So...half a stack army led by your king already on their way to Corduba?

I assume that you will have an easy time conquering the whole of Iberia and North Africa, with the possible exception of Tunis. I'm more interested in where you will expand next...Britannia or France? I highly doubt you will establish a second kingdom in the Holy Lands due to distance.

The Portuguese can be forced to expand overseas, if you take Saragossa before them. Valencia is a meat grinder, don't even think of getting that yet, until AI softens it up first.

[This message has been edited by el_bandito (edited 01-26-2009 @ 08:54 PM).]

Thanks, Bandito

Basically, I'm going to learn from the other hotseat-
a) Don't attack another human (Including not moving outside your borders). Unless it's overwhelmingly in your favour (All army ogone on crusade, etc)
b) Stay in communication with humans at all time- have a go at seeing if you can't 'suggest' where to go (For instance, say 'I'm going going for Algiers' to the sicily player, who will promptly try to beat you to it)
c) Dictate terms in the alliance- not being the appeaser gives you a psychological advantage of a sort, as well as making you look mean and tough to take on
d) Never trust humans. Keep your allies busy (Crusade!)
e) Navies should be well maintained and vigilant against landings.

As it stands, I'll Valencia later. I'm going for Saragossa (Or whatever it is) first. I'm undecided as to if I should let portugal live or not- perhaps I could take Lisbon and leave them with their castle, and either protectorate or ally with military access if I can do it. Taking Bordeaux and gifting it to them looks quite feasible if I manage to protectorate them- a northern buffer against the English.

My general plan for the first stage of the game is thus, then-
Opening- Secure north spain. Make diplomatic contact with a) portugal, b) France. Move onto a) Moors b) Milan. Building in Leon should be strictly economical, Toledo focused on churches and farms

Development- Walk down to Valencia. Leon should get the next stage of barracks, then port ASAP. Toledo can start on barracks now. The southern princess should make contact with the Moors, then head through Africa to meet Swamprat's Sicilians (Marriage alliance? I don't want a Naval power that can easily reach me as an enemy). Northern Princess should get to Milan and on to the Pope- chances are Venice will see and greet me anyway.

Springboard- All forces should be concentrating now on Moorish territory. A small navy will block Gibraltar. Leon should be hitting more moneymaking stuff, Toledo a balance between farms, churches and military. The navy should now start to be developed, and northern Princess should make contact with Pope.

Via contact with the humans, I'm going to aim to a) turn England into a faction with which I have good relations (should be achievable), b) convince Venice to go east instead of France (may not need to at all), as will c) Sicily (unlikely, hence the marriage alliance). It should be fun

Sorry about my noobinesss but what is a hotseat campaign?

Heh, I used to have that Avatar on a different forum. Look after that- I nearly had it for this forum, too
Hotseat is basically a game mode introduced by Kingdoms where multiple players take it in turns to play the game. It's like normal singleplayer campaign, but you e-mail on the save if the person isn't at the same computer as you once you've finished your bit, etc.

a) Don't attack another human (Including not moving outside your borders). Unless it's overwhelmingly in your favour (All army ogone on crusade, etc)
b) Stay in communication with humans at all time- have a go at seeing if you can't 'suggest' where to go (For instance, say 'I'm going going for Algiers' to the sicily player, who will promptly try to beat you to it)
c) Dictate terms in the alliance- not being the appeaser gives you a psychological advantage of a sort, as well as making you look mean and tough to take on
d) Never trust humans. Keep your allies busy (Crusade!)
e) Navies should be well maintained and vigilant against landings.

I would also add...

f) Assume all hands are against you. If you can see the enemy and reach him within a turn, assume that he can see you and do the same.

g) Men should either be generously treated or utterly destroyed, for he will take revenge on small injures, but heavy, he cannot.(from M2:TW itself)

h) The best strategy is to let your opponent know your next move. Even better is to let your opponent know your next two moves. (my favorite strategy)

Your development ideas sound waterproof. I also applaud the decision to ally Swampy. From what I gather, he can be quite a trusted ally, though I fear the Venetians might sway him to their side.(Hunterufus is pulling out of the game though...who will replace him I wonder) Think of your available leverages to let Swampy sit on your side of the seat. In fact, contact him pronto via e-mail to get your idea crossed. Early bird gets the worm, no?

I doubt the other players will have much chance against you seeing that it is their first time but hubris is a wonderful trait for survival.

[This message has been edited by el_bandito (edited 01-26-2009 @ 00:43 AM).]

g) Men should either be generously treated or utterly destroyed, for he will take revenge on small injures, but heavy, he cannot.(from M2:TW itself)

you didn't do that to EoJ's Hungary, did you?

[This message has been edited by Boetje (edited 01-26-2009 @ 09:33 AM).]

Hotseat is basically a game mode introduced by Kingdoms where multiple players take it in turns to play the game. It's like normal singleplayer campaign, but you e-mail on the save if the person isn't at the same computer as you once you've finished your bit, etc.

So it's just a fancy name for a swap, right?

you didn't do that to EoJ's Hungary, did you?

I practice what I preach, a fact he knows all too well.

Quoted from Erzin:

So it's just a fancy name for a swap, right?

Not exactly, the players in this game are playing against each other, not playing the same faction.


To EoJ:
Good luck! In the wise words from some guy:
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

g) Men should either be generously treated or utterly destroyed, for he will take revenge on small injures, but heavy, he cannot.(from M2:TW itself)

Machiavelli is awesome. M2TW seems to love his quotes.

Not worth another picture again

Basically, I'm still heading for Z-city, or whatever. My southern princess made contact with the moors and thrashed out trade rights and map info, so now I'm around 2000 florins better off for it. My northern is still going towards france, while the army (in two parts, remember- spear militia from Leon, the rest from around Toledo with the king) will link up at their target and siege. And then hopefully I can mess around with Portugal for a bit- take out their army, and get them to be protectorates if I'm very very very lucky

Also, IIRC, I think I've got the 3rd best economy- or at least a very good one

Humbling Portugal is always a must should an opportunity presents itself. Hit them hard, the first time, and they will not recover for a long time.

By going to France, do you mean to take Bordeaux? A good move.

Great news about the economy, especially the part about ripping off the Moors, although I suspect you are skimming on the buildings again. In the long term, better production outweighs the available cash at hand, though I assume you realize it anyway.

[This message has been edited by el_bandito (edited 02-03-2009 @ 10:13 PM).]

Heh, you're right- I like to play to the profits section as 'budget'. This time I managed to lose all of 300 florins, which was made up the next turn

So, seriously, should I build, or save?

as hotseat campaigns are slow, and do not last for hundreds of turns, i'd say use the money on troops and start blitzing.

Perhaps the best way for you is a hybrid build. Construct buildings that will have immediate impact on your economy or population happiness such as mines and churches and funnel the rest of the fund on military.

Extra cash is always handy for last-minute-merc-recruitment which is great in blitzes.

Ziggy's mine. My army is caught in a crossroads- Valencia or the long trip down to Corduba? Or indeed, portugal castle? It's still in fairly good shape, and has enough spear militia to take the weight.

I'm also rather hoping to be able to take the south of France undisturbed when the time comes. Emissaries were sent to England to sort out the dividing of France- I think we've got a fair deal on both parties- while I'm hoping to use this arrangement to build up a network of contacts through which I can gain some political pressure to use when I want settlements. If I pick my friends well, keep them with plenty of non-spanish outlets to amuse themselves I should be able to call upon some favors. One faction demanding a settlement is cheeky- to have that backed up is something else.

I guess that hotseats also have a lot of real politics in them, I haven't actually played one yet myself...

Well, I'm going tough on the turks, taking a hard line in my message to them- I threatened to crusade their asses if they helped the Moors via a Jihad, and various threats that will hopefully allow the safe conduct of Crusading armies. Just in the interest of RPing, of course- they're lovely people really

The waterpipe is eastern so you have to respect them for that.

If the Gagonite have any game experience of worth, he can see right through your bluff. (I'm willing to bet he believes you though) You will need atleast 8 Papal favors (more like 9) to call a Crusade to Turkish settlements. Due to the distance between Spain and Papacy, the Jihad can be long over before you earn that amount of favor.

BTW, how exactly do you wish to split France with England? You to Take Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Marsaille, and he to take Rennes, Paris and Rheims?

PS: I do hope you sugar-coated your threat enough so he won't see you as a direct enemy. You might ask him for a favor in the future...

[This message has been edited by el_bandito (edited 02-12-2009 @ 09:22 PM).]

BTW, how exactly do you wish to split France with England? You to Take Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Marsaille, and he to take Rennes, Paris and Rheims?

Yep. It's a good deal for him, but I now have some political clout, some guaranteed settlements and one border not to worry about as much.

So, as said, I've gotten the northern rebel settlement. Portugal contacted me, and I got trade rights. They're bankrupt- wouldn't even pay 1000 florins- so I'm thinking they'll be easy meat.


Thus, I'm heading north. I looked at the stats, and had found that everyone else is ahead of me in everything except money. Seeing as I need to get my military machine off the ground, it's florins florins florins into some spear militia and mailed knights. On the boat is the princess heading north.


Good. Out of the screenshot (at the bottom), they also talk of war with Sicily, even going as far as a bribe. I must watch Italy very, very carefully.


Sicilian mob, monty python reference. Fantastic! I will of course have to watch their offer of military support- it could easily turn into nicking, but I doubt it. Remind me to gift them something if they stay true to their word.


Goody-kins. Seeing as (I assume it was them calling the crusade) Venice is heading their way, I must whip up some mistrust between the two states. The more human states I can get fighting each other, the better.


Short, to the point. However, there is confusion as to if it's from Ra or Bandito. Either way, it's good news.


Spend spend spend now. Portugal will be hard to crush the first army, but if I win then the rest should follow easily. A brothel, peasant garrison-type-thingy and road is a turn away from Leon, Toledo and Ziggy respectively. I will build a nice money-making thing in Leon, better barracks at Toledo, but the usual development at Ziggy.

On the recruitment front, spear militia will be pumped from Leon. 3 mailed knights will be completed next turn, and from there I think ships may well be the order of the day.I will also have to hire some mercenary spears for the upcoming attack on portugal. At the end of the turn I was around 8600 florins in the kitty, with a profit loss of around 2000. Which isn't bad for a spending spree, really.

Spies are great investment to take Portuguese settlements in a turn. Will you attack Lisbon or Pamplona first? Judging from your pics you have good deal of you men in northern Iberia.

Pamplona seems to be where the main military is, so I'll take that first. Lisbon's only a large town, after all.

Pamplona to surrounded. In a mighty field battle, the armies of portugal fell to the valor of the Spaniards. These people have been accused of heretical practices, and thus have been surrounded in their loathsome keep.

Pictures follow

Great. With Pamplona captured, the Portugues will be no threat to you with only militia armies.

Will you attack Lisbon right away, or level your sword against the Moors? Cordoba should be lightly defended at this point and with a help of a blockade at Gibraltar, you can easily cut off their reinforcements from Africa where they are busy attacking Timbuktu and Tunis..