Sudanna

I'm not actually a caliph. A caliph is a religious title, sort of like the Muslim Pope, but not really. It literally means "successor", as a successor to Muhammad as the leader of the faith. There's one for Shi'a and one for Sunnis - though, like I said, the Shi'a haven't had one for twenty-seven years at the 862 start date. Unlike the papacy, a caliph also must be a secular leader, often a powerful king or (as in the case of Caliph Mu'tazz) emperor in his own right. I'm just a newly-minted emir, the Arabic culture group's word for "duke". The different cultures often change their titles. Like how the marzoban is called a marzoban instead of a sheikh, and the two satraps bordering me are called satraps and not emirs. It's really way less complicated than it all appears. I haven't been playing for very long and it's surprisingly easy to get a grasp of how most parts work.

Carrying around that huge torso-sized crossbow on a tripod with five-foot stilts through the entire game certainly changes how you picture a tinkermage doing things. Especially when you consider that they'd need at least two tripods with an assortment of detachable heads.

D&D, or at least some editions of it, actually explicitly does this. Orcs or goblins might be listed as always Chaotic Evil, for example. Depending on how you look at it, this is either fantasy racism or a setting in which different species are actually, y'know, very different from each other. It would probably have fewer Unfortunate Implications if they weren't referred to as "races".

I've edited the first post, the new link should work.

My vassal sheikhs won't hurt anyone for now, though. We've all been taking a breather after the recent ouster of the native Zoroastrian Persian rulers and seeing to our own realms. Or I've been seeing to mine, at least. I presume my vassals have been administering their own. I wasted no time in setting up my court and my council, staffed of course by fellow Bedouin Shi'ites brought with me from my homeland back in Arabia. They're competent enough, but nothing stellar. I've set them to work doing various tasks of the realm. Collecting taxes, training levies, converting the infidel natives, etc. I've also been taking stock of our neighbors. The Abbasid Caliphate to the east is a huge and dangerous beast, but the Caliph is preoccupied with conquering the lands to the south, so he shouldn't trouble my budding emirate. The Dulafid Emirate to the south is comparable in size and power to my own, and was similarly wrested from the native Persians by Bedouin conquerers, though long ago enough that they're converted most of the populace to Sunni Islam. Emir al-Aziz does not much appreciate me muscling in on his con game. He's known for his sloth, though, and it's cost him the lands that are now mine. While the Tahirid Satrapy to the east is much larger, it can field only a few hundred more men than our own could if my vassals were cooperative. Its native Persian ruler had the wisdom to convert to Islam some time ago. Regretfully, he was not wise enough to convert to the true Islam, and is instead a Sunni heretic. About half of his lands have converted along with him. He's currently embroiled in a war against the Saffarid Satrapy further to the east for the entirety of his kingdom. If he loses, there will be an extremely dangerous Sunni sultanate to the east. If he wins, his armies might be left weak enough to take advantage of. Satrap Muhammad is lustful, arbitrary, ambitious, and particularly zealous. You know what they say about converts. He's also a masterful negotiator. He also loathes me, mostly because I'm a Shi'ite. Such is the lot of the righteous. To the northeast is the Karen Satrapy, an infidel realm of Zoroastrian Persians. It can field as many men as I can now, so they should stand no chance if I can bring my vassals ino line. They're also hell-bound infidels, so I won't even feel bad about it. Satrap Vandad is loathed by every one of his vassals. Finally, to the northwest is the Marzpanate of Gilan. An independent Marzoban possessing only a single relatively wealthy sheikhdom, Wahsudan is a Kurdish infidel lauded for his military skill. Still, he can raise only a tiny fraction of the troops my realm can and should be easy pickings. He makes an obvious and tempting first target. Surrounded by heretics and infidels, my brother and I will need to continue our conquests if we are to retain them. The Marzoban is kind, trusting, and brave, but also an infidel. I might feel a little bad about this one. A map of our immediate neighbors. It's the same one I used to plan our inital conquests, actually, I just drew over it for the Alavid part. The options before me seem clear. First order of business is removing the infidel from power. And from this world. The land can be split between my half-brother and myself, which should placate him. After that, the Marzpanate of Gilam is too enticing to pass up. The Alavid dynasty has just gotten its footing, and I intend to see it continue its march. Additionally, finding some way to ensure the Tahirid Satrapy remains independent is in my best interests, unless I want to find myself under a Sunni lord. However, I should also see to finding some wives and siring an heir as soon as possible. It's a dangerous world, and even if I meet my end, I don't intend for my legacy to die with me. Nor do I intend to live as a soldier forever. I have also never gone on hajj, despite living so close to the holy cities for so long. Much of my time was consumed by planning and marshaling resources, and I have neglected that pillar of Islam. Completing my pilgrimage can perhaps wait until my realm is more secure. . . but perhaps not. EDIT: Apparently, only so many images are allowed per post, so I split it up.

Chapter 1: Hi. Hi. This is me. I'm 37, a Bedouin Muslim, and looking for love. I'm also deceitful, just, ambitious, greedy, and a Sayyid, meaning I can trace my lineage back to the Prophet Muhammad or his uncles. In my case, his uncle Abu Talib. Of course, we do not depict the Prophet in our family tree. He's the green circle with the golden symbol. I'm the one all the way at the bottom, on the left. This probably explains why I'm a Shi'a Muslim, unlike most other Muslims. The divide between Shi'a and Sunni originates from the succession of the Caliphate upon the Prophet's death. The heretical Sunnis believe that the sons of Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter, rightfully inherited the Caliphate, while the Shi'a believe that the next Caliph was Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin, from his uncle. . . Abu Talib. That I directly benefit from the Shi'a interpretation of Islam is, of course, merely incidental to my faith. Not that there's much to benefit from at the moment. Save for the Idrisid Sultanate, far to the west, there are no great Shi'a realms. There hasn't even been a Shi'a Caliph since 835, when Caliph Muhammad III died. Most of the Arabian peninsula is entirely Sunni, and most of it is under the direct control of the powerful Sunni Caliph, Al-Mu'tazz Abbasid. Lustful, envious, cruel, cynical, unjust, and an indulgent wastrel. What can you expect of heretics? However trying the times may be for my brothers in the faith, though, I've managed to do quite well. I left the Hashimid emirate, on the eastern shore of the Red Sea, to become the first emir of the small realm of Tabaristan. That's what the locals call the place, anyways. According to me and my half-brother, this is the Alavid Emirate, as that's the name we took upon establishing ourselves as rulers here. New rulers, new dynasty, and this is the beginning of the Alavid dynasty. Pay no mind to the enormous heretic empire immediately to the west. Or the moderately-sized heretic satrapy to the east. Or the only-slightly-more-powerful heretic emirate to the south. A bit closer. We control five sheikhdoms and border the southern Caspian Sea. After ousting the native Zoroastrian rulers in the sheikhdoms of Dailam, Qazwin, and Rayy, the native Sheikh of Mazandaran and Tabaristan, Sheikh Rostam, came groveling before us and asked that he might be spared the same fate. Little did he know that our mercenary armies were more or less spent, and that he was in little danger. Still, we extracted an oath of fealty in exchange for the promise of leaving him his throne. He clearly is craven, as you would expect of an infidel. However, he is a diligent, just, and honest man, as well as a skilled tactician. He also has no heir, meaning his lands would pass to his liege (me) upon his death. I'm considering hastening that process along before he has any children. Being the senior brother by two years, I of course took the position of emir, granting my half-brother the vassal sheikhdom of Rayy within my realm. He accepted his place, but I can tell his subservience grates on him. That his realm is smaller than that of the infidel Rostam doesn't help. My half-brother Muhammad. He is kind, honest, trusting, brave, and a Sayyid like myself. He is also terribly naive. We don't get along all that well. Between my own sheikhdoms and those of my two vassal sheikhs, my realm should be able to raise around 2000 levies to fight for us. This is about comparable with the Sunni emirates to our east and south, though a mere fraction of the might available to the Abbasid Caliphate to our west. However, as neither the cowardly infidel nor my naive half-brother are on very good terms with me at the moment, I doubt they would provide the troops their oaths require. The infidel is an infidel, and my half-brother never got along with me very well even before I took the lion's share of our conquest and left him with less power than a craven foreign infidel. If we are to undertake further conquests, I will have to either repair our relationships or remove them from power and install someone more amicable to my rule. There's also a mayor that doesn't like me enough, but he has far less troops to provide.

Crusader Kings II, for those unfamiliar, is a game of grand strategy, dynastic roleplaying, medieval intrigue, and wacky hijinks. You start at some date in history as the ruler of some realm, control it until they die, and then play as their heir. This continues until either the end date in 1453, until you lose all of your territory, or until your dynasty is wiped out. The fun's not necessarily in creating a world-spanning empire so much as in making the game interesting; it's the kind of game where it's fun to lose. Previous games of mine have involved an Irish Caliphate, the restored Roman Empire sharing a border with the Holy Roman Empire, an Empire of Scandinavia stretching from Finland down to the boot of Italy, the entire Byzantine Empire becoming a merchant republic, Iceland becoming Israel, and more. Like I said: wacky hijinks. Here are some maps! Terrain: Political: Religious: As you can see, there's a lot of stuff to choose from. That's where you come in! This LP is going to have audience participation. Which means, sometimes I'll ask you guys what you want me to do next, and you'll tell me. Starting with the start! Who should we play as? Now, I don't expect a specific name or anything, but what general sort of thing would you like to see? There's a couple things that will determine who we play as, so look at the maps, take in the options, and tell me what looks interesting. What religion should we be? A loyal Catholic, beating back the pagans and heretics? A Byzantine Orthodox, striving to mend the Great Schism? A mighty Norse viking, conquering in the name of Odin? A Sunni Muslim, standing firm against the Crusades? A Hungarian Tengri, sitting at the very doorstep of the Catholics? A Jew, seeking to restore the Kingdom of Israel? Religion will determine a lot of who I will and will not be friends with, and sharing a border with a religious enemy is a good way to expand(or die horribly). Different religions also have some unique mechanics: Catholics have a lot of politicking around the Pope, pagans can try to reform their religions to put them on equal footing with the Abrahamic faiths, Muslims have the Shia/Sunni and Mutazili/Ashari internal divides, there's a lot of stuff there. Or just pick whatever sounds coolest! Where should we start? Central Europe? The British Isles, as an invading Norse pagan or the Catholics resisting them? Scandinavia, as a jarl fighting for dominance? The Near East, as a Muslim consolidating the empire to stand against the Crusades? Africa, as a doomed West African pagan, an emerging Muslim emirate, or a fading Miaphysite Christian? Russia, as a Romuva or Suomenusko pagan in a sea of petty duchies? Our neighbors are going to be a big part of our lives, since we'll probably end up killing each other or desperately banding together to avoid being killed by someone else. Bordering a huge empire as a tiny county would be a death sentence, but ruling a huge empire would be too easy. A lot of small duchies in one area means a lot of opportunity and scheming, but it might be hard to get ahead. Remember, losing is fun! As a similar question, what level should we start at, and should we be independent or not? There are four levels of rulers in CKII: counts, dukes, kings, and emperors. The difference is pretty much entirely in how big of a realm you're in charge of and who can and cannot be your vassal. Think of vassals like governors: the Byzantine Emperor can't possibly manage every little thing about his huge empire all by himself, so he puts a duke in charge of part of it. All four levels can be independent rulers, but we could also start as someone's vassal - scheming to steal the throne from underneath them, of course. I'd rather we not start as anything higher than a duke: a lot of the fun in CKII is clawing your way up from nothing, and things can settle down a lot when you're a powerful, independent leader. If you guys really want to make an informed decision, there's a wiki with a lot of information. But you by no means need to; pick whatever sounds the coolest and I can suss out the details and make it work. Making it work is another thing that's fun. One last note: this LP is going to be in-character. I'll be writing this from the point of view of the person we're playing as. The characters in CKII are the most important part, far more so than the realms, religions, or wars. After all, what are any of those without people? Characters are mostly randomly generated as you go along, and their personalities and relationships can be surprisingly complex. So there'll be no dry, clear-cut progression of power generation through generation. People are not that cooperative. People are more entertaining. But remember, losing is fun, and so is roleplaying. Whether these two are related remains to be seen.

Nathalie's sixteen. . .

I don't have a problem, I swear.

Yup!

Then don't do them.

It's not fair to say that all of your companions are traitorous. Everyone except for Alcander has a complicated relationship with Avadon. They all (except Alcander) believe, at least tenuously, in the Pact and willingly serve Avadon. But. . . they all have a but. Khalida has been deeply, personally, unjustly damaged by Avadon. Yoshiria disagrees with the idea of Avadon on political grounds. Dedrik is called on to fight against people whose grievances he deeply empathizes with. And Avadon demands more from Yannick than he is really capable of giving without eventually breaking down. They all can put their duty above these personal grievances and serve alongside you as loyal Hands. But they are people too, and people need more than duty. It's easy to dismiss their grievances as personal or petty, but what else is a person supposed to value? Khalida's brain doesn't work right, because of Avadon. Yannick is forced to murder, and it tears him up constantly. And these are probably the two most supportive Hands in the group. They absolutely put their duty above their personal feelings. And then Alcander's just a self-centered jackass that doesn't care about anything beyond him and his. Anyways, that their personal quests directly involve the interaction between Avadon and their personal desires is entirely appropriate and in keeping with the theme of the game. That their quests require the player to either help them get what they want or sacrifice your relationship with them for the good of the Pact is even more so. (I've only done Alcander's, Dedrik's and Khalida's quests so far, so maybe that's different for the other two)

I feel that would end badly for Lynnaeus.

You can also add effects like glowing or transparency with cr_graphic_appearadj.

I have never cared for fixed stat growth. Why bother having stats exist if I can't touch them, interact with them, change them, really understand what they're doing, or sometimes even see them. It's a pointless "Oh, you levelled, now your numbers go up." Stats also provide a lot of room for role-playing customization, not just mechanical. Is my character smart, or strong? Fast and cunning or careful and straightforward? Are they really tough or do they try to avoid taking a beating at all? I often make decisions on how to build a character in this way, and having several viable builds for each class, each centered around a different stat spread, is sort of essential to that. A statless system might be more streamlined mechanically, but I like stats. And if it's clear what they all do, I really think you'd be losing something with their removal. I like having multiple aspects to a character that I can change with level and that intereact in different ways. Reducing it to ability points is, well, reducing what I can do. It makes levels less special and more boring.

My forefathers didn't fight in the Revolutionary War so I could be e-ruled by a dirty tea-drinker. Dark day for murrica.

Yannick, Yoshiria, and Khalida are all pretty cool and fun to use and I like having them along. Dedrik is dull and bland and shamans are kinda meh, but I still bring him along for the sake of variety. Alcander is a selfish jackass that I have intentionally built poorly, out of spite, and he's mechanically redundant since I'm also a tinkermage. I do not use Alcander much.

What does that one later on do, exactly? I'm at that point and paralyzed by indecision. It's obviously a terrible idea but I keep wondering if it'll end up as something cool.

You can actually change this pretty easily by going into the scripts. Avadon 2/Avadon 2 Files/Scripts/av2itemschars is the file it's all in. Ctrl-F for the names of the companions and remove all the lines that have cr_graphic_coloradj in them. Pallette swaps are an ancient and revered tool of SW games, but I really do have to question using the purple and green one.

I think this is actually intentional. The sprite is tinted to differentiate it from other characters using the female blademaster sprite, including (possibly) the player. Every companion except for the shadowwalker (I can't remember anyone's name yet. . .) is like this in my game.

Are the turret abilities keyed to any stats, or should I just increase melee/ranged attack stats for my tinkermage?

As far as I know, yes. But that might change, dependsing on if I get the job I'm trying to first.

In addition to what Lilith said, there are a lot of games and books that have been adapted from each other. The results are. . . mixed. And I mean mixed, not universally awful. There's a lot more that goes into the quality of a work than how it relates to the other medium, I guess. Also, some of the very best LPs are of games that are just absolutely terrible.

Mass Effect is in third-person. And the first one is way more of an RPG than a shooter. The second and third are way more shooters than RPGs. They're also a lot stupider. It seems like a lot of the complaints you're leveling against modern RPGs come from a place of really liking character stats and not so much liking skill or preparation or other ways of resolving gameplay. Which, well, fine. I've never been able to stomach the old Infinity Engine games that are supposedly the foundation of the entire RPG genre. I get why they were popular at the time, but in hindsight, they're just really clunky, archaic games with cliche-ridden, genre schlock plots. PS:T is the notable exception to the plot part, but it makes up for it by having extra clunky and archaic gameplay. NWN and NWN 2 are pretty much in the same boat, just slightly updated. Or not slightly, really - they did move to a 3D engine, after all, but it's still a long ways from being something I'd call good gameplay. Vampire: Redemption has the distinction of being the worst Vampire: The Masquerade game ever made, out of the two that were ever made. Bloodlines is really something spectacular, in the KotOR 2 "terribly flawed and often completely broken but the genius shines through" kind of way, though less so. KotOR 1 was solid, and it was at least, y'know, finished, but I've always found it to stay pretty squarely in okay to pretty good territory, while KotOR 2 is probably my favorite piece of Star Wars that's ever been made.

R.A. Salvatore is supposed to have good fight scenes. He certainly puts a lot of detail into them, at least.