Posted By Indivation at 11:58 AM - Mon Nov 13 2017

The best King's in history are ones who have shown to be able to handle conflict and solve them when the situation arises. This leads to my hypothetical question to test your problem solving skills if such problems were to occur.

You are at war with a neighboring kingdom to the west. It was unavoidable, they were sponsoring bandits all over your kingdom to plunder your trade routes. The problem is you are losing the war with a treasury running low. The enemy has already captured 4 countys and are about to siege the next one. They send a peace deal for the entire duchy, which has 10 countys in total, that they are occupying. They place a caveat that if you do not accept this peace they will demand more in the next one.

Your western noble land owners who are your best friends and loyal to you say to continue the war. However, the nobles in your eastern lands who are less supportive of your reign raise complaints. They say the war is costing them significant resources with no chances of victory. You have heard some rumors. They might be plotting to join the neighboring eastern kingdom. What will you do?

These questions are fantastic! I've taken a peek at the others, and I have to say I love them. Thank you for the time and thought you've put into them. This whole contest is really bringing out the best and most creative of the community.

On to the question, though.

So, I'm at war with a kingdom to my Western border. My western lords are loyal to me, so I have their support in my decisions, and I could assume that they will continue to fight for the kingdom if I so decide.

Four counties have been stolen from those followers, so my thoughts are to regain those if at all possible. They want to continue the war, and they are the ones who are losing their land.

The Eastern lords must be losing income due to supplying the front lines. Being so far from the fighting, I can understand them focusing only on the loss of income.

It would depend on what the battle itself looked like. The Eastern lords say that there is no chance of victory. They're not fighting, so I wonder how well I can trust their judgement on this. My friends in the West seem sure they can beat back the enemy, who must be spreading themselves rather thin and trying to hold on to territories that are still full of people who aren't their own.

I feel I would continue the war, based on the information provided. Rumors of people wanting to leave are just that; rumors. I still have the West, who will now be very highly experienced in battle, and if the nobles in the East do try to secede to a different Kingdom, I think I would have a good case for taking their land back from them and giving it to someone who is more supportive of my reign. I would have to trust my loyal followers, especially because they are the ones on the Western border, doing all of the actual fighting. They'll have a better idea of what is going on than those who are on the back lines simply sending supplies feeling resentful that their supplies are going to a distant fight.

I should hope that during a time of war I will be able to pull my nobles together to work for the best of the kingdom. It would be best if I could somehow inspire them all, let them know that their contributions are not for nothing. If they can't support a war effort and fight for their kingdom, there is something wrong. They don't have the kingdom's best interests at heart. Meanwhile, if their disinterest in cooperation causes a loss, I think I would have a very good reason to have them replaced.

I would likely have more information if this were actually happening, though. Numbers wouldn't lie and if I found that the Eastern lords were right in their assumption that we couldn't win, I would have to pull back and accept the peace proposal. We'd have to rally together to defend the next attack -- because there will be another attack, just because they propose peace for this one duchy doesn't mean that they will stop there. I would prefer to beat them back on the first try, though, otherwise we would lose morale and they would gain it. Sometimes you have to take a temporary loss to get an overall win, though.

Thanks again for the question, I really liked this one.

Updated. /o/

I love the new artwork Nihz. Looks great. Did you do it yourself?

But I digress, I have a questions regarding your vision as a monarch.

Do you have any plans regarding the enviroment of Elyria?

There will be groups who want to utilize the natural resources of your kingdom in the pursuit of economic power. Harvesting trees, strip mining ore, excessive hunting and etc.

And there will be groups who want to protect the natural beauty of Elyria.

Chronicals of Elyria has the chance for players to impact the world of the game on an unprecedented scale and I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter and how you might resolve those two conflicting ideologies.

I did! Thanks. x]

That's a good question! I'd like to make sure that Rhyddid remains as full of life as ever, but of course industrializing an area comes with costs to the surrounding environments.

There's a lot of guilds who want to be able to protect the flora and fauna of Elyria, and I think that's a great endeavour, but it might need more weight behind it than a guild. Laws may need to be passed that hunting to extinction is simply not allowed, and clear-cutting without intent to build in the area is only allowed with permission and a promise to re-seed it.

It'll depend a lot on mechanics for enforcing those kind of laws. Duchies and Counties might need to do it themselves, keeping an eye out for when there's been too many of one species hunted or harvested. It'll be a task all of its own. There will have to be a happy medium between preserving the natural beauty of Elyria and getting the all-important resources out of it, and we'll have to find it in-game.

NiHZ is displaying great leadership qualities, is composed and thoughtful. I think she would do a great job and I support this campaign.

Please accept my offering of a little immortality* and if all goes to plan we will soon be able to play you on Turn 1.

*Immortality is only available as long as the internet lasts. No responsibility will be taken for adverse or negative unexpected consequences of immortality. Terms and conditions apply, see links below.

Art by NiHZ and Mateusz Michalski

This is so cool. ;u; I love it so much. ♥

You have my blade and my dogs!

NiHZ for the throne!

Thanks, Chesh!

Update: Cheshire is my Hand of War, helping to solidify my weakness in PVP and battle strategy.

With the contest drawing to a close, I wish everyone good fortune in the trials to come.

Hey, everyone.

I've been waving the Nihz banner for the whole campaign, but I want to tell you why. I promise, it's not just the mustache.

I've played (likely) hundreds of hours of cooperative games with Nihz. Her chosen role has always been to do the hard work that keeps the other players at their best in their roles. She's a maximizer. And that's the type of person you want in the top echelons of leadership. When you give a token to Nihz you're investing in yourself, because she will use the momentum you provide to elevate everyone who walks her path.

So, give your tokens to Nihz: your best investment for the future of the Free Kingdom.

Thanks Bomb. ;u;

Congratulations on earning a Duchy NiHZ. Love to see a long time and well respected community member have such an accomplishment.