Brytenwalda Warpath

Our Company is going to war, we're seeking out foes, we're out for scalps. Why?

We need scillingas. Lots and lots of scillingas. This is because our treasury has been ravaged by wages, tax inefficiency and Pagan disgruntlement. Thus, we need to liquidate its debts through Company wealth. That means what? It's my favorite part of any RPG: killing people and taking their stuff!

But first, let's break down my situation thanks to my Council who reside in my cozy Court of Linnuis:

Tell us about faith-conversion, Constable:

20 people in two months?

ffs. Even those people who knock on our doors could do better than that!

And yes, I have built a monastery in my Court-town of Linnuis. But my four village monasteries won't be constructed for two more days yet.

The situation is slowly and steadily improving, however:

When I can afford schools and mills in villages, relation and prosperity will increase more rapidly.

Tell us about War & Peace, Constable!

Only 14 of the 30 factions?

Tell us about our income, Chamberlain!

Minister Brian. What do you have to say for yourself?

So what you're saying is that I suck. Let me see here...

Right to Rule is 6. Indeed, you are correct. However, it seems you are illiterate: it's word of advice, not world of advice. Dismissed.

Mmm... That also reminds me of a conversation I had with my greatest foe...

... Who is currently rotting in my dungeon.

Chancellor! Remind me of our domestic policy, please.

Indeed. That's probably because my domestic policy is balanced:

Thank you for your insight. Dismissed.

So yeah, I'm not exactly a Lady of the Court. I am more a Lady of... War. So, as I said in the opener, it's time to take it to the snobs ("it" being violence) before they join forces and demolish my fledgling Kingdom. And Alliances are a real threat. Every time one is made, I shudder at the factional landscape dynamism.

Oh, hello thar!

What brings you to my neck of the woods? You're a long way from home:

Burn, you bastards. Burn!

Ain't nothing like the smell of 572 burning corpses in the morning. Wait. How is it that I had more troops after the battle than before it? Answer: recruiting rescued prisoners from the defeated army.

I'm now going on a bit of a warpath, being careful not to over-extend. The fires indicate victorious battles just to the west of my Kingdom, towards my enemies:

A highly mobile, sneaky patrol:

No battle was fought; they simply became our captives.

We annexed Pengwern's Ceasterfeld Castle as well.

The siege of the castle was unreamrkable in that Pengwern had only 100 men garrisoned there. However, the aftermath provoked a sincere reprisal from Pengwern's adjacent ally, Ceredigion Kingdom...

... and a massive four-phased battle ensued in which I tallied many kills. The battle lasted one hour of real-time, and exhausted me.

I generally flank the enemy, moving in for +speed dmg and swinging my great axe like a baseball bat into their backs. It's bone-crunching stuff.

Phase 1:

Phase 2:

Phase 3:

Phase 4: Unable to fight.

The reason I couldn't keep the killcount going per phase is that I got KO'd in phase three, and we're only partially healed after each phase (according to our medics First Aid skill). Still, it results in exceptional staying power.

Boom.

cf. stats before we went on our 2-day warpath:

Now that's what I'm talking about. If you're wondering why the -Rep? Well, I couldn't resist taking out a few enemy caravans as well. Overall, 3,000 men bit it.

It wasn't just about Renown/Party size, though: we also yielded a mint of scillingas from prisoners + loot (about 70,000 in prisoners and 30,000 in loot). This enabled us to liquidate our debt and pour scillingas into our treasury at Linnuis, which was previously all but penniless: