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11-24-2023, 01:05 PM
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Game 5736 - Full Communication - 12 Player Game - 48 Hour Turn Interval
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11-24-2023, 02:05 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-30-2023, 06:21 PM by Maximus Dominus.)
Out Of Character
Turn #8
(Continued)
Well, here I sit, post-Thanksgiving Day, pondering what turn orders to issue for the next turn, Turn #9. Player DuPont continues to maintain his Veil of Perpetual Silence, and player Pine Needle continues to miss opportunities - deliberately, by all appearances. And so, I now resign myself to the prospect of a long term war against both the Cimmerians and the Fairy Folk. Facing off against one Alamaze player who is very experienced, a lot more experienced than I am, is a daunting prospect, but two may just be a bridge too far, for sure, for certain. Nonetheless, I have resolve, if I have nothing else. I still need to break out that Fairy Folk kingdom set-up report, and give it a good going through. It's probably a magic-oriented kingdom, but that's merely a guess on my part. Experienced Alamaze players continue to retain the advantage of knowing what other kingdoms start out with. I really don't understand why this particular shortcoming for newer players has not already been addressed, as it effectively leaves newer players flying blind, compared to players who have played the game longer, and who have accessed turn results for kingdoms that newer players have not yet played or played against. But for play purposes in this particular game of Alamaze, I'll just chalk this unnecessary shortcoming of design and methodology of execution up to the fog of war. The Cimmerians are overextended. It's just a fact. Overextended, however, is not the same thing as being de facto ineffective. DuPont will wield his military groups as swords, and he will no doubt act decisively, in a military sense, as opportunities allow. he's a numbers fellow, and he knows the mechanics of the game like the back of his hand. Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that his military currently finds itself in an overextended position. But logistics in Alamaze don't work, like they do in real life, and this spares DuPont the dilemma of how to resupply his armies as real men in the real world must adhere to. DuPont is well-practices in the art of concentration of force. He's a master of picking his battles. Currently, I cannot hope to match DuPont, where first-hand Alamaze-specific expertise is concerned. At most, I can exercise the option of availing myself of the expertise of others, which can help to mitigate my shortcomings in this area, but which in truth is not the same thing as having first-hand grasp of game-specific mastery of the details. Complicating matters for me in trying to deal with Cimmerian forces operating at extended range are Fairy Folk forces - forces which, as of yet, remain largely an unknown commodity for me. Furthermore, me writing and sharing my thoughts aloud on such things in an open forum where my kingdom's enemies can read them likely places my kingdom at further disadvantage. Yet, as I take stock of my kingdom's assets and abilities, mobility is the foremost quality of the Demon Princes kingdom that comes quickly to mind. The region of Nyvaria is currently the battleground at large where this three-way conflict is playing out, but that won't last forever. Whether it lasts forever or not, though, the Demon Princes kingdom enjoys considerable mobility, regardless. So, do I press my war against the Fairy Folk, or do I turn my gaze fully upon the Cimmerians, now that the Cimmerians decided to ignite a war against a second kingdom, not being content to fight just one kingdom at a time? Clearly, the Fairy Folk have no desire or willingness to share information on their Cimmerian enemies with my kingdom. That's an interesting choice, even if, perhaps, an unwise one. I have no reason, whatsoever, to believe that the Cimmerians will suddenly cease to age war against the Fairy Folk, simply because my kingdom recently appeared as a peed bump for player DuPont. Waging war against two kingdoms prior to turn #10 locks me in as having no real chance of winning this game, as war is, in its core essence, an exercise in depletion of resources. So, since there's no realistic path of winning this game, as I begin to rapidly deplete my kingdom's assets and resources, my attention turns fully to ensuring that neither of these two enemy kingdoms can win the war, either. War doctrine dictates the necessity for flexibility. Flexibility of though, flexibility of strategy, flexibility of execution. Of the two of them, I deem the Fairy Folk kingdom to likely be the greater magical threat over the long term. Development of magical capability and depth, however, requires considerable allocation of resources - plus, it also takes time to maximize. hence, pressing the Fairy Folk on the resources front strikes me as wise. It may not work, and my execution of strategy towards this greater end may prove to be sloppy and unimaginative, but granting the Fairy Folk reprieve, even for the sake of taking the war more fully to the Cimmerians, makes little sense to me at this juncture of this multi-national conflict. Mobility allows the Demon Princes to strike, and to strike at distance. Experience in Game 5703 as the Demon Princes has helped to hone my ability to frustrate enemy initiatives, and to consolidate their gains. Eradication of regional control by the Fairy Folk will diminish the extent of their political influence, somewhat, but not to any major degree. Of the three kingdoms currently engaged in conflict in the region of Nyvarian, the Fairy Folk currently reside in the smallest box, with no less than four different population centers (one town and three villages) in this region under the control of powers openly hostile to the Fairy Folk. This constitutes a noticeable diminishment of the Fairy Folk resource base. Additionally, with only eight turns in this game having expired, the Fairy Folk are highly unlikely to have built up a substantial reserve of resources. Thus, a shortage of gold and/or food can possibly be exploited with disproportionate effect upon the Fairy Folk, particularly at this juncture of the wars in progress. Should I strike at Cimmerian-held population centers in Nyvaria? Or should I allow the Cimmerians to retain control of them, for now, simply as a mechanism to aid in the deprivation of resources inflicted upon the Fairy Folk? Currently, by all appearances according to all information known to me, the Cimmerians hold the upper hand in their war against the Fairy Folk. With each turn, the likelihood of Fairy Folk appeals for outside intervention by third parties will increase. Surprise attacks by invisible teleporting military groups will occur, and these will seek to both break my kingdom's back, as well as to distract me from my war against the Fairy Folks. In order to maximize my kingdom's prosecution of the war effort against the Cimmerians, such would require, at a bare minimum, a much great knowledge of Cimmerian population center locations. And because of Alamaze's dysfunctional game design priorities, acquisition of the Cimmerians population centers will simply take time, and in the meantime, my kingdom does not enjoy the luxury of just standing idly by, while I make arrangements to obtain a more extensive and more detailed picture of the Cimmerian population center situation. Accordingly, this current void of such basic information on the Cimmerian kingdom urges, on its own, an increase in focus upon Fairy Folk assets.
11-27-2023, 03:27 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-30-2023, 06:21 PM by Maximus Dominus.)
Out Of Character
Turn #10
(As seen through the eyes of the Demon Princes player)
I was gonna post after I received Turn #9's results for this game, but I just never managed to get around to doing it. So, here are a few brief thoughts from the Demon Princes' realm, in the aftermath of Turn #10's results getting processed. On my turn report for Turn #9, this message appeared: The people of Lankhmar (Area QW) have rebelled against our rulership! They have joined the Fairy Folk kingdom. It is believed their Baron Quilla Nasr was behind the uprising. So, since I had forgotten to issue an attack order for that population center for Turn #9 (I tried to attack a Cimmerian group that was there, instead, which I didn't know any details about - that attack ended up failing, due tot hat Cimemrian group being a patrol, but it just slipped my mind to issue the attack order for the village, also for that turn). Since I decided to make up for that mistake on turn #10, it dawned on me to try and go ahead and implement a standing order to execute all prisoners that are not allies of my kingdom. I felt that my pending attack on that village might end up snagging that Fairy Folk interloper - and it did, and it might make Wookie Panz proud to know that I was able to capture and execute this Fairy Folk baron in the same turn. A tip from Dan in another game (Game #5705 - my Warlock game) laid the groundwork for this successful elimination of a Fairy Folk political emissary. Not a major victory, certainly, but a nice little feather in my cap, just for thinking about it, and then succeeding in pulling it off. I had a Demon Prince to get captured by DuPont's hairy Cimmerians, on Turn #9. That was due to a combination of a lack of timely intelligence on Cimmerian military group locations and just bad timing on that Demon Prince's part in showing up at what was a Fairy Folk village located in area MT called Tors Ridge. That particular Demon Prince was captured during Cimmerian military conquest of that village. Now, what was it that the Fairy Folk player had posted earlier? (11-08-2023, 10:07 PM)Pine Needle Wrote: FF-CI Clearly, that failed attempt at an overture fell on deaf Cimmerian ears, and DuPont has sent his mountain heathen marching across the region of Nyvaria bent on blood and conquest. The Fairy Folk player, the esteemed Pine Needle, is under increasing pressure, but he's likely holed up and biding his time, as he plots revenge upon both the Cimmerians and the Demon Princes, even as his failure to communicate effectively has bought his kingdom no reprieve. Perhaps he is engaged in a frenzy of diplomatic activity in the player-to-player plane of existence. If he had simply left my population center that started the game in Nyvaria alone, then no forces of the Demon Princes kingdom would even have entered his realm, by now. But he couldn't just leave well enough alone, and now I find my own kingdom mired in a war in Nyvaria against not just one kingdom, but two kingdom. Pah! Turn #10 brings word that my Demon Prince is free of his incarceration, the Fairy Folk Baron has been summarily executed, and the Lizards have decided to take a spy peek at my population center that started the game under my control in the region of Mythgar. It was my understanding that the Lizard kingdom and my kingdom had reached an agreement on our starting population centers, in a bid to ensure that peace would reign between our two kingdoms. Was this gambit merely an exercise in curiosity, or is it a prelude to something bigger? Hopefully the former, and not the latter. But players sometimes choose to do things that, in hindsight, might or might not turn out to be wise decisions. Generally speaking, I tend to extend the benefit of the doubt unto players, save where I am convinced that they are up to something that is detrimental to my kingdom's interests. I do know from first-hand experience, though, that Alamaze is frequently a fairly quiet and boring place, and players can go stir crazy from just sitting around being bored and basking in an excess of quiet. Fortunately, my Demon Princes have unlimited distance via their Demonic Gates, so shifting a great distance on a dime is something that these particular characters are geared towards. Truly, the Demon Prince characters constitute a Rapid Response Force, so shifting their activity across regions - or even across the entire map - is an option that is quick and easy to exercise. If the Lizards are going to spy on my kingdom, though, then they establish precedent for me to act in like manner. I have left the Lizard kingdom be, so it is a bit puzzling why they are dispatching a raven familiar to see what resides at my kingdom's population center located in Mythgar. Let the wise take heed! We captured the Fairy Folk Baron named Quilla Nasr at Lankhmar (Area QW) and sent the prisoner to our capital! We executed the Fairy Folk prisoner Baron Quilla Nasr as ordered, sire. The Lizard Men kingdom has sent a raven familiar to one of our population centers. In other news, three villages in the region of Nyvaria came under the sway of the Demon Princes kingdom, this turn. But will even this persuade the Fair Folk player to cease his addiction to the retelling of fables, and pursue a more serious approach to bringing his war against my kingdom to an end? More population centers in the region of Nyvaria now stand revealed to me. There are but 15 areas in Nyvaria that continue to evade my gaze, and no less than nine of that region's population centers now reside in the Demon Princes' database of knowledge. Should I now begin the systematic and methodical search in earnest for the Fairy Folk's hidden capital? Why put both of our kingdoms through such a tedium undertaking so unnecessarily? I am prepared to dictate generous terms of surrender to the Fairy Folk, but for now, Pine Needle appears content to continue gnawing on his Bone of Silence. Of the three Fairy Folk villages that fell before the Demon Princes, this turn, one was by way of military conquest, and the other two changed hands by way of political usurpations. Currently, there are four villages located in the region of Nyvaria that are presently under the Demon Princes kingdom's control. Is this not a sufficient amount, to bring Pine Needle to the negotiating table? It is within my power to grant relief from my kingdom's onslaught of Demon Princes and military forces. The mercy of Hell is considerable, myths and fables to the contrary notwithstanding. And unlike the deliberately-mute DuPont, it should be plainly obvious by now, even to a fairy, that Hell values reliable communication. I do not have to maintain unbroken control of population centers in the region of Nyvaria to put the economic squeeze upon the Fairy Folk. But will reason prevail with Pine Needle, the King of the Fairies?
11-28-2023, 07:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-30-2023, 06:21 PM by Maximus Dominus.)
Out Of Character
Turn #11
(As seen through the eyes of the Demon Princes player)
Clearly, the Fairy Folk player has not been receptive to any of my numerous overtures in these spiels that I've been posting in this discussion thread for the game, for he has now taken the step of publicly proclaiming my Demon Princes kingdom to be a formal enemy. Tsk. . .tsk. . .tsk. . . Enemy/Ally The Fairy Folk Queen has declared the Demon Princes King a sworn enemy! They never quite learn, do they? While he has dawdled, though, his kingdom's standing in Alamaze has diminished, somewhat, as he's now lost control of the region of Nyvaria. Nyvaria Is now uncontrolled. How unfortunate. And to think, Hell was prepared to offer generous terms of surrender. But pride is a most terrible thing, and pride goeth before destruction. For there is no worse enemy than one's own self. I could have made Pine Needle a vassal, and his kingdom of fairies could have lived happily ever after. If only he had just left my population center alone, to begin with. Tell me, what good has come from it? Rash fairy kings are always a blight on their own kingdom's future. Pine Needle, of course, will want to prove me wrong. For some, the "answer" to pride that has led them to the brink of destruction is vengeance, but that's only going to open the wounds even wider. Perhaps this Fairy Folk player has blinded himself to the wondrous possibilities that the status of vassal to the Demon Princes could afford. Not to be outdone, it seems, the devious DuPont is engaged in antics of his own. Immortal The Cimmerians kingdom has used an artifact to scry one of our population centers (Area NS). Nothing quite like squandering the element of surprise. Both the 2CI and 4CI groups have gathered in area HW of Nyvaria, at the lonely village of Jagged Quartz. I wonder if they're up to no good? How much do you want to bet that at least one of those two Cimmerian groups are going to soon sweep down from their mountain perch onto that Fairy Folk town located in area KV, the one called Grand Prarie? Should it be spelled Grand Prairie, though? DuPont, of course, is not one to be lightly trifled with, something that Pine Needle no doubt aspires to. But such vanities are neither here nor there for me, for I must strive to stay focused, even with the Fairy Folk kingdom (or should that be queendom?) collapsing all around me. I wonder what kind of economic pressure that Pine Needle is under, at present? No doubt, his wizards are likely increasing gold production at his "hidden" capital, if I had to venture a guess. As I sit here, today, trying to figure out why, exact, the Fairy Folk kingdom lost control of the region of Nyvaria, I take into consideration the following recent event: Battle Peasants revealed to our officials that the 1st Fairy Folk and the 1st Cimmerians fought a battle that the Fairy Folk prevailed in Nyvaria. I wonder where that battle took place at? But to Pine Needle's good credit, his forces prevailed in a military contest of arms against the dread DuPont's hardy Cimmerians. That's quite a feat, wouldn't you say? I certainly would. But if the Fairy Folk won this battle, why did they lose control of Nyvaria? But, wait! Something else happened in the region of Nyvaria, this turn, didn't it? Ah, yes, how could I forget? Silly me! A Demon Princes army group seized control of the village of Longleaf Market in area PU of Nyvaria. Who would have guessed that the Fairy Folk's control over an entire region was so tenuous? How very fortuitous for me, huh? No doubt, revenge is in the works, but what does a player such as I care about such trivial matters as revenge? After all, I'm not playing to win. Rather, I'm playing to keep some others from winning - which from all appearances, I am already well on my way to accomplishing. DuPont is behind schedule, because he's a player that loves to stay focused. You can set your watch by the precision with which he conducts his military campaigns, no matter which kingdom that he is playing. And poor Pine Needle, what hope does he even have of winning, what with no less than eleven turns having already been pissed into the wind? Currently, I'm locked into two wars, neither of which I actually sought. But life is hard, and life is not fair, especially if you hail from Hell. Having regained control of the village, Longleaf Market, I have commanded my army group that was dispatched there for that express purpose to withdraw from, Nyvaria, as a gesture to the Fairy Folk of my honorable intentions. That was before Pine Needle openly proclaimed my kingdom to be an enemy. For the price of a mere two villages, which were spoils of a just war, after the greedy fairy king dispatched that political emissary to engage in the brazen theft of my starting village in area NS, Neptune (the same one that the Cimmerians were busy spying on, this turn), the Fairy King could have been granted immediate reprieve from all Demon Princes and their minions, and I would have been kind enough to help him to purge his region of Nyvaria of the Cimmerian scourge. Instead, though, Pine Needle felt that the preferable course of action for his kingdom to pursue would be a full blown formal declaration of war. I never cease to be amazed at the paths that well-versed Alamaze players choose to take. While the Fairy King continues his game of pissing in the wind and accomplishing nothing for his kingdom's future, DuPont's mountain men Cimmerians are growing stronger, no doubt aided in this by their multiple conquests in Nyvaria against Pine Needle's Fairy Folk. Why DuPont ever saw fit to attack a population center under my control to begin with, Heaven only knows, because Hell hasn't a clue. DuPont and his minions need to just stay in the North. If he wants to partition Nyvaria, I might be receptive to that. Clearly, Pine Needle has already embraced a partition of Nyvaria, though I really don't understand why - though I could certainly name a few likely candidates. Greed. Pride. Foolishness. Need I go on? The truth be told, I was content to just linger in The Untamed Lands. I wanted to do a little artifact hunting, and try to lay a good foundation for my kingdom's prosperity. But no, Pine Needle just couldn't see letting that happen. He had to meddle. He had to poke his nose into my village. It wasn't his village, just like Nyvaria is now not his region. But because I am still a relatively inexperienced player, and because he has grown set in at last some of his ways, he felt entitled to that village. All of the other villages scattered across the map, but he had to have that particular one. Silly fairies! But do you think, even after all this, that he's learned his lesson? Nope! From the looks of things, he definitely has not. But if I formally declare his kingdom an enemy, won't that have the net effect of increasing his score in the victory rankings? October 3rd, 2023 remains the last time that DuPont chose to log into this forum. So, he's likely not even read anything that I've posted in this thread, to date. But if he is lurking about this place in a very sneaky manner, peeking at what all is going on, here, on the sly, then he really might want to pack his armies up, and march them back North. On the one hand, I don't really care where his groups wander to in Nyvaria, but on the other hand, he's already drawn first blood. His thirst for military adventurism is gonna end up getting his kingdom's ass in trouble, if he isn't careful. And so far, this game, DuPont has not been careful. If the Fairy King would learn to bide his time and leave me be, then he might just find that I could take steps to begin cleansing Nyvaria of the presence of the Northlanders. Instead, though, he fancies himself as the clever monarch of a kingdom that no longer even controls its starting region. If I am an enemy of the Fairy Kingdom, then it is only because the Fairy King, himself, has chosen to make an enemy of me. As we head into Turn #12, this game is already 25% over, bare minimum. Therefore, choose wisely! 
11-28-2023, 07:54 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-30-2023, 06:20 PM by Maximus Dominus.)
(11-28-2023, 07:12 PM)Maximus Dominus Wrote: If Maximus ever starts to play Alamaze as well as he writes the rest of us are in serious trouble!
11-28-2023, 08:11 PM
11-30-2023, 06:57 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-30-2023, 07:11 PM by Maximus Dominus.)
Out Of Character
Turn #12
(As seen through the eyes of the Demon Princes player)
What a crazy game! Turn #12, and a legendary castle goes up in the region of Darkover. Man, how does one acquire that many resources that fast by this point in the game, to be able to afford to do something of that scale? I'm guessing that's the Lycans doing that, since it's a region under their control. Of course, in fairness, they do have control of two regions, now, which underscores and reinforces their number one ranking in the score for this turn. Congratulations to Morgan Kane for this triple achievement! On the scoring end of things, my kingdom, as always, eats another slice of humble pie. But I don't really care about the score, or the game's built in ranking system. It just doesn't appeal to me. Instead, I tend to make my own priorities in games that I play, especially wargames. Thank goodness that Pine Needle, at least, is behind me in the rankings, as his misguided Fairy Folk currently languish in dead last place in the rankings at this stage of the game, weighing in at still less than one thousand points after twelve turns. He really shouldn't have messed with my village. Multiple different population centers changed hands in Nyvaria, this turn. Jagged Edge at area HW saw the Cimmerians seize control of that village from me. In area LU, the village of Chronos wasn't held very long by my kingdom, with the Fairy Folk reasserting control, there. And DuPont and his Cimmerians couldn't leave well enough alone, seizing control of it from my realm. Additionally, 1CI, an army-sized group, has marched to area PU, as it prepared to seize, once again, the village of Longleaf Market. Furthermore, 5CI has made its way to the village of Lankhmar at area QW. This is a group of unknown size. Warlord Son of Krull will be leading the Cimmerian army as it assaults Longleaf Market. Clearly, neither the Fairy Folk nor the Cimmerians stand ready to repent of their many sins. Yet, some wonder why there's so much conflict in the world. Hell remains unimpressed by the military tyranny of the Cimmerians, nor by the insanity of the Fairy Folk. Even still, I sense a stirring in the air. The winds are afire with danger! The Fairy Folk field at least two army groups, now. Certainly, these military units will be brought to bear, shortly. But not even two army groups can restore the sheer amount of time that the King of the Fairies has squandered. His latest accomplishment? His realm has lost control of the major city of Bronze Canyon, and with it, control of the region of Nyvaria. Why, again, did he mess with my village? Have I not been generous, in lighting a path out of this dark mess that he's gotten himself and his people into? Yes, my numerous attempts to extend the hand of friendship have been snubbed. What will it profit the Fairy King to gain the entire world, if he loses his soul in the process? How very little that he must think of his people, to place them squarely in the midst of a three-way war. The War of the Three Kings continues to rage! My initial plan was a very peaceful one. Yet, fools and charlatans visit war upon me and my realm. Clumsy oafs! Truly, it is a sad reflection upon my Cimmerian and Fairy Folk enemies that they have not vanquished my realm by now. Nyvaria is a cursed land. Nothing good shall come of these belligerent antics. DuPont marches his armies to and fro at considerable distance from his homeland. He fancies himself to be impervious to defeat. But I tire of this petty thuggery. If the Cimmerians truly want war with Hell, then I shall bring the flame of war into the very heart of their wretched excuse for a realm. A full twelve turns have lapsed, and where is DuPont's claim to a second realm? Has he lost his touch? His warmonging Cimmerians invaded the Fairy Folk, yet here he is, still piddling around, unable to finish them off. Is this the handiwork of a master strategist? Is this what I should be impressed by? Yea, is this what all of Alamaze should cower from? Pah!
11-30-2023, 07:00 PM
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