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Crimson's AAR Inkwell

The Third Odyssey - An Elysian Tale: Ioannes VIII looks upon his empire and despairs. Surrounded by enemies upon all sides, the Emperor looks into classical inspiration in a desperate means to save his people and the Imperial legacy of the Romans. Launching an odyssey and abandoning the Old World, the exiled vestiges of the Eastern Roman Empire were set to alter the course of history forever...

La Serenissima - The City of Fortune : The Serene Republic of Venice had, for the longest time, enjoyed prosperity as a dominant economic power in the Mediterranean. Unbeknownst to the republic, Venice was on the brink of a Golden Age at the dawn of the Renaissance.

Dream of the Eagles - Mildly Interactive Germany AAR : The Duchy of Brandenburg, ruled by the House of Hohenzollern, had been a minor power among the myriad of states within Northern Germany. Sometimes all that's needed for greatness is a little push.

The Lion and the Lilly - History of the Angevin Empire: What if England won the Hundred Years War? Follow the House of Anjou as they begin to establish a dual monarchy that would come to change the history of the world forever... (prematurely came to an end in 1605)
 
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KingOfIce's Inkwell

DISCONTINUED

CK2:
Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven: A Papacy AAR: Alexander is a controversial pope, but he has done much. His actions have altered the Papacy, which looks set to expand it's influence. Discontinued due to change of Computer

ONGOING:

CK3:
A Raksha's Game: A House Vijayabahu AAR: A CK3 AAR where I set out to learn the game, and unite all four directions of the Indian Subcontinent starting as Thakur Vijayabahu of Rohana.
 
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Dunaden’s Inkwell

With four AARs completed and another one going strong, I thought it was past time that I added my growing collection of stories to this list.

Below are my AAR’s in chronological order, those that were abandoned, those that were completed, and those that are ongoing.



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1. Surviving Past Sunset (CK2) (Abandoned) – A tale chronicling the Sunset Invasion through the eyes of young Elspeth Dunbar, whose family had been, after 200 years of accumulating power, were on the brink of claiming three Kingdoms when all their plans and ambitions are swept away by the sudden onslaught of savages coming from across the sea.

This, my first attempt at an AAR in November 2014, was abandoned for creative reasons, it was a bit too ambitious and overly complicated for a first attempt. Plus, it turned out the flashbacks to the earlier time line would have had more action than the main story, which was stifled by the Aztec Emperor completely prohibiting internal and external wars, and the absolute fanatical loyalty and devotion of the Aztec people, who resisted any attempt at plotting within the Empire to change that.


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2. CK2 AAR - The Lost Crusade (Complete) – The Laird Clan had taken an unusual path in their rise to power, going from the Highlands of Scotland to the Asian Steppe to find service as Khans under the Khagan of Cumania. From there they had returned west to become the greatest power in Europe. In the year 1339, Pope Martinus III called the faithful to join him in a Crusade against the Kingdom of Orissa, far to the east in fabled Hindustan. At first only a few Catholic lords joined the Crusade, but then the Laird Emperor, Edward of the Marcaich-Shine, the Storm Riders, sent his 6th son, Prince Lennon Laird, and 10,000 men, including the Knights Hospitaller, into the east to support the Pope. None of these Crusaders would ever return. This AAR tells the story of what happened to that Lost Crusade.

My second AAR was successfully completed, running from March 2016 through November 2016, and received recognition as the Weekly AAR Showcase (3/4/2016).


A Dragon in Sheep's Clothing
A CK2 AGOT Mod AAR of the Lhazareen

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3. A Dragon in Sheep's Clothing - A CK2 AGOT Mod AAR (abandoned) – What if Rhaego, the son of Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen, survived that fateful night in the tent, and was instead spirited away by Miri Maz Duur and placed with her people, the Lhazareen? Can a boy raised by the Lamb Men achieve his destiny as “the Stallion Who Mounts the World”?

This AAR started well, but I grew to dislike the format I had adopted, and eventually abandoned it. It was active in February and March 2018.

Rhaego eventually tames a dragon, the spawn of one of his mother’s dragons, and makes himself King of Lhazar, protecting the Lamb Men from further depredations by the Dothraki. After his death, his daughter would tame his dragon and then go beyond just safeguarding the Lhazareen, and become a conqueror.




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Travelers in the Forest|Taiga by Ville Assinen

4. The People of the Forest (CK2 AAR - Ongoing) – This ongoing saga depicts life among the Meryan tribes, pagan followers of the Suomenusko Gods who dwell within the northern taiga. The story follows the ever-growing Kardazid clan who unite their people, a collection of small scattered tribes threatened on all sides by powerful enemies, into a growing Kingdom that will soon be feared in turn.

This AAR started in August 2019 and continues to be updated. It has received recognition, being honored with three Best Character of the Week awards (25/8/19, 3/11/19, & 4/10/20), being named WritAAR of the Week (28/6/20) and being the Q3 2020 CK2 winner (tie) and being the Q4 2020 CK2 winner (5-way tie).


5. History 303 – The Third Kingdom (A CK2 Jerusalem AAR - The Complete Course)
As many of you have expressed interest in origins of the de Cognac dynasty as well as that period in the Middle East when it was an unstable region, rife with war and conflict, not the stable region it is today, I have agreed to offer a short course on the founding of what the historians call the Third Kingdom of Jerusalem, which will be available this spring as part of the curriculum at Estrid Junior College here in Damascus. Attached is the course syllabus:

Hist 303 – The Third Kingdom - This short course will provide you background on the founding of our great nation, some 600 years ago and the historic figures that made it possible.

Day 1 - Course Introduction and Historic Sources
Day 2 - On Dating the Three Kingdoms of Jerusalem
Day 3 - The de Cognac family tree
Day 4 - Philip de Cognac
Day 5 - Princess Ingeborg Estrid
Day 6 - Richard 'the Blessed'
Day 7 - Richard 'the Crusader'
Day 8 - Richard ‘the Just’
Day 9 - Amice ‘the Lionheart’
Day 10 - Anselm ‘the Lion’
Day 11 - Godfrey of Lucano
Day 12 - Anselm ‘the Apostle’
Day 13 - Matthew ‘the Monk’
Day 14 - Course Summary and Conclusions

This short course was presented in May & June term of 2020. The completed course is now available for other educators to use with their students.





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6. The Legacy of Uhtred (A Bamburgh AAR) (A CK3 AAR - Complete)

The personal accounts of the Anglo-Saxon Lords of Bebbanburg as they weather multiple invasions of England by foreign powers and try to preserve their lands, their titles, and their very culture in the face of numerous threats.

This AAR started in October 2020 and finished in May 2022. It has received recognition, being honored with the Best Character of the Week award twice (7/2/21 & 22/8/21) as well as finishing in 2nd place (tie) for CK3 in Q4 2021 Awards and finishing in 3rd place for CK3 three times in the Q4 2020, Q2 2021 (tie), & Q3 2021 (tie) Awards.


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7. History Lessons: Poland and the Dunin Dynasty (A CK3 AAR - Complete)

A young Prince of Poland is given lessons on the history of his Kingdom and dynasty by a venerable scholar.

This AAR started in May 2022 and was finished in July 2022.
 
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If you can read French, I began a new "history book AAR" on CK3 about the history of the Crusade and the kingdom of Jerusalem. The style is the same as my 2 years long CK2 AAR about the byzantine empire from Leon III to Lothaire II 717-1453. The first two books about the Crusade are nearly completed.

If you're interested, you can read it here.
 
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I am trying to make an AAR in Danish again.

It is in the Scandinavian part of the Forum.

If you are interrested you can read it here


It is about the Commonwealth of Man, my favorite nation in Stellaris.
 
Welcome here fellow AARlanders, it's Silviero90 speaking here. I'm a relatively new but enthusiastic writer and I'm not English mothertongue so... I try my best to make myself understood.
But it's enough for me so here I present you my works.

MY INKWELL

-CLASH OF PATHS - A double-face AAR (ongoing)
My debut AAR: it's a story behind history so the focus is on the characters, their feelings and on the narration, not on the success of the game; the story goes around two custom rulers (the count of Bern and the Duke of Lombardy, both friends) who, after being nominated vassals of the Holy Roman Emperor, must face the bare and brutal face of the medieval world: would this face-to-face with reality lead them to change their point-of-view or would their youthful dreams be the Path to greater changes?
 
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A First Look At:
"The Spear Through The Wheels - A Prikkiki-Ti Narrative"

The Spear Through The Wheels takes the original narrative of The Prikki Endeavour and relaunches it with a few twists gained from how I've improved in my writing since. As a brief summary, the core concept explores a combination as yet unused in Stellaris AARs, that of combining:

Everybody's favourite omnicidal geckos
End Of The Cycle Shroud Covenant
Becoming The Crisis
Including all premade races from Stellaris
A reconsideration of the Zroni and how the Prikki ended up sealed away

Into a new narrative to begin after I finish Life2.0.
 
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The Dragons Realm: A House Targaryen Story:

A House Targaryen story set immediately after the Targaryen wars of conquest, focusing on the lives, struggles and accomplishments of Aegon Targaryen and his descendants.

This story will take place over several generations and through the viewpoints of a wide variety of characters from Kings and Queens, Kingsguard, and rebels, and everyone in between. The story, while primarily focusing on Westeros, will take place over a large area ranging from the frozen wastes of the North, the deserts of Dorne, the pirate hideouts of the Stepstones to the Free City of Norvos and beyond.
 
Well I don't exactly have any AARs per say, but I have a bunch of fiction that was inspired by Stellaris. Not long ago I finished my latest piece, and it turned out to be a really hefty amount of material. So for anyone interested in reading a few SciFi tales, I got some stuff here you may like.

It all follows the plight and triumphs of the Lumirian people, focusing on individual characters moreso than any grand scale or historical account.

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The first entry is Charnel Child, a recounting of Trabb Vilk's days during the Rothaki occupation of her homeworld, and how that affected her and the lives of those around her. In the same thread, there are the sequel stories, Interregnum and Home. Interregnum briefly follows Hrask, a Rothaki exile, as he seeks help from some unscrupulous allies in an attempt to save his own skin and make up for his past misdeeds. Home follows Trabb Vilk again, this time showing the results of all her hard work as a resistance fighter, from her new family to the trauma of being a child soldier. She is almost used to her new life, but the government comes calling....


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The second story, Transcendental Spaces, follows Inki Kald, a descendant of Trabb Vilk. While acting as chief of security on a remote space station, she has an encounter with an alternate version of herself, a male Lumirian named Vilk. It follows her attempts at understanding and coping with the strange situation she's found herself in, and dealing with the errors in judgement she makes. More of an experimental piece, dealing with things like gender identity and using a SciFi lense to explore it.


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The latest entry in this line of stories is Lingering Wounds. It's a direct followup to Charnel Child, despite it taking place in Inki's time. Rothaki forces actively conspire against the Lumirian people, and Captain Relmi Dack of the CDV Kha Rakari is tasked with investigating a communications blackout in a far-flung sector of their space. Unbeknownst to him however, a Rothaki warship lurks in the system, massacring the populace and soon setting his sights on Relmi's ship. Intermixed with the space battle and game of cat and mouse is Relmi Dack's own recounts of his misadventure on Fen Habbanis, where he served as Trabb Vilk's pilot in their disasterous attempt at rescuing Hrask from his former allies.

 
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AARs by Von Acturus

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Shattered Glass: The story of a psionic teenager and a somewhat unprepared mercenary agent and how they saved the galaxy.

Winner of the 2022 Narrative of the Year AAward.



Thousands Are Sailing: Ongoing AAR about the plight of two siblings who participate in the Huaman Exodus as they face the nightmares of their past, the hostility of their present and the uncertainty of their future. [On extended hold].


Both are character-driven narrative Stellaris AARs.
 
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In this Crusader Kings 3 AAR, I begin a story with the family history stage of the King Arthur Pendragon roleplaying game. Using that as the founding legend for my dynasty, I'll follow an Anglo-Saxon lineage with Welsh roots as they aim to push the Norsemen out of the land of their fathers and there, just maybe, found a kingdom of their own.

House Arþifanc had produced able knights for four centuries. Their legends, though formerly lost to us, intertwine with those of the legendary figures of Arthurian legend. By 867, they had risen to the stature of earls in Mercia, succumbing for reasons unknown to the Anglo-Saxon culture they once so fevently resisted. Their name may not have carried beyond Britain, but those on the islands long knew the bloodline as possessing some of the most loyal and courageous servants a king north of the channel could hope for.

In 867, a new figure took hold after disease took his father in untimely fashion. A young man well versed in matters of war, able in word, and studied in faith. His burning hatred for the Danelaw was well known, and the sons of Ragnar currently held the proud land of his fathers. His situation had all the makings of a violent rise to prominence. As the legends of his ancestors slowly disappeared under the waves of time, it is this man who would climb a mountain of foes with steel as his piton and blood as his water, to establish an unmistakable legacy that would see him considered the "founder" of the Arþifanc dynasty. It is this man, Cgeþ, Earl of Lindsey, who would become synonymous with the dynasty.

Follow Cgeþ's rise from humble Mercian earl to establish a place for his bloodline that might stand the test of time, surpassing the deeds of his valorous ancestors in
From Pendragon to Prominence, a CKIII AAR.
 
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House Skjöldung

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The history of House Skjöldung is so ancient and fundamental that it predates the Norse Sagas and many of the Sagas that tell the tales of this important lineage are now lost to time. Until the mythical Battle of Bråvalla, this was the house that Odin favored, a lineage of rulers for all of Scandinavia. Various sources give different genealogical details about this famous house. In the 13th Century, Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson is one who gives mythical bearing to House Skjöldung by saying Odin himself founded the dynasty and had a son named Skjöld. According to Snorri, in turn, Skjöld wed the goddess Gefjon and thus began a royal lineage traced back to the pantheon of Norse gods, first to rule Sjælland, then Jutland, Scania, Götland, and more.

Supposedly, the Skjöldunga Saga tells the full tale of this glorious house, but except for a brief Latin outline, that document has been lost to time.

However, what if there was a new Skjöldunga Saga? What if this glorious house did not lose favor with Odin and instead of the watershed Battle of Bråvalla, a new strategic path was taken by the rulers of Sjælland?

Both of the AARs created for the Forum attempt to bring House Skjöldung to life for readers.

Lost Seasons of the Danes

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Lost Seasons of the Danes traces the history of this glorious house from 769 A.D. onward, beginning with the final years of the semi-mythical and legendary Danish Viking King Harald “Wartooth” Skjöldung, who is mentioned in the Sagas and other Norse writings. As the tale begins, King Harald, now in his late 70s, faces new challenges in his rule of the Petty Kingdom of Sjælland. This story was the first of these two AARs and early on it evolved from something straightforward into an AAR influenced by graphic novels. This AAR takes a more modern, narrative tack in relating the stories of this historic House.

The Lost Saga

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The Lost Saga is an experimental AAR, attempting to blend existing Norse Sagas with new poetry and prose in a more direct attempt to substitute for the missing Skjöldunga Saga, a document that was lost to the ages. Yet other Sagas include scraps from this lost tale and a few tattered remnants of the original remain. This AAR attempts to use those remaining pieces to tell new tales based upon the adventures of members of House Skjöldung in Crusader Kings II.

Other new variations of these new Skjöldunga Sagas can be found on the outside blog called The Tårn.

There's hope you will enjoy reading one or both of these AARs and leave a comment if you wish.

Accolades
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Best Newcomer in the 2023 Yearly AARland Year-end AwAARds (the YAYAs) - Feb. 7, 2024​



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2023 Q4 AARland Choice Awards (ACAs) - Feb. 9, 2024 for top Crusader Kings II AAR
for Lost Seasons of the Danes



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Writer of the Week - Dec. 4, 2023 for Lost Seasons of the Danes
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Best Character Writer of the Week - Feb. 5, 2024 for the portrayal of King Þorolfr of Denmark
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in Lost Seasons of the Danes



GoldenFan.pngGoldenFan.pngFan of the Week - July 9, 2023 & March 18, 2024

 

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