The realm rejoices as Paradox Interactive announces the launch of Crusader Kings III, the latest entry in the publisher’s grand strategy role-playing game franchise. Advisors may now jockey for positions of influence and adversaries should save their schemes for another day, because on this day Crusader Kings III can be purchased on Steam, the Paradox Store, and other major online retailers.
Director says what I wish I had had the words for.You do a great job of walking the line between showing the awful violence and cruelty of the Viking raids without being too graphic. A neat trick, LD.
Indeed. Pillage is good. Gudfrid finds Uncle Ivar a useful ace-in-the-hole for unruly thralls. Thanks for the kind words.Not too hard at all. Wonderful to see some proper Viking stuff. Nothing like a good pillage
Wonderfully written, as ever. That Frank was certainly wise to comply - the threat of Uncle Ivar is a potent one.
Chartres and Paris are definitely on the menu, though their carefree jaunt through the French countryside may not last. Like you, when I was a wee 'un I had no idea the Vikings were so wide ranging.I remember when I was a wee lad and first started learning more than stereotypes about Vikings, I was very impressed about them sailing upriver to Paris and wandering around in Russia and all. So I'm looking forward to these guys looting Paris and Chartres.
Yes. Halfdan views France as his personal ATM.Ah, old history books, educational in so many ways... Got into trouble with your family? Money problems? Get yourself down south for a spot of nice weather and the opportunity for some ready cash![]()
Based on what I've read in your current AAR, you don't need to take many notes. Halfdan and his followers have found it extremely expedient to use Ivar's religion as a control tool, when needed. Not that Ivar's impressed, no doubt.So what do the feeble followers of Hvitakristr fear even more than the fury of the Northmen? Well, now we know - it's the indifference of that dormant chthonic kraken-headed elder god that certain of those Northmen have started sacrificing people to!
Brilliant writing, Lord Durham - believe me, I'm taking stylistic notes for my next AAR. Please do keep it up!
Thanks for dropping in, Sascha. I know you don't frequent these forums much anymore (our loss). Due to the positive feedback, the two sections will continue to play off of one another, and possibly closer than you thinkFinally caught up with this AAR. Excellent work, Bruce; I love the way the "present" day (1932) and the "historical" sections play off each other.![]()
Gudfrid is a good Pagan. And regarding the Grand Raid, you may be on to something...Good to see that Gudfrid exhorts to Odin like a proper Viking and not the alternative. I hope that the raiders end up sacking Paris but I have a sneaking suspicion that something will go wrong sooner or later, either being intercepted by Frankish forces or foul.
Couldn't have said it better myselfIt really drives home how unpleasant a business this pillaging is - quite apart from the basic 'steal everything that isn't tied down'.
Gudfrid's not very pleasant, but I can't deny he is clever and knows how to get things done. Threatening people with Ivar... nasty, but very effective. Even though Gudfrid probably doesn't approve of Ivar's dealings with the Old Ones, he's more than happy to use his uncle's reputation as a tool (wait, that didn't sound right. I meant that Gudfrid is more than happy to use his uncle's reputation as a means to achieve Gudfrid's own goals, even if he doesn't approve of Uncle Ivar).
Thanks, P. I'll admit I'm a little more constrained than I thought I would be, though that may or may not change. I definitely don't want to sugar-coat the nastiness. Mongols of the Sea. I like that.You do a great job of walking the line between showing the awful violence and cruelty of the Viking raids without being too graphic. A neat trick, LD. Brings home why Europe was so terrified of the Vikings, and shows why they were so hard to fend off. Think of them as Mongols of the Sea, able to strike anywhere within twenty miles of a seashore or river bank with no warning...
Halfdan needs the money, and the Seine looked so invitingYou're going against West Francia so soon? This will be a glorious campaign indeed!
Thanks, Renss. It was a case where the image prompted the description. I had originally covered the boat trip in the Monmouth recap, intending to start with the looting of Evreux.An evocative scene! Love that image, too -- wow.
Rensslaer
Well, he has 'underhanded rogue', which isn't really cruel, but serves in a pinch to get things done with a little manipulation. He hasn't acquired 'Viking' at this point either. Good character guesses, though.Gudfrid seems like a clever lad, more than a little on the brutal side. In game terms, guessing Skilled Tactician, Cruel, Viking (probably soon to be acquired if not already).
Heh. I save 'gratuitous' for my published stuffDirector says what I wish I had had the words for.You don't gloss over the violence and brutality that these campaigns entail, but the descriptions are never gratuitous. Very well done. It shows me what happens, but I don't feel like I'm reading anything exploitative.
Yes, yes, YES!! Thanks for reading, and thanks especially for the kind words. An AAR covering Abrahamian religions in Spain would be an interesting read. Hope you had fun at the library. Pick up anything of interest?Fantastically written, you leave me with a hunger for more, more, MORE! ^^
I have shamefully forgot most, if not all, of the gruesome and raw history of the Vikings and their raids, being a student of the Abrahamian religions during medieval times - completely ignoring Norse history. To be more precise, Islam & Christian science up until the Holy Wars (for Iberia) and the knowledge exchanges (christian philosophers reaching the Library in Córdoba).
But ah, reading this made me thirst for more knowledge. Off to the library I go... after I get off this nine to five T_T
A Poitiers type victory against Duke Ramnulf was just too temptingIt's a pity CK2 forces you to besiege holdings in a set order. "So we came from the north... step one, march past that juicy city and the cathedral, and attack that castle in the south!" In your case, admittedly, the map makes sense of their wanderings, and for that matter shows part of the problem. Why march that far south and out of position if the goal is to pillage to the northeast? From a Viking standpoint, might have made more sense to go Chartres-Orleans-Paris, though Orleans has no river access.
Liked the battle description. I had expected a Poitiers, with the light cavalry acting as the Captal de Buch's right-hook charge, but this makes more sense in the 800s... though a Poitiers-plan victory would have been ironic facing a Poitevin duke.
Well now, that's a good question...In the event that any of the Cthulhuites capture a duke or somebody, is he as likely to be sacrificed as anyone else, or will they take ransom and buy a bunch of tasty lower class folks to slay?
Thank you for the great feedback VILenin. Always good to hear from new readers. You are right, I don't want to overplay the Mythos part. It doesn't mean there won't be more nastiness, but there will also be references like, "Hey, did you hear what old Ivar did this time?"Great stuff Lord Durham. I'll echo the praise for your portrayal of the Viking raids, unflinching without being gratuitous. Also, I like how you've kept the Mythos element in the background thus far; we all know it's there but it remains a threat for our imaginations to worry over while you establish the characters in the story. Looking forward to more!
It does seem strange, but in fact armies and battles back in those days were often small affairs. Even the Great Heathen Army was estimated to be little more than 5,000 men (that number is from 'Battles of the Dark Ages' by Peter Marren - 2006).A nice update. It's a slightly odd feeling seeing a battle with hundreds a side as being important when campaigns have gotten you used to seeing such numbers as being insignificant with a 'real' battle needing tens or even hundreds of thousands of men to matter.
Unfortunately for Gudfrid the loot will go into the war-chest, though I suspect the ancillaries won't be lacking. The campaign turned out better than I expected. It was originally going to be a raid on Evreux, but when the Vikings ran into no opposition I figured Gudfrid would push his luck. Hence Chartres and Paris. That's when the Franks woke up and sent men.A successful campaign of plunder. Yes, Gudfrid is right to state he won a costly victory, but it could have been a defeat. And at least he can now retreat before he is caught by a larger army. Oh, and on a practical side: fewer surviving Vikings = more loot for the survivors.But maybe Gudfrid is thinking longer-term than the quick infusion of gold this one raid brought.
Gudfrid is going home. Halfdan has been fighting all this time, so an Interlude is in order to tie the events into a neat package (I hope).Where will you go next?
Yeah, I think the Frankish archers accounted for much of the Viking losses. Thanks for the kind words. An interlude is next.I've had battles like that one where flank-action really starts to matter; they can get pretty tense. A difference of just a couple of points of morale can mean the difference between victory or rout. Great update, Lord Durham, and looking forward to more from Ivarr, not to mention the modern-day interludes!
Hi Surt. Thanks for reading and commenting. Like I mentioned above, opposition was non-existent until the looting of Paris was well underway. And these guys, being Vikings, have a love for shiny objects...The plunder must have been great for such a small army to move inland!
I was thinking along the lines of noble-bloodlines as opposed to not-so-noble-bloodlines being an important factor. Maybe it doesn't matter at all. I'll let Ivar decide if and when the time comes.Your point about tactics is well-taken; there's basically zero command and control, so subtlety has to go out the window. Everyone understood dressing and alignment (one more reason for putting your most experienced man on the rightmost end of your line, everyone dresses off of him), but when battlefield communications technology is limited to flags and drums, and you're eyes-front to keep from eating a spear, even that breaks down. About the only way you can use cavalry as cavalryeffectively on a battlefield like that is independently during actual operations, trying to raid the enemy's camp, or as a pursuit force. You could fight them as dismounts, but they'd lose their mobility edge and lose a percentage as horse-holders.
I don't see why the Old Ones would care about a human duke any more than a human thrall, actually. "As flies to wanton boys" and all that. If anything, the ransom from a duke could pay for a nice new lodge for the Esoteric Order of Dagon, restoration of the altars, quests for manuscripts...
Well, there was a little chasing of forces around a couple of provinces, but with a large Frankish army on Gudfrid's tail I figured story-wise it was time to cut bait and go home.Two-hundred and twenty-nine Vikings roaming northern France? Well, this could get very interesting quite soon. Especially if the Poitevin keeps poking his nose where it probably shouldn't go...
I foresee a few close battles yet – in between the plunder, of course. Hopefully this little jaunt will end in some good old-fashioned sacrifice![]()
Hate to break it to you, but this is your second postOh bloody hell, Lord Durham, Vikings and Eldritch things, how did I not notice this entity squirming through the ill-lit corridors of AARland? Count me subscribed.
I have no control over Ivar or any of the other brothers, so who knows? It's possible Paris may be in a world of hurt sometime down the road, though at present the Boneless one has his hands full up in Scotland.I hope his brother is not jealous when he finds out about all these French exploits, he might decide he wants to outdo him, and, you know, Paris is well worth an unholy mass...