- Joined
- Jun 29, 2012
- Messages
- 4,429
- Reaction score
- 34,414
- Points
- 663
- Age
- 33
The Regalian war against the Elves continued by a large masterplan to lure the Elven fleet into an ambush in the Ilsuth strait. All Admirals admirably performed their duties, except they had made one crucial mistake, assuming that the Elven fleet had not already left the area. They banked their entire strategy to the idea that the Elves would wish to secure naval dominance /before/ attacking Regalian supply lines, but the Elves, anticipating that train of thought, did the exact opposite. In an act of revenge, the Elven fleet sailed to the Regalian Archipelago and started a series of bombardments along the Girobaldin and Gallovian coastline. Receiving massive casualties crossing in the southern strait, they eventually reached the inner sea, the three great fleets still in Daendroc and unable to respond or even be aware of their move. The fleet eventually started shelling the capital of the Wodenstaff lands and the Girobaldin coastal cities before the Home Fleets finally responded. 20 Kade vessels, 1 Wodenstaff vessel, 7 Black vessels and 2 Drache vessels engaged the Elven fleet from behind, though were still outnumbered, despite the Elven casualties when passing through the south strait. The Elven ships used a series of the similar cannons that were used against Charles Montagaard's forces, inflicting heavy damage and casualties on both the civilian population on the shoreline, as well as the military forces on the fleet vessels.
When the Elven forces finally started winding down and the Regalian ships were about to pull back to regroup, a Feathered Dragon flew in, using that same clumsy wing flapping and almost being unable to hold itself above the water to reach the Elven ships. The Elves immediately responded by turning their magical cannons on the Dragon, shooting salvo after salvo, though were horrified to discover that while these shots caused massive damage on Ailor and Nelfin alike, they caused no damage whatsoever on the Dragon. In fact, the Dragon seemed to sniff up the white substance that erupted from the canisters when it hit the Dragon, seemingly becoming invigorated by it. Eventually the Dragon, not quite graciously, crashed into the first ship, its entire body smashing it in half. The Regalian fleet that was retreating quickly turned around and moved in to reinforce, opening fire on the supporting Elven ships while the Dragon was seemingly in trouble, rapidly flapping its wings in the water as if it was drowning. The chaos of the Dragon's sudden appearance completely destroyed the Elven cohesion, and the Regalian ships quickly made short work of the remaining ships, sinking practically all of them just off the coast of Girobalda. Eventually, one of the House Black Regalian captains dared to sail his ship close to the Dragon that was still violently thrashing in the water, allowing it to grab hold of the stern with its claws. With its sharp claws embedded in the captain's quarters, the whole ship started tilting backwards, but the Dragon seemed to calm down. The captain in return slowly sailed the ship to the coastline, dragging the Dragon along with it until it was able to walk out onto the beach on its own devices, take flight and fly off into the clouds leaving the Regalians wondering what in the void they had just witnessed.
In the north, Audrey d'Ortonnais leads a party of Olivia Ombre, Arnold Heinrich and Jaeger Schwarz, accompanied by the Isldars Garriken Wyrmyar and Katrina C'aelrith to the Isldarrin hold for negociations. While the initial movements into the Isldarrin lands seem rather peaceful, the situation becomes tense when the Isldarrin finally send an envoy in a small glacier canyon to speak to the party. Proper respects to the Isldar are observed, and while the translated conversation flows somewhat, the Isldar seem on edge. After an exchange of words on the Dragons, one of the Isldar dignitaries becomes offended by Katrina's dyed hair, seeing her as a hold betrayer that betrayed her cultural identity. The opinion held by that dignitary quickly spread among the others, and the line of communication broke down because the Isldar translators could not effectively manage the diplomatic crisis by slowly relaying the Isldar words back to the Expert Diplomats of the party. Before long, the Isldar ice hunters above the glaciers opened fire, shooting arrows down at the party which then made a run for it. The Ailor seemed to come out unharmed, largely as the Isldar hunters shot for the Isldar in their party: Garriken was struck with an arrow in the shoulder, while Katrina was pierced by an arrow in the left leg and one in the right forearm. Their wounds were taken care of on the way back, leaving them both with an arm sling, and Katrina with crutches. All was not lost however. While communication broke down very quickly, the Isldar made a couple of things very clear:
They were not allies of either of the two Dragons that had appeared in Regalia, and considered both of them their enemy, as Frostwing had declared at least one of them their mortal enemy. Because it was unclear whether "The diplomats followed the vile Dragon, or the young Dragon", they opened fire on the party to prevent them from reaching their homeland, catalyzed by their taking offence to the Isldar who had dyed her hair.
Hengest Harhold, meanwhile, attempted to start a local campaign to terrorize heathens in the Anglian borderlands. While in some towns he encountered some Old Gods worshipers, and had them summarily killed by burning them alive in their houses. Furthermore, he had all his vassals and knights scour the lands for any hints towards the Dragons. They however, only discovered the usual things that any Anglian would have heard of in a bedtime story. Rumors of Kades being Dragons, rumors of Dragons becoming people, and rumors of Dragon Knights once living in Anglia, fighting the Demon spawn to protect the Dragons.
The Emperor, in the capital, announced a massive military restructure of levy rights to troops. While the noble levies were largely untouched, the Emperor decreed a conscription law placed by Imperial Prerogative on the Vassal states, the first of its kind. Furthermore, the Url Legion that had been gathering in the previous month was finally introduced into the army, creating a vast shock force that would fill the bulk of the Emperor's front line. Coupled with a variety of bureaucratic overhauls to make state oversight on manpower more effective, the Imperial troop retinues increased almost threefold up to 260,000 troops. The Emperor then established an official Royal Marshal position, appointing himself, and giving him direction over the movements and placements of all those armies.
These changes presented a curious situation. Not only did Royal power increase massively, with Kade Family troops stacked on top of the Royal Armies, the Royal forces and State forces were for the first time tied in troop count. No longer did the nobility have the manpower to outclass the Emperor, and the Emperor made that point very clear by parking 100,000 soldiers under the command of von Treppewitz in various positions of the Anglian and Dragenthaler heartland. Making use of mostly foreign recruited troops, he immediately posed an ultimatum to the Baron's League, drawing them out of hiding. The Baron's League declared a rebellion against the Emperor's abuse of power, though their resistance was as futile as it was badly organized and only lasted three days.
Over the last two decades, the Barons had quickly lost their favor from House Black and House Drache, leaving them with a sad 20,000 badly trained and maintained troops that were utterly wiped out. The Emperor then had all the Barons who supported the Baron's League, including all the Barons who supported the Drachenwald crisis executed, decapitating 42 of them personally with his Falkeyr sword, and went even further to not only destroy their homes, but deposess their heirs and families and reduce them to commoners. With the Baron's League eradicated after having terrorized the geopolitical landscape of Dragenthal for nearly thirty years, the region was finally rid of their anti-state and anti-power sentiments, leaving a massive power vacuum where hordes of now baronial lands lacked protection and direction. The Emperor seemed utterly disinterested in redividing the lands, instead delegating the matter to the local lords or the Assembly, celebrating instead that he had finally reclaimed his grandfather's honor, who was murdered by the Baron's League so many decades ago.
The Noble Army System has changed in favor of more simplistic Army management:
When the Elven forces finally started winding down and the Regalian ships were about to pull back to regroup, a Feathered Dragon flew in, using that same clumsy wing flapping and almost being unable to hold itself above the water to reach the Elven ships. The Elves immediately responded by turning their magical cannons on the Dragon, shooting salvo after salvo, though were horrified to discover that while these shots caused massive damage on Ailor and Nelfin alike, they caused no damage whatsoever on the Dragon. In fact, the Dragon seemed to sniff up the white substance that erupted from the canisters when it hit the Dragon, seemingly becoming invigorated by it. Eventually the Dragon, not quite graciously, crashed into the first ship, its entire body smashing it in half. The Regalian fleet that was retreating quickly turned around and moved in to reinforce, opening fire on the supporting Elven ships while the Dragon was seemingly in trouble, rapidly flapping its wings in the water as if it was drowning. The chaos of the Dragon's sudden appearance completely destroyed the Elven cohesion, and the Regalian ships quickly made short work of the remaining ships, sinking practically all of them just off the coast of Girobalda. Eventually, one of the House Black Regalian captains dared to sail his ship close to the Dragon that was still violently thrashing in the water, allowing it to grab hold of the stern with its claws. With its sharp claws embedded in the captain's quarters, the whole ship started tilting backwards, but the Dragon seemed to calm down. The captain in return slowly sailed the ship to the coastline, dragging the Dragon along with it until it was able to walk out onto the beach on its own devices, take flight and fly off into the clouds leaving the Regalians wondering what in the void they had just witnessed.
In the north, Audrey d'Ortonnais leads a party of Olivia Ombre, Arnold Heinrich and Jaeger Schwarz, accompanied by the Isldars Garriken Wyrmyar and Katrina C'aelrith to the Isldarrin hold for negociations. While the initial movements into the Isldarrin lands seem rather peaceful, the situation becomes tense when the Isldarrin finally send an envoy in a small glacier canyon to speak to the party. Proper respects to the Isldar are observed, and while the translated conversation flows somewhat, the Isldar seem on edge. After an exchange of words on the Dragons, one of the Isldar dignitaries becomes offended by Katrina's dyed hair, seeing her as a hold betrayer that betrayed her cultural identity. The opinion held by that dignitary quickly spread among the others, and the line of communication broke down because the Isldar translators could not effectively manage the diplomatic crisis by slowly relaying the Isldar words back to the Expert Diplomats of the party. Before long, the Isldar ice hunters above the glaciers opened fire, shooting arrows down at the party which then made a run for it. The Ailor seemed to come out unharmed, largely as the Isldar hunters shot for the Isldar in their party: Garriken was struck with an arrow in the shoulder, while Katrina was pierced by an arrow in the left leg and one in the right forearm. Their wounds were taken care of on the way back, leaving them both with an arm sling, and Katrina with crutches. All was not lost however. While communication broke down very quickly, the Isldar made a couple of things very clear:
They were not allies of either of the two Dragons that had appeared in Regalia, and considered both of them their enemy, as Frostwing had declared at least one of them their mortal enemy. Because it was unclear whether "The diplomats followed the vile Dragon, or the young Dragon", they opened fire on the party to prevent them from reaching their homeland, catalyzed by their taking offence to the Isldar who had dyed her hair.
Hengest Harhold, meanwhile, attempted to start a local campaign to terrorize heathens in the Anglian borderlands. While in some towns he encountered some Old Gods worshipers, and had them summarily killed by burning them alive in their houses. Furthermore, he had all his vassals and knights scour the lands for any hints towards the Dragons. They however, only discovered the usual things that any Anglian would have heard of in a bedtime story. Rumors of Kades being Dragons, rumors of Dragons becoming people, and rumors of Dragon Knights once living in Anglia, fighting the Demon spawn to protect the Dragons.
The Emperor, in the capital, announced a massive military restructure of levy rights to troops. While the noble levies were largely untouched, the Emperor decreed a conscription law placed by Imperial Prerogative on the Vassal states, the first of its kind. Furthermore, the Url Legion that had been gathering in the previous month was finally introduced into the army, creating a vast shock force that would fill the bulk of the Emperor's front line. Coupled with a variety of bureaucratic overhauls to make state oversight on manpower more effective, the Imperial troop retinues increased almost threefold up to 260,000 troops. The Emperor then established an official Royal Marshal position, appointing himself, and giving him direction over the movements and placements of all those armies.
These changes presented a curious situation. Not only did Royal power increase massively, with Kade Family troops stacked on top of the Royal Armies, the Royal forces and State forces were for the first time tied in troop count. No longer did the nobility have the manpower to outclass the Emperor, and the Emperor made that point very clear by parking 100,000 soldiers under the command of von Treppewitz in various positions of the Anglian and Dragenthaler heartland. Making use of mostly foreign recruited troops, he immediately posed an ultimatum to the Baron's League, drawing them out of hiding. The Baron's League declared a rebellion against the Emperor's abuse of power, though their resistance was as futile as it was badly organized and only lasted three days.
Over the last two decades, the Barons had quickly lost their favor from House Black and House Drache, leaving them with a sad 20,000 badly trained and maintained troops that were utterly wiped out. The Emperor then had all the Barons who supported the Baron's League, including all the Barons who supported the Drachenwald crisis executed, decapitating 42 of them personally with his Falkeyr sword, and went even further to not only destroy their homes, but deposess their heirs and families and reduce them to commoners. With the Baron's League eradicated after having terrorized the geopolitical landscape of Dragenthal for nearly thirty years, the region was finally rid of their anti-state and anti-power sentiments, leaving a massive power vacuum where hordes of now baronial lands lacked protection and direction. The Emperor seemed utterly disinterested in redividing the lands, instead delegating the matter to the local lords or the Assembly, celebrating instead that he had finally reclaimed his grandfather's honor, who was murdered by the Baron's League so many decades ago.
The Noble Army System has changed in favor of more simplistic Army management:
- Private Armies no longer possible.
- Roll Bonuses made flat per skill level. 5% per General Command level, +2% per commission. +1% flat per skill level for Battle Command and Banner Command.
- Banner and Battle Command leaders are now able to lead armies, though are always capped to 10,000 troops. This also goes for Generals who have no intellect skill whatsoever.
- Additionally, generals with no leadership skills whatsoever gain a -30% combat roll.
- Consuls and Proconsuls of the Regalian Assembly no longer have their own reserved troops and may simply assign themselves an army from the manpower pool.
- As opposed to assigning orders each tweek, Generals are assigned to "Deployment Zones".
- Generals assigning their armies to Deployment Zones will stay there, until an order is issued for them to move to another Deployment Zone. Armies can only move one connected Deployment Zone at a time. (First deployments are "free" regardless of starting position, to help the generals and admirals transition into this new system without being put far away from the fight).
- Navies function much in the same way.
- Navies and Armies perform a control roll every turn to see if they dominate the field, or are being beaten back in a Deployment Zone. There is no formal system for casualties anymore, so battle losses and victories amount to prestige that in turn gets translated to the Power Projection in Nobility.
- Navies and Armies also have a chance to wipe out or be wiped out by enemy forces each turn depending on how much control a certain Deployment Zone has. Multiple armies can occupy one Deployment Zone at the same time.
- OOC orders of competency are no longer relevant in any way. Orders like "battle formation this, formation that" are implied by character intellect schooling. This helps encourage characters who don't quite understand military tactics OOC from being able to portray their role, as well as inhibit intellectuals from gaming the system by knowing advanced strategies while their characters are lower ranked military intellectuals.
- Anyone (who has the permission of an Admiral or General) has the right to claim "Presence in combat", creating their own story about how they assisted in battle both on sea and land as long as it stays within the boundaries of reasonability. Retinues are no longer a thing, but anyone can just ask the generals for permission to be part of their troops IC, after which they may claim having supported the armies or fleets in battle.
