Encyclopedia wAARspite : Cambodia

Originally posted by MrT

LOL! Hey Stroph1, have a look at the monarch.cam file in the /db/monarchs folder. Scroll down a little way...

I hope Warspite hasn't been peeking. Hee Hee!

Click to expand...

I have seen as far as Ang Chan I, frankly I am surprised that there are that good of monarchs for Cambodia because during this period 1500-1800 the country was in the midst of a dark age. None the less, this is fun making my own history based on the monarchs im given. Next update coming up

Nikolai- Thanks for checking this little AAR out, I have a bad feeling that by the time Ang Chan comes up Ill be a vassal to someone, the difficulty setting is high and it shows with the way I am playing.

Stroph- On the same note, I may not last much longer, Its a miracle Vientiane did not take me out already, Dai Viet saved me.

King Srey Sukonthor 1486-1512


With Cambodia in a desperate situation and on the brink of collapse once again, Nobles set out to find a leader. They submitted to King Lim of Khmer who placed his brother Srey Sukonthor on the throne of Cambodia by request. With royal ties and an economic connection between the two Kingdoms, work began to help the Cambodian people recover from years of hardship. Though many changes were made to the infrastructure, the economy still struggled from the past. Goods were so expensive that merchants were unable to establish a foothold in overseas markets. Inflation had also taken its toll leaving the King no choice but to abandon some reforms to focus on his priorities.

He greatly improved relations with surrounding nations, bringing Cambodia into the protective realm of her neighbors once again. Though he neglected the military, a small army was formed. Yet Sukonthor focused on relations mainly. The King of Champa became very close at this time and this caused friction with Cambodia and Dai Viet. Though an ally to Dai Viet, her King warned Cambodia not to interfere with her long term goals of domination over Champa, this would cause problems between the two neighbors in the future.

1496 brought another regional war. Cambodia’s allies invaded nations to the west. Sukonthor chose to remain neutral in the matter, He was passive and feared results that Dharmara faced years ago. King Sukonthor avoided conflict in an effort to rebuild his country. His plan worked, he kept Cambodia from invasion, strengthened the economy a bit from its despicable condition and made Cambodia so popular in the region that China promised aid incase of invasion from enemies. Upon the death of King Sukonthor, the policies of Cambodia would shift radically and lead her to a destiny she could not have imagined.

In this experiment of playing the game, I have come up with a new method to help it work better and improve the playing experience. Below is a makeshift table I am developing to use for game play coupled with my methods stated previously.

DIPLOMATIC PLAY (AI adjusted based on monarch skill lvl)
Skills 8-9 AI weak, Makes best decisions for future
Skills 5-7 AI Normal, neutral to good decisions
Skills 3-4 AI Aggressive, neutral to foolish decisions
Skills 0-2 AI Furious, makes foolish decisions

ADMINISTRATION PLAY (game diff adjusted per monarch skill lvl)
Skill 8-9 Diff Easy, best decisions made for game play
Skill 5-7 Diff Normal, Good decisions made
Skill 3-4 Diff Hard, Neutral to poor decisions
Skill 0-2 Diff Very Hard, Bad decisions made

MILITARY PLAY
Skill 8-9 Best decisions made to advance country in game, be it peace or war at the time.
Skill 5-7 Good decisions made for country, good military decisions in war
Skill 3-4 Military not improved but kept up, bad tactical decisions made in war
Skill 0-2 Military abandoned, very poor decisions made in war.

So there you have it, just a glimps at how I am approaching this Monarch to Monarch. Enjoy!

Depending on how this game goes, I will most likely edit the above table, any suggestions?

Some interesting Ideas there MrT, I am sure I will keep experimenting with this idea for some time in the future. I will definately start putting the Monarchs skill lvls next to their names so you have an idea of how good or bad they really are. Then you can see the results of my playing them.

Sometimes its difficult to make those so called "good" decisions because at times those well intended plans dont always work out. For example, with Dharmara he is a good Monarch, so naturally I am going to do my best to make good decisions with him to improve the country. However, with Cambodia, a country I have never played before, i just realized her military is very low tech because of her religion.

So my seemingly good decision to help allies turned into an out of control bloodbath where even the many rebels were kicking my butt and things were about to go from bad to worse. Not a good thing for a good Monarch. Basically the rebels beat me and my government fell, all hell broke loose then.

Well that is why I have implemented the chart above, however with the difficulty level modifiers. Because good decisions in normal mode can be fatal decisions in hard mode. So far it has helped me in the roleplay department. Though I question whether changing the difficulty lvl is going too far.

I love playing this way though thats for sure, it gets me deeper in the game, makes me think more and the results are enjoyable. In short, its more challenging.

Anyways, on with the show.....

King Nay Kan 1512-1516


Nay Kan was actually a descendant of King Dharmara, he was able to find his way to the throne upon the passing of King Sukonthor as relations with Khmer began to deteriorate. Nay Kan had but one ambition and all other matters of state didn’t seem to exist. He wanted the crown of Champa in his hands, not to mention that of Khmer. However he began his plan of conquest with an invasion of Champa in 1513. His neglect for the military did not help matters, losses were high yet Champa was even more ill prepared for a long war. Unfortunately, King Nay Kan would not live long enough to claim the throne of Champa of the Mekong Delta. He was replaced by his young son Ang Chan in 1516 as Champa held out stubbornly.

King Ang Chan 1516-1566


Ang Chan was above all, a shrewd and cunning conqueror. He was not a warrior or a politician, he was simply put, a Great Man. He knew what it took to defeat an enemy but he also knew when he could not defeat an enemy. He was neither too proud nor too humble and his resilience and wisdom at such a young age made him an icon in a region that had been without a Hero for a long time.

Within a year he rebuilt a navy, restructured the army with cavalry and led a massive and crushing assault on Champa to finally claim that crown as his father had dreamed. When Khmer refused to give up the throne peacefully to Ang, he devised a plot that would force war with Khmer. He declared war on one of Khmers friends the King of Atjeh. Khmer broke ties with Cambodia and invaded from the south thus began the conquest of Khmer. By 1519 Khmer was defeated, overwhelmed by Ang Chans numerous army, the throne was taken by Cambodia.

Ang Chan may have become too ambitious for a time in his early victories. He underestimated the dissent in the Mekong and Khmer regions, also the envy of the King of DaiViet who wanted Champa for himself. In a series of events as a result of Cambodia’s invasion of Malacca in 1522. Dai Viet invaded Cambodia. Rebellions in the Mekong Delta were so great that Ang Chan began to lose ground against three powerful armies. After a pivotal Political Crisis that challenged Ang Chans future. He set about compromising with humility to save himself and his country. He submitted tribute for peace with Malacca, he gave tolerance to the Hindu people of the Mekong and DaLat regions. He then was able to focus his army on DaiViet which worked well in the long run. By 1530 Dai Viet was defeated and many lands were given to Ang Chan for peace. A legend was born, and Ang Chan was only wiser and more ambitious because of it.

Not only did this King build large armies and plan well for conquest. He devoted much time and resources into redeveloping the Kingdoms trade and economy. Within ten years the taxes doubled only because the economy was that much stronger. His reduction in actual demands of citizens raised stability and improved product values, which in turn aided Cambodian merchants abroad. Ang Chan knew the best way towards a strong Kingdom was for the economy to be strong. By his death in 1566 the value of Cambodia’s currency in the Portuguese trade posts was six times what it was before Ang Chan took power. Much of that wealth was thanks to the Conquests that would continue during his reign.

From 1530 to 1545 Ang Chan led a series of wars against his neighbors from Ayutthaya, Vientiane, Dai Viet and Pegu. Skillfully he worked his way through military struggles, rebellious provinces and the giant of China. As Cambodia defeated her enemies, China saw a rival in Ang Chan so they invaded in 1541. Ang Chan knew he would never be able to withstand such a large, more skilled army so he again submitted to China for peace. With tributes of gold keeping China at bey, Cambodia finally completed the conquest of three Kingdoms (Ayutthaya, Vientiane, DaiViet).

After her conquests Cambodia became a feared and hated Empire in the region. Despite a large army and navy, Ang Chan did not want to risk war with China again. It would just be too costly and risky. Further, he wanted the rich Muslim lands of the south. So he nearly emptied his treasury to win the favor of China’s King and the King of Malacca also. He then joined their alliance, married into their families and secured the protection of his Empire for the duration of his reign. He then turned his sights to Pegu, Atjeh and exploration to the east ocean known as the Pacific.

One problem that plagued Cambodia for so many years was its inability to hold onto technology. This became a problem for the army as even rebels became better equipped in battle. The Buddhist monks simply would not allow the military to compromise the faith with more deadly weapons of war. It would only cost Cambodia more men.

Ang Chan would not allow the Buddhist monks to convince him against exploration. He hired a man named Tching to explore to the east for more land. Islands were found but weak efforts in colonization did not lead to new colonies there. Ang Chan did manage to gain colonies in Jambi by Atjeh and in Jakarta. This angered the King of Atjeh who was tricked into war by Ang Chan. Pegu and Arakan tried to stop Cambodia from more conquest but only wound up being conquered themselves while China and Malacca reluctantly helped Cambodia’s quests. After the conquest of Atjeh, Pegu and Arakan, Ang Chan became ill suddenly in 1564, he apparently became insane because he ordered the deaths of thousands of Buddhist monks causing many religious revolts and instability in the Empire. Soon after the revolts were crushed, Ang Chan died in 1566 the Empire he would leave to his son Barom was the greatest any south east Asian country had ever seen in history.

GAME NOTES

I just want to comment that my table I made has been working PERFECTLY! One reason is it gives me a guide line to use in game play for each monarch. More importantly it uses the game engine to fit the monarchs abilities. By that I mean when I actually change the difficulty levels it more appropriately credits the monarch I play. For example....

Ang Chan was like a Gengis Khan type figure, he was very powerful, and feared. Often in history we see nations who have great leaders are not attacked by those who hate them because they fear the wrath of such a great leader. This is well portrayed when I lower the difficulty level of the game per the table I made last page.

Further, After Ang Chan died I was happy to get a less able monarch. upon changing the difficulty levels for this monarch and playing, I find actions to be much more difficult and best of all, nations who had not attacked me because of BB. Now declared war on me because Ang Chan was no longer a threat Kinda cool huh!

Timurlane made a massive empire and few dared oppose him, same thing with Ang Chan in this game as represented by the easy difficulty level. Then his sons came to power who really sucked as leaders, all the sudden all hell broke loose for Cambodia just as it did for the Timurid Empire.

I think I am on to something here anyways, just wanted to share that, as I continue to enjoy this experimental game play.

What a Game!

Originally posted by Nikolai II


Nice thoughts, but I would like to comment about offensive.

I don't think offensive/defensive should change likelihood of honoring alliance, and if it would then offensive setting should increase likelihood of joining offensive wars in alliance and defensive increase the likelihood to join in the defence of an alliance member.

But else I think joining wars is a part of diplomacy, and not doctrine.

Thank you

Click to expand...

I like MrTs proposals but I am not going to use them because it is too complex at that point. I have found a very happy medium with the table I shared last page. So far the guidelines drawn have made for the best game I have played since last year. Its not too complex, yet I find myself really thinking how I should make my next move

King Barom Reachea 1566-1576


Barom was the eldest son of Ang Chan, he was actually the one who oversaw the conquest of Atjeh and defeat of Arakan while his father was ill. Barom was already unpopular among the nobles and diplomats. He was a very vulger and spoiled man and it showed. He kicked the diplomat of Nippon out of Angkor in 1568 which resulted in a declaration of war on Cambodia. Reluctantly China and Malacca joined their ally Cambodia as a result Cambodia would never have to fight. Barom flaunted his power and it made for bad relations, yet he did work to upkeep the Empire as a working entity.

He tried to be like his father and conquer more land. However he had no idea on how to keep an army well kept. He also suffered massive losses against tribal warriors in Palembang. He became a laughing stock of the international community when his army fled for the last time from Palembang not to return again. Revolts also plagued his reign, so poorly equiped were the armies that it often took five times as many men to crush revolts. It was costly and slowly drained the treasury and patience of others watching.

The end came in 1574 when Baroms younger brother Chetthai started a political crisis in the courts. Barom had made too many enemies and he was replaced by Chetthai in 1576, Barom escaped to Malacca where he would come to understand what happened to him may not have been a bad thing after all compared to what befell his brother.

MORE GAMEPLAY NOTES

As i continue to play this cambodia game, I continuously ask myself, so whats a good decision in the game and whats a bad decision. Well when we play, I think we are all use to just playing our best to overcome the AI, take as much land, explore,trade, politic, convert etc etc. Thats us as the ruler basically, taking the historical figure out of the picture for the most part.

So i ask myself, how would this monarch react in a situation. How can i roleplay him/her in this virtual world. Below are some examples of decision making process I use during this experimental game.

King Chetthai (stats, Admin 4, Diplo 2, Milit 2)

1. Should I improve my relations/alliances? No, be hostile, work to end any alliances
2. How should I deal with other nations? Hostile! dont improve relations, dont broker for peace, ignore friends and enemies.
3. How should I treat my people? Be tollerant to my religion, not so much to others.
4. How should i move domestic policy? happy medium, dont allow for benefitial improvements
5. How should I take care of my military? Buy mostly expensive cavalry and during war time make upkeep low so they have bad morale in combat, during peace make upkeep slider high so they cost lots of money. Ignore navy.


King Ang Chan (stats, Admin 8, Diplo 9, Milit 9)

1. Should I improve my relations/alliances? Get allied to most powerful nation, form a net of protection
2. How should I deal with other nations? Improve relations as you can, strike at weak neighbors, gobble up the land.
3. How should I treat my people? tollerance to all, anything to improve the state of the nation
4. How should i move domestic policy? In war and in need of cash, max money for conquest. In peace maximize technology improvements.
5. How should I take care of my military? As best I can that I know how to give full impact in war.

the above is just an example of my thought process while I play. There is much more to it than that but i hope you get the idea. Keep in mind, difficulty levels are adjusted for each monarch depending on their abilities.

I am considering using dice to shape monarch personalities more for decision making. Also looking into real history to see how they reacted to situations.

Anyhow, let me know what you think, and if you try this style of play and like it?

I just came up with another way to explain my method.

A monarch with skills of 8 to 9 in any skill is very rare. They obvously are great leaders. So naturally my tendancy is to do great things with them. Difficulty levels are lowered in that catagory because lets face it, the monarch has great influence thus the enemy is weakened. If you see what I mean.

A monarch with skills of 3-7 in my opinion are average, above and below. So for the most part they will keep to status quo, maybe making a few great decisions or maybe some very bad ones.

A monarch with 1-2 skills is rock bottom crap, we are talking bad leadership here. So naturally to roleplay that I make the worst decisions i can think of in the game play, not to mention the difficulty lvl ensures things dont go well.

Ok that is just another example of what I am doing with this. You might say "well whats the point of playing when you already know this guy is going to do bad, this guy good etc etc?"

Well to answer that, I already know Ill do well if I dont play this way, lets face it, the game is easy after awhile. So how well can I portray each monarch in the game? Will a good monarch use all resource to explore, or to invade? will the bad monarch hold the line or let the empire fall? How will the AI react in all of this? What will the results be when I stop playing my very best every time?

Thanks for reading.

Originally posted by Lt. Tyler
Warspite,

Are you playing with any other house rules in effect? Or maybe altering the severity of those house rules depending on monarch?

For example, the admin value of the monarch might govern how many different CoTs you would allow yourself to trade in, and how many merchants you allow yourself in each?

But clearly that's just one example of a house rule that could be altered depending on the current monarch.

It's a very interesting approach to playing, which I think I'll try sometime.

LT

Click to expand...

Yes, remember I mentioned there are many other things I do in previous post. What I meant is that I do have house rules like you mentioned. Such as ingnoring trade, or limiting my trade, or taking control of trade and doing the best I know how. All that depends on monarch skills with Admin.

I constantly try to figure out, ok, how would that skill level effect the decisions I make in the game. Roleplay is key here. So yes to answer your question there are many house rules. Also I am using certain events when I feel it is necessary. For example

Stability in Cambodia has been +3 almost all the time, even with rebels controlling half the empire. So I felt a few events were in order because my monarch (chetthai) stinks. So I did a couple negative events I felt were appropriate (-3stab) (poor govt policies) for the situation.

Stuff like that

I honestly made a mistake by playing Cambodia using this style for the first time. If I could do it over, I would try playing England, France or a major country. Take your pick of one of those, maybe not in 1419 either, start your first game in a 1492 or 1600 scenario just to give you a feel for it.

The reason is because Cambodia is EXTREMELY limited to its growth and technology anyways. It doesnt help me in the learning curve with this way of playing. I would have liked more diversity as time progressed yet I find Cambodia stuck years behind the rest in many things even after Ang Chans rule.

Either way, it should be fun.

King Chetthai 1576-1594


King Ang Num 1594


King Reamea Chung Prei 1594-1596


Former King Barom could not have imagined how lucky he was to be ousted by his brother Chetthai. In the near 20 years of his reign he destroyed almost all that his father Ang Chan had built. The Empire that was so strong upon Ang’s death could not withstand crushing blows from within and from the outside. Neither could it withstand 30 years of foolish leadership. Chetthai being the worst of the two sons of Ang Chan. It was not all Chetthai’s fault however. Ang Chan had built up a great many enemies for his conquests. Though he had China and Malacca to support the Empire the friction caused by years of aggression would only fuel the flames of decline. Ang Chan’s sons were simply not able to keep the Empire together.

From 1576 to 1594 Chetthai attempted to keep the Kingdoms together. By his death the struggle had been lost. The once filled treasury was replaced with mounds of debt from the constant cost of war and a steadily declining economy. Trade suffered, exploration that Ang Chan introduced was halted and the only colony left was Jambi in Sumatra Island. The army, which had taken so many losses, was now demoralized and kept as a security force close to Angkor. The Muslim state of Atjeh broke from Cambodia and they would be followed soon by many other Kingdoms.

When Chetthai died in 1594, his son Ang Num was already unpopular and he lasted less than two months on the throne. The Government collapsed amid swelling, uncontrollable revolts and foreign invasions. Ang Num was killed and the Kingdom given to Reamea Chung Prei who was the son of former King Barom Reachea. In order to keep the throne Reamea was forced to give back the thrones of Ayutthaya, Annam, Luang Prabang, Dai Viet and Vientiane. The Empire was reduced mostly to just Cambodia, Khmer and Champa. The alliance with China also had been lost, leaving Cambodia isolated among many enemies. The legacy of Ang Chan had nearly disappeared.

King Reamea had enough wisdom to end the wars that plagued his country. He focused on restoring stability to the nobility, he lifted oppressive laws and taxes from the peasantry which did little to help the broken economy yet ended rebellions in the Kingdom. His weak efforts to restore relations with China failed. His response was to build the army, but it was a demoralized and technologically backward force that would not hope to withstand the modern armies that some of her neighbors fielded. Reamea did not have time to continue with reforms for his now small Empire. He died leaving the throne to his young son Barom Reachea II. Barom’s youth and ignorance would only prove damaging to a recovering Kingdom in need of a strong leader.


(Baroms rule coming soon)
NOTE: Ang Num is NOT a monarch in the game, I only added him for the story because the government collapsed just before Chetthais death, so i filled in some blanks with his fictional character.