THE GAHZETTE Spreading News Since 2007
Editor December ‘07 sapi Special Thanks: Art woad&fangs Tamur Crazed Rabbit Opinion/Forum Reports Kukrikhan The Backroom Sigurd Fafnesbane page 2 Reporters Gameroom GeneralHankerchief page 17 CountArach King Jan III Sobieski The Comfy Chair TinCow page 19 darkrangar KingWarman888 The Throne Room Warmaster Horus page 22 edyzmedieval Martok The Mead Hall Warmaster Horus page 23 Frederick I Barbarossa Omanes GBB TinCow GeneralHankerchief Warluster IanofSmeg16 Warmaster Horus TW ModChat - Technical makanyane page 8 Multiplayer AntiWarmanCake page 13 All images and graphics have been used with love and respect for their original owners.
All articles are the property of the author. Misc History King Jan III Sobieski page 15 (C) 2007 totalwar.org Editor’s note The big news this month is, of course, the inclusion of plenty to read there, with on the forums and in the our very first Gahzette host- the highlights of the debate backroom article. ed debate. For the next six between woad&fangs and pages, you can read the high- Crazed Rabbit followed by Of course, in addition to this lights of a debate between some insightful commen- new feature, the Gahzette two Backroom regulars tary assembled by a panel also includes the usual col- moderated by our very own of three judges (Backroom lection of forum reports, Backroom reporter, Sigurd reporter and regular Sigurd modding tips, and general Fafnesbane. Fafnesbane, Backroom mod- TW news. erator Kukrikhan, and Gah- Whether you’re at all inter- zette editor sapi). Get reading! ested in the topic - which, in this case, happened to You can also have a read of sapi be the contentious issue of the complete debate, if you handgun control in the Unit- wish, by following the link in- ed States - or not, there’s cluded in the release thread The first debate has been completed and we self defense effectively, that its practice may thank both woad&fangs and Crazed Rabbit be useful to them. For self defense that is for their participation. It was a learning not effectual is of no worth. And the best experience for all of us and I think we all way to increase the effectiveness of self enjoyed playing our parts. defense is by using tools, specifically On the panel of Judges sat: sapi, Sigurd firearms. Indeed, research has shown that Fafnesbane and KukriKhan. We thank them resisting crimes with a weapon leads to less for their contributions. injury than not resisting at all.
And of all firearms, handguns are uniquely Crazed Rabbit vs. woad&fangs on Legality suited for self defense. They are not big or of Handguns. cumbersome, come in a variety of sizes and models, and can be easier to use for some people. Perhaps most importantly, they are Opening statement by Crazed Rabbit easier to carry around. Handguns: a Tool for Self Defense For criminals strive to strike their victims “The right of self defense,” said St George when they are at their weakest. And if Tucker, Revolutionary War veteran and legal people are forbidden from carrying arms scholar, “is the first law of nature.” with them criminals will know no-one can resist them with great force in the streets of This idea was not new even in the time of a city. So handguns are necessary that Mr. Tucker. This basic concept has been people may practice this natural right in all around for thousands of years, and set forth places. Logic tells us that good people will in documents such as the English Bill of not misuse weapons, and that people who Rights and the American Constitution. This will misuse them will pay no heed to laws. right is universal, supported by leaders of Research tells us that neither the great religions; the Dalai Lama said it would proliferation of handguns in a society nor the be reasonable to shoot back at someone ability of people to carry handguns increases who is shooting at you. Pope John Paul II the crime rate. spoke of “the right to self defense” and how “‘legitimate defense can be not only a right Opening statement by woad&fangs but a grave duty for someone responsible for The best away to lower the crime rate in the another’s life, the common good of the United States is to make the possession or family or of the State’.” Restrictions on self sale of all handguns illegal. defense run against this natural right, this basic freedom. The United States has more murders per person than any country in Western Europe It is reasonable for people to desire to use or Canada. Ineffective legislation against handguns is a major component of why the the United States should be made illegal United States has such a high crime rate. In with strict punishment for people who break 2007 90 guns were owned for every 100 U.S. this law. Citizens. Canadians posses 31.5 guns for every 100 citizens. The United States has 5.9 Note: Source is Wikipedia and the sources murders every year for every 100,000 provided by Wikipedia. citizens. Canada has a murder rate of 2.01 murders for every 100,000 citizens. The Highlights from woad&fangs’ first rebuttal Canadians own one third as many guns per “This basic concept has been around for person as the U.S. and their murder rate is thousands of years […]” also one third of the U.S. Slavery has also been around for thousands While those figures show a correlation of years. Age is not always proof of wisdom. between number of guns per person and number of murders per person they fail to “Pope John Paul II spoke of ’the right to self show the disproportionate affect that defense’ and how ‘legitimate defense can be handguns have on crime. The Homicide rate not only a right but a grave duty for in the United States was in a state of rapid someone responsible for another’s life, the increase during the 1980s and into the early common good of the family or of the State’.” 1990s. While homicides involving handguns resulted almost entirely in this increase most homicides involving other murder weapons While we’re quoting famous people, Jesus actually experienced a decline in prevalence. preached non-violence. The words of Jesus With homicides involving firearms handguns should carry more weight than the words of were by far the most prevalent. In fact, 75% the Pope who is merely representing Jesus. of firearm related homicides involved a Gandhi also preached non-violence. So did handgun. This compares to 4% with rifles Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and 5% with shotguns. The rest of the percent was where the type of firearm was “And of all firearms, handguns are uniquely unknown. suited for CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES. They are not big or cumbersome, come in a variety of Like the U.S., the Swiss have a high rate of sizes and models, and can be easier to use gun ownership. In fact, all male Swiss citizens for some people. Perhaps most importantly, between the ages of 21 and 50 are issued they are easier to carry around.” fully automatic weapons and ammunition so that they may perform there annual military Fixed that paragraph for you. obligations. However, unlike the United States, the Swiss have strict laws against the Highlights from Crazed Rabbit’s first possession of handguns. Also unlike the U.S., rebuttal the Swiss have a fairly low crime rate. “[…] Ineffective legislation against handguns Handguns are used almost entirely for self is a major component of why the United defense. Unfortunately they fail miserably at States has such a high crime rate.” their one task and in fact significantly contribute to the problem which they try to This is an interesting assertion by Mr. prevent. For the betterment of the peoples woad&fangs. He seems to imply that gun the possession and/or sale of handguns in availability causes crime. However, he only exaggeration; the effects of handgun ownership by the population are real and beneficial. Using a gun in self defense is very effective, according to studies. quotes a few select statistics to show this. ( http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_ Showing the whole picture, of course, would gcdguse.html ) paint quite a different picture. The USA has ( http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_ traditionally had a higher murder rate than gcdgeff.html ) countries like Canada and Britain. But, more importantly, it has a violent crime rate that is “While we’re quoting famous people, Jesus near the lowest it’s been since the Justice preached non-violence. The words of Jesus Department first reported rates in 1973. This should carry more weight than the words of is while handgun and firearm ownership in the Pope who is merely representing Jesus the US was increasing. Homicides are around […]” the lowest rate since the 1960s USA, again with increasing handgun ownership. If anything, this suggests the very opposite; Yes, let us quote Jesus [Luke 22:36]: “Then crime decreases with more firearms. said he unto them, But now, he that hath a ( http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/13/ purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: na...=1&oref=slogin ) and he that hath no sword, let him sell his The US Center for Disease Control recently garment, and buy one.” That certainly did a study on various gun laws and found sounds like a suggestion to arm one’s self. that there was insufficient evidence to conclude a single law or combination of gun Highlights from woad&fangs’ second control laws worked to lower crime. The rebuttal claim that handguns cause crime just doesn’t “If anything, this suggests the very opposite; stand up to the facts. crime decreases with more firearms.” ( http://www.cdc.gov/mmwR/preview/ mmwrhtml/rr5214a2.htm ) That is incorrect. A closer look at the graph you provided will show a more complicated “Handguns are used almost entirely for self picture. Handgun ownership only began to defense. Unfortunately they fail miserably at have a significant increase in the 60s and their one task and in fact significantly from the early 60s until about 1973 total contribute to the problem which they try to homicide and handgun homicide rose prevent […]” accordingly. The rise in homicide from the mid 80s until the early 90s can be attributed to the rise in popularity of crack cocaine. The That is an interesting definition of failing subsequent decrease in homicide during the miserably. Multiple studies have shown 1990s can actually be explained by the there are over 2 million defensive uses of a legalization of abortion 20 years earlier. Less gun per year in the United States (far more poor and unwanted babies in the 70s means than illegal uses of guns). Clearly, the use of less violent 18-24 year olds (the statistically a gun to defend yourself is no myth or most violent age group) in the 1990s. So as you can see there are more important factors in the crime rate then the number of handguns available. Except, of course the Why do I have faith in a handgun ban? increase homicide rate during the late 60s Because countries with strict controls on the and early 70s which corresponds with the sale and possession of handguns have a boom in handgun ownership. much lower rate of crime then the United (http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/) States [...] If the control of handguns is not the reason why these countries have lower “Are you arguing that self defense is not a violent crime rates then what is? Are you natural human right?” saying that Americans are naturally more violent then these counties? […] Criminals You were attempting to back up your prefer handguns because they are easily assertion by giving it credibility through age. concealable. I was merely pointing out that old ideas aren’t always wise. I am arguing that making Handguns are used almost solely for two handguns illegal would lead to less case reasons; committing crimes and self defense where self defense was even needed. from those crimes. If we remove a criminal’s ability to commit violent crimes with a Highlights from Crazy Rabbit’s second handgun then there will be no need for self rebuttal defense with a handgun […] “[…] Handgun ownership only began to have a significant increase in the 60s and from the At the end of the day the question of early 60s until about 1973 total homicide whether or not handguns should be legal and handgun homicide rose accordingly. The depends on another question. Do handguns rise in homicide from the mid 80s until the prevent more crimes than they are involved early 90s can be attributed to the rise in in? The answer is a resounding no. popularity of crack cocaine […] Except, of [Waldinger compares a study by Gary Kleck course the increase homicide rate during the with a study of David McDowell and points late 60s and early 70s which corresponds to Kleck’s shortcomings][...] So even after with the boom in handgun ownership”. correcting for Kleck’s issues with McDowell’s study the final result is: What an interesting interpretation. So handgun ownership affects homicide levels 186 000 cases of self defense with a firearm when both are increasing, but has no effect vs. when handgun ownership increases while 892 000 cases of crimes committed with homicides fall? I suppose saying anything firearms(70% of which were handguns) else would be admitting that handguns really don’t increase crime. Why, though, do you The case for ownership of handguns is based have such faith a handgun ban will decrease almost solely off their “ability to protect”. crime? However, one can hardly say that a weapon which is involved in more than 3 times as Shortened version of woad&fangs’ closing many crimes as it prevents is effective. For statements this reason and others already stated handguns should be made illegal in United “Why, though, do you have such faith a States. handgun ban will decrease crime?” Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_vio...elf_ guns. protection http://disastercenter.com/crime/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_pol... […] Britain is a country that has had United_Kingdom increasingly severe gun control laws for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_ decades. Yet where has that got them? in_Canada There country seems to become more violent with more gun control laws passed […] Shortened version of Crazed Rabbit’s Read that again; in the years after a ban on closing statement handguns, deaths and injuries by firearms […] Over the last two decades, more and have increased by over 400%. How can you more states have allowed citizens to carry say that gun control has lead to decreased concealed handguns if they aren’t felons and violence? pass basic requirements. Proponents of gun control insisted this would lead to drastically “186 000 cases of self defense with a firearm increased violence and shootouts. But the vs. dozens of states that passed this law provide 892 000 cases of crimes committed with ample data that crime simply doesn’t firearms(70% of which were handguns)” increase when citizens can carry handguns around for protection. This is not merely a different method, but a As I’m sure you know crime rates vary across terrible methodology. How is an instance the USA. You say that a handgun ban will where a woman takes out her gun, points it decrease crime. Yet Washington DC has had at her attacker and says ‘stop or I’ll shoot’, a handgun ban for over thirty years and has and then the attacker flees so the woman throughout that time been one of the doesn’t shoot, not using a gun for self highest crime rate cities in the nation. In defense? Indeed, McDowell probably Vermont, where anyone who meets basic included crimes where criminals had a gun requirements can carry a handgun concealed but did not fire a shot. Such a decision to on themselves without any license from the reduce civilian self defense with guns but government, they have one of the lowest leave the similar criminal acts in is not a crime rates in the nation […] objective study.
Gun control proponents will insist that the […] I have outlined the numerous examples, high crime rate in cities like DC is due to studies, and arguments that show that nearby states with less restrictive laws on banning handguns will not reduce crime. My buying guns. Of course it’s illegal for a opponent’s arguments simply can not stand person to buy a handgun out of their state of up to the facts. residence. But it still makes me want to ask them; if non-restrictive gun laws in nearby “Gun control? It’s the best thing you can do states are the reason for high crime in DC, for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have then why don’t those nearby states, with nothing. If I’m a bad guy, I’m always gonna ‘loose’ gun laws, have the same rates of have a gun. Safety locks? You pull the crime? Perhaps because those states do not trigger with a lock on and I’ll pull the put limitations on the law abiding owning trigger. We’ll see who wins.” (Mobster Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, interviewed by The panel agreed that Crazed Rabbit made a Howard Blum.) better opening statement and had a sound conclusion with the evidence and references Link to the full debate: woad&fangs vs. presented. It too had some technical faults Crazed Rabbit on legality of handguns and specifically the Argumentum ad antiquitatem (appeal to tradition) in the second premise and Argumentum ad Comments by the panel of judges: verecundiam (appeal to authority) when he Opening statements use quotes by people not considered authorities on the subject of self defense. woad&fangs First premise – US has more murders than Ruling: any other country. woad&fangs did receive points addressing Second premise – US has more handguns the appeal to tradition but introduced other than any other country. irrelevant authorities to the self defense Inference – therefore many handguns = issue. He argued good but got a little carried many murders. away with his analysis of Crazed Rabbit’s Conclusion – illegal handguns would reduce graph. It actually hurt his case. CR did not crime and murders. prove his proposition, but during the debate sold his winning point; there is no cause- The panel agreed that woad&fangs made a effect to number of handguns and crime. clear but personal proposition. He is woad&fangs missed some good reluctant to give references and appeals to opportunities presented and did let Crazed our common sense. Rabbit control the debate. He should have There is however a technical fault in his pushed more on the policing issue and argument. A cum hoc ergo propter hoc (with avoided mentioning shotgun or big guns. this, therefore because of this) He tries to Crazed Rabbits proposition changed during connect the handguns with high crime rate the debate from “we need to defend and though it happen to correlate (by ourselves using hand guns” to “there are no comparing to other nations) he fails to causation between civilians owning demonstrate causation. handguns and crime committed”, which was a winning strike. Crazed Rabbit The panel of judges all agreed on the First premise – first law of nature dictates outcome of this debate and thought Crazed that we should defend ourselves. Rabbit did a better job presenting his case. In Second premise – people have defended one of the rounds woad&fangs did get better themselves for millennia points but in the end it was Crazed Rabbit Inference – We have the right to defend who got the highest total score and are ourselves when we are threatened. declared winner. Inference – We should defend ourselves in the most efficient way. Winner: Crazed Rabbit Third premise – handguns are the most efficient way of defense. Sigurd Fafnesbane Conclusion – we should use handguns as the means to defend ourselves.
Choose Your Battles Custom Battles are sometimes forgotten Location, Location, Location… by campaign based mods, but it does help The battle maps used for custom battles the mod appear more professional if some are generated from the map in the impe- thought has been given to this area. I’m not rial_campaign, barbarian_campaign and claiming to have discovered any of this infor- base folders depending on game / set-up but mation myself, it’s all available in a variety of never the provincial campaign folders. The tutorials at the Guild and TWC but I thought locations and titles of campaign map gener- it might be useful to summarise the relevant ated games are defined in custom_locations. information in one place. (Please back up txt in the data/ folder. your existing files before experimenting). If you use the original custom_locations and Not Worth The Effort? have a new map layout in the main folder In that case easiest option is to remove you may find that you are attempting to fight Custom Battles, Historic Battles or whichever a custom battle in the middle of the ocean. element you haven’t dealt with from menus. Unfortunately this is not the answer to how To do that go to either mtw2.lnt or rome. to make proper naval battles; the troops sim- lnt in your data/menu folder - add a copy to ply drown! Even BI’s swimming units can’t your mod-folder if using one and it doesn’t cope with the open sea for long. So remove already exist there. Despite the scary name all locations relating to the vanilla map if the .lnt file opens happily with a normal you’re not using it. text editor like Notepad. To remove custom battle button from the single player menu To add a custom_location in RTW purely by search down the .lnt file for. selecting a point on the campaign map, you
Fig 1. Shows the addition of a couple of farms and a small fortified house over-
Fig. 1 Fig. 2 ing view, resize it as above and save it as panel with the large faction icons, unfortu- snapshot_custom.tga and place it in the rel- nately you can still have them appearing as evant battle folder. Fig 2. Shows new custom the default faction in the selection list, if that battle image appearing on selection screen. happens you need to fiddle with the order of the factions in descr_sm_factions so that Warning: the battle editor is not a very user one of the factions you do want becomes friendly thing, it’s a little light on explana- the default (and delete map.rwm after tory information and seems to be missing an you’ve done that). undo function. To avoid losing hours of work because you accidentally do something to You can have entirely different units in cus- ground profile you can’t correct make sure tom battles from those that appear in the you make frequent saves. campaign. To stop a unit which is recruitable in the game appearing in custom battles just Once you’ve made your edited custom bat- add a comma and tle map, you can also get it to appear at that no_custom location when you have a campaign map battle, for information on that search forums to its attributes line in export_descr_unit. for “custom tiles”. txt. If you add a unit to export_descr_unit.txt but don’t add it to export_descr_buildings. Who’s Fighting Who? txt or any other method of recruitment then all the factions in its ownership line will be If your mod doesn’t use all the available fac- able to use it in custom battles but not in the tions, say you’ve got five factions re-skinned campaign. to fight the Smurf wars but the other fac- tions still think they are in the Roman era, The costs of units can also be varied for cus- or worse still have no working units, its best tom battles the following line in a units entry to remove the un-modded factions from the custom battle selection screen. It’s simple to stat_cost 1, 380, 125, 40, 60, 340 do that, just look them up in descr_sm_fac- shows a 380 cost for recruitment in cam- tions and change paign and 340 cost for recruitment for cus- custom_battle_availability yes tom battles. You may want to make later to no. That takes them off the main selection units cost more in custom battles as users 10 can access them instantly without having to Next time you fire up the editor your new_ upgrade cities to the relevant level first, that plan should appear as an option under spe- way you can encourage usage of some ear- cial pieces menu. lier units as well if a limited budget is used. Existing plans have a format like More Fun for RTW users only…. plan (this won’t work for M2TW, modders are still { trying to unravel how settlement plans work floor underlay_name.cas overlay_name. for that). cas item_name, x co-ordinate, y co-ordi- In RTW you can make your own ‘settlement nate, angle, height co-ordinate plans’ to combine objects items together to } be placed on the battle map. You can do a the underlay.cas sets the shape of the lot more with this if you have someone mak- ground under the plan and the overlay.cas ing new models and importing them into colours it. An underlay appears to be es- game, but you can also have some fun just sential though you can place objects beyond with existing items. it. The overlay is not essential and if you’re playing with existing items might be bet- To add a new plan make a copy of an existing ter removed. You can view the contents of settlement plan from RTW/data/settlement_ the existing plans by selecting and placing plans re-name it to ‘new_plan.txt’ and add it them in the battle editor. For example the to your mod_folder/data/settlement_ plans. olympia_battle.txt plan looks as shown in Add it to the list of ambient plans at the bot- fig3. By copying the text file for that, placing tom of descr_settlement_plans.txt eg: it on a smaller underlay so the edge perim- plan new_plan new_plan.txt eter heights can be varied, deleting all the also add it to descr_landscape_ambient_set- trees and large building items I made a little tlements.txt eg: walled cemetery as shown in fig4 (overleaf). ambient_settlement new_plan { type special plan new_plan st -20
}
Fig. 3
11 Fig. 4 The sharp eyed might note that having changed which underlay cas, some of the objects are floating slightly above ground level, they can be adjusted using the height co-ordinate, and that is were the hours of makanyane ‘fun’ can come in! Be warned also that if you bury an object below ground level it still casts its shadow on the ground above, Gah!
Happy modding.....
12 This month’s interview is with YellowMelon, an extremely well organized tournament a member of the BRO Clan. and being watched on Internet TV by tens of thousands of people (they told me this When did you start Total War MP and why? tournament set a record for views at around I remember purchasing MTW simply be- 50k). I haven’t even spent the money yet, cause the price tag was mislabeled on the but the experience was fantastic. shelf at Future Shop. How was I to know the game would be so awesome. What MP Dream Match would you like to see? What clan are you in? There are so many fantastic tournaments I am in the Brethren Clan, aka BRO. going on right now where there are amazing players and clans being thrown into the ring, What is your favourite TW game? but if I had to pick one match, I would say It really depends. I think MTW was my fa- using the TWWC format, it would be Team vourite SP game. I really enjoyed the simplic- Poland vs. Team Spain, in my opinion the ity of the army movements via the RISK style two strongest and most organized TW com- instead of the system implemented in RTW. munities. But after many MSN conversations with Pal- amedes, I believe the Kingdoms campaigns What do you think of the TW MP today? will top off MTW. I haven’t really played I think that it is a work in progress. There are SP since MTW, though. I played maybe 2 so many great people that play online, and months of SP in RTW but then I found my I am happy with how many people I have way into the online community and could been able to talk with, play with, and even not go back to playing AI when the best gen- feud with over the past few years. The great erals in the world are lurking about in the thing about our community is that it is small lobbies. So MTW for SP and RTW for MP. enough that you know all the major players, but at the same time you can fade into the What is your favourite TW MP moment? crowd if you want. You get into the gossip of For me it was competing in the final match the clans and the little things that are absent of the Gamespot “City Under Siege” tourna- in larger gaming communities. Just look at ment. This might not have been the most the initiative that is taken by so many people prestigious tournament among the MP com- to create activities for others. Larger gaming munity, but it certainly set a record for both communities rely on professional websites the largest cash prize a TW tournament has and funding to provide a serious level of ever seen with a $700 first place prize and a competition, whereas we have outstand- $300 second place prize. I wasn’t successful ing contributors who donate an incredible in the final match since sieges aren’t really amount of time and money to build websites my forte, but the experience of playing in and tournaments for the MP community. 13 The community can only grow providing CA may I have witnessed on several occasions. follows through with their promises of an Steps are being made, including these MP enhanced MP platform in their next title. TW forums they added for M2TW, but the bond is a great MP game, it just needs more sup- between the .ORG and MP community still port and exposure to larger gaming markets. needs some mending.
How do you like .org? Also any plans of Making a third Melon The .org is a solid place for TW enthusiasts, youtube show? though there isn’t much here for the mul- The second TWT was far less successful than tiplayer community. There are still some the first, but who knows. Inspiration always issues that need to be resolved as well as a strikes me like a bolt of lightning to the geni- willingness to welcome the MP community tals. instead of drive them away, which to my dis- AntiWarmanCake88
14 History The Wars of the Roses, written by J. R. and reign of Henry VII. Lander, was published in 1965 by G. P. Putnam’s Sons publishers. At the time of publication, Lander, a graduate of Pembroke One thing I found to be interesting is that College, was a Fellow of the Royal Historical Professor Lander does not rely solely on Society, and he was a Professor of medieval English personas; there are correspondences history at the University of Western Ontario. written by people of other nationalities, He had previously been a lecturer of history including Germans, French, and Italians. at the University of Ghana. Take, for example, the chapter entitled Edward of York and Warwick the Kingmaker. He quotes correspondences which were In this book, Professor Lander provides passed between Prospero di Camulio information compiled from primary sources and Edward, as well as letters written by from a time period which can be considered Francesco Coppini and Pietro Aliprando. an era shrouded in mystery. Lander even An Italian cleric, Dominic Mancini, wrote a shows that earlier historians have found significant amount on both Edward IV and fifteenth century England a difficult period Richard III, and Lander takes full advantage to investigate. William Nicholson, a 17th of these sources and uses them in the century historian, tried to write a history chapters on both of the aforementioned of Edward IV’s reign, but “admitted himself kings. too perplexed ‘to form a regular History out of such a vast Heap of Rubbish and Confusion [sic].’” However, although Lander The scope of The Wars of the Roses is wrote this book for the general reader, it interesting, too. Not only does the author is primarily a book of sources, in which he give the reader sufficient background on had pulled together excerpts from original the Lancasterian reign, as mentioned above, texts from the time period being discussed. but he also goes beyond the “conventional These sources include royal warrants, letters [ending] date of 1485” for the Wars of the from ambassadors, notable figures and Roses, and covers events up to the death of chroniclers, and proceedings of parliament. King Henry VII. I think this is good, because it would not give the reader the impression that the author is quitting in the middle of Lander begins with the usurpation of the a person’s tale – Henry VII was obviously a throne by Henry, Duke of Hereford, from his major player in the downfall of Richard III, cousin King Richard II, and the “vague and and to not tell the story of Henry VII, in my evasive declaration in Parliament” which hid opinion, would seem like not having a proper the weaknesses in his claim to the throne conclusion to a story. Henry Tudor did, after (such as the claim of the Mortimer family, all, unite the two warring families. having been descended from Edward III’s second son, Lionel.) After giving Henry IV and Henry V much attention, Lander moves The Wars of the Roses, I think, is a bit hard on to the central players of the Wars of to follow at times because of the frequent the Roses: namely, Henry VI, Edward IV, usage of original texts. However, this is not and their respective families. The struggle a book which is in the suspenseful mystery between Henry VI and Edward of York for genre. It is an historical account of a specific the throne is the next major section of the period of time which does something not book, followed by chapters discussing the every historical book does – it takes full reigns of Edward IV, Richard III and the rise advantage of the original texts which are 15 out there and provides to the reader major legend and rumour [sic], mingled with, and excerpts of these sources. While the author all too often taken for, fact.” Because of the fully admits to updating the spelling of increase of popular histories in recent years, certain words, the grammar and context of and sometimes the difficulty to obtain access the original texts are still intact. Professor to original sources, I think most students of Lander seems to have written this book out history would find this book to be interesting of dissatisfaction in the quality of histories and extremely useful in their research. previously written on this subject. As he puts it, those narratives are “a patchwork of
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, His Basic In 1656, he was the King of Hungary and Life: King of Bohemia in 1657.King of Croatia in 1658 and when his father died, he took over Leopold I, was the younger brother of Fern- the EMpire in 1658 also. He was almost linad IV of Hungary and Mariania of Austria. stoped in taking the throne, but won the He was going to be a Priest/Monk,but when election. his elder brother died of smallpox, he be- caome the heir to the Throne! He had to deal with Wars in early on in his Reign. He never fought in battles personally, Leopold was physically unprepossessing. but he directed wars alot and was not afraid Short and sickly, he had inherited the the to do so. “Habsburg Lip”, and it was even more un- usual then his precessors. Next Article: His Early-Mid Reign
King Jan III Sobieski AntiWarmanCake88
16 A Case for the Gameroom - 1,001 Examples other place on the .Org can claim the of its Greatness same. Seriously, it’s actually mandated that this is so in the Official .Org Moderator’s The .Org is truly a wonderous place. People Handbook. Rule 13:4-B or something. All can get together, discuss Total War, move Gameroom moderators must submit their on to other life issues, and make very good avatar to the Custom Avatar Committee to friends. The place has a niche for everybody, determine if it is scary-looking enough for whether it be singleplayer for the most moderation. recent game, multiplayer for a game that is watching its initial price cut disappear into 3. It’s a way to test your skills against fellow the rearview mirror, or a modification for a humans without having to risk getting game somewhere in between. To top it off, crushed in Total War multiplayer. Some of there is also a superb Total War roleplay the games really play with your mind. forum that I am honored to be a part of (the Throne Room), a forum to discuss 4. You can get points if people can’t find your other various video games (the Arena), house. one for the finer, funner things in life (the Frontroom), the nastier, noisier things (the 5. It’s a good bonding experience. Nothing Backroom), and, the greatest of them all: gets people to make friends faster on the The Gameroom. internet than putting them on the same team with the odds ridiculously against It would be nearly impossible to list them. everything that makes the Gameroom so great, but sapi, Editor of the Gahzette and 6. It’s a form of stress relief. A lot of games a participant in the Gameroom’s madness, currently offered include picking strange fully agrees with me and believes that this manners of death for other players. Plus, you important task should be completed. He can get good laughs out of it later on. has agreed to give me as much space as is necessary but asked me to limit the amount 7. On no other place on the .Org will you of examples, for bandwidth purposes, find such random quotes like “Too bad a to 1,001. With that in mind, I began the number of them turned out to be nutjobs arduous process of narrowing down the who liked dancing in the moonbeams”, “Ask infinite reasons to 1,001. Enjoy! me about my vow of silence”, “I also back up his clams, but that’s a different story”, “Don’t 1. It’s ridiculously addictive. I’ve had several speak in tongues! It makes our character people say that they spend more time in the seem suspicious”, and “You argue like you Gameroom now than actually playing Total think you’re Sherlock Holmes, but you War. Impressive. actually read like Elmer Fudd.” (big thanks to kamikhaan, Northnovas, pevergreen, 2. Both of the moderators in the forum’s woad&fangs, and Killfr3nzy for the quotes) history have scary-looking avatars. No 17 8. I’ve actually heard about people joining 11. If you stick around long enough, you get the .Org strictly for the Gameroom. Now people to psychoanalyze your posting style that’s pretty cool. and you get to build a legacy for yourself. Doesn’t that sound fun? 9. Eventually, though, a lot of those people meandered on over to the other sections of 12. You can’t keep yourself away from the the site and contributed there, too, adding Gameroom long enough to write the 989 to the betterment of the community as a other reasons why it’s so great. whole. Remember where it all started, baby.
10. We’re nice. We don’t even pester the GeneralHankerchief Lords of the Frontroom to move their only game over to us.
18 Byzantines, Turks, and Egyptians alone. Already he has suffered a strategic, if not tactical, defeat against a Byzantine cavalry army and as a result Antioch appears to be doomed.
In Swabia, Civil War, not foreign invasions, has been the main concern of the Electors. Duke Hans struggled to contain two rebellions against his authority: Wolfgang Hummel in the north and Dietrich von Dassel in the south. The former, operating out of Caen, soon seized control of the wealthy city Welcome to The Comfy Chair! This is where of Bruges. He was brought to battle at the you’ll find all the latest news regarding the Flemish Crossroads by the loyalist Athalwolf Throne Room, the best forum you’ve never von Salza. After an indecisive start, an all out read! attack by Wolfgang’s men destroyed the loyalist infantry and forced Athalwolf to flee Latest Events in Currently Active PBMs: the field. In the south, Dietrich von Dassel, with a large force of Bavarian soldiers King of the Romans (KOTR) (M2TW) supplied by Duke Lothar Steffen, assaulted and captured the loyalist city of Bern. Soon The second phase of the ‘Cataclysm’ period afterwards, he was enveloped and besieged continued throughout all of November. In by Duke Hans himself. The missing Jan von Outremer, the combined efforts of Kaiser Hamburg appeared around this time and put Elberhard, King Jan von Hamburg, Matthias out a call to arms to all Catholics to take up Steffen, and Dieter von Kassel succeeded in arms against Dietrich von Dassel, one of the holding back the Byzantines, though often foremost Lutheran generals in the Reich. only by the skin of their teeth. As time wore on though, the worsening crisis in the Reich This caused the terrible War of Reformation forced even the far-off Crusaders to to begin. In every province, Lutherans and intervene in domestic affairs. In 1326, Jan Catholics began slaughtering each other, von Hamburg abandoned his army and his resulting in great loss of life, the destruction title as King of Outremer and sailed for the of many important structures, and a vast Reich, alone. This departure was followed decrease in desperately needed income. All soon after by the decision of Kaiser of this warfare was concentrated around Elberhard to evacuate all Imperial forces Bern itself, where in 1330 four armies met in from Outremer and return to the Reich to a decisive battle. After the dust cleared, it restore order. It took several years to was a Pyrrhic loyalist victory. Dietrich von construct a fleet large enough to achieve Dassel, Jan von Hamburg, and Duke Hans this, but by 1332, it was ready to sail. Having were all killed, leaving the loyalists in control since handed over Aleppo and Damascus to of the city but leaderless. Wolfgang Hummel the English, the Kaiser departed with young had not been idle during this time, and had Dieter von Kassel in tow. However, Matthias taken Antwerp as the newest part of his Steffen refused to leave, along with the true pseudo-Duchy. He took advantage of the religious zealots in the armies of Outremer. chaos in the aftermath of Bern to march He is now the only Elector left in Outremer, south and seize the loyalist citadel of King by default, and faces the might of the Staufen. There he sits, surrounded by the 19 loyalist survivors of Bern, who are the present time, he appears to have commanded by Hans’ protege, Ehrhart reached an agreement with Duke Arnold and Ruppel. The third major battle for control of may be ready to return Prague to Austrian Swabia may be about to begin. rule; a peaceful ending to a rebellion that is in marked contrast with the violence that When not interfering in Swabian affairs, still pervades Swabia. At the current time, Bavaria was concerned with repelling her Austria remains the most heavily assailed of own invaders. Duke Lothar Steffen fought the Duchies, with Prague, Zagreb, and delaying actions against the Byzantine march Ragusa all besieged by enemy forces. up the Italian peninsula while Fredericus Erlach desperately tried to hold off the Franconia suffered the worst of the foreign Sicilians on Ajaccio. Eventually the island invasions. Simultaneous attacks by the become too difficult to defend and he Danish, Poles, and Russians quickly broke retreated to the mainland. This move came her defensive lines and forced her back. just in time, as the Byzantines broke through, Hamburg and Krakow fell quickly, followed took Venice, and laid siege to both Milan and soon after by the mighty citadel of Thorn. In Genoa. Through the efforts of Duke Steffen the retreat from Thorn, Duke Ansehelm von and Count Erlach, these sieges were Kastilien was killed, along with most of his eventually lifted, but all the rest of Italy army. This threw the Franconian defenses remains in enemy hands. It will be a long and into total disarray. Soon Breslau fell and hard battle to regain it. Magdeburg, Frankfurt, and Stettin came under regular assault. Fritz von Kastilien Austria has been the site of more battles sailed north and raided the Danish city of than any other Duchy during the cataclysm. Stockholm to build a mighty warchest, but In headlong retreat from Bran and he returned to find Stettin occupied by the Bucharest, the Austrians, aided by Friedrich Danes. He liberated the city, and then turned Karolinger of Bavaria and Tancred von Tyrolia it over to the Russians in exchange for a of Frankfurt, rallied around Budapest. Their ceasefire. This freed his army to march west defenses held for several years, but and recapture the wealthy city of Hamburg. eventually the city fell and they were pushed Magdeburg remains heavily besieged, but it back to a new line defending Zagreb and appears that the worst days for Franconia Vienna. In the meantime, Duke Arnold single have long since past, thanks to the efforts of handedly kept Ragusa in Austrian hands Duke Peter von Kastilien, Count Dieter despite numerous Venetian attacks. This was Bresch, and Tancred von Tyrolia, all of whom crucially important, as Ragusa was the have helped keep Frankfurt and Magdeburg training facility for all of Austria’s safe. professional soldiers. By holding it, Duke Arnold kept Austria’s other armies supplied KOTR is now approaching the end of the with reinforcements, without which the ‘Cataclysm’ phase and will be returning to a entire Duchy would surely have fallen. In the more traditional style of gameplay within the far north, Edmund Becker embarked on next few weeks. If you want more details on something of a peaceful rebellion. He the events of the Cataclysm, you can read declared Prague independent of Austria and them in the Official Cataclysm Thread. As saw to its governance himself. For many always, new players are welcome to join at years he remained at peace and unmolested, any time. building his strength and his city. Over time, he aided in the defense of the Franconian New Spain Succession PBM (M2TW: city of Breslau, though that city eventually Kingdoms) fell anyway, and helped pacify the uprisings in the Bavarian province of Nuremburg. At Following on from previous players, Zim 20 played the next reign. War began with the Cruz (formerly Tecuantepec). Viceroy Jesus Aztecs, who massively outnumbered the died and Fernando became the new leader Spanish, and there was additional danger of New Spain. In the second half of his reign, from English armies that were landing on the the cities of Mexico, Cholollan, and coast. Viceroy Pedro decided to hold the Tototepec resisted Aztec armies, and the Aztecs west of Tlaxcallan and delay the cities of Tixtla and Huaxtepec were captured. English with diplomacy, allowing the smaller In the process, Nicollas Palmeyro was Aztec holdings near the Yucatan peninsula to assassinated, Goncalo de Tarragona died in be attacked by an army operating out of Vera battle, and the Tarascan people were Cruz. This plan did not start well, as General destroyed. uruk-hai took the next reign and Pedro Menendez suffered a clear defeat near eliminated the Aztecs. This fulfilled the Tlaxcallan. However, this setback was soon victory conditions of the PBM, thus making it countered by diplomatic moves with the first successfully completed Succession resulted in an alliance with England, and the PBM in almost two years. end of several of the Aztecs own alliances. The main offensive from Vera Cruz was a Scottish Succession MPB (M2TW) success, with the city of Tochtlan falling to a Spanish army, though its commander, The Scottish PBM has continued to chug General Dagobeda, died in the assault. This along. Elite Ferret, YAKOBU, and Zim have all split the Aztec lands in two. Shortly completed their turns and Ramses II CP is afterwards, General Goncalo de Terragona now controlling the game. Unfortunately, won a great victory in the north that ensured none of them have done write-ups yet, so the security of Tlaxcatlan and the Spanish there’s not much to see. That said, Ramses II provinces to the east. CP has expanded even further on the write- up from his first reign. It is very well done There was bad, though not unexpected, and I highly encourage you to read the news when the English subsequently whole thing. betrayed their alliance and attacked. General Enrique Justeniano met a largely European Multiplayer PBMs force in a defensive bridge battle with mainly native mercenaries. It was a costly struggle, The M2TW Multiplayer Grand Campaign but in the end the Spanish prevailed. Soon continues to move along. The players are afterwards, a second English army attempted now up to 1096 and appear to be getting to force the river, this time at a ford instead through about a full turn a week. Given the of a bridge. General Justeniano defeated coordination such a large hotseat game them once again, though it the second time requires, I find that very impressive. Various was even more costly to his army. unfortunate things happened to the Fortunately, it was worth the price, as all of Kingdoms Crusade Hotseat game and the the leaders of the English colonial forces had Kingdoms Teutonic Hotseat game, both of died in the battle, removing them as a threat which have been abandoned. However, the to Spanish supremacy in the region. As Zim’s players have vowed to redouble their efforts reign ended, Tenochtitlan fell to the Spanish and get it going again. They have started a forces, marking the beginning of the end for new version of the Kindoms Crusade Hotseat the Aztecs. game with five players. Elite Ferret is playing Antioch, Tristan de Castelreng is playing YAKOBU took control of the game next. The Jerusalem, Privateerkev is playing the first half of his reign saw the capture of Byzantines, Zim is playing Turkey, and Doug- Tecuantepec, Tototepec, and Mictlan, with Thompson is playing Egypt. They are off to a further victorious battles near Mexico good start and are already nearing turn (formerly named Tenochtitlan) and Salina three. TinCow 21 This month in the Throne Room’s AARS: Medieval II Total War AAR: Rome Total War AARs: Mexica Sunrise, by Tristan de Castelreng: -The Fall of Empire, by Cruor: This Barbarian The Aztec Empire lives on, defeating their Invasion AAR follows the Fall of the Western foes the Texcalans, in this Kingdoms America Roman Empire; or perhaps only the risk of campaign. But another threat exists all the its fall. The first post presents the general time: that of the White Men from beyond situation: barbarians from Germania, riders the sea, those under the leadership of from the Steppes, rebels from the inside… Cortez… Can the Emperor Moctezuma, The dangers are great: can the Empire recently married, come out victorious? stand? - Spear and Shield, by BerkeleyBoi: A Europa And that’s the Throne Room for November! Barbarorum AAR, which chronicles the story But remember, for every mod there’s an of Dawit, one of the Hanatim Kushim (levy AAR, for every game there’s an AAR, so spearmen) in service of Halik II Watar, king of keep on hunting and reading! Don’t restrict the Saba. A story in the first person, detailing yourself to the Throne Room! only the battles that unit is in. It’s started well, so go take a look! Warmaster Horus
22 December comes ‘round, kids are depressed - Germania, AD 16, by Rodion Romanovich: because of school, cheered up by Christmas. Hasn’t been continued since October However, you have to wait 25 days for that, 27th, but that’s no problem; it’s still very and that’s quite long. I’ve got good news for interesting for those who like stories about you folks: the Mead Hall is still in business. Rome versus barbarian Germans. If you like to read (and I know you do), then - The Life of a Soldier, by Innocentius: Peter here’s what’ll cheer you up: continues to live that difficult life, the one A few new pics in the Screenshot Thread, of a soldier in the army of Count Tilly from mostly Medieval Total War, but a couple Denmark. Now, outside Magdeburg in the of Medieval II. Thanks to Warluster and r year 1631, he has to accommodate with a johnson! difficult and cruel man in his company… A Poems! good story, that’s still being worked on. - One Hillside, on a Cool Sunset, by Rythmic: - The Alternate World War One, by Baby A very nice piece about the coming of night. Boomer: The Battle of the Mons, 1914. Lyrical, romantic even, it’s nice. Made me Here, the first battle of the British ended in feel like I was on that Hillside. a rout for the shore. A bad start, to be sure. - Daybreak Traverse, by Rythmic: He’s a This story is a bit gory, but that fits for the real, modern poet; you’ve got to hand it to background chosen. A good idea, which him. You’ve got to read it, and like he says should be continued, if the author gets afterwards, “poetry is about interpretation enough support. and experiences”. Don’t look at it too - The Machiavellian Adventures of Princess rationally, and feel the emotion. Eleanor, by frogbeastegg: Read it. Period. Stories! The longest story in the Mead Hall, getting - Tales of a wandering knight, by Meldarion: to an important point of the plot, you have The story moves on, as the knight Albion to read it if you like fiction. It’s as simple as arrives in Chester. that. - The Adventures of the Holy Order of - A Fox in the Desert, by Agent Miles: Moving the Poor Knights of Saint Balsamo the on, in the story and chronologically. During Crusader, by PrinceofTroy: A short AAR the latest installments, Caius Julius Caesar about a Venetian MII campaign where has taken control of Rome, and Pompey has Balsamo, Venetian General, is on the left for Greece. Miles, our charismatic, James brink of Sainthood. Unfinished, though Bond-style hero, has just learned this, and is encouragement might bring the author to naturally very surprised. Furthermore… I was continue. It’s a good idea, to say the least. going to tell you something about the story, - Shangaied, by rocketjager: Bill, an but you should read it for yourself. It will be American, arrives in Portland, living a better that way. It’s a good story, which has vagrant’s life. This life is depicted here, and been running for a long time. it’s a life seeing things in 1910 that shouldn’t And that’s the Mead Hall’s content at the be seen. close of November. Enjoy it! Warmaster Horus 23