While the tension was rising, Welsh generals gathered in Chester. A great battle, perhaps even battles are ahead said King Tegonwy. He was speaking confident of himself and his nation. I have full faith in Wales. This war will show our strenght and our right in the isles once again, Welsh dragon will destroy its enemies! People in the room were cheering his words, yet someone stood up and said ''But my King, we were so close to finish England! Why did we abandon our position, prize, lands our people died fighting for? Your uncle Llywelyn would never go war againts Scotland.''
''It was my uncle Llwelyn as well who lost all Wales! Who failed his people and forced generations to live in exile... If he wouldn't go war with Scotland, he would have done another mistake. Scotland pushed Baron lords to south and as a result our men died. Then Scotland started this war with Ireland and that made it 'our men died for nothing'. We could not continue our campaign againts England without the help of Ireland. Battles can be won again, one day we will be fighting againts England again. But for now, our enemy is Scotland and I see no reason why we can't strengthen our position.''
Opposing generals were silenced with Tegonwy's words. They discussed other state matters later on, but not a battle plan yet. Wales is waiting for reinforcements and good news from Ireland which will come soon.
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
Originally Posted by Der Böse Wolf
Sorry for the delay, I am on a bsuiness trip and just got back.
Before I finish my turn, I need an explanation:
Can ships who are in a besieged port bypass the siege and leave the port? Or must the ships lift the siege before being able to leave?
Thanks.
I don't see in the rules though the rule is in all hotseats I think so it should be added here as well. It wouldn't be right for ships to sail out of port if they are blockaded with a superior force.
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
Originally Posted by PeaMan
I don't see in the rules though the rule is in all hotseats I think so it should be added here as well. It wouldn't be right for ships to sail out of port if they are blockaded with a superior force.
Yes I agree, it makes sense.
But how is "superior force" defined? Number of ships or quality of ships?
If for example 4 cogs are blockading 2 Dragon ships, can the Dragon Ships bypass the 4 cogs and sail away?
Frei zu sein, bedarf ist wenig, nur wer frei ist, ist ein König.
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
Originally Posted by Der Böse Wolf
Yes I agree, it makes sense.
But how is "superior force" defined? Number of ships or quality of ships?
If for example 4 cogs are blockading 2 Dragon ships, can the Dragon Ships bypass the 4 cogs and sail away?
By superior force I think if the 2 dragon ships cant defeat the 4 cogs/lift the blockade then I would say no. Being able to sail from ports while its blockaded is a bug after all.
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
With the transfer of Lancaster to the English Throne , the Scottish forces were temporary removed of their target of that impressive stronghold , as a attack on the english throne at a time , when tensions were sky high with ireland and wales would be without merit or sense. But with the denial of this target the Scottish king gave duke Godwine free reign to move onto his new target, which was to challenge the baron alliance rebels which remained in the south. Thus began his march east and then south towards there bases , with perhaps their first target being the lightly held conisborough castle .....
The rebels had not been idle however, and two main protagonists took control of the nobles, knights and common born men , who rallied to their banner at Nottingham. The first was perhaps the older noble, Lord Geoffrey, who was the greatest in rank , and he moved out into the countryside, spending gold like water, picking up another couple of companies of the famous longbow outlaws that live in the nearby Sherwood forest, further boosting the forces the rebels had.
Likewise the second general of rank , was Godwine Lewes who had coordinated with the english throne, asking them to spare the outlaw rebels on the lands to the south, using the connections to his father.His wife, previously know as Lady Cornwall took over the running of the management of the castle, using all those skills and knowledge that had been taught to her , when she received learning from her time abroad at the french court which brought up young ladys with the newest knowledge of the day. Such skills required learning of running a estate, and the costings and figures , so Lady Lewes took over the quartermastering of Nottingham and the tax's . Some might had ill feelings at such a women of rank organizing and running the estate, but none could say the estate was'nt run well , and the troops paid, and with Lord Lewes having a small bit of temper, not many made a issue of it.
On the second day however , matters came to a head, with the rebels troops in the south raiding a small village for food, and Godwine Lewes took a small troop out , with diplomat , to make a end to this problem once and for all. Finding the rebels camp, the diplomat was sent in for the second time [he had visited them last season hoping to persuade them to join the rebels side] but was sent packing out of the rebels camp, with his expensive clothing removed and to there coarse jeering catcalls.
Three things were critical in battle , Godwine Lewes knew , one was the troops composition & numbers and the other was the experience of the general, with the last being morale. In this battlefield , Godwine resolved to improve all three of these things at once. Sending out his light horse, to harass the enemy troops and keep them busy, he moved out his heavy cavalry, mostly being owned by other rebel lords, into a position readying for a charge and waited for a moment that the enemy force was in most disarray dealing with the light horse, before he made his charge.
Finally the moment came, and he called out in loud confident voice ..
"Remember men! These scum had preyed on the villages under our protection , and as such, have betrayed any mercy we might give them! We asked them as civilized men , that they join our side or too leave , and this was rebuked with a slur on our man. {he paused for breath} So now is the time to show our mettle! There are rumours that Duke {he spat on the ground] Duke Godwine moves south to face us in battle , and will be soon within our grasp! So we must sharpen the sword! So remember! follow the plan and all will be well and i will share a cup of sack with you in the victory drinking party! But for now! Sharpen the sword by cutting down these scum!" , said Godwine Lewes , before siganlling the trumpeter to make the advance sound, and the cavalry began to move forward at the trot.
As for the rebels , they were made up from a mixture of longbowmen, hunters with shortbows , one company of spear militia and a company of knights in poor looking armour, and they were constantly harassed from the small companies of hobilars that darted out of the trees, in small squad sized comapnies on hit and run attacks denying them time to make firm battlelines. It was in this vein , when the lines of heavy horse emerged from nearby , causing them no short alarm, as the approaching heavy horse lowered their lances.
The scene was less a battle and more a massacre , as lowering the lances, the heavy horse of the shires hit the longbowmen , who had been denied time to place stakes in the ground, giving them the traditional defence of the age against heavy horse, and they more or less just provided a speed bump , as the heavy horse overran down the lightly armoured bowmen , before they hit there main foe in the knights and the spearmen.
The spearmen denied the chance to form a schitrom formation lost halfs its number in the charge, with the lances striking them down , before they could even land a blow with their spears, as the fight turned to melee as the heavy horsemen drew their swords, morning stars or maces. As for the enemy knights, some surprised fell to the lances, but most of the them survived the intial contact, their poor armour sufficient to parry the first blows of combat, as the remnants of the bowmen fled the battle in earnest.
At was at this moment , the light horsemen hobilars had remade themselfs into two companies and burst out from the trees striking the spearmen and knights in the flanks, scoring a few more casualties and causing both formations to fear about being surrounded. A few spearmen and knights realizing the fear, began to flee , and that resulted in a general rout, as the will of the defenders broke , as it became each man for himself. The light horsemen pursued those that fled, their light horses having sufficient speed to catchup, to those that fled, scoring even more kills, from the rear , as all order of the defenders had broken.
Lewes moved his helmet open and grinned at his nearby nobles , with the delight of the adrenaline and the victory they had scored , to much backslapping and cheers from the nobles, and as they began to ride back to Nottingham their tales of victory grew in the telling, but most of the men agreed that Godwine lewes was becoming much the battlefield commander of the northern shires rebels forces. On the return to nottingham, some mercenary companies of crossbowmen , offered their services to the young lord, and he took up their services, as the northern shire rebels were in desperate need of good men for the battles to come...
{Falstaff: "If I had a thousand sons, the first humane principle I would teach them should be, to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack."}
The Collins English Dictionary, the Chambers Dictionary, and the Oxford English Dictionary all derive the word "sack" from the French sec, "dry". However, the OED cannot explain the change in the vowel, and it has been suggested by others that the term is actually from the Spanish word sacar, meaning "to draw out", as in drawing out wine from a solera, which led to sacas. The word "sack" is not attested before 1530.
Sack is an antiquated wine term referring to white fortified wine imported from mainland Spain or the Canary Islands. There was sack of different origins such as:
Canary sack from the Canary Islands, Malaga sack from Málaga, Palm sack from Palma de Mallorca, and Sherris sack from Jerez de la Frontera
The term Sherris sack later gave way to sherry as the English term for fortified wine from Jerez. Since sherry is practically the only one of these wines still widely exported and consumed, "sack" is commonly but not quite correctly quoted as an old synonym for sherry.
Most sack was probably sweet, and matured in wooden barrels for a limited time. In modern terms, typical sack may have resembled cheaper versions of medium Oloroso sherry.
Today, sack is sometimes seen included in the name of some sherries, perhaps most commonly as the Williams & Humbert brand "Dry Sack".This wine was similar to another wine known as 'malmsey', made from Malvasia grapes.
The Duke of Medina Sidonia abolished taxes on export of wine from Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 1491, allowing both Spanish and foreign ships. English merchants were given preferential treatment in 1517, and distinction was upheld between second-rate wines, so-called "Bastards", and first-rate wines which were known as "Rumneys" and "Sacks". This period in time coincides with the planting of vines in the Canaries, after the Spanish all but exterminated the indigenous Guanches in the 1490s. Málaga, formerly in the Kingdom of Granada, also took to using the name sack for its wines, which were previously sold as Garnacha.
Last edited by paladinbob123; January 23, 2020 at 10:11 AM.
"War is the continuation of politics by other means." - Carl von Clausewitz
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
England
Status Quo. The south remained cold while reports, from Irish and Scottish sources, came in that an invasion of the Irish had begun in the north of Scotland. The transfer of Lancaster into Crown lands had deterred the Scottish King to advance, it seemed Alexander was not keen on renewing a war with England now that he was at war with the Irish and Welsh and Lewes liked it best so. Other more concerning news reached the Lord Protector from the hands of his son within the Northern Shires' rebellion. He spoke of Lord Godwine who in the stalemate of the southern front was given leave to deal with the rebels loyal to Henry of Lancaster's legacy, mostly concentrated near Nottingham now. Godwine Lewes appealed to his father to send support the Rebels' position in Nottinghamshire. Lewes had always had a tenious relationship with Godwine, not in the least for his abandonment of the Crown but Godwine was still his son and when blood calls, blood must answer. Lewes gathered a hastily assembled force and marched his way north to deter any invasion of Lord Godwine into allies of England's territory. Lewes hoped it would not come to any fighting but he could not abandon his son to his otherwise certain demise. Perhaps a foolish decision but he could not ignore a family cry for help.
Dangerous times were ahead and none would be able to escape them in the end, not even England, Lewes feared.
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
Gille Petair was an old, experienced Scottish Pirate, raiding the coastal villages and terrorising the local populace.
He attacked both Irish ad Scottish villages alike.
When the war in the Northern Irish sea broke out between Ireland and Scotland, Irish ships blockaded most of the Scottish islands and were roaming the area with large navies, rendering Petair's activity untenable.
After the fall of the Orkney Islands to the Irish, Arran was set under siege.
3 Elite Irish armies with artillery and multiple navies were blockading the area.
If Arran falls, the road inland will be open to the hordes or Irishmen led by Prince Magnus.
Magnus...a name which haunted the Scottish for many years, as the Norse King Magnus almost brought Scotland to its knees.
Unfortunately for the Irish, Aran was the birthplace of Gille Petair, the Wolf of the Sea, as he was known.
When he knew of the situation in Arran, Petair ditched the Jolly Roger and flew the Cross of Saint Andrew.
"Blood is thicker than water!"
Petair launched his attack on the massive Irish navies blockading the port of Arran.
When the strong Scottish navy, blocked in the port, saw the Sea Wolf attack, they were heartened and joined the in on the surprised Irish sailors who did not expect this.
The Irish had the numbers and even some gun ships, but the Scottish were defending their lands and families and fought like the sea wolves they are.
With a hii hii hoo and a hii hii hey! We're hoisting the flag to be free We will steal the show, Jolly Rogers go We are wolves of the sea Don't try to run it's all set and done There's treasure in sight We are robbing you blind I hope you don't mind We are taking it all tonight Just walk away we'll count it all Pirates will stand and the loser will fall With a hii hii hoo and a hii hii hey We're bound to be close to the sea Our captain will stand on the bridge and sing Pirates are all we can be With a hii hii hoo and a hii hii hey! We're hoisting the flag to be free We will steal the show, Jolly Rogers go We are wolves of the sea Down to the core we're coming for more With a sword close at hand We are scary and bold chest full of gold We get sealegs when sighting land The hook of our captain is looking at you There's no Peter Pan so what can you do With a hii hii hoo and a hii hii hey! We're hoisting the flag to be free We will steal the show, Jolly Rogers go We are wolves of the sea
Victory was total!
The sea around Arran was filled with shipwrecks.
Yet the battle was far from over.
Once the blockade lifted, the main Scottish navy was now free to roam and they viciously attacked the second Irish navy which was carrying reinforcements and artillery to the two army groups besieging Arran.
The sailors were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the battered Scottish ships who were supposedly blocked in the port of Arran.
It was a massacre at sea. Not a single ship nor man nor artillery piece was left.
The sea waters were filled with litter and flesh.
The momentum was now at full swing.
The Scottish navy, despite heavy losses, continued the circumnavigate around Arran and launching surprise attacks on unsuspected Irish sailors in the bay.
The result was the same.
Never has the sea around Arran been so soiled with human tragedy.
But it was not over.
A couple of retreating Irish ships were caught between the remaining Scottish navies and were utterly crushed.
Not a single Irish ship remains floating around Arran.
The few who managed to escape are out of sight.
The area was now clear for Scottish troops to massively land on Arran for the decisive battle against the two large, elite Irish armies led by Prince Magnus.
Every able-bodied scotsman within reach of the coast took up arms and made his way to the docks where the jubilant surviving Scottish sailors ferried them to Arran.
Prince Magnus, who witnessed the sea massacre from his siege camp, saw the never-ending disembarking of Scottish militia men, mercenaries, nobles, pikemen and even Welsh axemen who settled in Arran after it was gifted by the Scots to the Welsh when Wales was occupied by the English.
Those Welshmen did not forget the favour Scotland granted them and fought on their side against the invading Irish.
Magnus and his elite men fought valiantly, but they were outnumbered and cornered, with no place to run to, no ship to retreat to.
They were butchered to the last man, but not without slaying a big number of Scottish at the same time.
It was a bloody affair with terrible loss of life on both sides.
Gille Petair, the sea Wolf, hoisted Magnus' head on his mast for all to see.
The Irish were utterly crushed and the Northern Irish invasion completely annihilated.
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
Duke Godwin smiled when he heard the news that the Scottish had won at sea and even on land, happy and delighted he had chosen wisely in picking his own king ,who had prepared to defend the northern shores against a invasion. In accordance with the Scottish kings wishes he also had to report a victory abet a minor one against the northern rebels who occupied Conisborough castle, and with his vastly superior forces and cannon smashed the gate down and lead a general charge into the old castle, mainly to little defenses [the northern shires mainly retreating back to Nottingham leaving little in the way of defenders]. But a victory was a victory although there was a fly in the ointment , as the english protector [and dare i say king now?] lewes had marched eastwards with all his host, preventing a move fully against nottingham at this time.
With the english kings appearance, Duke Godwin ordered more troops to reinforce his position and thus ever moretroops marched out from Newcastle and York to reinforce the castle and the nearby ford both securing his new gains and building up for a attack on england or the northern shire rebels positions.
But nearing the end of the winter , he received a letter from Godwine lewes apparently the commander of the northern shires rebels challenging him to combat and for their forces to face each other in the summer months and he pondered over the message for a time, confident in his abilities to bring himself victory and desperate to show his worth to his new king.
{next turn if the battle takes place, i shall make a small scenario battle for these two opponents to face off in battle , as they each have very different forces - & also if the scottish king & english king allow the battle to take place depending on their own actions - thus perhaps the watchers could fight the battle themselfs as a player each...and the first to give us a result of the battle will be enacted as roleplay if they send us the replay - again this to take place if the other players permit us the time to wait a week for somebody to do it, but if nobody takes up the battle to do in that time, i will ask the admin to make a determination on the result of the battle if not done - regards PBOB}
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
Originally Posted by PeaMan
Who would of thought 11 holks and 6 cogs (+the 3 ships) could defeat 16 holks and 6 gun holks
well i admit he has been very effective with his ships..i remember a certain crusading forces sailed out, for all ships to disappear beneath the waves..i would put it down to all those Norwegian sailors being adopted into scottish shipping But it does show the risk of a coastal invasion which was then and still is ,even today ..one of the most risky military operations , a country can undertake
Last edited by paladinbob123; January 26, 2020 at 05:04 AM.
"War is the continuation of politics by other means." - Carl von Clausewitz
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
To be honest, I have been trying for a couple of turns now, to lift this damn blockade.
But the Irish navy was too strong.
This is why I asked if blockaded ships can leave port, because I could then use two navies together to get better odds.
But when the Irish left one ship free to roam, I sent to reinforce the main navy and againt unfavourable odds, got a decisive victory.
Frei zu sein, bedarf ist wenig, nur wer frei ist, ist ein König.
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
England
Tensions rise as Godwine, Lord of the Scottish Shires takes residence in Conigsbourgh, near the border with England. The Northern Shires Loyalists were making ready to march north and confront the usurper who caved in to Scottish aggression. The Lord Protector received as much in a letter from Godwine Lewes, his son. Lewes, the elder, saw a great opportunity in the actions of his son. It was risky to engage directly in combat but should Lewes, the younger, be able to kill Lord Godwine it would be a mighty blow to Scottish hegemony over northern England. The Lord Protector of England had failed to dispose of Lord Godwine before Henry of Lancaster's death and he was eager to aid his son in this endeavor. He gave his approval of the battle and that if necessary would help by any means.
Lewes also sent a message to the Scottish King that any invasion into Nottinghamshire would be met with English resistance. The Loyalists were under the protection of the English Crown and the Crown would defend them. Nottinghamshire was given in loan to the Loyalists until they were ready to reclaim their homeland. Now that they were ready England was ready to secure Nottingham when the Loyalists had marched north, to fate or their doom.
I'm all in favour for a battle of the ages to decide the Northern Shires/Scottish Shires' fate. I (Lewes, as you have read in the RP) will not oppose the battle to take place. How exactly it will be executed I don't know yet. It would be nice to fight a scenario ourselves but it might be more prudent to just have an auto-calculation do it for us. (it's more random of course) What do the rest of you think?
PS: In response of Scotland's mighty victory
'The auto-resolve giveth and the auto-resolve taketh away.'
Well done good sir.
Last edited by Turkafinwë; January 26, 2020 at 08:31 AM.
Re: [Britannia Expansion - Custom Submod] The Isles of Chaos (Roleplay Hotseat)
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Der Böse Wolf
- again this to take place if the other players permit us the time to wait a week for somebody to do it, but if nobody takes up the battle to do in that time, i will ask the admin to make a determination on the result of the battle if not done - regards PBOB}
