[Info] Completed Faction Descriptions

[Ixor_Drakar]

I really like that idea, good work.

[Drtad]

Dear Drtad,

Thank you for asking my opinion.

Your write ups don’t really need any grammatical correction.

However, they strike me as a little too long and deep for the typical gamer. Has any consideration been given to creating two (2) different faction info-dumps for situations where there’s a lot of this wonderful faction history to provide? The first would be the faction description as we know it today in the current "letter to the leader formats". In addition to that, is it possible to program for a second faction briefing within a campaign game itself for that faction? Either as a faction unique historical event or “Mission Accomplished” message?

Here’s an example using Armenia - Dark Age campaign. Feel free to modify as best suits your purposes. Let me know if you’d like me to look at the remaining Armenia faction descriptions for the remaining campaigns.

All the best,
- Hauptman

I like the idea! In the end it's up to SV, so I'll just keep it as is until he makes a statement about this.

Good job.

[Drtad]

Added to the first post: High Era Turks and Aragon/Barcelona

[Drtad]

Thanks for the sticky, SV.

Sorry I haven't contributed for a little while, I've been working on testing the new High Era campaign for Chivalry Total War (Fall of the Cross, Rise of the Crescent) which is going to be released VERY soon.

Anybody have any new descriptions ready?

[codix105]

I have few but im at school there on my desktop and im on my ipod right now.

[Berbers of the Riffian]

Ah im not a moor but im bereber of morocco. your descriptions touched my heart in all of the factions you have did a great job .
And it was true but europe didnt like us because of who we were but the brittish liked us great job

[VINC.XXIII]

Welcome!

[Companion Cavalry]

I've revised the Byzantine description I wrote earlier and completed rough drafts for two new ones.


Dark Age AD 888

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

His majesty Basileus Leon VI:

Your Eastern Roman Empire stands at the crossroads of convalescence and utter ruin. Ever since the catastrophe at Hieromyax, we have been driven back from our ancient frontiers and have slowly been reduced to Thrace, Anatolia, and ever shrinking coastal swathes in Greece and Italy. But this wretched state shall continue no longer. Our last great loss, the fall of Ravenna to Liutprand's marauders, was over a century ago. Now, with our mighty nation recovering at last and our once-great enemies faltering, we will restore our rightful mastery of the Mediterranean. Not ten years ago, we lost Syracuse, the jewel of Sicily, to the infidel enemy. Your father sent our valiant navy and wrecked the Arabs' ragged ships as they sailed to Megale Hellas, yet still the Sicilian Hellenes languish under the Aghlabid yoke. Before we send a force to remove them from Sikelikon, however, we need to secure our possessions in southern Italy. A year ago the persistent Langobardoi seized our naval base at Bari. Despite our swift recapture, we ought to remain wary of future threats from Benevento. Meanwhile, the Saracen pirates of Crete raid our Aegean heartland and frustrate our best efforts to dislodge them. Need I remind you of the disaster of our last attempt under Theoktistos? You would do well to wrest control of the sea from the Saracens before attempting another expedition. We fare little better in the East, despite the tenacity of our frontiersmen. Though our brave soldiers have halted the Arab's advance and launched damaging raids into his frontier districts, they've but pricked the hide of our implacable foe. At best, it will take a concerted offensive of several grueling years and thousands of our men to consolidate Roman initiative in Syria. All the while, my lord, do not forget that the Moslems are not alone among our foes, for the Bulgars are poised to descend once more upon our holdings in Hellas and expel us from our ancient homeland. We would do well to ally with the Avaroi to alleviate the menace to our northern borders.

Your loyal servant,
Stylianos Zautzes

Early Era AD 1080

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

His majesty Alexios Komnenos,

Our empire stands one more upon the brink of total destruction. From the height of our power in the reign of Vasileios II, decades of unbridled corruption from within and careless neglect of our borders without culminated nine years ago in the catastrophe at Manzikert. I need speak little of that black day to remind you of the threat the Turks pose to our continued survival. In light of the relative stability of our western frontiers, thanks doubly to our withdrawal from Italy and our lasting conquest of Bulgaria, I strongly suggest that you forge quick alliances with the Latin states, appease them with gifts of gold if need be, and focus our attention on the main threat to the east. Retaking Anatolia will be a long and exhaustive effort, one that we will doubtlessly have to dedicate the bulk of our resources and men to, but it is absolutely essential to ensure the future of our realm. This ancient land is as much our home as Hellas itself, and our failure to recapture it would signal to the emerging western powers that we are no longer the Romaioi of old, and perhaps encourage them to take up our former role as the defender of Christianity. Imagine the filthy barbaroi, standing where we do now! We cannot allow this to happen.

Your faithful advisor,
Anna Dalassena

High Era AD 1212

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Lord Theodoros Laskaris,

Our future has never seemed bleaker. The treacherous Latins, ostensibly leading a crusade to relieve the beleaguered Christian strongholds in Syria, turned upon us and ransacked the heart of our empire and jewel of western civilization- Constantinopolis itself. Not content with this unfathomable haul of loot, the shameless barbarians partitioned our great kingdom among themselves and even now remain entrenched in our former European holdings, save for my possessions in Epeiros. The only other regions to remain under our control are parts of Anatolia, namely the western quarter under your rule, and the thin strip of land along the northern coast under Alexios, all under imminent danger from the ever-present Turks. We would do well to focus all of our remaining resources on recapturing our famed capital, for within it lies the only hope for our future. With this accomplished, the next pressing concern would be expelling the Latins from the ancient heartland of our realm. My men in Epeiros stand ready to march upon Makedonia and seize its capital Thessalonika. After you recapture the city of Constantine, I ask that you reduce the westerner’s strongholds in Thrace so that I may concentrate my efforts on recovering the Peloponnesos. As always, remain vigilant of the resurgent Bulgarian threat to our northern frontiers, both present and future. Hopefully with such a base of operations, our economy might recover and our newfound strength may enable us to drive off our foes once and for all and stand once more as the dominant power of the Balkans, ensuring our survival in the years to come.

Your partner,
Michael Doukas

[Drtad]

Updated the Dark Age Byzantines, thanks Companion Cavalry.

[SicilianVespers]

Am I ok to start adding them to the mod, or should I give more time?

[codix105]

Ya go ahead there not all done but maybe 1/3 there so sure

[Drtad]

It should be ok, go for it.

[Almogaver]

I'll just post this one here, or should I post it in the other thread?

1212 AD Crown of Aragon
With the marriage of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon in 1137 Catalonia and Aragon were effectively united. Each territory maintained its own customs and traditions but shared one common goal: to become a major power in the western Mediterranean.

I am King Pere, grandson of Ramon Berenguer and Petronilla, and I am back from defeating the Almohads at Las Navas de Tolosa along our Christian brothers of Castille, Navarre and Portugal.
With the southern frontier secured for a time, my thoughts lie now on our northern borders. The French Crusaders threaten my Languedocian vassals, they are using the Albigensian Crusade as a pretext to gain more land from my vassals the Counts of Toulouse. I have got to use this chance to expand north and fulfil the dream of my ancestors of building a transpyrenean Kingdom along our Occitan cousins.

Occitan troubadours fill my court escaping from war. I'm willing to fight for them not only for the possibility of conquest but because our ties with Toulouse and the Languedoc have always been firm and true. There is much at stake but it may be our last chance to stop the French from controlling the Languedoc.

If I should perish, let it be in the heat of battle and surrounded by most loyal knights.

[Companion Cavalry]

Two new Byzantine descriptions are finished


Early Era AD 1080

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

His majesty Alexios Komnenos,

Our empire stands one more upon the brink of total destruction. From the height of our power under the watchful gaze of Vasileios, decades of unchecked corruption within and careless neglect of our borders without by his indolent successors culminated nine years ago in the catastrophe at Manzikert. I need speak little of that black day in Roman history, and our subsequent loss of all of Anatolia apart from scattered coastal scraps, to remind you of the grave danger the Turks pose to our continued survival. Considering the relative stability of our western frontiers, thanks doubly to our withdrawal from Italy and our lasting conquest of Bulgaria, I suggest that you buy off Guiscard’s Normans, such freebooters can hardly require much of a bribe, and focus your attention on the Seljuks- the true menace to our power. The reconquest of Anatolia will be a long and costly effort, one that we will doubtlessly have to dedicate the bulk of our diminished resources and reserves of men, but it is nonetheless key to ensure the future of our people. This ancient land is as much our home as Hellas itself, and our failure to drive off the Turkish looters would signal to the emerging Latin states that we are no longer the invincible Romaioi of old, and that our role as the defender of Christianity is free for the taking. Imagine those filthy barbaroi, standing where we do now! We cannot allow this to happen. I recommend that you dedicate our surviving forces to the seizure of the enemy’s precarious and haphazardly guarded coastal possessions before pressing on to the inland cities. This will simultaneously revive many of our lost trade networks and force the Turks into the harsh and isolated interior, whereupon they will be reduced to defensive measures due to their inability to mount organized sieges on our well-supplied strongholds. Only after thorough military and economic restoration, however, should we commence our offensive and begin the final push to expel them from our former possessions entirely. I suggest hiring copious numbers of our own mounted archers to screen our offensive troops as they march through the barren Anatolian plateau, lest their endless swarms of fleet-footed horsemen catch our marching columns off guard.

Your faithful advisor,
Anna Dalassena

High Era AD 1212

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Lord Theodoros Laskaris,

Truly our nation’s fate has never seemed more bleak. Those treacherous Latin crusaders, rather than relieve their brethren in Syria, who even now are besieged on all sides and hopelessly outnumbered by the infidel enemy, turned upon the heart of Christianity itself with murderous intent blazing in their greedy eyes. After ransacking Constantinopolis for three days without end, and not content with the priceless treasures they had pillaged, the shameless Philistines tore our great kingdom asunder and partitioned it amongst themselves. Even now, eight year later, they remain entrenched in Thrace and all of Hellas save for my mountainous possessions in Epeiros. The only other regions to elude their grasp were our western Anatolian themes, under your leadership, and the cities of the Pontic coast under Alexios, all of which are under immediate threat of Turkish incursion. I nevertheless urge you to divert your mobile armies to Constantinopolis instead, where we must muster our remaining strength to retake our ancient capital before the Latins can recover from their defeat at the hands of Tsar Kaloyan. For it is within the Mother of Cities that our only hopes for a future lie. Once we have accomplished this, our next concern would be the expulsion of the remaining Franks in Hellas. I have mustered my Epeirote forces and stand ready to march upon Thessalonika and reclaim Makedonia. I ask that you, after forcing the Latins from our capital, dedicate your soldiers to reducing our enemy’s holdings in Thrace so that I may focus on retaking the Peloponnesos. As always, be vigilant of the resurgent Bulgarian menace to our northern borders, both present and future. In coming years we shall together undertake a grand Anabasis, the likes of our heroic offensives against the Arabs centuries ago, to drive the despicable barbaroi from our rightful lands once and for all, and restore Rhomania to her proper place as the leading power of Christendom.

Your partner,
Michael Doukas

P.S. These are quite fun to write. It's fascinating to imagine historical events from the perspective of the very people who lived through them.

[Drtad]

Added the new Aragon and Byzantine descriptions to the first post. Good job guys, I've been busy lately so i haven't been able to contribute, but I'll write one soon.

[Almogaver]

hey you deleted this I posted earlier

1080AD Comtat de Barcelona

Almost a century has passed since Al-Mansur raided, sacked and burned Barcelona. We didn’t receive any help from the Franks in those desperate times and my ancestor Borrell II was forced to break the last ties we had with the Frankish Kingdom.

Almost a century has passed and against all odds here we stand.

The surrounding Muslim states are weak, divided and many even pay tributes to keep us at bay. Since count Guifré I started to break away from Frankish rule 200 years ago but we have built an increasingly strong maritime power that is already being felt in the Western Mediterranean and the tributes we receive have brought the first wave of prosperity.

I am Ramon Berenguer II, count of Barcelona, and I intend to expand Catalan maritime power, subdue our Moorish neighbours and always look north for possible expansion. Will I succeed? That is only in God’s hands now.

[codix105]

ya He did that for most of my Byzantine ones I guess everyone should get there work included =) and companion cavalry it wasnt my idea I think they are like that in BC

[Drtad]

haha I keep assuming that the newer ones have better grammar corrections, I'll add Aragon 1080 to the first post...

[Ixor_Drakar]

Added my dark age Kingdom of Pamplona since no one said it was wrong or bad yet .

[codix105]

Ya a few of mine had alot of grammor problems