Thomas-C's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C (edited )LinkI thought I'd be done with Bannerlord for a time, but turns out I'm not. I'd intended to just do some combat to train up my characters, but things quickly developed into what I suppose is the next...I thought I'd be done with Bannerlord for a time, but turns out I'm not. I'd intended to just do some combat to train up my characters, but things quickly developed into what I suppose is the next chapter of the story. Here is yet another collection of fun shots.
In the spirit of it I figured I'd recount what happened in a more storybook sort of way.
The story as of today
It is the summer of the year 1115. A messenger arrived from Beniseth in the Scheme Room - Tharos, the leader of the Vizartos clan, was dead. The assassin had been completely successful; no one knew of him. His wife Comatasa had been elevated to the position of leadership. Tyranae returned the messenger to Beniseth with a simple directive - Help Comatasa join her husband in hell.
Tharos was only recently elevated to clan leadership. His predecessor Sichanis was a storied war leader, before and after his clan joined the kingdom of Grandis Larcennae. Multiple times, he led his own armies, conquered territory and provided support to King Mallgoth directly. He passed away in his late 50's, a victim of time. Tharos was less remarkable. Though also a war commander, he never led an army, and did not provide much support himself to either Sichanis or Mallgoth's forces. When Yanagoth rampaged and eliminated Vlandia from history, he was not present in her armies. When Sichanis passed away in 1114, Tharos' ascension was the result of formality and procedure, not the result of extraordinary service or glorious deeds.
Not everyone can be in the siege. The heroic halls do not accommodate many. But for one of such little reputation to demand Tyranae abdicate, to demand those who built the realm should give it away...at the very least, be someone first, before becoming something. That was the central, guiding wisdom of her father - to say to the world, "this is who I shall be" and waver not once in that commitment. Any time Tyranae thought of him, she would remember his wisdom. "Rip and tear, until one is finished," he would often say, "and make sure they see your teeth... oh, and stomp their shit so bad they don't fuck with you again, yeah." The words never left her.
Tyranae had marched with the infantry in Yanagoth's sieges, and the cavalry out in the field for the entirety of the war. She pushed the battering ram at Ostican while her mother charged its gate. In the final struggle at Hertogea, she was among the first through its blasted walls and fought through to the keep. Abdication was unacceptable, the thought of it was odious. So, without hesitation she opened the doors to the Scheme Room and set about eliminating this possibility.
Game talk/New Rules
Tyranae knew she could win, so she stomped, and that means assassinating the leaders of the rebel clan until I get one who understands the score. It's *my* game, like hell some AI dipshit is gonna get an opportunity to drive my kingdom to ruin. It happened to be too, that just prior to my scheme working, we got invaded by the Western Empire (I suppose they were taking advantage of the change of leadership). The war was a good opportunity to solidify the good relationships and isolate the folks trying to rebel. The Scheme Room is supercharged in this context - what used to be a coin flip is now a 9 in 10 sort of move, because it's our kingdom. We know where the targets are better than anyone.I decided I would not utilize the giant hoard of money to change any of my relations with folks. We only grow stronger through battle, that is our way. Now that there is a history to it, I've decided to imagine some more about the characters. Along with that I've set myself the rule that I have to abide by the personalities I create for them. I can't do what's optimal for the game, unless it happens to fit with the characters.
The four siblings all fought together in the last war, each joining as they came of age and all until its end, so they have an unbreakable bond and commitment to mutual advancement. Whether that bond is stronger than the obligations of leadership remains to be seen. Tyranae is daring and cruel, with a deep attachment to her father. Bolverkr is brutish but also very intelligent. Porg... is Porg. He came like that. The only thing Mallgoth was bad at was siege engine production, and Porg is a specialist in siege engine production. He goes his own way. Kalevala idolizes her mom and sticks close to her sister.
That all means:
As ruler, Tyranae is willing to be just as meticulously ruthless as her parents, but pulls the trigger sooner. Where before I might have spared a rebel faction for a while instead I am immediately moving to destroy it. Mallgoth would have done the same, but only when his wife found the most opportune moment. Too, Mallgoth would find rebellion nostalgic, and would have wanted to see it play out a bit.(It's also the case the rebellion wouldn't have occurred because no one dared fuck with Mallgoth, the four-time king slayer. I've decided his "peasant legend nickname" is "The Last Battanian", and he is famous for saying "There can be only one!")
Bolverkr fights in the infantry, and thanks to the Warlord Pack (mod) reads books (his skills are growing faster than everyone's). Porg fights with exotic weapons, dresses in ostentatious desert kingdom armor, and comes in clutch when we're sieging. Kalevala wears her mother's armor, trains Roguery and Tactics (for the Scheme Room), and often does arena battles. They're all young - Tyranae is the oldest at 23, Kalevala the youngest at 19. The war experience set them up to handle big war parties and the desert adventure honed their martial prowess.
The other two children, Plibbert and Petunia, are significantly younger at 13 and 11. They have not been old enough to fight, and they've not consistently been with the rest of the family since they were 7 and 5. Yanagoth also had them when she was in her early 40's. Plibbert is unstable - I chose his stats at random. Petunia is cunning and silver-tongued, with some points in Roguery and Persuasion. Their only attachment is to each other. Plibbert causes a bunch of shit and Petunia uses wit and guile to get him out of it. It's highly unlikely I'll be able to play as them for a very long time, but the chance exists. Permanent death has always been possible for every character, just way unlikely for younger folks.
The Diplomacy mod is what enables the intrigue, and Fourberie is what allows me to respond to it in the way I've decided. The Western Empire looks like the best target, and I think the deal is that we're going to base our next grand strategic goal on how that goes - if it's easy, then I suppose conquest of all the Imperial lands will follow. If it strains the internal relationships of Grandis Larcennae, I'll have more scheming to do.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C Link ParentYes I want to know the horse story, please tell me the horse story lolYes I want to know the horse story, please tell me the horse story lol
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C (edited )LinkThis week I played out the grand finale of my Bannerlord campaign. The screenshots are scattered throughout to enhance your reading experience. When it hit me, "this is it, we ball" I moved to my...- Exemplary
This week I played out the grand finale of my Bannerlord campaign. The screenshots are scattered throughout to enhance your reading experience. When it hit me, "this is it, we ball" I moved to my home PC so they'd look a bit nicer. I also split this into two sections - the end of the story, and then some talk about the game/mods/etc.
-Finale-
Where I last left off, Mallgoth had been crowned king of the Grandis Larcennae and began accumulating both territory and followers, in the year 1103. From 1103 to 1107, we fought a series of defensive wars, first against Vlandia, then the Western Empire, then both together, and then just Vlandia. Each time, Mallgoth led an army to defend against their invasions and then pushed into their territory - every conflict resulted in wrecked armies and some form of territorial loss for the attackers. By 1105, they were both getting beaten so badly they were made to pay tribute. Eventually the Western Empire just quit trying. Vlandia though would not stop, because they hated Mallgoth too much. By 1105, every Vlandian noble clan had maximum distaste for him, a "-100" relationship.
Across the same stretch of time, in between wars Mallgoth traveled the region and convinced his former rebel compatriots to join him. In total, 11 more clans joined his kingdom, for the low price of [like 30 million total] denars. He awarded fiefs to his two most loyal companions, which grew the kingdom by 2 more clans. Yanagoth, despite being in her early 40's had two more children, Plibbert and Petunia. The wars were opportunities; they helped our military grow into an elite fighting force and drained the enemies of their resources. We picked up shitloads of gear, goods, and
prisonersstone mine professionals.In 1109, after a temporary peace King Erdurand (the fourth ruler) of Vlandia declared war again, and this time instead of defending Mallgoth gathered an army and headed straight into their territory. He beseiged and took one castle, then headed out for a second, named Hongard. Hongard was tougher than most, with a strong garrison, upgraded walls, and lots of militia. We'd pushed Vlandia westward, which meant the campaign actually got a lot harder, because the westward settlements had been upgraded/improved quite a lot.
Mallgoth charged ahead on his trusty horse Scrotecrusher (a mod lets you progress/name your horse), and chopped the outer gate open himself. He is that fast and that strong; before the ram could get to the gate he'd broken it open. With his men he chopped open the inner gate, and then himself accrued over 100 kills. His skill with the zweihander had reached a point where playing as him felt like some sort of B movie - I could just mash the button, wave the sword around and everyone in front of me got killed/dismembered. If they had a wooden shield, it would shatter on the second hit and dude would just die, every time. Eventually we fully breached the castle, and the survivors fled to the keep.
In the keep, we ran down halls and up circular staircases slicing through knights and crossbowmen. Mallgoth led the charge, racing ahead to get to the lord's bedchamber. As he cut down the guards on one end of the last hall, a crossbowman leaned out at the other end, fired, and hit Mallgoth in the neck. He was killed instantly, and because he was an older character, this time it was for real. Mallgoth was dead. His wife Yanagoth led the squad from there, massacred the remaining Vlandians and laid Mallgoth to rest. With unanimous support from the clans, she was crowned the first Queen of the Grandis Larcennae. Here is a photo of them together.
Overcome with grief and vengeful bloodlust, Yanagoth disbanded the army after the castle was seized, gathered the most elite of the elite, and went on a rampage through Vlandian lands, burning villages and beheading every noble she could catch. Eventually, she found Erdurand along the western coast, bested him in combat and took him prisoner. Vlandia offered peace - she refused, and beheaded him.
This happened in the summer of 1109, just one season out from Tyranae's coming of age. After beheading Erdurand, Vlandia pled for peace and this time were heard, because Yanagoth needed time to build her forces for what would be a three year total war against Vlandia. Tyranae, Bolverkr, Porg, and Kalevala all came of age during this time, and so joined Yanagoth on her quest for vengeance. The began at the southern end of Vlandia and just worked their way up, pushing them into the northwestern, coastal town of Ostican. When Ostican fell, they had no choice but to retreat to their final hold, a castle far to the south called Hertogea. This was her goal: To force a retreat across a wide swathe of our territory, so that many of the surviving nobles would get scooped up by guard patrols and our other noble war parties.
At Hertogea in 1113, Yanagoth deployed four trebuchets and destroyed the castle walls. 2200 troops flooded in from two directions and massacred everyone. Exhausted, and with support for the war seriously waning, they conquered Hertogea and eliminated the kingdom of Vlandia from history.
With her mission complete, Yanagoth returned to the highlands, assigned her troops out to her companions' war parties, gave Tyranae Mallgoth's zweihander, and then the two of them headed for The Retreat, a cave high in the mountains where hermits live. There, Yanagoth bid her daugher farewell, and left the kingdom for a life of quiet contemplation. Tyranae, at 22, became the second queen of Grandis Larcennae. She, Bolverkr, Porg, and Kalevala, accompanied by two of Yanagoth's former companions, strapped up and set out for the southern desert, to live as Mallgoth did and train their combat skills against brigands and highwaymen.
There was actually a bit of an epilogue with that. We traveled south to the desert, and visited King Unqid of the Aserai (think Saracens), one of the original rulers (he is 74 years old) and the only king who actually liked Mallgoth. We fought in a tournament with his family, and then ventured out, where we were ambushed by none other than a remnant of a Vlandian clan, dey Rothad. Dey Rothad in particular had been a thorn in Mallgoth's side, as their leader, Dagunic, had successfully murdered more than one of his companions back when Grandis Larcennae was just starting out. We defeated Dagunic, beheaded him and camped in one of the Aserai villages.
And that I think is where I will declare the game is over. For now, at least. I archived the mod pack + version of the game so I could come back to it at some point. Theoretically, I could let the game just go on its own, abdicate leadership and let Grandis Larcennae go its own way. I could pick it back up as one of Plibbert's children and develop a new campaign from there. Warsails comes out next month so I know I'll be playing more Bannerlord. Perhaps when the mods catch up to it I'll load this save and see how that works out. Here is a final little collection of fun shots.
-Mods-
I have to give some credit to folks too, the mods made this what it was. The unmodded game is great for what it is, but enough people made enough things that you can touch just about everything it does, from the combat camera up through what kingdoms and armies do. I went for expanding on the game's systems, like more meat on the existing bones sort of thing, and making combat look like 300.In particular, I think these contributed the most to that experience: Diplomacy, Fourberie, War & AI Tweaks, Immersive Battlefield, Reinforcement System, Open Source Armory (all of it), Realistic Battle Mod (and the "Smart Patch"), Dismemberment+, Artem's Lively Animations, Cinematic Combat, Xorberax's Legacy (for the shoulder camera), Realistic Weather, and of course Zweihanders.
Putting those together I think would give you like 85% of it. If you go through doing that you'll be able to pick the other 15% and have a really fun time. Mods are easy to get and install, you just put a folder somewhere and check a box 95% of the time. The other 5% is just load order/organizational stuff, nothing huge. Folks put out good enough instructions.
Also have to give some credit to the youtube channel Tactical Enlightenment. I think his approach, of micromanaging divisions and intentionally raising stakes made the game tremendously more fun to play. Being able to comfortably win a 3:1 or 4:1 encounter in the field means blasting through the early game, and being able to successfully defend 5:1 and 6:1 in sieges means doing the same with the early years of having a kingdom.
In this campaign, the hardest battle I fought was a defensive siege in which I was outnumbered 7:1. I organized my troops similar to what TE does - squares of infantry at the bottom of staircases and near the gate, with divisions of archers behind and off the walls. For the opening minutes of the siege I'd man a catapult to take out their siege towers, then hurl big rocks at folks while they rammed the gate. When the gate was breached, an infantry square just next to the open door would pull the enemy into it while archers shot at the enemy's back. When the enemy would try to rush us, I'd move the square through the enemy's advancing units to plug the gate, and when I could not singlehandedly keep them from flowing in I'd have archers draw steel and charge in for support. We never lost a settlement, either to enemy armies or to rebellion, and pretty much every major battle was amazing.
Obviously I very much love Bannerlord and would recommend it to anybody even remotely interested in medieval stuff. The modding community has produced really good work, and the game is continuing to develop despite being around for many years. The expansion, War Sails comes out next month and introduces naval warfare along with systems for stuff like blockades and ship-to-ship combat. It'll probably break like 90% of the existing mods, but one good thing is they do provide prior game versions to roll back to if you want to (I did my campaign with 1.2.12).
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Comment on How do you decide when to buy a new computer, smartphone, etc.? in ~tech
Thomas-C LinkWith computers, I'll look into an upgrade every third GPU release. So for example, my current machine has a 3070ti, which means I'll wait for a 6-series before I even consider buying new hardware....With computers, I'll look into an upgrade every third GPU release. So for example, my current machine has a 3070ti, which means I'll wait for a 6-series before I even consider buying new hardware. Its not that the GPU is central to what I'm doing (though it is important), it's that by the time we've had a few new series everything else has improved/kept pace, it's just an easy/simple way to set a threshold for looking around.
With phones I just use it until its problems outweigh its benefits. As in, I don't wait for it to be unusable, I wait for it to get annoying. I have to use this cursed mini-monolith all the time so it's more about what a day with it is like than it is "does this work at all", if that makes sense. If I'm spending the day having to fiddle and be annoyed I'll look around and see what I can find. i have a high tolerance for jank so that tends to work out to every three or four years or so.
With both kinds of devices I will always go after open-box/returns/refurbs too. Sometimes you can get pretty lucky, especially around/after big holidays.
I will say, my calculus around this has changed significantly in the past three or four years. I do not want a device with an ai assistant, a lot of hardware has been disappointing/lame, and a bunch of software has also been really lame. At this point, though it's around the usual time I'd be looking, I'm not. Instead I'm looking at components and replacement parts, because I happen to be able to do that sort of stuff myself. I intend to keep my current setup going for as long as I can maintain it, given how little I care about what's coming out today.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C (edited )LinkContinuing along in Bannerlord, here are some more screenshots Last week, I finished out with seizing a Vlandian castle, and pretty much immediately began a campaign of terror to weaken Vlandia,...Continuing along in Bannerlord, here are some more screenshots
Last week, I finished out with seizing a Vlandian castle, and pretty much immediately began a campaign of terror to weaken Vlandia, both in terms of its prosperity and military. Seizing the castle made them hostile again, but my constant incitement of rebellions meant their attention was split between the castle and two cities. Cities are far more valuable to hold, so I avoided having to conduct a defense of the castle and could instead spend the time creating and reinforcing my own military. I named a governor, laid out a queue of projects, and split my party into 4. Each party was given about 100 elite troops, and defended the villages of our little region while I trained up more troops and filled the garrison.
Turns out, you can access the Scheme Room from the castle, and Mallgoth's wife Yanagoth is just about perfectly suited for being its manager. The network we built inciting rebellions allowed me to spy on Vlandia, so when they formed armies I would dispatch assassins to either kidnap or kill the army captains. While those schemes unfolded, I traveled to the cities they held and along with rebellions, I poisoned the water, destroyed the food, and sapped the walls. At the same time, the Southern Empire declared war on Vlandia, so I was able to do this mostly unimpeded for weeks and continued dumping money on the cities when they went independent. Over time, Vlandia went from fielding multiple 1000+ armies to barely managing one at 400. I assisted their enemies' armies and ambushed their nobles, eventually filling the castle dungeon with over 30 of their commanders.
With Vlandia distracted and severely weakened, I decided to further set up an advantage in the Highlands by going after the Battanians. They'd been on the decline for a while, and had reached a point of no return (as in, no way they'd ever recover given the forces surrounding them). I took their king Caladog and beheaded him, then paid off his successor and let Vlandia crush what remained of their kingdom. This meant Vlandia became overextended - they held more cities but only barely. With the Battanians gone, their clans dispersed and were absorbed into the other kingdoms, and Mallgoth became the last surviving clan leader, the unofficial Last King of Battania.
I renamed our clan, from "Shitteeth" to a more lore friendly "fen Cythraul Uffar", which per some silly internetting might be Welsh for "hellish demon". I continued the campaign of wearing down the highland cities until eventually, three were in active rebellion all at once. At this moment, I saw the opportunity to jump higher - a city, Car Banseth, had less than 100 men in its garrison. On my own, I couldn't actually take the city (sieges are tough as shit), but together with my war parties, I could. I sent a messenger to the castle, and declared us a new kingdom: "The Kingdom of Grandis Larcennae". Then I called forth my parties and took Car Banseth.
Declaring oneself a kingdom is a big step. It changes a lot of relationships as well as diplomatic options for resolving conflict. I set up non-aggression pacts with anyone opposing Vlandia, and pushed the advantage by finding and assisting their armies. Mallgoth made his first friend, a rebel leader named Rhylan, who owned the city neighboring our castle. Vlandia eventually quelled the rebellions, but kept a lot of the leaders as governors, because every time they'd elect a Vlandian noble I'd have them assassinated. Rhylan was integrated into Vlandia but remained Mallgoth's friend, so though the city was technically hostile they didn't try to pull shit with us. On the rare occasion id encounter Rhylan in battle, I'd charge out and club him unconscious with a hammer to ensure he survived, and then set him free after we won/took prisoners, which preserved our relationship. Eventually, I snuck into the city and met with Rhylan. I gifted him the hammer, and convinced him to defect and join our kingdom, so his town became my town.
Then, one more opportunity opened up. Another town, Pen Cannoc, ended up in the same position as Car Banseth, so we sieged it and took it. This time, with their military pretty much destroyed, Vlandia's king Armund tried to lead a force to take it back. I charged out the gates with my war parties, massacred his forces in the field and took him prisoner.
At this point, Mallgoth has been such a scourge that just about everyone who began with Vlandia in this campaign is dead. Armund was the successor after Mallgoth beheaded their last two kings. I needed to ease up to manage our new cities so I tried to see, what would they offer for him, but the offer was shitty so I beheaded him too. Their fourth leader, Queen Firzana, offered to make peace and pay us 600k (an absurd amount) as war reparations. I took the deal, because I wanted to say Mallgoth got paid for being a terrorist. Despite being at peace, I continued to send out saboteurs and spies to ruin their nobles' reputations and keep their armies from forming, and fomented rebellion in the towns nearest us. I convinced two more clans to join, which added a total of eight more war parties to our military. By putting my war prisoners to work in the stone mines I've amassed a gigantic pile of money, and the castle + three cities are all growing quickly thanks to Mallgoth's companions being spec'd for good governorship.
At this point, Mallgoth is 50 years old. He has made enemies of practically every noble clan, and his only friends are his former companions + the three clans who joined us. I've decided, he will bear the weight of conquest, stain his hands forever with blood so that his daughter, Tyranae, will inherit a large and prosperous kingdom. She is 12, so we have at least six years to go hard and get all we can, provided age/sickness doesn't take Mallgoth out before then. My goal is to claim all of the former Battanian cities so that when she takes the throne, she will be the first queen of the Highlands, and together with her siblings and Mallgoth's advisers she'll scour Vlandia from the earth.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C Link ParentThe graphics are unmodded. It runs great on the steam deck so all of those are from it. Sometimes it can look a little wonky between weathers and times of day but most of the time it looks great....The graphics are unmodded. It runs great on the steam deck so all of those are from it. Sometimes it can look a little wonky between weathers and times of day but most of the time it looks great. One mod imo everyone should get is the fire arrows. It's purely a visual change, and makes nighttime sieges/battles look incredible.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C (edited )LinkHere are some fun screenshots from various moments in my ongoing Bannerlord campaign. This past week, I tried to continue my strategic goal of destroying Vlandia, and ended up in deep shit...Here are some fun screenshots from various moments in my ongoing Bannerlord campaign.
This past week, I tried to continue my strategic goal of destroying Vlandia, and ended up in deep shit inciting rebellions across their periphery. Along with that, I have become a notorious criminal, so throughout all my activity I am regularly having to thwart attempts to assassinate my companions and sabotage my army.
On the island where my hideout is located, there are three cities: Omor, Varcheg, and Reyvl. I went to each of them, befriended the local bandit gangs, and worked those relationships by engaging in various bandit related activities. Heists, insurance scams, tavern brawling, and pit fights, mostly. By doing these, I grew my relations until I could challenge the leaders in each city. I won, and installed companions as new gang leaders, which opened up running a Criminal Enterprise, an alternative to the hideout stuff I'd been doing earlier. I relocated my main base to Omor, and opened up smuggling operations, gambling dens, and brothels. Then, I went back out to the highlands, which have been slowly overtaken by Vlandia in its effort to seize more territory.
Thanks to the enhanced bandit network I could establish relations with the gang leaders in the highland towns, and over time opened up the option to incite rebellion in each of them. One by one, I traveled to each town and drove them to the point of rebelling against their lords. When that happens each city becomes independent, and the controlling empire always sends an army to try to retake the city. I gave the rebels piles of money and food and stuck around to help their defense. It was in one of these, a city called Seonon, where I fought what's been the hardest battles of the game thus far.
When Seonon rebelled, the first siege attempt simply wasn't up to snuff. Not enough people, not good enough at building siege engines. We crushed them before they could reach the gates with well placed catapult shots and ambushes. Some time later, a second army showed up led by the king of Vlandia himself, Derthert. When the siege took place they built a trebuchet and managed to destroy part of the city wall. When the actual siege battle commenced, I decided to lead a division of cavalry through the gap in the wall and charged Derthert himself. We got him, scrambled back to the city and successfully defended against the rest of his forces. When the battle was over I beheaded Derthert and triggered what turned out to be four more sieges.
By the sixth siege we were losing momentum. I got stuck in a battle of attrition. The enemy was able to keep up with our siege weapons, so I led ambushes to destroy their towers and battering rams, over and over and over again for weeks, until they ran low on food and opted to attack without them. By that point we simply didn't have enough men - I led my infantry in a square formation, and fought to the last at the city gates. When the battle was over, we successfully escaped as Vlandia retook the city and I left to go rebuild my forces. While I was out in the field I actually spotted Derthert's successor Alfric, recruiting out in some peripheral villages. We were outnumbered, 2:1, but I couldn't let the opportunity go and engaged him.
This battle was rough. i commanded six divisions - two infantry, two ranged, horse archers, cavalry. The map had a lot of ridges, so I positioned my archers behind one, and the infantry in square formations on its left and right. Leading the horse archers and cavalry, I baited Alfric's army into running up and over the ridge, where my archers picked them off as the infantry tore through their flanks and cavalry ran along their rear. Because we were still outnumbered I pulled everyone back, and drew the enemy down into a valley. With archers firing from a ridge behind us, and the infantry keeping them busy in the valley, I led the cavalry around and sandwiched them, managing to slap Alfric myself with a zweihander I'd named "Retirement Plan". We won, captured Alfric and beheaded him. Though the kingdoms all fight each other, they typically don't kill each other's nobles, so beheading two kings has put me at odds with about half the realm's noble clans regardless of their allegiances.
Across this time Yanagoth gave birth to four children (two sons and two daughters): Tyranae, Bolverkr, Porg, and Kalevala. Mallgoth is 40 at this point, so we should be good for succession if he survives about another decade. With the Six Sieges and Alfric having depleted my forces I've been back on the island, eradicating barbarian hordes to train up more troops. The highland cities continue to rebel, which is whittling away Vlandia's forces. Beheading their last two kings has disrupted the balance of power among their noble clans, so they also can't organize as well as they could in the past. My bandit network includes gangs in all the highland cities - I conduct sabotage and assassination attempts against the lords while they try (and often fail) to retake them.
Edit: Today I was fortunate to have some extra time, and pulled off something I did not expect. There was a castle in between two of the towns I've been causing a ruckus in, that ended up depleted of its garrison to the point I could siege it successfully with just my warband. We took the castle, and now I'm filling it with elite troops. Vlandia has to choose now, city or castle, and if they go for the castle I'll get a third king if I have to.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C Link ParentIf you want to get into the spirit a bit, check out a YouTube channel called Tactical Enlightenment some time. He does lots of gigantic battles with all kinds of demonstrations, with a smattering...If you want to get into the spirit a bit, check out a YouTube channel called Tactical Enlightenment some time. He does lots of gigantic battles with all kinds of demonstrations, with a smattering of historical talk and discussion about various tactical maneuvers. I've been watching through his Peasant Revolt playthrough and it got me trying some super fun stuff in my own battles.
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Comment on For the atheists of Tildes, do you feel the need to show gratitude for comforts of your life and how do you do it? in ~talk
Thomas-C LinkSure, in some pretty simple ways. I try to express gratitude through seizing upon opportunities, to enhance, cultivate, share, etc the various things which I feel bring me joy or contribute nicely...Sure, in some pretty simple ways. I try to express gratitude through seizing upon opportunities, to enhance, cultivate, share, etc the various things which I feel bring me joy or contribute nicely to stuff. It's hard to talk about outside a specific example, because there is no ritual I do nor a saying I use. I just try to keep my self interest/intuition tuned toward looking for those opportunities, and put aside what i consider petty/irrelevant/etc. Most days, I wake up, and while I stretch and meditate I take time to think about what I am most thankful for. Not because I owe anything to anything, nor fear anything's disappearance, but because it sets me up to keep looking in the way I wish to do.
I don't believe in anything beyond the realm of us mortal folk but I do have a kind of spiritualism in my framework for dealing with the world. A very basic sort of idea that there is a "spirit", a self that can be cultivated and changed for various reasons and in various ways. There is a sort of person I like to be, so I work toward being that. The idea there is nothing after I die doesn't bother me, rather it makes the present and the various things that happen more meaningful. It's all there is. So when something happens that is particularly fortunate, I take some time to be grateful for it simply because it could have gone differently.
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Comment on I don’t want video games to challenge me in ~games
Thomas-C LinkI guess I'm the opposite of you in some respects. I like to hone in on a single, often very challenging title for a while and explore the depths of what can be done in it. It matters a lot how...I guess I'm the opposite of you in some respects. I like to hone in on a single, often very challenging title for a while and explore the depths of what can be done in it. It matters a lot how that challenge is constructed though whether I will want to stick with it. I kind of think of it like a mini sport - it's the fun of learning, of change and growth, with the reward at the end being that you can do wild, cool shit like it's nothing. There's an element of teamwork too - a big, difficult game brings folks together a bit, discussing tactics and strategy, working out methods/technique, etc. All the fun you get out of many games with a lesser demand, I get from having practiced the one or two with a higher demand, maybe is a way to put it. I don't have to think a whole lot when I fire up Monster Hunter, Elden Ring, STALKER, etc, because I've learned those games well and know what to do in them. They're like dances, each has a set of moves that flow into one another differently depending on what you're facing. When you know the moves and can keep pace, the demand disappears because your focus isn't on its particulars anymore. While I can certainly enjoy something with a lesser demand (like Pikmin, I did like Pikmin), I will always come back to these more difficult experiences because their difficulty ensures the dance will feel good to do.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C (edited )LinkEdit: When I do a game like this I like to see what other people are doing in it. I found a channel with some ridiculous videos of what you can do in Bannerlord, and includes his mod list. I play...Edit: When I do a game like this I like to see what other people are doing in it. I found a channel with some ridiculous videos of what you can do in Bannerlord, and includes his mod list. I play with a bit of a different setup for what appears on the campaign map but the numbers will get up there toward endgame. I think I'm gonna try to get good at doing 8 divisions on the steam deck.
Bannerlord continues
In the last post I wrote, my thought was to seize a Vlandian castle for the sake of leverage, to try to bully my way up into the world of the nobility. After spending some time developing relations with the bandit clans, this plan has changed, and a whole different way of playing has become clear to me.
I found a bandit hideout up north on a large island with a long peninsula. On the island there are three major cities, and about a dozen smaller villages along with the hideout. For a while, I raided caravans at the bridges connecting the island to the rest of the world, and donated the loot/prisoners to the hideout to develop a relationship with them. Eventually, this led to an option to build a safe house, so I did that and discovered a whole bunch of new stuff.
The safe house, which I've named Scumbag's Repose, is a small farm + cave system in a ruined castle by the river. It progresses and builds up similar to other stuff in the game, so I've been working at improving it and expanding the range of what I can do. The primary way to grow the hideout is to recruit more bandits (referred to as "Your Lads") and turn prisoners into slaves. The Lads can either guard the hideout, which maintains order, or go do banditry, which earns some money to offset the costs of maintenance. With the prisoners, once enslaved they either can serve in the hideout, which helps to rank it up/build improvements, or work in the stone mine, which delivers high short term profits but results in folks dying on a regular basis. The hideout has a Scheme Room, where you select a companion to manage it and then train recruits, as spies, thieves, and assassins.
After first establishing Scumbag's Repose, I spent some money to outfit my guys with the best stuff, and took a new name. "Pruggnard the Merciless" has become "Mallgoth the Loiterer". For a while, I roamed and continued raiding caravans, but where before id just sell everything off (loot and prisoners alike), now I dump the resources into the hideout. At present, we have 400 Lads, and about 600 slaves. With the gigantic pile of gold I'd accrued from the raids, I went around the island and invested in it. I own workshops in the three major cities, producing beer, velvet, wood, and weapons. In each of the smaller villages, I bought 10-20 acres of land which produce and sell goods for me. Once I achieved profitability, I decided to gather my companions and a big squad of cavalry and embarked on an expedition to the south.
I went there by doing a crescent along the eastern side of the map, got to the south and established relations with the bandit clans of the steppe and desert. They send emissaries to the safe house, where I can donate stuff or call them forth as a fighting force. On my return trip to the safe house, I met a woman, Yana of the steppe, and married her by giving her mom a big pile of gold. Yana's standout character traits are "ferocity" and "cruelty", I think I did good. I renamed her "Yanagoth", outfitted her as elite cavalry, and got her pregnant before finally returning to Scumbag's Repose.
Because Yanagoth is of noble lineage, now I occasionally receive messengers from the Khuzait Empire, who ask me to do things like assassinate and defame their enemies for a sizeable chunk of change. As the Scheme Room gets more effective it gets easier to do these, but a major part of it relies on establishing a network with the gang leaders in major cities. I decided I needed to leave once again, and made my way west to the highlands, where the kingdom of Battania lies (near Vlandia) to try to build up this network. In the highlands I traveled from town to town, doing pit fighting under different gang leaders to get in their good graces. With the network established, I can spy on the various kingdoms, and better accomplish the schemes the Khuzait ask of me. As the network develops I open up more options, to go after nobles of all the different clans, so I've begun to try to assassinate the Vlandian clan heads who hate me the most.
At present, I've amassed 1.5 million denars (gold), raised around 200 troops to their highest tiers, and opened up the options for calling forth support from the other bandit clans. Im going to split the elite troops among my companions, turn them into individual parties, grow them further and then unite them all into a proper army (my goal is 1200 total fully upgraded troops). Once established, I am going to take my army over to Vlandia, and instead of seizing a castle I am going to attempt seizing Vlandia itself. My assassins will get their most entrenched nobles while I make my way through their lands, and when we've reached their king I will call forth the bandit hordes and finish the job.
The wonderful thing about Bannerlord is this is but a step along the way. Once a kingdom has been established I will be in competition with the others directly, they will not take kindly to my bandit uprising. Too bad, so sad, all the earth shall march beneath the banner of Mallgoth the Loiterer before I am finished.
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Comment on Insane and crazy recipe substitutions? in ~food
Thomas-C Link ParentThe neighbor did give us cookies again if I remember correctly. At the time I moved away not long after the original story, and I do seem to remember my mom offhandedly mentioning getting some...The neighbor did give us cookies again if I remember correctly. At the time I moved away not long after the original story, and I do seem to remember my mom offhandedly mentioning getting some more "chocolate chip ruffles" lol.
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Comment on Insane and crazy recipe substitutions? in ~food
Thomas-C LinkMy mom has a recipe she uses at thanksgiving for green bean bundles. She'll use a slice of bacon to make a bundle with 8-12 long green beans, then bake them in a tray with a mix of onions, cider...My mom has a recipe she uses at thanksgiving for green bean bundles. She'll use a slice of bacon to make a bundle with 8-12 long green beans, then bake them in a tray with a mix of onions, cider vinegar, and some different herbs. I have an unhealthy kind of love of vinegar so they're always a hit with me. One time, I was visiting with my grandmother and she decided she was going to make some green bean bundles, because she knew I liked them.
In the usual recipe, the mix of stuff takes on an orange-red color, and they taste best if you're using fresh green beans and thick bacon. What I got served was a deep red. The green beans were cut exactly the same, and the bacon was that thin, pre-cooked kind you find in a frozen section. I didn't want to be impolite, so I took one with a fork and bit into it. Turns out, what I expected to be an onion-y, vinegar-y sort of taste was Russian salad dressing, with canned beans and precooked bacon. Grandma had picked out whatever sauce looked right and used it on that basis, because she'd worked up enough nervousness to stop her from asking anyone how to actually make that dish.
My dad one time got to experience this same sort of moment by way of a ham and sour cream sandwich, which is like a family legend at this point. Same sort of story, grandma done got nervous and just made something that looked like what he'd asked for, because she didn't want him to know she'd run out of mayonnaise. At the time, she lived across the street from the grocery store, and it's not like either me or my dad would have had a problem with heading over for something (it wouldn't have been more than a ten minute trip lol).
Grandma's sister got me one time with chicken parmesan, where instead of the usual breadcrumbs/herbs for breading, she'd crushed up a bunch of frosted flakes and rolled the chicken around in it with some oregano. I've actually had some chicken breaded with different cereals that I rather liked, but the key was cereal that didn't have sugar in it/wasn't flavored with sweet spices. Frosted Flake Chicken Parm is definitely not on that list. The sugar made the whole thing taste kinda like off ketchup with cheese.
One time a neighbor brought us some cookies, just as a thing she'd do for folks who had recently moved in. They looked fine, smelled good, but when I bit into one something just wasn't right. There was a distinct saltiness and aftertaste closer to a french fry than a cookie, a thick and greasy sort of taste that meant I really did not want another one. We broke the cookies apart and discovered, they'd been made with Ruffles potato chips. The cookies were just plain chocolate chip otherwise, really they tasted very good if not for the potato chips. We puzzled over this for a good bit, and settled on it having been a "that's what was in the pantry" recipe. We all have some, no biggie, but we did resolve to break one open first if she brought us more.
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Comment on How did you learn to read? in ~humanities.languages
Thomas-C LinkWhen I was very young my mom did a lot of reading, and often read her books to me. I was in a Montessori school before first grade, where I had both an English and a French teacher reading all...When I was very young my mom did a lot of reading, and often read her books to me. I was in a Montessori school before first grade, where I had both an English and a French teacher reading all sorts of books to me along with doing phonics and spelling and all that, too. After about third grade I got into my dad's shelf of science fiction, and from there I just always had a book I was reading really up until today. The subject matter has changed a ton but the act of reading is something I never stopped doing.
Grade school was a weird experience because I often got in some sort of trouble over reading. I did not enjoy most of what got assigned, and a lot of the time was spent just sitting at the desk while they had other folks read aloud. No shade at the kids but man did it bore the hell out of me to be stuck on the same paragraph for ten, fifteen minutes at a time. I'd end up in trouble because the boredom would get to me, id pull out my own book, and the teacher usually got kinda pissed I wasn't doing what was assigned. It always felt kinda ironic to get lectured at over that while I could see posters with smiling cartoons about how great and awesome reading was.
I never really got into what was assigned, either - I couldn't relate to what the authors were trying to communicate a lot of the time, and my teachers weren't able to really help with that. I avoided a lot of that sort of literature until much later as a result, and did have a stretch where I found it more difficult to do any reading, because of how much I was being made to do outside where my actual interest was.
That's the formative part I suppose. I felt I really expanded on my ability to read when I got to college, because there I was faced with a lot of dense, difficult stuff that really took a while to process and put together. Philosophy in particular was like being in the high gravity training machine - tons of words id never seen that didn't have settled meanings, prolonged thoughts that required keeping a lot in mind all at once, Hegel, etc. The most difficult exercise was to work through a page of Kant in the original German. I did not know German. It took me forever and a half (and it wasn't even a very good page) but it sure did open my eyes to how other folks could bend and use language, which I think helped out in the long run. If anything, looking back it feels like a two stage process of learning to read - I learned to read in a literal sense, did it for entertainment mostly, then got into the trenches and learned a deeper sort of reading, that changed profoundly how I engaged with any written material. I came to look at a book more like an elongated thought/a full conversation, rather than an object of entertainment, and that's when I could revisit some of those former assignments and get something nice from them.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C Link ParentI am excited to continue because the banditry goes way further than I ever expected. Without spoiling too much: We've set up shop in a ruined castle I've named Scumbag's Repose. I've put ~200...I am excited to continue because the banditry goes way further than I ever expected.
Without spoiling too much: We've set up shop in a ruined castle I've named Scumbag's Repose. I've put ~200 vlandian war prisoners to work in a quarry. We have a "scheme room" and assassins. The northern bandit clans send emissaries for trade. Currently building relations with some gang leaders in the nearby town by doing pit fights. I found an option in a menu that says "Call the Horde". I think my plans will have to adjust a bit lol
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Thomas-C LinkI decided to fire up Bannerlord again and see what I could accomplish. Last time I played it, I was on my steam deck and didn't really know enough about proton to get the mods I wanted working. As...I decided to fire up Bannerlord again and see what I could accomplish. Last time I played it, I was on my steam deck and didn't really know enough about proton to get the mods I wanted working. As it tends to go, I learned a bit, and then discovered I didn't need to know because proton got the right sort of updates, so I cobbled together a fun pack of a bunch of different things and set to work becoming a bandit lord.
In this run, I am playing as "Pruggnard the Merciless of Clan Shitteeth", a landless gladiator-turned-bandit when it became clear that raiding caravans was where the money was at. The character creator lets you choose teeth, hence the clan name. I began by going after small bands of looters/army deserters out in the periphery, then made my way into the center of the kingdom to do arena fighting. Got lucky and won a sick two hander + a breastplate, and met some folks in the taverns who became companions. Eventually, the arena fighting wasn't generating enough income to maintain my party's expenses, so we ventured out to take on bigger bandit groups/their hideouts.
One of the mods I use is Fourberie, which lets you have deeper interaction with the unsavory elements of the game. I struck up a relationship with a bandit hideout and did some trading, of loot and prisoners, then decided I did not need them and annihilated their hideout. That got me a sizeable chunk of change, so I hired on some better troops, and decided I'd try to go after a caravan to test their strength. There's a kingdom in the game, Vlandia, styled off the Normans, who at one point tried to siege one of the towns I was doing arena fighting in, so I figured I'd go after one of their caravans. As it so happened, a silversmith's caravan was making its way near where I was, so I chased em down and got to work.
The battle was tough. I'm using mods that introduce a posture system, and discovered much to my chagrin that taking a swing at low posture can absolutely lead to getting dismounted. I swung with a two handed axe, hit a shield, flew from the saddle and rolled along the ground. I still had my weapon, so as I got up I readied myself as three dudes approached with shields and maces. I blocked the first guy, swung, but he blocked with the shield and it knocked the axe from my hands. I drew my sword, deflected two blows, cut one down and then got slapped from the side, which disarmed me again. Walking backward I drew my last weapon, a short and shitty morningstar, and clapped the last two one after the other. As the battle raged I ran to gather my weapons, and hopped on the nearest mount, a pack mule from the caravan. I called my forces to me for protection, sallied forth on the pack mule and won the battle.
That caravan was a big enough haul that I could upgrade just about every aspect of my band, and since doing that made Vlandia an enemy, I decided we'd just keep raiding their caravans to amass a big pile of gold. Another mod lets you get a horse, name it, and develop its skills - I got a Destrier, named him Pifflesnort, and decked him out in scale barding. I got more companions, more troops, and over time built them into an elite force of about a hundred folks. At present, we've gotten enough notoriety that other kingdoms are offering us opportunities at mercenary work/vassalage, and Vlandia is so tired of the caravan raiding they're trying to make peace with me. I've set up camp along a river where their caravans go, usually I can get two in a day.
From here, I think the plan will be to accept one of the offers, accrue some land, and through diplomacy build up a group of loyal nobles. When I've got enough of them, I will declare independence, wage whatever war is necessary to defend it, and then conquer all of Vlandia for little reason beyond petty grievance. Their knights nearly killed my buddy during our caravan raiding, so that means I need to own all of their cities. As well, I shall grow Clan Shitteeth by wooing as many noblewomen as possible, so that my progeny can take up the banner should I fall. Characters age too, so I need to build up a retirement plan regardless.
Our next move is a test. I think my troops are good enough, so I'm gonna see if I can start the land accrual by stealing a Vlandian castle. I found a companion who's good at building siege weapons, and got everybody strapped up after paying to access a royal armory. If I can steal the castle, I can leverage that for a higher position with the kingdoms at war with Vlandia, and begin my journey of vengeance. One day, all the land shall know the brown and yellow banner of Clan Shitteeth.
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Comment on Why do AI company logos look like buttholes? in ~design
Thomas-C LinkThat is because we are passing through and out into a whole new world of shit, after everything we ever did got mushed together and digested. (I couldn't help myself)That is because we are passing through and out into a whole new world of shit, after everything we ever did got mushed together and digested.
(I couldn't help myself)
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Comment on What's your favorite music album to get high to? in ~music
Thomas-C LinkI don't really do it anymore, but when I did, a couple of my favorite albums were Does it Look Like I'm Here? by Emeralds, and Departure Songs by Hammock. Both have a range to them, some of it is...I don't really do it anymore, but when I did, a couple of my favorite albums were Does it Look Like I'm Here? by Emeralds, and Departure Songs by Hammock. Both have a range to them, some of it is lighter, some darker, and they take a while to get where they're going (which always felt right to me in that state of mind). Both do instrumentals. Both bands have more albums so if you like either, you'll probably find more to enjoy.
Thinking about it, a couple of lyrical songs I liked were I Wanna Take You Out by Part Time, Pluto by Work Drugs, Saber-Tooth and Bone by Surfer Blood, Shadow by Wild Nothing, and Wasting Time by Day Wave. The songs are pretty indicative of the rest of what they do, if you like one hit up the album it's from and you'll probably enjoy it.
Guess I'm gonna be listening to these today because that always happens when I revisit them lol, thanks for that
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
Thomas-C Link ParentI can't talk the providers up enough honestly. Her primary reached out to me personally, so we could keep up better correspondence/have more immediate attention when issues arise, and their...I can't talk the providers up enough honestly. Her primary reached out to me personally, so we could keep up better correspondence/have more immediate attention when issues arise, and their experience is all centered around elder care - I could not ask for better on that.
And yeah lol grandma loves checking stuff out. Doesn't matter if she has no idea what you're doing, she's interested because you're interested. She likes art and media for similar reasons I do - it's just cool to see what people do, and learn why they did it/what inspired them, even when the work doesn't hit or it's outside our usual preferences. Its one of the many reasons she's been a big deal in my life, it meant a lot to me as a kid to have someone who was down to just investigate things and talk about what was neat (as opposed to, say, concern over stuff having an influence, or refusing/disengaging because it was unfamiliar).
Yesterday Shokuho was released, so I've been knee deep in that to the extent I can be. It's just unbelievable what these folks have made. Here are a few screenshots I took from the deck.
Shokuho is a total conversion mod for Bannerlord, set in Japan in 1568. Along with the new setting, they integrated features from other popular mods and expanded the game in really every aspect. The campaign map is about 5 times the size of what you got in vanilla Bannerlord, with over 50 cities and 150+ castles. It is the whole of Japan, minus the northern island/Ainu, but it straight up says on the map screen that's a work in progress/it's coming. When you set up the campaign, you can choose whether you want the historical battles to play out or just go freeplay with it, and from there you can choose who you want to join up with or go it alone in the typical Mount and Blade sort of way.
I decided to do my usual and be a filthy bandit. Motafukaru Gorogunaku, whose banner is white with a big red O on it, has made his way in the world picking corpses and convincing looters to go with him through the age old art of slapping them until they do it. The corpse picking is a legit thing in Shokuho - when a battle large enough concludes, there will be a spot left open on the map to go to, and you can find various bits of loot, get jumped by other bandits, etc. The basic progression is just as it was in Bannerlord, but there is more to get into and the tactical situation is pretty much totally different.
With respect to gear and character building, you are much closer to being a glass cannon by default than anything else. There are no handheld shields, and armor tends to be focused on the chest and head (location based damage matters). You can get something like a horo for your back (it's crazy expensive) and that's about it for protection beyond your armor. As well, it being 1568 means you can get guns. They're very slow to use but awesome to deploy - a full volley aimed well absolutely shreds. In the campaign mode, along with aspiring to vassalage or forming your own kingdom, you can do a full career as a mercenary or as an enlisted soldier/officer in someone else's army. There are more quests, both in number and type, so you can also just sort of go adventuring and get into shit.
Along with starting a campaign I did some custom battles, to see the castle sieges and naval battles. Both are very impressive. The castle sieges are especially fun, because they operate almost totally differently from Bannerlord. Instead of marching up on a castle with siege towers and trebuchet-ing the walls, the castles are typically up on steep cliffs and surrounded by multiple gates. To win the siege you have to push through, gate to gate, and when you're on the defensive you might have to do that against multiple fronts. It's a totally different tactical situation and the troop trees have a lot more options. Naval combat is completely new to the game, no one has done it prior (that I know of) and the Shokuho team beat out the devs to implementing it. I'm terrible at it but it's just a matter of learning what I need to be paying attention to.
On the level of aesthetics I don't think they could have done a better job. The maps are gorgeous, the music is great, the dedication to a realistic portrayal goes a long way toward making you feel like you really are just wandering around in a different time and place. And, other mods work with it, so I could keep stuff like an over-the-shoulder camera and my dedicated button for yelling at people. The RTS camera works too, so you can flip between the usual action-rpg setup and something akin to Total War - literally, this setup is what one of my friends and I would daydream about doing matches in Shogun Total War ages ago, it's so cool.
I can say for sure this is gonna be something I get into for a while. It's like getting a whole new game in the franchise, a project that reminds me of the best of Warband. Warband had a similar mod, Gekokujo - it's like getting a sequel to that. And with the way it's been built, it's all but guaranteed other modders will make their stuff compatible, so it will grow and expand even further (likely pretty quickly too). It takes minimal setup to get going (download a few mods, put them in a folder, check some boxes, done) and performance is more or less in line with the vanilla game. The campaign map chugs a bit (because it's massive) but battles and towns and things are pretty much the same. Works just fine on the steam deck too. I've had it crash once in a few hours of play - for a mod project, for Bannerlord, that's great lol. I can't wait to see what else is in it.