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TC Pilot - Yeah, he kinda did. I'm surprised you weren't castigating Bataczes for revealing the whole plot! :rofl:

Deamon - I'm glad someone got that joke! My bf missed it when he was proofreading...

Tommy4ever - The Persians are doing a smaller version of Sulieman's 1161 invasion almost a hundred years later. Its rather amazing that despite the Empire being infinitely larger, this invasion (only about half size) is as great a strategic threat simply because the Empire is so far flung, and loyalties are so... dubious...

Vesimir - Only the Holy Manuel Inquisition can truly define a heretic, and currently the Inquisitor is out to lunch. :) As for Andi telling Albrecht--definitely hubris. What remains to be seen is if Albrecht detests what the boy has become enough to undo all the work he's put into putting the boy on the throne and training him to think deviously. After all, if there's no Andronikos, then who? Gabriel or his heirs are out of the question. Konstantinos? One of the more remote Komnenid branches? We'll have to see if Andronikos was calculating correctly that Albie won't do anything with the info. He definitely could, and could spell the doom of Andie's reign...

Frrf - Considering the crowd, that's a hefty prediction to make. :) Andi's got the tools to be another Manuel, that's for sure, but will he. Manuel was cocky, to be sure, but was he ever cocky enough to take on at least three different opponents at once? We can't call Andi cocky yet though--he's cocky if he fails. If he succeeds, he was merely "self-confident." :)

Zzzzz... - in our timeline, the West's opinion of the Byzantines varied. Early on, they were viewed as "the Roman Empire," the legitimate continuation of the Eternal Empire. About the time of the Crusades, this perception changed (partly from many in the West seeing the weakness of the Empire first hand). Manuel Komnenos OTL was the last Byzantine Emperor who was universally acknowledged with that title. After that, coloquially the Empire became known as the "Kingdom of the Greeks."

SplendidTuesday - Andi's definitely got a fat head, and the sociopathy to match "the Gardener." As for writing, the best advice I can give you is if you want to get better, keep writing! Write as often as you can--its truly a skill where practice makes perfect, even if perfection is impossible. I still find tons of flaws and things that make me say "mrrph!" when I reread my writing. Just gotta keep at it!

Qorten - It's certainly got all the ingredients for a clash of the ages--youth versus age, equal legitimacy, brains versus brawn... though the latter, we shall see, isn't as clear cut as we thought...

FlyingDutchie - Albrecht is an interesting case, and a true test of Andi's skill. If Andie is smart, he'll find some way to use Albie's skills. If his pride wins out, Albie will likely meet some unfortunate end. In an ideal world, Albie would be an advisor of some sort, but considering the opinion they both have of each other, that's not especially likely...

RGB - If Gabriel was Genghis, or Tamerlane, that WOULD be the strategically wise move. Arguably, it'd still be the best move in his position. But he's a Komnenos, and a Komnenos who feels his birthright is Konstantinopolis. Burning the city and breaking the Empire is an idea so foreign to him it probably hasn't entered his head. It likely hasn't entered the heads of his sons, either. The Persian Komnenids are still Romans at heart... they haven't become assimilated enough to contemplate that.

Yet.

Enewald - Thank you for the kind words, and for being such a supportive reader for so long. :)

Saithis - It's a turkey! (Bowling term) I saw you updated your AAR too. Glad to have you back among us in earnest!

Oh, and I have to following to say about Mr. Connery:

"Look what I did!"
"Damn you and your Daily Doubles, you brigand!"
"Buckfutter!"

:D


Next update hasn't been started yet, but that's mostly because I've been busy working on graphics. First, are two reign banners I'd long intended to do, but only got around to now finishing--one for the joint reign of Manuel and Zeno, the other for Basil's reign. Once I have regular internet service back, I'm going to put this up. For now, what do you all think?

jointmonarchybannercopy.jpg


Basilbannerbackgroundcopy.jpg


And before I go, I thought I'd also drop one little spoiler--Andronikos' stats once his education is finished:

andronikosadultbannercopy.jpg
 
Grey Eminence... Well, maybe he'll be better than I thought. But I still hope he'll get his arse kicked by Gabe.

And I like the Joint Monarchy one. The central pic of Basil on his one is... Strange. He looks pissed off, and I don't remember him as such. ;)


EDIT: And I've just realised you have ANOTHER Roman AAR. Huh. Just wanted to say it's nice and I didn't feel like posting a month after the last post. :p

Decency, loyalty and morality? This is Romanion! :D
 
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OT Question: How do the Latin west looks at Byzantine Empire in RL? Do they recognise it as the Roman empire or they see them as 'those Greeks'?

To the Latin West the Byzies were always "those Greeks" and known on most maps as "the Empire of the Greeks" the "real" Roman Empire being the Holy Roman Empire.

As for the update quite a good read. It feels good to actually get some solid info on the plans of various characters rather than just foreshadowing. :) I can already begin the see the plant of corruption finally start bearing its fruit. When Emperors starts moving and acting in ways that benefit himself only then that state is in for a bumpy ride if not actual collapse. With hazy claims from all over the place ("a multitude of rulers is not a good thing, let there be one ruler, one king) fragmentation is immanent. And finally, with general lack of disloyalty to the state (not unlike the situations Classical Roman Empire suffered from)...well let's just say things are not going to be pleasant for ANYONE

:cool:
 
I dont get how the game allowed him to inherit in the first place. Surely he was Alexios' nephew, but how it all happened in the game I'd like to know.
 
Enewald - In game, Andronikos was Thomas III's son. The simple progression in the game was Thomas II->Thomas III->Andronikos I. However, considering their vastly differing personalities (especially the way Thomas III turned out), as well as the Byzantine's often hazy nature of inheritance, it seemed all too... tidy. Especially considering the increasing madness of the Thomas'. (Three in a row go mad? Then nothing? Plausible for the game, not for me)

I tossed around several ideas for where Andronikos would come from, one had him being Frederica and Gabriel's love child, another had him being from the Syrian branch, but I finally decided on the half-Spanish line for a couple reasons. One, it was a nod to the David, Alexios and Sefyuallah lovers out there. Two, having a claim from being descended from the eldest of the Megaloprepis was perhaps, outside of Konstantinos in Italy, the strongest claim someone could have to legitimacy. So it fell into place from there. Andronikos' "dad" was King of Mesopotamia in game for 30 years but died with no heirs, and Meso got absorbed into Roman Persia--end result in story was the same, just accelerated.

asd21593 - It's an epic gamble, and it all rests on the guesses and assumptions of a 16 year old who thinks he's the cleverest thing on this side of Loki. Good odds? Personally, I'd walk away from that bookie :)

armoristan - The end results might not be pleasant at all, but if Andi's big huge schemes work out, he could be the "dose of poison" the Empire needs. Or, as you said, the various parts of the state could buck free. Spain's already rebelled, Italy's been a hotbed of rebellion the whole 13th century, the Egyptian Komnenids have been loyal but have immense control over that rich region, and Gabriel et al have Persia. Its debatable whether ALL of that is even rulable...

TC Pilot - Hahaha! You'll never expect the Bataczes strike!:D

Vesimir - The pissed off Basil and the lavender like colors were done mostly to make me chuckle. I imagine that's the look on his face under his mail when he's fighting. And lavender for a gigantic conqueror? Like I said, made me chuckle. :) And yeah, I have the other AAR for when I have bouts of writer's block here. I've got two updates outlined for it, but RA has been flowing ever so nicely of late so I haven't worked on it at all...

Speaking of which, next update is flowing well now that I sat down and started it. Three sections, one in Italy one in Anatolia, and one in Central Asia...
 
Considering his martial stat, he should be pretty good on the battlefield as well after some learning experiences.
 
so Andronikos was in the game Thomas the Thirds son, who was the mother?

Well, Frederika, naturally.

Which means that him and Safiya.... :eek:
 
Well, Frederika, naturally.

Which means that him and Safiya.... :eek:

Meh. I had better in my CK games.

It doesn't happen every day that an uppity-uppity, only de Hauteville to get the nickname "great", crusading king spawns 3 bastards one after another with his arab sister. No sir.

CK is really cool some times. Really cool.
 
Reminds me of a more diplomatic Harald...
 
General_BT I have a mission for you if you choose to accept it - try to finish this AAR for the release of Crusader Kings II. Q1 2012 aproaches!
 
General_BT I have a mission for you if you choose to accept it - try to finish this AAR for the release of Crusader Kings II. Q1 2012 aproaches!

Idiot! How can you want this AAR to end?! This cannot end, this is a vital part of the forums, no, of the universe itself!


You get my point. Challenges like that are stupid and pointless. Besides, would anyone stop reading just because he's playing the old CK?