Ladies and gents, I have been remiss by failing to mention that voting for the
Q1 2012 AARland Choice AwAARds is underway.
As I have mentioned here before, writing these after-action reports is a labour of love; truthfully, all of the authors are thrilled to get comments from readers and, if we have been exceptionally fortunate, recognition via these awards. There are plenty of amazing AARs sprinkled across many of the Paradox game forums, and if you've enjoyed one or more especially, I would encourage you to help recognise that author's work by voting for it.
UPDATE: I've just received approval to make the AAR semi-interactive (
thanks Saithis, Mr. Capiatlist and Qorten), so I will also offer an enticement of sorts.
Readers who cast a ballot in the ACAs and vote in all four game types (EU, CK, Vicky, HoI—and you need not vote for my AAR, just any AAR from each game), or correctly answer periodic trivia questions relating to real history and this AAR, will have the opportunity to design a character which will appear in the story.
If you've done so, you can send me a private message with your character idea—include details such as name, age, gender, nationality, social rank/station, job/role, notable traits, and a brief biography. I will take that information and incorporate that character into the story. For example, there are narrative elements in the next update which include characters like these:
Name: Aennelin von Askanien
Age: early 30s
Gender: F
Nationality: Austrian
Social Rank/Station: Aristocrat/Duchess of Clarence & St. Andrews
Job/Role: Wife and mother
Notable Traits: Beautiful, ambitious, determined, manipulative
Biography: Daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. Married to Edward, Duke of Clarence in 1486 (aged 17) and moved to England. Parents subsequently deposed and executed by Austrian usurper Franz I Zwerger (1488). Petty rivalry with Queen Dowager Christina Christiansdatter af Gryf.
Name: William Hassard
Age: Mid/late teens
Gender: M
Nationality: Anglo-Irish
Social Rank/Station: Gentry/Yeoman farmer
Job/Role: Indentured archer, Army of Ireland
Notable Traits: 3rd generation farmer and archer, combat rookie
Biography: Young man experiencing first taste of combat with English forces in Gascony.
The AAR format will remain history-book, but as we move from the Late Medieval Era into times that are more familiar to me, I feel more comfortable using short narrative elements (like the opening scene with William III, Prince Henry and his paramour in
Chapter XVII). You won't be "playing" the character (as in a true interactive AAR), but this is a chance for you, dear readers, to influence the story (and storytelling) in a more subtle way.
Being an English/British AAR, I know it will be natural to want to craft an 18th century Wolfe/Nelson hero, but for now let's just confine ourselves to the current game era (early 16th century).