Mamma Mia! The AAR

[merrick]

Oy vey! I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that - in fact I don't think I've ever seen a more comprehensively screwed up four-province country before. Does the AI get bonuses for non-contiguous provinces or something?

Still, the way things are going, when you come back to Maya it will probably have lost three provinces, gained five, be Catholic and allied to Portugal...

I dread to think what the AI has done with Mantua - on current form it will control Modena, Corsica and Azow, and be a vassal of the Horde.

And after Round 1 of Aldriq's Plans vs The AI, the AI has a solid 3-1 lead.

[Qorten]

Quetzalcoatl is actually an Aztec god. I doubt the Mayans worshipped him.

It's real fun to see how the AI screws up most of what you created in just a few years, isn't it?

[King_Richard_XI]

Quetzalcoatl is actually an Aztec god. I doubt the Mayans worshipped him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukulcan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ququmatz

[gabor]

it is sad AI ruins your carefully built powers, i can only hope Matupa is doing better; if not we might soon be followng a Mantua aar

btw, this update shows that we know of the past only a version of history, the version which made it to the records...

[King_Richard_XI]

aldriq, in recognition of the brilliant comdic value of this AAR, and all of your contributions to AARLand that I haven't read but hear are good, I hereby award you the fifth ever Irish Shamrock Cookie ( ● )!

Feel free to over-decorate this in your sig as much as you like, and good luck with the Mayans if they're still around in 21 years!

[JDMS]

Huh, the situation with the Maya is . . . interesting. Well now you get to look forward to Mantua, if they are still alive.

[Malurous]

Not exactly what you'd call neat borders

If you meet the Mayans in 21 years, you can call me a moron. I seriously think theyre gonna die.

You're taking a chance here - the Aztecs are a tribal AI nation as well, after all. Who knows when they'll implode? I'd guess the situation in the area is quite random, as usual

[Sweboy]

That was one hell of a bizare break up of a nation. Maybe we can hope for an Aztec collapse with provinces defecting to you.

[Johan11]

Not exactly what you'd call neat borders



You're taking a chance here - the Aztecs are a tribal AI nation as well, after all. Who knows when they'll implode? I'd guess the situation in the area is quite random, as usual

I took a chance in PrawnStar's France AAR as well. Nodscouterr hasn't posted anything in his sig yet, hasn't he?

I hereby rest my case!

[Malurous]

I took a chance in PrawnStar's France AAR as well. Nodscouterr hasn't posted anything in his sig yet, hasn't he?

I hereby rest my case!

Good point! But you'll be taken to task for this one should it be necessary

[Johan11]

Good point! But you'll be taken to task for this one should it be necessary

As long as you wont alert Nodscouterr that PrawnStar failed a little!

[aldriq]

Davout - Well, Maya might be a bit sparse but it's still there... don't give up hope yet

Johan11 - I'm not going to call anybody a moron, but you are free to update your own signature if you so wish I wouldn't bet against the AI, though...

merrick - 3-1 is not a bad score so far. Bear in mind this is not just me vs AI, rather 0.75AI + 0.25me vs. AI... so either way the AI wins

Qorten - I know Kucumatz would be the Mayan as King_Richard_XI rightly points out, but Nahuatl is better than Yucatec for swearing

gabor - Mutapa? You mean Mali? What AAR are you reading?

King_Richard_XI - Thank you very much! A bit of a coincidence as well as I was in Dublin over the weekend, I could have collected the shamrock in person!

JDMS - Mantua is fine, you'll be surprised.

Malurous - I agree, I tend to think of these fort-less countries more as liquids, rather than solids.

Sweboy - It may as well happen, although the Europeans are now my main concern. Does anybody know roughly on what year the colonisers show up in Mexico in HttT?

I loaded Mantua last Thursday to check the state of things, and to my shock, not only have they survived, they have thrived a little Not sure what to do yet, now I fear I might perform worse than the AI...

[King_Richard_XI]

King_Richard_XI - Thank you very much! A bit of a coincidence as well as I was in Dublin over the weekend, I could have collected the shamrock in person!

If I lived in Dublin, that is.

Cork is the real capital of Ireland!

[gabor]

gabor - Mutapa? You mean Mali? What AAR are you reading?

oh, my bad! too much merrick's aar reading whith its info on finifhing off Matupa
i did mean Mali as, along with Mayas, it too suffers from defragmentation syndrome

[aldriq]

Act II

Scene I

Main hall at Palazzo Stoppia. Lady Stoppia is standing, looking at one of the tapestries. Enzo enters the room.

ENZO My lady, the ambassador is here.
LADY STOPPIA I'll receive him here, Enzo.

Enzo leaves. Leonardo Pignatelli, ambassador of Genoa, enters.

AMBASSADOR PIGNATELLI My lady, did you require my services or those of my city?
LADY STOPPIA Thank you, ambassador, for coming at such short notice. I can't sufficiently stress how important it is that Mantua and Genoa join forces in these dangerous times if Italy is to be free from the greed of the Austrians or the zeal of the Pope.
AMBASSADOR PIGNATELLI These are dangerous times indeed, my lady, but I can't see how Mantua is any less dangerous to Genoa than the Pope or Austria.
LADY STOPPIA Ambassador, I can assure you Mantua is no threat to your city. Our merchants have traded together for generations. Furthermore, we do not have any naval ambitions. On the other hand, we have a common enemy on whom Mantua does have ambitions...

1475. I'm very impressed, the Mantuan AI not only survived, it managed to pursue the core in Modena and obtain the province (although the log doesn't exactly say how). Gianfrancesco II is a decent ruler, even if the alliances are of dubious use - Avignon (now a secular state, they recently took over Provence), Naples and Croatia? The Pope and Austria continue to be the main threats. Ferrara ended up taken over by Corsican nationalists (rebel quirks still in HttT), which is actually worse than being in Aragonese hands since Corsica is a vassal of the Papal State... The first thing I do is flood Austria with RM and MA proposals to lift the slightly negative relations to a safe level.

AMBASSADOR PIGNATELLI Milan...
LADY STOPPIA The duke of Milan has abused the trust of every Italian nation, betrayed ours once and, I believe, yours twice in the space of twenty years. Now his ludicrous claims to Sardinia have taken him to another useless war.
AMBASSADOR PIGNATELLI That is true, and I can proudly say that Genoa has always stood firmly in the way of Milanese ambition.
LADY STOPPIA That is a well known fact, and it is for that reason I ask you to convince my great nephew of the need of this alliance to defend Sardinia and put an end to Visconti's arrogance.

1476-78. The first opportunity for war arises in November 1476, when Milan DoWs Sardinia and triggers Mantua's guarantee. I choose not to honour it as it's clear that Milan's puny navy is going to be trashed by Naples, which would leave 14K Milanese with nothing better to do than walk over Mantua... I do honour the alliance with Naples in March 1478 when they are attacked by Aragon and some unlikely alliance - not much I can do for them as they eventually lose Messina. I push the slider towards centralisation, change national focus to Modena, Croatia is forced by Aquilea to relinquish our alliance and I replace them with Pisa.

AMBASSADOR PIGNATELLI But, my lady, Sardinia is safe behind the waves, Milan's fleet has been destroyed by Naples. And anyway, it would be for the Emperor, not for us, to defend Sardinia.
LADY STOPPIA I'd be more than happy if the emperor could handle this, but you know perfectly well he's languishing in Prague, powerless. We can only pray that his successor, most likely Burgundy, will be able to defend the empire with more than words. Until then we cannot sit idly and watch while our enemies grow stronger. We must act. Please, I beg you, ambassador, you must convince my great nephew and the council.
AMBASSADOR PIGNATELLI My lady, your case is strong and with merit. Gonzagas have never been very fond of Genoa, but I'll try my best.
LADY STOPPIA Thank you, ambassador, may God be with you.

Ambassador Pignatelli leaves.

1479-80. When the Pope annexes Corsica in early 1479 I decide I can't just sit and watch any longer. I sign a last-minute alliance with Genoa and DoW Milan (on whom I still have a handy alliance CB for being still at war with Sardinia/Naples/Aquilea). Pisa, Genoa and Avignon come to my call, Milan is on its own and rather weakened by war exhaustion. That doesn't stop Visconti coming to Mantua and beating the living daylights of my army, dislodged to Modena. But they don't chase, so I move to besiege Parma while Genoa and Avignon deal with Lombardia and Pisa with Brescia. The siege race turns in my favour as Parma falls, shortly followed by Lombardia, at which point I sign peace for Parma before the 12,000 angry Milanese can take Mantua and come back for their provinces. Parma is a worthy prize, my second university and the end of Milanese hegemony in northern Italy

Enzo rushes in.

ENZO My lady, your great nephew the duke has just arrived, I told him you were busy but he insists...

Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, now duke of Mantua, enters interrupting.

DUKE GIANFRANCESCO What was the Genoese ambassador doing here?
LADY STOPPIA My dear Gianfrancesco, there is no need to get angry... the ambassador was just visiting, he's an old friend...
DUKE GIANFRANCESCO My dear aunt, there is no need to lie... When are you going to stop meddling with state affairs?
LADY STOPPIA When you start listening to my advice. Your grandfather never did, and look how he ended. I haven't spent my money and influence on your ducal title to let it go to waste.
DUKE GIANFRANCESCO I warn you, stop interfering, or you might find yourself taking that vacant place in the convent dell'Annunciata.

The duke leaves. Lady Stoppia laughs.

LADY STOPPIA Oh, the nuns would never take me.

1481. Milan also loses Nice to Aquilea, and somehow Naples gets annexed by Castille (who also holds a few Greek provinces and a lot of north Africa). Sweden has pretty much achieved Scandinavian hegemony, while Austria and Poland fight for the old Bohemian lands. And Burgundy could do with the imperial crown sooner rather than later, because Henry VI of England and France is being far more assertive in the continent than his father was

[merrick]

What's this? An efficient AI? Can the Rain of Walrus be far behind?

Actually, it looks to me as if England, the Swedes and most importantly the Pope have very efficient AIs. Nice move on Milan, but I hope it hasn't ruined Mantua's reputation. You're between the Pope and the world, and I fear mundus may not sufficit.

What's that green thing straggling down the Russian border? Pskov?

[Kamchat]

I think it's Smolensk.

[Malurous]

Nicely done, both you and the AI... The neighborhood is looking a bit nasty though - not too much room for added Mantuan power base with those two white/whitish blobs...

[Storey]

It's good to see the AI prosper while you were gone. I didn't give Mantua much of a chance but I've been proven wrong. If possible when you get back keep picking Milan apart.

Joe

[JDMS]

I was also wrong about the fortunes of Mantua. Nice job with Milan, though the Pope is looking hungry. There doesn't seem to be anywhere for a quick expansion, but we've been surprised by Mantua before.