Dawn of the Hessian Reich: An Interactive AAR
Version: Vanilla 1.3
Approach: Interactive / Narrative AAR
Short-Term Goal: Become an established military power in the German region
Mid-Term Goal: Become Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire and the main powerblock in the region that is currently Germany.
Long-Term Goal: Become Kaiser of a brutal and militaristic Reich with an organized, disciplined and large Army which will be used to conquer West Europe.
Afterwards: A world united by the Hessian Brotherhood?
Tough goals but it should be fun.
Hesse's past, present and future will receive not a new interpretation and a fantasy/conspiracy edge.
I'm a fervent addict of Interactive AAR's. Loved those for Medieval 2 and Rome Total War. So I shall frequently turn to YOU the player as my trusted advisors and Generals.
In any case. We have an autoritarian Empire to build. Let us get to it.
Pick up an alter ego and join in for the fun!
Prologue:
War! It has been the bread and butter of many German mercenaries. And many of them have partaken in a multitude of battles be they skirmishes or full scale warfare. But no mercenaries have been as terrible as those belonging to the infamous and feared Hessian Brotherhood... vile and brutal Knights clad in black armor and leading entire mercenary compagnies in wars far beyond the borders. These fallen noblemen and veteran soldiers are feared and some people have even gained the belief that the Hessian Horsemen are not entirely natural.
Though delivering plenty of mercenaries across Europe, these men of war never gained realms of their own. For it's foundation lay on the skills and ambitions of landless aristocrats and men of low breeding that had risen through the ranks through skill and sheer ambition.
But that would soon change... for soon they would be more than common grunts... .
Landsgrave Louis I the Peaceful finds himself surrounded by states bent on enlargement and with ambitions regarding the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.
Europe stands at the brink of change. Burgundy and France will inevitably clash. England is still involved in conflict with France. Aragon, Portugal and Castile may soon rise to power.
But to make matters worse many of the small states within the Holy Roman Empire stand ready to wage war on small Hesse. Landsgraviate Hesse has only a small territory composed out of merely Nassau and Hesse itself.
Louis I had been Landsgrave of Hesse since 1413. But he felt that his age was gaining the better of him. It was now 1452 and he felt his age slowly getting the better of him. A skilled and talented ruler, the Landsgrave had managed to skillfully navigate the political scene of the Reich and under his reign peace had reigned.
He was a ruler beloved by his people and by Hessian standards quite lenient.
But now at the dusk of his reign... he saw only danger assailling the domain ruled by his long-standing dynasty.
And for the first time, he contemplated change. Great change.
And this is where the Hessian Brotherhood steps forward. Having been called back, these ruthless men have been offered a change to ascend to nobility and gain lands, titles and glory ever lasting.
If the Hessian Brotherhood, the semi-hierarchic Knightly Order aided Hesse in surviving and expanding, they would become the cornerstone of this new 'Reich'.
And indeed slowly the Hessian mercenaries returned, one by one. Returning to join their brethren in a new endeavour.
Among the great commanders of the Hessian Mercenaries, a leader stood above all the Knights and Mercenary Captains of the Hessian Brotherhood.
His name was Heinrich Nachtschild, Kriegmeister of the Brotherhood and the most infamous and brutal of them all. His obsidian armor was the most ornamented of them all and the relentless warmongerer was the iron fist responsible for the unification of the dozens of Mercenary Companies.
It was he who together with the contrasting Landsgrave Louis I restructured the Hessian Brotherhood in something 'more'. Based on elements from both the Teutonic Knights, more worldly Knightly Orders and underlined with some of the brutal traditions of the Brotherhood of old, the Hessian Brotherhood now stood ready to become the leading cadre of fighting men that would help Hesse achieve it's aims.
It is in this context that Kriegmeister Nachtschild, Paragon of Slaugher and villaineous victor of the Battle of Bloodlake met with the Landsgrave:
31 may, 1453, Hesse:
The Kriegmeister and several of the most prominent Hessian Knights of the Brotherhood stood gathered around the table of Landsgrave Louis I. Their fates entertwined as only two months before, the Hessian Brotherhood had pledged their service and lives to the Landsgrave and his dynasty.
Landsgrave Louis I and the Kriegmeister showed the map to the advisors and Knights of the Hessian Brotherhood. Louis I went over the current situation in the realm. Having recently hired new advisors.
The Kriegmeister turned towards the others. "We know what to do. Protect Hesse by all costs and gain power and influence for it" he said.
"We are not Electors but thanks to the Landsgrave's past policies the Electors are reasonably sympathetic in their view of us though not in such a way for them to choose us as the next Kaiser. As we all know the Austrian powerhouse has the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire..."
"The question now is... what policies shall we support? What path will we take for Hesse?" he asked "The Hessian Brotherhood strives for control, power and military might. But for now we only have a single defensive regiment. Our military power is lacking" he said. "We are decentralized, we are still not entirely elitary which hampers the amount of needed diplomats. We lack national focus and our stability is still far from perfect" the icecold gaze of the mighty warlord moved over advisors and knights alike.
"Tell me than... what shall we do" his obsidianclad hand motioned towards the map. "Initiative or the defence? Alliance or hostility? Vassalization or conquest? Stability or reform? What shall our national focus be? And how will we hold the behemoths that are Austria and Burgundy at bay? For even the Hessian Brotherhood cannot hope to win against then numbers they might field...". In the background Landsgrave Louis I nodded in agreement at the passionate words of the far younger man. He sipped from a goblet and savoured the red liquid. Though Heinrich seemed to dominate the room, the softhearted and wise ruler took in every detail, every reaction... .
Heinrich Nachtschild is gazing at YOU! What will you answer him?
Version: Vanilla 1.3
Approach: Interactive / Narrative AAR
Short-Term Goal: Become an established military power in the German region
Mid-Term Goal: Become Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire and the main powerblock in the region that is currently Germany.
Long-Term Goal: Become Kaiser of a brutal and militaristic Reich with an organized, disciplined and large Army which will be used to conquer West Europe.
Afterwards: A world united by the Hessian Brotherhood?
Tough goals but it should be fun.
Hesse's past, present and future will receive not a new interpretation and a fantasy/conspiracy edge.
I'm a fervent addict of Interactive AAR's. Loved those for Medieval 2 and Rome Total War. So I shall frequently turn to YOU the player as my trusted advisors and Generals.
In any case. We have an autoritarian Empire to build. Let us get to it.
Pick up an alter ego and join in for the fun!
Prologue:
War! It has been the bread and butter of many German mercenaries. And many of them have partaken in a multitude of battles be they skirmishes or full scale warfare. But no mercenaries have been as terrible as those belonging to the infamous and feared Hessian Brotherhood... vile and brutal Knights clad in black armor and leading entire mercenary compagnies in wars far beyond the borders. These fallen noblemen and veteran soldiers are feared and some people have even gained the belief that the Hessian Horsemen are not entirely natural.
Though delivering plenty of mercenaries across Europe, these men of war never gained realms of their own. For it's foundation lay on the skills and ambitions of landless aristocrats and men of low breeding that had risen through the ranks through skill and sheer ambition.
But that would soon change... for soon they would be more than common grunts... .
Landsgrave Louis I the Peaceful finds himself surrounded by states bent on enlargement and with ambitions regarding the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.
Europe stands at the brink of change. Burgundy and France will inevitably clash. England is still involved in conflict with France. Aragon, Portugal and Castile may soon rise to power.
But to make matters worse many of the small states within the Holy Roman Empire stand ready to wage war on small Hesse. Landsgraviate Hesse has only a small territory composed out of merely Nassau and Hesse itself.
Louis I had been Landsgrave of Hesse since 1413. But he felt that his age was gaining the better of him. It was now 1452 and he felt his age slowly getting the better of him. A skilled and talented ruler, the Landsgrave had managed to skillfully navigate the political scene of the Reich and under his reign peace had reigned.
He was a ruler beloved by his people and by Hessian standards quite lenient.
But now at the dusk of his reign... he saw only danger assailling the domain ruled by his long-standing dynasty.
And for the first time, he contemplated change. Great change.
And this is where the Hessian Brotherhood steps forward. Having been called back, these ruthless men have been offered a change to ascend to nobility and gain lands, titles and glory ever lasting.
If the Hessian Brotherhood, the semi-hierarchic Knightly Order aided Hesse in surviving and expanding, they would become the cornerstone of this new 'Reich'.
And indeed slowly the Hessian mercenaries returned, one by one. Returning to join their brethren in a new endeavour.
Among the great commanders of the Hessian Mercenaries, a leader stood above all the Knights and Mercenary Captains of the Hessian Brotherhood.
His name was Heinrich Nachtschild, Kriegmeister of the Brotherhood and the most infamous and brutal of them all. His obsidian armor was the most ornamented of them all and the relentless warmongerer was the iron fist responsible for the unification of the dozens of Mercenary Companies.
It was he who together with the contrasting Landsgrave Louis I restructured the Hessian Brotherhood in something 'more'. Based on elements from both the Teutonic Knights, more worldly Knightly Orders and underlined with some of the brutal traditions of the Brotherhood of old, the Hessian Brotherhood now stood ready to become the leading cadre of fighting men that would help Hesse achieve it's aims.
It is in this context that Kriegmeister Nachtschild, Paragon of Slaugher and villaineous victor of the Battle of Bloodlake met with the Landsgrave:
31 may, 1453, Hesse:
The Kriegmeister and several of the most prominent Hessian Knights of the Brotherhood stood gathered around the table of Landsgrave Louis I. Their fates entertwined as only two months before, the Hessian Brotherhood had pledged their service and lives to the Landsgrave and his dynasty.
Landsgrave Louis I and the Kriegmeister showed the map to the advisors and Knights of the Hessian Brotherhood. Louis I went over the current situation in the realm. Having recently hired new advisors.
The Kriegmeister turned towards the others. "We know what to do. Protect Hesse by all costs and gain power and influence for it" he said.
"We are not Electors but thanks to the Landsgrave's past policies the Electors are reasonably sympathetic in their view of us though not in such a way for them to choose us as the next Kaiser. As we all know the Austrian powerhouse has the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire..."
"The question now is... what policies shall we support? What path will we take for Hesse?" he asked "The Hessian Brotherhood strives for control, power and military might. But for now we only have a single defensive regiment. Our military power is lacking" he said. "We are decentralized, we are still not entirely elitary which hampers the amount of needed diplomats. We lack national focus and our stability is still far from perfect" the icecold gaze of the mighty warlord moved over advisors and knights alike.
"Tell me than... what shall we do" his obsidianclad hand motioned towards the map. "Initiative or the defence? Alliance or hostility? Vassalization or conquest? Stability or reform? What shall our national focus be? And how will we hold the behemoths that are Austria and Burgundy at bay? For even the Hessian Brotherhood cannot hope to win against then numbers they might field...". In the background Landsgrave Louis I nodded in agreement at the passionate words of the far younger man. He sipped from a goblet and savoured the red liquid. Though Heinrich seemed to dominate the room, the softhearted and wise ruler took in every detail, every reaction... .
Heinrich Nachtschild is gazing at YOU! What will you answer him?
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