DocT01b - Middle Ages Modified: William Wallace

Good deductive reasoning Doc. I guess it's too late for Burgundy then (unless we want to destroy it for grins - it won't serve any major strategic purpose).
 
Chieftess, you there?

If you aren't going to get to this soon, do you want BobT to jump ahead of you?
 
I just sent Bob an ICQ message. I think it is time for someone to jump in and play here ... still no response from Chieftess. So hopefully Bob can get to it soon.
 
I will play the next turn out tomorrow night. Was hoping to see CT back, Hope things are okay.
 
I picked up the save and carried on in the same manner as has been followed, or at least I think. I had to get a few things managed in order to get the gold back up, and worked out a couple kinks in taxes.

Watched the Castille decide to hit Dorested in an attempt to take out the civ. This was in 1135ad. I decided that maybe with good timing, I could move in with the three horses we had over there, and take out the city myself if Castille weakened them enough. Waited until 1137 AD and declared war on Burgundy.

No luck. What did happen though, is Castille moved on and went after other targets I assume. Finally have a currach down near the holy land.

In 1146 (think I played to many turns ) our gold was at a critical state, and decided it was now time to hit England once again. Moved int and declared war in 1146 AD. Repton is now ours, and one more Royal has been hung in the public square. Enland is faltering. After the initial battle, very little offence came out of English cities. We will over take them very shortly if planned carefully.

Have fun Gobi :)

Save attached.
the save
 
I just knew Bob would set me up to play my 3rd straight war with England.

Sounds like fun...

(Have the save, won't get to looking at it until later).
 
LOL

but u do so well in battle, and your comments keep me reading :)
 
Exactly at this time, England was in the period called The Anarchy. Found a good site on that period ... you can see why we're going to be able to take them down right now! Remember, the leader of England in this scenario is Matilda.

Excerpted from:
http://dragon_azure.tripod.com/UoA/Stephen.html

Who is this Stephen person anyway?

Stephen de Blois was the fourth son of Stephen II Henry de Blois, Count of Blois, and Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror. An unlikely candidate for the throne of England and Duchy of Normandy, though he was Henry I's favorite nephew. His eldest brother, Hubert died very young. His brother, William de Champagne, Count of Chartes was an imbecile and was disinherited in favor of his younger brother, Theobald III, who became Count of Blois in 1125. By the time Henry I died, Stephen was the eldest legitimate male grandchild of William the Conqueror other than Theobald. Robert Curthose's line effectively died out in 1128, all other legitimate male heirs of William the Conqueror's legacy were dead.

From contemporary accounts, Stephen was a genial fellow, and a brave warrior. Unfortunately, he had little sense with regard to politics, and was easily manipulated by his peers. Many of his decisions were made in order to get people like him. Forcefulness was a necessary quality for a monarch in 12th century England, and Stephen learned far too late that lands and offices granted generated wealth and independence, not loyalty.

What about this Matilda the Empress person?

Based on the names provided in the Royal Genealogical Directory [4], one would think that Matilda is the only name women of the Royal Family were given in the 12th century. Every branch of the Royal Family had a Matilda--either by marriage or by descent--until Henry II's reign. Matilda was the eldest legitimate surviving daughter of Henry I, and was recognized by Henry I, his nobles (including Stephen of Blois), and the King of Scotland as his heir to the English throne in 1127. In the absence of a legitimate male descendant, Matilda was the next obvious choice to continue the line. Her marital alliances with the Count of Anjou and the Holy Roman Empire could have served England quite well and expanded Henry I's empire greatly. Why it took Henry I seven years to formally recognize her is not clear, but the issue of legitimacy and politics finally gained the reluctant approval of Henry's barons.

She had been virtually raised in Germany (having been wed to Emperor Henry V at the age of 8 or 9), and had acquired many traits disagreeable to the English nobility of the time--not the least of which was her later marriage to an Angevin (Geoffrey Plantagenet)! Her marriage to Geoffrey was not a happy one. Geoffrey was very much her junior when they were betrothed, and she was "imperious and disagreeable" enough that Geoffrey sent her back to her father on one occasion.

The Reign of Stephen

Many refer to Stephen as being England's worst king (a title that is sometimes used for John, but at least his reign produced the Magna Carta). He was wasteful with his treasury. His nobles plotted against him and usurped his authority in many ways. He made poor political decisions--usually in an attempt to gain friendship instead of wise rule. In an act of what he thought was magnanimity, he repealed all the prohibitions against hunting, and many of Henry's unjust forest laws. Within a year, game within the kingdom had been depleted, forcing Stephen to re-invoke the laws. This 'flip-flop' in policy raised a great deal of enmity against him. Stephen, although a brave and usually successful fighter made poor decisions following his victories. Stephen often allowed his opponent's men and supporters to go free following a victory, and men that should have been hanged for treason were also allowed their freedom. Although laudable by today's standards, these were grave errors in judgement for a monarch in such times. Stephen's leniency was seen as weakness, and was highly exploited by his opponents.

Even as Stephen seized the throne, some nobles who had supported Matilda remained loyal. Among them were her half-brother, Robert, Earl of Gloucester. Robert was in a precarious position as a noble of the realm, and within easy reach of Stephen and his forces, yet clandestinely supporting his sister Matilda. Stephen's usurpation outraged Matilda's uncle, David, King of Scotland. At first, the English barons rallied to Stephen--hoping that he would be as great a King as Henry I.

In 1137, Stephen went to Normandy to claim the duchy there. Unfortunately, he was unable to capture Normandy, and began losing support. In 1139 he arrested Bishop Robert of Salisbury and his nephews, Bishop Alex of Lordon, and Chancellor Roger, and seized their wealth. These men had been accused of plotting against Stephen, and he imprisoned them on questionable evidence. Naturally, the Church was outraged. About this same time, Matilda and her husband Geoffrey arrived in England to press Matilda's claim to the throne. This is the beginning of what is known as the Anarchy.

Plan for my ten turns ... We'll take the role of King David of Scotland. Time to take down the evil English and the incompetent Stephen. The British isles need a united Celtic rule! Not playing immediately, but hope to get to it some time today.
 
I'm gonna pull out of this one. I'm in too many SGs, and one of this is starting to take a lot of time to play the turns (LK61).
 
Inherited Turn, 1149 AD: Dalraida and Inverness in unrest … assume Bob has entertained them properly. Switch Cornwall to Walls since it is under attack. Send captured English workers north to work in the Scottish mining operations.

IBT: English knight appears out of fog and kills a spear. Civil disorder at Stratclyde and Dyfed!

1152 AD: Inverness: Sword->Sword. Thurso: Blacksmith->Sword. I hurry Walls in Cornwall. Grailmaster and Bodmin Hero are the only ones left defending there. Lose 1 Sword to the Knight, but take him down with a second Sword. See a Byzantine Cataphract red-lined attacking a Swedish outpost on Cyprus. Now that sounds a bit bizarre! Curragh drops off a Horse to scout London. It is guarded by a Knight. Size 11! It looks like Thetford (revealed later to the NE of London and only guarded by a Spear) will be the easier target.

LondonCalling.JPG


Wipe out 3 English spears to the NW of Repton and 1 near Thetford. Boost Science to 40% to get Early Siegecraft in 5 turns (instead of 7). Breaking even now.

IBT: We watch the red-lined Cataphract attack and defeat the Swedes. Grailmaster defeats a Crusader while defending Cornwall. See Crusader leaving Nottingham, headed to defend London.

1155 AD: Dalraida: Sword->Sword. Cornwall: Walls->Spear. Dyfed: Sword->Sword. Skye: Blacksmith->Sword. Bamburgh: Sword->Sword. Horseman SE of London captures 2 English workers, who are hustled off on to waiting Curraghs. We capture Thetford after just 3 attacks, and decide not to raze it. It has a Barracks, which could be helpful.

ThetfordFalls.JPG


IBT: Lose 2 (of the 3) Horsemen near Dorestad to the Burgundians. Good, I didn’t want to pay maintenance for them. One of our Horses near London red-lines a Crusader before falling. That will help in the attack on London.

1158 AD: Cork: Horse->Spear. Inverness: Sword->Sword. York: Blacksmith->Sword. Closing in on London and Chippenham both. Might knock out the English with those wins, so prepare a Settler to take the English town of Hastings on the island to the NW of Scotland.

Grailmaster attacks a Spear pillaging our roads in Cornwall … and loses, despite the clear terrain. A sad day in the Celtic community. We’ll have to compose another epic tale about his great feats. Only the Byzantines and Abbasids have Early Siegecraft. When we get it next turn we should be able to trade it for both Code of Laws and Viking Sagas. Good stuff!

IBT: No attacks on us … but Thetford culture flips to the English. No more nice guy. All towns will be razed from now on!

1161 AD: Early Siegecraft is done. Start building Catapults! Time for trading. Get Code of Laws from the weak Germans. Viking Sagas from the Swedes. 23 turns until our Unique Unit. Lose 2 archers and 3 swords in attacks, but take out Thetford and a Knight. Our scout Curragh reaches Jerusalem.

IBT: Kill an English archer. Take that Robin of Loxley!

1164 AD: At the request of the people, we start the Norse Saga at Armagh, “How the Grailmaster Changed the Fortune of Britain” is the working title for now. 24 turns to completion; change some of the taxmen there to workers. 4 Swords built too. Start a Town Hall in Inverness. Fatimids are the only ones to be starting the Domesday Book. Can we get 4 Town Halls and beat them to it? I start a prebuild in Skye. We’ll have the Town Halls in 4 turns.

IBT: Two more English archers attack. We’ve cut them off from Iron; that’s all they can build now.

1167 AD: Our first Catapult! Have to throttle back research. Get it back to 19 turns by adding some scientists to our corrupt cities. Chippenham loses all its healthy defenders … Matilda should be safely delivered from Stephen’s clutches soon. London may take a bit longer.

IBT: I let the ROP with France end. We can get it back with techs any time we want to.

1170 AD: Mixed results on attacks on Chippenham. Might take longer than I thought.

IBT: More archers.

1173 AD: Our Curragh with a Settler finds Iceland.

HereIsIceland.JPG


Regroup near Chippenham until more Swords can arrive. London is surrounded to cut its production.

IBT: Burgundian Spear and Archer attack us in Brittany. I’m going to actually have to pay attention down there.

1176 AD: Switch the palace prebuild to Domesday Book in Skye. Will be ready in 20 turns.

IBT: Lose a Warrior in Brittany to an Archer. Couldn’t afford that; only 1 unit left in the city there. Lose a hurt sword to an English archer. Poles demand CoL and we laugh at them. They go away.

1179 AD (last turn): We shell Chippenham with Catapults. Hey, that’s fun! Go in for the final assault (killing 4 spears) and get down to Matilda. Send our Elite Sword to “capture” her and we get…

Bravo! OK, we won’t raze this one. Need that Holy Roman Empire!

AfterMatildaIsCaptured.JPG


Here is all that is left of England's main empire. Don't forget to settle the islands she possessed after she is eliminated!

WhatRemainsOfEngland.JPG


Take Out England!
 
We are down to 3 players.

1. Warpstorm <-- UP NOW
2. BobT <-- Back on deck
3. Gobi Bear <--Resting up

Priorities for the next players:
-- continue to take down England
-- settle in the islands when England loses those cities, especially Hastings (not sure the settlement on Ireland is worth it)
-- Domesday Book

I meant to check if it sped up the Domesday Book by switching the city building it with the Norse Saga (i.e. assign one to Palace temporarily and switch them). If so, we should do that since we are in a race for Domesday Book.
 
Good work!
Since the interest in the Middle Ages Conquest will be bumped up by the RBC series, it should be pretty easy to get one or two more players for thisn, if you'd choose so.

Are you aware, that the Domesday Book will trigger your GA (the HRE is REL)?

Your war against the English was excellently planned and executed, but what's next? Crusade? Danes? Castille?
 
Originally posted by Doc Tsiolkovski
Are you aware, that the Domesday Book will trigger your GA (the HRE is REL)?

That's right! And we thought adding the Agricultural trait to those wonders when we modded the scenario was a useless exercise that would never bear fruit.
 
Sorry for the delay. I'll get to my turns tomorrow.
 
1179 AD, (inherited turn) Wow, the English are on the ropes.

IBT - Burgundy loses a unit to us in Brittany. We lose one to them also.

1182 AD, Dublin Catapult->Settler, Iverness Spearman->Settler, I send the wounded units back to recover. I am preparing for a strike on Nottingham.

IBT - Theodora wants our territory map in exchange for peace. I refuse as she probably won't go to war over it. I was wrong!!!

1185 AD, Bamburgh, Spearman->spearman, Celtic York Spearman->Settler. We are losing money fast.

1188 AD, Strathclyde Swordsman->swordsman, Gwynedd swordsman->swordsman, Iverness Settler->Swordsman, Thurso swordsman->swordsman. Captured Nottingham! On to London.

1191 AD, Dalriada Catapult->catapult, Dyfed sword->sword, Celtic Cumbria, Barracks->sword

1194, AD Iverness sword->sword, Bamburgh spear->blacksmith, York settler->settler, Our treasury is getting low. The troops are massing on London. I think I'll start the the assault next turn.

My reign is half over. We are poised to take out England within a few turns. I've got settlers ready to build in the ruins. We have too many troops for a peacetime economy. Who (and where) should our next target be? Burgundy has at least two cities and is at war (although taking Dorestad will likely wipe them out). Byzantium is now at war but (so far) well away from us.

Any advice?
 
Any way we can talk the French into an alliance vs. the Danes or Germans?

If that was possible, we could probably set things up so that most of the war was fought in France, reducing the risk to ourselves. Of course vs. Germany is much safer. Amphib attack from the Danes could be very deadly.
 
1197 AD, Dublin Settler->Settler. I found Agedincum, start it building a temple right off as it has defenders.

IBT - Burgundians talk to us. They want peace, I turn them down. They stage an attack on Rennes from France. They likely have an ROP (I checked and they don't - cheating AI).

1200 AD, Dyfed sword->sword, Destroyed the English! I lost a swordsman and a horseman in the attack, but it was worth it. Now for the tough problem of transporting all these troops to Burgundy. I'd like to capture Cologne so that we have a city close to Germany. There is no way we can win this one peacefully so my near term plan is to shift our aggression to Burgundy then to Germany. Unfortunately, our military is weak compared to just about everyone now.

IBT - Our valiant defenders hold Rennes for another turn. Joan d'Arc contacts us. She's just complaining that we are moving troops through her waters. Hamburg built the Domesday Book. We still had 13 turns to go. We weren't even really in the running. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to take it from them.

1203 AD, York settler->swordsman, I found Eboracum in the ruins near London. I also found Burdigala up in the far North. It looks bad for Rennes though, I'm not sure we can hold out another turn.

IBT - Rennes is still ours. I think we blunted the spearhead of their attack.

1206 AD, Repton temple->blacksmith, I found Cataractonium near the ruins of London.

1209 AD, Dyfed sword->sword, Skye curragh->curragh, I found Lapurdum on the ruins of Hastings.

BobT, you're up. We are doing okay, but the time limit is looming.
 
We don't really have anything the French want. We have a lot of stuff that we could trade the various vikings.
 
The save:
 
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