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The Second Rome: A Quest of Ancient Byzantium

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[X] The Basileus

Due to our lack of political skill, it would probably be best to tie ourself to someone politically powerful. Heck, even if this all goes badly, if we end up with enough military power we can pull a Vespasian.
 
[X] The Protostrator

A glass of water in the desert is priceless.

This option alone can drastically change the fate of southern italy; it's also far from the capital so we can more firmly secure a powerbase for ourselves. My hope is that if we swing things around so that Alexios Axouchos wins, we will have his gratitude and trust when he leaves for mainland Greece. Because of the prophecy, he and the Emperor will come to blows; and in such a situation there is no shortage of opportunity.

So long as Southern Italy and Sicily is in our hands, we can become the deciding factor in any civil war, winning the gratitude of the winner, or crown ourselves King should we pursue independence. In contrast the other options involve indenturing ourselves to powerful players who anyways have better generals...also being too close to the capital means politics and intrigue, which we aren't specced for.
 
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[X] The Basileus

If Manuel is planing to invade Antioch then we might have an opportunity to gain military cred. The people of Byzantium of what I know of Byzantine history seem like they tend to like strong military leaders. That could serve as our springboard to greater prominence.
 
[X] The Protostrator
I would very much like to blood ourselves in the Italian campaign, as it will allow us to test and improve ourselves in an expedient fashion. We should be able to show ourselves off in that campaign at least.

Alexios's name is going to be poison, but we should have about ten years to cut free from him before Manuel politically ganks him, assuming we don't butterfly it sooner and that I'm not wrong. I feel it's safe enough.
No7sHere said:
@Telemon how good are we in terms of personal martial skill?
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This was already answered.
Telamon said:
Character sheet is upcoming, but suffice to say you're currently the equivalent of a slightly above-average Imperial general — at 18. Should your skills continue to grow, you will no doubt be one of the best commanders in Roman history.

If you live that long.
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Unless you mean in terms of kicking ass, in which case I imagine we're pretty good too.
 
Satar said:
[X] The Protostrator

A glass of water in the desert is priceless.

This option alone can drastically change the fate of southern italy; it's also far from the capital so we can more firmly secure a powerbase for ourselves. My hope is that if we swing things around so that Alexios Axouchos wins, we will have his gratitude and trust when he leaves for mainland Greece. Because of the prophecy, he and the Emperor will come to blows; and in such a situation there is no shortage of opportunity.

So long as Southern Italy and Sicily is in our hands, we can become the deciding factor in any civil war, winning the gratitude of the winner, or crown ourselves King should we pursue independence. In contrast the other options involve indenturing ourselves to powerful players who anyways have better generals...also being too close to the capital means politics and intrigue, which we aren't specced for.
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Our only opportunity is not to go against emperor. Remember Manuel is one of most loved byzantine emperors, and most successful as well, and pursuing independence isn't a option here as byzantine itself had hard time holding on to Italy, doing it while living in same time as 3 other legendary rulers isn't an option.
In case of citizen war, Manuel is one of most beloved emperors of his time and there is a small chance that if we go against him will win. If we turn Italian campaign we are not building base for ourselves but for the general there and support base for us, though that will be gone the moment he comes in conflict with Manuel. Then we will be a son of Manuels rival and close with his other rival.

It will be nice track record to have.
 
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Rule 2 Violation: Don't be Hateful
[X] The Basileus

We need to remove kebab, and the choice of Manuel going to the East will help us achieve such an objective.
 
[X] The Protostrator
Adhoc vote count started by Japanime on Feb 10, 2019 at 5:39 AM, finished with 293 posts and 32 votes.
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I strongly favor one of the three 'military' patrons:
[] The Protostrator
Probably takes us to Italy, if we succeed then a future historical rival of Manuel will gain a powerbase he didn't have in OTL. I'm not convinced this is the best option for us.
[] The Panhypersebastos
Probably takes us to the Balkans. Since he was historically successful we probably wouldn't change much in the short to medium run. This is the safe option. It should allow us gain more military experience, while also staying somewhat alligned with the emperor.
[] The Basileus
Probably takes us to the east, which is where we could make the biggest impact on the future of the empire. It has similar benefits as the option above, but with the risk that Manuel will give us 'bad' assignments (e.g. demeaning or dangerous), due to our father being his political rival.

Since [] The Panhypersebastos doesn't appear to have much support my vote goes to:
[X] The Basileus
 
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Darn it, stop making very convincing arguments that make me change my vote.

[X] The Basileus
 
[X] The Protostrator
Adhoc vote count started by King50000 on Feb 10, 2019 at 12:40 PM, finished with 60 posts and 38 votes.
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