In the Shadow of the Smokies- An East Tennessee AAR [After the End mod]

[modernwhofan]

In the Shadow of the Smokies​

An After the End AAR as East Tennessee​

Hello and welcome to my first AAR. I’ve been playing CKII for a while now, but have never been inspired to write an AAR until now. I’ve always been fascinated by post-apocalyptic scenarios (call it a morbid curiosity), so when I first played this mod, it pretty much blew my mind. Even better, my hometown is on the map, which is why I just have to play as E. Tennessee.

I’ll be starting off with the standard character, Grand Duke John Clapp of East Tennessee. My goals are to unite Appalachia, spread my faith, and hold my own against the Holy Columbian Confederacy. The South will not rise again!

I will be writing this in a first person narrative in the form of a personal journal. Again this is my first time writing, so constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged. I hope you enjoy it!

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Prologue​

July 4^th, 2666​

Here begins the journal of John Clapp, Grand Duke of East Tennessee. My Chancellor suggested I keep this, should future generations wish to know what happened in and around this time period. I personally do not think such a thing is necessary, but nevertheless I will keep it with me.

I suppose I should describe myself. I was born on March 11th, 2623, in Knoxville, and raised as a Charismatic. I have been described as “trusting”, “outgoing”, and a “warrior” by my friends, and “selfish”, ”lazy”, and “ignorant” by my enemies. While it is true that I received no schooling as a boy, I was slightly busy fighting off people who were trying to kill me. On January 1st, 2660, I put an end to that by uniting Knox and Chattanooga into the Grand Duchy. (As a side note, I have ordered the refurbishment of a local building that was once called “The Sun Sphere”, as well as a convent beside it. Once they are complete, I will use them for my Palace.) I have since granted Chattanooga to Adam Spiegal, a cruel-but-honest man who knows his way around coin as much as me and a sword.

(Left) Grand Duke John of Middle Tennessee, First of his name. (Right) Count Adam of Chattanooga.

Now for the political situation. There are two heretical nations on our borders. The County of Sequatchie to our West is not a problem on their own, but the revelationist horde to their west worries me some. To our south lies the Tribe of Snowbirds. While they have no allies nearby, they are stronger and larger than we are. North of us lies the Republic of Watauga. They do not pose much threat, however.

Political map of the areas around East Tennessee

Finally, there is my council and their posts. Firstly, my Chancellor, Mayor Morris of Gatlinburg. I have sent him to Sequatchie, to fab... *ahem*... search for legitimate claims, so that I may avoid the horde. Then there is Marshall Vassar. He is staying in the Knoxville Barracks to train our soldiers. Our Steward is Count Adam. I’ve put him in charge of the taxes in Knox. My Spymaster is a man named Lance. Because he is not too skilled, I have him staying at home, making sure nothing too shady is going on. Finally, there is my court Chaplain, Bishop Larry of Oak Ridge. Currently, I have him researching throughout the city, and hopefully he will find ways to improve our culture.

The original Council of East Tennessee

There is not much else to say as of yet. It has been relatively peaceful here for the past 6 ½ years, but I suspect that things will be changing here quite soon.

P.S.: Today is apparently a Holy Day for the Americanists. Some nonsense about independence from an evil empire. I will never understand those fools.

 

[Audren]

It's always great to see After the End AARs, especially for places I haven't played yet. I look forward to reading more!

 

[jOrionII]

This is the kind of AAR I have been waiting for! I'll be keeping an eye out for these.

 

[modernwhofan]

Small, mini-update. Just a picture really.

Artists rendition of the finished Sun Sphere Palace.

 

[Deaghaidh]

That reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Bart takes a car to Knoxville with Nelson the bully.

"On the plus side, I broke the Sun Sphere. Haw-haw!"

 

[modernwhofan]

It's always great to see After the End AARs, especially for places I haven't played yet. I look forward to reading more!

Glad to hear. The only other one I've seen is GreatWyrmGold's The Mouse. That's one of the ones that had inspired me to do my own.

This is the kind of AAR I have been waiting for! I'll be keeping an eye out for these.

Awesome! If you find any others, could you send me a link? As I said above, I've only found the one.

That reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Bart takes a car to Knoxville with Nelson the bully.
"On the plus side, I broke the Sun Sphere. Haw-haw!"

I've not seen that one. Which Season?

And now, back to our Duke of E. Tennessee!

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Chapter 1: 2666-2670​

July 5^th, ‘66​

I’ve decided to marry today. It’s not for love, or any such nonsense, merely the fact that- as much as I hate to admit it- I need help with finances. I’ve already found someone who will suit this position. She’s a Tuskegee woman named Jean Hillyer, the daughter of the Count of Birmingham. The only other thing I wish I could get from this is an alliance.

July 10^th, ‘66​

The wedding was fairly unremarkable. No royal aid was collected- the opinion of my vassals is more important to me at the moment. It was held by Bishop Larry, which I think annoyed Jean’s family. (They’re almost exclusively evangelical.) I’ll hopefully soon have an heir, and be able to ignore this woman.

Dear God, I just realized how awful I sound.

October 31^st, ‘66​

There is a tradition in some regions the people call “Halloween”. Children dress up in costumes and beg strangers for treats. I guess it seemed appropriate for Jean to ask something of me as well. Apparently, Bishop Larry has been annoying her and she wants him replaced. I tried explaining that I don’t have anybody to replace him, and she stormed off in a fury. What am I to do with this woman?

December 25^th, ‘66​

Today is the holy day of Christmas, where the exalted Saint Nicholas rises from the dead as Christ did, and rewards the good and pious. In the spirit of the holiday, I’ve called for preparations for a grand feast to begin. I may only have three guests, but I’m sure it will be splendid nonetheless!

February 13^th, ‘67​

The feast was a resounding success! The acrobats I hired were marvelous, and Bishop Larry was especially impressed. Mayor Morris even stood up at one point and gave a speech, praising me and my name. I also discovered how much Count Adam and I actually have in common. We became great friends, and he stayed a while after the feast was over. Even though it was costly, it was worth every coin.

April 16^th, ‘67​

The time has come. Lord Proprietor Tatham of Watauga must be expelled from Holston. That territory is rightfully part of East Tennessee, and I WILL HAVE IT! The time has come for war. I’ve already sent out the orders to raise the troops. I have more than him and he doesn’t even have any allies! The circumstances cannot be more perfect.

May 17^th, ‘67​

There are interesting developments going on. I received word that a new religion has risen in Miami Valley, called “Consumerism”. I didn’t have time to hear the full story, though. We’re meant to march on Watauga today, and I have no time to hear about the beliefs of heathens. It’s time to fight, and I will lead the assault!

July 23[SUPrd][/SUP], ‘67​

We won the first battle. When we marched on Watauga, Tatham’s army tried to retreat north, but we eventually caught up with them, taking out over 2/3 of their army. Now, we begin the siege of Holston.

September 14^th, ‘67​

A boy on horseback rode into the siege camp today, claiming he had a letter for me. When I opened it, I saw with joy a document, stating that the County of Sequatchie had once fallen under the jurisdiction of East Tennessee. This was all the reason I needed for war on them. But first, I must win this war. I don’t imagine it will be too long. I sent the boy back to Sequatchie to inform my steward that he is being reassigned to Jefferson Forrest, in the Duchy of Clinch.

October 1^st, ‘67​

Victory is mine! Tatham surrendered once his precious city had been laid to waste, and the county of Holston is where it rightfully belongs. Unfortunately, I received word that there is a Transalleghenian army fighting the Snowbirds down south. I can only assume they mean to subjugate Appalachia. If there was something I could do, I would do it without hesitation. But as it stands at the moment, I can only watch as those Rust Cultists take the land that should be mine.

There’s also another complication with Holston. The top holding is the City of Elizabethton, and there is a duke residing in the only Barony in the county, so the holding must go to him. His name is Jesse of Morristown. Hopefully he doesn’t resent the change of ownership. Giving him control of the entire county might get him to like me a bit more.

May 30^th, ‘68​

Splendid news! Jean came to me earlier today and announced she was pregnant. This means I will finally have a legitimate heir! I pray to God and all the saints that it will be a boy, but until the birth, praying is all I can do.

August 13^th, ‘68​

The time is nigh again. I have a claim on the county of Sequatchie, and Chief John Lee is in Michigan, fighting against Detroit. His levies are absent and his garrison is small. It’s time for war once more!

December 31^st, ‘68​

It is the eve of the New Year, and I could not be happier! I saw the birth of my first child today, and God be praised, it’s a boy! I have decided to name him after myself and my father. The only bad news is that he is already unwell, and he may not survive past infancy. I hope this fear is unfounded.

The siege is almost over. Soon, East Tennessee’s borders will be complete. I believe I’ll go after Clinch this next time.

April 5^th, ‘69​

The siege is won and Sequatchie is mine! East Tennessee is completely united, as it should be. The time now needs to be spent gaining more money and converting the people to the Charismatic faith. I’ve sent word to the court chaplain to begin a mission.

October 31^st, ‘69​

An interesting topic arose today in court. While discussing the writings of the old philosophers, the conversation turned towards the “American Dream”. Of course, the phrase can be heard anywhere today, although its meaning had become somewhat lost. Among some of the meanings discussed in court, there was only one that sounded right to me, especially given recent events. I agreed with Bishop Larry, that the true American Dream was to seize the lands of my enemies in glorious combat. It was then I realized how truly ambitious I was. I don’t want to be some lowly duke of four miniscule counties. I want to be King! I want to be an Emperor! I want to rule with an iron fist, and subjugate all who oppose me. This… This is the American Dream!

 

[Specialist290]

Glad to see a new After the End AAR, especially when it's one for my own native region Best of luck; I know from my own playthroughs in the area that you'll certainly need it!

 

[modernwhofan]

As it so happens, my computer decided to die. I've had it for a while, and it was fairly old. Needless to say, I'll need a new computer, which means this game is kaput.
I might start another one, but with my classes right around the corner, I might just wait until the summer to try again.

 

[Specialist290]

That's unfortunate Ah well. Best of luck with your classes!

 

[modernwhofan]

Well... this is a bit embarrassing...

It's been over two years. My computer died, I went to college, I almost died (literally) and I completely forgot about this. None of the old pictures are there, many additions have been made to the base game and the mod, and I've become a much better player.

Also, I've found an AAR on this same mod by one of the people who left a comment on this one! Well, I suppose this can only mean one thing...

Before the end of this month, I will reboot this AAR. I'll not play John Clapp (as his start seems doomed to failure), but someone else who can unite the place I call home. I'll try to have a first post out this week.

Edit: It seems that the devs are still adding more onto the mod right now. I might reneg on the "within the week" deal, depending on how major some of these changes are, or how often they keep coming out.

 

[Deaghaidh]

I recently encountered a daughter of this dynasty. She had the unfortunate name of Fanny Clapp. That won me over, and I'd love to see a new AAR.

Oh, and the Simpsons episode I mentioned years ago:

https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Bart_on_the_Road

A quality episode. Bart gets ahold of a driver's license and rents a car.

 

[modernwhofan]

I recently encountered a daughter of this dynasty. She had the unfortunate name of Fanny Clapp. That won me over, and I'd love to see a new AAR.

Oh, and the Simpsons episode I mentioned years ago:

https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Bart_on_the_Road

A quality episode. Bart gets ahold of a driver's license and rents a car.

It does seem an unfortunate name, and I can see why he goes by "Johnny Knoxville" instead.
Thanks for the link, and good luck in Cleveland. I'll try to keep your dynasty alive, at the very least. >: )