Lords of the Earth
CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR
The
Mongols
Turn 41
1201
~ 1205 Anno Domini
563 ~ 566 in the year of the Hegira
Announcements and
items of note
General Stuff: Please use my Paypal
account (stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk)
for all Lords’ 24 payments. If you cannot use this facility then please let me
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Order Form: Please use the
standard excel order form from now on. I’ll update the site with a link
to it next week when I get some time. This is important as it helps me process
the turn more quickly. THIS IS NOW MANDATORY.
Non-Payment: some of you still owe me some
cash. Although it may come as surprise that this is not my main source of
income, I see it only polite that you pay for the occasionally night out. So,
if you’re under zero next turn I’ll not process you orders.
Version 6: Lords 24 uses version 6 of the
basic rules
The Map: The map now includes India as well as Europe, Central Asia and Africa. However, Indian nations are not yet available for
play. I’ve greyed out repeated areas on the maps to make my life easier. However,
this means some player nations are split across more than one map. I may
increase the size of the main map but I’ll have to think on this.
Tithes and Tribute: I think these are automatically
updated by the stats program, so no need to declare them in your orders.
Control
of the Papacy and Religious Orders: In Lords 24 we will not always have a player Pope (or
Caliph etc for that matter) and the following rules are used to determine which
player faction controls the Pope’s actions, Papacy
Rules. I’ve also added some stuff about gaining support from their armies
How
to make your GM happy (PLEASE READ! REALLY!):
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to lords24gm@throneworld.com or stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk .
LORDS 24 WEB RESOURCES
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VARIOUS FEES AND LEVIES
At the moment the turns cost $5 – please
pay up of you owe
We are using the latest v6.3.5 of the
basic rule book that can be found here
http://lords.throneworld.com/players/loterule/rules.html
Turn 42 Orders due by: August 7th 2008
Without further ado, the news for these
years in Lords 24 history...
EASTERN EUROPE
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
Mustafa of Rum M996
|
Troops:
|
45c,33xc,40i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c6, s5, w3
|
The Varangian Rus f Kiew
(Orthodox Civilized Open Empire)
Izyaslav, King of the Rus
The postal road
network was expanded with the route being cleared up to Chernigov. The necessity to build a bridge
over the Dnepr caused the work to slow. Izyaslav
married from the local nobility and was blessed with a daughter. Several large
cogs were built and added to the nation’s fleet. The ships were then deployed
on trade up the Dnepr. King Izyaslav was governing
with governing his wide domain and tasked his aides to help in this task. The
city of Novogorod-Seversk
was built on the route between Chernigov and Saratov by local traders
of Seversk. The Dnepr itself swelled in size during
these years and became navigatable all the way to Tver.
The Western Roman
Empire
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Alexander, Emperor of the West Romans
While Theodotus saw to the defence of Thessaloniki,
Alexander of Larissa raised a force of six thousand horsemen and gathered the
remaining Roman army from Bosnia.
He moved down to Serbia
to protect the border from the Uighur and guide any fleeing Macedonians to Ochridia. Alexander blamed Theodotus
for the abysmal effects of the Uighur invasion and now at the head of a mighty
army declared himself emperor of the West Romans. He moved back from Serbia
and arrived at the gates of Ochridia. John the Sturdy
saw the way the wind was blowing and threw in his lot with the general, to hell
with Theodotus and his brother Euthemius.
Thedotus was left with the dominion of Thessaloniki and wondering
how it had all gone so wrong. His brother still rotted in the Uighur jail. The
princesses Eudokia and Theodora die within a year of
each other in their sixties.
The Western Uighur Khanate
(Sunni Islam Civilised Open Empire)
Khagan Selim
In exchange for naval support it was rumoured that
Euthemius, heir to the throne of West Rome, was sent
to Egypt.
Forts were built in Thrace
and Macedonia.
Khagan Ahmet crushed the rebellious Macedonians as
they attempted to prevent the enslavement of their countrymen. Unfortunately,
he did not survive to complete the task and it was left to Belim
to settle the province with loyal Uighur families. Many of the enslaved
Macedonians escaped as the Uighurs could not control them all. Ahmet’s adopted son
Selim took control of the Khanate and moved the
Uighur force of six thousand men into Thessaly
where the undefended region quickly surrendered.
The Oriental Roman
Empire
(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Isaac, Emperor of East Rome
Emperor Isaac brought Paphlagonia back into Constantinople’s control when he marched on the province.
His six thousand elite guard easily pushed aside the Rum force of two thousand
assorted cavalry and infantry. Crisias’s force was
almost wiped out and he retreated to Phrygia
with Bishop Asculias, both men nursing wounds with
their encounter with the Romans. The isolated fortress in Paphlagonia easily
fell to Isaac. Moagaritos travelled to far Abisigia where despite their worship of strange and alien
gods, the region promised tribute to Constantinople.
He was even more successful in Colchis. One
thousand spears were raised for Bishop Silvanus in Constantinople.
Humbertopoulos assisted Prince John in the affairs of
state before their demise from food poisoning at a state banquet. Old Theodora
also passed away at the age of seventy-eight.
Elsewhere in Eastern
Europe
Crisias
of Turkiyi, battered by the Buwayid advance, takes
his remaining government from Bursa
and ships them to Kor by way of Paphlagonia. The city
is declared the new capital of the Khanate. The Duchy of Poland consolidates
its control over its lands. The Ests built a new city called Viipuri in the region of Kymia.
THE MIDDLE EAST
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
None
|
Troops:
|
5c,7xc,10i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c6, s5, w3
|
Heyrenik'un Armeniam
(Roman Catholic Barbarian Open Empire)
Anisha Amirspalar
Whilst
Anisha Amirspalar and
Prince Leo ruled Armenia,
the Great Kars road was completed over the mountain from Thedyarbekir
to Lazica. Fleets were put to good use on the waters
of Lake Van. Iksanar
spent these years showing the Vaspurakan ruling class
the benefits of Catholicism, whilst missionaries were active in Psidia.
The Buwayid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Hashm ibn Sufyan
Hashm was blessed with two
sons during these years. He raised a force
of eighteen hundred elite cavalry in Baghdad and
complemented them with a brigade of elephants from India. Mustafa of Rum was again
employed in the Buwayid service. Along with the general a large force of over
twenty thousands mercenaries were pulled into Hastor. Mustafa moved from
Hastor, through Lydia, to
Bithnia and thence to the walls of Bursa.
The old Rum capital was easily breached and the forces were unleashed on the
townsfolk. When there was nothing left to loot and the city stripped bare, Mustafa
had his men torch Bursa
and let his old home burn to the ground. Yahya
persuaded the region of Abadan
to fully accept Hashm as their sultan. More of the
Christians in Cilicia were converted to
embrace Islam. Scholars in Baghdad found the
vast remains of an ancient city in Mesopotamia, could this be lost Babylon? The ruins
attracted visitors from throughout the Sultanate and beyond, causing a great
bazaar to spring up within it crumbling walls
Ar Rassid Imamat as Sa'Na
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sheik Farouk of Sa’Na
Twenty-four
thousand Ogaden warriors descend on Zeila looking for an easy victory. However, the defenders
of the Adenese outpost were not ready to surrender
and forced the tribesmen back to Djibuti after
wounded the Emir of the Ogaden. One thousand
tribesmen were killed. The Ogaden tribes return after
taking Shoa from Funj to
capture Ras Hafun
from Sheik Farouk. Old animosities were forgotten in Kilwa as the lord of that
region pledged his support to Sheik Farouk.
Al-Khulafa'ur Rashidun
(Sunni Islam Civilized Primacy
Kedar Safawan,
the Righteous Caliph
The Caliph contemplated
the glory of Allah.
Elsewhere in the Middle
East
The Ogaden Tribes capture Djibuti
from Yemen
before attacking Zeila.
NORTH AFRICA
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
Abu Benadin al’Gefara M544
|
Troops:
|
5c,10xc,10i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c6, s5, w3
|
The Ayyubid Sultanate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Saladin, Sultan of the Ayyubids
Saladin
takes to throne and Haqikah returns to her chambers, hopefully
never to take the reins of government again. Prince Jabril,
Saladin’s brother is named heir. The royal road from Thebes down to Alwa
started to fall into decay as Egyptian engineers could no longer safely
maintain its surface. Old Pharnazes travelled to Alwa and convinced the local Emir to give support to
Saladin’s cause. The Emir’s daughter was to be married to Jabril
on her arrival at court. The Iman Hoseinni
repaired the ties to Sinai and the Levant.
Saladin was also to take a bride during these years from amongst the Emir of
Levant’s family. Great numbers of men flocked to the new Sultan’s banner. As
well as ten thousand cavalry and half that in infantry that were raised in Egypt, Saladin
also took command of Pharnazes eight thousand
warriors. A great purge was undertaken to rid the Sultanate of any Salernese
influence and although many poor merchant was brutally interrogated, no sign
was found of any influence from Naples.
Amir al-Bahri
(Sunni Islam Seafaring Religious Order)
Abd Al-Aziz, Grand
Commander
Abd al-Aziz raised three thousand
warriors for the Order’s ranks in Alexandria.
More warships were commissioned along with transports to carry the Order’s
brothers to far Sicily.
Iman Abduhl oversees the building
of a new Estate, created from the Oratory in Egypt. Saladin, Son of Abd al-Aziz joined in father in
defending the seas for Allah. Abd’s attempt to raise
a Preceptory in Al’Qadi met with no success. Old Ali
dies while attending to the Order’s affairs in Alexandria. Hasan
landed his force in Palermo
and stationed the fleet in the city before moving out to conquer the rebellious
island. Unknown to him, the Salernese had the same idea and were approaching
from the east (see Salerno).
Ummayad Sultanat al Oran
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Sultan of the Ummayad
Missionaries
were active in Catalonia
and saw good progress in conversion of the Catholic majority there. A young son
was born to the Caliph by his wife Rana. Ishtmar was joined by Qadir al
Badr in Santa Maria.
Qadir led many discussions with the ruling nobility
of Catalonia
and was successful in showing them the benefits of Islam. Yoonus
ad Din patrolled the seas off Oran,
watching for Christian invaders.
WESTERN EUROPE
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
Odo of Aachen
M85A
|
Troops:
|
39c,31i,5s,5xt,10xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c5, s4, w4
|
Heiliges Romisches Reich
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Brandork, Holy Roman Emperor
The
Emperor promoted his brother Laresial to become heir of
the Empire. Marwin was dispatched to Spain with a caravan of gold for Aragon.
The gold never arrived and Marwin was last seen
leaving Provence.
Provence
itself was persuaded to rejoin the empire by the efforts of Eudes
of Burgundy. Prince Brankoening was also successful
in his effort in the rich city of Stuttgart.
Closer ties were sought within the Vatican
and the influence of the Holy Roman Empire grew in Rome. Churches were built with German gold in
Hanover and Saxony.
Jarldom of Orkeneyjar
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Wulgar Bjornson, Jarl of Orkney
The
highlands were cleared and finally put some good use in providing the island
kingdom with much needed oatmeal. Sven, the heir to Orkneyjar
died suddenly on the return from Ireland, much to the lament of his
bride Colleen. Sven and Wulfgar had no luck persuading Hildegard to give up her
independence but the princess Gretal and Harald gained the full support of Thule of Gronland. The princess Erin Svendatter
was married to Thule
to cement the relationship. It was sad to see such a beauty sailing west to the
dismal lands of Gronland. Gronland
itself was the base for Feric and Strom as they set
out to explore west of the frozen lands. The fabled Vinland was found off the Labrador coast and the rutters to these far lands taken
back to Kirkval. Sadly, Feric died on the voyage home
and the great silver-tongued warrior was given a heroes funeral when his body
arrived home.
Kingdom
of Svear
(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Erik Gustafson, King of the Svear
Erik names his son Arnold as heir to the Svear
throne.
Norman Kingdom
of France
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Louis VII, King of France
Limousin
was cleared and the fields cultivated with fine haricot vert. Louis marries from the French nobility but
although he is blessed with two sons, they die young from the flux. Phillipe of Burgundy fared better and is blessed with two
daughters by Princess Isabelle. The death of Bishop Abelard was a hard blow to
the Kingdom as his clerks and scribes returned to Rome. Guy de Ponthieu
dies while patrolling the western borders and his successor declined to offer
anything other than gold to the Kingdom’s cause. Alain was struck down by
bandits crossing the Pyrenees but his replacement was successful in persuading Auvergne to form closer ties with Paris. Fulques
spent some time with young Roger, schooling him in the fine art of diplomacy
before gaining military support from the Rhine cities of Metz
and Aachen.
Principality of Salerno
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Ricardo II, Prince of Salerno
Ricardo
rules the Principality from Naples.
His ugly new Spoleto wife was not much to his liking and no heir was born
during these years. Prince Kaspar of Savoy lands a
force of four thousand mercenary cavalry on the eastern shores of Sicily while
the transports go back for more men with Claudio Raneri
he pushed into the island’s interior in an attempt to pacify the Sicilians. It
was at this time that Hasan was moving out of Palermo and into western Sicily. The inevitable battle occurred when
the two forces met and it was the Bahri that won the
day. Kaspar’s mercenaries dispersed like smoke in the
wind when confronted by the ten thousand warriors under Hasan.
Hasan pushed Kaspar back to
the shores and destroyed the beached Salernese fleet. It was all Kaspar could do to escape to Naples. The Bahri
losses were light with less than a thousand warriors dead. Ricrado’s
losses on the battlefield were offset with diplomatic gains in Lombardy,
Spoleto, Romagna, Apulia and Savoy.
Saxon Kingdom
of England
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Richard, King of England
Richard marries his
relative Nancy
and is blessed with two sets of fraternal twins. The road from London is extended from Wymeswold to Caer Myrddin. Richard attended to the affairs of state, his new
wife and the location of the nation’s trade fleets. Lord Bryce died of a heart
attack whilst attending to the Kingdom’s books. He was replaced by Lord Ayken. Whilst Dunmore looked towards the defence of Cornwall, Lord Mercary oversaw
the transport of Anglo settlers to Munster.
The port of Dublin was raised and protected by low
lying walls. Mercary and Bishop Wexford were both
struck with the flux and died during these years. Mercary
was replaced with Lord Esmund fresh from London.
Reino de Aragon
(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Pedro II, El Catolico, King of Aragon
While
Pedro moves the army over to Asturias,
Jaime takes a wife from the Valencian nobility.
Although not blessed wife good looks, the young wife of Aragon’s heir provides him with a
daughter and son. Pedro Martell takes stock of the Kingdom’s holdings and
conducts a census of Aragon’s
lands.
The Akramid
Caliphate
(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Mohamed, Caliph of the Akramids
Mohamed
has limited success with the Catholics in Galacia,
overturning some of the loss from the previous years. A fortress was built on
the shores of the Andalusian outpost, facing into the
Bay of Biscay. Mohamed also commissioned four
light warships and ten triremes in Madiera. One
thousand men were added to his army. Trade was instigated to Aragon and the merchants of the
Caliphate told to put their affairs in order. Rithman
concluded negotiations with the Talaveran to bring
that region fully into the Caliphate. Meanwhile, Tavar
and Prince Mohaman were successful in getting
grudging support from the Count of Santiago. Mohamed himself was blessed with
four children from his beautiful wife Lila.
Elsewhere in Western
Europe
La Serenissma was not deterred by the Hungarian invasion, the
Venetians swiftly set up outposts in Ilyria, Petropolis, Malta
and Athena. The gold mines outside Oslo
soon ran dry and the city was abandoned. For some reason the Norwegians saw fit
to expand into the wilderness of Oopland. Hungary made gains in Banat
but at the expense of angering the Magyars. The Pope saw fit to expand his
holdings in Bologna
and Vincencia. Missionaries were successful in Dalmatia, turning the region Catholic. However, ground
was lost in Epirus and
Attica while good progress was made in Crete
and Lybia. La Milice du Anacletus raised Order Houses in Hainaut,
Auvergne and Brittany.
AFRICA
Mercenaries
|
Leaders:
|
Magabune of Kilwa M5A6
|
Troops:
|
10c,20i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c4, s3, w1
|
Usama-Yoruba Onium
of Ibo
(African Pagan Civilised Open Empire)
A'Damana, King of the Ibo
A’Damana was aided by his heir Bhatamai
in ruling the lands below the desert sea. He ordered Itogo
and his thirty thousand spears to defend the nation against the ever present hordes
to the north and west. Tyano and Ubaya
were dispatched to Sudan and
Songhai in an attempt to heal the damaged
relationship the Ibo had with these provinces. The lands of Garou
and Bani were cleared and cultivated during these
years. Iboan spies were active amongst the herders
and warriors of the Air Emirate and the Adjou Aba. It was the Emirate that caused the greatest concern to
A’Damana when it became obvious they were massing on
the Sudanese border. The Adjou were actively engaged
in Takrur and Adjoukt to be
a threat in 1202. Before Itogo could gather his
forces, the Emirate crossed the border into Sudan and started to subjugate the
population there. Itogo moved north from Gorouol and
met the Emir’s force of twenty six thousand warriors. The Emir was struck down
by Iboan assassins before he could finish his
conquest of the Sudan.
The Emirates forces were in disarray when Itogo
caught them in Sudan.
However, the fighting was fierce and although they forced the Air to retreat to
Kurfei, the Iboans lost
nearly ten thousand men. The Emirate’s losses were almost double that.
Undeterred, the new Emir of Air attempted to gain Hausa in 1203. Itogo moved down to Hausa and engaged the invaders. This
time Itogo’s forces were defeated and he pulled back
to Gorouol. The Emirates losses were light but the Iboans
lost nearly eight thousand men. In 1204 Itogo pushed
back into Hausa as the Emir was crossing the border into Gorouol. On more familiar land, the Iboans had the advantage and again the Emir was forced to retreat
to Kurfei. The Emirates losses were around two
thousand men to the Iboan three. The Emir had one
last attempt at Gorouol 1204 but the battered and exhausted Itogo
met and defeated the invaders easily, again forcing them back to Kurfei. This time the Emirate’s losses were the greatest
with nearly four thousand dead to one thousand Iboan
warriors. Fate was cruel to the Iboans as their
defeat of the Air Emirate was to go uncelebrated as forty five thousand Adjou warriors struck Songhai
in 1204 while Itogo was busy in Gorouol. The province
easily fell to the invaders and they pushed on into Ghana. Again the invaders easily
took the province in 1205. Bhatamai took a wife from
the Iboan nobility was not blessed with children. He
took control of the kingdom on his father’s death in 1205. Kumbai-Salah
revolts from Iboan control and decides to defend
itself against the Adjou. Aba.
Elsewhere in Africa
Adjou
Aba captures the cities of Takrur
and Adjoukt before moving into Songhai and Ghana.
The Air Emirate unsuccessfully attack the Iboan lands of Sudan, Hausa and Gorouol before
taking Daza easily from the Kanem.
The Sahal Sharifs are
joined by the Batha Tribes and the Haraze Raiders before taking Soro
from Kanem and Wadai from Funj.
Central Asia
Mercenaries
|
Troops:
|
6c,11xc,11i,5xt,5xw
|
AQRs:
|
i5, c4, s3, w1
|
Elsewhere in Asia
Glorious
Khwarzim refused to pay the Mongol tribute and faced
the full force of the hordes attack. For two years the valiant Khwarzis fought of the Mongols before finally succumbing in
1205. Khiva soon fell to the invaders and a puppet
government was set up in the nation. The Ghazni
continued their advance south and built a new
city called Bamiyan in Hazarajat. The Guardians of Anuradhapura were created in Ceylon
to fight the growing power of the Hindus.