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For those who like to push chits.
F:AT Here I Stand PBEM Game 1
30 May 2008 03:15 #7288
by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Re:F:AT Here I Stand PBEM Game 1
Turn 3
To start the turn, I am satisfied as the Protestants. Things have gone relatively well for me. I have had my big turn last turn and now I am well prepared for when the Schmalkaldic league eventually gets played as I hold most of Germany and a little of France. I may have completed the NT a little early in France, before I had the benefit of help from my French reformers but oh well. Nothing to complain about. There are a few things I want to firm up, however. One of them is getting prepared for my entry into the political game and see the Hapsburgs engaged with the Turks so they cannot come and beat up on me when the time comes.
So I receive my cards. They are good this turn! In particular notice that I pulled A Mighty Fortress, a fortunate turn. It allows me to take 6 reformation attempts in Germany. I received one of my best events without having to negotiate for someone else to play it. Other than that of note I received Mercenaries demand pay, a nasty card forcing another player to discard cards.
For diplomacy I have no special needs but keep my ears open—I got one of my best cards in the deal so I see this turn being a turn. I feel around, discussing potential moves with the Turks and seeing if he’s interested in having me play unpaid mercenaries on the Austrians. We can’t come to an agreement so diplomacy mostly fizzles this turn for me. Also note that with the good news from last turn, many people aren’t going to want to deal with me—I am one of the leaders right now, once the Schmalkaldic league starts I will be high VPs. But then a deal comes to me… England is interested in using their diplomatic overture card (the same card I had last turn) to give me Trace Italien (I will describe it later and why it is an excellent Protestant card) in return for something. I decide to give him a card from my hand in return for it.
We execute the deal and he ends up receiving a marginal random card and not my treasured Mighty Fortress. Wheew. In other diplomatic news, a deal is struck—France and the Hapsburgs are to ally this turn. This is an interesting bit of news, but nothing serious. There are no DOWs this turn.
The most interesting diplomatic news involves the Pope. First, as promised, he honors his agreement with the English from last turn, granting the English a divorce and a roll on the heir table. He rolls poorly, and Ann does not provide him an heir. But England will have another chance this turn since he received the divorce, a very nice piece of play since it cost him very little (helping the beat up Pope) and gets him quite a bit (getting a full, healthy heir is worth 5VP)
In further Papal news, the beat up Pope, forced out Rome, cries uncle. One of the great things about Here I Stand is that losing battles and keys is not fatal to your chances in the game. You can get your keys back by suing for peace. So it is that Rome is vacated by French troops, returning to Genoa, in the above picture.
When you sue for peace you give some things up—specifically some troops (notice Florence is now garrisoned thinly but also you give the winner of the war a well-earned War Winner VP boost, which France receives. These VP are valuable because they are banked—they cannot be taken as a key can be and are now banked by that power for the rest of the game.
Now the Pope owns his lands again but with far fewer troops but the war with the French is over. This is too bad for me, I would have loved to see the war continue between them as it diverts all the Pope’s attention from me. But it was really the only thing the Pope could do. The mechanics of this game allow players to take some risks because of these “generous” sue for peace mechanics, which is something that really helps the game.
Now the impulses begin. The biggest news of this whole turn is the Hapsburg-Turkish showdown so I will focus on this before discussing the sidelights. The Hapsburg and Ottoman first impulses are taken sniping at each and the Hapsburgs bring a massive 12 regular, 5 mercenary stack toward Szegedin where Suleiman has deployed with his large army. Suleiman is outnumbered, but chooses to fight anyway… he must have something up his sleeve.
Battle is joined. The two massive armies clash but the Hapsburgs are assisted by Tercios, a combat card and the Ottomans bring their Field Artillery, another combat card. Hapsburgs are heavily favored but in a very bloody battle are soundly defeated 8-5. They are forced to retreat, shown in the above picture.
Later in the turn, the Ottomans move on Pressburg. Charles retreats to Vienna. He then recruits 5 mercenaries in Vienna to even the odds of the upcoming second battle between the two sides that is to come—there won’t be any retreat. They clash again at the gates of Vienna, and yet again the Ottomans get the best of the Holy Roman Emperor. Vienna falls under siege and Charles retreats, shown above.
The Hapsburgs see their chance. The Ottomans have advanced too far into Europe—they cannot take reinforcements in their rounds since they are not in home territory, which means their troop numbers keep getting weaker. The Hapsburgs, meanwhile, have replaced some of their losses. The second battle of Vienna ensues with the defenders also sallying from behind their walls to join. The Ottomans call in the Janissaries (powerful Ottoman Home card) to bail them out in this battle. Unbelievably, the Ottomans again crush the Hapsburgs, showing Suleiman’s unmatched prowess in battle (and excellent die rolling…). The entire Hapsburg army is defeated! Not only that, but Charles and Ferdinand themselves are taken by the Ottomans and are now held for ransom! This is absolute military meltdown for the Hapsburgs.
The Ottomans finish their humiliation of the Hapsburgs by unbelievably clearing out the rest of the defenders of Vienna by storming the walls, who were already reduced by the field battle outside the walls previously. The Protestants look on and cheer—could my luck be this good? It does concern me that the Ottomans are doing so well, but I think we still have time to chop him back down if necessary. And anything to prevent the Hapsburgs from descending on me with their endless cards and military, since they receive 1VP for each elector they control.
In the rest of the world, France reinforces and looks inward. They build forces and also gain a VP with their Home card to build France a fine Chateau. They control Milan, so there is no roll necessary—they get an automatic VP. France must be watched!
The English also concern themselves with their own back yard. In particular, they single out Scotland for a grade A beatdown. Henry spring deploys north and marches on Scotland. After calling in the ships he beats down the Scottish garrison in a relatively uneventful series of assaults. The English secure a vital key and continue to look dangerous. The English can sneak up on the game—one has to remember that they potentially have 5VP on the board once/if they birth an heir so it is critical to keep an eye on their VP.
Protestant Turn
I face a couple of tough decisions this turn. Specifically with the timing and placement with a few of my events and cards. They are nothing special, but in particular I face the choice whether to play A Mighty Fortress early in the turn or later in the turn. Using it early leaves me open to later rollbacks of advances I make in Germany—I do not know what people are holding. But wait too long and someone holding Schmalkaldic League may play it before I have a chance to maximize the size of my political control.
Schmalkaldic League is *the* critical card for the Protestants. When it is played it brings Protestant military units and makes them a full power, vulnerable to the Hapsburg and other militaries. It also makes all Protestant religious spaces into Protestant political control spaces as well the second it is played. So it is *critical* for the Protestants to have a high water mark of German spaces at the moment this card is played or else he will be playing a lot of catch up in Germany. The card is also a mandatory event—this means if someone draws it they *must* play it as an event in the turn they pick it up.
I decide to play Mighty Fortress early. In fact, my first card in Schmalkaldic League. And it pays off—in spades. I make 5/6 attempts and essentially control virtually every German spot with my religious control. This is good news because…
Later in the turn Schmalkaldic League is indeed played by the Hapsburgs, who have no choice but to play it since it is mandatory. This is essentially about as perfect a time for it to happen as could possibly happen for me. Two things happen—my VPs jump since I control politically and religiously all Protestant Electorates (the hexagon squares on the map) and now I am in the game in all ways, including military.
My other major choice is Trace Italien, the card dutifully given to me during the turn by the English. Trace Italien makes a new fortress space wherever you want it. This may sound relatively trivial but for the purposes of the religious conflict it is key. It lets me station a regular permanently (unless the fortress is taken) somewhere in my empire. This helps—recall that reformation attempts are heavily influenced by nearby Protestant and Catholic armies. This play allows me to put another Protestant army permanently deep in Catholic German territory. Good news.
I face two main choices of where to put this fortress—put in close to Vienna in the Southeast or put it near France (Strasbourg) in the Southwest. Ultimately I decide to place it Strasbourg. The chance of the Hapsburgs retaking Vienna and then crushing and taking my newly minted fortress are far too high—if this happens the fortress I placed for my benefit in the religious game suddenly becomes a massive liability! It will be safer near France and will also be useful in keeping the border areas Protestant.
Shadows of Next Turn…
The final phase is the exploration phase. Exploration provides a very rude surprise—France circumnavigates the globe and gains the VP from doing so—moving him to 23, just two away from winning the game. In most games the Hapsburgs generate the majority of the VP from the New World but in this game France has done well and gotten lucky to pull out ahead. Having a full turn allied to the Hapsburgs does not help things either, allowing him to build up and generate Chateau VP. Next turn will probably feature an agreement among the major powers to reduce the French power before he wins the game.
To start the turn, I am satisfied as the Protestants. Things have gone relatively well for me. I have had my big turn last turn and now I am well prepared for when the Schmalkaldic league eventually gets played as I hold most of Germany and a little of France. I may have completed the NT a little early in France, before I had the benefit of help from my French reformers but oh well. Nothing to complain about. There are a few things I want to firm up, however. One of them is getting prepared for my entry into the political game and see the Hapsburgs engaged with the Turks so they cannot come and beat up on me when the time comes.
So I receive my cards. They are good this turn! In particular notice that I pulled A Mighty Fortress, a fortunate turn. It allows me to take 6 reformation attempts in Germany. I received one of my best events without having to negotiate for someone else to play it. Other than that of note I received Mercenaries demand pay, a nasty card forcing another player to discard cards.
For diplomacy I have no special needs but keep my ears open—I got one of my best cards in the deal so I see this turn being a turn. I feel around, discussing potential moves with the Turks and seeing if he’s interested in having me play unpaid mercenaries on the Austrians. We can’t come to an agreement so diplomacy mostly fizzles this turn for me. Also note that with the good news from last turn, many people aren’t going to want to deal with me—I am one of the leaders right now, once the Schmalkaldic league starts I will be high VPs. But then a deal comes to me… England is interested in using their diplomatic overture card (the same card I had last turn) to give me Trace Italien (I will describe it later and why it is an excellent Protestant card) in return for something. I decide to give him a card from my hand in return for it.
We execute the deal and he ends up receiving a marginal random card and not my treasured Mighty Fortress. Wheew. In other diplomatic news, a deal is struck—France and the Hapsburgs are to ally this turn. This is an interesting bit of news, but nothing serious. There are no DOWs this turn.
The most interesting diplomatic news involves the Pope. First, as promised, he honors his agreement with the English from last turn, granting the English a divorce and a roll on the heir table. He rolls poorly, and Ann does not provide him an heir. But England will have another chance this turn since he received the divorce, a very nice piece of play since it cost him very little (helping the beat up Pope) and gets him quite a bit (getting a full, healthy heir is worth 5VP)
In further Papal news, the beat up Pope, forced out Rome, cries uncle. One of the great things about Here I Stand is that losing battles and keys is not fatal to your chances in the game. You can get your keys back by suing for peace. So it is that Rome is vacated by French troops, returning to Genoa, in the above picture.
When you sue for peace you give some things up—specifically some troops (notice Florence is now garrisoned thinly but also you give the winner of the war a well-earned War Winner VP boost, which France receives. These VP are valuable because they are banked—they cannot be taken as a key can be and are now banked by that power for the rest of the game.
Now the Pope owns his lands again but with far fewer troops but the war with the French is over. This is too bad for me, I would have loved to see the war continue between them as it diverts all the Pope’s attention from me. But it was really the only thing the Pope could do. The mechanics of this game allow players to take some risks because of these “generous” sue for peace mechanics, which is something that really helps the game.
Now the impulses begin. The biggest news of this whole turn is the Hapsburg-Turkish showdown so I will focus on this before discussing the sidelights. The Hapsburg and Ottoman first impulses are taken sniping at each and the Hapsburgs bring a massive 12 regular, 5 mercenary stack toward Szegedin where Suleiman has deployed with his large army. Suleiman is outnumbered, but chooses to fight anyway… he must have something up his sleeve.
Battle is joined. The two massive armies clash but the Hapsburgs are assisted by Tercios, a combat card and the Ottomans bring their Field Artillery, another combat card. Hapsburgs are heavily favored but in a very bloody battle are soundly defeated 8-5. They are forced to retreat, shown in the above picture.
Later in the turn, the Ottomans move on Pressburg. Charles retreats to Vienna. He then recruits 5 mercenaries in Vienna to even the odds of the upcoming second battle between the two sides that is to come—there won’t be any retreat. They clash again at the gates of Vienna, and yet again the Ottomans get the best of the Holy Roman Emperor. Vienna falls under siege and Charles retreats, shown above.
The Hapsburgs see their chance. The Ottomans have advanced too far into Europe—they cannot take reinforcements in their rounds since they are not in home territory, which means their troop numbers keep getting weaker. The Hapsburgs, meanwhile, have replaced some of their losses. The second battle of Vienna ensues with the defenders also sallying from behind their walls to join. The Ottomans call in the Janissaries (powerful Ottoman Home card) to bail them out in this battle. Unbelievably, the Ottomans again crush the Hapsburgs, showing Suleiman’s unmatched prowess in battle (and excellent die rolling…). The entire Hapsburg army is defeated! Not only that, but Charles and Ferdinand themselves are taken by the Ottomans and are now held for ransom! This is absolute military meltdown for the Hapsburgs.
The Ottomans finish their humiliation of the Hapsburgs by unbelievably clearing out the rest of the defenders of Vienna by storming the walls, who were already reduced by the field battle outside the walls previously. The Protestants look on and cheer—could my luck be this good? It does concern me that the Ottomans are doing so well, but I think we still have time to chop him back down if necessary. And anything to prevent the Hapsburgs from descending on me with their endless cards and military, since they receive 1VP for each elector they control.
In the rest of the world, France reinforces and looks inward. They build forces and also gain a VP with their Home card to build France a fine Chateau. They control Milan, so there is no roll necessary—they get an automatic VP. France must be watched!
The English also concern themselves with their own back yard. In particular, they single out Scotland for a grade A beatdown. Henry spring deploys north and marches on Scotland. After calling in the ships he beats down the Scottish garrison in a relatively uneventful series of assaults. The English secure a vital key and continue to look dangerous. The English can sneak up on the game—one has to remember that they potentially have 5VP on the board once/if they birth an heir so it is critical to keep an eye on their VP.
Protestant Turn
I face a couple of tough decisions this turn. Specifically with the timing and placement with a few of my events and cards. They are nothing special, but in particular I face the choice whether to play A Mighty Fortress early in the turn or later in the turn. Using it early leaves me open to later rollbacks of advances I make in Germany—I do not know what people are holding. But wait too long and someone holding Schmalkaldic League may play it before I have a chance to maximize the size of my political control.
Schmalkaldic League is *the* critical card for the Protestants. When it is played it brings Protestant military units and makes them a full power, vulnerable to the Hapsburg and other militaries. It also makes all Protestant religious spaces into Protestant political control spaces as well the second it is played. So it is *critical* for the Protestants to have a high water mark of German spaces at the moment this card is played or else he will be playing a lot of catch up in Germany. The card is also a mandatory event—this means if someone draws it they *must* play it as an event in the turn they pick it up.
I decide to play Mighty Fortress early. In fact, my first card in Schmalkaldic League. And it pays off—in spades. I make 5/6 attempts and essentially control virtually every German spot with my religious control. This is good news because…
Later in the turn Schmalkaldic League is indeed played by the Hapsburgs, who have no choice but to play it since it is mandatory. This is essentially about as perfect a time for it to happen as could possibly happen for me. Two things happen—my VPs jump since I control politically and religiously all Protestant Electorates (the hexagon squares on the map) and now I am in the game in all ways, including military.
My other major choice is Trace Italien, the card dutifully given to me during the turn by the English. Trace Italien makes a new fortress space wherever you want it. This may sound relatively trivial but for the purposes of the religious conflict it is key. It lets me station a regular permanently (unless the fortress is taken) somewhere in my empire. This helps—recall that reformation attempts are heavily influenced by nearby Protestant and Catholic armies. This play allows me to put another Protestant army permanently deep in Catholic German territory. Good news.
I face two main choices of where to put this fortress—put in close to Vienna in the Southeast or put it near France (Strasbourg) in the Southwest. Ultimately I decide to place it Strasbourg. The chance of the Hapsburgs retaking Vienna and then crushing and taking my newly minted fortress are far too high—if this happens the fortress I placed for my benefit in the religious game suddenly becomes a massive liability! It will be safer near France and will also be useful in keeping the border areas Protestant.
Shadows of Next Turn…
The final phase is the exploration phase. Exploration provides a very rude surprise—France circumnavigates the globe and gains the VP from doing so—moving him to 23, just two away from winning the game. In most games the Hapsburgs generate the majority of the VP from the New World but in this game France has done well and gotten lucky to pull out ahead. Having a full turn allied to the Hapsburgs does not help things either, allowing him to build up and generate Chateau VP. Next turn will probably feature an agreement among the major powers to reduce the French power before he wins the game.
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