Re: Hyborian War

From: mgauthie@access.awinc.com (Marc L. Gauthier)

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995 00:00:00 +0000

demigod98g@aol.com (Demigod98G) wrote:

>>Choices so far:

>>1) Hyperborea:  description alleges good magic, but bad army and
>>                bad economy.  But does spiteful towards Aquilonia
>>                mean its imperial goal is a chunk of that kingdom.

>Hyperborea really doesn't have any better magic than any other kingdom in
>that area.  They just have more of it.  Their army is very limited and
>they do have to wrestle with Aquilonia, Nemedia, and Asgard.  Not a very
>bright prospect.
>
Hyperborea Has all the above.  It's greatest strength is IT's
defensive power.  Any nation walking into Hyperborea will face alot of
pain.  Of Hyperborea's neighbor's only Asgard has chance of taking
Hyperborea by himself.  But it would likely cost him the game, since
he would be to weak to fend off Cimmeria and/or Vanahiem..  Build your
defensive troops to a frenzie and gather an ally to attack a common
foe. Brythunia or Asgard depending on the allies you obtain.  Many try
to attack Border Kingdom early, but this directly hurts Nemedia.  It
will be likely that Nemedia will have established peace treaties with
all his neighbors.  He has the best Diplomats in the game.  Don't
attack Border Kingdom unless you know that Nemedia armies will be tied
up else where.

>>2) Zamora:      good agents, good mages, but could be surrounded
>>                quickly if Turan moves that way first.

>Zamora is a pretty good overall kingdom.  Their army is not nearly as bad
>as the initial setup rules would indicate.  However, for Zamora and a few
>others, most notably Corinthia, there is a rather long waiting list to be
>put in a game with these kingdoms.  Zamora is in a rather precarious
>diplomatic position though.

Zamora'a biggest threat is not Turan but Brythunia.  If Brythunia free
from war on it's other fronts it can take Zamora.  Zamora is also open
to an opportunistic attack from Corinthia if Brythunia and Zamora is
at war.  Zamora has wealthy provinces and Brythunia needs them badly.
But Brythunia has only two nations it can stand against early in the
game Zamora and Border kingdom.  Be prepared that Hyperborea and
Brythunia have established an alliance so that Hyperborea is free to
fight asgard and Brythunia will move against Zamora.  Brythunia is
best to use his diplomats against Nemedia.  Don't expect Border
Kingdom to instantly attack Brythunia.  Border Kingdom must ensure
that Hyperborea and Cimmeria will not be gunning for him.  Zamora is
likely to be facing two or three turns of War against Brythunia single
handed Before any come to aid.

>>3) Hyrkania:    Ultimate beginner kingdom ?  Good military, lots
>>                of open space.

>I've never been in any game where I was too involved with Hyrkania.  They
>aren't very powerful in characters, but their army is more than sufficient
>for the area they are in.  Start expanding too much though, and you could
>run into Khitai or one of the western nations.  You might have some
>difficulty then.

Hyrkania has only one chance in the mid-term.  Grow as Quickly as
possible directly into Khitia.  Seams stupid doesn't it.  Khitia has
only one enemy right at the start (Kambulja)  It Kambulja is left to
fend for himself he will lose.  Khitia's first objective is to attack
and take out Kambulja.  Kambulja can hold against Khitia for awhile
but In the end he will lose to Khitia if he doesn't get help, That
help is Hrykania.  If Kambulja and Hrykania establish a working
alliance they should beable to get Kusan on their side.  I played
Kusan he will never win as long as Khitia is in a powerful position.
No matter how you slice it, Hrykania will eventually face Khitia.  In
my friends game (who played Khitia), Hrykania stayed away from
advancing on Khitia.  Hrykania was foolish. After my friend finished
off Kambulja he marched directly for Hrykania.  At the time Hrykania
was ranked number One. Khitia wasn't even in the top ten.  He
destoryed Hrykania easily and then went on to win the game.  Remember,
Hyrkania is the Mongols of old you must cross the great wall.

>>4) Stygia:      Heavy magic, but... Will it have to fight Shem ?
>>                How much protection is the Styx (in fact how much
>>                protection are rivers and mountains)?

>Stygia must indeed fight Shem.  If Shem knows what he is doing, Stygia
>doesn't stand a chance.  Heavy Cavalry and Heavy Infantry versus Medium
>Infantry and Light Chariots just isn't a very fair fight.  In a strategic
>scope, terrain has no effect. However, in a battle, certain units fight
>better or worse in various terrains.  Stygia is mostly desert, and in
>desert infantry is at a disadvantage.

Unfortunately, I have little experience on Stygia, But  I must agree
that on the outset Stygia is faced with a serious challenge from Shem.
Stygia needs help.

>>5) Turan:       Lots of space to expand into, but with complicated
>>                internal troubles

>Turan is a good overall position.  Internal politics don't really play a
>part in the game.  With Turan, you should just expand, expand, expand.
>Turan's greatest asset is its 25% mercenaries (more than any other
>kingdom).  However, it can get expensive fielding several full strength
>armies every turn, and most of the provinces in Turan's immediate vicinity
>are Poor wealth producers.  Iranistan is a good target to get wealth, but
>he's got some really nasty infantry so watch out.

If your not ranked 1 or 2 by time the rankings first come out your
doing something seriously wrong.  Turan can take many provinces
quickier than any other kingdom.  Wealth is a problem, but proper
planning can make a large difference.  I personally think that Turan
is one of the strongest nations at the start.  But he will get alot of
enemies quickly, finding allies will be a challenge.

>>Any other suggestions ?

>Shem has, what many consider, the third strongest overall military in the
>game (after Aquilonia and most would say Nemedia).  Add to that the fact
>that your two main enemies in Koth and Stygia have pretty pathetic
>militaries, and you've got yourself the makings of a blowout.  Don't bite
>off more than you can chew during the first couple warseasons though.
>Shem is very poor until you have 50+ provinces.  After that, no one can
>stop you.

Agree! But don't gain the attention of Nemedia or Aquilonia.  I assure
you that it will be painful.

>Zembabwei has probably the best military of the black kingdoms, but you've
>got to deal with Iranistan.  Tombalku has the only real cavalry of the
>black kingdoms and it's pretty good.

Zembabwei needs Turan and Turan will need the Ally.  Turan Wants
Iranistans wealth as much as Zembabwei wants Iranistan defeated.

>Asgard and Cimmeria have some really kick-butt armies but lack for
>characters.
Both extremely tough fighting nations.  The lack of characters are not
a real weakness.  If brute force is what you want play one of these
and you won't be disappointed.  But, remember not to get to
aggressive.

>Kambulja has magic coming out of his ears, and a very strong military to
>go with it.  Your only course of action, though, is to hit Khitai.  Make
>sure you hit him fast and hit him hard.  Kambulja's magic is more and
>better than Khitai's and except for a small percentage of Khitai's heavy
>infantry, Kambulja's military is better too. Khitai is huge, however, and
>has over twice Kambulja's starting troop numbers.  I played Kambulja and
>had Khitai down to 3 provinces by turn 15, so it can be done.

If Khitai is being played by a veteran your in for a very long painful
period.  I have seen both sides of the coin on this war and never like
Kambulja's chances.  Success depends more on things out of your
control than things in your control.  Khitia on the other hand has
complete control over his own success against Kambulja.  This is a
numbers game and Khitia has the numbers.

Marc L. Gauthier
mgauthie@access.awinc.com
Edmonton, AB Canada

References

Re: Hyborian War
baidins@stimpy.eecis.udel.edu (Juris Baidins)
Fri, 14 Jul 1995 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Hyborian War
demigod98g@aol.com (Demigod98G)
Sat, 15 Jul 1995 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Re: Hyborian War
baidins@stimpy.eecis.udel.edu (Juris Baidins)
Fri, 14 Jul 1995 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Hyborian War
demigod98g@aol.com (Demigod98G)
Sat, 15 Jul 1995 00:00:00 +0000