The MonAARchs Tavern - Open for Business

[Lord Durham]

The MonAARchs Tavern

The Great Hall stands majestic against a grey sky; it's tall pillars and dank granite blocks underlying the inherent strength of the structure. Before two mighty oaken door guards stand at attention, halberds straight and chainmail burnished to a dull sheen. They eye you quickly as you step through.

You stand in a vast room, dimly lit from tall stained glass windows and blazing wall-sconces. Brightly coloured tapestries of tales long past adorn the walls, along with banners and flags and scores of crossed weapons. A blazing fireplace roars at the far end, long pine tables sit on a marble floor.

The kitchen is a hive of activity, and serving wenches walk freely with trays of ale and platters of beef. The noise is loud, echoing and boisterous.

You have entered The MonAARch's Tavern.



The MonAARch's Tavern is a home to gather and relax. The rules are simple. Here you can:

Announce your own AARs
Endorse and recommend other AARs
Solicit advice and ideas

This place is NOT meant for:

Spamming discussions
Rudeness or immature behaviour
Criticising the game
Discussing topics that belong in other forums

Management reserves the right to delete any posts that are not within the spirit of the rules.

Most importantly, please keep your posts in character and do not use quotes. Those posts that fail to do so will be deleted.

The tavern is meant for you, the author, so please, enjoy your stay.

 

[LordLeto]

If I may be so humble to suggest the Kingdom of Nubia for a CK AAR.







Oh and FIRST!

 

[VPeric]

Well, I'd like to chalenge any writer of good standing to write an AAR. I offer the reward of tons of support for the first author that does so. May the competition commence!!

 

[unmerged(7269)]

Alastair MacRaith, Marshall of the Duchy of Argyll, enters the Great Hall. In what he hopes will become a tradition, he hangs a banner displaying his personal Coat of Arms on the wall:

He is dressed much as any other nobleman of the period, eschewing anything so anachronistic as a kilt. However, he does not refrain from ordering a very anachronistic Glenfiddich from a handy serving wench.

"I suppose it's only a matter of time before someone starts a Scottish AAR," he says. "I just hope I'm not the first, since it will likely be June before I get the game myself."

 

[Lord Durham]

LD looks up from drinking his ale at both Elmokki and AKjeldsen and points at the rules. "No quoting MEANS no quoting, and being in character MEANS being in character. Read my first post again! This goes for others as well. I'd hate to have to close this establishment before it gets off the ground." He goes back to planning his next installment of the de Hautevilles.

 

[AKjeldsen]

Sir Kjeldsen, a knight and retainer from York, bows to the Lord of the Hall.

"My sincere apologies, Lord Durham. One is so unaccustomed to people of Durhamshire saying something of consequence that thy title quite did decieve me. Henceforth, I shall be sure to observe thy rules in this hall, as the rules of hospitality doth require of me."

He sits again and looks over at Sir MacRaith. "Now, my good lord Marshall - a Scottish AAR, you say. That could indeed be a thought for the future. Might you have a sugegstion for a wise choice of domain? I fear that I am woefully unfamiliar with the Scottish realms, as I am sure others are."

 

[richvh]

Prithee, good sirs, peruse the tale of The Earls of Derby Now, since it seems nearly impossible to get good French wine in the north of England, perhaps the tavern keeper could serve some good stout? Put one round on the tab of Earl Rainulf.

 

[unmerged(16849)]

Sir Geofrey Childs of Lancaster enters the hall for some bubbly, to chat and read a few tales.

"Pray good people, look yonder and pick up one of the tales around this hall. Fore I enjoy each and everyone and I am sure you will as well. Look forth and be prepared for a tale of the Gaelic knights to be posted in under a fortnight.As I am not yet familar with the realms, do any of you folk have a suggestion as to what part part of the fair Emerald Isle I should write about?"

He sits down and picks up a copy of the newest tale "The Earls of Derby".

 

[Valdemar]

A man whose noble name will bring fears in the pagans along the Baltic opens the grand doors, briefly allowing the spring sun to dim the torches.

"MiLord, what a Magnificent place you have build upon your domain, I must say a round of mead before the tradition disappears into the past"

He takes the seat at the High Table that is his noble right,

"you know, you should all try and read the dear Lord's AAR, disregard the last post and focus on the narrative."

 

[unmerged(7269)]

MacRaith replies to Sir Kjeldsen, "Scotland? Aye, it's a land where an ambitious and skilled noble can make a good start for himself. An interesting realm to start with might be what is styled in the game as the 'Duchy of the Western Isles', which roughly corresponds to the historical Lordship of the Isles. The Lords of the Isles were subjects of the King of Scotland in name only for much of history - the Isles were virtually independent until (if memory serves) King James II of Scotland took the title for himself. (The title still exists, even if the realm as such does not; the current holder of the title is Charles Mountbatten-Windsor, Prince of Wales.)

"From the Isles, you would be in a good position to expand onto the Scottish mainland, or into Ireland if events drew you that way. England and Wales are within easy sail, and it would be possible to expand in the direction of Norway as well.

"The Duchy of Argyll, the homeland of my ancestors, has many of the same advantages as the Isles, and it is even closer to Ireland and England. But there is something inherently noble-sounding about the title 'Lord of the Isles' that 'Duke of Argyll' simply lacks.

"Another interesting part of Scotland is the North - the Shetlands and Orkneys are still largely Norse at this time, so someone looking to found a joint Scottish-Scandinavian realm may find this to be an advantage.

"A disadvantage common to almost any place in Scotland is that it is not, and never has been, a wealthy land. If you wish to make a fortune as well as a name for yourself, you will have to expand beyond Scotland's borders. This is part of the reason for the age-old hostility between Scotland and England - the most readily available riches are south of the border in England, and the Scots have never been averse to relieving the Sassenach of their excess wealth. So find a spot that is defensible and with easy access to richer lands, train an army, and take what you can for yourself and your clan.

"I hope this answers your question, Sir Kjeldsen. Until I have the game in hand myself, I can't be much more specific, alas."

MacRaith takes a long drink of Scotch, and then says, "Let me add - while my newest tale, [thread=139793]The City of Four Million Pagodas[/thread], is not a CK AAR, but rather an EU2 Mongol Empire Scenario AAR, it is set in the same time period as Crusader Kings, starting in the year 1150. So if you would like a peek at what was happening on the far side of the world, give it a look."

 

[NeilJT]

Count Neil of Tarrant (or should that be Tarranto? ) entered the room with a flourish of his waist height clock, and was promptly ignored by all assembled.

He headed over to the wall-sized tapastry map of the lands of Europe and looked longingly at the Kingdom of Navarra...
'That is where I will make my fortune in the days to come' - he spoke quietly, as if the very statement would cause this to become true. 'But I still await my sword...'

Neil took a seat and stared at the tall doors, he knew that soon a messenger would enter with the device which would enable him to claim his destiny. Until that time he would have to wait, spending his time in discussion with his fellow rulers, in the hope that experienced gained would be of aid in his quest.

 

[Deaghaidh]

An outlandish gentleman with a ridiculously long red moustache, and flowing cloak pinned with a flamboyant broach (being the style in Ireland) replies.

"We need to hear about Ireland. Fully three tales we have devoted to English lords, Three! And for sure Scotland is a fine land as well. But in Ireland there is much for an enterprising lord to do, great heights to reach. For in Ireland every man is a king, and yet there is no King over all. The Taoseach (sp?) or chieftans for sure are mostly equal with the counts of foreign realms, and the Over-Kings with the ranks of Dukes. Of these there are Five, Ulster in the north, Meath in the center, Lienster in the Southeast, Munster in the Southwest and Connaught in the Northwest. Of these the greatest in size and strength are the O'Niells of Ulster, ancient holders of the High-Kingship, the O'Briens of Munster, Children of the legendary Brian Boru "The Emperor of the Irish", and the O'Connors of Connaught (at least I think its the O'Connors, my memeory is hazy). High Kings can and have come as well from Leinster, and Meath (or Mide, depending on whom you ask) is vital for any would be High King, as it holds both Tara (ancient ritual crowning-place of High Kings) and Dublin (greatest of the Norse-Irish cities).

For myself, I say the greatest of the Irish Kingdoms is that of Munster, and the O'Briens the rightfull High Kings, being descendants of the great Boru, Lion of the Irish. But that is no suprise, as my Tuatha (or 'Clan' in the vulgar English) of O'Dea has ever been a staunch supporter of the O'Briens, holding lands under them in Tormundu (or Thormond to ignorant outlanders). But there is no telling which of Ireland's clans will sire the next Brian Boru, for Boru himself was not born into a clan holding the Lordship of Munster, but rather gained it through his own strength and valour. So any clans story is worth the telling, which is why every clan has its own historian and geneaologer. And as for Irish knighthood, for certain the fabled Arthur and his knights are but the shadow of the great Finn and the Fenians, cast long over the benighted Saxons!"

The Irishman then hangs his clans crest in honor next to the Scotsmans:

He then mutters something about Milesius, the legendary Soldier from Spain, while reading the new Aragon AAR.

EDIT: Quote deleted by management. Read the rules, please.

 

[Amric]

An imposing man, wearing burnished chain mail with the coat of arms of the Al'Aeshir family and his twin Damascus steel swords, steps into the establishment and walks over to Lord Durham.

Nice place. Really love the oak beams over head. Now, since I am the bAARtender over in the EUII forum I would like to welcome all of you to the forums. I'd also suggest you heed the call of no quoting or spamming. And for those who haven't been paying attention, our own Lord Durham has a tale he has been spinning right here in the CK forums about the Norman Knights. You should check it out.

Why? Because he is a tremendously talented writAAR, and you could do no better than to peruse his works and learn what great writing looks like.

 

[Amric]

Deaghaidh, you KNOW better. You've been around long enough! Let me reiterate about quoting, spamming, et al. Those who know me from the EUII bAAR know I try VERY hard to keep that from happening there. Lord Durham has kindly asked me to keep an eye around here until a permanent TavAARn Keeper can be found.

So the next person to quote is going to learn all about fox hunting. By being the FOX!

 

[LordLeto]

"The idea just happened upon me. Have we a bAARtender for the MonARRchs Taver yet? *hint* *hint* *nudge* *nudge* *wink* *wink*

 

[Judge]

A laughter is heard from a dark corner. “Serves you right infidel, haha, shouldn’t have messed with the English army, should we”. Judge is frenetically playing CK but looks up as he hears voices. “Ah, sorry, got carried away, a beer please Amric, yes a Sam Adams that’s right thanks”.

A sip later. “Well it will take some time yet before I will take the cross in the CK AAR forum but that day will come, the day will come when all infidels will have to watch their a***s as a Christian invasion force approaches the holy land - maybe after one or two patches more. Wouldn’t want to make the same mistake as with Vic when I started writing too early and then I have to learn the game a bit better too. Deus Vult and cheers”.

 

[Amric]

Sorry Judge...no Sam Adams...if we are being period here, it hasn't been created yet. Try this nice German dark beer instead. LordLeto, I am sure LD is thinking hard about that. At some point there WILL be TavAARn Keeper. That is the title of the person who will be running this place.

But that person is going to have to be tough on those who quote. Or Spam. Or not in character. Or misbehaving. You all know the rules. If you don't, go read them. Ignorance of the rules will not be an excuse!

To set the right mood for drinking, beer, wine, and primitive hard liquor is the drinks. Milk is doable. Water is of course acceptable. Tea is acceptable. No coffee yet. If you ask for a mixed drink, or Bacardi, yer outta luck. Don't have it here.

 

[Valdemar]

Valdemar drops down besides Judge,

"Here try this," he hands Judge a magnificent bottle of fine venetian galls, the Jugde sips the content,

"why it tastes just like Sam adams?"

Valdermar merely winks and turns to the omnipresent bAARtender,

"Actually the Tavern keeper, bAAR owner, tearoom founding father are all Lord Durham, a multifaceted man if I ever saw one... the only one ever coming close to owning one of these places are Rictus, the original ideamaker behind the bAAR, he got a long term lease, but Lord Durham holds the deeds firmly in his grasp"

He takes a loong pull of the fine glass bottle, this time tasting Mojito's Director's recipe,

"Nifty thing this bottle, got it from a Djiin in the holy land, went their with my Væringer, in another story... oh and off course the private baar is just that private, its mine, I have kept it out of the greedy palms of the "Waterhole Society" (tm)"

 

[Kurek]

Kurek wanders into the tavern with a few books under his arms.

"Don't mind me, just coming in for a drink after working in ye olde librAARy, I'm quite glad to see new AAR's to add to the list, which leads me to another point.
If ye have not seen the layout of the LibrAARy I shall tell you that I've noted down each AAR with the county/duchy/kingdom started with, a few people, including our noble Lord Durham, have sugested that instead of the country I should note the dynasty name.
Well I did give it some thought but alas! As I do not yet own the game I am not too certain on how the dynastys work! I've seen in Lord AKjeldsen's AAR that dynasty names can change! But yet also the noble player gains new and higher titles which also makes my note of country quite worthless, so what say ye noble Crusader Lords?
How should this scribe chronicle the AAR's? Is the current system worthy? Or should the system include dynasty name? And if you say Aye to the last proposal then may I hear your sugestions on how I should implement it, I've rattled on long enough now so I shall sit down and have my drink"

 

[unmerged(26691)]

"I say, order by Dynasty, but note the starting Demsne, which the industrious writAARs shall surely provide you with! Also, methinks the change of dynasty name in the York-AAR was but an exception, as he could do thus solely by saving and loading; the cause being that his heir was the son of his daughter, who had married into another dynasty."