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 “Now the Scythians say that their nation is the youngest of all nations, and that this came to pass as follows:—The first man who ever existed in this region, which then was desert, was one named Targitaos: and of this Targitaos they say, though I do not believe it for my part, however they say the parents were Zeus and the daughter of the river Borysthenes. Targitaos, they report, was produced from some such origin as this, and of him were begotten three sons, Lipoxaïs and Arpoxaïs and the youngest Colaxaïs. In the reign of these there came down from heaven certain things wrought of gold, a plough, a yoke, a battle-axe, and a cup, and fell in the Scythian land: and first the eldest saw and came near them, desiring to take them, but the gold blazed with fire when he approached it: then when he had gone away from it, the second approached, and again it did the same thing. These then the gold repelled by blazing with fire; but when the third and youngest came up to it, the flame was quenched, and he carried them to his own house. The elder brothers then, acknowledging the significance of this thing, delivered the whole of the kingly power to the youngest.” -Herodotus, Histories (Melpomene) Welcome to my first attempt at properly writing up a Let’s Play, after a half-dozen megacampaigns of my own. Another Paradox MegaCampaign LP? What’s the gimmick? The main difference from previous megacampaigns such as Andalusia, Byzantium, Tibet, Azerbaijan and the Paradox forum’s Jewish Poland and ongoing Assyrian one) is that I’ll be starting in Imperator: Rome, taking inspiration from the fantastic (ongoing) Gothic LP. What’s Paradox? What’s a Megacampaign? The answer to both will reveal itself if you stare intently at a map for hours on end. Paradox Interactive are a Swedish company known for producing grand strategy games which cover different periods of time and different areas - chronologically ‘earlier’ ones tend to focus on Europe through to India, later ones seek to cover the entire globe to various levels of detail. There are fan-made ‘converters’ which allow you to take the end-state of one game and ‘convert’ it to start in the next one - while the end result always needs tweaks, the ease with which you can jump from one game to another is ridiculous, with the converters handling most the grunt work for you (with one exception that’s self-inflicted). What’s the plan? We’ll be starting with Paradox’s red-haired orphan, Imperator Rome. Despite the name, the primary focus of this game is actually on the Diadochi, the squabbling successors to Alexander, who have torn the Near East apart scrapping over the remnants of his Empire. They are all dead, however, as I’ll be playing with the Simple Timeline Extender to extend the game to 476 AD (though I may very well convert earlier) and so be using the 150BC start date mod to shave 150 years off the beginning of the game. After IR, I’ll be converting the game into Crusader Kings 2. The ‘vanilla’ CK2 spans from between 769 to 1453, but I’ll be combining the When the World Stopped Making Sense mod with the converter and a few tweaks of my own (there’s a somewhat necessary prophet in this time) to get us through the migration era. After that, I’ll likely be hand-porting it into CK3 for the high medieval era, then though to EU/Vic in a more conventional fashion. Mod-wise I’ll likely be assembling bits and pieces as I go on (my current multiplayer megacampaign has about 5 gigabytes of hat and clothing mods being added to the CK3 mod), with enough cludge on my part to try to hold it all together. I’ll try to note the various mods I've incorporated as I go. No, I mean who will you play? What’s your goal? We will be playing as the Royal Scythians, the semi-Hellenized descendants of one of the first nomadic empires in the Eurasian steppe. Historically, they would be defeated by Mithridates VI, who styled himself the protector of the Greek trading colonies along the Black Sea, and the Sarmatians, who like the Sythians were a Iranain steppe peoples. In game, we’re likely to take a less-than positive view of the Greeks (in the short term, at least) but my goals are going to be based by the traits of the characters I’m playing and by the thread - you may offer suggestions, critiques and advice as from the other tribal chiefs. The weight given to such advice will depend on my political and personal situation in-game - if we end up as a republic in CK/EU4 then significantly more weight will be given to thread suggestions than if we are an absolutist kingdom. Anyway, here’s our neighborhood:  In the West, the Roman Eagle flies over most the Western Mediterranean after victory in the First and Second Punic Wars. Cato the Elder’s recent trip to Carthage has left him convinced that the city’s prosperity and continued flourishing renders it a continued threat to the republic, and he has not ceased banging on about it in the Senate. Numidia has seen its tribes united under Massinissa, and the Gauls, Iberians and Germans continue to be a conglomeration of lesser tribes.  The Eastern Med - our most pressing concern - continues to reel in the wake of Alexander, a full century and a half after his passing. While Eran proper has been ‘liberated’ under the Parthians, Hellenic states in mesopotamia and aegypt dominate the region. Close to us, Pontus waxes.  In the mysterious lands of the hind, hellenic states dominate the trading routes to the East, and the Indus, whereas along the ganges the Shunga dynasty is attempting to reverse the spread of Buddhism in favor of traditional Brahmanism. Index: Imperator: Rome 1: Bospora Delenda Est 2: A History of Glassblowing 3: Sangha I 4: The Triumvirate 5: The Star-Crazed King 6: Death on the Nile 7: A Northern Crown 8: Horse and Crow 9: And Behold a Pale Horse 10: Pax Scythia 11: Póntos Punicia 12: The Light of Knowledge 13: Cage the Elephant 14: Pars melior humani generis Crusader Kings II 15: A Republic, if you can keep it 16: Lonely as a cloud: Maises in exile 17: Swords into plowshares: the Maisian era 18: A chronology for the ages 19: Thicker than water 20: Gnosis 21: Applied Polyglottany 22: Hearth and home 23: Fitna Yuiiut fucked around with this message at 09:18 on Apr 4, 2024 |
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Aug 19, 2022 12:25
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Aug 19, 2022 12:26
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1: Bospora Delenda Est  Hello! Meet me, Skilurus I! I’m wise and assertive, which may explain why I’m in charge at such a young age - our other clan chiefs are also young, but are also tend to be rather slow or incompetent.  I’ve married a member of my own clan - suitable matches are slim on the ground right now, so someone who is good with appeasing the gods is exactly what is needed. Not least because I’ve just suppressed the worship of the Greeks gods in favor of our own. Long term I hope to distinguish ourselves from the Greeks, which is difficult when many of us follow their gods.  In the short term though, this has caused upheaval and dismay in the realm, as shrines to Ares and Hercles are pulled down where we can find them. I honestly don’t understand the fuss - I’m sacrificing to our gods now, not those of the Greeks! Ignore that these sacrifices are only made possible via the greek traders purchasing grain and slaves off us.   The god’s clearly do favor my course, though - they bless me with a son in short order, and at least even the people swearing blood feuds against me know my name! I order more sacrifices in thanksgiving, and begin to plan for the subjugation of Cheresonesus, twin cities that compose the only independent Greek presence in the western Taurician peninsula.    The conquest, when it comes, is swift and decisive - without friends on the world stage, Chereson is run under the hoofs of my horses and their cities sacked. The money, of course, goes to the Gods - a grand festival is celebrated, and a grand temple built in their honor (even if the architecture is overly Greek for my taste).     In the immediate aftermath, I graciously allow the merchants and nobles of Chereson their lives, in exchange for them leaving my realm. Once again, they show why Greeks are not to be trusted - they ‘leave’ by moving to Olbia, a city which is sworn to provide me tribute. Instead, they proclaim that my ‘tyranny’ is over and that my ‘blood will be used in the mortar of a new and grander Parthenion’. In response, I burn the remnants of Parthenion to the ground and summon the chiefs to sack Olbia. Tragically, and in further proof of Greek perfidy, Silawarne, one of our chiefs is captured and burnt alive by the rebels, having advanced further ahead of the main host in an attempt to secure plunder and fame by taking the city himself. In return, I lock the Olbian elite in their temple and burn it to the ground.     In the aftermath, and during the funeral rites for Silawarne, I am approached by the remaining chiefs, who request more of the booty be distributed to their own clans. I readily agree - they have been invaluable against the Greeks, and I can ill-afford to lose their support at this stage.  This has endeared me, not only to them, but to my loyal subject, Chief Anktsas, who rules over the thoroughly Hellenized south of Taurica. His previous concerns about me, he explains, have been that I see myself as one of the Greek Despots of the south rather than the first amongst chiefs. I embrace him as my own, and promise that some of the spoils shall go to him as well.   News comes from the East as my daughter is born - the Sarmatians have fallen out and no longer ride to each other’s defense. The Greeks, vultures and wolves all, have wasted no time seeking the subordination of the Roxalania. My advisors counsel that, should we do nothing, they shall be swallowed up like sheep before lions and the Greeks shall turn on us in turn.  The freemen are summoned in turn to fall on the North and the friendless Iazgia, and Tabiti’s blessing is invoked, that the war escape our own lands. We are right to be concerned, for as we take the western Sarmatians under our protection the Eastern ones are swallowed up by the rapacious greeks.   The Iazgians are incorporated into our realm without issue - my gracious sparing of their chiefs not going unnoticed. With my newly improved reputation, I am able to convince Anktsas to bind his realm more closely to mine, and a treaty with the Sauromatians who have also watched the Greeks with growing concern is conducted.     The treaty turns out to have come at a perfect time - a merchant with significant debts to Sauromatian lenders flees to the Bosporan “Kingdom” after slaying one of his debtors in cold blood. The Bosporans not only refuse to hand him over to satisfy the bloodgilt he owes before the gods, but also begin to marshal armies of citizen-levies on the border with the Sauromatians. The Sauomatians preemptively begin crossing the border with their hosts, calling on us to honor the anti-greek treaty.  Up to now, our hosts have fought only city-states or fellow tribes. With great reluctance, I reach into the stores of plunder our previous conquests have built up to hire a mercenary from the Bosporans themselves - one of the many, many flaws of the Hellenic character is a willingness to fight against their own for gold. In this case, Cadota is only too willing to fight for as long as the gold lasts. His men are sent to the north, while the tribal chiefs converge on the Bosporan capital in Tauricia.  The fall of the all of Tauricia and the crossing of our host into the Asiatic side of the Bosporan kingdom marked the beginning of the end - as Cadota’s men were thrown against the Bosporan armies in the fields, coming out supreme again and again, the Greeks began to waver - while they may have had a hope of defeating Sauromatia (who was taking the brunt of the counter-invasion) in the field the combined forces of Scythia, Sautomatia, and Cadota’s mercenaries were too much, and the citizen-militia too few. Suing for peace, they offered over their holdings in the West and the North. Finally, all of Tauricia is free!   With the East secured, and the coffers replenished from sacking several cities, I turn towards the West - the Getae have been a growing power, and if there’s anything I’ve learnt from the wars with the Greeks, it’s that letting neighbors grow will only come back to bite us in the future. Battles rage along the banks of the river the Greeks call the Tyras, and while we are initially successful at fighting off the Getae forces the weight of their alliance starts to show   Thankfully, the Sauromatians are only too ready to repay our assistance against the Greeks with assistance - what was originally a pragmatic alignment of interest has truly turned us into brothers and kin. Their assistance, combined with more mercenaries (this time, lesser sons of the former Iazgian nobility) manages to turn the tide, and we take the lands between the Tyras and the Istros.   This war has been painful, but has taught me - taught us - much. And so I turn to you now with four questions: What is our policy towards the Greeks? I, it is true, am hostile towards them - they are treacherous, ill-fated and not to be trusted. Yet there are those in the realm that disagree with me - that look at their grand cities and architecture and wish for us to learn such arts. We are likely to see more and more Greeks fall under our rule - should we grant them the same right we grant our Scythian subjects? How should we handle cities? Cities are a necessity - they house specialists, priests and temples and provide commerce for the realm. We have traditionally been a nomadic people - should we pull down some of the cities we conquer? As you know, I have already plundered Parthenion to the extent it is grazing land - should that be repeated? What is the takeaway from our wars? Do we double down on our cavalry, the terror of the southern peoples?  Do we seek to fortify our new conquests?  To improve our foraging, that we may ride where others starve?  To turn those we have conquered - the Sarmatians, the Getae, even the - no, especially the - Greeks, into proper Scythians?  Suggestions for where we should seek to expand are welcome, but the fact that my friend owns most of the lands to the east makes it somewhat redundant - once we have recovered from the recent wars, we will go further south - there are still Scythians there who need reuniting with the tribe. Yuiiut fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Aug 19, 2022 |
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Aug 19, 2022 12:27
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Converter guy here, and I'm pleased to catch this right at the start. A quick suggestion, if I may: I find that it often improves an LP/AAR if the author crops the screenshots to focus on the most relevant information, or even composes together the various relevant cropped bits.
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Aug 19, 2022 15:46
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Happy to get in on the ground floor with a new megacampaign. Echoing idhrendur's recommendation to crop screenshots as needed, because I had to use the integrated windows zoom to read most of those screenshots, my eyes aren't what they once were. ON the policy to the Greeks: The Greeks are a perfidious and contentuous people. However, they are also a people of philosophy and wisdom. While they should not be treates to the same degree as proper Scythians, perhaps make them second-class citizens of some sort? ON the issue of cities: While vulnerable to plunder, cities have one great advantage over our nomadic lifestyle, and that is there may be idle hands who can turn towards a pursuit of how to do things better. How to make better arms, how to devise better strategies, and so on. I propose we take some of the most populous cities, and support them, allowing them to become 'mega', or great cities. Others may be razed for their riches and the population resettled, perhaps. ON what we learn from our wars: Let them learn how to become good, prosperous Scythians.
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Aug 19, 2022 18:40
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Yeah, making the screenshots both a. bigger and b. cropped would definitely improve things. But anyway, glad to be here right at the start! As for policies: What is our policy towards the Greeks? In the cities they live and the cities they remain. But let us not be cruel: let their ways remain theirs and ours remain ours How should we handle cities? Cities, as you say, are necessary: hold them and do not destroy them, nurture them and let them provide for us. What is the takeaway from our wars? Horse archery is unstoppable!
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Aug 19, 2022 19:18
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Hello, Skilurus, it is such a pleasure to meet you! I am so glad to have been forcibly annexed into your empire and look forward to many long and productive years among the Sythians : )Yuiiut posted:What is our policy towards the Greeks? Thank you for asking this very important question! I'm so glad to see we're giving these matters of state with the importance they deserve. It's my opinion that any enemy is just a friend we haven't made yet. Rather than be nasty and brutish, alienating a tribe of people for a generation if not longer, we should welcome them with open arms and do the best we can to show that we are generous and gracious conquerors. This tact will not merely pacify our many peoples internally but show others that we are a culture worth emulating. Yuiiut posted:How should we handle cities? I appreciate your drive, I would like to gently encourage us not to raze and plunder in the future. Subjugated cities, whose citizens are providing taxes to our armies and people, will be more helpful to us in the long-run than this kind of wanton destruction. We should be demonstrating to others the virtues of our friendship, not the cost of it. Yuiiut posted:What is the takeaway from our wars? [/b] I think it would be wonderful if we could address the problem of foraging among our people. It is vital that we feed and provide for as many as we can.
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Aug 19, 2022 19:25
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Also, just an FYI, the pictures are a little small and hard to read. It might be a good idea to increase their size for future updates.
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Aug 19, 2022 19:26
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Lovely to see another Paradox LP underway, looking forward to more! Also cosigning the suggestions on focusing in/enlarging the screenshots where appropriate. On matters of policy: Greeks are neat, their cities are not, horses rule.
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Aug 19, 2022 20:40
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Yuiiut posted:What is our policy towards the Greeks? Does my king not already have the right of it? These Greeks have come to our land to rob us and to see our children made foreigners before our very eyes! We are the wronged, but have mercifully allowed them a place among us- they should work to keep that place, and employ their treacherous arts in our name. Yuiiut posted:How should we handle cities? What use was our conquest if we level our prizes? These cities will grow, now knowing their place is beneath us, and continue to provide tribute. Yuiiut posted:What is the takeaway from our wars? What else could we take away except that the ways of our ancestors won us these wars, along with the perfidy and weakness of our enemies- in your victories, my king, I keep my faith. Yuiiut posted:To turn those we have conquered - the Sarmatians, the Getae, even the - no, especially the - Greeks, into proper Scythians? If they will come and learn, let them. But the spirit of our people is not a simple thing to give to another, even when they come to us. What kind of Scythians would we make out of the unwilling? Would they be worthy of the name? I doubt it.
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Aug 19, 2022 20:42
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Scythia and an Imperator start? Very interesting. I'll keep an eye on this. also please have larger images or zoom in on the relevant parts I can barely see what's going onYuiiut posted:What is our policy towards the Greeks? Yuiiut posted:How should we handle cities? Yuiiut posted:What is the takeaway from our wars? Yuiiut posted:Do we double down on our cavalry, the terror of the southern peoples?
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Aug 19, 2022 21:31
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Accusations the screenshots are "unreadable" are confessions of literacy - what are you, Greeks? OOC: I foolishly resized the original screenshots rather than making copies-future ones will be less downsized/cropped for legibility. Voting will continue until midday Sunday NZST. Also, I may have overbuffed the Carthaginians and slaves' starting position - the First Servile War triggered during the Third Punic War, causing the Romans to collapse. Sicily is now run by the prophet-king Eunus and the Punics have re-established themselves in the Med. Blind your slaves, people! 
Yuiiut fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Aug 19, 2022 |
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Aug 19, 2022 22:28
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Carthage is on the upswing and rome's going down? Maybe this is the good timeline...
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Aug 19, 2022 22:47
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You know what's funny is that I've long considered starting a paradox megacampaign starting from Imperator as Scythia, but a combination, lack of eloquence and overall laziness always held me back. Needless to say I will be watching this with keen interest.
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Aug 19, 2022 22:57
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I mean, it has me considering doing a Carthage one...
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Aug 19, 2022 22:59
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Plundering the Greek cities sounds like fun. Just make sure to utterly raze sparta and toss the remains in a latrine pit.
Poil fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Aug 19, 2022 |
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Aug 19, 2022 23:47
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A man rides up to the meeting doing acrobatic horse-tricks. He then somersaults off his horse to speak his mind. What is our policy towards the Greeks?/To turn those we have conquered - the Sarmatians, the Getae, even the - no, especially the - Greeks, into proper Scythians? These Lower Greeks are a more hardy breed than those ripened Upper Greeks. Let's get what juicy greek ideas and tools we can out of them, but all while making them into model Scyhthians. How can they be greek when they are in our lands? They are Schtyians and they just don't know it yet. The Getae and the Sarmatians are much the same, secret Scthyians. How should we handle cities? They are cities in Shctyia, are they not? Why would we destroy our own cities? We are merely returning to them after letting them fallow for a time, like good graze lands. What is the takeaway from our wars? The man points to his horse, who strikes a majestic pose, holding a bow in it's mouth. I think we know what won us these wars, do we not? The man backflips back onto his horse and rides away. Always wanted to see an LP done here, mostly because I like the cossack vibe of the area, and the Schtyians fill that need. Though I can't ofr the life of me spell their name correctly ever, even when it's in fornt of me.
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Aug 20, 2022 00:29
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2: Clear as Ice: Glass Sculpture in Antiquity Carthage University Press, 1987 The history of glassworking in Europe begins with the importation of sophisticated Indian techniques via what would later become the Silk Road. The establishment of powerful Hellenic states in India gave rise to a sophisticated system of international trade which tended to take caravans overland to avoid the punitive Parthian tariffs.  With the decline of the Bosporan kingdom and Skilurus I’s anti-greek policy, it was inevitable that trade would decline, with eastern greeks being less inclined to trade with someone portrayed as a slaving despot by their contemporaries. In actuality, Skilurus’ promotion of the traditional Scythian noble class with their traditional hunting and riding had created a class which, while not urban or greek of themselves, certainly had a taste for luxuries.  The limitations of the traditional method of getting such luxuries - that is, pillage - was shown in spectacular fashion when, during a war against a nameless germanic tribe on the coast of the Sea of Sarmatia, the nobles pillaged and looted in such a fashion that Roman merchants who were operating out of Pontus labeled the land ‘terra nullius’ - that is, “No Person's Land” for some decades, as the region was depopulated to such an extent that no-one could be found to trade with them.   Unsurprisingly, given Skilurus’ history and background, his willingness to accept urban settlors was contingent on them showing themselves to be proper Scythians - the oldest ruins unearthed today are temples and shrines, reflecting his strong commitment to the gods - and corresponding rejection of hellenic influences thereof.   That would change, however, when the Wusun tribe migrated along the old trade routes to settle in upper Sarmatia. While nomadic, the Wusun had captured Indian glassblowers as slaves in a misguided raid of the Punjab (the retaliation for such raiding being what had driven them westward). In exchange for letting them settle in peace, Skilurus settled such artisans in two new urban centers - Borysthenia, across the river from Olbia, and Rhamidaya, which also served as administrative center for the newly subjugated Scythians and Greeks south of the Istros     Sure, the subjugation of lesser Scythia was a bloody war of expansionism, causing suffering, death and enslavement for the rural population. But for a few centuries before Attila torched the place, we made some really pretty glass sculptures! The Eastern Sarmatians, seeing the writing on the wall if the Eastern trade routes couldn’t be re-opened, invaded the Dahae to the East of them, seeking to cut a path through to the wealth of India. The war was long, bloody, and unsuccessful - Skilurus committed all his forces to the assistance of his friend, but neither side could gain purchase in the empty steppes, and after many men lay dead in the wide steppes - including Skilurus’ own uncle, who caught a fever after a poorly thought out fording of a river and perished some days later - the status quo ante was restored. While much was learnt, the price was somewhat excessive.    It is for this reason we see a wide range of Scythian glassware found in the sites excavating old Dacia - a neighbour who was urbanised, organized and wealthy, and seemed like the perfect friend on the world stage. The Borysthenian foundry, with its so-called ‘Dacian Style’ - pioneered by the first generation of native Scythian artisans - dates back to around this time.  To the student of history, however, the Dacian alliance is infamous for a rather different affair. Shortly after committing troops to the aid of Dacia, Skilurus drowned while inspecting the Scythian 'navy' at port. Falling into the frigid waters, he was sadly unable to to rescued in time. With the exception of Skilurus' sons - including his eldest, Vinaise, who was now by right the leader of the Agarids but was marching with the warhost and unaware of his father's "accident" - the great leaders of the realm happened to all be in the capital, and promptly elected one of their own, Mitre Kausika, as Chief. When a faithful messenger sent to inform Vinaise caught up with the Scythian army, they found Vinaise already dead at the hands of ‘mutineers’, and his brother, Murdhagate at the head of a the remaining host, more than aware of what had happened. That, however, is not the focus of this book - as Scythia descended into anarchy and Dacia declared for Murdha, the development of glassblowing moved southward, to Pontus, assisted by the trading rights granted to the Greek population by Mitre, who sought their support in the upcoming conflict.         Choose who to swear for (and so decide who I will play in the inevitable civil war):  Murdha. Son to a murdered father. Brother to a murdered brother. Mitre. Friends with Murdha, so probably didn't personally do the murdering. Legitimately elected, at least?
Yuiiut fucked around with this message at 12:00 on Aug 21, 2022 |
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Aug 21, 2022 10:37
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While it is the right of the chiefs to nominate the next king, do so in the absence of the previous king's heirs is a violation of quorum that renders the election void. Murdha's grievance is legitimate, regardless of Mitre's personal culpability. That our most steadfast allies have recognized him is not a legal consideration but IS a practical one.
Rody One Half fucked around with this message at 14:21 on Aug 21, 2022 |
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Aug 21, 2022 11:21
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What is this, some Greek monarcy? It is the right of the Chiefs to elect the next leader. Would anyone have objected if in these dangerous time the head of some other great family hadn't been there for the vote for a king? No. Mitreis the legitimate leader of the Scythians.
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Aug 21, 2022 12:49
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This is shady as poo poo. Simultaneous "accident" and "mutiny"? Vengeance will belong to Murdha.
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Aug 21, 2022 13:31
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Murder can only lead to more Murdha.
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Aug 21, 2022 14:00
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Mitre has the legitimate claim as elected by the chiefs
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Aug 21, 2022 14:05
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Shogeton posted:What is this, some Greek monarcy? It is the right of the Chiefs to elect the next leader. Would anyone have objected if in these dangerous time the head of some other great family hadn't been there for the vote for a king? No. Mitreis the legitimate leader of the Scythians. It is precisely BECAUSE we are not a Greek despotate that matters like formality must be observed! If ALL chiefs cannot be gathered for a proper election, then no more than a regency council can be formed in the interim! For legal rule in Scythia to be restored, this coup must be broken, its participants put to sword, and a proper election held!
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Aug 21, 2022 14:42
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Only one candidate was elected! Only one is not leading a seditious army, and only one does not intend to slaughter his own countrymen for power! Our king is Mitre!
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Aug 21, 2022 14:49
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Rody One Half posted:It is precisely BECAUSE we are not a Greek despotate that matters like formality must be observed! If ALL chiefs cannot be gathered for a proper election, then no more than a regency council can be formed in the interim! For legal rule in Scythia to be restored, this coup must be broken, its participants put to sword, and a proper election held! Oh please. None of that excuses Murdha leading armies, supported by foreigners against his own people. The other Chiefs were pretty quick to know who should be the new leader. It's not like this is a case were one decisive vote would have mattered. YOu say that an election isn't 'proper' because one chief was not present, then you turn around and say that a 'proper' election is if one of the chiefs, with foreign support, goes and murders the chiefs of the other clans, and then gets 'elected' by the ones he has at his mercy. That is a farce. Murdha is seeking to create a monarchy and claim all of Scythia for the Agarid clan.
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Aug 21, 2022 16:30
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Uh doesn't anyone else find it suspicious that Murdha wasn't killed by mutineers when his brother died, then took over the same army of mutineers? Whatever Mitre's failings he is substantially less likely to be a kin slayer.
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Aug 21, 2022 17:03
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mithrasoflego posted:Uh doesn't anyone else find it suspicious that Murdha wasn't killed by mutineers when his brother died, then took over the same army of mutineers? Man, I hadn't even considered that. Considering Mitre and Murdha were friends, this actually makes a lot of sense.
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Aug 21, 2022 17:04
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Even if Mitre did order the killings of Skilurus and Vinaise, does that not prove he is a stronger and better leader?
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Aug 21, 2022 19:05
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I'm on Mitre's side! He's sure to lead us well!
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Aug 21, 2022 19:39
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Slaan posted:Mitre has the legitimate claim as elected by the chiefs
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Aug 22, 2022 00:17
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Slaan posted:Mitre has the legitimate claim as elected by the chiefs This
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Aug 22, 2022 00:18
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Mitre seems like a more pleasant sort.
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Aug 23, 2022 01:54
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Mitre is rightre.
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Aug 23, 2022 05:49
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3: Sangha I: Written in the early 17th century, Sangha I is considered one of the greatest works of Early Modern literature. While a highly entertaining play, it's historical accuracy is, at best, highly questionable Open on a aged Mitre, seated upon a throne.  Batesa: My lord, warm greetings to thee and thine A supplicant approaches thy hearth Warmth and company he seeks Knowing that thine counsel is as fine as thy wine. Aside to the audience: If Sangha is, as predicted, to ascend to the throne Let me be his glad servant - no man may rule alone. Enter Sangha, glad in finery Sangha: Hail to Mitre, of Scythians all their liege true The conqueror of Sarmatia and the king upon the Tanais Long has it been since we have last spoken As a youth you did teach me to hunt The boy, the bow, the horse and the master Many was the harts whosth hearts he hunted Happy days indeed where those, and glad seasons. Now I return not as youth - sallow and unblooded, untested and untried Yet even as a man I seek thy wisdom and advice Teach, oh king, of kingship For soon - too soon, my lord and liege Thou mayest hunt again as thou did in thy youth.  Mitre: It is true indeed that these hands which now shake Shall soon be still and silent, shrouded in a secluded sepulcher Yet it is a bold man indeed who claimst to know Whether in death I shall ride or hunt once more Bolder still is he who reminds his master of my mortality Knowest not thou that thou are mortal too? Should the shroud and the dirt cover thine eyes before mine Shall my counsel on how to wear the crown Make thy corpse more glad or fine? Sangha: It will be a happy day indeed, my king If I should know never the pain of thy passing And you doth know my affections for you is no act. My own heart is not given to feign fraternity But I am young, and thou art old And if I have offended thee I pray you accept my most sincere apology But I repent not of being bold The chiefs are agreed - on thy death, the crown shall pass to me.  Mitre: The chiefs - yes, the great and the good It behooves us to be governed by our own Even if they be neither great, nor very good For in the breast of every Scythian Beats the heart of a free man. Pause Very well, then. Sit by my hearth, and I shall tell you the price At which such freedom is bought. Sangha sits Mitre: (Cont.) Know you of Murdha? He who they call murderer?   Sangha: I know little, my liege - it was before my time As a youth, the wounds of battle were too fresh My elders spoke not of the kinstrife And now as man I find that the sands of time Have swept off those who remember the victories. Mitre: They spoke not of the struggle? This surprises me not But their motive for such secrecy was not tact No, here is thy first lesson When the time came, none answered the call And the soul of Scythia was stained With dishonor and shame - no victories were ours In truth, some would rather see a king on our throne No, freedom then was not purchased with our own blood Hence why I would not spill Scythian blood in once the day was won For even though Scythia shall remain forever free The names of those cowards ring in infamy.  Sangha: Did they hear not the horn blow? For me, I can scarce believe - to decline To leave for lesser men, soldiers for hire To spurn the horse, to burn the bridle To have glory be offered to thee-  Mitre (interrupting): Glory? You think of that still? When this circlet is upon thy head Aside: And though he knows it not, that time draws near You shall have, if it is thy wish All praise and honor that may drip from honeyed tongues And friends far afield, for a trivial price And should they spurn your open hand Then at the stretch of your arm, riders shall swarm At the clench of thy fist, fields shall burn All this and more I have done.   Sangha: And it hath bought Scythia both wealth and fame! Why, to the south they do say (or so some sojourners have supposed they say ) That the progeny of Philip, him who wreaked such terrible wrath upon us, And of him whom who sired a kingdom such of such likeness hithero unseen (Nor, praise Tabiti, hath been seen since) Tremble at the merest mention of thy name For fear that by invoking thee all Scythia may once again descend upon them! Like the storm and lightning which the gods themselves bestow!  Mitre: Oh Macedon! Proud Macedon! It is true that I have stormed their cities Their granaries I have plundered, their cities I have scoured Treasures beyond reckoning have come unto me And yet what they took from me no golden idol, no granary, no temple Hath ever housed any substitute or likeness for.  Sangha: (interrupting) Oh pardon of pardons, oh lord, I did not mean- Mitre: Silence! For you have asked, and I bestow This royal favor, this priceless wisdom Which by nature, every man should grant To his son, his legacy, his line Which ends for me in my daughters Whom though I love with all my heart I cannot look upon without being reminded Of him whom by Macedon was torn apart. If there be strife, if there be war Then all shall be fed to the ravenous maw Friend and foe, brother and son Whomst shall return when it is won?     Mitre: It was true, for my part, that war brought wealth Of gold, of slaves, I have no lack And I am no craven - the bloodfright afflicts not I Many a city I have put to the sack But now, as I approach the silent sea And hear the call of those who ran before I am proud that I have never flinched from the call To fight is one thing, but to show honor To aid a friend, to keep an oath A crown is naught if unworthily it is worn.   Sangha: If I may be so bold, my king- Mitre: Boldness you do not lack, and yet your breath may be saved You wish to ask of Dacia, of Mucatra Truly I tell you - he was as I am Preparing for the hereafter, for judgment And so is it not natural for two peoples So alike in so many ways to join in friendship?  Sangha: It is known, of course Those whose suffering is shared, That whom face trials jointly Hath their burdens eased, their pains alleviated And yet, when he on his deathbed He pronounced his wish that his possessions were to pass to you Did not Dacia recoil as one, that the dowry delivered from their dead Should go to you and not to them? Mitre: You speak of dowries? To me, with three daughters? stage directions: pause for laughter Nay, Moesia for them was no wedding, but a conquest And if it were such a union, did not our troops Consummate such joining as much as Dacia? No, Moesia was willed to me rightfully And the only dowry there friendship In memory of which I have sent many fine gifts To Dacia, the country of my confidant.  Sangha: If you say it is as it is it shall be.  Mitre: You fear that some enemy may by deception Try to lay a claim to our own land? Fear thee not, then, for by mine own hand We have been protected from all such depletion For it hath been set that justice Aside: which, in truth, I have cared for little And the land itself Belongs not to me, but to all Let every chief rule his own And where no Scythian be found Let us send there Men and women of renown.   Sangha: A wise and most fair rule you hath set And should I be elevated to sit in thy seat I too shall to bestow favour, bestow grace On the nobles, on those who ride But also on those whom art very wise.   Sangha: And now, with many thanks, I must retire For there is much to ponder in what you have bestowed.
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Aug 24, 2022 09:00
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Mitre's support from the clan chiefs and lack of interest in administering justice has caused a significant reform: now you, the chiefs are in charge of our laws. Here's the laws (note: we have enacted council legal authority): Anything with sufficient support in thread will be passed at the next opportunity, though most the left hand side is gated behind being quite decentralized (which we are not and don't have a plausible pathway to). That said, the top options (coin minting and/or human sacrifice) have no requirements. Here's our surroundings: 
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Aug 24, 2022 09:08
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Wow, Carthage is really back in the game, huh?
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Aug 24, 2022 09:32
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For those unfamiliar with the game, could you maybe give us a brief rundown of our options? I mean obviously much can be inferred from the names but some are more vague than others.
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Aug 24, 2022 10:28
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Rody One Half posted:For those unfamiliar with the game, could you maybe give us a brief rundown of our options? I mean obviously much can be inferred from the names but some are more vague than others. This will probably be useful for everyone - unsure how many people played the tribal nations. I'll do the ones we can adopt. Centralization is a mechanic for tribes - from -100 to 100. We currently sit on 100% with a monthly gain of +0.15%, giving us +50% research points, +10% civilization level (which improves our province outputs) and +2.5 pop promotion speed. -100% would give us -50% migration cost, +25% tribesman output (more manpower), +25% morale of armies and +15% levy size. Religious Integration Religious freedom (current) gives a small happiness to all tribesman pops Encourage Syncretism would give quite a happiness buff to all our unintegrated cultures (all non-scythians) and -0.05 centralization a month (c/m) Human Sacrifice makes our religious interactions more effective and gives -0.1 c/m Economic System No Exchange Law (current) does nothing Barter Economy gives 20% more commerce income (currently half our income) gives +0.05 c/m Coin Minting gives some civilization growth to our provinces, +.01 c/m Code of Rule Our previous law (Fragmented Clans) did nothing Council Legal Authority (current) gives more tyranny cooldown, .05 c/m Absolute authority would give ruler popularity and 0.1 c/m Infrastructure Nomadism only used to make cities more expensive to establish. Changed away after the first pro-city vote Formalized agriculture reduces the number of slaves needed to produce surplus goods - making provinces more productive. +.05 c/m Hill Forts (current) gives a reasonable tribesmen output buff (manpower) and 0.1 c/m Bureaucracy Word of mouth (current) - no effect Tribal Representatives would give 10% more political influence (used in improve stability, make claims etc) and +.05 c/m Sedentary Bureaucracy would give pop promotion speed (slaves become citizens faster if there's room) and 0.1 c/m Rights Ad hoc (current) - minor tribesman happiness buff Rights of Man and Rights of Birth both give +5% civilization, but Man causes our cities to create more Freemen (who mainly generate manpower) and Birth causes our cities to create more Citizens (who mainly generate research) Yuiiut fucked around with this message at 11:08 on Aug 24, 2022 |
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Aug 24, 2022 11:01
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| # ? May 4, 2024 00:56 |
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While bartering with random goods is good fun, having a uniform currency in our lands would be very useful. We should start a Coin Minting Initiative, and the coins should have a horse on them.
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Aug 24, 2022 11:57
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