The Wolves of Westseaxna-a tale of Wessex

[tpmcinty]

Sad times for the kingdom. Too much sickness and death. Osweald came far, In the beginning I remember things did not look bright. As time passed he did well and better than I thought he would at first. Now with the kingdom in the hands of a babe I feel that arough ride is the wings and there will be many troubles and schemes.

 

[Asantahene]

Grim news. It is difficult to see what will happen next. I suppose it depends how good the council is and how long the plague affects the kingdom (because if it starts killing off all the loyal retainers and vassals then...).

Not necessarily a bad beginning to a reign but not a fantastic one either.

There are stormy waters ahead-that much I will say. As for the outbreak of Camp Fever it is severe but not truly of plague proportion yet...

The realm is stretched, and this could be a breaking point.

A sad way to see Osræd go. He was a king of ups and downs, and more human seeming for it.

Thanks for that @stnylan-I really did try and convey the man's humanity , which is why I was a bit peeved at the epitaph the game game him-there was nowt wicked about him and he tried his best. I hope that came across.

Indeed a harsh epitaph - and a less than sanguine write-up for the new child-king! The Wolf in Winter did indeed cast a sad figure - though I did like the last little ray of light cast by his vision of his mother. Good pic! This will be interesting now - instability threatens, the wolves circle around the cub - all great material for the story!

Poor Osweald gets the kiss of death from @coz1 as character of the week - I like it! A better send off than the rather churlish one the game gave him.

'The wolf in winter' I love that! Why didn't I use it? May well do in a future post as that really conveys the end and has echoes of Henry II of course-well done for that my friend . Glad you liked the scene with his mother and the pic-I was quite chuffed when I found that haha.

The king is dead; long live the king!

I have to second the above -- Osweald was very human, in the sense that even with his great achievements he was never personally sure that he quite measured up to a standard that was, by his own (eventual, somewhat roundabout) admission, damned hard to truly measure up to. Whether he is a great king is something that will be left for the historians to decide (and mark my words, I sense Osweald is a man about whom much ink will be spilled by the scholars), but I think it's safe to say that, in the balance, he was truly a good man.

Thanks very much @Specialist290 and I am glad you have seen him that way-a man of contrariness but he was pretty successful as a ruler and very human for his struggles.

Well, I certainly did not mean to curse the poor King by my accolades, but at least he got better from me than the game did.

I really liked the final part when the two sons were wondering who the regent might be and now I see why you introduced the daughter as a more fully fledged character. She has a lot on her plate what with the little ginger top coming home to study up. One wonders how loyal the brothers will be during that time?

Also, the artist's rendering was a great find!

The kiss of death haha-thanks for the nod though @coz1 it really means a lot to me. Sadly there was not much left of his story by the time he got it but I am glad the end worked well for you and my other loyal readers

So Sighere is the child of Osweald II? And that means... what... a 13 year regency? With a regent who doesn't like the boy king? Oh man, that's... I mean I don't know that's survivable.

Of course, if the king is murdered, would that reunify the crown of England and Saxony?

As for our late king, he was neither great, nor poor. There are arguments to be made that he was a better king than his predecessor just by virtue of the fewer outright warring conflicts with vassals. He played favorites, was seemingly arbitrary, but the realm itself did not suffer from those limitations as we thought at times. He tried to better himself, which is more than many can say.

So perhaps he will look better in the history books, when some of those problems are overlooked. (But then again, he was a wicked man!)

Thanks matey-yes he probably will be judged in a fairly benevolent light by historians. I hope so anyway as I rather liked writing him with all his foibles and weaknesses. And as for the politics yes we are looking at a 14 years regency-not good at all for the vultures are definitely circling as you will see in future posts.

Regent Princess Wulfwynn! I am taking that as another triumph for the patented El Pip Medieval Crystal Ball-o-tron. The King may not have been able to engineer her as successor, but he's done the next best thing.

Osweald defied the expectations of disaster it is true, but he also never escaped the psychological shadow of his mother. I can't really blame him for that, I recall thinking she was a terrible parent (along with a terrible ruler) for the way she interacted with the young Osweald, so it's just another damning entry in the case against her. Given this less than promising start I would stick him on the good side of average, certainly not great but equally undeserving of that very harsh epitaph.

Looking to the future I noticed the tiny throwaway line about Sighere's misshapen features, I may be reading too much into it but that doesn't sound good. Neither does his description of having no skills, but that might just be because he's a small child. He's already foreign born, if he does end up a deformed idiot (or similar) then Wulfwynn will end up looking a great option just by default. A few years of decent rule by her and would anyone really object to a tragic shaving accident befalling Sighere?

I laughed aloud when you wrote that in the post before-very astute and prescient indeed! Good summary of Osweald-he just wasn't able to quite shake off her shadow was he which is why I wrote in that scene at the end. As for the child king and his regent-well let's just say that were anything to happen to him it would actually be his uncle, Eanfrith, currently king of Saxony thanks to Osweald's misplaced scheming, who would inherit and reunify the kingdoms...watch this space

Sad times for the kingdom. Too much sickness and death. Osweald came far, In the beginning I remember things did not look bright. As time passed he did well and better than I thought he would at first. Now with the kingdom in the hands of a babe I feel that arough ride is the wings and there will be many troubles and schemes.

Thanks for that @tpmcinty and yes he did alright didnt he? As for the future: buckle up!

To all many wonderful comments about the king's passing. I have now played through the next reign and it's quite the journey let me tell you. As far as this AAR is concerned I am minded to call it quits after that as it will also take us to nearly the turn of the century which seems as good a place as any to end things up. That said I am still very much enjoying the writing so am a little torn. What do you think? I should get the next post up this weekend and it is full of...well. stuff lol. Thanks so much for your steadfast readership and excellent commentary-it's so heartening and enlivening-I cannot say it often enough.

 

[El Pip]

I have now played through the next reign and it's quite the journey let me tell you. As far as this AAR is concerned I am minded to call it quits after that as it will also take us to nearly the turn of the century which seems as good a place as any to end things up. That said I am still very much enjoying the writing so am a little torn. What do you think?

I will be happy as long as you carry on writing something, whether it is extending this out or in a new AAR, either would be fine with me. If you feel it has reached a natural conclusion then wrap it up and move on, such things shouldn't be forced.

A best of both worlds type solution could be to stay in the same world but follow a different group, seeing what happened to a married out child perhaps? Something new to shake things up, while carrying on the writing you are enjoying. Just a thought.

 

[Asantahene]

I will be happy as long as you carry on writing something, whether it is extending this out or in a new AAR, either would be fine with me. If you feel it has reached a natural conclusion then wrap it up and move on, such things shouldn't be forced.

A best of both worlds type solution could be to stay in the same world but follow a different group, seeing what happened to a married out child perhaps? Something new to shake things up, while carrying on the writing you are enjoying. Just a thought.

Now there's an idea...just how, practically, could I make that happen? I presume you are talking about switching playable characters or family altogether? I am thinking maybe to an Earl in the family or similar? Just not sure how I execute that in real terms. Thanks Pip

 

[stnylan]

To all many wonderful comments about the king's passing. I have now played through the next reign and it's quite the journey let me tell you. As far as this AAR is concerned I am minded to call it quits after that as it will also take us to nearly the turn of the century which seems as good a place as any to end things up. That said I am still very much enjoying the writing so am a little torn. What do you think? I should get the next post up this weekend and it is full of...well. stuff lol. Thanks so much for your steadfast readership and excellent commentary-it's so heartening and enlivening-I cannot say it often enough.

Knowing when to stop an AAR can be very tricky, especially a narrative one. The end of a reign would certainly be a natural enough point to do so though.

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

Can always jump in-game to a few different people and see what's interesting...usually this is either that pesky king-maker character, the most under-dog of the underdogs, or the foreign invader who has been planning something for a decade or so and now you get the chance to execute it.

Wolves of Westseax: The Death of England, or something like that, which can either be a continuation or a new thread.

Been thinking more about this sort of thing recently because I'm re-writing my own stuff and what I had planned last Christmas before I got struck down by RNG. In basic terms, if the idea of the thread and AAR has been played out and reached a good end point, why not halt? It doesn't mean it cant carry on somewhere else following a new central idea or focus, just that whatever has happened, clearly indicates an end of some kind. And then of course, there's the debate of whether this is actually a thread ender or just a 'book ender' and the thread carries on in 'book two' etc. I'm sure you'll figure it out though.

 

[JabberJock14]

To all many wonderful comments about the king's passing. I have now played through the next reign and it's quite the journey let me tell you. As far as this AAR is concerned I am minded to call it quits after that as it will also take us to nearly the turn of the century which seems as good a place as any to end things up. That said I am still very much enjoying the writing so am a little torn. What do you think? I should get the next post up this weekend and it is full of...well. stuff lol. Thanks so much for your steadfast readership and excellent commentary-it's so heartening and enlivening-I cannot say it often enough.

A tough call. I think it's all about how much holds your interest/have you accomplished what you want.

But honestly, I'm struggling with a similar question myself! I'm personally debating whether to not necessarily "end" it when I finish off Geoffrey's reign, but to maybe take a break where I can recharge and re-evaluate - possibly get ahead on writing if I want without having to worry about getting an update out on time? Like the end of a season of a TV show? That's just one idea though.

I'd say, see how you're feeling once you get toward the end of the writing of this upcoming reign.

 

[Bullfilter]

As others have said, it’s principally a personal call. If you’ve got everything out of it you want, then of course you should do what will excite the muse the most. And if you have something in mind that will be newer and better!

If you want to play the rest through to ‘complete’ the game/dynasty, but not as an AAR, naturally that is an option too. You could even add a short post-script later, saying “and afterwards, this is what happened”. Or not.

Just so long as there’s something for your hungry reader-beasts to devour!

 

[Specialist290]

I am essentially going to second all of the above. Ultimately it's your call as the author to measure out the yarn you have spun, and cut it when you feel it has reached the fated length. The only other point I will make on the matter is that there is a reason my trademark Red Special Cookies have the "complete story or substantially complete narrative arc" requirement that they do wink wink nudge nudge

In any case, do keep us all posted on your future endeavors, whatever they may be

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

A tough call. I think it's all about how much holds your interest/have you accomplished what you want.

But honestly, I'm struggling with a similar question myself! I'm personally debating whether to not necessarily "end" it when I finish off Geoffrey's reign, but to maybe take a break where I can recharge and re-evaluate - possibly get ahead on writing if I want without having to worry about getting an update out on time? Like the end of a season of a TV show? That's just one idea though.

I'd say, see how you're feeling once you get toward the end of the writing of this upcoming reign.

Imo, if G is succesful, Before Plantagent should end...since the idea seemed to be what the family was doing before they became one of the most prominent families in europe and the seat of kings. I'd then suggest a sequel if desired showing them ruling their kingdom going forward.

Asantahene has a bit of a trickier time because the idea was just a saxon kingdom smashing all invasion attempts and making England saxon. The only real neat point to end would be arbitrary date, death or maybe when England is centre of a larger combination of kingdoms instead of on its own (i.e. either GB or significant parts of france).

 

[coz1]

All good advice from everyone. I am going through a bit of this myself as I begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel in my own work. I admit that I am struggling somewhat as I have invested so much time and energy on the world I have been building but also want to take on new challenges. Even there, I am having difficulty finding a suitable challenge that could rival what I have been doing. That said, I have played out the next three reigns and am in the middle of the fourth after my intended AAR end date to allow for a safeguard should I decide to continue. I would certainly encourage you to at least do that.

As for when to end this, as others have said, it is entirely your call and we will champion your decision no matter what. If it ends after the next reign, then it will have been a great success! If there is more, then I have no doubt that it will continue to be engaging. Either way, and as long as you continue to write something either connected to this or entirely different, I am certain that we will all jump over to read that. In the end, write what is interesting to you. That always shows. You have certainly accomplished your initial goal here and if you find the story has lost its luster or interest for you, then find something else that does.

 

[Asantahene]

Can always jump in-game to a few different people and see what's interesting..

But how do I actually do this? I have no idea?

 

[El Pip]

But how do I actually do this? I have no idea?

Isn't it like HOI3? When you load up the save you just click on a different bit of the map and then you are playing as that character?

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

Isn't it like HOI3? When you load up the save you just click on a different bit of the map and then you are playing as that character?

Yes that is an option. Or in game you can open the control panel and switch characters mid game.

You open it up and type in charinfo, which tells you all the IDs and lots of other stuff about characters when you select them, and then when you find one you want, type in play <character id> to switch.

Note: ironman disables the ingame control panel.

 

[Asantahene]

Yes that is an option. Or in game you can open the control panel and switch characters mid game.

You open it up and type in charinfo, which tells you all the IDs and lots of other stuff about characters when you select them, and then when you find one you want, type in play <character id> to switch.

Note: ironman disables the ingame control panel.

Not quite sure how to open the control panel but have discovered how to start with another character using @El Pip's idea-thanks

 

[Asantahene]

Thanks everyone for the ideas and the advice re carrying on. I have decided that you will get the next few chapters detailing the wolf cub's reign and then I will take a break with a view to snapping back into the game as one of the minor Godhelmings at a later date. Just seems the right thing to do and a good time to take a pause before starting a sequel.

Thanks for all your excellent advice-really is appreciated

 

[Bullfilter]

Thanks everyone for the ideas and the advice re carrying on. I have decided that you will get the next few chapters detailing the wolf cub's reign and then I will take a break with a view to snapping back into the game as one of the minor Godhelmings at a later date. Just seems the right thing to do and a good time to take a pause before starting a sequel.

Thanks for all your excellent advice-really is appreciated

Thanks for letting us know!

 

[Specialist290]

Glad to hear it

 

[TheButterflyComposer]

Not quite sure how to open the control panel but have discovered how to start with another character using @El Pip's idea-thanks

'`' key. Or the button below escape.

 

[Asantahene]

'`' key. Or the button below escape.

I’ve got a Mac lol. I’ve worked out how to do it the map way but thanks mr