The year in 1187, Guy de lusignon has lost a great battle near Hattin and the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem is broken. Most of the nobility of the kingdom was taken prisoner, including King Guy, and throughout the summer Saladin quickly overran the kingdom. By mid-September, Saladin had taken Acre, Nablus, Jaffa, Toron, Sidon, Beirut, and Ascalon. The survivors of the battle and other refugees fled to Tyre, the only city able to hold out against Saladin, due to the fortuitous arrival of Conrad of Montferrat.
In Tyre, Balian of Ibelin had asked Saladin for safe passage to Jerusalem in order to retrieve his wife Maria Comnena and their family. Saladin granted his request, provided that Balian not take up arms against him and not remain in Jerusalem for more than one day; however, upon arrival in the holy city, Patriarch Heraclius, Queen Sibylla, and the rest of the inhabitants begged him to take charge of the defense of the city. Heraclius, who argued that he must stay for the sake of Christianity, offered to absolve him of the oath, and Balian agreed.
He sent word of his decision to Saladin at Ascalon, via a deputation of burgesses, who rejected the sultan's proposals for a negotiated surrender of Jerusalem; however, Saladin arranged for an escort to accompany Maria, their children, and all their household to Tripoli. As the highest ranking lord remaining in Jerusalem, according to the chronicler Ibn al-Athir, Balian is seen by the Muslims as holding a rank "more or less equal to that of a king."
The situation is dire, the city is filled with refugees fleeing Saladin's conquests, with more arriving daily. There are fewer than fourteen knights in the whole city, yet it is being prepared for the inevitable siege by storing food and money. The armies of Syria and Egypt assembled under Saladin, and after a brief and unsuccessful siege of Tyre, the sultan has now arrived outside Jerusalem on September 20.
In this game, players will have the opportunity to join one of several Crusading orders. These decisions will affect the missions, and thus play styles, you will be presented with.
Spoiler for Knights Hospitaller:
The monastic hospitaller order was founded following the First Crusade by the Blessed Gerard, whose role as founder was confirmed by a Papal bull of Pope Paschal II in 1113.[2] Gerard acquired territory and revenues for his order throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond. His successor, Raymond du Puy de Provence, established the first significant Hospitaller infirmary near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Initially the group cared for pilgrims in Jerusalem, but the order soon extended to providing pilgrims with an armed escort, which soon grew into a substantial force.
The Hospitallers and the Knights Templar, formed in 1119, became the most powerful Christian groups in the area. The order came to distinguish itself in battle with the Muslims, its soldiers wearing a black surcoat with a white cross. The Order's practice of acting first and legislating later is epitomised by the fact that it was not until 1248 that the pope, Innocent IV (1243–54), approved a standard military dress for the Hospitallers to be worn in battle. Instead of a closed cape over their armor (which restricted their movements) they should wear a red surcoat with a white cross emblazoned on it.
By the mid-12th century, the order was clearly divided into military brothers and those who worked with the sick. It was still a religious order and had privileges granted by the Papacy; for example, the order was exempt from all authority save that of the Pope, and it paid no tithes and was allowed its own religious buildings. Many of the more substantial Christian fortifications in the Holy Land were built by the Templars and the Hospitallers. At the height of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Hospitallers held seven great forts and 140 other estates in the area. The two largest of these, their bases of power in the Kingdom and in the Principality of Antioch, were the Krak des Chevaliers and Margat in Syria. The property of the Order was divided into priories, subdivided into bailiwicks, which in turn were divided into commandries. Frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor, pledged his protection to the Knights of St. John in a charter of privileges granted in 1185.
As early as the late-12th century the order had begun to achieve recognition in the Kingdom of England and Duchy of Normandy. As a result, buildings such as St John's Jerusalem in England were built on land donated to the order by local nobility.
Joining the hospitallers will grant you extra levies (more people will choose to follow) as well as a chance to attempt to mend NPC's wounds and your own wounds will tend to not develop into something more serious
Spoiler for Knights Templar:
Around 1119, the French knight Hugues de Payens approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem with the proposal of creating a monastic order for the protection of these pilgrims. King Baldwin agreed to the request, and granted space for a headquarters in a wing of the royal palace on the Temple Mount, in the captured Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Temple Mount had a mystique because it was above what was believed to be the ruins of the Temple of Solomon. The Crusaders therefore referred to the Al Aqsa Mosque as Solomon's Temple, and it was from this location that the new Order took the name of Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or "Templar" knights. The Order, with about nine knights including Godfrey de Saint-Omer and André de Montbard, had few financial resources and relied on donations to survive. Their emblem was of two knights riding on a single horse, emphasizing the Order's poverty.
The Templars' impoverished status did not last long. They had a powerful advocate in Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading Church figure and a nephew of André de Montbard, one of the founding knights. Bernard spoke and wrote persuasively on their behalf, and in 1129 at the Council of Troyes the Order was officially endorsed by the Church. With this formal blessing, the Templars became a favored charity throughout Christendom, receiving money, land, businesses, and noble-born sons from families who were eager to help with the fight in the Holy Land. Another major benefit came in 1139, when Pope Innocent II's papal bull Omne Datum Optimum exempted the Order from obedience to local laws. This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely through all borders, were not required to pay any taxes, and were exempt from all authority except that of the pope.
With its clear mission and ample resources, the Order grew rapidly. Templars were often the advance force in key battles of the Crusades, as the heavily armoured knights on their warhorses would set out to charge at the enemy, in an attempt to break opposition lines. One of their most famous victories was in 1177 during the Battle of Montgisard, where some 500 Templar knights helped several thousand infantry to defeat Saladin's army of more than 26,000 soldiers.
Although the primary mission of the Order was military, relatively few members were combatants. The others acted in support positions to assist the knights and to manage the financial infrastructure. The Templar Order, though its members were sworn to individual poverty, was given control of wealth beyond direct donations. A nobleman who was interested in participating in the Crusades might place all his assets under Templar management while he was away. Accumulating wealth in this manner throughout Christendom and the Outremer, the Order in 1150 began generating letters of credit for pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land: pilgrims deposited their valuables with a local Templar preceptory before embarking, received a document indicating the value of their deposit, then used that document upon arrival in the Holy Land to retrieve their funds. This innovative arrangement was an early form of banking, and may have been the first formal system to support the use of cheques; it improved the safety of pilgrims by making them less attractive targets for thieves, and also contributed to the Templar coffers.
Based on this mix of donations and business dealing, the Templars established financial networks across the whole of Christendom. They acquired large tracts of land, both in Europe and the Middle East; they bought and managed farms and vineyards; they built churches and castles; they were involved in manufacturing, import and export; they had their own fleet of ships; and at one point they even owned the entire island of Cyprus.
In the mid-12th century, the tide began to turn in the Crusades. The Muslim world had become more united under effective leaders such as Saladin, and dissension arose among Christian factions in and concerning the Holy Land. The Knights Templar were occasionally at odds with the two other Christian military orders, the Knights Hospitaller and the Teutonic Knights, and decades of internecine feuds weakened Christian positions, politically and militarily. After the Templars were involved in several unsuccessful campaigns, including the pivotal Battle of the Horns of Hattin.
Joining the Knights Templar will grant you 200 gold bonus which doubles for each level of salary, as well as better prices at the blacksmith.
This is the big one. Character format should now look like this:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
(insert pic here, if you want)
Name:
Gender:
Date of birth & Age: (keep your age updated every turn BTW)
Liege: (if you're serving a particular Knight or noble) Order: (if you are Hospitaller or Templar) Noble titles: (only if you have them) Rank: (If you're in the military) Banner: (If you're a noble, regardless of rank you're entitled to a coat of arms - you might want to spoiler it, though)
Ethnicity: Religion: Occupation:
Biography: (I want to see at least one paragraph, five sentences minimum. Anything shorter will be rejected immediately. The longer, the better - usually, at least) Money: (Keep track of this, a lot. I cannot stress the importance of making sure your bank account is up to date in this game, where personal funds will be extremely important)
However, your Ethnicity, Religion and Social Background will all play a major role in shaping both your character and his future; they will determine your likeliest supporters and enemies, as well as the beliefs he should support if you want to stay in-character (which you should ).
Ethnic backgrounds and their effects:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
English: You are either a low-born from the relatively recently conquered Kingdom of England or perhaps of a bit higher blood from another court or possibly you are a Norman. Perhaps a younger son of a noble or knight, or maybe a more simple Norman from one of the areas of Norman influence in England. Whatever your vocation, you are of Kingdom of England. You will most likely find your brethren in the Knights Templar, or in time, may choose to fight with your King, should he decide to invest in saving the portions of the Crusaders states that are left.
Frankish: You are a Frank, of the same ethnicity of many of the Jerusalem nobility. Be you first or second generation within the Holy Land or a new arrival from France, you will likely find more men of similar background within the Knights Hospitaller, but neither will you be a stranger within the Templars.
German: You are a German, and no matter where from the Holy roman Empire you are from, you are still by and large in the minority of the crusaders. That is not to say you will not find brothers in both of the large orders, however, but you are likely where you are either due to birth and descendency of an earlier Crusader from the Holy Roman Empire, or attempting to find God's grace in the Holy Land.
Italian: You are from the staging point of the Crusades, be it a true Italian, or Norman, part of the conquerors of Southern Italy and the Kingdom of Sicily. Whichever part you are from, or if you are descended from an earlier crusader who took a local wife, you are an Italian and will likely find brothers in the Knights Hospitaller.
Eastern Christian: You are from the East, be you coptic, Armenian, etc. You wish to maintain the Holy Land as a place for Christians. You are likely low born, and possibly have just picked up a sword for the first time in defense of Jerusalem. Whatever your reason for fighting for the Crusaders, you are a Christian of Eastern origins.
If the country of origin you want isn't on that list, PM me and I'll decide whether or not to give you the OK. I will accept only two Foreigner characters, so make sure to send me your char profile as well.
The available religious backgrounds:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Catholic - You are part of the Roman Catholic Church or other Churches in full communion with the See of Rome
Orthodox - You are part of the Eastern Orthodox (officially Orthodox Catholic) Church
And the available Occupations:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The following can be used by any player regardless of his location in :
Courtier/Nobleman: You are likely the unwanted son of a minor noble, coming to the Holy land to seek fortune and perhaps a position of nobility in lands captured from the Saracens. Or perhaps once, you were a proud aristocrat in a foreign land, but for whatever reason you have lost it all - your fortune, your estates, and your glory. either way, you seek God's favor in the Holy Land. You may also have been raised to a higher status to watch over lands conquered by the crusades, and guard them against attack.
Clergyman: You are a member of the clergy. You can be a Catholic bishop, Protestant preacher, Muslim imam, etc. but one thing about your position is that it means people listen to you. You hold a traditionally deeply respected position in the social order, and in the case of Catholic clergy you actually get quite a bit of money out of the orders you are part of. Your holy vocations does not mean, however, that you are not expected to fight against the Saracen, and your duties in combat range from fighting, to inspiring your fellow soldiers.
Knight: You are a military man, though your experience can range from several battle honors won for 'unsurpassed valor' and such, to just being lucky enough not to march to Hattin. No one will start out as a knight, but rather the honor must be bestowed upon you through displays of valor and skill, or bootlicking. Either way, you are expected to pay for your own equipment, but you are allowed to raise bands of soldiers to serve under you, as well as be able to foray independently from your 'base'. While you may still look to the order to which you belong for assignments, you are allowed to carry out different ones by your own free will.
Turcopolier You are a Eastern commander of mercenaries, mostly turcopoles, and are for all intents and purposes a knight. Of course you do not have the same societal position as a Knight, you still outrank ordinary Sergeants, even of western origins, and hold an important position within the order.
Soldier: You are a foot slogger. Perhaps not though, you may also be a sergeant of the horse, either way, you are born lower than Knights, but that does not mean that you may not be knighted, in fact, that is what you likely aspire to be, though your chances are best if you are of Northern European origins. This does not mean that you will not lead men, just that they will not be raised or paid for by you, so if they are lost, then you had better have a good excuse. There are three different paths one may take as a soldier, and they will be elaborated upon later.
And the Military Ranks, they are fairly simple, and comprise three sort of paths, one of which is only available to those of Eastern origins.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Levy - You are a peasant, dirt poor and overall unpaid for your services in the military. The only way you can increase your position is through bravery in fighting, or possibly a decent haul from looting. One can choose to start at this position, and from here may choose to go the route of a Turcopole or a Man at arms.
Salary of nothing
Equipment: None, must be bought with starting money.
Foot Man at Arms - You are soldier of foot, carrying spear, sword, and/or shield. You comprise the majority of the crusading armies. This is one of the starting positions that are possible for soldiers.
Salary of 1000 every turn
Equipped with:
Medium Armor
Medium Shield
Light Sword
Light Spear or Light bow
Horse Man at Arms - You are a horseman, equipped with a steed and steel, you comprise a smaller majority of the Crusading armies, but you are more mobile and deadly than your foot counterparts, but only when engaging on the flanks of unprepared infantry. This is one of the possible starting ranks for soldiers.
Salary of 1000 every turn.
Equipped with:
Medium Horse
Medium Armor
Light Shield
Light Lance
Light Sword
Squire - While some Men at Arms may be directly knighted, others who still prove their worth may be made squires, assistants to knights who may not only look to their order for assignments, but also to their 'Liege knight'
Salary of 2000 every turn.
Extra Equipment must be purchased or granted by your Liege Knight.
Turcopole - Available only to Easter Christians, Turcopoles are light cavalry, the turcopoles employed by the crusader states were not necessarily Turkish or mixed-race mercenaries, but many were probably recruited from Christianized Seljuqs, or from Syrian Eastern Orthodox Christians under crusader rule. In the Holy Land, turcopoles were more lightly armoured than the knights and sergeants (mounted men at arms), being armed with lances and bows to help combat the more mobile Muslim forces. The turcopoles served as light cavalry providing skirmishers, scouts, and mounted archers, and sometimes rode as a second line in a charge, to back up the Frankish knights and sergeants. Turcopoles had lighter and faster horses than the western mounted troops and wore much lighter armour. Usually this comprised only a quilted aketon or jerkin and a conical steel helmet. This is one of the starting positions.
Salary - 1000 every turn
Equipment:
Light Horse
Light Armor
Light Lance
Light Bow
Ranks of nobility
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Duke: You have at least 5 holdings of which you are overall lord. +17,000 to Personal Funds/turn.
Count: You have more than one holding in your demense. +10,000 to Personal Funds/turn.
Baron: You have one Castle or city in your demense. +7,000 to Personal Funds/turn.
Knight/Turcopolier: You have been knighted, either by your order, or by a noble who has taken a fancy to your work. +5,000 to Personal Funds/turn.
Courtier: you are not landed, but still of a minor nobility, this is the starting rank of all members who go the courtier path. Note that you are not a knight, however you still recieve a stipend from very minor businesses and the like. +500/turn
Intrigue relies heavily on RP. You can technically jump into a conspiracy at any given time, but it's generally advisable to try to learn a few things about the plot's ultimate objective and the true nature of your co-conspirators, lest you end up being used and discarded as an unwitting pawn. Once you have agreed to help some conspirators achieve a goal, you'll be given a number of tasks, ranging from simple message delivery to blackmail to assassination. You can, of course, switch sides or desert your co-conspirators at any time - or even better, to manipulate them and their conspiracy to your ends - but you'll have to do everything in your power to keep your plans under wraps, as your 'friends' will not be the least bit pleased to find out that you're deserting/betraying/manipulating them. The more powerful they are, the more likely they'll find out, and the harsher their retribution will be.
Your co-conspirators may not tell you everything at the beginning - you'll have to do some tasks for them to gain their trust, at which point they may start letting you in on the true nature of their plans little by little. Alternatively, you can go behind their backs and search their offices for records of their plans, but again, if you are caught your 'friends' will not be happy with you at all.
If you've already gained the trust of a conspirator, they may invite you to assist them with their plot without any prodding from you.
You can start your own conspiracy, just send me a PM with your plans and ultimate objective. After that, try to rope in as many allies as you can, and try to keep your plans organized and your missions plausible (so for example, don't send guys out to kill the Emperor by hiding lit bombs in their hats).
Remember this: trust nobody at their word, especially those conspirators who already wield tremendous power and are out to get more. Even men and women who are otherwise your friends may keep secrets from you, or outright lie to and manipulate you for their own ends.
You may also utilize spies and assasins detailed later, but they are less fun
Spoiler for Some RP tips:
1. Respect your social superiors, or at least pretend to. No matter how tempted you may be to punch an arrogant noble in the jaw, unless you are of equal or higher stature in the Peerage such an act is an extremely bad idea and will get you beaten black and blue by their bodyguards at best. It's best to play it cool and try to charm/ass-kiss them into becoming your allies, or at least prevent them from becoming your enemies. On the other hand, while there's nothing stopping you from mistreating your inferiors, you shouldn't be surprised if they become a lot less helpful when you need their aid later.
2. Keep your conspiracies under wraps, and be careful who you're talking to. Even seemingly-harmless servants can feed crucial information to their masters if you're not careful about what you tell them.
3. Take the personality of each lord and lady into account. Don't try to make jokes around an extremely serious or easily angered lord, for example.
4. Violence isn't the answer to every question. Besides spilling needless blood and wasting ammo, there's also the chance that you yourself will die or get captured if you try to solve every problem with a fist to the face, a sword to the heart or a bullet to the groin. Better to to sneak around (this goes without saying if you're sent on a stealth mission) or talk your way out of problems.
5. If your boss tells you that he doesn't want to let you in on some details about his/her plan, it's not a good idea to keep pushing the point, or even worse to try to figure out the details yourself behind their backs. In the former case, they will no longer trust you and may even plot to double-cross you in the future; and if you get caught doing the latter, well - you'll be lucky if all they do is throw you into their dungeon.
"We all know whatmy brother would do. Robert would gallop up to the gates of Winterfell alone, break them with his warhammer, and ride through the rubble to slay Roose Bolton with his left hand and the Bastard with his right. I am not Robert. But we will march, and we will free Winterfell or die in the attempt."
And I shall be paying homage to M2TW by being a random Polish knight, because for some reason you can put an army on a fleet from England the turn before a crusade is launched, yet the Poles will always get there first.
Coming along great! Sorry I couldn't get back on Steam, by the way, I had to eat dinner then returned to find that I had lost connection and it wouldn't let me come back. :/
Proudly under the patronage of The Holy Pilgrim, the holiest of pilgrims.
At first I thought there was a problem with the Knights/Soldiers and levies, but I read over it again and it does make sense. I therefore stamp this game with my seal of approval. I await the full fleshing out of the rules.
"All warfare is based on deception. Hence: when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near." - Sun Tzu
Added nobility, it's pretty simple, but I think it will do the trick, rather than having it based off of owning individual estates that each bring in a certain amount, just having it based off number of estates is far simpler
Unfortunately yes. The biggest issue with roleplaying games such as this is that everyone wants to have a special background. This lead us to games in which barely anyone in an 1800s America IH are actually WASPS, and other such silly situations. I know if I let every possible background, we'd have knights from Spain, Byzantium, Sweden, Russia, Japan, and 0 Franks. This is especially a problem due to the relatively small playerbase. Also consider that nearly everyone here was a mercenary when it comes down to it, so having the merc occupation from RB 1810 (which we should totally do v2 of btw) makes less sense. However you can still be Anglo-Saxon (via English)
No prob. never hurts to ask, because I saw Eastern Orthodox as a religion...also, I saw mentioning of Britannia, and was wondering if this RPG is both in the Holy Lands and Britannia was a little confused?
God Wills It! A Crusades IH in 1810 RPG Style
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Originally Posted by Dan the Man
