Lords of the Earth 

CAMPAIGN TWENTY-FOUR – THE WEST

Turn 89

1426 ~ 1429 Anno Domini

829 ~ 832 in the year of the Hegira

4063 (Fire Horse) - 4066 (Earth Rooster)

                                                                

New for T73

Noble House rules have been added – please take a look at these here.

 

New Spreadsheet for the Renaissance has been created – this can be found here and must be used from now on.

 

Some tinkering with the Religious Order rules.

 

I’m going back to standard movement rules – sigh – as it is just taking too much time to rewrite these. Please continue to give your orders in year chunks though – The newly created spreadsheet should help with this

New for T59

Paths to victory: There are several options open to a player when an NPN has been defeated

 

  1. Take the victory conditions (see NPN rules) available for NPNs and allow the NPN to go its own way. This is a useful option if you do not want to increase your imperial size or bother with the NPNs internal affairs.
  2. Keep it as either Pacified or Pacified Tributary. You will not get victory conditions but will get income from the NPNs Homeland/Friendly regions and cities. Also, as the years from conquest marker goes up it may turn Friendly or Tributary. Using this option treats the NPN as a super-region.
  3. Old school, you will have to take the regions you want and conquer each in turn. If the capital is taken then some of the NPNs ratings will be added to yours if higher. The NPN will cease to exist.

 

Dealing with hordes: Hordes can be dealt with a number of ways rather than just an outright battle. These are

 

  1. Threaten them. Hordes respond to a show of strength and may leave you alone if confronted with enough force.
  2. Bribe them. They are looking for gold and lands to settle or pillage so if you offer them it on a plate they may well go away. They may also just take it and attack anyway.
  3. Use diplomacy. It does work and I suggest chucking in a royal princess or two.

 

You can also use a combination of the above. If the horde becomes a FA or A, you can direct its attacks or its path of migration.

New for T57

Non-player rules update: I’ve updated the NPN rules to fit better with the Lord’s system. Please check them out.

New for T53

Restrictions on Royal Marriages: Due to the complications arising from these rules only K, H or P leaders can benefit from a Royal Marriage. Members of the Royal Family that have not come into play are not considered eligible. Also, Primate, Order and Secret Empire positions are not eligible for marriage bonuses. These are meant to be diplomatic arrangements between sovereign states.

New for T52

East – West Split: I’m going to try to split the East and the West parts of the game so that I can process the orders quicker – don’t know if or how it will work yet but lets see if it’ll happen

New for T51

No Orders: If I don’t get any orders in for a position and the player doesn’t answer my emails then I’ll put the position back to a NPN and put aside the players cash (if any) until they pick it or another nation up again.

New for T50

Request Royal Marriage: Used to ask a NPN nation for a bride for one of your Princes or a suitor for one of your little Princesses. Cost is 6AP, Charisma based. The leader doesn’t have to be in the NPNs capital but if he isn’t then he needs to be in your homeland/capital.

New for T49

Naval Reaction and Blockade: Naval Reactions can only occur when there is action in a Sea Zone that the fleet is based at. The fleet has to be based from a port and not the Sea Zone. Also, the Reaction can only occur when your own lands or those of an ally benefiting from a Defensive Pact marriage bonus are attacked. It also applies to any merchant fleets you operate through the Sea Zone in the case of piracy.  Naval Blockade’s only work if your fleet is based in the same Sea Zone as the target port and you spend all (every single one) of your APs in the blockade. The fleet must be based from a port and not a Sea Zone.

New for T48

The use of fleets for Reaction and mitigating the effects of Pirates: My understanding has now changed since we GMs have had some discussion on the list. The use of Reaction has been explained on the Wiki and Patrol is no longer used in the Base Rules.

Reaction

 

Trade Route Escorts

 

 

Updated NPN and Primacy rules: Yep, been tinkering again but I feel a almost serene sense of satisfaction with my latest offering. See what you think.

 

Added the ability to hire mercenary captain when there is no mercenary company available: See the mercenary tables

New for T47

Improved cultivation at TL5: If a nation has reached the dizzy heights of TL5 than it can benefit from improved cultivation. You can Improve a cultivated homeland region from 2GPv to 3GPv, or any other controlled cultivated region from 1GPv to 2GPv. This is a level one megalithic construction.

New for T46

NPNS: I’ve tweaked the NPN and Primacy/Order rules a little to make them fit better with the 24 game. I’ve also reduced their overall RRV to make diplomacy easier.

New for T45

New Rivers: I’ve added in some new possible rivers onto the map. These are rivers that were once passable by light traffic (remember Cogs cannot travel on rivers) and have now become silted up. You can dredge a stretch of the river (along one region border edge) as a 0.5 level project.

Gripes:

Agro as conversion – this has restrictions (see 2.11.5.3) which I will be enforcing from now on.

Rivers can only support light ships – as far as I know Cogs cannot travel on rivers. This also includes Cogs built for trade.

New Primates: We have two new Primate positions this turn. Jumal Skyfather, which is an Estonian god and the Coptic Church based out of Axum.

New for T44

Minor islands and City States: I’ll be allowing minor islands (Corfu, Jerba, Wight etc) and city states to be used as locations from T44. Just let me know the rationale behind why you want it separate and if reasonable I’ll add it in. Once they are created as locations, they obey all the rules of islands etc. However, their Gpv cannot go above 0.

Flooding: The last few turns have seen a massive increase in the amount of flooding that has occurred. It appears that the years are getting warmer and wetter. As a result of this some of the minor rivers on the map are once again becoming passable to river traffic.

Denmark: Following on from the Minor Islands stuff, you can see that Denmark is now separated out to Jutland and Syaland (Zeeland).

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 know and I will see what I can do about filtering US funds to my account. I may also stop using the throneworld email address due to the mass of spam I’m getting!

 

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. 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!):

Please send any and all Lords24 correspondence to stephenbrunt@yahoo.co.uk .

LORDS 24 WEB RESOURCES

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http://lords.throneworld.com/lote24/index.html

All of the on-line resources, including order forms, mailing lists and web-sites for Lords of the Earth are summarized on this page: 
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You can subscribe to the Lords 24 mailing list by pointing your web-browser at: 
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…and following the instructions on that page.

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


 

Africa and Moslem Spain


The Akramid Caliphate

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Tiroman VI, Caliph of the Akramids

akramid

Cordoba was to grow in size during these years while the new Caliph, Tiroman VI, ruled his lands from his estates in Andalusia.  He was further blessed with two more children by his wife Brinn of the Zirids. Some small gain in Moslem converts was made in Corsica despite the resistance by the Christian priests there but no converts were made in Bastia. Trade was also on Tiroman’s mind and a large number of Cogs were commissioned to for the Caliphate’s internal trade routes between its cities. Tomas and Saladin were in Badajoz when they were set upon in the cities merchant quarter. The two diplomats were no fighters and were foully murdered and robbed by their assailants. Kazim was still at the citadel in Badajoz and was not caught up in the robbery, and despite the setbacks was able to complete his mission in the city with Quinn who had recently arrived from Andalusia. Later in 1428, Admiral Mikhail was to succumb to a heart attack and leave the command of the Akramid fleet to his subordinates.

 

Usama-Yoruba Onium of Ibo    

(African Pagan Civilized Open Empire)
The Patriarch of Boure, Oni of Ibo

Yoruba

King Boure continued to send agents after the perfidious Ogboni but news of their activities had slowed to just rare rumours.  The peasants were beginning to grow restless and being continuously accused by Boure’s inquisitors.  Despite his obsession with the Ogboni, these years saw the kingdom’s continued prosperity with several of his cities growing in size. Boure himself was to rule from Ibo and sired two sons by his wife Wini. His son, the Prince Boure II was dispatched to Oyo to assist N’Do in diplomacy. Meanwhile, N’Bona was to continue his work in Benin and offered the hand of the royal Princesses Lupita and Impa to the Benin chief.

 

 

 



 

Arabia and the Middle East


The Buwayid Sultanate

(Sunni Islam Civilized Open Empire)
Lamman, Sultan of the Buwayids

baghdad

Sultan Lamman ruled his prosperous and peaceful domain from his court in Mesopotamia. He was blessed with two young children by his wife Saranee but sadly one was to die in infancy from a fever.  His agents were active throughout the Mediterranean and were able to gain some technology from both the Italians and the Egyptians but the Romans in Constantinople were able to thwart his ambitions. Alseem was given the lands of Jordan as his own demesne and then entered into an alliance with his sultan at the behest of Ingar and al’Sid.

 

 



 

Western Europe

crusader


Norman Kingdom of France

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Philippe, King of France

image028

King Philippe ruled from Paris with his young wife, Catherine of Valois. Sadly, the Queen was unable to provide the Philippe with a child that survived infancy. Gerard was in Brittany and but despite bribing the Montforts quite extensively was only able to maintain the claim to the province for the crown. The dockyards of Cherbourg were to receive a commission to build twenty of the new Caravels for the French navy. Once completed, the ships remained docked in the port.

The Kingdom of Germany

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Sigismund, King of the Germans

images

The royal highway was extended through the Swiss Alps and down from Saxony, through Westphalia and onto Lorraine. The conquered province of Liguria saw an extensive effort by German priests to convert the Moslem populace.  Satisfied with his southern conquests for now, King Sigismund travelled back to the Saxon court to rule his extensive kingdom and spent some time with Queen Marguerite. The young Prince Ludwig was dispatched to the Polish capital of Warsaw to gain a bride. Unfortunately, the Polish Prince was quite young and had no children old enough to marry to Ludwig. Ludwig decided to remain in Poland during these years and was able to extend the German influence over the Duchy.  In Vienna, Wilhuf was to present the young Prince Adalia where she was to marry into the renowned Habsburgs.  It was a matter of formality for Korman to take the impoverished city of Lyon for his king. He remained stationed in the almost deserted city for the remainder of these years.

 

The Principality of Salerno

(Roman Catholic Civilized Open Empire)
Carlo Durazzo, Duke of Naples

Carlo Durazzo, Prince of Salerno, was to travel to Venice to augment the garrison there before returning to Naples. Sadly, his wife had died in late 1426 from a fever and the now widowed Duke was left to mourn his Maria. Trade was established with anyone in reach of Carlo’s merchants but any attempts to establish trade with the Rashidun were rebuffed even as the old route to Egypt was restored. Neapolitan agents discovered that several of the academics at the university were secretly passing drawings and notes to spies of the Buwayid Sultanate as the Anatolian power continued to catch up with the West.  The Duchy had long been closely aligned with the Pope and thanks to the efforts of Prince Guaifer it was able gain an Alliance with the powerful Papacy. Carlo had also decided to allow the priests of the Papacy to return to Rome as his government was bloated beyond its needs. Shortly after the papers were signed allowing Neapolitan influence with the Papal State, Prince Guaifer, never a healthy man, suffered a heart attack and perished before he could return home.  Naples itself was to continue to expand, especially around the harbour where new private docks were constructed for the Durazzos. Its walls were not neglected as new ones were built there to replace the old ones. Venice was also to see its old walls replaced. Prince Sietulf married from the House of Naples and moved into the families estates in Naples. Prince Socto was also to marry but to the young and beautiful Maria of Sicily. The efforts of the Prince and Charles’s entourage of nobility and allies saw the influence of Naples in the County grow dramatically. Adhemar was a burden on the Duke but he was a close friend of the Durazzo family so Carlo was loath to dismiss him from court. However, his odious habits meant that Carlo had to find work for him outside of Naples and to that end he was dispatched to freshen the rutters held by the Duchy.

 


 


 

Scandia and the Out Isles


Kingdom of Orkeneyjar

(Roman Catholic Seafaring Open Empire)
Linnea I, Queen of Orkney and the Isles

Vast suns of gold were once again shipped east to the Rus. Queen Linnea was also concerned that Le Marteau de Dieu was falling behind the Orkneymen in the quality of their warriors and so released some advisors to the Order help them improve. She was also to invest a great deal of gold and men in trying to discover the secrets of the Caravels recently gifted by the Romans. With such vast amounts of resources poured into the project and the Orkneymen’s innate skill in shipbuilding, it was a forgone conclusion that they would discover how to construct the Caravels themselves.  Given these demands on her time and the duties of ruling the Orkneys, Queen Linnea was to give command of the fleet to Bishop Gubrand who as a man of God should not be a threat to her crown.  He was supported by the warrior Princess Ragnhild and Admiral Wotan.  Prince Ewan continued to recruit mercenaries in the Orkney capital whilst the Princess Olga was dispatched south to London with the royal princesses Freydis and Vigdis. In London, Olga met with King Eadig and his son Ceowulf to seal a marriage between the two kingdoms brokered by the wily Asvald. Prince Ceowulf was to choose the Princess Freydis and their marriage sealed an Alliance between London and Kirkval. In the far west, Hungry Wolf of the Naskapi explored the wilderness of Abitibi for the Le Marteau along with Prince Latrell of the Order.  These were sad times for the Naskapi as they were ravaged by diseases brought by the easterners. In Caithness, the last of the fierce Fergus clan was to die in his bed. Wallace bequeathed that his lands and titles should fall to Prince Ewan and the Orkneymen. Another envoy was sent to persuade the burghers of Amsterdam to join with the Jarldom  but Bresi was unable to gain any more agreements with the Dutch..

 

 

La Marteau de Dieu

(Roman Catholic Civilised Religious Order)
Tanguy, Hammer of God

images (3)

The Grandmaster travelled to Holland to consecrate an Oratory in the province. Agents of the Order had been active there promoting the benefits of cooperation with the Le Marteau over that of the out-dated Order of St Denis. Prince Latrell accompanied the Naskapi Chief Innu Spirit-Speak to the wilds of Manicougan and Mecatina but found little evidence of people in the vast wilderness. With no tribe appearing to own those lands, Latrell laid claim to them in the name of God and Le Marteau.  Sadly, the popular Innu was to perish in the wilds whilst exploring Mecatina and only Latrell was to return. Brother Francis was to improve the Order’s presence in Germany by improving the House in Alsace to a Preceptory. Returning from the West, Brother Brian aided Henri in patrolling the seas around Kirkval. Although the order was able to make some headway in converting the Moslems of Liguria and the Jumalis of Musa, the local priests were quick to quash these new converts.

 

 


 


 

Eastern Europe


The Varangian Rus of Kiev

(Orthodox Civilized Open Empire)
Peter, King of the Rus

kiev

Seversk and the lands of Mordva were to see the last vestiges of wilderness removed and new settlers move into the cleared lands. After ensuring that the kingdom’s fishermen were providing for his people, Peter settled back to rule his lands. A delegation under Prince Harald to persuade the remnants of the Ademid kingdom to convert to Christianity; the mission was extremely successful with nearly three quarters of the Ademids turning away from Islam. Prince Siegfried married from the House of Chernigov and moved to Kiev to support the king but his young wife was unable to provide him with a son. Gold was sent to the Order of St Vladimir to assist them in their attempts to cultivate Goryn. In Chernigov, Osberic was in command of the Rus army before his death from the blood fever in 1427.

 

 

The Oriental Roman Empire

(Roman Catholic Civilised Open Empire)
Alexios, Emperor of East Rome

images (1)

As well as continuing to augment the fleet with new frigates, the Romans were to fortify the eastern province of Abasigia against possible unrest. In Morea, the city of Pilos was founded on the Ionian Sea. The old ruins of Larissa were ceded by the Knights to the Emperor in recognition of the support given to Malta by the Romans. Yet again, agents of the Empire were able to stop the Buwayids from subverting the nation’s academics and prevented any of the valuable Roman technology being passed to the Sultanate. Attempts to convert any of the Moslems in Rhodes came to nothing as did the founding of a Preceptory for the Knights in Morea. The Emperor was to rule from his court in Constantinople and dispatched Duke Stefans to take control of Larissa from the Knights after adding some more men to the Abasigia garrison. Duke Issac travelled to Thrace to arrange the marriage of the young Princess Maria to Ediz of the Uighurs. The marriage and the ongoing diplomatic negotiations saw the influence of the Romans grow the Khanate.

 

 

The Order of St Vladimir

(Roman Catholic Civilised Religious Order)
Dmitry, Grandmaster of the Order of St Vladimir

Two thousand cavalry, the heart of the Vladimirian Order, were disbanded in Goryn and given farms as settlement.  With the gold arriving from the Rus, the Order was able to complete the cultivation of the province. Hopefully, this would provide the much needed grain for their men.  Priests from the Order were present in Moldavia during these years and made some progress with converting the Muslims of the province. So while Dmitry ruled from Varangia and attempted to ease the famine being suffered by his men, Hrolf was sent to Bochnia with Magnus and Gunnar where he was able to gain tribute from the province.

 

The Knights of Malta

(Roman Catholic Civilised Religious Order)
Guy, Grandmaster of the Knights of Malta

Malta

After ceding the Morean city of Larissa to the Romans, the Order’s Grandmaster Guy travelled to Sicily to establish a Preceptory. Unfortunately, the Order had fallen into disrepute in the Duchy and riots faced the Knight when he landed on the island. The riots escalated and although Guy was unhurt, the Order House on the island was set alight and destroyed. The Order also had little success in raising Houses in Rome or Taranto given its low status outside of the Empire.

 

The Noble House of Byzantium

(Roman Catholic Civilised Mercantile House)
Anastasius Makrembolites, Chairman of the Noble House of Byzantium

greek_merchant

After establishing trade with the Germans, the French and the Order of St Denis in Santa Maria, Makrembolites was to acquire agents for his mercantile concerns in Pechnograd and Varangia. Ioannis was less than successful improving the agency in Valletta and had to be content with the current trading agreements in the Maltese city. The House was to repay some of its debt to the Romans by spending some of Makrembolites profit improving Constantinople.