Behind the Serpent Throne (CK2)
- Thread starter The Laurent
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
[x] Through the eyes of destiny
That was amazingly bloody, but he did the job. JInhai committed a great deal to nail the Rassit, and he dodged through all but the very last trap and dealt horrendous damage along the way.
Very good thing we raised the Rassit morale, I think, because that much losses would have broken a less dedicated force
That was amazingly bloody, but he did the job. JInhai committed a great deal to nail the Rassit, and he dodged through all but the very last trap and dealt horrendous damage along the way.
Very good thing we raised the Rassit morale, I think, because that much losses would have broken a less dedicated force
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- They/Them
So, vote closes Tuesday morning! It's currently 5/4/3 in favor of 'History.'
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Hey, also, I wish there was a way to draw quick battle maps or something? Because I'm worried it'll be hard to draw/describe stuff.
What sort of thing are you thinking about? Are the players going to determine the tactics or strategy of the battle itself?
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Well, to some extent. I'm not sure how far to go with it, but I'm also sitting on the other side trying to think of what options there are. I do know you'll have votes to decide what the Cannons, Rassit, Hanin and Mages are doing.
Bakkasama
There is always a greater fool
- Location
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Pronouns
- He/his
I think you use triangles and rectangles usually? Triangles in case you need to point the direction they point (in this case cannons but also archers in more complicated formations) but you usually use rectangles for both infantry, archers and cavalry in big formations with letters to identify which is which. You can use colors from a modern map to do the terrain, then save the picture and add the troops as needed with said picture as a base.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Have you seen my hand-drawn maps?
Well, how are the tactics and strategy going to change things? If it's just going to be a dice roll either way then keep it simple and basic so our decisions guide what you write about (for example you could have a vote where we choose whose eyes we see during the battle to see their perspective, perhaps involving options from both Kiralo's army and Prince Jinhai's as it would be interesting to see the motivations of the latter one), as there being a dice roll if you do this and a dice roll if you do that doesn't really contribute anything honestly as when looking at past fights the only modifiers that matter were the martial ones and they'd be the same either way.
If you want the strategy or tactics to matter then the battle would really need to be more deterministic, but this can be harder to think about, and probably needs maps which you're already struggling with.
Edit - @The Laurent looking through some way to make maps for your battle, and you could take some inspiration from how the site does it: Ancient Battles – The Art of Battle , and just use an appropiate terrain map. Then circles, rectanges, squares ect to designate unit types.
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- They/Them
There will be modifiers based on what actions are done, and the benefits/drawbacks of certain things. It's not just, "Roll Martial than roll it again" or at least that's against the idea.
How big are they going to be though, as small modifiers need large amounts of rolls for effects to be noticed, and the modifers in the past have been rather small outside of the actual martial score, an example being Kueli's battle last round.
I was looking through some way to make maps for your battle though, and you could take some inspiration from how the site does it: Ancient Battles – The Art of Battle , and just use an appropiate terrain map. Then circles, rectanges, squares ect to designate unit types. It was at least interesting watching some of them in either case.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
We'll see. It's definitely not going to be a Martial roll-off.
Or at least, I was hoping not to make it one, at least.
Or at least, I was hoping not to make it one, at least.
Last edited:
That's sounds great then. I still like the idea of switching perspectives though, your writing from the Kueli interrupt was pretty awesome.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Hrm, I definitely could do perspectives! The one thing I still have to think about is the Battle Plan thing. I'm not sure how to do it, since neither me nor you is exactly a military genius. So still thinking about that.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Vote closed!
Turn 12: The Battle--Part 3
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Turn 12:The Battle--Part 3 'In the Eyes of History'
The Gentle Passing of Time: Recollections of generations gone by, by Huang Shen, Page 388-
Presenting one of the most biased views imaginable, the book is most useful for scholars in order to understand what the prejudices and beliefs, the mindset in other words, of the historians of the era and the court gossips as well were. Covering almost a century, with some parts in far greater detail, Huang Shen here speaks of the events behind certain raids that led, ultimately, to the famous Battle of [Redacted because you can't know it.]
What's important to note here is the belief expressed about Kiralo himself, and how it represents a generational hardening of beliefs that would foreshadow the Ban on Homsexuality that would happen centuries later, in the Late Imperial Period, and which would extend during the rise of the Directorate and the Republic. Piece by piece, attitudes began to change, and there is no evidence that events went this way.
For a more accurate discussion of the events leading up to and coming from the battle, see the next document in the series: 'The Battle of [Redacted]'
This disgrace was of course noted by all, that a woman had so enchanted a proud General, and for all that claims that this "Auh-liah" was a woman of magical wisdom, one knows the saying: If you gather ten wise men, you have emptied a village, but if you gather ten wise women, you have emptied the world. Still, it was said that she possessed the power of visions, and could see into the future, and there were many other rumors that few of any good and common breeding then credited, such as that she was secretly a man, or that she could fly without the help of spirits.
Such is the folly of those who forget that no foreign Sage could ever equal an Imperial Mage.
Now, the General was a man of great sagacity, and I will not speak against his skills at war, which had been proven before. I shall not speak of the future, but only of his failings because it is said that in the failings of a man of virtues, you can see the world's redemption.
For correct the few flaws in a great man, and you perfect him: perfect the world and you correct it from folly.
So, in addition to his trust of women, for he was noted to have been raised by his mother, whose influence was a weakening one, as any man knows, for a man without a father who was present is a man who is lucky not to grow womanish. He avoided this moral and emotional weakness, it must be said, by pure chance, but it did put in his heart a noted softness towards his inferiors.
But there was a second weakness of his: his lust.
It is said by reputable sources that he was consumed by lust towards Kueli, a barbarian captain of his of no great skill and no good reputation, ugly as any Southlander, impure and without any merit. And yet, Cs-Kiralo's heart was given up for this other man. This was a sin, to focus on lust more than his duty.
And so this proud, crude barbarian came to Kiralo and said, "My love, my body is yours to ravish in any way you could imagine, if you but allow me to send out my troops on a raid. We shall hit them again and again, and we will win, for all knows that no Csiritan born of Csirit is worth anything, and we shall conquer their entire force in a single blow!"
Now, Kiralo was a man of wisdom, and as all men of wisdom would agree, he understood that Csiritans were not weak warriors at all. But his mind was inflamed with the lust that unbalanced his balance between yin and yang [ ed. note: The specific term had not been invented at the time, but that interpretation and those phrases are how modern people would understand it, and thus have been inserted instead]. "Go then, with my blessing, and I shall ready the army and wait here for your victory."
It was then that the young hag Auhliah approached and warned, "Be wary! For I have foreseen that six-and-eighty barbarians will die, for the strength of the Hanin is great, and even my blasphemous Spirits know the might of the Csiritan!"
Kiralo paused, his wisdom asserting itself, and said, "Perhaps I should act with vigilance and deny this request."
"Think of my body, and think of untold pleasures. Think of glory and send me! For even if six-and-eighty men die, what do I care of the lives of mere mortals?" Kueli whined, and Kiralo was swayed, because it is a fool that allows himself to be led around by lust, and it is a cunning man who can take advantage of it [ed note: At the time, the argument centered around the idea of men as being more capable of manipulation, but it later broadened into a very wide sentiment of a different sort].
So, as he prepared his army skillfully, he sent out the barbarian light-horse men, who met some small success, through overwhelming force. Eight hundred of them ran against a dozen men, and the losses on both sides were closer to equal than they should have been, for ten Southlanders possess the moral fiber of one man of Csirit. And so it took advantages of twenty to one to win any victory.
But Jinhai was a monster, but a Csiritan monster, and he organized a trap.
Kueli, being a rude and stupid barbarian, fell into this trap, and his men died like flies, but in his cowardice, all he could do was run. Run and run with what remained of his men.
And yet he returned to Kiralo, who was in a towering rage, and said, sweetly, "Listen to my men, they will tell you as I do. We have slain hundreds of their men, for only this small loss." But he had of course bribed his men to hide his incompetence. "And besides, think of all of the pleasures I could give you. I will be your trusted adviser if the Battle is won, and I shall give to you all there is in the world."
And Kiralo was not swayed, but after a time, and the passing of bodily energy between the two, he came to see Kueli's lies as the truth, and retired to his tent, where he was not seen for some time.
On the day of the battle, which happened not on a day but on a…
*******
A/N: It's easy to forget that a lot of 'history' is bullshit gossip and nonsense story, but I did feel comfortable enough to talk about the future some, but only the distant future.
And yes, history also marches on: no matter who wins, there will be an Empire to be a "Late Imperial Period" much later on. And win or lose, there are trends that Kiralo could no more fight than notice.
This does show the prejudices at work here, though. Win or lose, it'll be because of (or in spite of) the Csiritans in his army.
The Gentle Passing of Time: Recollections of generations gone by, by Huang Shen, Page 388-
Presenting one of the most biased views imaginable, the book is most useful for scholars in order to understand what the prejudices and beliefs, the mindset in other words, of the historians of the era and the court gossips as well were. Covering almost a century, with some parts in far greater detail, Huang Shen here speaks of the events behind certain raids that led, ultimately, to the famous Battle of [Redacted because you can't know it.]
What's important to note here is the belief expressed about Kiralo himself, and how it represents a generational hardening of beliefs that would foreshadow the Ban on Homsexuality that would happen centuries later, in the Late Imperial Period, and which would extend during the rise of the Directorate and the Republic. Piece by piece, attitudes began to change, and there is no evidence that events went this way.
For a more accurate discussion of the events leading up to and coming from the battle, see the next document in the series: 'The Battle of [Redacted]'
This disgrace was of course noted by all, that a woman had so enchanted a proud General, and for all that claims that this "Auh-liah" was a woman of magical wisdom, one knows the saying: If you gather ten wise men, you have emptied a village, but if you gather ten wise women, you have emptied the world. Still, it was said that she possessed the power of visions, and could see into the future, and there were many other rumors that few of any good and common breeding then credited, such as that she was secretly a man, or that she could fly without the help of spirits.
Such is the folly of those who forget that no foreign Sage could ever equal an Imperial Mage.
Now, the General was a man of great sagacity, and I will not speak against his skills at war, which had been proven before. I shall not speak of the future, but only of his failings because it is said that in the failings of a man of virtues, you can see the world's redemption.
For correct the few flaws in a great man, and you perfect him: perfect the world and you correct it from folly.
So, in addition to his trust of women, for he was noted to have been raised by his mother, whose influence was a weakening one, as any man knows, for a man without a father who was present is a man who is lucky not to grow womanish. He avoided this moral and emotional weakness, it must be said, by pure chance, but it did put in his heart a noted softness towards his inferiors.
But there was a second weakness of his: his lust.
It is said by reputable sources that he was consumed by lust towards Kueli, a barbarian captain of his of no great skill and no good reputation, ugly as any Southlander, impure and without any merit. And yet, Cs-Kiralo's heart was given up for this other man. This was a sin, to focus on lust more than his duty.
And so this proud, crude barbarian came to Kiralo and said, "My love, my body is yours to ravish in any way you could imagine, if you but allow me to send out my troops on a raid. We shall hit them again and again, and we will win, for all knows that no Csiritan born of Csirit is worth anything, and we shall conquer their entire force in a single blow!"
Now, Kiralo was a man of wisdom, and as all men of wisdom would agree, he understood that Csiritans were not weak warriors at all. But his mind was inflamed with the lust that unbalanced his balance between yin and yang [ ed. note: The specific term had not been invented at the time, but that interpretation and those phrases are how modern people would understand it, and thus have been inserted instead]. "Go then, with my blessing, and I shall ready the army and wait here for your victory."
It was then that the young hag Auhliah approached and warned, "Be wary! For I have foreseen that six-and-eighty barbarians will die, for the strength of the Hanin is great, and even my blasphemous Spirits know the might of the Csiritan!"
Kiralo paused, his wisdom asserting itself, and said, "Perhaps I should act with vigilance and deny this request."
"Think of my body, and think of untold pleasures. Think of glory and send me! For even if six-and-eighty men die, what do I care of the lives of mere mortals?" Kueli whined, and Kiralo was swayed, because it is a fool that allows himself to be led around by lust, and it is a cunning man who can take advantage of it [ed note: At the time, the argument centered around the idea of men as being more capable of manipulation, but it later broadened into a very wide sentiment of a different sort].
So, as he prepared his army skillfully, he sent out the barbarian light-horse men, who met some small success, through overwhelming force. Eight hundred of them ran against a dozen men, and the losses on both sides were closer to equal than they should have been, for ten Southlanders possess the moral fiber of one man of Csirit. And so it took advantages of twenty to one to win any victory.
But Jinhai was a monster, but a Csiritan monster, and he organized a trap.
Kueli, being a rude and stupid barbarian, fell into this trap, and his men died like flies, but in his cowardice, all he could do was run. Run and run with what remained of his men.
And yet he returned to Kiralo, who was in a towering rage, and said, sweetly, "Listen to my men, they will tell you as I do. We have slain hundreds of their men, for only this small loss." But he had of course bribed his men to hide his incompetence. "And besides, think of all of the pleasures I could give you. I will be your trusted adviser if the Battle is won, and I shall give to you all there is in the world."
And Kiralo was not swayed, but after a time, and the passing of bodily energy between the two, he came to see Kueli's lies as the truth, and retired to his tent, where he was not seen for some time.
On the day of the battle, which happened not on a day but on a…
*******
A/N: It's easy to forget that a lot of 'history' is bullshit gossip and nonsense story, but I did feel comfortable enough to talk about the future some, but only the distant future.
And yes, history also marches on: no matter who wins, there will be an Empire to be a "Late Imperial Period" much later on. And win or lose, there are trends that Kiralo could no more fight than notice.
This does show the prejudices at work here, though. Win or lose, it'll be because of (or in spite of) the Csiritans in his army.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I apologize for an update that simply restates exactly what happened in Part 2 all of the details, as they happened.
Last edited:
It's very fun to see how the historians spin it
- Pronouns
- They/Them
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I'll be posting the next update tomorrow, btw.