Derc Plays Through World History

[Turkafinwë]

Actually paused the campaign for around a month in chapter 6, then came back to continue. I'm very adamant when it comes to such things.

I usually prefer to use high quality units. It has been the complete opposite here. Ashigaru might be the most powerful base units of any TW game.

Yeah it's really draining, in my experience, to fully commit to complete an entire campaign from start to finish. Good to hear you have the resolve to push it through!
The Yari Ashigaru in vanilla Shogun 2 are one of the most powerful units and are considered OP in their Yari wall formation.

I might be very withstanding when it comes to TW campaigns but I have pretty much given up here. It's a lost cause. Better to dig that list somewhere deep.

Good luck with that naval invasion! (a TW game were naval invasions somewhat worked, imagine that )

[Derc]

Shogun 2
Rise of the Samurai
#8

-------------------------- (Click to view) --------------------------

The Takahashi have invaded us with two armies near Noto. We annihilate their smaller army in the beautiful area of Kaga. The battle against their bigger army ends indecesive. Both Generals claim victory. The Ishikawa, Kobayakawa and the Taira bundle together to attack us with a huge army. This is a really dreadful force. We call the Onna Bushi into service. It is here explained who they are. ⚙️ Authors Note - Technical If the army is led by Onna Bushi, then the Commander will be female. The voice remains male. Weird. 🎭 Funfact "Onna Bushi" literally translates to "War woman". Bribings and manipulations by our agents together with the ability of night battles made these massive forces manageable. They were defeated one after another. The enemy alliance is in dire trouble now. The Kono try once again to sneak past our lines and attack us from behind. Not this time. No more. Nature shows its wrath in central Japan. The population is scared. This is tragic but we can't do anything against it. We can do something against the Ishikawa however. A once dreadful enemy has, after such a long time, finally been defeated! It doesn't mean that we can rest. There are still plenty other enemies to defeat. This time it is the Takahashi. The Takahashi are driven away from central Japan. Another front is secured. The Minamoto have expanded rapidly in the last two years. The pressure has become less. We are almost done. The land, at long last, will come to rest. 📕 History & Culture What have we learned from this episode? Don't mess with japanese ladies, people! Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

I'm not sure if these points are in your OP, but if not, I feel like it would be good to add them there. This is a nice selling point for your AAR (series), and it would probably be in your benefit to put up front! Just a thought though.

That's a good idea.

Agreed. This is the first Let's Play AAR I've really followed. Mostly because if I want to watch a video, I'll just go to youtube. If I want text, I'll come to TWC.

This makes me really happy. =)

Noooo! I take it back!

It's too late. It's too laaaaate.

Alright, I've now spent class reading through all 2-and-a-half campaigns, and you're doing a great job conveying the story. The semi-sarcastic banter is top notch, and I'm very much looking forward to reading more.

This is getting pretty crowded here.
Glad you like it.

It was one of the factors that caused the delay (another was my health.) I thought I'd lost the saves for a while. Then I found them again, but they were so old (Patch 17 + a few mods) that I decided that running them with Patch 20 was a bit of a risk, and as I'd only played about 20 ish turns that the safer bet was to start the campaign again (Patch 20 + No Mods) and use my very detailed notes to try and recreate the events up to the point I'd reached... except the campaign went off the rails a little and is developing differently, so now some future chapters I already had written may need heavy rewrites. I'm hoping to get back into it soon, but January-early February was rather stressful (both my parents had operations, though both thankfully were successful which is a load off my mind,) but with that and the really cold weather out of the way I'm hoping to get back into writing TFTB soon.

Health is the greatest gift you can have in the world.
Hope you and your parents are well again. Or at least in a better condition.

One other thing...

Anyone notice the new Total War launcher looks a bit like Derc's first post in this thread?

Oh, I haven't noticed. Thanks for the information. Copyright infringement to the devs is underway.

EDIT: If you are having issues with an AAR, Alwyn's article "Dodging Bullets: Overcoming problems when writing AARs" is a very good read. I found it invaluable when I ran into issues with TFTB.

The format of this AAR is quite different but some problems still account. It's a nice read. Thanks for sharing. Here's your daily dosis of +rep.

I sometimes have a problem with too similar sentences, using the fine word "but" too much. There are some other things but nothing that's a real problem. I have written in English for half my life, but it always remained to be very technical. I still learn something new about the English language in almost every campaign and lost many insecurities about writing in it. But I gained some other. There are a lot of hidden oddities, just like in every language.

Oh, speaking of it: I just replaced the year format in every Table of Content. BC/AD becomes BCE/CE. There are various reasons for it, the most important being to cut out the Christian factor. Sorry, fellow Christians.
Another one is that I found it really annoying having to put AD BEFORE the year while you have to put BC AFTER it. Yeah, it is logical if you spell it out, still …. It is consistent now.

Good luck with that naval invasion! (a TW game were naval invasions somewhat worked, imagine that )

That's something I really like, even though it's painful. Naval supperiority really means something here.

[Turkafinwë]

The End is in sight! Honshu almost united, now only Kyushu and Shikoku (and probably a hundred smaller islands I don't know the name of but let's not worry about those) stand between you and total domination. The Kamakura Minamoto will be victorious!

That woman is having way too much fun in throwing eggs at strangers

That's something I really like, even though it's painful. Naval supperiority really means something here.

Indeed having a strong navy is really important in this game or it at least is very helpful. The AI of Shogun 2 is, in my opinion, the less retarded AI of all the TW games.

[King Athelstan]

Good chapter, I see the end is nigh, though I fear it may have been overshadowed by BANZAI, I haven't laughed that much in a long time

[Derc]

Shogun 2
Rise of the Samurai
#9

-------------------------- (Click to view) --------------------------

With parts of the country coming to rest we can finally turn some more of our attention back to culture. Castles are the best example that war and culture are deeply intertwined. 📕 History & Culture Just read something about Himeji Castle. It's a World Heritage Site. No wonder, damn impressive as it is. Ah, that brings me back. Ever played Tenchu? Running around castle walls, slashing poor guards ... Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  "NINJAAAAA!!" We have arrived at the doorstep of the Tatara! Their ships won't help them now. All of Honshu is ours! Our quick expansion in the recent years was not without price. We had not the chance to convert the population to our cause. They still remain loyal to the Taira. A few more seasons and this will be under control. We can finally establish trade with the outside world. It will make Japan rich. The Taira try to intercept our trade, of course. But their might has crumbled too much. Their last fleet in the North is quickly dealt with. The northern waters are secure. A good omen from the gods. We see it as a clear sign. ... ... A sign to end this war. Our invasion of Kyūshū has begun and another enemy has been defeated! We have learned a lot in this war. We will use this knowledge to master the art of Bushido. It is wisest to learn from the flame while it is still lit.

What, this is a filler chapter? No, never! I don't want to hear anything about that!

The End is in sight! Honshu almost united, now only Kyushu and Shikoku (and probably a hundred smaller islands I don't know the name of but let's not worry about those) stand between you and total domination. The Kamakura Minamoto will be victorious!

That woman is having way too much fun in throwing eggs at strangers

Indeed having a strong navy is really important in this game or it at least is very helpful. The AI of Shogun 2 is, in my opinion, the less retarded AI of all the TW games.

If you, ironically, do not count the ship battles into it, that is. Campaign A.I.-wise yes.

Good chapter, I see the end is nigh, though I fear it may have been overshadowed by BANZAI, I haven't laughed that much in a long time

Love that show. I just couldn't withstand anymore when I saw the special ability of the Onna Bushi.

[Turkafinwë]

If you, ironically, do not count the ship battles into it, that is. Campaign A.I.-wise yes.

It seems all the retardedness of the AI in this game has been given to the naval combat AI. Poor sod.

I can't wait for the moment when the map is one colour, that always makes me very happy. It gives me a kind of satisfaction that I can best describe with this meme.

[Alwyn]

Ah, it can be satisfying when your armies reach the homeland of a faction which has been causing problems at sea. Despite those annoying rebels, it looks like the land will soon be at peace once again.

[Kilo11]

Another good one Derc, and I too am liking the unity of color on that map! Oh, and your AAR has done and got me into Shogun after all. My birthday was last week, and apparently I had been talking about the game so much that my wife went out and got it for me for my birthday. Now I am 40 turns into a grand campaign as Chosokabe, slicing my way over Shikoku and Kyushu! If I can manage that quickly, maybe I'll just leave you with the main island, and the two of us can peacefully coexist

[Derc]

Shogun 2
Rise of the Samurai
#10

-------------------------- (Click to view) --------------------------

Almost half of Kyūshū falls within one season. The southern half is better defended. Hyūga will not be easy to take. The cunning Takahashi outsmart our boats and land close to Kyōto. We were wise to leave one army behind. They are driven away but come back one year later. Have they even learnt anything? This time it meant the death for all of the invaders. The Takahashi field a lot of men. They are our last great opponent beside the Taira. Exchange with the outside world makes the Minamoto rich. We establish as much trade as possible. But not every trade route can be accessed without danger. This is fine for us. The merchants will have to earn their right to do business. And so they do. They drive the enemy traders away into the fog. It felt like the ghosts of Tsushima lungered there. The enemy traders were never seen again. The Takahashi can not win but their honour prevents them from laying down their arms. In some men fear and greed are greater than honour. We use this to our advantage. It ultimately proves to be the final blow. Ōsumi falls. The Takahashi are driven out! Kyūshū is ours! A glorious victory for the Shogun! For the Minamoto! For Japan! The war is decided. But Japan is not entirely unified yet. We shall set sail for Shikoku and bring this war once and for all to an end!

The End is in sight! Honshu almost united, now only Kyushu and Shikoku (and probably a hundred smaller islands I don't know the name of but let's not worry about those) stand between you and total domination. The Kamakura Minamoto will be victorious!

Oh, I forgot to answer that last time. Well, there are not so many islands you need to access. The only ones where you actually need ships are little Sado island and Shikoku, including Awaji island. Between Kyushu and Honshu is a land bridge, but it's almost always blocked. So yeah, ships do come in handy, but you do not need them to conquer 90% of the map. The smaller isles are no province of their own.

It seems all the retardedness of the AI in this game has been given to the naval combat AI. Poor sod.
I can't wait for the moment when the map is one colour, that always makes me very happy. It gives me a kind of satisfaction that I can best describe with this meme.
*meme*

Oh yeah, I'm just like that. You may know the pain I felt in the last two campaigns, not being able to paint the whole map.
I also haven't done it here yet. Will I finally succeed or will the Taira-A.I. pull an Alexander?

Ah, it can be satisfying when your armies reach the homeland of a faction which has been causing problems at sea. Despite those annoying rebels, it looks like the land will soon be at peace once again.

This is the best feeling. Being harassed by some pesky small faction all the time and then finally destroy it. Burn! Buuuurn!

Oh, and your AAR has done and got me into Shogun after all. My birthday was last week, and apparently I had been talking about the game so much that my wife went out and got it for me for my birthday.

Belated Happy Birthday! Haha, you're a man of action! Can't believe I got someone to buy a game. This needs to go to the front page later. Here's a +rep, sir!
Hope you enjoy the game.

Now I am 40 turns into a grand campaign as Chosokabe, slicing my way over Shikoku and Kyushu!

The Chosokabe were also the first guys I tried when I tested Shogun 2 several years ago. I couldn't get the hang out of it back then but, just like in many other TW's, eventually came back later and enjoyed the game.

Had any ship battles yet?

If I can manage that quickly, maybe I'll just leave you with the main island, and the two of us can peacefully coexist

No worries. The Minamoto were long gone when the Chosokabe came around. More on that in the next update.
Go ahead, conquer it all. Make Japan a black island. Goths and Metalers will rejoice!

[Kilo11]

The Chosokabe were also the first guys I tried when I tested Shogun 2 several years ago. I couldn't get the hang out of it back then but, just like in many other TW's, eventually came back later and enjoyed the game.

I'm liking 'em so far. I figured I was new to the game, and the faction selection screen said they were easy. I also figured starting on my own island might provide a straightforward early game while I got to grips with the newer engine and figured out the nuances of everything. Plus, farming bonus! The proletarian in me always loves that

Had any ship battles yet?

Yeah, had a few now. The first one was super irritating, because I didn't get how things were supposed to work, and I thought fire arrows could just be toggled on for good to burn down the enemy boats -- apparently that was a foolish mistake. But then I had one battle where I had a single bow kobaya against like 6 enemy boats (mixed between the usual suspects of bow, medium, and trade ships), and in that bit I just ran around waiting to fire single volleys into the ships with shorter range than me, in the hopes that I could set them alight and then dash away. I didn't pull out a win, but I managed to take down a few vessels with my one lonely boat, and the long battle gave me much more familiarity with how those battles work in general. Now I usually look forward to them, as they are still cool new things for me.

No worries. The Minamoto were long gone when the Chosokabe came around. More on that in the next update.
Go ahead, conquer it all. Make Japan a black island. Goths and Metalers will rejoice!

Good deal. I would hate to have to deal with you in my game! I have been playing really strategically with who I piss off, so as to only need a single power stack for taking provinces, and the amount of forces you have would mess me up!

[Turkafinwë]

How strange that the victory conditions are almost full-map conquest. One tiny island is all that remains. I would submit they could've easily raised the victory conditions just to be full-map conquest. Who would wanna quit now when you're so close to a homogeneous map.

Oh yeah, I'm just like that. You may know the pain I felt in the last two campaigns, not being able to paint the whole map.
I also haven't done it here yet. Will I finally succeed or will the Taira-A.I. pull an Alexander?

I shall perform the necessary rituals and sacrifices in hopes for your succes. (Should the game pull an Alexander I'll blame Athena personally for it, I can see her smirking already)

[Derc]

Shogun 2
Rise of the Samurai
#11

-------------------------- (Click to view) --------------------------

Our merchants want to travel to Korea but our maps are wrong. It is not there. ⚙️ Authors Note - Technical Either Korea has sunken into the sea or the map straight up lies to us. Hm, hm ... The Taira won't go without another fight. Our ships are unfortunately out of reach of their own. Are they up at something? Whatever they plan, they can't win this anymore. A beautiful wife marries the heir of the Minamoto. Not only the future of Japan, but also the future of the Minamoto is secured. The Takahashi fled to Shikoku, to their Taira friends. We follow them there. Shikoku is an isle of peace, spirituality and agriculture. There are no defences. The whole isle falls in a single season. Thus ends the reign of the Takahashi clan. All that remains now is that little well defended Taira stronghold located at Awaji-shima. The unification of Japan is almost complete. Wait, where went their navy?! We suffered a lot and learned much from this war and as such the way of the warrior is now mastered. The cunning Taira play one last trick ... ... but the Minamoto are smarter than they ever were. 前進 ZENSHIN！！ (Forwards!!) All of Japan is united under the Minamoto! All hail the Shogun! Glory to the Kamakura Shogunate! Winter vanished from Japan and many people would see the cherry trees blossom, feeling the gentle sunrays becoming warmer. Others would not be so lucky. Their bodies would lie down in the cold ground of the earth or of the waters. Their body would rot but their soul was free, travelling to another world. In the end it would not matter anymore what happened. We all felt the same thing when we saw the light: Peace. *Bonus* This guy was the MVP, bribing countless people and converting half of Japan all alone. 📝 Authors Note I'll miss these portraits. I just loved them. It always looked like these dudes got kicked in the nuts when being painted.

📕 History & Culture

Not much about alternate history to tell here. The Genpei War was a bit shorter in reality, going from 1180-1185, but the Kamakura Minamoto were the historical winners here. It would not have been so much different if someone else would have made it. In fact the Hojo took over a few generations later, maintaining the legacy of the Minamoto together with their Shogunate. So the Hojo were effectively the heirs of the Minamoto.
Anyway - the time of the Emperor was up and the age of the Samurai was there.

The Genpei War resulted in the Kamakura Shogunate which would last until 1333 AD when Emperor Go-Daigo tried to restore power to the throne in the Kenmu Restoration. This ultimately failed but the power of the Kamakura Shogunate was then broken, resulting in the Ashikaga-Shogunate, which in turn would end with the Sengoku Jidai - the ultimate high time of the Samurai.

But this, folks, is an entirely different chapter in history. The story about how it all came to be is over.

🏠 House Rules & Special Goals

Unwritten Rules:

• Conquer the whole map - Check
• No exploits, hacks, etc. blah bla blubb - Failed

Written ones:

• Collateral Damage: If the honour of my Daimyō falls under 3 points, he and my best General have to commit Seppuku - Check (never happened)

⭐ Conclusion: Shogun 2 - Rise of the Samurai

• Lovely Atmosphere.
• I just looooove these funny character portraits. Made me laugh even when an enemy attacked me.
• Some reworks in other details that set it apart from standard Shogun 2.
• Nice unit split between the old and the new way (Samurai).
• An A.I. that is actually able to do sea invasions.
• The Alliance system is both good and bad for your faction. It is an interesting strategical component and more than just a religion replacement.
• This victory actually felt like a true victory.
• Great fun with Agents ...
  

  ---

• ... But they are way too powerful. Bribing an enemy army is much cheaper than recruiting one.
• Missing Tachibana
• The A.I. cheats much more obvious than in most of the other TWs
• Buildings are way too expensive and do not give enough benefit.
• Diplomacy is dead after being declared an enemy of the state. Completely.
• Few different units
• Extremely bugged naval warfare (at least in my game. Did not see many other people complain about it that much.)

I've played better campaigns but also worse. It's a hefty challenge.
Maybe it is the time period but I like this campaign more than the standard Sengoku Jidai.

I'm liking 'em so far. I figured I was new to the game, and the faction selection screen said they were easy. I also figured starting on my own island might provide a straightforward early game while I got to grips with the newer engine and figured out the nuances of everything. Plus, farming bonus! The proletarian in me always loves that

Yeah, build farms everywhere! Shogun 2 pretty much comfirmed it: Peasants are more capable Warriors than Samurai. That crazy Aussie sees it the same way.

Yeah, had a few now. The first one was super irritating, because I didn't get how things were supposed to work, and I thought fire arrows could just be toggled on for good to burn down the enemy boats -- apparently that was a foolish mistake. But then I had one battle where I had a single bow kobaya against like 6 enemy boats (mixed between the usual suspects of bow, medium, and trade ships), and in that bit I just ran around waiting to fire single volleys into the ships with shorter range than me, in the hopes that I could set them alight and then dash away. I didn't pull out a win, but I managed to take down a few vessels with my one lonely boat, and the long battle gave me much more familiarity with how those battles work in general. Now I usually look forward to them, as they are still cool new things for me.

Automatic fire arrows can be toggled with a right click on the icon. But guess what? It's bugged.

Good deal. I would hate to have to deal with you in my game! I have been playing really strategically with who I piss off, so as to only need a single power stack for taking provinces, and the amount of forces you have would mess me up!

Be careful. Every coast in Shogun 2 is a front on itself and the A.I. delightfully knows that.

How strange that the victory conditions are almost full-map conquest. One tiny island is all that remains. I would submit they could've easily raised the victory conditions just to be full-map conquest. Who would wanna quit now when you're so close to a homogeneous map.

Absolutely agree.

I shall perform the necessary rituals and sacrifices in hopes for your succes. (Should the game pull an Alexander I'll blame Athena personally for it, I can see her smirking already)

Don't give me nightmares.

[Kilo11]

A great end Derc. And your comment about the portraits is gold! I had never noticed that before, and I'm afraid that I won't be able to continue in my campaigns without having a bit of a laugh at the expense of my generals. Poor guys...

As to your points about sea invasions, your AAR here made me super scared of the prospect (they seemed to happen to you all the time, and at really inopportune moments), but I have been pretty lucky in my campaign. When the Shogun declared me an enemy of the state I had two super solid allies who went to war with everyone alongside me (they are still holding strong, I suspect due to some hefty gifts I've been sending them to keep them bankrolled!). At that moment I only had one navy, and was worried about what to defend with it, given how certain I was that there were armies boarding ships everywhere possible. But each turn I did at least one sea battle, capturing at least half of the enemy's navy as a result of each battle. Now I am overflowing with ships (my naval upkeep is more than double my army upkeep), and I have no idea why I keep capturing ships. I still do, but I think I will start scuttling fleets. Maybe I'll take a fleet of captured ships and scuttle it off the coast of my adversaries' ports, just to show them how little I need them. That might be fun

[Turkafinwë]

Indeed a great way to end the story Derc! The last of the Taira are defeated and the Minamoto are triumphant. (Wonderful death poem to complement the final chapter) You're not wrong about the portraits, they are pretty funny and now you've given me another hilarious angle to look at them.

Korea? Everyone knows Korea doesn't exist. It's a hoax right. Right?!

To quote a wise old man:


I'm interested to see to which realm you'll take us next.

[Derc]

A great end Derc. And your comment about the portraits is gold! I had never noticed that before, and I'm afraid that I won't be able to continue in my campaigns without having a bit of a laugh at the expense of my generals. Poor guys...

As to your points about sea invasions, your AAR here made me super scared of the prospect (they seemed to happen to you all the time, and at really inopportune moments), but I have been pretty lucky in my campaign. When the Shogun declared me an enemy of the state I had two super solid allies who went to war with everyone alongside me (they are still holding strong, I suspect due to some hefty gifts I've been sending them to keep them bankrolled!)

There are a few differences between the Sengoku Jidai campaign and the Rise of the Samurai DLC. They may look mostly the same on the surface but there are a lot of alterations under it. Diplomacy feels completely off and so do economics and warfare. Could be luck, the difficulty or just my idiotness but I felt that RoTS was a lot harder than the default campaign.
Tested around. The A.I. would ALWAYS declare war on me after being named enemy of the state. No matter what I would do or how much I gifted them.
Also, the standard campaign does not have these funny portraits. Sad.

Maybe I'll take a fleet of captured ships and scuttle it off the coast of my adversaries' ports, just to show them how little I need them. That might be fun

You're one evil fella, Mr. Wood.
I mostly send them to the edge of the map to unveil the fog of war. Most of them found a watery grave but it was for the sake of exploration. Everyone knows Japan was one of the big colonizers, aye?

Korea? Everyone knows Korea doesn't exist. It's a hoax right. Right?!

Only North Korea which is out of the range of the map despite being so grand that it should be everywhere.

I'm interested to see to which realm you'll take us next.

It is set in a place where a lot is going on right now.
What? That accounts for the whole world? Damn... Ok, but in this region especially.

I know of at least three people here who might not approve of the faction I will be playing and at least of one person who will . To cover all aspects of the story one has to necessarily step into the boots of evil.

We'll start in around two weeks. In the meantime my age long school/study life is finally coming to an end. It is a time of great changes atm.

[Alwyn]

The one last trick of the Taira is a good moment, just when everything seemed to be over. I agree, the poem suits the ending perfectly.

Your comment about your faction choice for the next campaign being one which three people might not approve of, while one will, got me wondering who you'll play next. The 'boots of evil' is an intriguing hint. I hope that your time of great changes goes well!

[Cookiegod]

I finally got to read your latest Campaign AAR and it is quite good. Funny side story: I didn't even know this DLC existed and thus assumed (without reading much) that it was going to be about Fall of the Samurai. Then this Steam sale happened, and I bought many of the DLC's without thinking much about them. And because of that I started playing a MP Shogun 2 campaign. Then I noticed: Wait, there's this DLC campaign, might as well give it a try in SP.
And I then chose the exact same clan as you did. By pure coincidence. Mostly because I wanted to be as far away from Kyushu (where I'm in the MP-campaign).
Also: I'm lazy and decided to do the short campaign (never ever have I in a TW game conquered the entire map).

- Hiraizumi Fujiwara and Fu... damn those names are hard Taira declared war on me the same way they did on you. This might be scripted, since neither of us had a border with them.
- Pretty much all my decisions were the opposite of what you did. Except where you hired that woMAN (it says in that description that they entertain dressed as men or something).
That was pretty much my biggest regret. I had already recruited a shi... damn those names are hard the turn before, she cost twice as much and I expected the event girl to have skills. She had none and was executed for failing her very first mission in the very next round (by the enemy, though I wanted to do the same). The monomi dude on the other hand, whom you had executed, proved priceless.
- So we both expanded militarily in the same direction, which is the north of the island. Pretty much logical, since once you do that, you don't have to worry about backstab anymore. But I didn't take all those small clans in between immediately. 1) I felt bad because they were friendly and 2) I wanted to avoid imperial recognition for as long as possible. It worked out pretty well.
- I managed to secure several trade nodes very early on. That forced me to have a strong naval presence to protect the trade routes. This again is probably the reason why no enemy ever even tried a naval invasion. The only land army I got to sink, was between Shikoku and Kyushu. So far away I'm not even sure they'd be heading towards me.
I'm pretty much dominating the seas at this point, even though I'm still only in the north. The thing is though that my ships have to sail for several rounds from my ports before reaching the war zone and then after a couple of fights I send them back to be repaired. Which takes even more rounds. It'd probably be cheaper to just use them up and recruit new ships, but it feels exploity, so I'm willfully throwing money out of the window here. Consequently, I don't have as many troops as you do.
- My sister clan, the Kiso Minamoto, still live. In the best way possible. They pressed southwards and were themselves driven out of their homelands. Which I in turn took from their enemies. The castle of Kiso (in South Shinano) rebelled from their rule and I think I'll take that one soon. But the Kisos still have Ise, are my only friends and absorb a lot of the heat going my way.
- I wish I had Athena in my campaign. I realised the timer was on once I saw: Oh , only 4 more years left before game over!
Now I have to rush for Kyoto, but I don't have any good troops nearby. There are still several provinces between me and it, and many elite enemy stacks.

[Welsh Dragon]

@Derc

An excellent read, and I'm glad to see you united Japan and turned it a nice blue (my favourite colour.) I never really could get into ROTS, but you made it come alive!

@Alwyn

My guess for Derc's next adventure is between Medieval 1: Viking Invasion, Medieval 2: Britannia and Thrones of Britannia. There's definitely a lot going on here right now with out political muddle, and there's a few proud English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh people on here so faction choice could be "controversial" for some. No idea how that fits with "boots of evil" though... Well, unless Derc is doing Napoleon and is going to step into Wellington's boots... ;-P

Whatever it is, I look forward to reading it.

All the Best,

Welsh Dragon.

[Derc]

The Genpei War is over and Japan stands united again. We leave this magical island in the far east and go to the other end of the known world, where an equally mystical island is located. Just like Japan it is full of beauty ... and war.

AD 1258.
Britannia is at war. Just like all the centuries it has been before.
But this time it is different. The country longs to be unified.

The English try to achieve this task and started to fight the Welsh and the Irish at the same time.
As if they wouldn't have enough enemies in France already!

The Norsemen also try to subdue Britannia once more.
They may have converted to Christianity but they are still the savages of old times.

Somewhere in between lies a little kingdom, inhabitated by the native people of Britannia.
Proud and sturdy people, easily angered ... and when at war unstoppable.

---

Total War: Medieval II Kingdoms
Britannia Campaign
Scotland

Starring: Alexander III, William Wallace



Scotland will reconquer its home, drive out the invaders and reunify Britannia under the Celts again.
It will do so or fall into the annals of history.
It is enough with the oppression!
There remain only two options:
Freedom or Death!

⚙️ Authors Note - Technical

Uh huh, finally Medieval II, the game most of you know and love as a cult classic.

This is the only Med2 campaign shown here that I played with the disc version of the game. There are some very subtle differences. For example Newcastle is called "Newcastle upon Tyne" in the steam version. Here it is just "Newcastle". Crazy, isn't it?! Incredible!

The one last trick of the Taira is a good moment, just when everything seemed to be over. I agree, the poem suits the ending perfectly.

Your comment about your faction choice for the next campaign being one which three people might not approve of, while one will, got me wondering who you'll play next. The 'boots of evil' is an intriguing hint. I hope that your time of great changes goes well!

Thank you. All worked out nicely.

Long Text, as we know it

I finally got to read your latest Campaign AAR and it is quite good. Funny side story: I didn't even know this DLC existed and thus assumed (without reading much) that it was going to be about Fall of the Samurai. Then this Steam sale happened, and I bought many of the DLC's without thinking much about them. And because of that I started playing a MP Shogun 2 campaign. Then I noticed: Wait, there's this DLC campaign, might as well give it a try in SP. And I then chose the exact same clan as you did. By pure coincidence. Mostly because I wanted to be as far away from Kyushu (where I'm in the MP-campaign). Also: I'm lazy and decided to do the short campaign (never ever have I in a TW game conquered the entire map). - Hiraizumi Fujiwara and Fu... damn those names are hard Taira declared war on me the same way they did on you. This might be scripted, since neither of us had a border with them. - Pretty much all my decisions were the opposite of what you did. Except where you hired that woMAN (it says in that description that they entertain dressed as men or something). That was pretty much my biggest regret. I had already recruited a shi... damn those names are hard the turn before, she cost twice as much and I expected the event girl to have skills. She had none and was executed for failing her very first mission in the very next round (by the enemy, though I wanted to do the same). The monomi dude on the other hand, whom you had executed, proved priceless. - So we both expanded militarily in the same direction, which is the north of the island. Pretty much logical, since once you do that, you don't have to worry about backstab anymore. But I didn't take all those small clans in between immediately. 1) I felt bad because they were friendly and 2) I wanted to avoid imperial recognition for as long as possible. It worked out pretty well. - I managed to secure several trade nodes very early on. That forced me to have a strong naval presence to protect the trade routes. This again is probably the reason why no enemy ever even tried a naval invasion. The only land army I got to sink, was between Shikoku and Kyushu. So far away I'm not even sure they'd be heading towards me. I'm pretty much dominating the seas at this point, even though I'm still only in the north. The thing is though that my ships have to sail for several rounds from my ports before reaching the war zone and then after a couple of fights I send them back to be repaired. Which takes even more rounds. It'd probably be cheaper to just use them up and recruit new ships, but it feels exploity, so I'm willfully throwing money out of the window here. Consequently, I don't have as many troops as you do. - My sister clan, the Kiso Minamoto, still live. In the best way possible. They pressed southwards and were themselves driven out of their homelands. Which I in turn took from their enemies. The castle of Kiso (in South Shinano) rebelled from their rule and I think I'll take that one soon. But the Kisos still have Ise, are my only friends and absorb a lot of the heat going my way. - I wish I had Athena in my campaign. I realised the timer was on once I saw: Oh , only 4 more years left before game over! Now I have to rush for Kyoto, but I don't have any good troops nearby. There are still several provinces between me and it, and many elite enemy stacks.

Very interesting and nice to see how different campaigns can turn out despite expanding (almost) the same.

Pretty much all my decisions were the opposite of what you did.

Guess we can't become friends then.

An excellent read, and I'm glad to see you united Japan and turned it a nice blue (my favourite colour.) I never really could get into ROTS, but you made it come alive!

Blue?! You're Welsh! Your favourite colour has to be green or red!

My guess for Derc's next adventure is between Medieval 1: Viking Invasion, Medieval 2: Britannia and Thrones of Britannia. There's definitely a lot going on here right now with out political muddle, and there's a few proud English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh people on here so faction choice could be "controversial" for some.

Damn, you aced it completely. Here's a +rep.
Yeah, of course I am very "lucky" having coincidally scheduled the Britannia Campaign right into this very special Brexit time.
Regarding the people who might like or dislike it:
- Dislike -: WelshDragons, NorseThings and other mythical figures might not have such a good future in this campaign. Also, Cookiegod and I have a personal vendetta against Scotland.
+ Like +: Kilo might like it because not only is he an evil fellow but also loves a fine Scotch.

No idea how that fits with "boots of evil" though... Well, unless Derc is doing Napoleon and is going to step into Wellington's boots... ;-P

It was a hint to Longshanks era Britannia, although let's admit, it was a bad one.

[Derc]

Medieval II Kingdoms - Britannia
Table of Contents

• #0: (1258 CE) Start
• #1: (Summer 1258 - Summer 1267 CE) "Twelve highlanders and a bagpipe make a rebellion."
• #2: (Summer 1267 - Winter 1283 CE) "A certain bloody man ... who had been chief of brigands in Scotland."
• #3: (Summer 1284 - Summer 1287 CE) "That field hath eyen, and the wood hath ears."
• #4: (Winter 1291 - Winter 1303 CE) "Yet in our ashen cold is fire yreken."
• #5: (Summer 1304 - Summer 1322 CE) "I have brought you to the revel, now dance if you can!"
• #6: (Winter 1323 - Summer 1334 CE) "In his owen grese I made him frie."
• #7: (Winter 1335 - Summer 1348 CE) "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead!"
• #8: (Summer 1350 - Summer 1352 CE) "We shall then defeat the whole lot of them in one go!"

---

Overall Campaign Ambience

🏠 House Rules & Special Goals

• The Lords: The Baron's Alliance must outlive England at all costs
• Sticks and Stones: No gunpowder
• Angry Scotsman: Betray at least one ally
• Formed in the Mountains: (RL) Try a Highland Scotch during the course of this campaign

⭐ What makes this campaign special (in my opinion)

• Well ... It's the only non Viking era Britannia campaign!
• No churchs, no priests. You spread culture instead of religion.
• A faction scripted to dynamically emerge from parts of another faction (Baron's Alliance from England)
• Sea based. The only Med2 campaign where the A.I. is at least partially capable of naval actions on the long run.
• Many little island provinces to conquer
• Permanent forts
• Almost no rebels