The Restoration of the Roman Empire in Just Over 50 Rulers - Modded Byzantium to Rome AAR (Gameplay Cancelled due to Save Breaking)

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

Update Announcement:
There will not be another post for at least a week as I'm not going to have the time to play the game as I'm focusing on watching the darts for the next week. After this, I'll be absent from the forums entirely for a couple of days in a few weeks as I'm attending a wedding. So it might be nearly a month before there are regular posts again.

 

[Lord Durham]

On January 1st 969, Nikephoros II suffered a near-fatal stroke, but the job was finished by the Assassin, who entered the chambers and smothered him with his shirt.

What, no dagger?

Enjoy the darts.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

What, no dagger?

Had to change it up a bit.

 

[Nikolai]

Update Announcement:
There will not be another post for at least a week as I'm not going to have the time to play the game as I'm focusing on watching the darts for the next week. After this, I'll be absent from the forums entirely for a couple of days in a few weeks as I'm attending a wedding. So it might be nearly a month before there are regular posts again.

Enjoy your stay! I'm almost absent from the forums myself lately, only checking it from my phone now and then and not writing on my AAR, as I have taken a PC hiatus for a few days.

 

[HistoryDude]

Alexandros had such a short reign. How many "impure" people did he kill?

Will Romanos be most remembered for his conquest of Jerusalem? Was Baghdad renamed?

At least Stephanos did something with his short reign. How much of Italy does he control, and how much belongs to Germania (and are Germania's rulers claiming to be Holy Roman Emperors like liars)?

Why was Konstantios VII beatified? What were his saintly deeds? Not involving the ERE in a war?

Is that a hint of the Jin emerging in China that I see?

Who is the new assassin? What did he think of Nikephoros's quick assassination of Romanos?

Will the world be conquered within the titular fifty rulers, or will you give yourself more time (and people) to subjugate the Known World?

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

Alexandros had such a short reign. How many "impure" people did he kill?

Not exactly sure, probably just a few.

Will Romanos be most remembered for his conquest of Jerusalem? Was Baghdad renamed?

I think Romanos will be most remembered for being a saint. Baghdad the county wasn't renamed, but the Duchy was renamed to Asoristan.

At least Stephanos did something with his short reign. How much of Italy does he control, and how much belongs to Germania (and are Germania's rulers claiming to be Holy Roman Emperors like liars)?

The true Empire controls the de jure Kingdom of Sicily, as well as the island of Sardinia. Germania controls Piedmont and Tuscany. The rest of Italy is independent. Germania's rulers aren't claiming the title of Emperor of Rome (they never got the Kingdom of Italy, which iirc the AI needs to form the HRE).

Why was Konstantios VII beatified? What were his saintly deeds? Not involving the ERE in a war?

Similarly to Romanos, Konstantinos VII had no sins (And imo he was more deserving because he didn't have a mistress). In game, when he was canonised, the Ecumenical Patriarch said he was able to walk over water.

Is that a hint of the Jin emerging in China that I see?

No, one of the mods has China's historical dynasties, but the aftermath of Civil Wars are randomised. (The Liao weren't Jurchens, right?)

Who is the new assassin? What did he think of Nikephoros's quick assassination of Romanos?

Can't say yet, but he's a descendant of Romanos I. He was the guy that abducted Romanos II.

Will the world be conquered within the titular fifty rulers, or will you give yourself more time (and people) to subjugate the Known World?

Definitely, if the Child of Destiny thing works as I remember it, Basileios is going to end up conquering Africa and Asia (and Eastern Europe). If I wasn't roleplaying, I could've conquered the world already.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

969:
Ioannes became the new Regent for young Basileios. He decided to invade a small Emirate in Arabia. The war was quickly over. Ioannes' wife died, he decided to remarry immediately, marrying his widowed step-mother, which made him Basileios' second step-father.

970:
A Turkic warlord named Seljuk attacked the Empire attempting to conquer Merv. Ioannes sent a relative to Merv to crush the invader. Seljuk was defeated, 'recruited' and betrothed to a sister of Basileios.

971:
Basileios became renowned for his strategic mind as he came of age. His cousins, the sons of the daughters of Konstantinos VII, were sent one-by-one to govern provinces stretching from Benevento to Kabul.

972:
Basileios had a short affair with a Catholic widow, but she died mysteriously.

973:
Photios, the eldest son of Ioannes, had a son.

974:
Ioannes was informed of the existence of Hrobert the Frank, an illegitimate Frankish Catholic member of the dynasty. This strange man was plotting to kill some random Mayor.

975 + January 1st 976:
Ioannes sent more relatives to govern far-away provinces. In Constantinople, Seljuk and Princess Demetra had a daughter. Ioannes had developed depressive thoughts due to overworking himself during Seljuk's invasion. He had considered ending it all, which would hand power back to Basileios, but in the end he decided not to, as it was sinful after all. However, he wasn't going to have a choice in the end, as on January 1st 976, a shadowy figure emerged as Ioannes cried in his chambers. The figure drew his rusty dagger and slit Ioannes' throat. As Ioannes departed this world, all he could hear was the Assassin declare "We're in the endgame now"...

 

[Midnite Duke]

You would think that the leaders would hide under the covers and nurse their New Year hangover. Thanks

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

You would think that the leaders would hide under the covers and nurse their New Year hangover.

Seeing as the Assassins seem to be able to just enter the chambers, I'm not sure that would help.

 

[HistoryDude]

Given how easy all these assassinations are, one wonders why no one thought to improve the palace's security.

Was Seljuk given any land? Will we get to see Roman Seljuks in the future?

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

Given how easy all these assassinations are, one wonders why no one thought to improve the palace's security.

Was Seljuk given any land? Will we get to see Roman Seljuks in the future?

It's kind of going under the radar at the minute, but the bureaucracy is extremely corrupt. They don't care who rules, as long as they let them do their thing.

No, Seljuk is a 'recruit' and excluded from inheritance (and getting landed). However, if he has a son, he is likely to become a Strategos once he has a son of his own (my policy for landing dynasty members)

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

So now that the darts is over, I'll try to play and write as much as I can until the wedding. Just one slight problem, being the child of destiny means that Basileios has 10 base health. He definitely could make Romanos I's reign look short. Edit: Also starting with Basileios' reign I'm going to start experimenting with characters who only exist in the narrative (i.e aren't actually in the game). I think having made-up bureaucrats will help me illustrate the growing corruption in the court without straining a save that is already slowing down.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

Bad news, the save file corrupted, and I didn't keep any back-ups. So the gameplay is finished prematurely, but I might be able to continue the story, I'll post up to where the game corrupted and then if there's demand I can make up the rest of the story.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

976:
Basileios II finally ascended to the throne at the age of 20. He began preparing for a war with Carpathia.

977:
Konstantinos was declared Symbasileus, and married a distant relative.

978:
Konstantinos had a daughter named Zoe.

979:
Konstantinos had a daughter named Theodora.

980:
A border raid by a Bolghar chieftain lead to the declaration of the Great Slavic War, in which Basileios invaded the sprawling Empire of Carpathia. The war lasted nine months, and the entire empire was annexed at the end of the war. Basileios decided to start civilising the conquered lands. After the war there was 300 prisoners and Basileios executed all of them.

981:
Konstantinos' wife died while giving birth to a stillborn son. Basileios banished his great-uncle Basileios (the illegitimate son of Romanos I) to a monastery. Just before he left, he revealed that he was the mysterious new assassin, who wanted to ensure that the Empire started to reconquer former Roman territory.

982:
The castles in the conquered lands were finished. Relatives were sent away to govern the many provinces of the Empire. Ecumenical Patriarch Theophylaktos died.

983:
The Black Death returned. A new lockdown began as a result.

984:
Basileios started many affairs.

985:
Basileios was hungry so he ate rats.

986:
Basileios was still hungry and noticed a greedy courtier stealing food. He ate the courtier. The new Ecumenical Patriarch died.

987:
Basileios ate more greedy courtiers.

988:
The Black Death and the lockdown ended.

989:
Basileios planned for his next invasion.

990:
Basileios declared war on the Empire of Germania to conquer Lombardy. The Genoese sensed an opportunity and traded Corsica in return for the Byzantines letting them declare independence from Germania. In 990, all of Germania's continental territory was occupied.

991:
The war ended with the invasion of Germania's territory in Britain and Ireland. There were 500 prisoners taken in this war, who Basileios planned to execute, but the game crashed as I clicked Enforce Demands in the war, so who knows what will happen.....

 

[Lord Durham]

Bad news, the save file corrupted, and I didn't keep any back-ups. So the gameplay is finished prematurely, but I might be able to continue the story, I'll post up to where the game corrupted and then if there's demand I can make up the rest of the story.

That sounds awfully familiar. Sorry to hear about the corrupted save game. You don't have an earlier version you can use?

985:
Basileios was hungry so he ate rats.

986:
Basileios was still hungry and noticed a greedy courtier stealing food. He ate the courtier.

987
Basileios ate more greedy courtiers.

There's something oddly Monty Pythonesque about this... .

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

That sounds awfully familiar. Sorry to hear about the corrupted save game. You don't have an earlier version you can use?

No I don't, I don't keep earlier saves for any games because they take up a lot of space (large CK empires + loading every league in Football Manager) on my PC.

 

[Bullfilter]

Not even recent auto saves in the cloud? Sad if it’s ended like that.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

Not even recent auto saves in the cloud?

Don't use auto saves or the cloud.

Sad if it’s ended like that.

It's not necessarily over. I'm open to trying to finish the story using just my imagination if I feel there is enough demand. Otherwise I'll probably think of a new project to do (either a new AAR or trying to continue writing the novel I started)

 

[Lord Durham]

Otherwise I'll probably think of a new project to do (either a new AAR or trying to continue writing the novel I started)

Why not both? That's what I do. I find switching from writing to writing an AAR gives me enough of a break to revisit the prose with fresh eyes.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

Why not both?

Things could get muddled up (the main problem I have with the novel I was writing recently was that I kept getting distracted by ideas for a later novel that somewhat relies on the first one without being in the same world (the third series idea explains the -admittedly convoluted- shared universe) because the ending of the first novel introduces the antagonist of the second series (well, one of them, I've already introduced President Smith and the Archdruid in this AAR) who in each series is the author of the other one. And I couldn't go writing the second novel first because the ideas I'm getting are for the sequel. Without sequels the second series would have to cover 40+ years in one novel).