Results 1 to 14 of 14

Thread: Post Your Empires?

  1. #1

    Default Post Your Empires?

    I'll start...

    SCOTLAND H/H


    screencast

    The year is 1169 and Laighean of Scotland is King of Britain, a legacy left to him by his father King Etgar the Chivalrous and uncle Alaxandair the Silver Tongued.

    It is a green and pleasant land.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    A nation of trade cities with a central fortress, Nottingham, and it's capital London well defended.




    Scotland is defended from Norse raiders by the fortress of Kirkjuvagr, commanded by the King's estranged brother Alaxandair.




    Guilds
    London: Master Merchants Guild
    Dublin: Theologians Guild
    York: Master Assassins Guild
    Bristol: Explorers Guild
    Kirkjuvagr: Swordsmans Guild
    Nottingham: Woodsmans Guild
    Edinburgh: Merchants Guild
    Porto: Master Horse Breeders Guild
    Santiago de Compostela: Merchants Guild



    photo uploading websites


    Family Tree



    photo sharing




    France is the greatest power in Europe and we are allied with Denmark, Aragorn and the Crusader States. Pope Ioannes XIII of Scotland has recently launched a crusade to retake the Eternal City from Venice. We used the last crusade, against Granada, to our great advantage. The King's cousin Lulach stormed through Iberia and delivered the conquered settlements of Valencia and Mercia to our allies Aragorn. In doing so he avenged his older brother, the great general Somairle, who was slain by the Moors when assaulting Burgos 10 years before.



    This was done to support the King himself who had taken Porto some years ago and holds it still. His son, Ceallair the Chivalrous, holds the holy city of Santiago de Compostela.



    We have called a cessation of hostilities with the Moors and await to see the repercussions of their war with Ifriqiya.
    Last edited by Balor; February 08, 2016 at 06:12 PM.
    I am Balor.

  2. #2

    Icon6 Re: Post Your Empires?

    Here's a quick and dirty overview of my current campaign with England on VH/VH difficulty settings:

    The Map

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Soon I'll finish off Ifriqiya then halt my eastward expansion, and nurture an alliance with (aka bribe the sh!t out of) Egypt. They'll be my meatshield from the terrors of the desert. Once that's in place I'll conquer Norway and Denmark. The HRE are my allies and I'm pumping a lot of money into their economy so that they can beat back all the invading armies from the many hostile factions they border (aka more meatshielding). After taking Scandinavia I'll defeat the pope and exile him to Visby. After that, who knows?

    The King

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Here's one racist, tyrannical, and old-ass king.

    The Armies

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Fulcard may not be the most capable commander, nor the most dreadful or chivalrous, but he's got great hair.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Pretty strong general who is pretty loyal. Some might say his loyalty is a little weirdly obsessive...

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Heir to the throne, and in command of some damn good longbowmen and cavalry.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    The only army with catapults because they are so frustratingly slow, but the way they pulp the enemy lines is so wonderfully satisfying.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Henry had a run in with 2 large Norwegian armies, and they unsurprisingly cut apart his infantry with their super strong axe infantry. Guy should probably go retrain them.

    Financial Overview

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    So uh, how do I lower corruption?

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Top money making cities

    Rankings

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    The only dead faction I had no part in defeating is Sicily.

    Final Overview

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    And that's that! I'll post a follow up in 100 turns or so.
    Last edited by Grabbin_Megroin; February 09, 2016 at 07:29 PM.

  3. #3
    Navajo Joe's Avatar SS Forum Moderator
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    England
    Posts
    4,182

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    Guys,

    I am going to 'Sticky' this thread, it deserves that.

    Navajo Joe
    SS Forum Moderator





    'Proud to be patronised by cedric37(My Father and My Guardian)

  4. #4

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    All out dominance on the western front! I really like the army pics - is there a handy picture editor you use to make these?

    Quote Originally Posted by Grabbin_Megroin View Post



    I am Balor.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    Quote Originally Posted by Balor View Post
    All out dominance on the western front! I really like the army pics - is there a handy picture editor you use to make these?
    I just cut and pasted screenshots using the paint program huehuehue

  6. #6

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    Your grasp of technology is impressive.
    I am Balor.

  7. #7
    Lord Caim's Avatar Libertus
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Western America
    Posts
    72

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    Quote Originally Posted by Balor View Post
    Your grasp of technology is impressive.
    I LoL'd

    Could we put the empire posts in spoiler tags, so it doesnt take a million years to scroll to the bottom when we get a full page?

    My Empire, coming soon!

    Quote Originally Posted by Grabbin_Megroin
    So uh, how do I lower corruption?
    1. Move you capital to the financial center of your nation, as opposed to the geographical center. Easiest way to find out is to open the financial tab as you move your capital around to see which city gives you the highest profit. (though, this isnt lore friendly to have Paris as the capital of England)
    2. Build buildings that give a bonus to law, which also lowers corruption.
    3. Move generals with traits that increase law, trade, tax, farming, and/or mining into your rich cities.
    4. Lower Taxes
    5. Keep generals with bad traits, like corruption and alcoholism out of cities, this contributes toward corruption.
    Last edited by Lord Caim; February 09, 2016 at 05:02 PM.

  8. #8

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    Quote Originally Posted by Balor View Post
    Your grasp of technology is impressive.
    It's a little known fact that the Paint program is the most sophisticated software ever invented. The CIA, NSA, FBI, they all use Paint to conduct their day-to-day operations. Anything from photo manipulation to dictator assassination Paint will provide!

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Caim View Post
    Could we put the empire posts in spoiler tags, so it doesnt take a million years to scroll to the bottom when we get a full page?
    Sure. I'll also try moving my capital and see what happens, my generals are supposed to be stealing from my peasants, not me!

  9. #9

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    Unfortunately my Scotland campaign was plagued by a CTD and so I had to abandon it. I tried a few campaigns but just couldn't stop thinking about Scotland so I started again and took out The Obotrites early on (apparently these pagans were the cause of my CTD).


    SCOTLAND H/H (Savage AI)

    1. Beginnings


    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    In 1160 Britain is united under Scottish rule with colonies in the Baltic (the island market town of Visby) and Iberia (the fortress of Granada). We are at war with Norway and have no true allies.



    It is a green and pleasant land, a great island of market towns with a commanding and advanced central fortress at Nottingham.




    GUILDS
    London: Master Merchant's
    Nottingham: Master Woodsman's
    Bristol: Master Explorer's
    Caernarvon: Master Thieves
    Dublin: Master Theologian's
    York: Master Assassin's
    Edinburgh: Merchant's
    Inverness: Theologian's
    Granada: Master Horse Breeder's

    Britain is ruled by four noble families. The son of Alexandair mac Donnchada, Gille Éogan of Scotland, sits on the throne in London. The noble and warlike mac Sitheg clan have their power base in the north, where the great fortress Kirkjuvagr lies, and control as far south as York. They also govern our colony of Visby in the Baltic. Masters of the west, the noble and pious mac Nechtain clan rule Dublin, Caernarvon and Bristol. Born the son of a soldier but now Lord High Marshall of Scotland, Matne mac Fergusa is married to the sister of the King. He is guardian of our interests in Iberia where he holds the fortress of Granada.


    The Four Dynasties of Britain (L - R: mac Sithig, mac Donnchada, mac Fergusa, mac Nechtain)


    In 1161 Máel Petír mac Sithig died defending Visby from Norway and, while the mac Sithig's raised an army to retake the settlement, the crown raised a force to take on the expanding French empire which was a becoming a concern. A new generation of leaders was trained in war at Nottingham and in 1070 Lord Matain mac Donnchada, heir to the throne, and his bastard brother Domongairt crossed the channel. By 1073 Lord Matain had taken Ghent, Leuven and Utrecht while Domongairt garrisoned his troops at Arras to protect the channel crossing.





    In 1073 the mac Sithig clan gained the opportunity for revenge when Máel Petír's son Feradach defeated the Norwegians at York.









    We expect a fierce French counter attack in the coming years and their allies, Denmark, also threaten our borders. Looking to the future, perhaps it is time to come to terms with Norway and embrace diplomacy to try and isolate the huge French empire.

    Fin.

    Last edited by Balor; February 28, 2016 at 11:54 AM.
    I am Balor.

  10. #10
    +Marius+'s Avatar Domesticus
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Zagreb
    Posts
    2,418

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    End of the Granada Crusade(also a 100 turns without a single CTD );




    As you can see, I am playing as Scotland minding my own business up North when a Jihad was called upon Toledo and a crusade upon Granada.

    I struck a peace with England/Norway and set sail immediately with two armies.

    Basically, after a set of victories it is absolute chaos now

    Since the armies are no longer free upkeep(crusade ended) I cannot maintain the cities(Titanium is harsh with public order), two cities revolted and the Moors are counter attacking.

    Along with that, a bunch of Jihadi fullstack armies are coming in from Africa, so I built a fort at the land crossing in a hope to stop them.

    The only conquest that is currently a stable settlement is Majorca.

    Fun times ahead.

  11. #11

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    VH/VH - ENGLAND CAMPAIGN - PART II - 1288 AD

    The Map


    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    There are two reasons why I moved the Papal States to the Holy Lands; so they could beat back the Mongols, and so that in the final showdown it will be just me vs them instead of me vs the Mongols. I way prefer fighting big infantry battles over long tedious ones where I have to chase down horse archers. I've given them ~5 million florins since moving them and so far they're doing good so I think my plan will work!

    The Armies

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    I left out the king and generals stats this time because all of them are fairly unremarkable. As you can see I have a pretty standard army composition across the board except for my experimental catapult army. I have never lost a battle with these armies!

    The Garrisons

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    I have 10 of these exact garrisons, made up like this to make for quick retraining after battles. I marked the map with white squares to show where I keep them.

    Rankings

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Note how the Mongols strength was bled away over the course of ~80 turns by Novgorod and the Papal States. The Romans are down to one full stack on Cyprus, I haven't beat them yet because I have a plan for them in the future...

    Top Cities

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    I'm surprised that Thessalonica makes the most money, I would have guessed Venice or Constantinople.

    Financial Overview

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    10 million florins! The most I've ever had. I also have no idea where that merchant trade is coming from as I have zero merchants.

    Final Overview

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Stay tuned for part 3!

  12. #12

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    I have recently been able to start gaming again and have begun an 1100 Georgia campaign. Although it is not quite an empire yet, here is what has transpired so far.

    Davit of Georgia commands the young but formidable Kingdom of Georgia from the fortified city of Kutaisi. Arab and Turkish invasions, followed by Frankish Crusades have left Davit wary of a large world growing smaller by the day. Davit sought out the Roman Empire for an alliance, their only fellow Orthodox practitioner in the region. The alliance was agreed to have full military access and due to the Roman's inability to garrison the Pontus region in a manner effective to Lazican defence, the purchase of Pontus. In return, Georgia would help secure the Roman's Eastern front from further invasion and territory loss so that they could focus on the greedy Catholic vultures to the west. With the alliance agreed upon Davit engaged the Cuman-Kipchak Confederacy to the north and once again secured an uneasy alliance.

    With their northern frontier secure and the east occupied by small independent states, Davit and his soldiers marched west to secure Pontus, then pushed further into Western Anatolia conquering Chaldia, Paphlagonia, and Cappadocia. Davit the Builder decided then to consolidate his hold on the region by instituting a defensive policy, constructing the infrastructure needed to prevent a possible invasion from taking away what so many Lazican soldiers had died to conquer. Davit's next move is to track and destroy the remaining Danishmends in Cappadocia, then fulfill their duty to the Romans by conquering the Seljuks in Galatia and Lycaonia, while monitoring the powerful Armenians to the East and South.

    Figured out how to post the pic
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    [IMG][/IMG]
    Last edited by nothxIchooselife; July 31, 2016 at 12:04 PM.

  13. #13

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    The Rise of the Taronites
    Byzantine Campaign VH/VH

    You all know the history of the Komnenian Dynasty, well this starts very similar... after the death of Alexios I in 1106AD, his son Ioannes inherits the Empire and continues what his father set in motion, the reconstruction of a professional imperial army, not only able to defend the borders but with the goal of recovering all of Asia minor lost to the Turks after the battle of Manzikert.
    While Ioannes was not really a military commander, he proved to be a master strategist on the grand scheme of things, relying on his trusted lieutenants such as the Paleologos and Batatzes, he managed to recover central Asia Minor and securing the borders there as well as in the Balkans and Crimea by making long standing alliances with the 'Rus, Hungary and Georgia, this allowed the cities around the Aegean to flourish as powerful trade centres.
    However the cost of such alliances were that Trebizond would fall under the protection of the Georgians and the former Bulgarian lands bellow the Danube would pass to Arphadazi rule.
    This joint efforts with Georgians and Hungarians, achieved the expulsion of the Turks from Asia minor, a crusader hungarian army helped to garrison Ancyra for some year while the greatest Roman Strategos of the time, Theodoros Batatzes the Chivalrous, continued to push forward to Iconion, Caesarea and Sebastea(Sivas), this last one however was finally captured by the Georgians after 2 long sieges and Ioannes let them have it as he thought they deserved a reward for all their help.
    The only region that escaped the conquest, was Cilicia, those Armenians were tough to dig out, In fact both Turks and Byzantines failed to conquer them on repeated occasions and it would take an assault from the Fatimids to finally put an end to them, but we will talk about that later on.
    Some extra alliances were negotiated during the rebuild of Roman infrastructure in Asia minor, the Daughters of "Alexios Komnenos Doukas", a cousin of the emperor, were married to the Venetian Lords in an effort for avoiding an impending war as relations were deteriorating quickly, the other alliance was with the Crusader States which would be vital for staving off any further Turk incursion in the region.

    Family Tree at 1198AD


    When the Emperor returned home after the successful campaign and the restitution of Roman rule over Asia minor, he died under mysterious circumstances, the physicians said it was a natural death probably caused by some sickness caught during the war but whatever it was the terrible consequences were to unravel soon enough.

    Now remember cousin Alexios?
    He had a privileged position as he was briefly named co-emperor and guardian of Ioannes' only son, Marko Komnenos, while he was still a minor...at the death of the Emperor in 1148AD, Marko who wasn't a particularly charismatic leader was already a grown man in his 30s and it was expected he would asume the title of Basileus but his forgotten, old but cunning uncle proclaimed himself emperor on the grounds of being the guardian of Marko who he considered wasn't fit to rule. This event erupted in a civil war that obviously was taken advantage of by the various enemies of the Empire.
    The Sicilians Landed two armies in Albania and easily captured the Castle of Dyrrhachion and probably would had continued harassing south to Epireos and the Peloponnese if the Venetians hadn't intervened neutralising them quickly. At the same time the Fatimids Landed an army in Cyprus and too easily captured the Fortress of Nicosia, It would take a lot of time to recover this Island.
    The Fatimids had grown very strong and were rapidly gaining ground on the crusaders, this soon raised the alarms of the latin west who launched a full Crusade to recapture Acre, however this would mean that a lot of armies were soon to be crossing byzantine lands, specially now that Asia minor was in Christian hands. This caused a lot of troubles as 3 huge armies from the Germans, French and Poles pillaged some villages in their wake further straining the relations with the West. Soon the Venetians would be blockading byzantine ports, probably in retaliation for siding with Hungary in their conflict for the Adriatic coast or perhaps on the request of one of the throne claimants...the only good thing of this conflict would be that it finished with the life of the stubborn, old and senile "Alexios the Usurper" who foolishly tried to take Skopia only by himself and his bodyguard.

    With Alexios the Usurper dead, Marko became the undisputed Basileus of the Roman Empire, thus finishing the civil war that lasted for almost 6 years, however the damage was done, Cyprus had been lost, the navy was virtually nonexistent allowing the Venetians to blockade roman ports at will disrupting comercial activities vital to replenish the coffers, emptied after the war in Asia and the subsequent reconstruction which had been really expensive.
    Marko's rule started off badly, see he was a very weak leader at 1st, some still were saying they were better off with his uncle, even though he was a decrepit loony. However Theodoros Batatzes, no longer the Chivalrous, was instrumental in holding Asia minor under Roman rule using some harsh tactics while the "emperors" were busy killing each other, Caesarea had rebelled and after recapturing the Fortress, to Theodoros eyes there was no other solution to avoid this repeating again than to exterminate the population...

    To be continued...

    Map ca. 1159AD

  14. #14

    Default Re: Post Your Empires?

    The Rise of the Taronites
    Byzantine Campaign VH/VH
    continuation

    With Caesarea pacified and the remainder of rebels/brigands of Asia Minor defeated the situation started to look better, however Roman forces were still depleted and would have to wait some time until the new professional soldiers to be ready, meanwhile it would have to do with cheap militia which even though well armed weren't up to the task of invading Cilicia or recapturing Cyprus.
    The Crusade to recover Acre was a success and the Latins stormed the Fatimids hard enough to allow the Romans to not worry about Fatimid expansionism for a while, after the europeans returned home relations resumed and the Romans managed to receive some monetary compensation for the barbarism of the passing crusaders.
    On the Adriatic front, a truce between all parties could be attained and the Emperor even married a Venetian Noble woman bringing peace for some time.
    The following years were relatively peaceful for the Romans except for some few clashes with some Turks incursion on Georgian lands.

    When the Fatimids recovered from the previous crusade, they turned their attention to the Crusader States once more and started to badly beat them, Marko tried to help Prince Josselin of Antioch monetarily but he simple couldn't expend much without neglecting the Empire's own issues. The problem became more apparent when a Force of Egyptians landed in Cilicia and captured the Castle of Sis just before Theodoros Batatzes could finish training the new troops for doing that same thing. So he devised a plan of using a decoy, a meagre army of levy troops and militias, to cause trouble in the poorly defended Nile delta...this worked surprisingly well as the Fatimids started to pull their stronger armies back to their home land, then Theodoros assembled a small elite force that included Varangoii and Scholarii to recapture Cyprus and Cilicia, fortunately at the same time the Turks declared war to the Fatimids tangling much of their powerful forces in the levant allowing Theodoros to go further and Invade the very heartland of the Fatimids, after garrisoning both Cilicia and Cyprus with cheap militias he sailed directly to take Alexandria and Damietta which he did but in a very dishonourable way earning the nickname of the "The Profane", both settlements were sacked and their population exterminated...apparently he had developed a hatred for muslims which drove him to such barbaric acts but which were ultimately effective in bringing those regions under firm Roman rule.
    Assimilating Egypt back into the Empire after centuries of being under muslim rule was no easy task in any way, missionary priests had to be brought as well as an occupation force...cause it was certain that Fatimids would retaliate sooner or later, so Theodoros appointed himself, under the consent of Empero Marko, as Governor of the old new province of Egypt.

    When the Fatimids could muster their forces to retaliate, Emperor Marko had already rebuilt the navy and the army to sail immediately with his right hand Philippos Aschomachos, an exceptional young warrior adopted by the Palaiologos family, to aid of Theodoros who quickly lost both Cairo and Damietta and was resisting a siege in Alexandria. the relief force arrived just in time and now Theodoros while already an old man in his 60s still was a formidable leader and defeated 2 huge armies of Fatimids at banks of the Nile, after that recapturing Damietta was easy enough and earned him the title of "The Conqueror" but Cairo would remain under Fatimid control for some years until another Crusade led by Hungary's King took Gaza weakening the Fatimids enough to attempt besieging Cairo without worrying for an egyptian relief army. This all looked promising but just then the Venetians broke the fragile peace and attacked Roman lands capturing Dyrrhachion, this made Marko want to quickly finish the siege of Cairo and decided to assault the walls instead of just keep his original plan of starving out the defenders...this soon proved fatal to him, his army managed to take the city but he died struck by some arrow, this caused some anxiety to the real as he's Venetian wife only could gave him 2 daughters and no male heir, so the the Army quickly proclaimed Theodoros the Conqueror as their Emperor, who swiftly travelled to the Constantinople to assume his title and scare off any other pretender...no one dared to challenge him, he was just too respected all over the Empire and so the Batatzes became the ruling family. Askomachos accompanied Theodoros all the way back to Greece and took a medium sized force to battle the Venetians in Albania, he realized that while the garrison in Dyrrhachion was huge, both Ragusa and Scodra were practically undefended so, with some catapults he quickly took both settlements and then offered them in return to Venice if the handed back Dyrrhachion, which they accepted and once again a momentary peace could be had in the Adriatic, Askomachos would have a more important role in the years to come but we're still not there.

    Batatzes Family Tree


    So continuing with the Batatzes, Theodoros quickly named his bastard firstborn Leon of Sinop as his heir and Co-Emperor, their rule would be marked with prosperity, the province of Egypt would go from a precarious position to become a stronghold of christiendom with the construction of many places of worship and Alexandria would even become home to the Theologians guild headquarters, Symbasileus Leon the Bastard died in some unimportant battle in Asia Minor passing his position to his younger brother Michael who would reign while another Egyptian attempt to retake their homeland with the aid of a noble kurdish warrior called Salah-ad-Din...

    to be continued...

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •