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01-13-2010, 02:18 PM
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#71 | ||
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Objectively The Third Worst
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,591
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Open fields are practically a slaughterhouse for me, but Sieges have a tendency to somehow go horrifically wrong. Most likely because a siege offers certain tactical additions such as choke points and walls that I simply refuse to acknowledge as significant until about half of my army is already dead.
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01-13-2010, 02:37 PM
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#72 | ||
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War Incarnate
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: The Nexus
Posts: 5,379
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Yeah, on open fields I can never find the tactical advantage, at least if I'm outnumbered or facing superior enemies (or just don't have enough cavalry).
But cities, not a problem. Javelins and arrows and ballistas to whittle down or destroy entire units, smash open a couple of entraces and as one force deals with any soldiers as the move in, the other force can come from behind and crush them. On larger walled cities the same applies, just replace "smash open entrance" with "place a couple of seige towers to surround enemy units". My greatest victory came on R:TW, against Pontus as the Brutii, I incorportated a reinforcement force approaching from another side of the map and under cover of sandstorm broke another hole in their wall while their entire army was dealing with my main force. By the time they realised I'd broken in from behind it was too late and their entire army retreated to the centre of the city for a last stand. I surrounded them from all sides and killed everyone. They had started with over 2 and a half times as many troops as me, and I'd never faced their deadly chariots before (which had succesfully destroyed 2 units of heavy infantry earlier on). All in all out of about 1800 Pontus, 2 survived; a single chariot carrying 2 soldiers that had fled after the earlier engagement. It was my finest hour.
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01-13-2010, 03:03 PM
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#73 | |
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DA-DA-DA-DAA DAA DAA DA DA-DAAAAAA!
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Zanzibar Land
Posts: 6,531
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Anyway, I'll do whatever you see fit for me to do! If it was my choice I'd pick something like a General... or maybe something sneakier.
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01-13-2010, 03:35 PM
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#74 | ||
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Niqo Niqo Nii~
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,240
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I will be whatever.
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01-13-2010, 03:38 PM
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#75 | |
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Erotic Esquire
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 5,563
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But if it's any consolation prize your woman is very masculine or 'tomboyish', is an army leader, and is represented as a male avatar in-game.
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WARNING: Snek's all up in this thread. Be prepared to read massive walls of text. |
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01-13-2010, 03:39 PM
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#76 | |
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DA-DA-DA-DAA DAA DAA DA DA-DAAAAAA!
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Zanzibar Land
Posts: 6,531
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But anything's fine. I was just trying to be amusing.
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01-13-2010, 03:55 PM
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#77 | ||
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Objectively The Third Worst
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,591
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Ah, I tried typing mine out but it got lost somehow... It basically amounted to me holding off the HRE with my Faction Leader and a force of freshly trained units on a Bridge while my main armies were subjugating Southern France. On the topic of the game itself, does anyone else have a favorite song from the Soundtrack? My three favorites are; Death Lullaby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIApGqrrxeE Lifted to the Hotplate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6kul5A09T8 And We are all one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEB_eKpCNUs
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01-13-2010, 04:49 PM
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#78 | |
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Moonwalk Away.
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Dumbfucklahoma.
Posts: 1,573
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TRY HARDER! |
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01-13-2010, 11:24 PM
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#79 |
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Erotic Esquire
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 5,563
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PROLOGUE
 Summer, 1058 AD “Your Polska is so beautiful,” she said, her voice barely rising above a whisper, awed by the magnitude of the land that Światowid eternally blessed. It was summer, and the Carpathian mountains pulsated with an untamable energy. The flowers that surrounded Zaria’s bare feet had blossomed, awoken by a muse at a predestined time, illuminating the hillsides with an abundance of exotic colors. As she dug her toes deep into the damp soil beneath her, she could feel the presence of the old Gods, the Slavic ancestors that predated Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, the feral and mystifying creatures that still ruled in her dreams. Above her, a single eagle flew overhead, surveying the majesty of Weles’ creation. She could hear only the sounds of her own breaths and the soothing chirps of feathered friends. As the radiant affection of Dadźbóg effortlessly lit each contour of her face, and as the winds of the dogoda comforted and caressed her tired body, she felt a fleeting moment of celestial bliss. The magnificence of nature and the sheer breadth of a world she barely knew nearly led her to succumb to tears. The crushing weight of reality would have to wait, yet her fears would soon come and submerge her again. A dark cloud always seemed to drift ominously from the horizon. She could not escape her true identity, but she could deceive her susceptible mind into believing she were a deity, just this once. For one ephemeral instant, this was her Polska, too. Her Prince was too busy staring at the other beauty before him to notice the vista of the countryside of Nowy Sącz, territory his father conceitedly claimed to possess. He had traveled here many times before, and stayed in Castle Sącz during long holidays and other festive occasions. To him, the beauty of Carpathia had been sucked dry by an intensifying familiarity with the place. He and his best friends, NonCon and Mirai Gen, traversed the mountain paths in search of adventure in their younger years, seeking dragons and psotniks and wilas. He remembered those days fondly, his nostalgic memories unblemished by the inexorable passing of time. As a boy, he and his friends were carefree and eager to explore every crevice of the land he knew he would one day inherit. NonCon, the son of a diplomat who served his father, was cautious and tactful, while Mirai Gen, the son of a renowned General, was fearless and defiant. Together the three re-imagined themselves as Slavic warriors, wielded sticks as swords, and fought imaginary battles. Despite their best efforts, he and his childhood friends never did find dragons to slay or psotniks to chase. But he had finally found his wila. He loved her with a fanatical zeal that far surpassed his love for Polska. As a mere teenager, his kingdom felt more like a burden than a gift. He desperately yearned to be free from the chains that bound him to a lifetime of service, a lifetime of dreaded responsibilities. Perhaps, as his father had chastised him, he was simply unaware of how blessed he was, how fortunate to be the son of a King compared to the sons of peasants. In his skewed view, however, Zaria represented everything he yearned for and everything he could never have. She knew nothing of the dark halls of the abbeys that had tormented his passing hours, where he was forced to study languages and mathematics, history and geography, poetry and warfare. She seemed to only intuitively understand the mountains and the open fields, the sun and the moon, the ceaseless cycle of seasons and the endless passage of time. If his father knew of the nature of his affair, he would have been punished. He was fortunate that NonCon and Mirai Gen, despite their flaws, were both particularly gifted at keeping the Prince’s secrets. Neither Solid Snake nor Zaria truly knew each other. Yet they were both madly in love. “All of this is nothing compared to you, Mój kwiatuszku.” “You flatter me,” she replied, delicately brushing aside a lengthy strand of golden hair. She never felt comfortable with his effusive compliments. Sometimes, she felt they were too poetic, too versed in their construction, and too forced. She preferred his more spontaneous moments, his occasional inarticulate bursts of unsuppressed joy. “I only speak the truth, beloved. I would trade every last morsel of these mountains, every last strand of grass, and every last fertile seed to spend a lifetime alongside you.” “And you would die a disappointed man,” said Zaria, unmoved by her suitor’s affectations. “For I will eventually grow old and ugly, while your Polska will remain unblemished.” “You underestimate the depths of my love,” said her foolish prince, as he stretched a hand out to her. “You underestimate your own thirst for power,” she said with a discontented sigh. Yet her actions betrayed her words, as she clasped his hand with hers, and drew him closer to her. “I thirst only for a woman who cannot be conquered,” Snake quipped, staring into her entrancing cerulean eyes. They embraced for a lengthy interval before she withdrew from him, her curiosity overcoming her passion. “So, my Prince. Why take me here? Why engage in such brazen acts of secrecy, and why risk the integrity and the livelihood of your friends, simply to bring me to a field?” NonCon and Mirai Gen had reported to King Naked Snake that they were traveling with his son to reclaim the days of their youth one last time before the Prince’s graduation. Instead, NonCon remained in the comfort of Castle Sącz, while Mirai Gen had orchestrated a mischievous plot to deliver Zaria from her village. Snake knew he would have to repay Mirai’s valiant efforts, as he suspected that Zaria’s parents (neither of whom knew of their daughter’s flirtations with a Prince) would not be pleased with the faux kidnapping. Mirai had told Snake that it was only with the unexpected assistance of Zaria’s younger sister, a rambunctious girl named CelesJessa, that he managed to succeed in his endeavor. Apparently, CelesJessa pretended to have fallen ill with a disease caused by foreign devils, granting Zaria an opportunity to escape her father’s constant watch. Zaria and Snake had met by mere chance in that hamlet two years ago, when he had been studying the rituals combat under the tutelage of a mentor who dallied excessively in the promiscuous comforts offered at rural inns. Snake was left to wait outside the inn, where he had been protected by a dimwitted bodyguard, and he saw her making her way to the local market. They locked eyes, and he felt compelled to introduce himself. Now, he could not imagine a life without her. “…A-Are you upset? I thought you would appreciate the opportunity to spend time with me. This may be the last…” Snake stuttered, caught off guard by her questions. “Upset is not the right word,” interrupted Zaria. “But I fear I cannot give you what you seek. You know I can’t risk having a child, not before…” “No, no!” Snake bristled at the mere thought of her accusation. “That’s not why you’re here. I’m sorry. I should have…” “Then, why?” said Zaria, her expression flaring with a surprising degree of hostility. “Why do you torture me like this, Snake? Why do you taunt me with thoughts of eternal affection? We both know that this relationship is impossible.” Snake winced, taken aback by her claims. “Don’t speak such nonsense. We are in love. We will be together. My father will understand…eventually.” “No, he won’t. And even if your father accepted me, you’d be deluding yourself to believe that you would settle for me. You would never marry anyone but a princess with royal blood.” Solid Snake clenched his teeth together and scowled. “You assume too much. I would never do such a thing. I’m not like my father.” Naked Snake was notorious for having slept with multitudes of common mistresses, even after he married Snake’s mother, Princess Evangeline of England. “…Perhaps. But you are an honorable man, and you will not besmirch the name of your kingdom by betraying its customs.” Snake paused for a moment to compose his thoughts, letting a long, awkward silence interrupt what was supposed to be a pleasant outing. “…Listen, my stubborn little wila. I brought you here so we could make a special promise.” “…A promise?” Zaria’s eyes perked up, lit aflame with wonder. She grasped for another strand of her blonde hair, twirling it around a stray finger in anticipation. “Wh-what kind of a promise?” Like many other men before him, Snake missed the subtext underlying her sudden jolt of excitement. “Just a promise I’ve made before, at this very spot, with my two best friends. I don’t know…maybe I’m just being silly.” The flame that lingered in the pupils of her eyes was now cruelly extinguished, and Zaria looked down, somewhat embarrassed. “What exactly did you promise them?” “The last time Mirai and NonCon and I were together here, we promised each other that we would stay friends forever.” “So, is that all you want from me? My friendship?” “N-no. No, not at all,” Snake muttered. “I just meant…well, we were young. But, the memory…it meant a lot to me, and…well, it was more than just friendship. This sounds ridiculous, in retrospect. I probably shouldn’t have brought it up.” Zaria briefly considered the thought that her Prince may have just been fumbling for an excuse to justify having come here with her for reasons aligned with her prior suspicions. She trusted him just enough to cast such reservations aside. “Do enlighten me.” “Well…we all swore an oath. To return here one day, after our life’s work was accomplished. Once I had fulfilled my destiny as Polska’s King, and once Mirai had succeeded in following his dreams to explore the ends of the Earth, and once NonCon had become a Diplomat and once he served in the courts of Paris. We would all come back here, to this very spot, and we would live our final years here, and we would eventually be buried here, and…” “By the Gods. You’re such a hopeless idealist. You've missed your true calling as a romantic poet,” said Zaria. “Isn’t that what you love most about me?” asked Snake. It wasn’t, but Zaria didn’t mind assuaging Snake’s harmless assumptions. “…All right. So you want me to swear that once I’m an elderly woman, after we’ve married other people and gone about our lives, we’ll return to Castle Sącz and swap stories before we die. Are you sure you’re not breaking our relationship off, my Prince? Because that’s what it sounds like.” “Never!” Snake exclaimed. “You’ve just always criticized me for seeming aloof and withdrawn. You’ve accused me of not sharing enough of myself with you. So, there you go. I’ve let you share my favorite memory. Once Polska is safe and its people are reunited, once my duties and obligations to my kingdom are complete, we’ll all be together here. We’ll hunt dragons and chase after psotniks, and we’ll get fat off kielbasa and have no obligations. We’ll be free. That’s what I pledged to NonCon and Mirai. It’s what I pledge to you.” “Oh, Snake. You’re an idiot,” said Zaria. But she loved that about him, much more than his intelligence or his chivalrous nature or his verbose poetry or his staunch loyalty. With a smile forming on the edges of her lips, Zaria approached her love, and they kissed passionately, with only the Carpathians and an ambivalent eagle witnessing their perfect moments together. It was the last time Solid Snake ever laid eyes upon his wila. Zaria would fade into oblivion, dying due to complications after giving birth less than a decade after she and Snake made their promise. Her husband would marry another woman, her child would worship another mother, and her family would neglect to even mark her tombstone. Her life’s story would be quickly forgotten, lost forever into the abyss that time shapes and binds. Only the most dedicated of Polish historians would even dedicate a single footnote to her mere existence. The more intimate details of her life, her dreams and her aspirations and her longings, would vanish along with her final breaths. Her covert affair with a Prince would be known only among the likes of Weles or God. The other three friends were not as fortunate. The history of the Polish Empire began with their youthful promise in the verdant meadows of Nowy Sącz. It would end centuries later, in another meadow, stained with the crimson tint of blood.
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WARNING: Snek's all up in this thread. Be prepared to read massive walls of text. Last edited by Solid Snake; 01-13-2010 at 11:45 PM. Reason: Every chapter will be edited to correct obvious errors. |
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01-14-2010, 01:57 AM
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#80 |
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SOM3WH3R3
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,606
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I like this. I struggled to get into the right mindset at first (I wanted slaughter, dammit! War! Not flowery fields and romance), but by the time the dialogue started I was pretty much immersed. I like the descriptive writing, the depiction of each character's emotion, and the shift from romantic, if troubled to pragmatic and sober in the last paragraph. The foreshadowing has quite a lot of effect... Though considering that you're basing the story on the LP (or so I thought) I'm not quite sure how you can plan out its ending. Still, really nice bit of writing, wonderfully immersive, very nicely mood-setting. If it were now followed by a chapter depicting the horrors of politics, power struggles and war it'd set the stage very nicely.
Also, when we're debating what to do next and justifying our votes, do we post in-character? |
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