The Free Company Tavern & "OOC" Thread: Book V

[unmerged(6528)]

As far as the hand signal thing about 'taking a crap', there's two ways to look at it.

First, there actually is a signal for it. Considering that Lochlan was sort of a trouble maker when he was younger, and he shared command of the scouts with Friedrich Scherer, I find it very likely yhat between the two of them they would have indeed created a signal for taking a crap.

Second, Lochlan could have been giving Kincaid a hard time. He has been known to do that occasionally.

As far as the smoke signals, I'm not sure why your worried about realism "Mr. Online".

RJ

 

[Valdemar]

OK shawn I'll respond tommorow, but Gao is free to elaborate

V

 

[unmerged(14268)]

Originally posted by Rath Jones
As far as the smoke signals, I'm not sure why your worried about realism "Mr. Online".

But we're supposed to be innovative, aren't we? "In fact, you could say that I invented the internet." - Unnamed Mongol

 

[Lord Durham]

Originally posted by fusag
But we're supposed to be innovative, aren't we? "In fact, you could say that I invented the internet." - Unnamed Mongol

In our time we have invented quite a lot, so it seems.

Just a note, we appear to be running with a bare bones staff, so don't be surprised if I just push ahead. If worse comes to worse I'll write a synopsis, like I did for Book III.

Regardless, it's been a pleasure working with everyone.

 

[The_Hawk]

Originally posted by Lord Durham
Just a note, we appear to be running with a bare bones staff, so don't be surprised if I just push ahead. If worse comes to worse I'll write a synopsis, like I did for Book III.

LD,

Rather than synopsize, perhaps you could just fast-forward us through the next month so we could jump straight into the climax? I, for one, would prefer that rather than the Book III ending -- which as you know, I'd still like to go back and finish at some point.

 

[unmerged(10397)]

The books far shorter than I imagined

 

[unmerged(14268)]

I know the book lost some drive when MrT cited RL and ducked out. Also, the expected few toward the beginning who couldn't keep up (or got gobbled up by Vicky). But we were going pretty strong through most of the book, I think, with a good core of writers. Then 4th of July came, plus some concurrent vacation or RL problems, and we slowed down a bit. A believe most of the core writers are still interested, just busy.

I vote (if there's an informal poll) that we slow down, let people catch their breath, make sure everyone "triggers their events" in grand FC fashion the way they want to, and end it in a whoop and holler like we did Book IV. I know it'll slow down the pace of the book, possibly considerably, but the resulting product would be better. In the boardgaming industry, there's a saying: "Take your time and get it right the first time." This would also give me time to move and get back into the loop.

Whatever the PTB decide, I will make one or two more Landen posts tomorrow. If anyone has something they want me to include, PM me.

I also urge the other minor writers (like myself) to take up free characters and just run with them. I've written stuff for Landen, Foppy, Baer, and Otto. T_H wanted me to do Sforza, but since I'm leaving right as Sforza does his stuff, we decided that wouldn't be a good idea. How's LeClerc getting on with Annette? Are Baer's infantry still grumbling at him? What are the Moors up to? What was deBloomfielde's latest exploit? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[The_Hawk]

Originally posted by fusag
How's LeClerc getting on with Annette? Are Baer's infantry still grumbling at him? What are the Moors up to? What was deBloomfielde's latest exploit? Inquiring minds want to know!

Good call. If we want to get this thing jump-started, we need people interacting with other people -- and not much more. I know I, for one, am stagnating because none of my characters have anyone to talk to at the moment.

Which reminds me, RW, if you're back, you should conduct a dice game so my infantry can make a little trouble.

Oh, and you might recall that Annette disappeared to Florence when the Free Company made landfall in Italy. Don't worry -- she's being well-cared for. *steeples fingers mysteriously*

(EDIT: You know, proportionally speaking, this is roughly the point where, in Book IV, we had fusag and LLE appear and throw in some great characters leading up to the big finish. I say this by way of suggesting that it's not too late for anyone who's been following along and considering joining to do so. Waiting until the next Book only means this one is more likely to have a short and sweet ending. /Shameless Recruitment Plug)

 

[unmerged(14268)]

Originally posted by The_Hawk
Which reminds me, RW, if you're back, you should conduct a dice game so my infantry can make a little trouble.

And that reminds me: http://www.geocities.com/fusag44/sicbo.txt MUHAHAHAHA!!! That's what happens when you have too much time.

 

[Valdemar]

I'm still here, vicky or no vicky, this takes presedence, I just haven't had a lot to feed of lately, but if push comes to shove I'll write all the intended hooks for Johan/Frederik and their interaction (which no one seems to have caught onto) myself.

On that note I'd like t announce that I'm leaving on a two weeks well deserved vacation, but I'll be online atleast once a day, from monday

V

 

[redwolf]

Hey all, i just got back. Believe it or not, i found a female version of W.L.A.K among this year's batch of freshmen. Not only did she manage to isolate herself from most of the other freshmen, she also manage to offend almost every senior student involved in the orientation. So far we are just ignoring her antics but tomorrow is the Hall's initiation programme. Just for her, some of us seniors have thought out a special "initiation" to welcome her.

Hawk, I am most willing to start a dice game but with the FC on the march, is there time to get a game going?

Oh by the way, where is Gao at the moment? Is he still with the FC or has he went off with Sean? If he's not around, then who is is Chen going to report to in the jaghun?

 

[Barkdreg]

Originally posted by The_Hawk


(EDIT: You know, proportionally speaking, this is roughly the point where, in Book IV, we had fusag and LLE appear and throw in some great characters leading up to the big finish. I say this by way of suggesting that it's not too late for anyone who's been following along and considering joining to do so. Waiting until the next Book only means this one is more likely to have a short and sweet ending. /Shameless Recruitment Plug)

I'd gladly join f only someone could explain to me where the Free Company is, what time it is, who they are fighting, why they are fighting and who is in the company.

I simply don't have the time to read the entire book.

 

[Valdemar]

The last post in short on purpose, I can finish it with gory details, if nobody else have comment (Gao, Mario, Sean?)


Then we can move on

V

 

[unmerged(4007)]

I would be willing to pick up more of the Dark Side, but the problem is I don't really know what the plot was when SM left. Cat was supposed to be what Cat is, a commander. Now I can have him running over missives from Foscari and trying to figure out what's going on politically, and keep that moving, but I need to know what WAS going to go on, as I was left more or less in the dark.

I've had a snag with Robert, unfortunately. He's not moved nearly as far as I'd really like him too. But that has to do with issues that others have noted. I'm inclined to say that we be patient and let people come off of vacation.

V,

I'll take a look and see if Sean needs to comment. Probably just make a summary comment of what our victim gasped. Then probably send it to Chris.

Edit-- It's all yours. Just have him hand over the juicy details to Sean over his mug inside. I'll have it get relayed to Florence, and we can work out the next part of the plan from there.

 

[unmerged(14268)]

Originally posted by Barkdreg
I'd gladly join f only someone could explain to me where the Free Company is, what time it is, who they are fighting, why they are fighting and who is in the company.

I simply don't have the time to read the entire book.

Where: The FC is currently several hours from Cremona, enroute to Mantua from their previous camp in Milan. See the maps a page or two back.

Time: 6 August 1440, about lunch time

Who we're fighting: The FC is in an army with the forces of Milan (under their prince, Visconti), Sforza's condittori (you may remember him from Book III), and the Hospitler's company (who is the Pope's sword). They are due to clash with the forces of Venice led by Gattamaletta (sp?) (also from Book III).

Why: Venice is threatening to gobble up northern Italy. His CB is that Mantuan forces attacked a Venetian village (the attack was faked by the Doge Foscari of course). Mantua has fallen by guile. Sforza, former military leader of Venice, was ejected during a coup in Book IV. Sforza and Foscari hate each other, and when Sforza's company found shelter in Milan, that put Milan high in Venice's list. That's why Visconti is in the fight. Venice is also supporting an antipope, which is why the Pope sent the Hospiteller du Pont to assist. There was lots of intrigue over which side Florence would join. At first, their leader (Cosimo) wanted to stay neutral. But assassins (either working for Venice or the Ottomons, I don't know) killed Catherine de Medici, Cosimo's mother, and Syban, grandfather of the FC. The murders were framed on Maria de Medici (no relation) and Frederick, both associated with the FC. Cosimo blames this on the FC but can't prove it, so he simply ejected them from Florentine lands. However, some minor Florentine noble got the stupid idea of ambushing the FC. Cosimo thinks the FC aggrevated them into the fight, so now he's marshalling his men to attack the FC (but not the Milanese alliance?).

 

[The_Hawk]

fusag,

I am overwhelmed with amusement. So I assume rules of play would go something like: the House states the game type and what bet the House takes (for numbers, almost invariably something between 9 and 12; for highest/lowest H6 or L1; for high/low, perhaps the House sits the round out? Or the House player bets his own money? Then again, the 'House' could be an elected position with no real privilege other than that of declaring what everyone else is betting on.) Everyone else then places their bets, and then the roller rolls, the House declares the winner(s), and the winnings are distributed? It would seem that you might need two people in the House position to keep things moving -- one to take bets, and another to distribute winnings (since if you didn't do it after each roll it would quickly become an organizational nightmare).

RW,

I would suggest some evening when the Company's made camp. There will be at least one between now and the Book's end.

Also, aren't all the Chin together? With Gao gone, Chen might be breveted to a sergeancy until his return and report directly to Shur'tu.

Barkdreg,

The Story So Far (The Short Version):

The Book opens with the Free Company on Rhodes, licking its wounds after Book IV. (That most excellent tale ends with the Company being driven from Constantinople by the invading Turks, while at the same time their friend Francesco Sforza, previously in control of the Venetian military, is double-crossed and driven from Venice, leaving it in the hands of Doge Foscari.) Rumors of war on the Italian mainland persist, as Venice, flush from its victory over Sforza, contemplates exercising its newfound muscle. Once fresh recruits have filled out their ranks, the Company departs Rhodes for Italy to find work; however, they stop on the way to rescue the Byzantine Emperor, Demetrius, his Strategos Dimitris Mataxis, and a handful of Greek survivors.

The Company arrives in Ancona in an uncertain atmosphere. Milan, the Pope and Sforza's company have banded together to go to the aid of Mantua, which is in immediate danger from the Venetian threat. Neapolitan nobles use the absence of Sforza's men to reassert their own interests and side with Venice in the coming conflict, along with support from Albania and Cyprus. The fence-sitter is Florence, which, while obstensibly ruled by Catherine de Medici and Syban, has its own military controlled by Catherine's son Cosimo de Medici, who desires peace, or perhaps even involvement on the side of Venice.

Both Syban and Cosimo make their power plays, trying to sway Maria de Medici (no relation) and her fleet, along with the Free Company; things finally come to a head when Cosimo convinces Maria to attempt to assassinate Syban, only to discover that an agent called Fallen Angel (in, presumably, Venetian employ) has already done the deed. Fallen Angel frees Osman, a Turkish assassin the Company had captured at the end of Book IV, and pins the murders of Syban and Catherine de Medici on Maria, who is captured and jailed; the two assassins escape. The Company arrives at Florence only to be promptly driven out by Cosimo, himself enraged at the undesired murder of his mother.

With no prospect of employ in Florence, the Company heads north towards Milan, where the allied forces have gathered. Word reaches them, meanwhile, that Mantua has fallen to the treachery of il Gattamelata, brought out of retirement by Foscari for this conquest. It is presently early August, 1440, and the Company and allied forces are heading back to Cremona in the hopes of intercepting Gattamelata's forces.

That should answer most of your questions, except for who's in the Company -- for that I would recommend you to LD's webpage and the Character Bios section.

(EDIT: Damn your black soul, fusag. But our two work nicely together, so I won't change mine. Funny that we both thought to mention that Maria was 'no relation'. )

 

[unmerged(14268)]

(EDIT: Darn your inky soul too, T_H. I was working on the character bio concurrently. I guess I will have to edit some of this out... I got the "no relation" bit out of the kids' cartoon (Steven Spielberg's) Tiny Toon Adventure.

Babs: Hi! I'm Babs Bunny.
Buster: And I'm Buster Bunny.
Both: (No relation.)

Boy do I feel ancient now...)

As for people, click on the Free Company Home Page link in LD's sig and look in the Character Bios page. A summary of people added to the FC since Book III:

Captain, Lochlan: Same old Captain, slightly more mellow Lochlan (he now has an injury and has a "camp follower" ). Lochlan is now 2nd in command.

Landen: Lochlan was injured in Book IV and can no longer use his longbow. Landen, who had his own group of 25 scouts and support troops, took over as head of the scouts. The bio of Landen is on the 3rd page of this OOC thread. Under Landen is the Honorable William Lawrence Alistair Kincaid (aka WLAK), a prick with his Aristocracy slider at 10; Robert O'Glaigh, son of Sean O'Glaigh (from Book III).

Erik Jaeger: In charge of his surviving German pikemen with ranks filled out since Constantinople with new recruits. He sees the world in black and white, which has gotten him into quite a few arguements (see Lochlan's injury). His main sergeant in the book is Baer, who commands a bunch of the green soldiers, include the sons of de Bloomfielde, Stroph, Pohlman, and Captain. His a big bear of a man with temper to match. Jaeger's pike regiment is one third of the FC's infantry contingent. Another third is under LeClerc, armed with swords and shields. I believe Sean also sent some of his own troops, but I forgot their commander's name.

Fysil ap Faolan: Son of Faolan, in command of the FC Welsh longbows.

Huran Shur'tu: Mongol and commander of the FC light cavalry. His force was also badly depleted during Constantinople, and since he has been supplemented by forces under Omar (Cockney is MIA), Jean d'Auxonne, and Chen Hui. Shur'tu demands that the light cavalry use Mongol formations, command structures, and communication devices, but he has not forced them to change their equipment. He has once again found his honor (after selling his services ignobily) and is even tolerant of European military systems and customs.

Otto: The other Pohlman (I forgot his given name now) left the FC before Book IV, built the cannons which the Sultan used to take Constantinople, realized what he had done, sabotaged them, and then disappeared. Meanwhile, Otto (his brother?) took over the FC's artillery park.

Jan Barbasaen (Shaky): FC doctor, alcoholic, currently being held captive by Cosimo to tend to Maria to prolong her torture. Jan thinks she's deserved it for torturing Osman, a Turk captured in Constantinople.

Frederik Hviid: merchant, agent, information-dealer, and former assassin. Ran into the FC in Book IV, fell in love with Maria, and stayed because of her. Currently trying to clear both of their names. Moves very quietly, comfortable running across rooftops to escape trailers, and very deadly with his the many knives secreted around his body.

Maria de Medici: adopted daughter of The Cyprian. After he died in Constantinople, she inherited the fleet. Runs the fleet like any other man. Catherine de Medici gave her a fief and a title in return for gaining the fleet to protect Florence from Venice. But since Maria and Frederick were framed for the murder of Catherine, it's safe to say Cosimo (who, incidently, had the hots for her) has repealed the gift. Currently being held captive by Cosimo and being tortured for a confession(?), information about Frederick's whereabouts(?).

Sforza: there is also a bio of Sforza on page 3 of this OOC thread.

 

[Storey]

Originally posted by fusag
And that reminds me: http://www.geocities.com/fusag44/sicbo.txt MUHAHAHAHA!!! That's what happens when you have too much time.

Joe

 

[unmerged(14268)]

Heck, if someone can write the rules to Tonk, I can compile the rules to Sic Bo. T_H, my feeling is that Sic Bo is very informal, and there's probably lots of different versions floating around where the Chin came from. So the players will probably come to some of concensus about how to play, how to place bets, etc. It may be like craps where control of the dice passes from player to player when one guy is sick of the dice giving him 7's .

As another saying in the boardgame industry goes: "We make this stuff up, so you can too." If anyone wants to contribute more bets to play, I'm all ears. I already have one more up my sleeve.

(EDIT: Now what I would really like to do is introduce Farkle. I've played this in real life a few times and it is a hoot.)

 

[Storey]

Originally posted by The_Hawk
fusag,

I am overwhelmed with amusement. So I assume rules of play would go something like: the House states the game type and what bet the House takes (for numbers, almost invariably something between 9 and 12; for highest/lowest H6 or L1; for high/low, perhaps the House sits the round out? Or the House player bets his own money? Then again, the 'House' could be an elected position with no real privilege other than that of declaring what everyone else is betting on.) Everyone else then places their bets, and then the roller rolls, the House declares the winner(s), and the winnings are distributed? It would seem that you might need two people in the House position to keep things moving -- one to take bets, and another to distribute winnings (since if you didn't do it after each roll it would quickly become an organizational nightmare).

RW,

I assumed that the house covered all bets. They paid the winners after each throw of the dice. They also collected the bets from the losers, which by the odds of the game should be larger than the winners. This however is an assumption since my research was hasty in order to get it posted in time. Since everyone is betting on a number I thought of it as closer to how craps is played.

Joe