SKILORD
Insurgent
This is the part of the update where the ground shifts and rules… change.
Social Cohesion now goes from 1-18
Trait bonuses have been slightly modified. Militaristic will remain the same. The others will now operate as such:
Commercial: Commercial Factions gain 1 EP per turn for each export they trade.
Scientific: Scientific Factions receive +50% production from buildings or projects that provide Research per turn.
Industrious: Industrious Factions pay 3 less for construction of buildings.
Religious: Religious Factions may acquire 4 vassals without Reputation restrictions. Religious Vassals do not count towards Vassal cap.
Corruption now goes from 1-5
Social Cohesion thresholds have been adjusted.
A new Agent Mission has been added: Assassination. Assassination allows Agents to target another unit and kill it if they generate higher than a 7 out of 10. It requires the technology of Potent Poisons.
Potent Poisons is a technology that anyone can research with no prerequisites. It costs 15 EP. Control of an Ancient Ruin will reduce the cost of Ancient Poisons by 7. (If you don't know what an Ancient Ruin is don't worry, it's something you stumble across)
A couple of Iron Age NPCs have been added. The Wovvolk and the Zora. Zora is North of Persia and the Wovvolk are Nordic.
A proper welcome to everyone who was already in the Iron Age last turn.
Now let's get to some war, shall we?
-
Update Soundtrack: 50 Cent's Many Men
-
In Shang battle was pitched, with most of the vast wealth of the Empire devoted to their armies, but foreign armies were a common sight as well, from the Heavenly Dragon or Kush, Kitanato or Korea, everyone was willing to join against the threat of the Khan and fight that battle in Shang lands instead of their own.
A group of Swordsmen were sent West, in support of the Heavenly Dragon's Northern March, but they never even made it to the friendly armies. By the time they reached the Western Defensive Lines they found that the Armies of the Khan had split and were continuing to press forward into Shang.
The Swordsmen fought valiantly as the horses stampeded through the field of battle, but when the dust settled all was lost. The Shang armies would never join up with the offensive, the cunning of the Khan had ensured that.
The Horsemen even managed to secure the Rice fields, subjecting many of the Farmers to the Khan's rule and halting production of the Trade Good. They massed their remaining number just past the defensive lines, for the battle had been hard on them and they had lost many of their own.
Which is when the KKK Counteroffensive began.
The armies of Kush, Kitanato and Korea had each sworn to march to battle for this cause and although it took them a long time to get there they found the disarray in Shang and immediately set upon the invaders. Spearman after spearman was crushed under the hooves of the Khanate but when the Swordsmen from the South finally arrived they were able to retake the fields and re-establish the Rice crops.
With the Khan's Eastern Army smashed even the relatively timid warriors of Shang were able to retake large parts of their territory, but there remain some large parts still held by the Heavenly Dragon. There have also been a large number of stories about life under the Khanate coming from the Western Regions. Life in the conquered zones of the Khanate was a life of waiting to be chosen for the nightly human sacrifices to their Blood God… Akten.
The people of Shang are horrified that war will consume their land further, many want to push for a separate peace now, rather than waiting to see what the Emperor of the South would prefer.
(Shang Empire: +Economic Expansion (.33), +1 Swordsman, +Astrology (1/20), +Trade Good (Wooden Sculptures), +6 Reputation, -2 Social Cohesion)
The Empire of the Heavenly Dragon spread their power far and wide, dividing the world itself into spheres of influence. Their armies hammered the divided forces of the Khan and they discovered secrets lost for ages.
In the ancient city of Baejoi Swordsmen delved deep into the secrets of that land. Under the direction of the Imperial Office of Research and Records (Section 3) they were able to uncover many of the traps without setting them off, recovering massive barrels of highly potent poisons from the site, Inspector Wa Shi is sure that with a little more investment these poisons could be replicated and he even has some interesting ideas for deploying these poisons.
But that is not likely to make a difference in the war against the Khan. The Northern Army began a series of campaigns against the Khan. The advance was slower than expected, with Shang assistance never arriving, it seems that the Khan split his forces and fought bitterly in the East while the Northern Army pushed towards Ulaanbaatar.
At the border they were immediately engaged by a pair of the Khan's horsemen one of whom smashed a group of Swordsmen before retreating. The campaign continued in a similar manner, with the Khanates forces striking fast and hard or vanishing. One group of Swordsmen retreated all the way back to the Border after being engaged by a strong charge of the Khan's men, sure that they would end up like the other two swordsmen who had already fallen to such attacks.
Had they stayed they might have seen the campaign change tone, after the humiliations of these battles General Gui Feng Lo seemed to have figured out the Khan's game, and he began to pin the Horsemen down and smash them with his superior forces. Soon the Shang land was retaken and he was forcing his way deep into the Khanate.
There are many rumors coming out of the lands conquered by the Khan. It seems that the conquering armies were committing regular, daily even, sacrifice of captives.
When approaching the Capital the army was hit by a group of spearmen who destroyed a group of Swordsmen before being defeated. The Army now is holding outside of Ulaanbaatar and preparing for the final assault.
Harbors have been added to Singhai and Ningbo, greatly expanding the wealth and the fishing capacity of the Empire. Add to that the complete control of Southern India and the great shows of the Empire's Naval power which forced the pirates of those seas to seek refuge beyond the dividing line of East and West.
(Empire of the Heavenly Dragon: +Economic Expansion (2), +Harbor (Singhai), +Harbor (Ningbo), +4 Spearmen, +2 Swordsmen, +Chao War Junk, +Engineering (4/15), +Potent Poisons (1/8), +Trade Good (Salt), +6 Reputation)
The Army assembling in Aureopolis was to be the grandest ever brought forth, a miracle of the Saturan treasury, vast forces of Swordsmen and Cataphrats, Heavy Catapults and men from Punt, Sudan and even far off Sereng. They had heard rumors that the Stone Worshippers had been drawing financial support throughout the Mediterranean and perhaps even built an army to match them, but these rumors were not taken seriously.
They kept to the Western side of the divisions, but soon discovered that pirates who had once plundered the waters of Western India now were forced north and to the West by the Navy of the Dragon. Ambitious to the bitter end and more than a little desperate these pirates chose to attack the navy as it approached the Persian Gulf. The Puntic Galley was lost, and with it two swordsmen, but the navy brought their vengeance to bear in more than equal measure, destroying the ragtag brigands.
As the survivors sailed on to Ur they spoke often of grand strategies, bringing the armies into formation when they landed, assembling everything perfectly and distributing the Freelancers well.
So it was something of a surprise when the Tower of Ur, a building paid for with Saturan gold opened fire on them before they could land. It was now filled with Archers, and there wasn't a Zorrkanist to be found. They had all fled when the city fell, when the Philosopher King was murdered and the Tower taken.
A Nubian Galley fell to the flaming arrows, lighting up the whole navy as it sank and giving the archers a clear shot at a high value target. Arrows rained and burned down on the Longship until it fell, taking each of the Freelancers with it.
The Saturan forces scrambled to the shore, confused, bewildered, hurt and outside of the walls and massive tower that they had built to defend Ur with, now being used to defend Ur from them.
A group of swordsmen charged in, thinking to end the battle quickly against the archers, but soon realized that the Kurd's numbers had not been exaggerated, and that a Cyrian Freelancer was just adding gratuitously to the beating. At this point, after the losses, the Generals realized that they were outnumbered.
They turned to their secret weapon, the Heavy Catapults, unloaded from the ships and brought to bear on the tower, a group of Cyrian swordsmen fell, but after that the bombardments seemed progressively less effective.
Another charge began, an ambush from the side of the tower, but it was beaten back by the Kurds.
The Cataphrats decided to charge in, taking their holy mission very seriously and incapable of accepting the possibility that their army would not even make it into the gates of Ur.
The charge got it's revenge, killing a group of swordsmen, but A group of Iberion Archers had the final say in the matter, leaving the body pile even higher. After one last futile attack the Army of Satura and what allies remained fell back, sending ships to sneak out of the warzone while they tried to hook up with a Land of the Sun force… if one even exists anymore.
The disheartening news from Ur was not alone on Octavian's desk. A new city was discovered south of Lotalogas, or rather quite an ancient city. The stone walls are pristine, it was clear from the start that war had not touched this place and there was a lot of confusion about why everyone had left.
Until the explorers started getting sick, boils and retching up everything they ate until they starved. This disease, which some are calling Zulep's Boils is spreading throughout Satura and costing many lives. It has shattered much of the Social Cohesion that has built up and at exactly the wrong time. Nubia has reverted to independence, and closed their borders to trade although the disease still spread there and has demolished the population. Word from Punt isn't any better and the Zulappi have started to show symptoms of an epidemic.
In Lotalogas, the area hit the hardest by this new disease, a new Chieftan has even risen up, claiming the right to the Great Lighthouse and an independent Kingdom of West Saterah. He feels as though the armies are overextended and crumbling and that the border patrols will not be enough to stop him. Some suspect that there are Iberion Agents in the area, but since the Inquisitor is on the other side of Satura he was powerless to stop their troublemaking.
(Satura: +Engineering, +Paper Ledgers (1/20), +Astrology (1/20), +3 Galleys, -1 Longship, +Forge (Waset), +3 Heavy Catapults, +1 Cataphrat, +Trade Good (Pitch), -3 Freelancers, +7 Reputation, -4 Social Cohesion)
To the North in Queen's Harbor they were distracted from such concerns. The wars of Cyria did not concern them and Zuleps Boils were just silly Iberion fairy tales like their stone worship.
What they attended to there instead was knowledge, selling the secrets of Iron to the Zulappi for Guilds and money and building up the first Library in Europe. This has allowed them to take the first steps to figuring out the advantages of Paper Ledgers.
There has even cropped up a small industry of writers who enjoy telling Pirate stories, dashing sailors seeking adventure and seizing maidens, robbing merchants. Family stuff.
The Seasworn did not stop there, but began expanding along the mainland, Landlubber's Retreat is a grand new city, designed to prepare the Seasworn to expand their holdings throughout the Sea.
Anne Teach is getting old for a Pirate and there have been some questions about her ability to continue as a viable leader. Other Captains are starting to position themselves to take over and the people in Landlubber's Retreat often lack faith in the Queen's ability to keep leading. They ask how a successor will be found.
(Seasworn: +Library (Queen's Harbor), +Trade Good (Pirate Stories), +Guilds, +Paper Ledgers (1/20), +2 Reputation, -1 Social Cohesion)
-
I thought I put a Map somewhere around here…
-
Diplomacy, Even.
To: Satura
From: Kurdia
Our terms will be gentle, we promise.
To: Seasworn
From: Iberios
Are you interested in buying our Furniture?
To: Shang
From: The Khanate
We are willing to negotiate some sort of Peace.
To: The Heavenly Dragon
From: Zora
You seem reliable. I like reliable people.
Social Cohesion now goes from 1-18
Trait bonuses have been slightly modified. Militaristic will remain the same. The others will now operate as such:
Commercial: Commercial Factions gain 1 EP per turn for each export they trade.
Scientific: Scientific Factions receive +50% production from buildings or projects that provide Research per turn.
Industrious: Industrious Factions pay 3 less for construction of buildings.
Religious: Religious Factions may acquire 4 vassals without Reputation restrictions. Religious Vassals do not count towards Vassal cap.
Corruption now goes from 1-5
Social Cohesion thresholds have been adjusted.
A new Agent Mission has been added: Assassination. Assassination allows Agents to target another unit and kill it if they generate higher than a 7 out of 10. It requires the technology of Potent Poisons.
Potent Poisons is a technology that anyone can research with no prerequisites. It costs 15 EP. Control of an Ancient Ruin will reduce the cost of Ancient Poisons by 7. (If you don't know what an Ancient Ruin is don't worry, it's something you stumble across)
A couple of Iron Age NPCs have been added. The Wovvolk and the Zora. Zora is North of Persia and the Wovvolk are Nordic.
A proper welcome to everyone who was already in the Iron Age last turn.
Now let's get to some war, shall we?
-
Update Soundtrack: 50 Cent's Many Men
-
In Shang battle was pitched, with most of the vast wealth of the Empire devoted to their armies, but foreign armies were a common sight as well, from the Heavenly Dragon or Kush, Kitanato or Korea, everyone was willing to join against the threat of the Khan and fight that battle in Shang lands instead of their own.
A group of Swordsmen were sent West, in support of the Heavenly Dragon's Northern March, but they never even made it to the friendly armies. By the time they reached the Western Defensive Lines they found that the Armies of the Khan had split and were continuing to press forward into Shang.
The Swordsmen fought valiantly as the horses stampeded through the field of battle, but when the dust settled all was lost. The Shang armies would never join up with the offensive, the cunning of the Khan had ensured that.
The Horsemen even managed to secure the Rice fields, subjecting many of the Farmers to the Khan's rule and halting production of the Trade Good. They massed their remaining number just past the defensive lines, for the battle had been hard on them and they had lost many of their own.
Which is when the KKK Counteroffensive began.
The armies of Kush, Kitanato and Korea had each sworn to march to battle for this cause and although it took them a long time to get there they found the disarray in Shang and immediately set upon the invaders. Spearman after spearman was crushed under the hooves of the Khanate but when the Swordsmen from the South finally arrived they were able to retake the fields and re-establish the Rice crops.
With the Khan's Eastern Army smashed even the relatively timid warriors of Shang were able to retake large parts of their territory, but there remain some large parts still held by the Heavenly Dragon. There have also been a large number of stories about life under the Khanate coming from the Western Regions. Life in the conquered zones of the Khanate was a life of waiting to be chosen for the nightly human sacrifices to their Blood God… Akten.
The people of Shang are horrified that war will consume their land further, many want to push for a separate peace now, rather than waiting to see what the Emperor of the South would prefer.
(Shang Empire: +Economic Expansion (.33), +1 Swordsman, +Astrology (1/20), +Trade Good (Wooden Sculptures), +6 Reputation, -2 Social Cohesion)
The Empire of the Heavenly Dragon spread their power far and wide, dividing the world itself into spheres of influence. Their armies hammered the divided forces of the Khan and they discovered secrets lost for ages.
In the ancient city of Baejoi Swordsmen delved deep into the secrets of that land. Under the direction of the Imperial Office of Research and Records (Section 3) they were able to uncover many of the traps without setting them off, recovering massive barrels of highly potent poisons from the site, Inspector Wa Shi is sure that with a little more investment these poisons could be replicated and he even has some interesting ideas for deploying these poisons.
But that is not likely to make a difference in the war against the Khan. The Northern Army began a series of campaigns against the Khan. The advance was slower than expected, with Shang assistance never arriving, it seems that the Khan split his forces and fought bitterly in the East while the Northern Army pushed towards Ulaanbaatar.
At the border they were immediately engaged by a pair of the Khan's horsemen one of whom smashed a group of Swordsmen before retreating. The campaign continued in a similar manner, with the Khanates forces striking fast and hard or vanishing. One group of Swordsmen retreated all the way back to the Border after being engaged by a strong charge of the Khan's men, sure that they would end up like the other two swordsmen who had already fallen to such attacks.
Had they stayed they might have seen the campaign change tone, after the humiliations of these battles General Gui Feng Lo seemed to have figured out the Khan's game, and he began to pin the Horsemen down and smash them with his superior forces. Soon the Shang land was retaken and he was forcing his way deep into the Khanate.
There are many rumors coming out of the lands conquered by the Khan. It seems that the conquering armies were committing regular, daily even, sacrifice of captives.
When approaching the Capital the army was hit by a group of spearmen who destroyed a group of Swordsmen before being defeated. The Army now is holding outside of Ulaanbaatar and preparing for the final assault.
Harbors have been added to Singhai and Ningbo, greatly expanding the wealth and the fishing capacity of the Empire. Add to that the complete control of Southern India and the great shows of the Empire's Naval power which forced the pirates of those seas to seek refuge beyond the dividing line of East and West.
(Empire of the Heavenly Dragon: +Economic Expansion (2), +Harbor (Singhai), +Harbor (Ningbo), +4 Spearmen, +2 Swordsmen, +Chao War Junk, +Engineering (4/15), +Potent Poisons (1/8), +Trade Good (Salt), +6 Reputation)
The Army assembling in Aureopolis was to be the grandest ever brought forth, a miracle of the Saturan treasury, vast forces of Swordsmen and Cataphrats, Heavy Catapults and men from Punt, Sudan and even far off Sereng. They had heard rumors that the Stone Worshippers had been drawing financial support throughout the Mediterranean and perhaps even built an army to match them, but these rumors were not taken seriously.
They kept to the Western side of the divisions, but soon discovered that pirates who had once plundered the waters of Western India now were forced north and to the West by the Navy of the Dragon. Ambitious to the bitter end and more than a little desperate these pirates chose to attack the navy as it approached the Persian Gulf. The Puntic Galley was lost, and with it two swordsmen, but the navy brought their vengeance to bear in more than equal measure, destroying the ragtag brigands.
As the survivors sailed on to Ur they spoke often of grand strategies, bringing the armies into formation when they landed, assembling everything perfectly and distributing the Freelancers well.
So it was something of a surprise when the Tower of Ur, a building paid for with Saturan gold opened fire on them before they could land. It was now filled with Archers, and there wasn't a Zorrkanist to be found. They had all fled when the city fell, when the Philosopher King was murdered and the Tower taken.
A Nubian Galley fell to the flaming arrows, lighting up the whole navy as it sank and giving the archers a clear shot at a high value target. Arrows rained and burned down on the Longship until it fell, taking each of the Freelancers with it.
The Saturan forces scrambled to the shore, confused, bewildered, hurt and outside of the walls and massive tower that they had built to defend Ur with, now being used to defend Ur from them.
A group of swordsmen charged in, thinking to end the battle quickly against the archers, but soon realized that the Kurd's numbers had not been exaggerated, and that a Cyrian Freelancer was just adding gratuitously to the beating. At this point, after the losses, the Generals realized that they were outnumbered.
They turned to their secret weapon, the Heavy Catapults, unloaded from the ships and brought to bear on the tower, a group of Cyrian swordsmen fell, but after that the bombardments seemed progressively less effective.
Another charge began, an ambush from the side of the tower, but it was beaten back by the Kurds.
The Cataphrats decided to charge in, taking their holy mission very seriously and incapable of accepting the possibility that their army would not even make it into the gates of Ur.
The charge got it's revenge, killing a group of swordsmen, but A group of Iberion Archers had the final say in the matter, leaving the body pile even higher. After one last futile attack the Army of Satura and what allies remained fell back, sending ships to sneak out of the warzone while they tried to hook up with a Land of the Sun force… if one even exists anymore.
The disheartening news from Ur was not alone on Octavian's desk. A new city was discovered south of Lotalogas, or rather quite an ancient city. The stone walls are pristine, it was clear from the start that war had not touched this place and there was a lot of confusion about why everyone had left.
Until the explorers started getting sick, boils and retching up everything they ate until they starved. This disease, which some are calling Zulep's Boils is spreading throughout Satura and costing many lives. It has shattered much of the Social Cohesion that has built up and at exactly the wrong time. Nubia has reverted to independence, and closed their borders to trade although the disease still spread there and has demolished the population. Word from Punt isn't any better and the Zulappi have started to show symptoms of an epidemic.
In Lotalogas, the area hit the hardest by this new disease, a new Chieftan has even risen up, claiming the right to the Great Lighthouse and an independent Kingdom of West Saterah. He feels as though the armies are overextended and crumbling and that the border patrols will not be enough to stop him. Some suspect that there are Iberion Agents in the area, but since the Inquisitor is on the other side of Satura he was powerless to stop their troublemaking.
(Satura: +Engineering, +Paper Ledgers (1/20), +Astrology (1/20), +3 Galleys, -1 Longship, +Forge (Waset), +3 Heavy Catapults, +1 Cataphrat, +Trade Good (Pitch), -3 Freelancers, +7 Reputation, -4 Social Cohesion)
To the North in Queen's Harbor they were distracted from such concerns. The wars of Cyria did not concern them and Zuleps Boils were just silly Iberion fairy tales like their stone worship.
What they attended to there instead was knowledge, selling the secrets of Iron to the Zulappi for Guilds and money and building up the first Library in Europe. This has allowed them to take the first steps to figuring out the advantages of Paper Ledgers.
There has even cropped up a small industry of writers who enjoy telling Pirate stories, dashing sailors seeking adventure and seizing maidens, robbing merchants. Family stuff.
The Seasworn did not stop there, but began expanding along the mainland, Landlubber's Retreat is a grand new city, designed to prepare the Seasworn to expand their holdings throughout the Sea.
Anne Teach is getting old for a Pirate and there have been some questions about her ability to continue as a viable leader. Other Captains are starting to position themselves to take over and the people in Landlubber's Retreat often lack faith in the Queen's ability to keep leading. They ask how a successor will be found.
(Seasworn: +Library (Queen's Harbor), +Trade Good (Pirate Stories), +Guilds, +Paper Ledgers (1/20), +2 Reputation, -1 Social Cohesion)
-
I thought I put a Map somewhere around here…
Spoiler :
-
Diplomacy, Even.
To: Satura
From: Kurdia
Our terms will be gentle, we promise.
To: Seasworn
From: Iberios
Are you interested in buying our Furniture?
To: Shang
From: The Khanate
We are willing to negotiate some sort of Peace.
To: The Heavenly Dragon
From: Zora
You seem reliable. I like reliable people.
