Back again after a business trip

A couple more character sketches done, but otherwise nothing new to report.

Next time I get the graphics bug I will probably work on some combination uniform/standard/regiment name images, like those you know so well from the Defiant Principality (http://what-if-catalonia.blogspot.com/). To my eye, those Catalonian uniform/flag plates are extremely attractive, and also a blog-friendly way to go. For uniform templates, I expect I will use the very helpful and attractive templates from Not by Appointment (http://nba-sywtemplates.blogspot.com/).

In the meantime, the intrigue game is still, as always, very much on my mind. I am looking forward to seeing the Estrian nobility screwing each other big-time, both literally and figuratively, in the run-up to the coming electoral conclave.

In which regard, does anybody have any experience using the VASSAL game engine? In particular, has anyone ever designed modules for it?

I have downloaded VASSAL (but not installed it, since I would be running it on a different computer). It looks intimidating but potentially very flexible and possibly adaptable to an intrigue game. It seems like it can be used as a moderated PBEM game engine, and possibly also, with refinement, a stand-alone real-time online game, possibly without a moderator. Does anybody here have any thoughts/experience?

Arms and Flags for the Fifth and Final Duchy

That would be the Ducato di Rimaldi. The double-headed eagle on the coat of arms displays the sword-and-key so emblematic of the Rimaldi dukes.

Rimaldi, like Marignac, is a small duchy with a small army, so it was quick work to do up all their standards.

First, the Reggimento di Fanteria di Rimaldi:

Next, the Reggimento di Fanteria del’Estroponte:

and the Reggimento di Fanteria della Fera:

and finally, the guidon of the Reggimento dei Dragoni Ducale:

And that is about it for designing arms and flags for Estria. I do have to redo the arms of Brescegna, but that is a matter more of execution than design.

Time to move on to other things: those interminable character sketches, and also rules for the intrigue game!



and so it goes...

I am up to 22 character sketches, a little shy of 20% done. For the flags, I can't look at those dolphins any more. I have now blown them up a few 100 times, greyed them out and I am slowly tracing them out with finer lines.

In the meantime, to cleanse my palate, I thought I would try something easier: The Duché de Marignac.

Maroon and grey/silver is the theme here, and this will play out in the Duchy's uniforms and standards as well. In fact, since the Duke fields only a tiny army, with two regiments of foot and one of horse, I can clear the standards in pretty short order.

First, the guidon of the  Régiment des Dragons du Confluent (maroon coats, powder blue facings):

Next, the Régiment des Fusiliers des Trois-Villes (maroon coats, grey facings):

And the Régiment des Fusiliers des Saints (maroon coats, salmon-pink facings):

Finally, there is also the small Compagnie des Artilleurs du Duc:

Their standard mostly gathers dust in the depot but now and then they bring it out on parade. Maroon and  black.

To me, the regimental standards of Marignac have a slightly archaic look, perhaps more 17th century than 18th. But that's okay, a little archaism doesn't hurt. Maybe I should go whole hog with the archaic theme and use outmoded GNW figures for the Duché de Marignac. Any thoughts?

more arms

the arms of the Granducato di Brescegna. This is the concept, anyway. The mermaid and especially the dolphin images were small to start with, so they end up looking coarse and heavy-handed. The mermaid is okay, but I am not all that happy with the dolphins. If I can find higher-resolution ones that I like, then I'll re-work this. If not, I'll live with it.

For some reason I insist that the heraldic dolphin supporters be in this doubly-embowed diving position, like on an old lamp-post. But sadly, it's not common to find drawings of them like this. The mermaid reminds me very much of one that has already been used in an Imagi-Nation: specifically, the lascivious creature on the flag of the Presipality of Monte-Cristo. I expect mine is derived from the very same image. 

...but there will still be banners and battalions....

Rather to my surprise I finished six character sketches this evening, that's 18 done in total. So to take a break from that, it's back to flags. The fleur-de-lys ground looked so nice on those cavalry guidons I decided to try using it as a ground for some Anchoise infantry flags.

Yes, I know, another flag design with terribly obvious historical precedents. Then I tried plonking the Anchoise arms in the middle of one of them:

Check it out! I wasn't going to go that route, Originally, I was planning just a simple white cross on a facing colour ground. But I like the look with the arms added. And they move the design one step further away from historical French, which is good. Yup, I think I'll add the coat of arms to the others, too.

Not just banners and battalions...

Although I enjoy preparing for my eventual armies, I still see Estria in large part as a setting for a more social game, a game of actors and agents, influence and intrigue. As noted in an earlier post I have a roster of Estrian noble and non-noble personalities drawn up (now expanded to  include123 characters). Each character has a name, a portrait and a social position. I am now in the process of compiling a guidebook to the Estrian nobility, with brief character sketches for each personality.

Although I have quantified their personal attributes, abilities and character traits, I would hate to see players playing out social intrigue "by the numbers" so I intend to keep the actual numbers to myself and circulate only the guidebook. This is what anyone playing the "Game of the Estrian Succession" will have to rely on to make guesses about what characters are good at, what means of persuasion they are vulnerable to, and how their skills and weaknesses are best exploited. The guidebook will outline what is commonly known or suspected about their personalities. In many cases, character traits will only be implied or alluded to,  and in some cases, skills or weaknesses that are not well-known will not even be mentioned. So there will be more to learn about these characters in play. Hopefully the result will be a game in which players learn more and more about each character as time goes on, even as they are trying to work out how best to manipulate them.

Anyway, to give an idea of what the guidebook is looking like I am putting up screencaps of the title page and one typical page with a couple of biographies.Screencaps are awkward, but the original document is in Word and the final product will be a pdf. And I don't think I can put non-image files up on this blog (If I am wrong about that, please tell me!).

By the way. I have 123 biographies to finish and at the moment I have done 12. If I can manage 2 a day it will still take me a couple of months to finish the whole book. But once I do, I will figure out a way to put it up so anyone who is interested in exploring the personalities of Estria can download it.

moving on to the Grand-Duché d'Anchoise...

another test guidon, this time for the cavalry of the Grand-Duc d'Anchoise:

I am hoping a fleur-de-lys background works, and that it will work well in other colours as well. The little fleurs-de-lys give the whole thing a rich quality that feels very French to me. I think I sharpened the arms too much, though. I'll soften them up slightly next time.

_______________________________________

..and now it is next time. Same fleur-de-lys background pattern but a medium-light blue, a natural colour for the Grand-Duché d'Anchoise. Coat of arms softened a bit. Let's see how this looks:

 Well that was useful. The background and the arms don't contrast enough, but I expected that. I kind of like it, even without enough contrast. The softened coat of arms works well. And as the background colour gets lighter, the diamond grid starts to show, which is nice. So I think this qualifies as progress!

It will be interesting to see how the fleur-de-lys ground works in a very light colour, like yellow.

Another guidon

Again for Zeichen-Nietschbaden, this time using the full coat of arms. I expect I will use this scheme for one or two cavalry regiments. Not with this facing colour though! You can see how muddy the details get with background colours like this....

More flags

And next up, a few cavalry guidons, again from the Grand Duchy of Zeichen-Nietschbaden. Wreathed and crowned eagle on regimental facing colour. Unfortunately, the gold elements in the corners do not stand out well against most of the colours I tried. These were about the best of the lot.

Some Flags

I decided to play around with turning some of the coats of arms into flags, both plain and textured. First, the Prince's flag, issued to all Estrian regiments in addition to their regimental flags:

And now a couple of regimental flags from Zeichen-Nietschbaden. Bet you can guess which historical kingdom these are supposed to evoke!

another pair:

Even without photoshop I can add a textured effect. Generally I am iffy about textured flags but I think in this case texturing makes them look reasonably silky and also breaks up the big colour blocks so they look less pre-school.

Yet more Arms

and next, the arms of the Großherzog von Zeichen-Nietschbaden:

The arms of the various duchies will rarely appear as such on any regimental standards, though I might use them on some cavalry guidons. Presently, I am thinking that for the forces of the Grand-Duché d'Anchoise, standards will contain no heraldic elements at all. For Zeichen-Nietschbaden, the eagle and crown willl certainly appear on standards, but likely not the whole coat of arms.

More Arms

This time, the arms of the Grand-Duc d'Anchoise:

Unicorns, fleurs de lys. Pretty standard stuff really.

A Coat of Arms

Back to graphics for a bit and now the Principality has its Coat of Arms.

Frankly, until now I hadn't given much thought to the arms of the Principality itself, as most of the regimental standards will bear the arms and devices of one of the Principality's Dukes or Grand Dukes. But then I found a nice graphic of a shield with triton and mermaid supporters that neatly matched the design on the map of the Principality that I posted previously. So I ran with it and voila the arms of the Prince of Estria.

As the arms make clear, the Principality, and especially the princely seat at Orlezzo, is something of a maritime power.

The arms of  Estria's two Dukes and three Grand Dukes will follow in due course.