. Another tip from my English teacher: read each chapter to yourself, OUT LOUD. It's amazing how much more you will notice when you read out loud.

The second side-effect of regular updates is that Majonga has to make up the story as he goes along. This AAR's structure lends itself to that method rather well (since it is an annual report), but sometimes this causes inconsistency. Majonga has to adjust his story to the flow of his campaign, which means that sometimes he has to abandon plot ideas simply because they didn't work out later on. There is more on this topic in my article for this issue, so I won't go into it here.

The balance between screenshots and text, between warfare and plot development, is always difficult to achieve. I certainly won’t claim to be an expert in that area. Majonga tends to focus on text. I definitely prefer a text-heavy AAR to an image-heavy one, and this AAR is not without screenshots, but a few more wouldn’t hurt. In battle reports, the screenshot/text ratio has changed over time. I would suggest that Majonga keep his current style, but tone down the screenshots a bit.

There is one final observation I will make as far as style/structure. In the first chapters, I noticed areas that could have used a little more forsehadowing. For example:

When news of Akurdikar's retreat to Satara reached the Mughal Commander Zulfikar Khan, who commanded the garrison of Hyderbad. He saw that the time was right. To strike the confederacy at it's heart. He marched out with 3 Dakhilis with the intention of capturing Tarabai in her capitol of Bijapur. The situation was desperate, and the Confederacy was facing total collapse.

It was a bit abrupt; I really hadn’t gotten the impression that the Confederacy was facing immediate danger until the final sentence. With a little more attention to forshadowing, Majonga could have created more suspense and interest from situations like this. This illustrates the importance of planning for the AAR.

Summary
On the whole, I found the theme and premise of The Maharatha Confederacy to be very enjoyable. It really is something new and unique, and it was a refreshing piece of work.

Majonga has really built a sturdy foundation for his story that will draw you in. But for a few grammatical fixes, and some structural aspects which are sure to improve as he continues to write, Majonga has given us a great read that I definitely recommend to you all!

Review by Ariovistus Maximus

Annals of Albion - a Casse AAR
An EB AAR by johnhughthom

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Although johnhughthom is an established author of good quality AARs, I actually decided to review this AAR for reasons of nostalgia. My own first AAR was an EB Casse campaign too, and I was curious to see how another writer would choose to tackle the subject.

The Story
Faction leader Barae is introduced as winner of an election to head the Casse Confederation. He is young and a native Briton, unlike his older rivals who remembered the expulsion of the Casse from Gaul. The Casse start with a single province in EB, the south-east corner of Britannia.

Barae marches immediately north on Ratae (modern Leicester) and assaults it. I feel somewhat jealous at this point, because when I played my own campaign in EB v1.0, I was totally unable to take Ratae by storm with my starting army.

Anyway, the gates stand invitingly open (has the Casse spy infiltrated?) and the Casse intimidate the defenders with slinger fire until they abandon the pallisade. This allows Barae's boys to march in and assume a solid defensive formation against which the best warriors of defenders proceed to break themselves. Ratae soon falls to the invader.

It is at this point we see that johnhughthom has modded his game to swap general's bodyguards from chariots to Calawre Champions (I begin to grind my teeth at this point. In my own campaign, Barae had an army full of chariots and in consequence was forced to cool his heels outside Ratae for a couple of years until the enemy came out to fight).

Clearly eager to provide material for the sagas, Barae immediately takes his reduced army to the far south-west of Britannia, fights a field battle against a superior foe, then lays siege to the settlement of Ictis (probably the island of St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall). His army is so small by this point that the defenders sally immediately. Needless to say they come to regret this decision.

Time goes by and the Casse Confederation grows in power, soon encompassing the whole of Britannia. Eventually it is so strong that it can contemplate a return to the Continent, where it will vie with the Aedui and the Arverni (and the Romani) for domination of Gaul.

The intervention in Gaul brings inter-faction politics into the story for the first time. The new Casse leader builds a pan-Celtic alliance (likely to be short-lived since Celtic rivalries are only in abeyance due to the threat of the Romani). He then proceeds to lead the reconquest of Gaul from the Romani.

The story is currently still describing the events in Gaul and the Casse are now onto their third Bren (leader) since the beginning of the AAR.

Writing
The story starts simply, Barae is a newly elected leader, unproven and eager to build a dynasty. The author gradually introduces further information about the internal workings of the Casse faction, reminding us that it is a collection of tribes and riven with potential splinter factions rather than the monolithic state presented by the game. Barae's sons will not automatically reign after him, so he is strongly motivated to increase the influence of his family until it can dictate the succession. Luckily the mechanics of the EB mod provide a helping hand here, allowing Barae to have the Druids give his eldest son an education to complement his battle skills.

Each time a major victory is achieved in Britannia, we note that the army is largely disbanded, then re-raised for the next campaign (EB's high unit maintenance costs encourage this historically realistic, behaviour). But by the time the Casse intervene in Gaul, they have had their first EB military reform and can now afford to field standing armies.

Pictures
There is a good selection picture types: close-ups showing off the EB units, panoramic battlefield views, order-of-battle pictures, character portraits, campaign events and mini-maps.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Overall, I was quite impressed with the pictures. johnhughthom goes to the trouble of cropping them and avoids showing unit-selection arrows and cursors. He also has banners switched off, which admittedly adds to the immersion, but sometimes leaves me wondering who is who. However, the most important thing about the pictures is that they support the story, well-chosen captions making the final connection with the text.

Critique and Conclusion
The writing is unadorned but effective, and not entirely devoid of incidental detail as can be seen here...

As the army prepared to move out a boy came running after them, Wait for me! He shouted. What happened, did your mummy have to put your boots on? Shouted one of Madwagyr's champions to the boy.

The boy started strolling nonchalently toward his unit, No he replied, I had to finish pleasuring your mother!

The rest of the army burst out into laughter at this boy of only fourteen or fifteen summers talking to a full grown champion in such a manner. The man moved angrily toward the boy, No, said Madwagyr. Take your anger out on the enemy.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

This AAR is nicely balanced between story and gameplay. I believe johnhughthom's primary intention was to convey the feeling of playing an EB campaign, with the story serving as a supporting device - added for the purpose of deepening the whole experience. With this objective in mind, johnhughthom keeps the story focussed on the campaign, using just the game characters (and a few ancillaries) and avoiding complicated side-plots. I'm sure that he could have written a more elaborate story had he wanted to.

In my view johnhughthom has achieved his goals handsomely. The AAR has certainly brought back fond memories of my own Casse campaigns, and I look forward with pleasure not just to the conclusion of this story, but also to the commencement of future projects.

Review by Juvenal

Article Section

Planning Your AAR

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Hi there! Last issue, I gave some thoughts on how people tend to cling to games as they write AARs. This habit, which does take practice to overcome, really limits your writing potential. But I won’t rehash that here. Now that we’ve talked about one of the more prevalent hang-ups in plot development, let’s talk about something that will make your story better.

Planning is an essential element of a good story, and one that is tied to your ability to bend the game to your will, so to speak. If your story simply reflects the game, as discussed in the last issue, then your story will revolve around in-game events. If that’s the case, you certainly can’t plan what you don’t know.

Why is planning important? Planning has a major effect upon the story’s flow. I’m sure every writer can remember a time when he had a BRILLIANT idea – but it came too late to fit into the story. Usually, you can’t just inject a major character or development into the story; an important development requires foreshadowing and build-up to make any sense.

So suppose that you’re writing a story about a medieval kingdom. For the last few chapters, you’ve been developing a nobleman who is plotting to seize the throne. Then, one day, you have a magnificent idea! The King will die of a serious illness, leaving the crown within your character’s grasp.

You go to your computer and write it up. Bam! The King died of the plague!

But… since when was there a plague running through the land? And who knew the King had it? And why is that important again?

It might have been a clever idea, but it came so suddenly that it merely interrupts your storyline. It would flow much better if you had planned it from the beginning, or at least looked a few chapters ahead.

And that’s a pretty simplistic example, but you get the idea. It’s happened to me many times, that I wanted to add a neat piece of information, but I couldn’t because it would be too abrupt to make any sense.

There is one other issue that arises from lack of planning. If you are writing an AAR involving your game campaign, you have to be prepared for the AI. They do some pretty bizarre things, but if you have your story planned out, you can avoid those problems. Otherwise, the AI will mess up your plotline, you’ll have to rush to fit their move into the story, and it will all come across as a game play-by-play, which isn’t especially interesting.

That’s why it’s important to reflect on your story idea before you actually begin. What is your story’s focal point? From what point of view will you write? Where and when will the story take place? What is the theme of your story?

For each person, the answers to those questions will be different. But planning your story will enhance each of them. There are a few ways to plan your story.

Before you begin, you should know more than the faction, perspective, and setting of your story. You should have at least an outline of how you want the story to proceed. This will vastly improve your story’s flow. For myself, I found that letting my ideas sit in the back of my mind for a few days was quite helpful. I’d toss around different ideas from time to time, until my AAR gradually came together.

Another method is to write a few chapters ahead. That is, write up several chapters before you begin to post them online, and try to keep a few ahead. Often your train of thought as you write a story will give you all kinds of ideas. If you are writing ahead, you will still have time to implement your ideas in previous chapters, and the story will flow perfectly.

A third thing that can be of great help is to read other people’s work. Certainly you don’t want to copy anything, but I’ve found that reading other AAR’s has helped me understand the nuts and bolts of AARtistry. Other AARs can teach you a lot about plot and character development, style, and form.

Now, I know it can be tough to keep up on these things; especially writing a few chapters ahead. I wouldn’t think of it as a strict regimen to which you MUST adhere; it’s just a few points that can help you, especially as you start out.

If you keep in mind the importance of planning and act accordingly, you will be rewarded with a seamless product. And it just gets better; that’s what makes writing fun!

Ariovistus Maximus

A Fresh Look at Factions

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Always when I read tips on how to do an AAR I see that the most common advice that is given is usually in the form of storytelling. Rarely I see tips on how to create different scenarios with different factions! You can’t remake the Roman Empire with the Russians for example, just as strange it is to see how the Moors land in the Crimea and attack the Russians. Okay, you can make an AAR about that but somehow it seems unnatural.

So in this piece some advice for the budding AARtists on how to create a pleasant-to-read AAR with the starting factions.

England
In my opinion the easiest faction in the game. You start out quite solid on your island and you are far more advanced than your neighbours to the north: The Scots. The French rarely attack you on your homeland when Caen is abandoned so only the Scots pose a threat early game.

Scenario 1: What I enjoy the most during an English campaign is to batter those Scots. I always fake that I’m fighting William Wallace(yes, braveheart was one of those movies that changed my view dramatically). An arrow fired by a beautiful longbow that ends up in a Scottish behind just makes my day. So I would ask you to put yourself in the role of Edward Longshanks and play the tyrant of the Scottish rebellion. I prefer to read a story from an evil character’s perspective rather than from a saint’s.

For this scenario to succeed you need a mod that gives the Scots more provinces(those two that vanilla gives them don’t really give them an edge do they

). I would suggest the Britannia campaign of the Kingdoms expansion. It gives a large amount of provinces to the Scots so it makes the whole a little bit more interesting.

Scenario 2: Remake the hundred years war! The epic struggle between England and France over the French crown. The English longbow versus the French knight. What more pleasure can it give you to see how your archers impale the knights with their stakes. Plus it has come to my attention that many people can relate to the hundred years war and that they somehow always love to see how the English and the French are fighting each other. I guess it could be because of Monty python but I’m not sure about that.

For this scenario you need a fairly large amount of provinces on both sides. Both to lengthen the campaign a bit and to give both sides some more troop producing centers. The mod I would recommend is le guerre de cent ans/The hundred years war mod, the title is self explanatory I think.

France
This campaign is somewhat harder than the English campaign but for the “noobs” under us doable. You have to overcome a fierce Milan, a sleeping giant in the form of the Holy Roman Empire, the Vikings who enjoy to seek warmer climates and of course those tea drinking nitwits from the other side of the channel.

Scenario 1: History tells us that the only successful crusade was in command of a few Franks. Why not follow in their footsteps? Assemble a weak army(that crusader army really didn’t existed of knights in shiny armor like CA wants to make us believe) of some spear militias and early sergeants with the support of a few knights and move over land to the holy land. Led by a youngster(he needs to survive the trip). On the way they have to overcome famine and the possible pagan tribes that live so isolated that the papacy has no influence on them! It’s upon you to convert them! When you arrive in the holy land you can smash the heads of those other heathens and carve out your own little crusader state.

Though this can work with the vanilla game I really don’t like early French army that is presented there. I would recommend the mod Bellum Crucis 5 with the English translation. It gives all factions a new and beautiful look and there is one more Muslim state you can convert

Scenario 2: Since we’ve already talked about reliving the 100 years war, why not relive the glorious empire of Napoleon? Yes I know muskets weren’t really the thing of a eleventh century knight but what the hell. Storming the Russians with knights can be just as fun.

Again I would propose the Bellum Crucis 5 mod, for exactly the same reason. But instead of the extra Muslim state you now have an extra Russian faction you can kill.

The Holy Roman Empire
Ah yes, the Germans. The hardest starting campaign in my opinion. You are surrounded by a lot of factions and they all want your head. It’s upon you to make it a little bit harder for them to get it. You do get the coolest looking unit of vanilla in my opinion: The Gothic Knights, but there is tough road ahead before you get access to those monsters.

Scenario 1: Relive the investiture battle with the papacy. Just invade Italy and tell that priest who’s boss. In the meantime you make sure that the rebellious city states of Milan and Venice are again firmly under your control as they should be. When you are again emperor of Rome you can turn you attention eastwards(like any proper descendant of Otto the Great would do) and begin to convert those unholy bastards of Hungary.

I would recommend the Bellum Crucis 5 mod, it gives Italy a few extra provinces which will make the Italian campaign a little bit more lasting.

Scenario 2: I always like to remake a first world war like situation. I fortify the entire northern border of Belgium and attack the French, in the meantime I go eastwards and pulverize the Slavs. All for the glory of the REICH!

Any mod with central Europe will do for this one

Spain
Home of the legendary bull fighters and exceptionally rich football clubs. But also a very rich history. From the Reconquista to the Spanish colonization of Africa, everything can be turned in to a pleasant AAR. Only you need to make sure that you keep an eye out for any potential backstabber in the form of France, the Moors or Portugal when you take on one of your neighbours.

Scenario 1: Relive the freeing of Iberia from the Muslim hold of Granada. Take command of the Spanish forces and drive them away to their homeland.

A good mod for this is again Bellum Crucis 5, it gives the Spaniards a new unit roster and gives Iberia some more provinces to conquer

Scenario 2: Make the foundations of the later Spanish empire. Conquer all of northern Africa and all the isles in the Mediterranean and build yourself a nice trade empire. All of the trade through the inner sea must go through you! And when you are far enough to witness the finding of the new world, go there and smash the heads of the Aztec Jaguars.

Stainless Steel is a good mod this one, it gives northern Africa a lot more coastal provinces who are all in the hands of the Moors, which should make the campaign a little bit more difficult.

Venice
Ah yes, the greatest traitors in history with their fourth crusade. I really don’t like them but you shouldn’t be affected by that. They do have an excellent unit roster. Their Venetian infantry is a very strong and solid infantry type and mounted crossbowmen are in my opinion more dangerous than mounted archers.

Scenario 1: I can’t get it over my heart but what you can do is go historically! Go the way of the 13th century crusaders and end up in Constantinople. Here you establish a new empire and you defend yourself against the enraged Greeks(note: you have to strengthen the Romans a bit to make them stronger and longer lasting)

For this scenario I would recommend the Bellum Crucis 5 mod, you will be encountering Roman units quite a lot in this scenario and I think that the BC 5 mod portrays their soldiers exceptionally well. The extra units that Venice receives aren’t ugly either. I can’t remember their names but some of their later units are truly magnificent, I would recommend you go pay them a visit.

Scenario 2: probably the same as the second scenario of Spain. Colonize the battered Roman empire and take hold of even more. Go to the Crimea and expand there. Trouble those pesky Milanese who always seem to do exactly what you are doing. This can’t be tolerated! You want the monopoly. Don’t forget to fight the Milanese wars in the Italian peninsula to, it’s from here that they launch the raids to hurt you.

Again I would say go for the Bellum Crucis 5 mod. The Venetian units are just so beautiful. I just can’t think of any other reason to pick this mod.

I hope I’ve helped the new authors amongst us with this and I hope you’ve enjoyed my little effort.

Kallum von Döbeln

From the Editor's Desk

Well there it is. Despite our best efforts we can still only cover a tiny part of that abundant cornucopia which is the TWC creative writing forums. Every time I look through them I find fresh AARs and new groups of fans springing up around them. Even if the AARs are not all candidates for the Booker Prize, they nevertheless represent that most wonderful and precious commodity... Creativity!

We hope that these reviews will inspire you to go to the AAR forums and read for yourself. There really is something for everyone out there! But before you do, please pause to rep the authors of any reviews you particularly liked.

So, farewell then... 'till the next Issue.

Juvenal

**Solid Snake** · February 04, 2010, 08:59 PM

Splendiferous!

**ReD_OcToBeR** · February 06, 2010, 08:18 PM

Not bad at all. Can't believe there is no other comments besides me and jericho

and indeed i also like Annals of Albion. The fine details of photo cropping and NO green arrows etc, really brings professionalism, care and realism. I personally know that it is hard work and takes alot of time to finish up these fine details that a reader may take for granted at a glance, with doing my own AAR. I may go as far to say that sometimes bad pictures can overshadow one's writing in some situations.

**husker9.2** · February 06, 2010, 11:08 PM

Great stuff as always guys!

**userstupidname** · February 07, 2010, 10:49 AM

great work

**Parzival2211** · February 07, 2010, 07:23 PM

Good job guys!

**Kallum** · February 08, 2010, 10:54 AM

finally it is here

! looks good Juve

**johnhughthom** · February 08, 2010, 08:26 PM

Originally Posted by Juvenal

Although johnhughthom is an established author of good quality AARs

Wow, thank you.

I always worried that I have started too many AARs (I always seem to run into technical issues, Annals of Albion is my longest in terms of campaign time) and people think "Not another one..." By the way Juvenal, I wouldn't be confident of taking a city with the starting Casse troops if I had chariot generals either!

And thanks ReD_OcToBeR, I too find arrows, markers and banners jarring in other AARs and feel the time spent on good shots is worth it.

Nice issue, I always enjoy reading it and didn't expect one of mine to be reviewed as they never last long enough.

**Majonga** · February 10, 2010, 11:29 AM

I am still pretty new to this site, so it's really quite an honour for my AAR to be reviewed so soon. I personally thanked Ariovistus for his review, it and he have been really helpful is pointing out how I can improve the AAR, I'm also pretty glad that my attempts to build a political picture are apparently working out. Thanks to the CQ team for including a review of my AAR, come down, give it a read and tell me what you think:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...=306402&page=1

**Dave Strider** · February 10, 2010, 02:49 PM

Well, that certainly was a good lesson for me. But, About the picture cropping, I just really...don't know hoiw to do so. I'm not a tech wiz and I'm only 13, so I just use the pictures as I take them. But I will try to work on these issues, it may not be in this AAR, but it might be in my next one. For now my AAR has been a switch up between a LOL AAR and a serious, Military orientated AAR. But, I'm just glad to have had an AAR of mine reviewed! Thanks guys.

**Major Darling** · February 11, 2010, 01:32 AM

Hurrah!

**Skantarios** · March 24, 2010, 08:37 PM

Excellent work. I especially enjoyed the section on planning your AAR. Makes me wish I had consulted this before starting on my own AAR.

Keep up the great. Looking forward to the next one.

**Nanny de Bodemloze** · March 25, 2010, 02:52 PM

I liked the AAR reviews...I particularly liked how the reviews, when touching upon "negative" aspects that were stylistic in nature, did not come across as heavy handed. Indeed, many times the "negative" was expressed in terms of stylistic preference, rather than speaking in absolutes (an AAR must have etc etc.). Each reviewer put their personal preferences and biases on the table, transparent for all, which allowed me the reader to assess whether or not that AAR may be fun for me to read, based on my preferences. A deft balancing act.

Also, this opened my eyes to some stories I've missed out on.

Cheers everyone, and well done.

The Nanny

**Ratbag** · March 26, 2010, 04:44 PM

How come the CQ is no longer bi-weekly?
If there is a shortage on writers just gimme a ring, if you want.

Thread: The Critic's Quill: Issue 16

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