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Westheim -> Commoners first! – The Procyones racing team of Gaul (6/15/2014 3:28:18 PM)
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Salve. My name is Julianus. I have recently come onto a few good horses through inheritance, which also included enough money to buy a few quadrigas and hire a few brawling loudmouths off the street to go chariot racing. I have always had this vision of me winning the big Emperor’s race in Rome. Well, here we are in darkest corner of Gaul, and I am weak, fat, short-sighted and have am allergic to leather whips, so I will have to leave the actual driving to others, but I may be best at scheming anyway.
My team will be called the Procyones. Let’s make a name for ourselves and head for Rome in due time!
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Those who know me around here will already know that I will fail horribly. In fact, this is the second (and first epic) campaign I start with this game. In my first attempt, I managed to get my three aurigas killed within the first seven races and managed only two wins in 20+ races. Any race team ever declared bankruptcy?
The settings for this game will be static turns, but epic difficulty (permadeath is a fascinating concept, humanity should try it at one point). We will be of the Praesinas faction, and I don’t have any clue about the deeper concepts of chariot racing, to be honest. Even our team name is anachronistic. There were no Proycones in Europe in Roman times. What is this thing I am talking about?
Raccoons! So cute.
Yeah.
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We start out in Santonum in Gaul. These are the local leaders as we dabble into racing:
Piso (Gaul) of Albata, 5 V
Comargos (Gaul) of Purpura, 4 V
Sedullos (Gaul) of Praesina, 3 V
Voccio (Gaul) of Veneta, 3 V
Dumnocourios (Gaul) of Aurata, 2 V
Ivogenos (Gaul) of Russata, 2 V
Our three charioteers will be Cynan, Crotus, and Dunocratis. As we are just starting out, they are all of good constitution, our chariots are quite sizeable, and our horses are a bit more enduring than the average animal.
While Santonum is a tiny 4-lane Greek style arena, our first race will hold eight competitors, so carnage seems likely to break out sooner rather than later. I will have to try and drive for a finish in this one. It would suck to have to write off the first of our three teams right away…
It will probably take a few races to get a sizeable amount of gold in… entrants will be listed from the inside to the outside for all races.
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Race I – Santonum, Cynan
Event: Craftsman Sympathizer
Entrants: Dumnocurious (AUR, 2 V), Ivogenos (RUS, 2 V), Voccio (VEN, 3 V), Cynan in row 1, Sedullos (PRA, 3 V), Piso (ALB, 5 V), Sucelogenos, Comargos (PUR, 4 V) in row 2
All the local champions took part in this event. We started on the outside of the first row, and Cynan did not get the best start, leaving the first corner in fourth place with Voccio leading. Piso passed Cynan on the second straight, dropping him to the fifth, but Piso’s chariot tumbled over as he took the second corner too tight. With Voccio leading Dumnocourios on the outside after one lap, Piso was third, but was dragged behind his horses, and to his death. The first five chariots were close together after two laps, all on the outside. Cynan ran right behind the red-clad Ivogenos, but could not get past. Ivogenos tried to get besides Dumnocourios on the fifth straight, but failed, yet slid back to the outside in front of Cynan in time. On the sixth straight, a dead horse from Sedullos’ team blocked the second-outmost lane, so overtaking was impossible there. Or was it? Cynan made a daring move two lanes across, but Ivogenos also moved out and blocked him. Cynan could not get back to the outside and was whipped for some nasty cuts by Comargos, as he fell to sixth place at the finish
I Voccio (VEN, 4 V)
II Ivogenos (RUS, 2 V)
III Dumnocourios (AUR, 2 V)
IV Sucelogenos - injured
V Comargos (PUR, 4 V)
VI Cynan - injured
VII Sedullos (PRA, 3 V) – injured
DNF Piso (ALB, 5 V) – killed
We come along and Gaul’s most prolific star is killed right away. Good grief, we bring bad luck!
Race II – Santonum, Crotus
Event: Medic Sympathizer
Entrants: Comargos (PUR, 4 V), Crotus, Teddilos, Dumnocourios (AUR, 2 V) in row 1, Comanos, Voccio (VEN, 4 V), Dagobitos (ALB, 2 V), Ivogenos (RUS, 2 V) in row 2
The unknown Comanos, of the Purpura faction, managed to take the lead out of the first corner, with Crotus in fourth place. Teddilos crashed right in the first corner. The Purpuran was dragged halfway up the second straight, and when he finally got free, was run over by Dumnocourios and killed. Crotus was in third place after one lap, right behind the Purpurans Comanos and Comargos, and with a sizeable gap to fourth place. That gap only got bigger when a crash claimed the chariots of Voccio and Dumnocourios in the third corner, and the latter was killed. The corner was strewn with debris now, but the inside was clear. Crotus pulled over as the leaders approached the fifth corner, but slowed down too much to pass Comanos. Comargos however was thrown from his quadriga running over the wreckage. Approaching the final corner, Crotus was still on the second-inmost lane, and Comanos pulled over to block him, but went too fast into the final corner and crashed as well! He was dragged along onto the final straight, but still in the lead! But he could not hold on and was dragged to his death. Crotus won a bloodbath!
I Crotus (1 V)
II Dagobitus (ALB, 2 V)
DNF Ivogenos (RUS, 2 V) – injured
DNF Comargos (PUR, 4 V) – injured
DNF Teddilos – killed
DNF Dumnocourios (AUR, 2 V) – killed
DNF Voccio (VEN, 4 V) – killed
DNF Comanos – killed
The public certainly got its day’s worth of games in this one.
Race III – Santonum, Dunocratis
Event: Unhealthy Stables
Entrants: Dunocratis, Dagobitos (ALB, 2 V), Drappes (AUR, 2 V), Ecritusiros
Wonder why there were only four entrants in this event… this one however did not go well for us. Dunocratis did not get a good start, then put the whip on Dagobitos to his outside in the first corner, lost balance and bit the dust. He got away, though.
I Drappes (AUR, 3 V)
II Ecritusiros
III Dagobitos (ALB, 2 V)
DNF Dunocratis – injured
Race IV – Santonum, Cynan
Event: Uncleaned Track
Entrants: Sedullos (PRA, 3 V), Dagobitos (ALB, 2 V), Rianorix, Ivorix in row 1; Cynan, Tincomius, Licnos, Cunovindos
While debris littered the track, we got a bad start. Cynan was pinned on the inside, while Dagobitos, Rianorix, and Ivorix raced ahead. Dagobitos however crashed in the first corner, as did Licnos. The track became more and more of a mess. Cynan was seventh exiting the final corner, but things were not bleak yet: Sedullos crashed in the second corner, and the field was getting pretty thin very quickly again. Because of the accidents, Cynan was up to fourth place after the third corner, albeit far behind Rianorix, Cunovindos, and Ivorix. Fourth place was actually last place once Tincomius toppled his chariot out of the third turn. Ivorix however, had some very bad damage to his quadriga, and Cynan caught up with and passed the Russata auriga after two laps. The first two however were uncatchable for Cynan, who had to settle for third place.
I Rianorix (1 V)
II Cunovindos
III Cynan
IV Ivorix
DNF Licnos – injured
DNF Tincomius – injured
DNF Sedullos (PRA, 3 V) – injured
DNF Dagobitos (ALB, 2 V) – killed
After this place finish, we had some money together and I used it to get out of this miserable town. We moved on to Vienna, which had a bigger 8-laned Roman-style track. There, they had a few more prominent leaders, too, although some were still known to us from Santonum:
Gutuater (Gaul) for Purpura, 7 V
Maslorius (Gaul) for Aurata, 7 V
Pallu (Syrian) for Albata, 7 V
Sedullos (Gaul) for Praesina, 3 V
Adcovropatros (Gaul) for Veneta, 2 V
Ivogenos (Gaul) for Russata, 2 V
Cynan had damaged his chariot pretty good in this race, and that left Crotus with the only working chariot we had. We still had some money, though, so buying one would not be much of an issue in Vienna.
Race V – Vienna, Crotus
Event: Perfect Training
Entrants: Gerontios, Adcovropatros (VEN, 2 V) Maslorius (AUR, 7 V), Mabon, Gutuater (PUR, 7 V), Pallu (ALB, 7 V), Crotus (1 V), Diviciacos
Crotus was about the only starter not whipping excessively out of the boxes and paid for that with seventh place out of the first corner. However, Gerontios crashed out of there, throwing away the lead. But Crotus lost more time on the second straight, trying to ward off attacks by Diviciacos, and the first four were far away by the time he got to the third straight. Then, two of the local champions, Pallu and Maslorius, crashed in the third corner, and once more, one crash caused the next one, as there was much dying in the arena. The public was amused, though. Once Gutuater was killed in the fifth corner, Adcovropatros had a huge lead, while Crotus and Diviciacos were right on top of each other vying for now second place. Diviciacos kept blocking Crotus rather cunningly, and he could not pass him.
I Adcovropatros (VEN, 3 V)
II Diviciacos
III Crotus (1 V)
DNF Mabon – injured
DNF Gerontios – injured
DNF Maslorius (AUR, 7 V) – killed
DNF Gutuater (PUR, 7 V) – killed
DNF Pallu (ALB, 7 V) – killed
What is that? The Procyones go someplace, and all the leaders die. Strange.
For the next race, I bought Dunocratis a new chariot. Things were slightly cheaper here than elsewhere, and we still had some money from Crotus’ victory in Santonum.
Race VI – Vienna, Dunocratis
Event: Perfect start
Entrants: Ariogaisos, Indutios, Camulacos, Cacumatos, Segovax, Epicatos, Dunocratis, Brennus (ALB, 5 V), Adgarios, Adcovropatros (VEN, 3 V), Segusiavos, Cunittos (PUR, 2 V)
Segovax took an early lead with manic whipping, while Dunocratis got stuck in the pack and was all but tenth out of the first corner. Ahead of him, Ariogaisos whipped into Indutios, so trouble was brewing already. Indutios lost speed, stacked up other drivers and the chaos dropped Dunocratis to last place after one lap, and was pretty much out of contention for a place finish. Segovax crashed his chariot in the third turn, which left Brennus and Adcovropatros to duke out first place honors, while the main pack was whipping each other with great pleasure. Ariogaisos crashed in the third turn, and Segusiavos whipped Adgarios to death. Dunocratis was trying to whip himself into a better position on the fourth straight, when a stunned Epicatos pulled over in front of him for a hefty crash that left three of Dunocratis’ horses wounded. He limped home defeated.
I Brennus (ALB, 6 V) – injured
II Adcovropatros (VEN, 3 V)
III Cunittos (PUR, 2 V)
IV Segusiavos
V Cacumatos
VI Indutios – injured
VII Camulacos
VIII Dunocratis
DNF Ariogaisos – injured
DNF Segovax – injured
DNF Adgarios – killed
DNF Epicatos – killed
Back to Crotus. Time to get ourselves our first 2-race winner!
Race VII – Vienna, Crotus
Event: Horse Fight
Entrants: Crotus (1 V), Gododin, Monturos, Ioincatios, Aiuccio, Litogenos, Cunopectos, Matuacos, Afulay (AUR, 5 V), Adcovropatros (VEN, 3 V), Cunittos (PUR, 2 V), Garmanos
While Crotus got a good start, he was also on the very inside and thus was pressed against the island on the first straight, and while he whipped himself into second place, he had to get more to the outside, which cost him valuable time in the first corner, which he left in fifth place behind Aiuccio, Cunittos, Adcovropatros, and Gododin. Matuacos came on fast on his outside and he blocked him, but lost even more positions. As Matuacos aggressively tried to advance, both Crotus and Cunopectos whipped him to death. Crotus used some more whip to get up to fifth place on the third straight, and fourth-place Ioincatios crashed on the inside of the third turn. On the fifth straight, Crotus whipped excessively again to catch up with Adcovropatros, who was in third place, but instead Cunittos started to fall back with a badly wounded outside horse. A second place finish was still in reach! Aiuccio, a Venetan driver, came out of the last corner in first place, just ahead of Adcovropatros, who had run over some wreckage and was stunned, trapping a cursing Cunittos behind him. Mad whip usage got Crotus past the Purpuran, and past the Venetan champion, but Aiuccio had been too far ahead.
I Aiuccio (1 V)
II Crotus (1 V)
III Adcovropatros (VEN, 3 V)
IV Cunittus (PUR, 2 V)
V Gododin
VI Garmanos
VII Monturos
DNF Afulay (AUR, 5 V) – injured
DNF Ioincatios – injured
DNF Cunopectos – injured
DNF Litogenos – injured
DNF Matuacos – killed
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So, for a start, this was perhaps not so bad. We have 7,030 gold in the bank, and apart from two wounded horses are in solid condition so far. We are now certainly recognized on the local stage.
Total races: 7
First place: 1 (14%) - Crotus (1)
Second place: 1 (14%)
Third place: 2 (28%)
Finishes: 2 (28%)
Eliminated: 1 (14%)
Ave Procyones!
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