>>21692073
Cursing softly beside you, the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire turns towards you.

"William of Damascus... Will you aid in the defense of New Rome? Do so, and I shall do what I can to mend the rift between Catholic and Orthodox."

>What do?

Fuck yeah, Crusader Quest.

>>21692090
>>21692073
What, the Emperor decided that he was going to make peace between himself and his most hated competitor, whose admirals have carried off one of the most precious resources in Europe? Because we asked him to?

I really hope this is the glamour of the Goddesses and will wear off when he clears his head, OP, it's like Hitler and Stalin making friends after the Nazi invasion of the USSR. Not that I would mind, except that if that's possible literally anyone in the setting is putty in our hands.

>>21692073
"You have my sword, autokrator."

>>21692073
Who's Valentino again?

>>21692229
No, dude. The letter is asking to send it back with us in exchange for said trade rights. Emperor also promised to expel the Venetians in favor of the Normans.

>>21692241
New vassal we gained in between Edessa and arriving at Constantinople.

>>21692229
More like he's offering to do it if we ensure his capital isn't razed to the ground, I think.

>>21692262
We must be hailed as a fucking superhero by now, I guess, but we could also just be the Emperor's fall guy here for the sake of him testing the waters to see if Roger II is still focused on kicking his ass.

Either way, I say we don't take it at face value.

>>21692250
Okay. Tell him >>21692236
and get to the walls for a look, or grab ahold of a military commander and get some useful information.

If they come anywhere near the Library of Constantinople before we do that's half the shit we'll need to know to build a better crusader nation right there.

>>21692250
Also, when you say 'escape your marriage to Laudette of Flanders,' are we already married? Is it that bad, OP? Or are we just running around to deal with a case of cold feet?

>>21692344
We're running around with a case of cold feet.

>>21692357
Alrighty. Did our letters ever make it to Peter the Venerable and Hildegarde of Bingen? I suppose we might have traveled here faster than the couriers could bring the things to them.

>>21692408
Affirmative. But we moved before we could get their replies, so they're waiting for us in Damascus. The letters, that is.

>>21692430
Thanks. Anyway, yeah, do these:
>>21692332
>>21692236

>>21692090
"You have my sword, Autokrator, and the swords of my men. We shall defend your city as though it were ours." You are William MacMahon, and the Turkish scum have turned the tables and cornered you in a city, instead of the other way around. Ordering your men to find their armor and prepare themselves, you find the nearest military commander.

"General! Do you have any idea of the Turk's numbers?"

"Rough estimates number around seventy five thousand, Damascus. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to do." He takes off running, and you find a pageboy.

"Boy, I need you to find my vassals and have them meet me at the Fifth Military Gate. Do that, find me afterwards as well, I'll pay you." He takes off running, and you run towards the stables, where you find a horse and take off for the gate at a gallop.

The majesty of the city is lost on you as you make a mad dash to, and then up, the walls, where a huge Turkish army can be seen. Grimacing in distaste, you prop your elbows on the stone battlements and begin watching.

>Wait?
>Find someone on the wall that knows their business?
>Find a drink?

>>21692534
Find someone on the wall that knows their business.

And ask them if the city's stocks of Greek Fire grenades are low, because if we have plenty of that shit this fight should be a snap.

File: 1353549285302.jpg-(1.61 MB, 1881x1590, Liquid_fire_granades_Chania.jpg)

>>21692581
Forgot pic. The pots are clay and filled with Greek Fire. Put pot into sling or throw by hand, ignite contents with fuse, watch enemy burn like a bitch.

>>21692604
Greek fire + hand trebuchet = fun times.

File: 1353550627925.jpg-(74 KB, 365x480, Hospitaller3.jpg)

>>21692534
You search swiftly for a veteran or a leader of men that isn't a useless noble, and after hunting for nearly an hour, you find him.

"Excuse me, but could you possibly tell me how much Greek fire we have?" He looks askance at you, then grimaces.

"Not enough. Never enough. For this lot? We'll maybe a third of them, but they'll still come. They always are eager to die on our swords. I'm Basileus Suetonius."

"Thank you, Basileus. I'm William MacMahon. You think they'll attack us here?"

"They always attack the Fifth Military Gate. We let them think they've succeeded, and then we cut the bastards down with arrows before letting us infantry among them. Like wolves among goats, William. Wolves among goats." You're at ease. Battle is simple, compared to politicking. And women. You just march forward and kill the bastards, or let them march forward and kill them then.

Despite being betrothed to Laudette, you find yourself uneager to marry, instead preferring to campaign and make a name to leave your children. That, and Laudette may blame you for her father's death once you're together.

>Now what?
>Find the wall commander and suggest hand trebuchets and Greek fire pots?
>Find Asherah and Aine?

>>21692891
Let's assume that they know what to do in general, it's their city, barging in and trying to direct their defences could be rude, unless some commander invites us to pitch ideas. Let's just gather up our men and line up with Basileus troops

>>21692891
Strategy inbound. Give me a couple

>>21692891
Find the wall commander and suggest hand trebuchets and Greek fire pots. Preferably we could throw some caltrops on the ground in front of the gate, too.

Then find the goddesses. Maybe ask them to alter the weather favorably or something.

File: 1353552265552.png-(265 KB, 457x889, Zhuge_Liang.png)

>>21693228
>Alter the weather favorably.
I have a terrible idea.

>>21693277
>Zhuge_Liang
What? What's the guy got to do with weather, did one of his expeditions go awry because of it?

>>21693537
Oh wait, he was capable of forecasting fog.

Fog wouldn't necessarily help us, we have higher ground and a variety of advantages. If we can't see the enemy, it gets harder for us to defend the town and kill them at range; they can use the confusion of fog to attack without allowing us to react directly to their threat.

File: 1353553790615.png-(2.35 MB, 3200x2888, Byzantine_Constantinople_(...).png)

>>21692891
Ok, if we get the option to help direct the defenses. I say we should go with this. If at all possible, we use the Greek Fire pots primarily on the right side (If we were inside the gate, facing it) to attempt to divert the bulk of the attacking force to the Lycus river side of the gate. During this time, if we have any calvalry handy, getting them out of the Kaligaria gate, and unto the fields in an attempt to flank the attackers and disable the siege machinery and their ranged attackers while their attention is on the defenders atop the battlements once they are caught with two hazards, the river, and the wall itself. If some of the forces pile out of the fourth gate and head to the opposite side of the river proper, they would be able to hold the bank from anyone attempting to swim the river. All the while the bowmen atop the wall between the 4th and 5th gates would be peppering the better part of the bulk.
It would effectively create a good... 100-200 meter killzone that would route if not crush most of the advance force. Better still if we can get the goddesses to change the wind to help propagate the fire to assist in herding the attackers where we want them.
>>21693537
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Zhuge Liang's contribution to the battle of Chi Bi was changing the direction of the wind via 'magic' to spread the fire aboard the Wei fleet onto the rest of the fleet proper.

>>21693568
I think he's referring to the mythical wind that spread the fires used in the Battle of Red Cliffs among an enemy.

However, given that we don't have incendiaries in sufficient quantity and no time to prepare the field to roast seventy thousand men, we probably aren't going to be able to do more than risk burning Constantinople.

I guess that's one way of making peace in Christendom.

>>21693594
I was mostly thinking enough rain to make it difficult to move siege machinery, or maybe they could call down lightning on the tent of the enemy general.

That'd be a show of Allah's displeasure and no mistake.

File: 1353556742107.jpg-(210 KB, 465x792, Hospitaller7.jpg)

>>21692891
"I knew you would be up here on the walls, watching them. I'm glad you are, William of Damascus." It's Manuel I of the Roman Empire. Er, Byzantine Empire, you correct yourself.

"Ave, Imperator. I thought, while I waited for my men, and I believe I may be able to help in the defense."

"Go right on ahead, William. Tell me your thoughts."

"As you command, Imperator. If we use the Greek fire pots on the right side of the gate, to divert the bulk of the attackers to the Lycus River side of the gate. From there, we get our cavalry out of the Kaligaria gate and onto the fields, to flank the attackers and disable the siege engines, and crush their ranged attackers, while they're distracted by our men atop the battlements. If we have infantry go out the Fourth Gate and head to the opposite side of the river proper, we'll have men there to stop anyone swimming the river. And the whole time, our archers shall pepper them with arrows." Manuel I looks at you as though you've just spoken Gaidhlig.

"But... That requires risking lives outside the walls, and in the streets."

"Autokrator, war is a risky, messy business. Men die on the field, and their bowels burst and cause the air to stink while they lie screaming for mothers, lovers, and children."

"I am not sure I like your tone, Damascus... You shan't talk to me like that." God damn it, you rage silently. This over-bred son of a bitch is going to risk Constantinople to let the myth of unbreakable walls continue.

>Do you take your leave and hide from Manuel?
>Do you curse him and lead a sally?
>Do you bide your time?

>>21694201
No. We're not here to make him pissed at us, we're here to show him how it is done.

"If the reputation of the second Rome is as important in its defense as you say, autokrator, then let me lead the sally with a portion of your varangian and norman mercenary forces equal to the task. You will not need to risk your own men, and the citizenry will not worry so about the walls sparing them of the worst of war. I am not as bound as you, autokrator, by the unflinching requirements of the people; let me do what politics prevents you from doing, and let them say that the rampaging crusader who took Damascus was unorthodox in the Emperor's defense. You shall not be troubled by any critics for my actions, thus, and the Turks may actually be crushed here so that the manpower and soldiery they have gathered together today does not threaten you again."

"What say you, autokrator - will you allow me to be the warhound of the court of Constantinople today? Will you let slip the fierce Norman from his leash, and the rest of the barbarian sellswords with him, for a chance to have the Turk fall as wheat before the sythe? For this harvest may be bloody, but it can yet yield some time of peace, lest they row bolder and take the rich trade-ports of Anatolia from you as the Moors and Berbers sook Sardinia from the Empire's grasp?"

>>21694362
>row bolder
Grow bolder.
>sook Sardinia from the Empire's grasp
Shook.

That's about all the fuckups I see.

>>21694201

No, no curses. Do not anger the god-damned Emperor.

However, the plan needs to begin. See if we can't lead the attack ourselves, maybe with the mercenaries so the Emperor feels there is no risk to himself or his people.

Also, I feel the Mercenaries would be better fighters anyways. Better to surround ourselves with bloodly fighters than cityguards.

Also, let's see if we have time to find the WALKING BATTLEFIELD ADVANTAGE and see if she really can turn the wind to our will.

>>21694362
>>21694387
this might get him to see reason

any mercs he loses this way are just less people to pay, honestly, there's always more of the fuckers coming to his town to look for work

>>21694426
It would be preferable to have his permission. If we can get out of this without the Emperor pissed at us personally for disobeying/upstaging him and his military, it won't help our long-term goals.

>>21694459

Yes, it would. And for that I vote we use this anon's words: >>21694362

If that doesn't change the Emperor's mind, hell all else will.

File: 1353557907671.jpg-(17 KB, 300x360, Vimes.jpg)

>>21694201
Bide our time, be sure to have someone note our suggestion to the Autokrator, and if shit turns sour, we will go with our plan. I'm fairly sure our hospitaliers can lead the charge out of Kaligaria.
All the while we should watch the proceedings of battle under the autokrator helping as he asks of us. If he holds us back from >>21694362 's suggestion we can pull still ready ourselves to swoop in if shit goes sour.

>>21694476
We don't have enough knights to lead a charge against seventy thousand. Not even if we had the entire order present.

Without enlisting the aid of the mercs, we'll get slaughtered. Without the political support of the Emperor and the military leadership's agreement, we may get greek fire thrown at us.

>>21694201
You are William MacMahon, and you are about to choke the fuck out of an Emperor. Calming yourself down, you allow reason to prevail, for the moment.

"If the reputation of the second Rome is as important in its defense as you say, Autokrator, then let me lead the sally with a portion of your Varangian and Norman mercenary forces equal to the task. You will not need to risk your own men, and the citizenry will not worry so about the walls sparing them of the worst of war. I am not as bound as you, Autokrator, by the unflinching requirements of the people; let me do what politics prevents you from doing, and let them say that the rampaging crusader who took Damascus was unorthodox in the Emperor's defense. You shall not be troubled by any critics for my actions, thus, and the Turks may actually be crushed here so that the manpower and soldiery they have gathered together today does not threaten you again."

"What say you, Autokrator - will you allow me to be the warhound of the court of Constantinople today? Will you let slip the fierce Norman from his leash, and the rest of the barbarian sell swords with him, for a chance to have the Turk fall as wheat before the scythe? For this harvest may be bloody, but it can yet yield some time of peace, lest they grow bolder and take the rich trade-ports of Anatolia from you as the Moors and Berbers shook Sardinia from the Empire's grasp?" Taken aback by your vehement speech, he nods with out thinking, but one of his captains winks at you, and begins bellowing for the Normans, the Varangians, and the Scots to form up behind the gate. They do so, while you send a page boy to find Asherah.

To ensure the two of you are alone, you go to the privy in the gatehouse. (1/2)

File: 1353558758582.jpg-(297 KB, 501x825, FemaleRoyal6.jpg)

>>21694569

"What do you need, MacMahon?" Her voice, you've noticed, is soft, like a cat's nose fur. Turning, you see her lounging against the door like a cat, all lithe and sleek.

"I need help. I'm fixing to lead the Empire's Varangian Guard and Norman mercenaries out the gate and into the jaws of death. Have them fight like ten men, with the courage of father wolves and the rage of a mother lion."

"And in return, MacMahon? I get what?" You step forward tilt her face towards yours. You kiss her, and before she can relax into it, you step back. "That. I've got a battle to fight. I'll see you when we win."

You leave her standing in the door, flustered, and find your horse waiting for you in front of the men you're about to lead. No common language, except one.

"Men... We're going to kill the sons of bitches, we're going to take their women, and we're going to drink their wine." The gates open, and then all twenty odd thousand march out, impossibly tiny against the vast host of the Turks and the walls of Constantinople. (2/2)

I think Crusader is a pretty cool guy, he kills infidels and doesn't afraid of anything.


Charge.

>>21694733
Timing is going to be everything here. Also, maybe we can throw some greek fire at them with hand-trebuchets first.

>>21694668

Either we're a REAAAAALY good kisser or the Goddess is a prude who blushes at hand-holding

Either way, we now have the Emperor and the Witch on our side. Time to get to this bloodly work.

File: 1353559250550.jpg-(16 KB, 283x200, HospitallerBattle.jpg)

>>21694668
(3/2)

You spur your horse into a gallop, the mounted men doing the same as the infantry start running. You've couched the lance you borrowed from one of Manuel's guards, and now all you can do is seemingly watch as the charge thunders across the open plain, the entirety of Constantinople surely watching you.

You're thrilled to be part of the most dangerous of all dances, and you are unstoppable, the personification of God's wrath, Mars Ultor, War the Avenger. And then your horse is thundering into the Turkish line, as all around you, fellow knights and soldiers lance Turkish scum. The lances fall, broken, and you draw your sword. There will be, there can be, no stopping you as you drive your sword point into a screaming Turk, breaking his skull and shattering his brain.

Your men DO have Asherah's help, or else they're taking such courage from your example. Around you, Normans and Varangians shatter shields with large axes, while screaming Scotsmen do the same with huge, two handed swords. Even as the shatter Turkish shields and bones and leave them dying on the ground, your men are being slaughtered by sheer press of numbers. Even through the red mist of battle you're seeing, you remain in full control of your faculties.

>Do you order a hedgehog, a circle made of shields presented outwards to the enemy?
>Do you continue on as is?
>Other?

>>21694774
Hedgehog, preferably with as many of our hospitaliers as possible, its a defensive stance for sure, but with coordination we can make that roving balls to death. Our subordinates will catch on easily enough. Time to bring back the phalanx

>>21694774
Hedgehog for the isolated groups, try to create a united front, but spread the line and lock shields so we can corral these fucks with pincer tactics.

The pincer is the primary means by which a smaller force can get a larger force to move in a certain direction, like towards the kill-zone we've set up.

We can't just go on the defensive, we have to shove them back. And probably some greek fire at their back would make them good and mobile, if we can get a signal out.

>>21694862
do it, use stuff from >>21694839
if possible

don't see how we're going to do anything with a phalanx at the moment, we don't have huge fuck-off spears right now and are already in melee range. Pikemen would be good, though.

>>21694774

The Hedgehog is more of an Anti-Calvary formation or it's a "OH SHIT, WE'VE BEEN SEPERATED FROM THE MAIN FORCE" formation.

It wouldn't be too much help here, unless we're part of some small band that's been seperated from the main force.

What we need is a shield wall, a large united front, We have our killzone (The Greekfire storm) now we need to keep pushing towards, making the Turks incure casualties on the front where we attack and the front that faces the fire.

You gents aren't understanding. We are the force.

>>21694939

Has the Emperor abandoned us?

Has the greekfire not fallen?

>>21694923
This here. To have any kind of success we must break through their line, concentrate our forces and push through. Stopping now would be our doom.

>>21694939
Are you fucking telling me the plan changed from corralling these assholes and letting the men on the walls kill them to 'field a third of their force in foreign mercenaries and have fun?'

Fine. We herd them to the wall, and the Greeks either throw fire at them or they answer to us later.

>>21694987
The Emperor pussed out.

>>21694998

That son of a bitch

That son of a thrice-damned whore.

Shield wall, get a front actually established. See if we can't get the enemy between us and the walls. Even if the Emperor refuesed to throw fire, he'd be insane to pass up the target we'd give him them. At least make is so the Emperor will allow his men to shoot arrows into the backs of the enemy.

>>21694998
WELL, HE WON'T FUCKING HAVE MUCH CHOICE WHEN HIS GENERALS SEE A MILLING MASS OF FIFTY THOUSAND TURKS IN FRONT OF THE FUCKING WALLS AND NEAR THE RIVER

THEY WILL HAVE THEIR BACKS TO CONSTANTINOPLE, AND IF CONSTANTINOPLE DOESN'T ACT WE'RE GOING TO RAM THEM RIGHT THROUGH ITS SIDE WHERE THE HOLE IS FOR THE WATER TO COME IN

FUCKING FAGGOT ISN'T EVEN A LITTLE BIT HIS GRANDFATHER'S SCION, ALEXIUS THE FIRST IS ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE RIGHT NOW

>>21694774
"Form a shield wall and turn their flank! Form a bloody shield wall, and turn their fucking flank! Drive them against the walls of the city!" Slowly, slowly, out of the chaos of a melee, your men hear your orders and disengage for the safety of the forming shield wall. You hit the side of their line, on the right, and now you're partially flanking them.

Thanks to the sheer fury of the Varangians and Scots, the Normans were able to form the anchor that became the shield wall, and now the Turks are being pushed to the river, with escape back to the plains cut off. Now the slaughter has truly begun, for shield walls are terrible places.

You've had your horse killed from under you, so there's nothing to do except join the shield wall and give command of the cavalry to Robert, with orders to hit the Turkish flank again and again to stop them trying to flank YOU.

(1/2)

>>21695096
Your men continue to somehow push the milling horde back, towards the river and wall. Snow has started falling, and you realize you had forgotten it was November. The cold will just keep your men from getting too tired in the heat, and help keep the corpses from stinking while they're dumped in the river to be disposed of.

That thought is pushed out of your mind by a sword blow to your shield, breaking it. You drop it and another is passed to you, before a sudden cry goes up and the Turks start running. Somehow, someway, Manuel grew a set and lead another sally to hit the Turks in their flank, and beset on two sides, they start jumping into the river, to be picked off by bowmen, and running the length of the shield wall to escape the flank. The pursuit begins, and you watch as the mercenaries, now unleashed, begin looting corpses and running down survivors.

>The battle has been won.
>Take part in the mop-up?
>Go back to the city?
>Other

>>21695263

Find Manuel

Give that man a goddamn kiss

Make sure we get men to start helping the wounded. Thanks to the Emperor's little game, we probably have many more wounded than what we orginially expected.

That motherfucker just caused the deaths of many of our men.

As much as I hate the idea of confronting the Emperor in his hometown, he needs to explain himself. We deserve an explaination.

>>21695263
Send your lieutenants to handle the mop-up, tell them to retrieve/chase after and capture the commanders if possible and grab anything that might possibly be a written order or correspondence indicating the mental framework of the Turks or the thinking behind their attack.

Go find the Emperor, inform him that you are glad that these Turks will no longer trouble him, and thank him for the opportunity to prove your worth.

Then enter the city and find the monastery where Anna Komnenos, seventy-something year old princess, abbess, and author of the Alexiad, runs a huge goddamn hospital. At least SHE has a spine.

>>21695300
There's no explanation to receive - he wanted the Mercenaries to bear the brunt of the blow. We might have done the same thing, if we were emperor of a failing nation-state with limited troops and had a badass warrior visiting.

Had we lost, the Emperor still had the fortifications. Had we won, he'd risk less and still get credit.

>>21695314
>>21695300

Combination here, send the lieutenants to handle the mop up, meet up with Manuel and then the Emperor, but in the manner of the second post. Confronting the Emperor won't gain us anything.

>>21695314
yeah go to the hospital and tell her you'd like some beds resereved for our guys

form a means to get the wounded in there as you go, get some message runners moving

if we save some of these guys' lives, they or their units might join up with us - especially after seeing the kind of action we bring

must get boring working for an emperor who likes to sit behind fortifications all day

>>21695346
>meet up with Manuel and then the Emperor
The Emperor is Manuel I Komnenos. Did you mean someone else?

>>21695329

They may be mercs, but they were still OUR men. They trusted us to make the choice that would ensure the greatest chance of their suvival and victory.

Our men.

And the Emperor just caused the undue deaths of many of them.

If not an explaination, then let's make sure the Emperor isn't going to go turncoat again and not give Sicily the peace it wants.

>>21695352

Huh, I should read things more carefully.

THEN, find the man, and do >>21695355

Make sure he's going to give the peace to Sicily.

>>21695355
They're actually the Emperor's men, mostly. We were lent a few of them. However, making sure the Byzantines don't get their way is best handled from afar. They have political hegemony over the Crusader States right now, too.

>>21695370
>>21695355
>make sure not to give Sicily peace
>make sure to give Sicily peace
That's just confusing, anon.

>>21695347
>>21695314
Isn't she that old racist bitch that hates foreigners and tried to take the throne multiple times, but had her husband decide not to go through with it? And then said, in so many words, that she was the one that wore the pants in their marriage and what a little girl he was?

I guess we've got the manliness covered, and she hated Manuel's father anyhow, but we'd better address her in our best Latin.

>>21695381

Jesus christ, it's really late.

Meant to say in the first post give the peace to Sicily. Take out the "not"

Someone remind me to edit before I post.

>>21695352
Sorry, got my names confused thought it was the commander mentioned earlier. It's 5:30am over here and I should be working on my essay...

>>21695400
I'm still confused - if we make a deal between Constantinople and Sicily, that will make the risk of Manuel playing turncoat greater and not less.

He could just fuck over Roger II of Sicily when he has the guy's trust.

If you want to bring Constantinople to heel, we need to get in good with the Sicilian norman power, form an alliance over the silk trade, fix shit between them and the pope, and use that to deprive Constantinople of allies. This will force their complacency.

>>21695418
>>21695397
>>21695346
then we should go and greet the emperor and act like a bro, and then immediately go to the city hospital and get the wounded moving in there

we'll put constantinople in a political corner later

anna komnenus seems like a pretty interesting woman, we should meet the firey old lady

>>21695418

I was under the impression we were here to get Sicily and their Norman forces on our side, not bring Constantinople to heel.

To do so we need Sicily at peace so it's forces aren't tied up.

Or maybe I missed something last thread where we decided to fuck over Constantinople..

>>21695486
I was the one that suggested the thing with the Normans. We're in Constantinople more because their library, which will be sacked by crusaders in fifty years, probably has a shitload of awesome war-related literature and knowledge in it that would benefit our realm. Engineering, etc.

Also, because of greek fire.

Constantinople is, currently, an unfriendly competitor and finicky overlord. We, along with the rest of the crusader states, are the guys Constantinople would throw under the bus in order to save its trade connections and hold off the turks. The Byzantine silk trade is also damaged right now because Roger II of Sicily had his admiral come out here in 1146 and kick ass, and that admiral carried off the silk weavers to form the core of the Sicilian industry.

Damascus and Sicily are the new kids on the block when it comes to the christian silk trade; the Arabs have had silk production in Damascus for centuries, and the Sicilians now also have the means to produce silk. Allying with Sicily to corner the market is far more likely than allying with Constantinople, because the Empire is big enough to swallow us without a blink despite its being a little bit of a rotting corpse.

>>21695567
On top of that, Constantinople is kind of a worthless ally. Not only do they get their shit handed to them all the time by Sicilian admirals, they also lose land in Turkey left and right in this century while the Sicilians capture huge chunks of north Africa. On top of this, the Byzantines jerk the Pope around, destabilizing Christian politics.

What we need is a means to neutralize them so they won't try to take over our shit in the Holy Land. but without pissing them off, and with some chance of access to their advanced knowledge and weapons. If the Emperor thinks we're a pretty okay guy at the end of the day here, we can use that to try to get some Greek Fire shipped to us regularly for a while or something, and access to the Library of Constantinople. However, Byzantine politics is such that if we make friends in the right places we'll pretty much render him incapable of acting against us. This means we'll need to establish a Hospitallier house in the city, if at all possible.

>>21695263
You find Robert, John, and Valentino. Giving them swift orders, they part to help with mopping up the Turkish threat with the skill you demand.

Manuel had men under your command killed. You have a young boy, no more than 12, run and find the captains of the various mercenary forces that fought beside you and the contingent of Hopsitallers your father sent with you. When they arrive, you're blunt.

"Men, Manuel got your soldiers killed, for no good reason. Take an oath to me, and follow where I lead, and I'll make every man you command rich." They plead time to think about it, and you allow them that time, before trying to find Manuel. When you find him at last, he's trying to clean his sword on the corpse of a Turk.

"Well met, William! How may I help you this glorious afternoon?"

"Autokrator, I was hoping you could discuss with me the subservient status of the Crusader states in Outremer to the Roman Empire."

"Speak, friend William! For the victory you have brought us today, we shall name you Friend of the Empire!"

"Well, Autokrator, I was hoping you'd be willing to allow the Crusader States to separate from the Empire as vassals, and instead remain eternal friends on bonds built of trust and mutual aid, as well as allowing a Hospitaller House in Constantinople?"

"Of course, Friend! Of course! As well, would you like access to the city's library?"

"I'd be delighted for you to show such trust in myself and my lieutenants, Autokrator. My thanks."

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>>21695816

Taking your leave of the Autokrator, you make your way back into the city, where you ask directions in passable Greek to Anna Komnene. When you finally arrive at her office in her hospital, you find her getting ready to teach a class. Begging an audience, she tells you to come back tomorrow, and find a bath. Despite her rudeness, you go behind her back and arrange for your injured men to be brought here, to be treated by her. That done, you've got time to kill.

>Find Asherah and Aine, troll them?
>Find a fat Byzantine courtier, troll him?
>Find a hooker and some wine?
>Other?

>>21695816
Cool. Now we can build a House Hospitallier in some advantageous location, possibly near the Library, the docks, and wherever they keep Greek Fire, I dunno - and send that shit across the Mediterranean to our troops for use in grenades.

It's apparently pretty crap when used with their flamethrower system on the water, but launching it from a catapult in grenade form - whether on the ground, in a tower, or from a ship's deck - should prove very bad for the target. Also, hand trebuches can be used in the field but there's a lot more point when they're throwing grenades and not fucking rocks.

Let's go meet Anna Komnenus and make a place for the wounded.

>>21695871
Go find out where they make or keep Greek Fire, buy a shitload of it if anyone will take your money/bribes/trade favors/whatever, send a bunch home.

Then, we go to the neighborhoods around the Genoese quarter and buy all the wine out from under the merchant assholes to give to our soldiers and the mercs because fuck the Genoese, they trade with the infidel.

Maybe we hang out with the Venetians and try to make some friends. Otherwise we stop by Hagia Sophia because it is truly badass.

>>21695916
Tomorrow we go to the finest bath in the city and buy a copy of the Alexiad to have Anna Komnenus sign it, if we tell her how awesome she is. Or something. Old bitch has probably forgotten more about Byzantine politics than Manuel will ever learn.

>>21695871

I'd be very interested in seeing the Library itself, it possible.

Barring that, then meeting with the men, congragulating them, making it very clear to them that we care for them much more than the Emperor does.

Barring either of those, let's go see the Goddesses. I'm interested in learning the full extent of their powers. In what other ways can we benefit from their help?

Also, I'm a little worried by her asking what we would do for her before the battle. Is she going to require a price everytime we need her help?

>>21695940
You know what, she wanted to scatter the armies of Islam and she got up to seventy thousand dead Turks.

Say what you want about us, but we give dividends.

However, as the guy advocating using the Goddesses to grant us benefits that we don't need to depend on them for (like roman artillery, which once reproducible will not require their assistance), I am glad to create more personal independence from them and not lean on them for most fights.

>>21696000
They are an asset to be used, I'd rather not see them as a crutch. I like to think this was more of a test run to see what they can do for us.

File: 1353567408806.jpg-(152 KB, 640x437, Hagia Sophia.jpg)

>>21695871
Your task, self-assigned... Is to buy the secret of Greek fire. Knowing that it is exactly that, a well kept secret, you make your way to the underworld of Constantinople. The docks, where pimps, whores, and murderers reign supreme. To do this... You've got a shit ton of gold on you.
After drinking most of the evening, cuckolding the Byzantine equivalent of a duke, and dueling a jumped up young courtier out slumming. Bastard thought he could beat a Crusader in a fight. But you've got it. The knowledge, drawn from fifteen different brains over one night drunken revelry, fighting, and brawling, and Greek fire is yours.


You clean yourself up , wincing as your bloodshot eyes take in sunlight. You visit Anna again, and this time she receives you. After frightening you half to death, she finally allows your men to be placed in her hospital, and then kicks you out.

You finally pay a visit to the Hagia Sophia, and begin wishing you could make it a Catholic church. Barring that, a place of learning and scholarship. You fall asleep listening to the gentle Latin chanting of one of the priests.

>>21696225
This ends Chapter Six. Ask away, guys.

>>21696229
Couple of meta things here, OP. Not really criticisms, more polite requests. Well, polite for this board anyway.

1) You mentioned earlier that you couldn't roll dice. Is this because you have, like many anons, not learned how? Because we can teach you, it ain't no thang.

2) Any chance it would be possible to go for a faster update speed? Every twenty minutes would be pretty badass, and fuck getting something wrong. You can either retcon or tell the players to think of a way to fix it later, but the quest would likely have more players if its pace was slightly quicker.

>>21696229
Also, wanted to tell you that strangely enough despite the racial shit and the lack of freaky future tech or high magic I am finding this quest oddly satisfying. Maybe because of those things.

>>21696256
I'll try to be better about both.
1) I'll figure out how. Soon.
2)Definitely. I'll do my best.
>>21696266
Awesome, thank you.

>>21696288
Here is how you roll dice:

In your email field in a given post, type 'dice+xdy' without quotes. For example, dice+1d100 will roll 1 die with a range of values of 1 to 100.

There are other variations, but they're rarely all that useful.

There's a limit of 25 dice rolled at a time. Not sure what the limit is on the number of sides/value range a die can have, I've seen people roll d1000s before.

Rolled 3

>>21696303
Here is a fun example. My email field currently says: dice+1d20

>>21696288
OP, we've made a bunch of abstract plans and statements about logistics and economics and other crap, but what are the odds of instituting a numbers management component to the quest?

Like, a copypasta for every new chapter with some values for the number of men available or the value of the estates or the going price of silk or whatever turns out to be important throughout the game.

>>21696288
Si I'm the guy that suggested the use of the repeating roman ballista mounted on a cart. How close to being total bullshit is that, exactly?

>>21696321
I can do that.

Although, since there were no census records from ANYONE until at least the 1700's, and honestly, who keeps tax records from 1148? I'm going to have to figure out a number that isn't too improbably high or improbably low.

>>21696330
They'd be most effective on a battlefield, an open plain at that, but it's not bullshit. We've got fifteen with our own actual men in Damascus.

>>21696229

Next thread when?

Also, what kind of training/education does MacMahon have? Earlier in the thread you mention MacMahon being able to speak a little bit of Greek, so I'm interested in what other scholarly abilities our boy here has.

>>21696344
We seem to have a good deal of knowledge pooled here in these threads, so feel free to ask us to come up with compelling numbers if you want. Think of it like a GM referencing a player's greater knowledge of history at a gaming table.

>>21696344
Ridire, feel free to make the NPCs more antagonistic to our goals. Dad may think we're the best thing since sliced muslims and the kings of Jerusalem may find us to be a total bro (Baldwin's like 16 to 20 at this point himself), but it would not be too great a challenge to require longer battles with more need for player reaction and ingenuity, more complex dialogue and diplomacy, and more demanding politicking.

>>21696374
Thread probably Friday.

MacMahon has the finest military training and education the combined experience the Knights Hospitaller have to offer, in addition to French, English, Latin, German, Italian , and Greek. Growing up in Jerusalem, surrounded by all the different languages of the Crusaders did wonders for MC's language learning ability. Right now he's picking up Saracen and Spanish.

>>21696384
Sweet, I definitely will.

>>21696344
Hard mode engaged? Hard mode engaged.

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>>21696225
>After frightening you half to death, she finally allows your men to be placed in her hospital, and then kicks you out.

"Barbarian dog! You Normans think you can have anything you want. Learn all the Latin you want, but if you walk into the office of a Princess of the Empire again without previous arrangement I may well vivisection you for the sake of medical learning! Consider yourself lucky I haven't been poisoning your confederates to rid the world of your ilk, pillager of Damascus. Now get out lest I have the Porphyria guard throw you into the Golden Horn."

>>21696420
I think it might be quite a bit of fun to play around with the internal politics, rivalries, etc of the Hospitallier order itself. After all, they elect their grandmasters - we may be Raymond's heir, but we don't have a lock on his title.

>>21696502
Solid copy. I'll try and figure out some sort of rival.

>>21696558
Well, the rivals are each and every other commander. One would be underwhelming, because they're all in it for themselves to some extent - like senators in the US making a presidential run.

A single rival or a few would just be targets, but if the election of a Grandmaster was basically herding cats it would be a good background chess-game to the much greater and more direct game of fucking around with Europe and the Holy Land.

The rival we all know and love is of course Saladin, but he's a bit young; nevertheless a foreign nemesis will be more engaging than someone else among the Knights. However, there were plenty of fucking morons running the Crusader States, including this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynald_of_Ch%C3%A2tillon
>herp derp I'm the prince of Antioch, let's take on the entire Byzantine empire

Between the handfuls of guys like him and Baldwin III deciding to start a civil war with his extremely competent mother, Queen Melisande, because he wasn't getting to make enough policy decisions, the Crusaders are practically their own worst enemy. There will be no end of rival powers just over the horizon in the Holy Land, most of which will need to be managed Lord Vetinari style with Machiavellian tactics because without their connections, the holy land will falter.

And then there's the Knights Templar.

Frankly, we're just lucky Thierry of Flanders is already dead, that guy caused no end of herp for the crusaders all by himself.

>>21696620
yeah, rival organizations and lords are probably better than rival hospitalliers

can we add things to MC's to-do list now?

So much politicking, so little time. Well, I'm going to sleep. I'll see you gents Friday.

>>21696634
Take care, Ridire.

>>21696626
Sure, this thread will be alive when I wake up. I'll check it then.

File: 1353573523427.png-(82 KB, 256x512, Haras.png)

>>21696640
We should probably buy a few copies of Byzantine and ancient greek music and send them to Eleanor of Aquitane back in Jerusalem and apologize for not matching the gift of Damascene steel to her husband Louis with something like this sooner. We can probablydo the same for some other nobles' spouses, but Eleanor became oddly influential later.

We should get a better outfit. Like pic related without the stupid pauldrons maybe, with a silk tabard because fuck you.

File: 1353573663968.png-(1.05 MB, 750x1500, ACR_MPCrusaderRe.png)

Sillier picture.

Jerusalem crosses mixed with maltese ones would be interesting for some personal heraldry.

Probably we'd have to get it granted by the pope. Also, we can probably have our mail forwarded to Sicily or wherever we're going next.

File: 1353573782608.jpg-(17 KB, 300x223, Jerusalem-Maltese-Crosses(...).jpg)

We should have the Goddesses tell us more about Jehovah and we need to finish that book.