Octarine Playtest

The Ogg Diaries - being a nice and accurate account of the thoughtm of
Nanny Mike, a witch.

Day one.

Well isn't this nice.  The Gods have seen fit to allow me to command the
war fleets and armies of the proud nation of Ogg. My first thought are
to the defence of our great family.

To rimwards/widdershins we have those lovely little Agatean Buggers.
Turnwise we have the circle cities and over Cori Celeste we have the
Hublanders.
The positioning of our lovely clan means that the rest of them heathens
have to go through one of the above like a good steak knife through an
elf before they get to mess with me and Greebo et al.

There are 6 available resource centers within striking distance of the
first round - namely Gon, Lan, Her, Klt, Bro, Ctk.
Gon is a definite yesyes.
Ctk is a definite nono -a move towards what is obviously someone else's
definite strike is both foolishly hostile so early, and a waste of time
when i get bounced.
Bro/Klt are options available by a fleet move to HTO. this keeps my
options open.
Lan is posibly available by judicious use of one army and a lot of lies.

My first thoughtm are that a fleet move to HTO is a definite, opening up
two sc's next move depending on the outcome of the other powers' moves.
My flank towards the Lan/RMT border is weak and exposed, so a move in
that direction, especially if coupled with an SC is probably a good move
regardless of other developments just now.
Gon has to be got sharpish to build up forces.

day two.

Following diploming from our neighbours, the Hublanders, we have agreed
to mount a joint offensive against the Agatean empire, dividing that
counrtry between us if possible.
To accomplish this i aim to at least 'bounce' the Agatean Empire from
the sc in BRO. (My first thoughtm about my fleet were probably correct).

Diploming with the circle cities went well today, with a tentative
nonaggression policy now in effect it will be interesting to see his
early moves.The thing I will have to watch is his fleet's movement out
of the circle sea!This could prove very tempting for him to nab my
exposed sc in Chi.  Hmm this will need further thought.

Thats all so far.  I have submitted my first orders to the gods as
follows:-

A Wyr - Gon
A Lla - Rmt
F Chi - HTO.

There endeth the first installment of the Nanny Ogg Diaries.

The Ogg Diaries continue thusly

1st impressions following Movt 1.

Hmm well isnt this a pretty sight.
Agatea decides to move away (at first glance that is) 
Neflands ignore bro, 
My alliance with the hublanders goes well.
The only point of concern at present is the circle cities' fleet next to
Chi.I feel this will not take my sc as he isnt strong enough to keep it
as yet, to antagonise me now would be daft.  If he avoids Chi he will be
able to play on this at a later date.

Looking forward.  It looks as though i will ghet three sc's next go. 
better than i could have expected really.

F HTO - Bro is a must.  I could protect my homeland but ads i said, i
think the risk is slight. Were i to go back and find him in Her then i
would be a whole move behind and would have lost BRO possibly for good.
Taking the bro sc will allow me to build a fleet in Chi and i can
threaten him!!!  Grin. Even if he takes CHI i should have a net gain of
two. an army in lan and a built fleet in wyr will dislodge the bugger
next go at the latest.

A RMT-Lan is a definite.  the agreement with the hublanders should hold
at least to next spring, so i have to go for it.

A Gon Hold is a sensible move.  (or non move)  I could oppose a possible
convoy by the army in SDI - Eca but i dont know what the hublanders plan
as yet for that neck of the woods.  I may try to support him across as a
gesture of goodwill and to try to get him to head into hublander
territory which doesnt look too likely.anyway i cant risk gon-eca in
case he goes for the sc in gon.  wouldn't i look silly!
the fleet in Bro can look to Kru or SOS in the next two phases gaining
an sc or threatening the agatean homeland.

After diploming.

well the only person to make any dipping was the hublanders.  he will
support the convoy andwe aim to take the agatean next move forcing a
retreat to ool then demolition.  meabnwhile my fleet will probably head
for SOS threatening a convoy or a landing in bes!this should cause
concern in hung hung city!  another grin.  I hope i dont look too
threatening with three new sc's(if all goes to plan) but lets face it -
no one ever won by sitting still.  'No guts - No gumbo' as they say in
genua.  As to the rest of the disc - i will await developments with
interest.  i feel my coast nearest the circle sea will be threatened
shortly - watch this space.

Ogg Diary spring 02

hmm, things went very well last year.very unexpectedly well.

This year sees me looking to move turnwise & rimwards into agatea.

I will try to get a fleet into PEL and follow it up with a fleet from
Wyr into SOS, this will put me in quite a strong position to threaten
the SC's of agatea.

I also like the idea of convoying to the agatean mainland and hitting
him from the inside out.

my other borders seem secure at present, the hublander still cant be
trusted despite the phone call i will have to watch him closely.

The circle cities seem to be occupied to the widdershins of their little
plot of ground so I feel safeish there.  

I will have to watch out for the Neflanders bringing a fleet around the
rim to 'my' oceans.  that wont happen next move though.

fall 02

(IRL)
at this point I have to admit that i've lost the file where i saved 
my notes so this is from memory.
(/IRL)

The hublanders can now be trusted a wee bit.  he has to pull back or the
agatean will nick an sc.  ha ha ha.

this would not be good for me as i want to convoy an army over and dont
want any more interference than already exists.

I will  go for it next move or the one after that.The circle city army
in ankhmorpork is a worry so i will counter that with a move to sto-lat
which will at worst bounce, at best threaten his home sc.

the neflanders move along the rim, while not unexpected is a little 
worrying but i hope to convoy to agatea then be in a position to defend
BRO.  we shall see.

spring movement 03

(IRL)
These notes are now 'live' ie we have just done spring 03 movt 
and these are my thoughtm on the result .
(/IRL)

The bounce in Sto lat was as good as I could have expected really.  The
Patrician Bunny was a bit miffed, whining about the 'unexpected
aggression'. I told him that i couldn't allow his army there ass he
could threaten 2 SC's whereas my army there only threatened one of his! 
He is not happy.

I suspect the neflander and Agatea were thinking of disrupting my convoy
but i got there one step ahead!  yipee.  I can now defend BRO and take
hung hung in time for a build.

I will try to make peace with the patrician, as i don't want a war on 3
fronts.  It wont free up any forces however as I need to watch my back
from him and the Hublander.

My thoughtm regarding the XXXX forces are mixed, I would like to split
Agatea with him initially,(my army makes a powerful bargaining chip) but
he has thrown the Italy/austria chip onto the table and i dont really
know how to take it.  I will go for Hung Hung and see what transpires.

After assuring the Hublanders I had no alliance with xxxx he has made a
move for the turnwise sc's.  very dangerous so maybe xxxx will be tied
up for a while.

OH SH*T. on pondering the possible agatea/nefland alliance i see some
worrying possibilities.

I have to defend Bro. I have to defend gon.  
If I go F SOS-Bro and F Wyr-Gon i lose control of SOS to Agatea.this ,
combined with the army in Ool would give them Gon next go.  wait a mo,
by then agatea will be down to two units, and i will have had a build. 
hmm if i build fleet in Wyr, i should be ok.  hmm very scary though!.  I
guess making up with Le Patrician Lapin will be a bigger proiorty than i
thought!

It is now pre build stage winter 03 / 04.

(IRL)

It is times like these when a printer would be bloody useful as I cant
see the map whilst typing! 

(/IRL)

Things went well yet again in fall 03 (- where the notes for fall 03
movement are I do not know) 

My successful convoy to the agatean mainland must have made the
neflander realise that agatea is a lost cause and as such not worth
supporting.  His attack on the Circle Cities is however a concern.  I
have offered my support to the Bunny but I'm not sure if he will trust
me - we shall see.  I have also suggested to the Muntab gov't. that he
should approach the Wabbit and arrange a cease fire with the intention
of  turning against the Neflander.

My alliance with the Hubland tribes seems to hold fast as we both have
few forces to threaten the other - I am concerned that he appears to be
gaining on two fronts while I have only one front advancing at present,
this may lead to an imbalance of forces.

I have a build coming up and it will have to be a fleet.  I haven't
decided if it will help my army take agatea or if I should rush turnwise
to help contain the neflander.

I will wait for a reply from the Patrician and Muntab before deciding. 

Spring  04.

I have built a fleet in Wyr.

After  much real time debate with The Patrician & Nef I have decided not
to stab the Wabbit in the neck and help him survive the current
onslaught from the Neflands.  I Know that Nef are gonna be heading for
the Circle Sea with his Tsort Fleet.  The CC doesn't seem to worried and
is gonna convoy the Ankh army to Kha and take Klt in the autumn.  This
will leave Ankh Unguarded but I can bounce the Nef out of there if ness.

I will take my Chi fleet into HTO this spring, both as a show of trust
with the CC and to threaten GOR next go.  Nef thinks I will be
supporting his Gor fleet into Klt in the fall, I may instead attack Gor
myself, forcing the Nef to retreat back into his home sc's.  I aim to
take Kru in the autumn, hence my Bro Fleet is headed for ROC this
spring.  If Nef tries to pull a fast one by taking Bro in the spring,
the HTO and ROC fleets can have it back by the winter build.

That takes care of the lower half of the map as far as I am concerned. 
Together CC, Muntab & I can seriously pressure the Nef forces but as yet
we have had no response from Muntab regarding a concerted defence of the
CC.  This is a wee bit worrying but if Muntab plays with Nef then it
will be the Hublanders who have the worries & not me!!  *grin*

Up towards Agatea, things continue to go well.  I am concerned at the
Number of XXXX fleets present on the counterweight Continent but the
pressure on XXXX home SCs from The Hublanders should help the balance of
forces.  I aim to move the Gon fleet into WHA, the Wyr fleet into SOS
and the Lla Army into Gon. In the spring, this will allow me to support
the wrong XXXX fleet into Sdi and build up my own forces in the region
into an attacking formation.  To backtrack, I have diplomed with XXXX
and agreed to split Agatea  with Hng & Bes for me and Sdi & Naf for
him.  This I do not like!.  We have agreed that I support his LIG fleet
into Sdi in the spring & he supports my Hng army into Bes in the fall. 
This guarantees him his SC but not me mine.  Instead I will support his
BHA fleet and claim it was a mistake.  He will still get the SC with the
PEL fleet bouncing - assuming XXXX also supports the move with BHA, I
reckon he will 'cos. I know I would if it were me - I will be able to
take Bes with my SOS Fleet supported by the army in Hng, while the WHA
fleet cuts any support from PEL.  My Lla/Gon Army will secure the SC
back home in case of a switch in direction by the PEL fleet.

Next Year with my three units along the PEL/Bes/Hng line I should be
able to take Sdi with no problems.

I still haven't decided if I can trust the Hublanders to stick to our
agreement too much longer as I become a very much more threatening
opponent, the further round the hub my forces move.  The whole point of
not waging war was that it would be too difficult to get the forces
needed in place without exposing both our derrieres to the others. as
soon as either of us secures his rear, then the other had better be
sharp to defend.  We have agreed that Ool & Rmt are not to be occupied
as this will give an indication of imminent attack - a sort of Discworld
'Canadian AWACs line'

Thats all for now.  We will see how well we fare this year.

I'm not sure how long it's been since updating the diary - it seems like
 ages but we have had Diplomeet in the meantime & I got a new PC - it 
took a while to get everything transferred as the old one's duff serial 
port prevented direct link up.  However, at the moment it is spring 
movement (06 I believe) and I have just taken Agatea out of the game.

This has left me with the happy predicament of being able to guard my 
'northern' sea approaches with just two fleets.  One in Sdi, one in Pel.
This with an army in Hng  or Bes (in Hng the support to Sdi cannot be 
cut by a fleet) I can hold out for quite a while until any enemy gets 
fleets round the rim.

Due to the agreement with the hublanders, this will be as far as I go in
this direction for the present.  To take Naf would entail moving fleets 
to a position where they also threatened the hublands.  Not what I want 
to do for now.

(IRL)
Ok Guys, stop laughing now that we have all seen what the hublanders have
done.  I was so tempted to take out this bit cos it really makes me look a
dope, trying to defend the sea approaches with two fleets.  Sheesh what a
git!
(/IRL)

I will honour the DMZ's agreed earlier with the hub but, as I met Piers @
Diplomeet and remember him saying 'if I have the opportunity to stab, then I
will', I will move a couple of armies into defensive positions in Lancre &
Lllamedos.  Down 'south' I am thinking of stabbing CC.  If I let him get 
too big then he HAS to take me on and at present he is more able to hit me
than I am him.  The only thing stopping him a present is his conflict with
the Neflands.  I reckon it would be better for me to have the Nef as an 
'ally' rather than the CC as Nef cannot build on my doorstep.  He would 
still b able to attack but would take a while to build up his forces.  To 
that end, I shall be making contact with Nef, who have -unsurprisingly- been
silent for a while.  My three fleets heading his way will make quite a 
bargaining chip I believe.

(IRL) things moved too fast for my intended diplome with nef and he kept 
his fleets before I had the chance to talk.  I doubt if it would have got
Nef on my side anyway, after what we did to him!
(/IRL)

Ogg Diaries Spring 07

Both  moves last year were rather good, with me gaining two SCs when only 
one was guaranteed.  The Neflander has decided to make me work for any more
SCs by disbanding all but his two fleets - this may be in a fit of pique 
after I offered him a reprieve and a stab at the CC but there was no time 
to organise anything so I stuck with the original plan and took out Nef.
This makes it tricky to stab CC this year as there are still two fleets 
prowling about 'dahn sarf'.  The Hublanders(understandably) have built 
Armies, as has Muntab so I will have to guard against a stab from the Hub. 
The good thing is that Hubland still hasn't finished off XXXX and Muntab is
more likely to threaten him than me.  I reckon I stand a good chance of
delivering a stab in the next year or two to CC while he concentrates on 
the growing threat from Muntab. 

Looking at the Agatean continent I am not sure that one army & one fleet
will be enough defence should Piers finish off XXXX and then look to me for 
some gain.  I may need to protect my interests by sending a fleet up there 
as soon a one is free.  Three fleets can protect the 'southern' approaches 
from Muntab so once CC is gone, I will have a couple free.(maybe)  This 
year, depending on the first moves by Muntab, I intend to take out the rest 
of the Nefland forces and then (possibly) a stab come the fall.  We shall 
see.

(IRL)
At this point Ben was born.  It is almost 6 weeks later now and this is the 
first entry into the diaries since then.  Murky - very sorry.  Here is a 
brief summary from memory.  I lost a few days and one set of orders never 
got sent in time.  Piers stabbed me.  I got steamrollered.

I was too busy/tired to diplome with Muntab - even if I had I doubt much 
could have been done, as piers has said, he had some pretty forceful moves 
up his sleeve and any defence would have had to been VERY well orchestrated.
Any change in the game would have merely been one of timing, I think the 
eventual outcome would have been the same.
(/IRL)

Last Ogg entry:

Aaaaaargh.

Go to the Octarine Homepage