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Nicely done with the defections! Yet another good use for claims.
I cannot blame the Tveritans for losing the battles though, that Surenchar looks fearsome! Moustache on fire!!!
I cannot blame the Tveritans for losing the battles though, that Surenchar looks fearsome! Moustache on fire!!!
Snatching victory from the jaws of battlefield defeat. Superb. Two new provinces and a new mission that will no doubt be ignored for sometime as Tver fights for its survival against the Horde. Unless opportunity presents itself at the door wearing a little placard that says opportunity.
Overhyped Lithuanian midfielders/mercenaries always bringing victory!
Glad to see Tver finally breaking the cycle of constant defeat every five years with the Golden Horde and managing to grab some lands from them. If you can do it this time you should be able to do it again, finally the Horde is on a downward spiral (hopefully anyway)! Tver's victory over the Horde was all the more impressive considering Surenchar, anyone able to sport such a fiery moustache is clearly a fearsome opponent.
It will soon be time to bring the province of Moskva into ever-glorious Tver, I think. Let Muscovy join Novgorod in the dustbin of history!
that was a truely impressive defeat ... more land gained than I manage after a supposedly wondrous win.
and was very impressed with your logic for splitting the army:
If you're lucky, a bit of rinse and repeat plus the Ottomans tearing the horde up may start to see it on its way down ... I mean sooner or later one of them is going to set fire to his moustache and it'll all go wrong?
and was very impressed with your logic for splitting the army:
If you're lucky, a bit of rinse and repeat plus the Ottomans tearing the horde up may start to see it on its way down ... I mean sooner or later one of them is going to set fire to his moustache and it'll all go wrong?
@ GoldenKhan : And I hope you don't have to 
@ RGB : I don't know why the moustache went out of fashion amongst generals. Imagine what damage Napoleon would have done if he'd had a moustache!
@ blsteen : Oh, Opportunity presents herself regularly, the little minx. Sadly, she's often carrying a mallet behind her back.
@ morningSIDEr : Never has the acquisition of a Tax 4 Grain province brought me more joy, my friend! Although compared with some of the others in the region, Smoleńsk is awash with cash. Shame Polotsk is only Tax 4 as well, but 1) it produces Iron which should come in useful and 2) it borders Mińsk, which is Tax 8. Boundary Dispute O' Clock, I reckon!
@ Ramidel : I'd love to, but what's left of Muscowy is a Horde vassal. I've played the next section - actually, I'm twenty years ahead so there should be two or three updates over the next few days - and one of their vassals does take up arms against them. It doesn't end well
@ loki100 : That's the master plan. There's still no way I can beat them in a straight fight: their generals alone make sure of that. But if the Ottos keep fighting them I might be able to scavenge a province or two here and there.
Next update is screenshotted, just need to write the bloody thing...
@ RGB : I don't know why the moustache went out of fashion amongst generals. Imagine what damage Napoleon would have done if he'd had a moustache!
@ blsteen : Oh, Opportunity presents herself regularly, the little minx. Sadly, she's often carrying a mallet behind her back.
@ morningSIDEr : Never has the acquisition of a Tax 4 Grain province brought me more joy, my friend! Although compared with some of the others in the region, Smoleńsk is awash with cash. Shame Polotsk is only Tax 4 as well, but 1) it produces Iron which should come in useful and 2) it borders Mińsk, which is Tax 8. Boundary Dispute O' Clock, I reckon!
@ Ramidel : I'd love to, but what's left of Muscowy is a Horde vassal. I've played the next section - actually, I'm twenty years ahead so there should be two or three updates over the next few days - and one of their vassals does take up arms against them. It doesn't end well
@ loki100 : That's the master plan. There's still no way I can beat them in a straight fight: their generals alone make sure of that. But if the Ottos keep fighting them I might be able to scavenge a province or two here and there.
Next update is screenshotted, just need to write the bloody thing...
Episode XII: Tvereality Check
Fortune had, in recent times, been kind to the Principality of Tver, largest and most powerful of the Russian nations. While the threat of the Golden Horde still hovered, recent successes had given the populace hope that one day the enemy could finally be defeated.
With their newly acquired provinces successfully integrated, commerce flourished. Banking reforms initiated by Roman Vladimirov allowed an expansion of the country’s trade, and while Novgorod was not a major trading centre to rival Venice or Antwerp, it was still a growing centre for business. Tverian merchants bartered with those from the rest of Europe, increasing the country’s prosperity.
With a few years of respite from the Horde achieved, General Dyabrinsky, the official commander of Tver’s armed forces, decided to look to the army’s future. Tver had not, as yet, any cannons for military use, but arms merchants from western Europe were trading in Novgorod, and he was able to get hold of one and begin performing tests. This being new technology, though, he was eager to find out as much as he could. What harm would it do to have a look down the barrel and see how the thing worked?
Yuri Gagarin was a fraud. Lauded as the first man in space, he wasn’t even the first Russian.
The state funeral of the first cosmonaut completed, Dobczyński brought Aleksandr III some interesting news.
A new state, Qasim Khanate, had come into being, their diverse peoples uniting to throw off the oppression of the hated Tartars. Alone, though, they would be no match for the Horde’s legions once they were ready to face them.
‘We must protect them, sir.’
‘Yes Dobczyński we shall protect them certainly we shall summon the army.’
Many of the Khanate’s peoples had been converted to Islam during their occupation by the Hordes, to the extent that Sunni Islam was the official religion of the new, divided nation: their provinces lay on opposite sides of Tver. Their heathens provided Tver with ample pretext not only for war, but for the total annexation of their lands to bring all of the Russian peoples back to the path of righteousness.
The war was short: the new state had little in the way of armed forces. Tver’s main army marched into Pskov and seized control of the city. The far-off eastern territory of Viatka was better garrisoned, but only a matter of months were required for Tver to take control of both provinces.
Aleksandr saluted his new territories by looking up from his paperwork, and giving a very satisfied nod. His cartographers were much more enthusiastic, calling the new arrangement a great improvement, though still rather lop-sided. Dobczyński’s talk of ‘art deco’ did not improve the situation.
Aleksandr’s ministrations, though, were troubled. Vladimirov’s expansion of Tver’s trading capabilities was admirable, but it had brought its own problems. Vladimirov had introduced a number of new taxes, greatly enhancing the treasury’s income, only to realise that this meant that he had to pay them. Shady dealing with shady people followed, loopholes were found and exploited, and soon the black market threatened the livelihood of Tver’s merchants. Aleksandr flew into a rage.
The attack on Qasim Khanate had brought an unusual combatant: the Archbishopric of Riga had decided to defend the small, officially Islamic nation. Dobczyński decided to take a short stroll to Riga itself, to try and come to a meeting of the minds with the Archbishop.
Headbutting a bishop is not the most traditional method of negotiation, but it can be rather effective. The dazed clergyman agreed to release Novgorod as an independent state, and invited Dobczyński for tea and buns.
Peace, though, was to be shortlived: the Horde were back, and angry at Tver’s previous territorial gains. Once more, a legion of Tartars headed for that blue and pleasant land. The King of Poland, hearing of this, was quick to send funds to shore up the Tverian war effort.
The Tverian army looked to replicate its previous successes, maerching into the Horde’s Russian territories in an attempt to sieze either Bryańsk or Mogilyov.
They had reckoned, though, without the cunning of the Tartar. A large Horde army had advanced into Tver from the north-east and, with a lightning thrust, seized the capital itself.
Aleksandr tried to reason with the Horde’s Khan. The Khan did not try to reason with Aleksandr, because the Khan was, all reputable historians agree, a bit of a pr***.
Aleksandr raged against the heathen’s illogical obstinacy. The Horde were fighting three wars simultaneously, yet were concentrating their efforts on Tver, rather than the more dangerous Ottomans. He swore it was personal. He vowed to weed out all weakness and stupidity within his own nation.
Worse was to come. For some reason, the recently freed Novgorod believed themselves to be allies of Tver. Tver had liberated the country, but Aleksandr was unaware of any obligation to defend them: why should he, without any separate negotiation? But the King of Norway understood the regulations, and had waited until Tver was weakened by the Horde to launch a war of aggression against Novgorod. The Prince of Novgorod begged Aleksandr to help – but he had no troops to give. Where, he demanded, had Novgorod been when the Horde had attacked Tver? The international community, though, sided with Tver, thinking that their obligations to defend a small country in the middle of nowhere were more important than their current attempts to save all of Christendom.
Finally, the Horde tired of war, bored of meaningless destruction. They would remain bored of such for five years, when they would return for more meaningless destruction that benefitted no one.
The Horde’s peoples regularly rose up against their rule, though almost never in great enough numbers to cause a breakaway state. When defeated by the Horde’s endless legions, they inevitably retreated into Tver and began besieging her cities, even though they should really be on the same side, because they are almost as stupid as the Horde.
Their armies weakened, their cities under siege from men who should be their allies, Aleksandr was left with no choice. He went to the armoury, and donned armour for the first time in years. His armies needed a General. They needed to see their king. It was not his way, not having his father’s instinct for soldiering, but these were desperate times. It was, Aleksandr would say, the logical decision...
Fortune had, in recent times, been kind to the Principality of Tver, largest and most powerful of the Russian nations. While the threat of the Golden Horde still hovered, recent successes had given the populace hope that one day the enemy could finally be defeated.
With their newly acquired provinces successfully integrated, commerce flourished. Banking reforms initiated by Roman Vladimirov allowed an expansion of the country’s trade, and while Novgorod was not a major trading centre to rival Venice or Antwerp, it was still a growing centre for business. Tverian merchants bartered with those from the rest of Europe, increasing the country’s prosperity.
With a few years of respite from the Horde achieved, General Dyabrinsky, the official commander of Tver’s armed forces, decided to look to the army’s future. Tver had not, as yet, any cannons for military use, but arms merchants from western Europe were trading in Novgorod, and he was able to get hold of one and begin performing tests. This being new technology, though, he was eager to find out as much as he could. What harm would it do to have a look down the barrel and see how the thing worked?
Yuri Gagarin was a fraud. Lauded as the first man in space, he wasn’t even the first Russian.
The state funeral of the first cosmonaut completed, Dobczyński brought Aleksandr III some interesting news.
A new state, Qasim Khanate, had come into being, their diverse peoples uniting to throw off the oppression of the hated Tartars. Alone, though, they would be no match for the Horde’s legions once they were ready to face them.
‘We must protect them, sir.’
‘Yes Dobczyński we shall protect them certainly we shall summon the army.’
Many of the Khanate’s peoples had been converted to Islam during their occupation by the Hordes, to the extent that Sunni Islam was the official religion of the new, divided nation: their provinces lay on opposite sides of Tver. Their heathens provided Tver with ample pretext not only for war, but for the total annexation of their lands to bring all of the Russian peoples back to the path of righteousness.
The war was short: the new state had little in the way of armed forces. Tver’s main army marched into Pskov and seized control of the city. The far-off eastern territory of Viatka was better garrisoned, but only a matter of months were required for Tver to take control of both provinces.
Aleksandr saluted his new territories by looking up from his paperwork, and giving a very satisfied nod. His cartographers were much more enthusiastic, calling the new arrangement a great improvement, though still rather lop-sided. Dobczyński’s talk of ‘art deco’ did not improve the situation.
Aleksandr’s ministrations, though, were troubled. Vladimirov’s expansion of Tver’s trading capabilities was admirable, but it had brought its own problems. Vladimirov had introduced a number of new taxes, greatly enhancing the treasury’s income, only to realise that this meant that he had to pay them. Shady dealing with shady people followed, loopholes were found and exploited, and soon the black market threatened the livelihood of Tver’s merchants. Aleksandr flew into a rage.
The attack on Qasim Khanate had brought an unusual combatant: the Archbishopric of Riga had decided to defend the small, officially Islamic nation. Dobczyński decided to take a short stroll to Riga itself, to try and come to a meeting of the minds with the Archbishop.
Headbutting a bishop is not the most traditional method of negotiation, but it can be rather effective. The dazed clergyman agreed to release Novgorod as an independent state, and invited Dobczyński for tea and buns.
Peace, though, was to be shortlived: the Horde were back, and angry at Tver’s previous territorial gains. Once more, a legion of Tartars headed for that blue and pleasant land. The King of Poland, hearing of this, was quick to send funds to shore up the Tverian war effort.
The Tverian army looked to replicate its previous successes, maerching into the Horde’s Russian territories in an attempt to sieze either Bryańsk or Mogilyov.
They had reckoned, though, without the cunning of the Tartar. A large Horde army had advanced into Tver from the north-east and, with a lightning thrust, seized the capital itself.
Aleksandr tried to reason with the Horde’s Khan. The Khan did not try to reason with Aleksandr, because the Khan was, all reputable historians agree, a bit of a pr***.
Aleksandr raged against the heathen’s illogical obstinacy. The Horde were fighting three wars simultaneously, yet were concentrating their efforts on Tver, rather than the more dangerous Ottomans. He swore it was personal. He vowed to weed out all weakness and stupidity within his own nation.
Worse was to come. For some reason, the recently freed Novgorod believed themselves to be allies of Tver. Tver had liberated the country, but Aleksandr was unaware of any obligation to defend them: why should he, without any separate negotiation? But the King of Norway understood the regulations, and had waited until Tver was weakened by the Horde to launch a war of aggression against Novgorod. The Prince of Novgorod begged Aleksandr to help – but he had no troops to give. Where, he demanded, had Novgorod been when the Horde had attacked Tver? The international community, though, sided with Tver, thinking that their obligations to defend a small country in the middle of nowhere were more important than their current attempts to save all of Christendom.
Finally, the Horde tired of war, bored of meaningless destruction. They would remain bored of such for five years, when they would return for more meaningless destruction that benefitted no one.
The Horde’s peoples regularly rose up against their rule, though almost never in great enough numbers to cause a breakaway state. When defeated by the Horde’s endless legions, they inevitably retreated into Tver and began besieging her cities, even though they should really be on the same side, because they are almost as stupid as the Horde.
Their armies weakened, their cities under siege from men who should be their allies, Aleksandr was left with no choice. He went to the armoury, and donned armour for the first time in years. His armies needed a General. They needed to see their king. It was not his way, not having his father’s instinct for soldiering, but these were desperate times. It was, Aleksandr would say, the logical decision...
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ah, the first cosmonaut has been launched ...
admire your dedication to this, you are, amongst the madness, making some progress but ...
admire your dedication to this, you are, amongst the madness, making some progress but ...
Have you considered buying the Horde off with tribute? It will give you peace and time to sort out your other affairs. (Also, I don't recall at this stage; have you use Liberum Veto yet?)
What's with the new king not using punctuation?
Obvioiusly it's intended to portray the character of the new king, but I'm not sure what character it's supposed to be conveying.
Obvioiusly it's intended to portray the character of the new king, but I'm not sure what character it's supposed to be conveying.
I loved this bit.
Annoying stuff, the Horde is proving as implacable and destructive as ever but at least in quickly conquering the Qasim Khanate, this a clearly selfless conquest completed with Qasim's interests foremost at heart, Tver is continuing to become ever stronger. Now with Aleksandr riding to war once more I sincerely hope he has kept his sword well polished otherwise he could be in for a tough time of it!
Stupid Horde. I hate it when there's Ottomans all over Ukraine because the Horde wants to fight the Russians first
@ Extreme Unction : Oh, he will be. Not so easy to get replacements in those days. No doubt Mr Dobczyński will do most of the actual fighting, though - it was his dad that actually enjoyed this kind of thing.
@ loki100 : At some points, my neighbours must think me and my partner are having a massive domestic. I don't usually swear much but, as you can probably tell from some of the less comical updates, the Horde drives me pure mental.
@ Avindian : To consider it is one thing, to get them tob accept it is quite another. Which they never do. I'm usually so sick and tired of them that, when the 'Concede Defeat' offer comes, I just Accept without considering it. I know that, in game terms, it would be more effective, and would probably save me a lot of grief in the long run, especially if I could convince them to take a small tribute (it only lets me offer 2.6/month which, for me, is a lot of cash).
@ Omen : He has a wickedly sharp letter opener And I mean an actual letter opener this time, not anything else.
@ Deus Eversor : Thanks mate I hope that I can keep up the standard!
@ Extreme Unction : He talks very quickly and...not monotonously, more that once he starts a sentence it's impossible to stop. And he tends to speak in massive sentences. He's also rather pedantic. Spent too much time reading books, his dad always said, not enough time wrestling things with his bare hands!
@ morningSIDEr : As a man who also knows a thing or two about international aid, I'm glad that you understand. Though I'd be tempted to go back and try playing as QK some day: they have cores on most of Russia at the moment! In fact, the ones with the most Cores are the non-existant ones. (Ryazan has Cores all over the bloody place, most of them nowhere near Ryazan).
And I worry that Alek III's distaste for [strikethru]homoeroticism[/strikethru] weapon maintenance may be his undoing...he should be all right, though. He's his father's son, and has soldiery genes (Mil 5 isn't bad, really). He just hasn't had that much practice.
@ RGB : The Ottomans are doing well, but mostly in the other direction. They gave Timur a sound thrashing and have advanced miles into their territory. They're in the Balkans, and if they take another European province or two they'll meet the Horde on two fronts! The Crusaders have woken up to them, though: last I looked their Balkan provinces were getting occupied by England (think it's still ENG rather than GBR)
@ All: The next part is done, I'm restricted by the 20 screenshots / 24hr thing so I'll have to wait until the afternoon. I'm hunting for a new job at the moment which is frustrating, but has its little advantages
@ loki100 : At some points, my neighbours must think me and my partner are having a massive domestic. I don't usually swear much but, as you can probably tell from some of the less comical updates, the Horde drives me pure mental.
@ Avindian : To consider it is one thing, to get them tob accept it is quite another. Which they never do. I'm usually so sick and tired of them that, when the 'Concede Defeat' offer comes, I just Accept without considering it. I know that, in game terms, it would be more effective, and would probably save me a lot of grief in the long run, especially if I could convince them to take a small tribute (it only lets me offer 2.6/month which, for me, is a lot of cash).
@ Omen : He has a wickedly sharp letter opener
And I mean an actual letter opener this time, not anything else.@ Deus Eversor : Thanks mate
I hope that I can keep up the standard!@ Extreme Unction : He talks very quickly and...not monotonously, more that once he starts a sentence it's impossible to stop. And he tends to speak in massive sentences. He's also rather pedantic. Spent too much time reading books, his dad always said, not enough time wrestling things with his bare hands!
@ morningSIDEr : As a man who also knows a thing or two about international aid, I'm glad that you understand. Though I'd be tempted to go back and try playing as QK some day: they have cores on most of Russia at the moment! In fact, the ones with the most Cores are the non-existant ones. (Ryazan has Cores all over the bloody place, most of them nowhere near Ryazan).
And I worry that Alek III's distaste for [strikethru]homoeroticism[/strikethru] weapon maintenance may be his undoing...he should be all right, though. He's his father's son, and has soldiery genes (Mil 5 isn't bad, really). He just hasn't had that much practice.
@ RGB : The Ottomans are doing well, but mostly in the other direction. They gave Timur a sound thrashing and have advanced miles into their territory. They're in the Balkans, and if they take another European province or two they'll meet the Horde on two fronts! The Crusaders have woken up to them, though: last I looked their Balkan provinces were getting occupied by England (think it's still ENG rather than GBR)
@ All: The next part is done, I'm restricted by the 20 screenshots / 24hr thing so I'll have to wait until the afternoon. I'm hunting for a new job at the moment which is frustrating, but has its little advantages
@ All: The next part is done, I'm restricted by the 20 screenshots / 24hr thing so I'll have to wait until the afternoon. I'm hunting for a new job at the moment which is frustrating, but has its little advantages
20 screenshots per hour, is what I thought it was.
I started reposting an AAR from another place on the Internet, and looked up the rules to make sure I didn't break any in my posting. The rules at the top of the EU3 AAR forum did not, at the time, mention anything about screenshot limits, so my first updates to the thread consisted of 43 screenshots in three consecutive posts, posted in less than an hour.
To make a long story short, after a brief conversation with one of the forum moderators, the following line was added to the rules at the top of the EU3 AAR forum:
So 20 screenshots per post, and at least an hour must pass between posts containing screenshots.
I've seen several folks mention a 20 screenshots per 24 hour rule, but unless one of the mods comes along to correct me, that does not appear to actually be the rule.
@ Memento Mori : Trochę. Zobaczemy, as Dobczyński would say, ducking a flying plate thrown by Aleksandr... But yes, I think we can InTver Horde with a bit of luck, ie distractions. Problem is that Horde can definitely into Tver
@ Extreme Unction : And...you win the reading game! Ten points! I must have glanced at that bit and assumed that it was 20 / day rather than 20 / hour. Oh well, then, in that case...
@ Extreme Unction : And...you win the reading game! Ten points! I must have glanced at that bit and assumed that it was 20 / day rather than 20 / hour. Oh well, then, in that case...