G108 - The Deeds that were Done

[Yellowbeard]

I was the Demon Prince in 108. My 3rd game since Alamaze returned.

My negotiations early on included interactions with all my neighbors.

SO - Kevin (SO) and I had just worked together in a previous game very well together and wanted to continue that. We left things open while negotiations with other kingdoms progressed, but early on agreed we'd ally again.
GI - I reached out to the GI to secure a NAP and was met with threats and demands. He would only agree to a NAP in exchange for 2 towns in Arcania. Interesting negotiating tactic (has that ever worked?). I obviously declined his offer. That did raise some red flags, which later turned into a full blow GI invasion in Arcania.
BL - Initial talks went a little south and I thought we might be butting heads, but we worked it out and shortly after formed a game long alliance which included the SO.
GN - I had just finished a very successful game with Dupont and wanted to work with him, so we were talking early. My discussions with BL and SO turned into an alliance, so I felt it was important to let Dupont know I would not be working with him. I didn't know at the time that also meant I'd be sending Demon princes to cradia a few turns later to help secure the city for the SO. (much love, Dupont!).

Things started out well, I took my region as planned on turn 3, grabbed a HC seat, and worked on getting some wizards leveled. As an alliance, the BL, SO, and I were discussing potential targets. I was pushing for Torvale (for obvious reasons) and they agreed that Torvale should be a stop, but the 2nd stop. Runnimede would be target #1. I admit there was some guilt helping against the GN early. I enjoyed working with him in the previous game, he's a very strong player, and a good guy. There were no agreements made and I let him know I'd be working with others, so I think I covered my bases with him.

The plan on the GN was being worked out when the GI decided he wanted to head south for the winter. He moved into Arcania with full force, emmissaries and groups. This is where I think the Demon prince shines, defensively. As soon as I saw the invasion, I used demonic denigration twice, dropping his reaction in Arcania 1 level BEFORE emmissary actions. I status quoed with all my emmissaries and used my 3rd demon prince to gate into towns he was taking militarily to quickly retake them. I also denigrated him with my King, stopping his political assault pretty quickly. The GI did some damage, taking towns here and there and capturing some emmissaries, but never got a foothold in the region. I kept his reaction levels low and retook PCs he grabbed militarily for a few turns. The WA jumped in and tried to grab some of Arcania, but using the same tactics, I shut him out of my region as well fairly quickly.

My allies came to the rescue with the SO and also RA putting a ton of pressure on the GI in amberland, forcing him to retreat. The BL had his hands full with the GN but also assisted against the GI/WA alliance (and I believe AN, but not sure how involved he was).

After dealing with the GI and keeping my hold on Arcania, I wanted to go on the offensive and decided Torvale was a good choice. I made my move first on Avalon (WA controlled). I needed a PC in the region to use my demon prince abilities and didn't want the AN to be tipped off. After grabbing Avalon with a couple princes and sleeps, I moved full force into Torvale, with my army group heading to Meridon and emmissaries to towns/villages. I ran into some EL and UN PCs and decided to leave them alone, focusing on AN controlled PCs only. My army group made it to Meridon, the AN capital, but I didn't feel it was strong enough to attack (skeletons are pretty terrible), so I initiated siege tactics. I gated a prince into Meridon to continue to recruit skeletons into the group in case company showed up. This is where things went south. It was labor day weekend and our turns were due on that Monday morning. The holiday weekend convinced my old, tired brain that Monday was actually Sunday and I had an extra day to get turns in, so I missed a complete turn here. I was 1 turn away from finishing the siege and grabbing the region. I have only myself to blame, but this miss may have cost me the game.

My plans were to take torvale, move into oakendell after to grab substantial to win. It took another 3 turns to grab the region, which also gave the EL time to decide he wanted a piece of Torvale as well. He wrote to me, asking if I wanted to work together against the AN and asking for my HC vote. I let him know I already had Avalon and was sieging Meridon, but we could split up the rest, and I would help him on the HC. I guess he didn't like that news because the next turn he grabbed some of my PCs, declared me enemy, the game was on. My surprise attack on Oakendell wasn't gonna happen now and I was in the middle of another fight in Torvale against the EL.

I finally took Torvale on the last turn and had moved groups and princes into Oakendell to get substantial for the win, when the SO beat me to it.

Overall a good game and I had a lot of fun.
Dupont, you are a beast! Mere mortals would have dropped much sooner. You are the definition of "Iron Willed".
Bluefile, your negotiation tactics could use some work, but you were a worthy adversary. Sorry your "allies" didn't pan out.
Kevin, we are 2-0 as a team. Love working with you.
Hohn - Great game! Some hiccups early, but we worked them out and came out on top.

[kevindusi]

First, congrats to all for a hard fought and well played game!

Second, get something to eat and drink... this ended up longer than I intended.

In 108 I played the Unseen Sorcerer, and tried my best to live up to the name. As my most "powerful" group in the game had a combat value of under 14k, this was virtually a must if I wanted to be successful.

Early on, I attempted to negotiate for the city in Synisvania from the Ranger, offering to take nothing more than the city in the region. He did not find that nearly as appealing of a deal as I did and I feared we would come to early blows. However, we eventually managed to work out an acceptable deal allowing him control of the region and substantial influence for me. I also arranged early on to work with BL (HeadHoncho) and DE (Yellowbeard). I had worked with Yellowbeard before and knew him to be a strong player and very good to work with. HH, while unknown to me, was very communicative (a trait I highly value) and seemed a good fit for a third player in the group. The Ranger and I continued to talk, trading artifact locations and other miscellaneous info.

I spent the opening turns attempting to raise wizards and establish a sturdy 'base' in region 9. One of my decisions that paid for itself was setting a standing order on turn 1 to raise gold production at my capital. By game's end, the town was producing 82k gold per turn.

As both DE and BL have explained, the first expansion was to be Region 7. I was not able to contribute much to it as I had focused on raising wizards, but I was able to get an invisible group (2 brigades) to XF and enamor to friendly. There were two Gnome groups (masked) at the city at the time, but as they had no way of knowing if I was there, I was able to diplomacy the city and move my group away to safety. Combined with the Demon Prince stationing a prince there to status quo for a turn while I bought two governors, we were able to keep the Gnome from regaining the city. Heck, DuPont was even nice enough to raise gold production for me on the turn that we took it.

At the same time, the Giant had invaded Arcania. Yellowbeard was (rightfully) optimistic about his ability to play defense in the region, and HH was able to bring the Ranger into the fold to invade Amberland. In short order we had knocked the Giant out of control of the region and had reduced his political effectiveness as well. My Sorcerer groups continued to bounce around invisibly and eliminated a couple of Warlock wizards. Just after turn 12 the Giant (Bluefile2) resigned and the Warlock was not long after. One mistake that I made was using the wrong invisibility spell (845 instead of 846) and I ended up with my Sorcerer division being very visible opposite two Warlock patrols. Rather than slaying a couple more wizards prior to the Warlock dropping, I ended up running with my tail between my legs.

Around turn 15, the game went a bit sideways for me. With region 5 congested (Ranger substantial, Sorcerer significant, Underworld and Warlock holding pop centers), there were limited expansion options. Yellowbeard was up to his elbows in Ancient Ones in Torvale, HH was dancing with the Gnome in region 7, and the Ranger had jumped into the Talking Mountains to relieve the Red Dragon of his holdings there (along with help from the Witchlord). At this point, there were quite a few offers to expand into certain areas... including some that really surprised me. Rather than include myself in something that I felt was a bit too "mercenary" for my tastes, I invaded region 2. 3 invisible groups and a handful of emissaries, along with the Underworld jumping in at the same time (we landed at several of the same pop centers and that took some figuring out), the Witchlord quickly lost his region, as well as a small group with a Power-6 wizard. Harry O, I honestly didn't know the wizard was in the group.

Substantial in 2 regions and significant in a third, I needed to pick up substantial in a fourth region, so I jumped into region 3 to try to pick up the scraps while avoiding Ranger holdings. The final piece of the puzzle for my SVC was a wizard artifact. I had been attempting to divine one for several turns (with multiple priestesses) and finally had a bit of luck. I discovered that the Gnome held the Ring of Spells and the Orb was still in the open (and in Amberland!). On turn 20, I moved a group to the Orb, began discussions with the Gnome to see what it would take to get the Ring from him (to which he at first responded with "Give me back my city!"), and moved groups and emissaries to what I hoped was enough of regions 3 and 5 to get substantial in both.

Turn 21 saw me taking a single village in Amberland along with a town in the Talking Mountains. Both, combined with my first two uses of spell 610 and a couple of 600 orders to increase census, got me just over the hump to substantial in those two regions. My attempt at the Orb sighting was successful (I ended up risking a p6 via 139 and used 101 with a p9), which turns out to be a good thing as I'm told the Gnome had the Ring stolen. Had my victory check not gone through, I would not have been able to hold on to enough of region 2 or 3 on turn 22 to try again. The WI was back (with a vengeance!) at GI and had moved on several locations in the Mists, and the Talking Mountains were just a mess.

In retrospect, it was a very informative game. There were definitely some things that I was not a big fan of that took place: attacking the Giant (he's a buddy of mine in the real world - going to his wedding in a few weeks and he's going to mine - but I had told him immediately that I'd help defend 8 if he did not withdraw), some thoughts thrown out about attacking certain kingdoms (if your curious, ask, but I don't feel it is necessary to leave that in the public forum), and, ultimately, my desperation to get a wizard artifact. HH has stated for all that he did not like that I did not check with him first before the action and, while I see his point to a certain degree, simply put I did not feel there was any substantial risk to his position. And, as it turns out, there was no impact as the game ended. Hopefully that does not change anyone's opinion of me, but if it does... it does. As the last piece to a very complicated puzzle, I did what I could to minimize risks.

On to nominations, which I mentioned before but Ry Vor would like some expansion on:
Iron Willed - I agree with Yellowbeard in stating that the Gnome position, played by DuPont, deserves this title. Stripped of the majority of his holdings, having his military reduced (nice work, HH!) to virtually nil, and then being rendered politically ineffective... and then staying in for over 10 more turns just to fight it out?? That's the definition of Iron Willed.
Chancellor - Both Yellowbeard and HeadHoncho go above and beyond in working with new players. I've seen this both in-game as well as via email and on the forums. I do not have any in-game examples from 108, but I feel their efforts should be noted regardless.
Infamous - Lord Moontree of the Ranger, with his long-winded stories about his sister's second-cousin's father's family heirloom that was lost somewhere in Almaren, thus REQUIRING his kingdom to take it (I'm paraphrasing, but that's about how it went) had me rolling my eyes at first but soon came to be appreciated. We ended up in a mad scramble at the end to see who would achieve victory first and he definitely had an impact for me. I look forward to seeing what he can achieve in future games.

Again, great game to all. I look forward to seeing all of you in a future game, as both friend and foe.

[HeadHoncho]

HH has stated for all that he did not like that I did not check with him first before the action and, while I see his point to a certain degree, simply put I did not feel there was any substantial risk to his position.

First, again, great game, and many congratulations to you.

Second, to be clear, there are absolutely no hard feelings on my end about the above. This is just a game, and I totally understand your position, even if I might disagree with it on a personal level. I would still totally take you out for a meal, and still hope to do that some time. And thanks again for all of your help along the way in this game, and in other games!

Third, my views on accountability and reputation have been previously expressed strongly and clearly, and I continue to hold to them. It's for that very reason that I was inclined to make my point, specifically that you would violate the letter and spirit of an alliance for the sake of your own -- ultimately meaningless on two levels, which is what I find the most ironic on some levels -- personal benefit in the endgame.

It's a totally valid way to play the game, and again, I have no hard feelings about it at all. And I don't doubt that it has probably been an effective strategy for you in terms of your (wild, deserved) success with this game.

But forewarned is forearmed, and while I certainly wouldn't hesitate to ally with you again, I would do it with eyes open, especially as the endgame approached. That's all. Nothing personal. And again, my views on this are public and known.

Hopefully that does not change anyone's opinion of me, but if it does... it does.

And by the way, I respect you for owning up to it.

Congratulations again!

[Hile Troy]

Thank you to all for a great game. I wish I had some wonderful stories to tell like I have just read. I made too many mistakes early on to be effective, and when I was finally rolling, I had few options.

I look forward to playing with each of you again.

I would only like to nominate the Black Dragon player. He took some time early on to communicate, offer up some advice that helped me and then left me politely alone.

I will work on communication in the future.

PS. I did not receive any status point totals in my last turn results. Would someone be able to post them? I would love to know how I fared, playing quietly and collecting artifacts.

[kevindusi]

GAME END STATUS POINTS
PLACE KINGDOM PLAYER RESULTS-21 GRAND TOTAL
1 SO The Deliverer 5025 6508
2 RA Lord Moontree 4455 6226
3 EL Hile Troy 2797 4795
4 DE Yellowbeard 2784 4173
5 WI Harry O 2221 3452
6 BL HeadHoncho 1673 2927
7 RD Wynand 1338 2777
8 GN DuPont 489 1303
9 UN Helix 375 1277
10 DA The Wise One 42 672

[Ry Vor]

I have just really enjoyed the posts here and for Game 105, outstanding stuff. This is what makes all the work worthwhile. Thanks all for sharing.

[bluefile2]

I was the GI kingdom this time around, and this was by far my worst game to date. My first major pooch screw/learning lesson was a reminder that income from selling fleets comes aaaaaaaaafter you buy HP's. That was a disappointing turn 1, thinking that a horde of my initial momentum was lost being set back an entire turn. As luck would have it, the AN said that he had divined towns in 5 and we worked out a deal where blah blah blah, i get five and help him to invade 8/DE once I had 5 on lockdown. I had agreed to share 5 with WA so it was peaceful. Dumb luck, I picked up 5 one turn before both WA and I thought it would happen and I ended up picking up both citys as WA had just 320'd HQ with his duke. Communication with both AN and WA bordered between terribad and non-existent. I did not know that WA had not enamored 5 to friendly so he had his duke incarcerated the following turn when he tried to 320 HQ again. Then there was a series of other unlucky WA moments that are not really worth mentioning, just overall not a good start for him. With 5 on lockdown, the ramp up to 8 invasion was initiated. I offered an out to DE to hand over 2 towns and we'd go somewhere else, and that didnt fly. The following turn, WA was supposed to divine towns in 8 and "accidentally" divined an artifact instead Make your own conclusion on that. At this point, with my initial deal with AN and some minimal communication with WA, it was time to jump into 8. I moved in full force with Em's and military, and I had assumed both WA and AN went with me. All the sudden Alamaze communication hit a time flux and my emails to WA and AN went unanswered.... AN missed a few turns in a row. Thinking that he had dropped on invasion turn 1, I finally heard from him 3 turns later and it was a minimal email saying "how can I help"..... Super. Another factor that didnt work in my favor is that I think WA had just had a new child born so orders were getting processed solo about an hour or so before they were due. Teamwork wasnt our strong point, invasion failed. While I was bumblefu@@ing around 8, RA decided to show his true hand and invade 5, along with 3 other kingdoms. This was special as RA was posturing to be my ally early on and we had communicated a bit. As HH mentioned previously, forewarned is forearmed. Yep. With a strong alliance against me, and my alliance being a slow motion trainwreck, I decided I would simply Burn Pc's to the ground until I could drop with honor on turn 12.

[VballMichael]

couple of 600 orders to increase census, got me just over the hump to substantial in those two regions.

above quote from a post. which 600 order increases census, or which increases best if more than one does?

[Yellowbeard]

couple of 600 orders to increase census, got me just over the hump to substantial in those two regions.

above quote from a post. which 600 order increases census, or which increases best if more than one does?

610 - Raise population Census.

It is a spell the SO gets at p4 that raises the census by 2500 permanently.

[VballMichael]

ok thanks