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Maybe. We will see if anyone is actually willing to get off their high horse and be a peasant for the sake of enjoyment.

I find it quite gratifying to have been proved right, Taverners have no interest in give and take. Like a leech farm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAQNeAMaFdw&feature=related Its true, never has the Tavern had such high unemployment, 100% are not employed in Tip It. (Quiet Wyvern I am trying to start a revolution) As such we should form a union, march on Tripsis' House. :thumbsup: On the DnD campaign: Grim has said he isn't running the campaign. A campaign with Pre-Gen characters would be considerably better...Simply because: Some of us want to abuse the rules in every 'possible' way, and are annoyed at people 'less capable'. Some of us want to roleplay in a 'believable' way, and are annoyed at people 'powergaming'. Some of us want to GM in a 'progressive' way, and are annoyed at people 'bogged down in argument'. I appeal to Grim, to Wyvern, to Ross...Please run a campaign with pre-gen characters. I appeal to Nex, Retech and everyone else...Please choose one of the pre-gens and even if it isn't brilliant, try to play that character. I appeal to everyone...Please discuss your character with the Mod...But don't do it in the middle of a session, and try to do it via PM or Internet Messanger so the massive arguments don't annoy people. I appeal to everyone...Do not use the rules as a weapon against the GM. If the GM is intolerable then walk away, don't be a game wrecker. I also suggest that the GM has a three strike system and THEN kick and 1 session ban. If you turn up again that session or the next session (even just to watch) then you are banned for 2 more session and kicked from the current session. If you turn up again then you are banned from the game fully. I would suggest, for the pregens: 2 of each character type (Wizard, Rogue, etcetera) Spell books are pre-generated (aka they know only those spells and have to buy more) Weapons are pre-generated (Sword, Slightly Magic Stick, etcetera) Armour is pre-generated (Wizards in robes, Rogues in light armour, etcetera) Other items are pre-generated (scrolls, food, etcetera) Remaining money is always set at 100 Gold Rogue Talents/Domains/ectetera is pre-generated. Alignment, Diety, Name and Traits (remembering Gold is Capped at 100, regardless) can be chosen by the player.

Well, since I am so massive, large miliary, large industrial base and large prestige...I started 1st =P So Great Power. The problems are these: My army got disappeared in the conversion. The wars ended and white peaces were done(so the USA lost all its gains in America) There is no real production of ammunition, small arms or clipper transports...Anywhere on the planet...and I started as Laize Faire...Which I would usually like, but the free market will only swing into action in a few months...I need it working now! If you are interested: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12603519/1810.eug Just put it in the scenarios folder. If it doesn't work, load it up as a small country, wait 2 days, then save, and load it up again.

The year is 1812. 300 years have past...And in that time nothing much happened. Prussia and Britain have the lion's share of America, though the USA is currently at war with Britain, occupying most of their provinces currently. Several wars were fought to destroy the remains of Catholism and Urbino, the last Italian state to tolerate it was relegated from Europe, maintaining only a toe hold in Veniza. The other pillar of Catholism is Prussia, which, for the most part spent its time emulating Morocco...ie it colonised the crap out of America. Britain only managed to get itself together in the late game, and with constant wars with Sweden. Russia expanded in relative peace, eventually declaring war on the Asian Giant -Japan- which had been steadily taking control of China for the best part of two hundred years. With the exception of the USA there has been no great effort to establish new countries in the new world, with Brazil, Chile and numerous other countries being less than willing to revolt. So yeah, onwards to Ricky!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdBcfRhzzAA Great song...lyrics are painful at points, but that is since it is written as a White Person who has never been to Africa, only seen it on TV...Even so...painful :rolleyes: [hide] I hear the drums echoing tonight But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation She's coming in the 12:30 flight The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation I stopped an old man along the way Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies He turned to me as if to say "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you!" It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never had The wild dogs cry out in the night As they grow restless longing for some solitary company I know that I must do what's right Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti I seek to cure what's deep inside Frightened of this thing that I've become It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never had Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never had [/hide]

I'd love to play a game of V2. I am free all days other than Saturday. :thumbsup:

The year is 1512, Western Europe has been in a state of war for ten years, leaving both sides ravaged...Neither side prepared for the full horror of warfare, the so called 'One Hundred Year Peace' blinding the major powers- Prussia, England, Morroco and Sweden- from the harsh realities. The Hundred Year Peace had its origins in the aftermath of the 'Canning of the Baron', a period of Moroccan history streching from 1345 to 1418, or from 17 to 90 AC(After Catholism). With the Pope and his primary defenders, Italy, Germany and Bohemia, all horribly weakened by several decades of war with Morocco, which had maintained cohesion, Christanity had all but collapses. Othodox Church turned against Orthodox Church in the East, the guiding hand of Byzantina reduced to a handful of states. While in the West, a Muslim took the throne of Bohemia, and Morroco, the Muslim Nation, seemed unstoppable...their armies poised to spread the word of Allah to Denmark, to England, to Poland and even the Heathen Capital, Roma. Yet...it never came. With the final war with Bohemia (1332-1340) came the end to Moroccan expansionism. Some say that Bohemia's engorged treasury gave Nizem the power to do what he did next...others say that the sudden change was caused by Nizem's son and heir's death at the hands of the Emir of Aragon during a skirmish over taxation...Whatever the truth, Nizem turned the Moroccan nation inwards, revoking titles, and seizing land as never before. Of course this was not an era of wanton destruction. Nizem knew that Catholism was always in the rafters, waiting for its chance to devour the Muslim world, but he also knew that the Emir and the Sheik were corrupt...that they presided over lands that still taught Latin, that still allowed communion...that they did nothing to stop this, yet, the moment he asks for a new Mosque that suddenly they were unable to afford it. Nizem advanced through Iberia, reconquering the lands of his father's conquests, and his father before him, neigh, even until the dark ages. The Barons of France were soothed by his promises not to take his jihad north of the Pyrenees...When they rebelled he fought them in jest, asking only for money, standing side by side with them, watching the peasents below be killed... Yet in Iberia there was no such jest, all rebellion was put down with extreme prejudice. Lands given to familes some two hundred years before were torn away...Castles were purged of their crests, huge fires burned with the livery...Nizem could not hope to control such a vast territory...looters and robber-bandits roamed largely at will, tax collectors were told to stay home..and the people rejoiced. But, when Iberia was all but purged of sinners, Nizem crossed the Pyrennes. The Emir which he had once fought with jest now ran in fear...wave after wave of Spainyard, of Arab, of Frenchman lay waste to their castles and their crests. Treasuries were thrown open, vaults raided and all was given to Nizem. Though he had started this war a young man, 20, he was now reaching his 60th year, and still had no heir. His wife for all that time, never having forgiven herself for allowing her son to watch the battle, she could not look at Nizem, let alone allow him into her bed... Nizem spent his days fighting the heathen hoards within his own country, by night he was wracked with worry...His great work would fall to his Nephew, Ali, a lustful man with no sense of man's duty of Allah... Then, on his fifty eighth birthday, while campagining in France, he recieved a message from Marrakech...His wife had taken her own life. In despair he took the hand of a local Sheik's daughter, in exchange for allowing him to keep his lands. Five years later she bore him a son, and immediately, he had her killed and the Sheik who had given her away was stripped of his title and paraded through the streets in revenge for the bargin that had been struck. With the treasury only being filled by war, but feeling the burning need to instruct Hasam himself, Nizem took the young Hasam with him on campaign at the age of four. For the next eight years Hasam was instructed at his father's side, together they tore into France, seizing province after province....But now the barons knew that there would never be any rest for them...They united in a bitter war against Nizem until his death, then young Hasam, only 12 years old, took up the mantle of his father and continued the war, fighting for another forty years, until finally, in the year 90 AC, Hasam, and his five sons, declared a New Order had fallen over Morocco...With the Emir and Shiek dead new offices were created, with nominal provincial control, but no title or status beyond that. And so began the hundred years of peace (enter EU3 IN) The Order of Nizem was founded, sending Missionaries far and wide, while, two years later, the Order of Hasam was founded, sending colonists far and wide as well. For almost One Hundreds years peace reigned in Morocco. In the East there was much progress made, the countless nobles were brought under swift control of the Kings...those that failed were absorbed by their neighbours. It was not bloodless, but, with Morocco's shining example...and threat...the mistakes that might have been made were not...and so within a hundred years the fractured European Nations organised under Bavaria, Prussia, The Mamluks(Orthodox Austria :thumbsup: ), Bohemia, and the resurgent Byzantina. While the British Isles slowly united under the crown of King Edward IV. And Russia was reformed by the powerful Czarina Anna I. Yet, for all the lessons learned in those hundred years...No one was ready for the war. A thin strip of land had been inherited by Morocco in the year 91, the land was seperated from the rest of Morroco by the lands of Bavaria, Prussia, Liege and Urbino. While it retained a large deal of autonomy from Marrakech, it still gave taxes and was under the protection of the Green Army. To Prussia though, the lands looked inviting. Prussia, its allies and Bavaria surrounded the lands on all sides. The Moroccan military, once powerful, had been largely discarded, with just some 40,000 troops policing Continental Europe. And thus, they invaded. With the easy victories of the past clouding their judgement Bohemia, England, Scotland, and the allies of Prussia united to defeat Morocco. But, while they found the lands defenceless to begin with, they soon discovered they had awoken a sleeping giant! Conscription was called for, the Orders of Nizem and Hasam sent thousands of men, trained to be colonists and preachers, to fight in the war. Inside the year the Green Army had swollen to some hundred thousand. The English and Scottish Navies soon lay in the Bay of Biscay, the Carracks that discovered South Morrocastan(South America) destroyed them. Yet, even with this awesome might, Prussia and Bohemia refused to negotiate. The Prussian armies safe in their technological superiority on land (damn Latin techgroup), and Bohemia buoyed up by unbelievable inflation (160 according to the graphs). It was only with rebellions in Brandenburg and Sus, from two populations so destroyed by the endless war, that peace was finally agreed. In a bid to bring down the dissent, this commemorative paper bill was published in Bohemia, worth 1,000,000 Ducets, or two eggs: (Its going well so far :thumbup: )

In regard to mather: With the exception of the times you try to batter me over the head with science (Which is rather pointless since it requires a great deal of effort on my part to follow the science because, although capable of analysis and figuring out the concepts, I do not have a scientific background.) you don't honestly annoy me. Well, and the times we go round and round in circles because you refused to accept any point other than your own, though that is common to most people. In regards to the situation as a whole... We had fun but without Ross there is no unity, ergo the game fragments and dies.

On a break. Space seems to have reached a point were no one is particularly enjoying it.

http://www.htcaccessorystore.com/uk/p_htc_phone.aspx?i=187507 Really, if you want help you should actually specify what you want.

Amazon? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pin-Mini-USB-3-5mm-P4350/dp/B002RX9BT4 Thats more the first one: 1) They are making so much money from botters that it is economic to allow them. System is corrupt, but it makes them money and changing the status quo causes people to get mad...Basis of Capitalist Democracy.

Doesn't make sense that they would crash their own cash-cow so possibly one of three things: 1) They are making so much money from botters that it is economic to allow them. Also Bots make it easier to level, meaning people spend more time on it. 2) They are planning to bring out RS 3, so destroying RS 2 really isn't that much of a problem, and is actually good in some respects. 3) They are under the 'JK Rowling' effect...They have made an ungodly amount of money and think they can do anything and people will carry on paying through the nose.

Learned should be in inverted commas.

The people who talk to cleverbot tend to lack confidence, then get sarcastic when they realise they can say anything. As such cleverbot lacks confidence but is also sarcastic, since it is just a collection of inputs. Lynx lacks confidence at times, and is sarcastic at other times. Pretty simple.

With the situation entirely out of control, the Leocwen was forced to leave the surface of Mars, and eventually withdraw back to Earth for summery inquest into the breakdown of trade negotiations into all out war. But the inquest was delayed, then reschedualed, then moved back, until it was finally cancelled entirely. The reason? Electronic meltdown, mysterious mutation clouds and, finally...a crashed American fighter jet, unlike anything seen before. All of these issues dominated the political landscape, and so the Inquest into the Martian Question was eventually dropped, everyone was dispersed to their relative countries, and Tauros was rebuilt to its own specification. Several concerns about the sanity of the decisions were raised, but in the end it was built. After a few months the Unity Crew was put back together, with the shiny new ship and newly restored AI. With a mission to explore the remains of Pluto, things seem to have hit rock bottom... Mission details are pretty much as normal.

/join #space10 tavern Writing up the interim now.

I would stand non-existant shoulder to non-existant shoulder to you, together we could take on their whole empire! :grin:

December 12th, 1328. Vermandois King Ayyub approaches the two cages before him. To the North West of him are the 17 Emir of Morocco, on their knees praising he and Mecca. Within the cages, the King of Italy and the Pope of the Catholic Faith. The bodies of Arab, Frenchman, Iberian and Italian lay strewn about the place, their blood seeping into the holy relics that surround them... The Great Statue of the Virgin Mary cries the blood that trickles from the Duke of Roma, impaled above her. The Corpus, the Body of Christ, has been ripped from the Crucifix, and then suspended upside down above the Crucifix. Around the Crucifix a mound of Bibles has been piled, and one of its arms sawn off. Ayyub makes a small motion with his hand, and the King of Italy is brought forth and shackled to the Altar. Ayyub calls for the first Steel Blade, made by the the Armoury of Marrakech, built only a year before, the first of its kind. With the blade he makes a neat incision across the abdomen. The Italian cries out in pain, but is soon gagged. Ayyub tease out the Intestines, pulling them out with great delicacy. The Italian watches as Ayyub hands his intestines to Zehra, who washes them through, and splits them into thin strips, before weaving them together. As the life slips from the Italian, Ayyub slices his arms from the body, the legs from the body, the head and genitals from the body, place the latter inside the former before closing the mouth, and piling the bodies upon the bibles. Then the Pope is summoned, and laid upon the alter. He calls for God, for his men, for his mother, then he is gagged. Ayyub heats the blade in the hearth and draws the Crescent upon the Pope's Chest and says in a hushed tone 'May Allah have mercy upon your soul.' Then he is unshackled and made to watch as the 'Italian Rope' is hung about the arm, noose checked and then Ayyub brings the Pope forth. The seventeen Emir begin to quietly sing as Ayyub places the Pope in the noose, not yet tight. Their words are yet inaudiable to the Pope, and he focuses on Ayyub. Ayyub pulls out a sheaf of papers, nine in all. Upon them is prounced the nine fallen Dukes, and, in the Pope's own handwriting, the commandment to attack Burgos. Ayyub takes one of the lit candles, and lights the sheaf, dropping it into the mound of Bibles, where it ignites. It is only then that Ayyub quitely begins singining: Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword: His truth is marching on. Glory, Glory Allahlujah. Then heaves the 'Italian Rope', and it tightens at the Pope's neck. Glory, Glory Allahlujah. Another heave, for a moment the Pope's feet are pulled from the flags of the Domed Cathderal, then he returns to them. Glory, Glory Allahlujah. With the final heave the Pope is raised, never to fall while alive. Ayyub ties the 'rope' on an Iron Ring, and turns to the Archbishop of Blois, his life spared for the moment. The Archbishop steps forward, next to the him the Iman of Fes. Between them they carry the Crown of France. Both sing quietly: I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps, They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps; I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps: His day is marching on. As they sing the life slips from the Pope. His cassock licked by the flames of Allah, consuming the heretic belief. [hide]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVsNCllEHD0&feature=related [/hide] The Nine Crowns I control: Al-Murabitids Arabia (No idea how I got this) Aragon Castile France Leon Portugal Mauretania Zenata [hide] [/hide] (Italy is not shown as A) It doesn't fit =P B) I peaced out before I took the picture, and ended up giving back most of Italy to keep my reputation above -2. The war had three major battles (combined force of 90,000 , 60,000 and 120,000), all of them happened at Limousin. Which was in Italian hands until after the last battle. The war began simply enough with one of my Vassals trying to get back one of its provinces from Italy(It spent the rest of the war sitting on its hands <_< ) From my previous wars I knew I was going to face a stack of 40 odd thousand at some point, and a cursory glance at the stats told me I was at a 5 point martial disadvantage. So I did two things: First, I mobilised all the provinces of Morroco and had them group together at Cebta, before crossing to Almeria, and marching to Toledo, then Bordeaux, then, finally Angouleme.(You have to take this roundabout route, otherwise they charge into the sea and take 1% attition per tile and per month...With an army of 58,000, thats 5,800 troops...thats my whole army from Marrakech gone in an instant, and part of Fes' too. Its already bad enough crossing from Cebta to Almeria...but anyway. The first battle was a resounding success, their first army was a sizable mass of troops(About 35,000), led by Annomous Commander :thumbup: Thats right, assassins snuck into their Marshal's camp(6 of them in the end) and garroted him. Leaderless, and outnumbered (and temporaily outstated) they were killed in droves. But then Disaster struck...My damned Vassals declared war on Germany AND Sweden. I split my forces 40/50/10, with the large group pursuing the Italians to Bourbon, the middle sized group going north to deal with the Sweds (I ignored the Germans since I couldn't fight them), and the final group...a measly 2,000 men, left to take Limousin. My army in Bourbon quickly overran their defences, and I got complacent(having seen that declaring war on one of Italy's Vassals that they only have 12,000 more troops left to give. This, I now realise was the number of troops left by the Vassals not in the war :unsure: ) and split up my army, and declared war on their vassals in Macon, Forez and Lyon. Wearing down my 12,000 odd troops to a mere 5,000, in exchange for 3 extra provinces. In the North Sweden proved a tiny threat, due to a random event that allowed me to peace out. The German threat was sizable, but managable...So my troops were worn down till they comprised 1,500 troops, so I disbanded, so they could recharge. Then...10k stack coming at me. Ok, no big deal, I could deal with that if I pulled all my forces together. Another 10k stack. And another... And another... And another. 50k of troops, facing my ramshackle bunch of 6,000 troops (My force in Limousin was attritionated) So I began calling on my Vassals...But most of them were unhappy at me(I later found out this was because my Diplomat had died, so I no longer got any bonus to loyalty(Which is usually +3.5)), so I scrabbled 5,000 troops together and threw them together with my troops and tried to buy time. Hiring another 30,000 back in Morocco I realised only a miracle could save me from losing a dozen vassals...I checked my Marshal pool, and then saw my diplomat had died. My heart lept, and I hired a new one. Immediately my loyalty began going back up...which I helped with gold. So while my 11,000 troops were slaughtered in the middle battle of the war, I hired some 100,000 troops from my Vassals, and sent my 30,000 on a mission to take Sardinia and Corsica (which later expanded to Roma and Italy when I discovered they had left themselves totaly defenceless :thumbup: ) However, my Vassals were spread across France and Iberia...so it would take time to marshal them. The only thing that could slow the Italian Giant was conquest. They had split up to retake the three vassals I had taken during the respite, and Bourbon (After they had finished chewing up my army at Limousin, which I hadn't conquered.) My troops mostly arrived at Angouleme, a few I sent to destroy the Italian rear guard at Bourges and Toulous, which effectively destroyed the few divisions the second battle of Limousin had damaged. Finally, with Corsica just taken, I charged into Limousin...My 70,000 remaining troops(Fighting Germany and Rearguard) against their 50,000(They did get some reinforcement before I decided to try rear guard attacks.) Though it seemed I was sure to win, it wasn't that simple. They now had a 7 martial point lead, and some of my vassals had less than 100 morale. So I applied Intrigue...Four of their commanders dead, and their marshal, their army soon began failing. (My reputation was naturally in tatters by this point, so I peaced out to Germany, giving them back all of my conquests, which brought me back to -3.4) Then, quite unexpectently, their King died in the glory of battle. For once it was not Intrigue that killed him, I had considered it, but he had several heirs, two of which were better than he was, and the rest of a similar callibre...so it wasn't cost effective. Yet, in the year before his death he had got married and had a son, who now inherited the whole Kingdom. Again, my heart lept. Then, my heart lept again, Byzantia had disintergrated. After almost 3 centuries of security and growth, Turkey collapsed, leaving Byzantia with only the northern Empire...I checked the figures...I controlled 380,000 manpower...Italy(I checked after I peaced out) a mere 55,000...Byzantina 53,000. I checked some more figures...Germany-39,000. Sweden-59,000. Rus-119,000. I had achieved the Land Equivilant of Britain's naval rule. Twice the next two most powerful nations, combined. There are only three things to watch out for... A resurgent power...Can't see it happening, but its possible. The threat from within...The greatest threat I face is from my Vassals. I only control about 50,000 troops directly, meaning 330,000 belong to them... The other threat from within...The intangible and unprotectable threat...The next generation. Both Italy and Byzantia both found themselves with zero year old heirs, and without diplomacy or intrigue were forced to give up their empires...Its a threat that I can't stop in any meaningful way :ohnoes: But anyway, with 71 more years to go I am hoping to take control of the rest of France, maybe expand onto England...I want to stay away from Germany and Sweden...and Byzantia, since they will buffer me from the Golden Hoards of EU3. :thumbup:

Can't stand the original, but I like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eBnlAfvbqE Has to be included in any list of truely awesome music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QyQ9PsOj6A&feature=related Haven't listened to in ages, but love it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KByla_uGhro And more upbeatery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JevHe85-Bg

Actually, I am playing Crusader Kings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusader_Kings_(video_game) Which converts into EU2 or EU3 Which then converts into Victoria Revolutions Which then converts into Hearts of Iron 2 Thus covering 1066-1953. Only mod I am using is the Muslim/Pagan playability mod. Thus far.

The year, 1318. The place Europe. The empire...Morocco :thumbsup: Yup, playing through an Epic Campaign from 1066 to 1953. Thus far we have seen the twice rise of the Kingdom of Germany, each time ripped apart by a succession of really diplomatically challanged Kings(Meaning their Vassals went mad and attacked them). The Kingdom of Sicily, once controlling all of Italy, has now been reduced to controlling the tip of Italy, and is Muslim.(Huzzah for Intrigue events). The Kingdom of Brugandy, take one, looks like it might take control of Europe at one point, with an empire that stretched from Bordeaux to Jersusalm. Then it collapsed into the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Brugandy, take two. The exact cause of this collapse, their King was off fighting me in Bordeaux, with superiour numbers I only had one really chance of victory...Assassination. So my agent sneaks up to their King, in the middle of the Battle, and stabs him through the eye. :thumbup: England collapsed during the Black Death, being reduced, at one point, to a single province. Scotland became increasingly powerful, but so too did the Duke of Hereford, and they kept the other in check on the Isles. Beyond the Isles Scotland was invading France, and generally checking my expansion through France. The Kingdom of France was an odd one...Shortly after the first Moroccan Conquestia the King of France died, and had no male heirs, his eldest daughter had married a right and proper member of Aragon's Court...but with them now Muslim, she had been turned as well, as had her son, and thus, France, the once bastion of Christendom, had fallen within 75 years of the Battle of Hastings. But the main event: It all started, innocently enough, when I somehow managed to score a 18 Diplomacy, 20 Martial, 17 Intrigue and 9 Stewardship King. (10 being average, 25 being the highest I have seen), along with that I had a 20 Diplomat and a 20 Marshal, so my armies were effectively capable of taking on most everything and anything. I pulled together as many troops as I could and steamrolled across Western Africa, with the whole area under my control within 8 years. With my sizable pool of troops I pushed North, slapping aside the armies of Leon, who had been destroying my empire only 12 years prior, and within another five years I had control of Southen Spain(the Muslims were doing a really bad job of defending it), had allied with the Emir of Badajoz(The only one with half a decent army), and married myself into their royal family(and carefully assassinated their one son so my son would become heir, when I had him). I spent another two years dealing with a minor rebellion in Alger, before redeclaring war on Leon, and charging ahead. As I got further up my armies were getting less and less effective...Aragon and Castile added their weight to Leon and stopped me advancing much, and Badajoz proved little help as they would peace out the moment Leon got close to them. So four years scrabbling about, managed to divorce a handful of provinces from Castile, and even managed to take control of most of Aragon...It was about this point I worked out that this game had a reputation system, and I was way up on it, so much so that my Vassals were getting mad with me every few months, and I was constantly using one to fight the other. I realised that my time was running out fast...I had maybe two years to finish the Conquestia...and then my country would boil over...I checked my children. A daughter and a son...It was enough. I assassinated the Emir of Badajoz on the third attempt, my money pool now rather depleted, and then my own son on the first attempt, resulting in my gaining the Emir of Badajoz, and their armies. The men of Badajoz soon joined the men of Morocco and its Vassals in the bloodbath to take Leon and Castile-Aragon having fallen shorting after the assassinations. The Emirs of Alger and Tangeries proved to be my biggest threat after that, as they revolted at near the same time. It was only by abandoning several provinces in Leon and Castile that I got the troops together to defeat them and put them back under my control...This would later come back to bite me in the backside. With the revolts getting faster I abandoned all attempts to Vassalise my way out of it (Vassaling doesn't damage your rep, while confiscating provinces does), and seized the 12 provinces that make up Morocco from my various vassals. This, of course, made the remaining Vassals even more rebellious, and I had reached my Intrigue limit, so now each province I took for myself subtracted 10% of my income, down to 0, so I couldn't confiscate my way out of it either. While I fought the peasents in Africa, my forces in Iberia got the drop on Castile, and with a great deal of satisfaction, I vassalised them, created the title 'King of Castile' and lumped it together with my other titles. Leon, however...the proverbial thorn in the side...had taken the opportunity to nab more provinces, and now was able to declare itself 'King of Leon' so no vassalisation ability...I would have to take every last province...There was...0 hope of me doing that. My empire was hanging by a thread. So I abandoned the idea of total victory and settled for a more creative approach. While Castile fought on, making minor victories, I began confiscating every title I could on Iberia, using my troops to force settlements, until I controlled about 2 thirds of the peninsula. Then I paused, and set about dividing my spoils into three Kingdoms(though due to a mistake on my behalf, on the second attempt*, it ended up as two Kingdoms)...in the West the Sultanate of Portugal (By this point Leon wasn't that much of an Empire, just a collection of losely defined states spread across Iberia.) and in the East the Sultanate of Aragon. With my great work as completed as it was going to get, I set about dealing with trying to salvage my reputation...When suddenly I got a 'You have surrendered message'...I was naturally rather mift at this, and quickly loaded up an autosave...Turns out my daughter had had a son, and he wasn't part of the male line, so my dynasty terminated, and the game ended. Since I had no money, and two months between the autosave and the mean time of death, I could't assassinate my grandson... Unwilling to merely give up in the first century of gameplay, I reloaded, divided up my empire, making the mistake mentioned above, deciding I really couldn't be bothered to do it again, and then handing all my provinces, bar one, over to my brother, saved and switched over to the new Empire, inheriting half a year later when my Grandnephew was savaged by a wild rabbit while on a hunting trip with me. My brother was relatively old, and his sons were fairly useless, so I went from controlling most of Iberia and Africa, to controlling three provinces, with a hoard of Vassals. That pretty much went on for the next 150 years, with me unable to actually expand my empire by any meaningful degree. During that time Leon was slowly subsumed by Portugal, until Aragon declared war and won while I was afk (Literally it started, I went to check of the food, came back and Portugal was no more.) Then Leon stubbonly hung on as the single province, the boil on the face of Islamaberia...Especially during the Bubonic Plague where it was the first to recover in the area. Then, finally, all my waiting paid off, and I got a decent level of Intrigue and Martial. I immediately set about reconquering Morocco, smashing the Emir of Tangeries and Infi (I think). From there I took the Canaries back, and then declared war on Sicily, who had conquered most of Tunisa and part of Algeria. But this wasn't a cake walk...Their Martial skill was actually similar to mine(During the Conquestia I had 10 stat points clear on all of my enemies, so I could effectively turn up with an army 2/3rds the size and win), so it took several wars to defeat them. Then, disaster, my King died, leaving his 10 year old son, with terrible Martial, and mildly acceptable Intrigue(6). So I suffered another 7 years of inactivity before getting Master Theologian, so Intrigue up the kazoo, but still terrible Martial. There also began a long line of having a Court with no decent Marshals (at one point I had a level 3...that was how bad it was). So war was definately off the table. (I think my lowest combined score was 11, compared to Sicily's 29. Anyway, I turned my attention back towards Aragon, marrying the Daughter of the King (he only had 2 daughters, fortunately.), and then waiting to inherit(Assassinations caused reputation changes, which would have upset my tenous hold on my vassals, which I couldn't afford because of my low Diplomacy and low Martial). While this was going on my Vassals would occassionally declare war on the next African province, which more often than not was Sicilian, so I would have to marshal every avaliable troop I had, costing me a boatload of cash, ready to repel the soliders, more often than not I would repel one wave, my whole army would be spent, and then they would bring in another wave, which my Vassals would usually deal with (Stupid AI 'Attack the big scary thing...We have no chance of winning, we should wait here...hey wait, we have a chance now, charge!'). Anyway, after several years of waiting my son inherited Aragon. Then it was simply a matter of waiting for my King to die, or my son to die, so I would inherit...three years later Aragon launches an attack on me, and I end up fighting them on homesoil...the Infamous Sassan (EVERY invader, not from Ireland, lands there). They won the first battle, and occupied it. I then drove them off in Battle, and began to lay seige when I got the popup saying: 'It is time to attack the Castle' Option A: Once more into the Breach My Friends (50% chance of Death) Option B: Disgression is the Better Part of Valour (25% chance of Death) Option C: Slow and steady wins the race (Gains trait coward) (There were other effects not listed here, like winning the siege early and such) Now, Coward is a fairly useful -1 Martial +1 Intrige...But I wanted my King dead, so I charged into the breach, and he died...He also won the Siege, but since my son inherited it didn't really matter. So I had Aragon under my belt, and within a few months I had recreated King of Castile(lost in the sands of time), Invaded Leon and seized their crown, and began tackling the vassals that didn't like me, replacing them with the New and Improved Emir of Tangeries, which I intended to be a keystone in my Empire(and it was, right up until it rebelled...then I replaced it with the Emir of Corbada, and some other Emirs which I can't remember right now.) Anyway, while all this had been going on the Papal States and Scotland had been smashing the Sultanate of France to peices, and they were eventually forced to take refuge in Urgell, a province in Iberia...Now...I knew what was going to happen if I didn't invade them...someone else would, and could they be trusted to use the extra two Kingdoms wisely? Probably, but I wanted them, so I position I stack next to them, then attacked, ripping away the Kingdom of Zenta and the Sheik of Urgell (I didn't have any claim on the Kingdom of France, so it just disappeared). By now I had 7 Kingdoms, more than enough to be getting on with...But then two things happened. First, a crusade was called against Burgos (A province in Iberia), so for the last 40 years I have been attacked more or less constantly by someone or another. (This sounds bad...and sometimes it is...but all the little nations declare war, freak out and pay you a year's income to peace out, so it pays for itself in many respects.) Second, I began to get better Kings and Courtiers. Fortutiously this allowed me to survive the combined onslaught of Scotland, Bohemia and Germany....and combined manpower rating of 400,000, compared to my measly 200,000. Though I lost several provinces before the fateful battle of Bordeaux, after that things started to pick up. Germany peaced out in exchange for several provinces, and then started a war with Bohemia, annexing a large chunk of territory. Realising I could nab my territory back, I sent out one, and only one, assassin (Who then became a second assassin when the first one failed) to kill their King, and pass the reins of power to his 0 year old son. Between their reputation and lack of diplomatic or intrigue based skills, their empire exploded into civil war, removing any threat it might have posed, and allowing me to take back my territories with relative ease (I say relative ease...Fighting a 20k stack in the South of France, when it costs 4 months income(for the whole of Iberia and Morroco) JUST to TRANSPORT(not pay their upkeep which is half a months income per month) 10k from my base in Morocco to the South of France, and you are 2 Martial points behind...It got hairy from time to time...but once their second 20k stack was destroyed I could dicate my terms.(Which was fortunate because my armies were totally spent)) Scotland posed a threat on and off. After Brugandy pulled out, and Germany decended into War with Bohemia, then Civil War...Scotland was the only significant threat to Aragon. The battles were long and bloody(Largely due to sea attrition on the long journey to the frontlines). At one point I was pushed out of France entirely, and Scotland began occupying parts of Iberia...well, I wasn't having that, so I blew around 5k (3-4ish years worth of income) raising all the forces I could from Morocco and shipping them across to Almeria, and then marching them across the land, finally arriving with some 35k of troops, and battered thier 28k of troops. From there on it should have been simple...But the Papal States and Germany got involved, so I ended up rasing Vassal armies to deal with Germany, while the Papal States were dealt with by my armies, and the vassals themselves. At the end of it most of South-West, South-Central and Central-West France is in my hands. With Sweden and Scotland standing between me and Brittany. The Kingdom of Italy standing between me and South/Central-Eastern France...and an ever lengthening supply chain, and exposed flanks, restricting my expansion North East. Brugandy Schismed into Italy and Brugandy. The new state of Italy controlling all of their European Vassals, while Brugandy got 1 province in the middle east. Italy was inactive for a long time, though now poses a huge threat to me. Brugandy is a laughing stock and poses no threat. The only other country of note, though I have had no dealings with them, is Byzantia, which now has the largest possible army of 400k. Mines is 280k(was 320, but lost alot of men in the wars) and Sicily trailing with 180k. To be honest, Sicily poses the largest threat to me, and could, quite easily, seize control of my gains in France...They already tried it once with a 40k stack, which totally swamped my 10k stack, and was only brought to a halt by Vassal armies...which are handy, but the vassals get all hissy about the deaths and you end up having to pay them 8 months of income to not rebel at you...and sometimes their armies are god awful.

Not a bad song, not a bad song at all. Only complaint is the distortions in it...I am the sort of person who turns to Base of -6 and the Treble to +6 simply to remove the bits where the speaker gives up and plays a flat beat or crackles feebly. Also, treble is awesome. :thumbup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz_9FrhCBnI&feature=related Exactly 1 week and 1 day since I left University...Now everything is set for the return :thumbup:

Hmmmm, try running a bitmap with dimentions 99,999 by 99,999. (Its possible in Paint, but requires you to think laterally) I mean, if your computer can't actually run Paint at max settings then your claim is like a super heavyweight of the world...who is unable to tie his own shoelaces. You might also want to try late game Rise of Mankind: A New Dawn, for Civ 4. http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=372884 Pretty sure your computer will begin struggling towards the end. Finally, Armada 2526 will probably cause slow down by turn 500, especially if you got the Steam Version. Be careful though, the memory leak means that if you have been playing for a few hours then when you try to exit your computer will lock up. PS. Master of Magic without Dosbox: http://www.abandonia.com/games/189