Derc Plays Through World History

[Turkafinwë]

Hah, take that Athena, still 32 turns to go you silly ! I really enjoyed this campaign and I'm interested what you'll do next.

On a sidenote: I hope it's ok if I quote some things from you guys up in the opening post. You know, as some kind of PR like you see them on some Movie posters.
If not, please tell me.

I don't have a problem with this.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

*plays Rome total war faction intro eastern*.

* Great Persian army marches through a time machine, rallying Persians to come into the world where they live untouched by Alexander.*

Alexander may have conquered the world, but the desert never forgets. In such ghastly times, a ray of hope stands for Persians. Come! Live in a world where Persia regins supreme. The invaders will have never existed, and this nightmare shall end! I, the great King, offer you prosperity! Peace!

*Persian General steps forward*

The Desert is unforgiving. We do not forget. Alexander thinks he may have plundered this world, sitting in our riches! Their grip will fall! We will strike! And take back what is ours! We shall drive these imposters, what is RIGHTFULLY OURS! Empires rise. Empires fall. Some divide. And the rest? Reduced to mere puppets. There is no point in avenging this world. Live in the work day where Persia is supreme. Alexander never existed. Greece is in our control. So I say to you, will you join us?

* Persians join their brethren and through time, enter into the world where Persia Regina supreme*

just something

But honestly a great end to the series. I wonder if the last DLC will be on Alexander.

[Derc]

[My next campaign] It'll at least be yet another campaign that is played with a faction starting with 'M'.

I'm not sure if this is even 100% true. It depends on what kind of name you use for this faction. It's both true and false at the same time. Schrodinger would be proud.
Now that I call it, this even accounts for the first Campaign. Mongols? Golden Horde? Well ...

Ah, so you must be playing Empire then, and you'll be playing as 'Murica Just kidding. I bet you'll play MedII and play Mongolia again, cause, you know, you're a barbarian warlord at heart

I actually did that before - in my last Hotseat (ever). I waited countless (realtime) months for them to appear, only to see it all fall apart.
I was a bit frustrated, saw Med1 on Steam Sale, and did the job there. I was still a bit sad as I had no one to share my experience with, except Cookie. Then I got an idea.
The rest, as you know, is (Derc Plays Through World) History.

Can't speak for the others, but I am totally fine with that. If you want a fresh quote that looks good in an OP, I would with pure sincerity say "This AAR is the only one I've read that makes me literally laugh out loud, and it is just riddled with dry (and often dark) humor that is oddly refreshing. Definitely worth a read!"

Great!

It's sad that I have to say this but this part is filled with errors.

Here's the catchline. "The only AAR where the reader does not only proofreads the Author's text, but the Game itself too."

11th screen: who had ridden ...and his bed was sick too? Man that's rough.
12th screen: Truly, Alexander had earned his epithet 'Scarface' in the process of immorality.

This is gold.

Hah, take that Athena, still 32 turns to go you silly ! I really enjoyed this campaign and I'm interested what you'll do next.
I don't have a problem with this.

Free, at long last! Or not?
It is said that Athena's voice haunted Alexander till his death. Poor man.

*plays Rome total war faction intro eastern*.

* Great Persian army marches through a time machine, rallying Persians to come into the world where they live untouched by Alexander.*

It is also said that Alexander once wept because there was nothing more to conquer (that was bs though). Your world sounds promising. And so full of Persians! Where's the portal?

[Cookiegod]

Here's the catchline. "The only AAR where the reader does not only proofreads the Author's text, but the Game itself too."

Ok, but only if I get 5% of the revenue for eye cancer research.
And you know how it goes: To make research we need more patients first, so I'm grateful you were helping me out here with the old games in your first two campaigns!
...You know what? Scratch the 5%! Do as much advertisement as possible!

[The Wandering Storyteller]

The portal was a divine intervention from Ahura Mazda himself!

The secret will never be discovered...

[Derc]

Oh my. San Felipe has become a wandering storyteller. Now you would need to get a hermit as your avatar, one as I have.

The portal was a divine intervention from Ahura Mazda himself!
The secret will never be discovered...

That could explain why Alexander started clothing himself in Persian garbs after his campaign.


Well whatever may be the case, Alexander's time is up. Prepare yourself guys, for this week we shall enter the land of the kraken!

I think I overdid it a bit with the humour and, given the campaign's atmosphere and a shift in my mood, will put more focus on immersion. Don't worry though. TW trolled me pretty good. Things will be strange every now and zen, may I like it or not. Inevitably it also fits the setting somewhat.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

Indeed!

Looking forward to the next update!

[Derc]

Alexander and his army marched further East than any Greek had ever done. But they stopped eventually. Had they continued to venture eastwards, as much as it was humanly possible, they would eventually have reached a mythical land. A land unlike any other. We visit this land. We are also back in the Middle Ages again.

Nippon, 1175 CE.

Japan. A magnificent, well developing country. The land of the rising sun.
It is a country where beauty and death are one and the same. Where honour means everything.

Japan stands united under the Emperor. But he is just a marionette of the Taira. They have their strings everywhere in the court, playing the Emperor like a Shakuhachi. It is not even a secret anymore. They brought great dishonour over Japan, destabilizing it. This has given rise to countless clans all over the country. And to a new kind of warrior.

Japan is unified no more. It is the time to right wrongs. The way of the warrior will now be proven!

---

Total War: Shogun 2
Rise of the Samurai
Kamakura Minamoto Campaign

Starring: Minamoto no Yoritomo, Minamoto no Noriyori, Minamoto no Yoshitsune



The Minamoto will defeat the Taira and restore honour to Japan!
If the Emperor wishes to be a puppet, then his time to command the fate of Japan is over. The strongest shall decide the fate of Japan!

This is the time of the Samurai! This is the time of the Shogun!

⚙️ Authors Note - Technical

There happened to be a few changes recently:

1. There are more images than in the previous campaigns. They are also, altough compressed, much bigger. 1440x900 is the maximum I will ever go. It is my native resolution.
2. This is why the structure of this AAR ultimately blew up. The mass of all the big images basically resulted in me flooding the topic. Now each chapter is condensed in a contentbox. The loading image acts as description and the gate to the chapter, simulating a loading screen even more, indeed. But without (or at least much shorter) loadtimes, of course . So nice to scroll through the pages now.
3. I refrain from using pictures for FMV sequences such as Intros. They can be too long. One also misses too much when presented as picture only. The voice. The music, a big chunk of the atmosphere. They are replaced by the actual video. I think CA did an excellent job with their videos all the way back since Shogun 1.
4. Mobile Users: I added a information in the opening post what to do in case you can't view this AAR correctly on your mobile device.

[Derc]

Shogun 2 - Rise of the Samurai
Table of Contents

• #0: (Spring 1175 CE) Start
• #1: (Spring 1175 - Spring 1177 CE) "The new year begins; my eyes hunger for the sight; of my last sunrise."
• #2: (Winter 1177 - Summer 1180 CE) "Leaves turn green to gold; not to end but to transform; as flesh rots to dust."
• #3: (Autumn 1180 - Autumn 1186 CE) "Mount Fuji's great peak; shrouded in tender spring rain; the lonely crane cries."
• #4: (Winter 1186 - Winter 1194 CE) "The depths of winter; the wolf stalks his prey by night; red blood on white snow."
• #5: (Winter 1194 - Summer 1201 CE) "To die by the sword; no finer honour exists; winter's grip awaits."
• #6: (Summer 1201 - Winter 1204 CE) "A soul ship finds me; crystal waters call my name; I am dragged below."
• #7: (Summer 1205 - Summer 1206 CE) "Melting icicles; once proud soldiers, lose all form; returning to streams."
• #8: (Autumn 1207 - Winter 1208 CE) "Dreaded shikome! The winter of life revealed; my soul is now free."
• #9: (Autumn 1209 - Autumn 1210 CE) "Crossing the river; takes me from the familiar; to new adventures."
• #10: (Winter 1210 - Autumn 1211 CE) "Gold arcs through the sky; as breeze lifts fallen leaves; and I leave my dream."
• #11: (Winter 1211 - Spring 1213 CE) "I die triumphant; my soul soars above the snow; released at last."

---

Overall Campaign Ambience

🏠 House Rules & Special Goals

• Collateral Damage: If the honour of my Daimyō falls under 3 points, he and my best General have to commit Seppuku

Apart from that, nothing. Shogun 2 is really hard enough as it stands. Watch.

⭐ What makes this Campaign special (in my opinion)

• The allegiance system, which is a curse and a blessing at the same time. You'll see.
• You reach legendary fame way too quickly, and when that happens, everyone jumps on you.
• Units strictly parted between Samurai and Non-Samurai. Strategic mastering of the Arts is necessary.
• Money is extremely spare, is best gained by doing unhonorable deeds - which in turn destabilizes your clan.
• A Japan in the Middle Ages

[Kilo11]

This sounds interesting Derc. I never played Shogun (1 or 2, as the first was before my time with the TW series, and the latter was too good for my pc when it came out, and I never got around to getting it later). I will therefore be particularly interested in seeing all the screenshots and how the campaign progresses.

I am also glad about the idea to contentbox the update. I haven't had any issues with load times, but it makes it easier to scroll through the pages and see where each update starts/ends. I like that sort of organizational touch (I have a bit of a serial-killer OCD trend in me), and the boxes make me very happy! Anyway, looking forward to seeing how this progresses, and seeing how exactly this edition of the TW series functions.

[Skotos of Sinope]

A visual metaphor for how I expect this portion of the AAR to go:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Derc]

Shogun 2
Rise of the Samurai
#1

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

De jure Japan is an united land with all people unified under the Emperor. But in reality the land is split into countless clans, most of them not listening to the puppet that sits on the throne. Not anymore. There are three greater allegiances: Minamoto, Taira and Fujiwara. Where the Tachibana are, no one knows. We need at least 60 provinces to establish ourselves as the rulers of Japan. Japan itself has 65 provinces in total. At the moment we are not at war with anyone, but this is soon to change. The way of the Samurai is the new kind of warfare. The Samurai will make Japan strong and lead it into a glorious new future. But all warfare is useless without a stable country ... and money. We have to carefully maintain the balance between Budo and Bunka. Before we can strike at the Taira Pretender, we need to unify the clans loyal to us. Some clans are happy to join us. Minamoto Yoritomo makes a deal to establish trade with his Cousin, Minamoto Yoshinaka. They are brothers in arms, but also rivals. If the Minamoto and Japan are to be united, one or the other has to go one day. They both know that. Other clans have to be persuaded with force. Chiba comes to our help to overthrow the Fujiwara-loyal Yuki-Clan. The Kamakura have doubled their territory in only half a year. The Minamoto are on the rise again. Glorious! But then the Chiba show their true colors. Betrayal! They reveal to be lackeys of the Taira! Shimosa is lost. But we will come back. We will come back. Rumours spread quickly. Another clan withers prey now that war has broken out at Edo Bay. But they forgot whose loyality their population belongs to. We send a Junsatsushi, making an alliance with the local forces and disposing the traitorious heads of the Nitta-Clan. The cunning Minamoto have quelled a war before it could even happen, preventing unnecessary bloodshed from Japan. But everything changed when the Fujiwara attacked. Greater war is upon us! 📝 Authors Note "Go meirei wa！" "Kogeki！" "Yari Ashigaru de gozaimasu！" Haha, I just love these voices. Even their screams are funny. Glad CA included them in original japanese.

This sounds interesting Derc. I never played Shogun (1 or 2, as the first was before my time with the TW series, and the latter was too good for my pc when it came out, and I never got around to getting it later). I will therefore be particularly interested in seeing all the screenshots and how the campaign progresses.

It is never too late to check out the roots. The internet makes it possible to travel backwards in time. Try it!

I am also glad about the idea to contentbox the update. I haven't had any issues with load times, but it makes it easier to scroll through the pages and see where each update starts/ends. I like that sort of organizational touch (I have a bit of a serial-killer OCD trend in me), and the boxes make me very happy! Anyway, looking forward to seeing how this progresses, and seeing how exactly this edition of the TW series functions.

Oh yeah, we understand each other. Everything needs to be clean and tidy. I edit around all the time because I want everything to be in harmony. I need a monk.

A visual metaphor for how I expect this portion of the AAR to go:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

What the hell, man?

[Alwyn]

The Kamakura Minamoto sound like a clan I'd enjoy playing. I like the sound of their better samurai archers and I imagine that this combines nicely with the 'first samurai' and lower upkeep for samurai faction traits. Even with those advantages, it looks like expanding from two provinces to 60 will be a challenge. (I really enjoy Shogun II; I haven't tried Rise of the Samurai yet, it looks like I should!)

[Edit to add] The 'click to view' is very subtle and I almost missed your opening chapter. I wonder if you'd like to make it larger or more visible, or if you prefer the subtle style.

[Kilo11]

I like this first one. Your step by step exploration of the intricacies of this later title is very nice (especially for the troglodytes like myself who've no idea how these later TW games really function).

One thing I really like here in Shogun 2 is the way the map is laid out on your screen. It is really sharp and cool, and adds to immersion greatly. I am a fan!

[Turkafinwë]

Well I completely missed it until I came back here and saw Alwyn's comment pointing me to the "click to view". Am I really going blind or was it blended in that good I didn't even notice it. Didn't know you could make a contentbox look like that, guess I learned something new.

Loved the death poem at the start, really nice touch to start this part of your AAR with. Yeah I found Shogun II and Rise of the Samurai in particular, one of the more difficult TW games out there. Not artificially difficult like Legendary difficulty, just the game is harder and more challenging even on hard difficulty. I wish you good luck on this one!

[Derc]

The Kamakura Minamoto sound like a clan I'd enjoy playing. I like the sound of their better samurai archers and I imagine that this combines nicely with the 'first samurai' and lower upkeep for samurai faction traits. Even with those advantages, it looks like expanding from two provinces to 60 will be a challenge. (I really enjoy Shogun II; I haven't tried Rise of the Samurai yet, it looks like I should!)

Yeah, they are lovely.

[Edit to add] The 'click to view' is very subtle and I almost missed your opening chapter. I wonder if you'd like to make it larger or more visible, or if you prefer the subtle style.

Thanks for the information. You can also click the whole image to open the chapter. I knew some people would miss it, if they are not familiar with it, so I added the text. It wasn't planned that they miss the text too.

I edited it somewhat. I hope it's better now.

---

I like this first one. Your step by step exploration of the intricacies of this later title is very nice (especially for the troglodytes like myself who've no idea how these later TW games really function).

One thing I really like here in Shogun 2 is the way the map is laid out on your screen. It is really sharp and cool, and adds to immersion greatly. I am a fan!

It's nice. But it makes you nervous if there is a weird undiscovered spot at the border of the map. Sometimes you only send an agent there just to reveal it. And with it the enemy fullstack that happened to idle around there.

---

Well I completely missed it until I came back here and saw Alwyn's comment pointing me to the "click to view". Am I really going blind or was it blended in that good I didn't even notice it. Didn't know you could make a contentbox look like that, guess I learned something new.

That would be pretty funny if I just posted a loading screen with a shoddy quote and nothing more.

Placing an image in the contentbox description feels like a hacky method. It also prevents me from formatting the text inside. But I like the clickable loading image a lot, so I would like to keep it that way. If there happens to be a better solution, let me know. Just tell me if anything should ever feel off.

Loved the death poem at the start, really nice touch to start this part of your AAR with. Yeah I found Shogun II and Rise of the Samurai in particular, one of the more difficult TW games out there. Not artificially difficult like Legendary difficulty, just the game is harder and more challenging even on hard difficulty. I wish you good luck on this one!

I think you'll like what is about to come.

[Derc]

Shogun 2
Rise of the Samurai
#2

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

We need to get rid of any small thorns in the side before we can wage greater war against the Fujiwara. The Chiba clan pays the price for their treason. The city of Tochigi decides to join our cause. It could never withstand the invasion of the Fujiwara alone. Budo does not prevent Bunka. In fact it lives in perfect harmony with each other. But it is too soon to write tales that have not yet ended. Even with our protection the brave city of Tochigi stood no change against the Fujiwara invaders. Our troops are underway. We approach the enemy on the fields of Shimotsuke. A great battle has just been fought. Japan's fields have turned red. Some other enemies can be taken care of by different means. A beautiful lady arrives at our court. It is clear that she is destined for greatness. We employ her. The time has come. War between the Taira and the Minamoto has errupted. It is time to right old wrongs! The full extend of the Taira treachery becomes known a short time later. So that's why they declared war! They knew full well that this would have been the final sparking point for a war between the Taira and the Minamoto and attacked us in advance to leave us no time to react. Their cunning knows no bounds, and neither does their disgrace. It shall be. The ghosts are watching! The Genpei War is upon us! 📕 History & Culture Long story short: The Hōgen rebellion in 1156 CE and the Heiji rebellion in 1160 CE saw the power of Emperor Go-Shirakawa and the influence of the Fujiwara family altogether with a big chunk of the Minamoto family crushed. Go-Shirakawa abdicated and went into a monastery but still had the "power" of an Emperor. What followed were Emperors influenced by the Taira. In 1180 CE Taira no Kiyomori ultimately put his two-year-old grandson Antoku on the thrown, ignoring the rightful heir Mochihito, son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa (who in turn was nothing more than a puppet of his own father). Mochihito called for help and the other families, seeking for revenge against the Taira, were happy to answer, resulting in the Genpei war. They had their own plans, of course. Let's just say there was no happy ending neither for prince Mochihito nor was there for the future role of the "Emperor". It's a bit more complicated than that, but enough of it. Just think about a classic family dispute on a grand scale and you get the picture.

[Beckitz]

Funny how history repeats itself, even funnier when the architect of history is making jokes and quips all the way. A very fun read Derc, and actually whets my appetite for the games equally as much as it does history! I wonder, can history ever go off the rails?

[Derc]

Shogun 2
Rise of the Samurai
#3

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

We must not forget that we are still at war with the Fujiwara. Before we fully take on the Taira we will also have to deal with them first. This once influental family shall soon be trampled into the ground. Our cousin, despite troubled by the Taira, comes to our help against the Fujiwara. Now is not the time to hesitate. We have to push forward! The Satake, loyal to the Fujiwara, are taken care of. Hitachi is conquered. Our deeds result in more respect, both in the ranks of our friends and our enemies. The Satake do not care about that. They land in Shimosa and attack the city of Chiba. We are lucky as Hemi Mitsunao currently resides there, ready to defend it with his life. These announcement speeches are nice and sometimes also very funny, but they repeat too quickly. The Satake are thrown back. Death to the invaders! Violence against our subjects is not tolerated, however useful this man may be. He wasted his potential by doing dishonourable deeds. It is only logical that a man who has lost his honour also needs to lose his head. All of the Fujiwara now stand united against us. As hard as times have become, Japan still has to think about its future. Without future, no war is worth fighting for. When the wolf has spilled some blood, the vultures arrive. The Fujiwara, despite recently suffering a heavy defeat, do not rest. The Taira-loyal Kajiwara have their land at the western border of our territory, yet they try to attack us from the exact other side, plunging this part of our country into chaos once again. Cunning. But they did not know that our troops have just fought a battle there and are still nearby. We need to get rid of this front or the Fujiwara will overrun us in the North. Will this part of our land ever come to rest? We say farewell to our cousins. They are with the Elders now. Things do not look good for the Minamoto. 📕 History & Culture The Part about the felon who had to lose his head because he lost his honour actually has a cultural background (Fun Fact, it even gets mentioned in the Intro of Shogun 1). The Japanese valued honour above all. And still do. Their understanding of it is just over the top. They are willing to die for it, may it have been in the far away past, in the not so far away past or in the present. The Japanese Titanic Passenger comes to mind who was shunned because ... he survived the sinking of the Titanic. Surviving while others died. That was his only "guilt". If there are any Japanese here, which I doubt, just let me say this: You people are absolutely nuts. And always have been. But that's a big part of what makes you special. The world would be a boring place without the Japanese.

Funny how history repeats itself, even funnier when the architect of history is making jokes and quips all the way. A very fun read Derc, and actually whets my appetite for the games equally as much as it does history!

Thanks a lot.

I wonder, can history ever go off the rails?

Well, I certainly hope so, but I doubt it. It's not just history. Everything repeats itself, just under a different disguise. It is the very essence of nature and as long as we in our own nature won't change (a process that has already begun being tackled thanks to Cybernetics and Biotechnology), things will stay the same.
That's at least what I think. Can be doubted, of course.

For here, me doing some alternate history weirdness will have to do.

[Kilo11]

I liked this one, and the culture stuff at the end is interesting. Sorry about your cousins though dude. I would pour out a drink for fallen homies and all that, but I think it's a sin to pour out drinks on the ground

Also, to your conversation with Beckitz, I have one thing to add:

All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.