One Last HurRAAh... A Milan Interactive AAR

[draik]

Looking very good. Having easy CBs on Morea and the Otts is a bonus!

Has there been any more development between the Mamluks and the Otts? Are they still going to war with each other, and if so, has there been any territorial shift?

Oh, and I accidentally emu'd an update. Whooo!

 

[Malurous]

Seeing is I took the 300d, it is now safe to assume I am NOT Lindsay Lohan.

You sure burst my bubble, no reason to continue following this I suppose.



Ok, more seriously, well done with Portugal, you got what you wanted.

A lot of interesting angles for the future - protestant reformation started, the Austrian mission, Castilian collapse... Just make sure that you aren't distracted from the Greek and Turkish provinces for much longer or the acceptance will prove impossible to get.

How did Nevers rebel from them? There must have been some very lost Nationalist rebels wandering around down there.

Actually, Castille had some holdings in France/Germany from when they annexed the Palatinate. We saw Castilian Metz, Worms and Pfalz during the French war updates. So I suppose Metz is the probable source of those rebels.

 

[Ahriman]

Actually, Castille had some holdings in France/Germany from when they annexed the Palatinate. We saw Castilian Metz, Worms and Pfalz during the French war updates. So I suppose Metz is the probable source of those rebels.

I'd forgotten about that. At least Metz is the correct Burgundian culture, but they're still a long way from Nevers.

 

[unmerged(69928)]

Whew... Busy-Sick-Busy-Sick... Come on Busy...!

So now that I have HT³ combat working how I want it to... Time to get back to Milan and see what's happening.

@Sir blsteen: I had no intentions on causing Castille to break, though with the mess she had going, it was inevitable. I'm concerned about getting into it with Austria at this time. I'd much prefer to get into it with the holders of the Greek and Turkish cultures. With her constant beatings, the Otts aren't really in a position to dominate anything, and the Mams have been fighting internal issues mostly. Ragusa and the rest of the inner coast have to wait until I can work the cultures. I really think I'm on the edge for those.

@Advisor Enkhuush: Yes, Great New Year to everyone. The Winter Classic was a good game, it wasn't too cold and I get a weekend with just me and the misses... As long as the 'new HRE' is the IN version and not the new HT³ version, we'll be OK.

@Sir Ahriman: France and Castille swapped some territories along the border. As for Portugal, That's going to be some fun. Maybe I'll save some money and spawn Nationalist rebels in all her African provinces just to be mean... Haven't had one of my provinces turn yet, so PRO isn't a shoe in...

@Sir Enewald: That's the tough part... They're Catholic...It will be interesting to see how they react to Castille going PRO. With the right NI they might be able to take alot of Castille with minimal BB costs... I've seen them do it before, having the entire Iberian Peninsula and being the good Catholic colonizer Castille was supposed to be. Frankly, I'd love to see it again...

@Advisor draik: I don't have a CB on Morea, but on Austria, which is a two edged sword. I'd like to get Morea on her own. Kastamon is a gift that will be delight to use... The Mams and the Otts have been involved with themselves mostly. After the Triumvirate spayed and neutered the Ottomans, they've sat around sulking. The Mams are still trying to figure out which way is up. They have alot of inner turmoil, but not usually this badly.

@Sir Malurous: Well at least I sound sexy... I don't particularly find bolt on boobs and bones poking through skin to be 'good looking' in any way... If it's a turn on for you... Please to enjoy. Way back when she was bearable, if not almost cute. Now she's enough to make me want to start sticking my finger down my own throat every time I eat... Not so I can be like her, mind you... I'm just repulsed by these stick figures that make store mannequins think they have to go on a diet. (I always hated the word 'diet'... It has word 'die' in it...)

Alot of interesting stuff in the near future. To form or not to form, to Reform or not to Reform. The secret to the Grecian formula, the reformation in Castille... What...? Maybe too much information...? Sorry, but I can't conform to the formulaic conveyance of informative information like the rest of you...
I know... As the bad guys say on Johnny Quest say: EYEEeeeeeeeee...!

I was actually surprised by the Castillian annex of the Palatinate. It's not like them to go inland that way. I'm also surprised they didn't lose alot more when they broke up. All in all, it's been the unlikeliest Castille... Well heck, alot of nations really. Alot of oddities. It's certainly been entertaining.

I think we're all pretty familiar with what's what, so anyone have any last minute ideas about directions...? I won't be declaring any religious tendencies until the other reformation starts, and we're still a few years off from form or not form Italy.

I'm curious as to thoughts on the slider move.

I suppose you want an actual state of the republic address too...

I'm curious as to interest in this compared to the mounting HT³ competition. It's only natural that interest would wane as the new thing becomes more prevalent, as even some of our stalwart foundational knights have moved on to greener pastures.

I suppose I shall go put together an address, as I do have a Knight to christen...

Till then...

T

 

[Malurous]

To avoid any misunderstandings, I very much agree with your opinion about stick figures. And Lohan's pretty much a wreck these days anyway. Just in case you couldn't tell I was joking in the first place :rofl:

On a side note, this is one topic that I never expected to discuss on this forum.

Looking forward to the address!

EDIT: Oh, and Winter Classic, great choice

 

[quicksabre]

been out for a bit, just caught up. nice work!

 

[unmerged(69928)]

To avoid any misunderstandings, I very much agree with your opinion about stick figures. And Lohan's pretty much a wreck these days anyway. Just in case you couldn't tell I was joking in the first place :rofl:

On a side note, this is one topic that I never expected to discuss on this forum.

Looking forward to the address!

EDIT: Oh, and Winter Classic, great choice

Yeah, I can agree, it was never a thought at the beginning of all this. Nowhere at any time did I stop, look to the side and wonder... "How can I work that tramp Lohan into this AAR..." :rofl:

Winter Classic was a great game. Aside from the playoff swallowing of whistles by the officials for all the mugging going on, it was pretty entertaining. I can only wish my Rangers played with half the heart and skill of either of those teams. Love the goal by Recchi too. Classic against his old team. That had to feel good...

been out for a bit, just caught up. nice work!

I've been out my whole life. Out, off, left... You name it...

It must be my cologne I got for Christmas... I think it stinks too. But the wife will get a complex if I don't wear it for her, at least some times...

T

 

[blsteen]

Busy, Sick rinse and repeat is annoying
LiLo or is that LiHo?:rofl:
Awaiting the update with bated breath my liege.
And a new knight assume the junior duties to "volunteer" to help serve the coffee at breakfast priceless...
Castille breaking could provide some opportunity in the future but for the moment I agree that the focus must be on the other end of the Med to try and get "cultured". Have you begun to guarantee the newly independent French states against the agression of "ma blob"?
So we'll see what happens.

 

[Malurous]

Yeah, I can agree, it was never a thought at the beginning of all this. Nowhere at any time did I stop, look to the side and wonder... "How can I work that tramp Lohan into this AAR..." :rofl:

:rofl:

Winter Classic was a great game. Aside from the playoff swallowing of whistles by the officials for all the mugging going on, it was pretty entertaining. I can only wish my Rangers played with half the heart and skill of either of those teams. Love the goal by Recchi too. Classic against his old team. That had to feel good...

It definitely was a good game. Maybe the best conditions of any of these outdoor games - no big problems with the ice or weather. And Recchi is a warrior, great to see him get one in that situation at this point of his career. This is probably the last season we'll be able to watch him.

And of course it was a special game for me as I'm an avid Bruins fan myself (hockey is my number one sport). So I'm happy with the finish too

 

[unmerged(69928)]

~Sir blsteen~ : So many thoughts... I believe I have the answers with me, so I shall save some space (and some finger wear and tear) and post them forth with.

And it's LiHo. Fer sure.

~Sir Malurous~ : I thought it very good, though complaints are rampant about the sudden punitions of the 3rd period. I am so sick of Bettman screwing with the game. Much happy jumping and screaming in elation will there be when he departs.

Though I be a Ranger fan at heart, I have a special place of contempt for the Flyers. It's probably more from admiration than anything else though, as I do love a tough, in your face check 'em till the bleed or go home type of team. I haven't had one of those to root for since Bueka-boom retired... I'll be almost as happy to see Sather go as Bettman...

Anyways. This is supposed to be an AAR, so I guess I'll do some AAR type stuff...

State of the Republic Address in 3...2...1... minute or two...

 

[unmerged(69928)]

The State of the Republic Address: 1515​

In the pale light of the early day, there was the clatter of armor and swords ringing across the parking lot...

"Oh God. They're back..."

"What's that Flo...?"

Flo turned her disgusted flaring nostrils away from the side window as she answered...
"Those dilbert Knights and their 'secret society'. I thought they met on Saturdays..."

"It is Saturday Flo..." comes the reply from Lenny, the almighty cook.
To Flo, the response is an unwelcome one.

"It is not Saturday... It's Friday... Isn't it...?"
She shakes her head hesitantly as she says it.

"Nope. Saturday."

"Are you sure...?"
Flo cocks her head a little and wears a questioning, yet interrogating look.

"Yep."
Lenny has no time to chat...
Bacon's cooking, pancakes grilling, eggs are burning...

Flo is a touch bewildered.
"It's been a really weird week Lenny..."

"Yeah. All the holidays and stuff screwed me all up too.
I only know it's really Saturday cuz I always have the news on in the morning.
So unless the TV lied to me this morning, it's Saturday."

"Hey Lenny, will you look at these clowns...?
I mean who wears this stuff anymore.
And that leader guy, what a maroon.
I swear he couldn't find the IN door if it weren't for this bunch a guys with him...."

"Hey hey now Flo. They been coming here since before me.
Every Saturday. And they tip good."

"Yeah. But they're just so... Weird..."

"Comes with the territory, you know that."

"Well then, if it really is Saturday... I gotta say Lenny...
That's the best news I've had all week."
There was something to that smile.
Flo didn't use it at work very often...
There just wasn't a whole lot to be that happy about.

"Why's that, Flo...?"

"Cuz I aint scheduled for today... So I'm going home.
You can deal with the armored clown brigade this morning..."
Her smile only got bigger as she walked in back, grabbed her coat and made for the back door.

"Gee... Thanks Flo..."

Breakfast with the Not So Secret Order was a little off that morning.
Your fearless leader got his apparatus stuck in the door on the way in...
Sir blsteen got stuck in the men's room when his sword lodged in the brand new toilet paper dispenser.
And apparently the other waitress also got the days confused and never made it in.
Poor old Lenny left a little to be desired as an appropriate stand in.
Though he did make up for it in the food department, treating us to a few specials not on the normal menu...

As for the business side of things, we go to the minutes of the meeting:

The list of the Knights attending:

Sir OrangeYoshi: The Eternal Knight
Sir Enewald: The Knight of Han
Sir Beamed: The Knight of Sutherland
Sir nsahn: The Knight of Italia
Sir blsteen: The Knight of the Western East
Sir Malurous: The Knight of Hell-sinkie
Sir quicksabre: The Ghost Knight
Sir Ahriman: The Lutheran Knight

To this list were added the names of two new Knights, who were pledged to be sworn in:

Sir draik: The AluminIum Knight of SA

-and-

Sir enkhuush: The Knight of Ulaanbaatar

Meeting Chair: Sir To Be Named Later: Fearless "Leader" of the Secret Order

The pledge has been presented, and the nominee Knights now have a short time to accept or reject their oaths.
As for what the oath actually is, well, we're a little fuzzy on the details.
The actual copy was lost in 1452, and it's been awhile since anyone who knew what it said has actually been alive...

So, do your best, pip pip, support Milan and all the usual hoo hah.

By accepting the Oath, you swear to never reveal the holder of the sacred scroll, and to never divulge the secrets we speak of at the IHOP.
It is you sacred duty to accept this nomination, and to carry out all that stuff we've done forgotten about.

For your eyes only... The sacred scroll of the Not So Secret Order...:

Moving on...

The Serious matters we needed to discuss were far weightier, and took up most of the meeting.

First was the run down of the current situation:

Milan, as we now know it...:

Our neighbors to the North, including Great Britain and our beloved emasculated France...:

The developing situations to the North and East...:

A brief glimpse of our future hoped for to the East...:

A quick check of our Mam-ery g-lands to the South...:

A nice stroll along the Northern Shore of the Med...:

The Reformation has truly begun...:

The current CoT containment zones...:

Cores and Not Cores and Allies and Such...:

The current Cultural Situation...:

A quick tour of the interior surroundings...:

And lastly the Maps...:

So there we have our displays... I have to apologize.
I forgot to make pie. And to do the ledger screens.
Suffice to say the hobo in the alley was right as we left the diner...
"Milan Number One...!" Three tooth gin and all...

Besides, all I'm looking at is the map...
Once through the Otts, it's an uphill battle to go anywhere Eastward.
It looks like alot of fun coming for sure.

Castille managed a few colonies, one even in South America before collapsing.
Portugal is now free to roam about the world.
Great Britain looks like it'll be a bear to bring down.
Even looks like a few nice developments in India.

As for the immediate future, the slider move is wide open.
The religious decision will have to be made, but I think we'll wait till the next go round for that.
I figure the reformations will be pretty pronounced by the time the next slider move is due.
With the right NI, we can use all that PRO and REF against their masters while staying Catholic for a time before switching.
Definitely something to discuss...

As for Targets... Kandar, the Otts and Morea are number one on the hit list.

Finishing off the Mams and making a way to the Indian Ocean via Mecca is two.
It's importantly to get a core port on that side of the world ASAP.
I'll try to take some odd provinces at first to instigate the gain core event...

Third would be finessing a DoW on Granada without attracting too much attention.
That Med coast is wide open, so it seems a good opportunity to try to take advantage of.

Austria seems the lowest of priorities for all the wrong reasons.
Normally a target you'd jump for for the money and manpower, it's in the wrong direction...
And brings into closer contact with the big bad eastern block.
As that's a direction we're shying away from, any entanglements that can be avoided should be.

The Italy formation is getting close too.
We all pretty much know where this stands...
But it will have to be settled soon...

So let the games begin...!

Sir To Be Named Later: Fearless "Leader" of the Secret Order

PS: If I find out who used the Knightly Roster as a Coaster for their coffee...
You'll need to find a new place to have breakfast.

 

[nsahn]

As for the coffee stain on the roster... it looks like we managed to obtain a futuristic printing device that printed the image of a scroll onto a black background (stain goes over the edge of the scroll).

Skimmed through the last update, but admittedly I may not have as much time for AAR following. Also I think I owe Malurous or you breakfast for this past meeting so here's a few bucks.

 

[OrangeYoshi]

The Eternal Knight proudly takes the oath of Knighthood, etc. etc.

So can another Knight or the Chairman himself give me a quick summary of the updates since New Years (other than this latest one, of course), or am I left to fend for myself?

 

[unmerged(69928)]

As for the coffee stain on the roster... it looks like we managed to obtain a futuristic printing device that printed the image of a scroll onto a black background (stain goes over the edge of the scroll).

Skimmed through the last update, but admittedly I may not have as much time for AAR following. Also I think I owe Malurous or you breakfast for this past meeting so here's a few bucks.

Hah... I fixed it once and wasn't happy with it, so did a little more and forgot to fix it again. I guess I could always say I have a black velvet table, but then we'd know who put it there...

I bid you farewell and wish you the best. Life happens. When you get the chance pop in, if not, what can I do but soldier on.

The Eternal Knight proudly takes the oath of Knighthood, etc. etc.

So can another Knight or the Chairman himself give me a quick summary of the updates since New Years (other than this latest one, of course), or am I left to fend for myself?

I pray you had a good vacation, Yoshi Sahn. I really like the sig. I actually told a guy to find one of your posts and check it cuz it had the answer he wanted... o

In a nut shell... I started east, declaring on an OPM defecting from the Otts in the Triumvirate peace accord. Portugal was the only one who took to their defense. Halfway through the war France said "Hey, You...!" and DoW'd Castille, my only ally. I decided to honor the call, Castille had 2 of it's previously taken provinces back but opted for a 100d, leaving me stranded.

Then France learned there's more colors than blue, we learned Sir Beamed thinks the AAR is better drunk, Sir Malurous is a Bruins fan, Sir Ahriman is tickled it was PRO that popped near us, Sir blsteen is making lunch, and that we now have some more of the Med coast in North Africa.

We have a core in Kandar (???) by the Otts and a mission to get Austrian province Karnten which will give us a core.

And the PRO Reformation started in Castille... No sign of the REF reformation yet.

And the 27th Chapter was deemed "epic" by Sir Malurous.

And I have to fix the coffee stain. That just won't do. But I have to go to work first.

T

Edit: And you don't have to retake the oath again. You took it 110 years ago... Remember...?

 

[Beamed]

It's time we referred to a higher source of intellect for such a decision.

I'll grab the tobasco.

 

[Enewald]

bah.
Where be my wars?
Don't waste good BB.
Please attack someone.

 

[quicksabre]

our objectives for the next round are pretty much the same as last time, aren't they? I mean, we haven't taken any greek provinces or linked up our holdings or converted to protestantism or built a giant fleet of caravels...

 

[Ahriman]

I agree. It seems like it's time for Milan to strike at those who pollute the map with their non-purplishness. Now all we need to do is decide a direction. If we're going for Greek as an accepted culture then Morea seems like a good bet.

Congratulations to our two new knights!

 

[unmerged(69928)]

† Sir Beamed † ~I shall REFlect on your REFerance. I must say I pREFer something a little lighter at this time of day... May I interest you in a Corona and Lime...? The wife bought me a six for New Years, but alas I got sick before the drinking part...

† Sir Enewald † ~Aye. I am a bit twitchy to be starting something. Morea has me green with Greek envy... Austria be damned, I think it's time. Poland...? Well that's a little different. Let me see what I can arrange, as I'm in the mood for a spectacle.

† Sir quicksabre † ~I agree. France basically put us in a holding pattern, which is why I didn't go nuts this time around. I figure if anyone had anything new, it would have popped by now, so it looks like it's a case of "take some friggin' provinces already"...

† Sir Ahriman † ~I concur. And the directions are few... Greek or Turkish. My only concern with Morea is their alliance to Poland. If I can time it so their embroiled somewhere else, I can get away with it. If not, the Otts may have to be the bearer of our woes...

I am off to play then and get this back on track. Vacation's over, HT³ can wait. Time to make some green slime...

† Sir To Be Named Later †

 

[blsteen]

Huzzah!