Well, I finally got gunpowder, but the Grand Duke might not live long enough to take much advantage of it, as we shall see…
I just got finished wiping out the whimpering Germans by simultaneously hitting 4 cities, using as a pretext the fact they threatened war with me multiple times. I was about to do the same thing to our long-stalwart friends the Hungarians in order to push through the Balkans to Constantinople before the Mongols wipe out Russia proper, but this plan was put on hold when our allies France AND Denmark declared war on me within 1 turn of each other.
But I am holding them off and even taking over their territory, as I had 2 full stacks worth of surplus troops there, in preparation for a defensive war against the English, oddly enough (the French and Danish were my allies, but the English were not and kept reconning in force into my territories.)
I’m holding a bridge on the Dnieper right now against the Mongols, but even with a cannon I doubt I can hold them off Kiev for long, but I need time to both complete my ballista towers there and to get a more competent general there to try to fight them off.
The only competent general in the general vicinity is the Grand Duke. So his long, long career might be coming to a halt soon in the face of the Eastern invaders. But perhaps not before I start my surpise attack on the Hungarians, who have broken our alliance (another Casus Belli in the making!)
Sorry for taking so long with this but I am a perfectionist in making my moves (although the majority of time playing has been in battles so perhaps I shouldnt feel too bad.) But I like playing with a short list of people (2-4) instead of just myself or conversely 10 or more people, since you have a shorter waiting time but still get to play from unique starting positions each time and not have to put a lot of time playing to get to advanced tech.
I don’t have the expansion packs yet, but if I get them I would like to try this method of play as well, especially if you do not get to start off in a given era like you did in the first M:TW (I hate having to play thru 100+ turns if you just feel like playing in the gunpowder era.)
I have no problem with getting the expansion pack. Of course, we may have to take inventory of who’s still interested and who is getting the pack as well.
Either way, I’m down.
I was going to search for this thread last night, but I forgot to. Glad you brought it back.
This King is dead! He died in his tent just before reaching the upper Dnieper bridge, leaving the area without a second general within reach of the bridges. The Mongols decided to make for the upper bridge but could not get across it in time. Your farflung reinforcements will allow you to put a full stack with a bombard on that bridge as well if you want to (although generalless, but you might be able to bluff them for a turn with it.)
It came as a surprise when the lone rider came speeding through the steppes with the setting sun at his back to inform the Prince that he had become the new Grand Duke: he was just preparing to retake the castle the Mongols had just taken from them. But now he must decide whether it is worth it to risk his life for such a wasted land that wasn’t even all that fertile before the barbarian horde laid waste to it.
I assume LOUNE is the next in line for this still? I don’t have Internet at home during the week, but I will send it to LOUNE Thursday night.
Just for fun, I’m going to add to the habit in this thread of advice on effective diplomacy- when an ally betrays you and attacks, you’ll often have a good relationship with them and can sue for peace quite easily. However, if they attack and you crush them in the battle, you can sometimes get one good (or a couple mediocre) settlements in return. I’ve gotten four or five from Milan and the HRE this time around, and it’s working very nicely.
