Spotlight on:   the Eastern Shemish Nations??

Every few weeks or so HWE will feature a review of a different kingdom of Hyboria by players who think that they have what it takes to win!  These contain strategy tips, ideas, and a general direction to go for those interested in making the most of their bid for Hyborian dominance.  Crom is very interested in gathering in as many reviews as possible from different players, so don't be shy about sending them in!  

Chris MacDougall brings us one of the most off-beat Spotlights ever!

You gotta be kidding me, right? Eastern Shem?!?

Background

    Did you ever wonder what goes on in a non-player kingdom? Did you ever think about what makes them tick as you systematically disassemble them for your personal gain?

    Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Eastern Shem, a non-player kingdom of four provinces allied with Western Shem at the start of the Hyborian game. As a non-player kingdom they are oft the prey of other player kingdoms such as Khoraja, Koth, Stygia and sometimes a very cannibalistic Shem. As far as non-player kingdoms go they are one of the toughest around due to their military and their alliance with Western Shem and should not be underestimated when attacked. If I had the opportunity to, I would love to play a game of Hyborian War as E-Shem or even Meru and see what they could do with a little guidance but I do not see that happening any time soon. But if it ever becomes possible, for your pleasure I present to you a spotlight on the non-player kingdom of Eastern Shem.

Geography

    Eastern Shem is a country located in the southwestern deserts of Hyboria. As such the provinces are largely dominated by areas of desert terrain. For a province by province break down here is what you can expect to encounter:

    In province 203-SHUMIR (capital province of the Eastern Shemite state you can expect to maneuver to hill terrain with a Good chance of success.

    In province 204-Sabatea you can expect to maneuver to desert terrain with a Superior chance of success and river terrain with a Good chance of success.

    In province 205-NIPPR you can expect to maneuver to Hill terrain with a Good chance of success.

    In province 206-AKBITANA you can expect to maneuver to desert terrain with an excellent chance of success and river terrain with a Good chance for success.

    It should also be noted by the wise that every province has a fort class B in it with a Good chance of maneuvering to that terrain type in times of conflict.

    In terms of neighboring kingdoms to the west of Eastern Shem lies Shem, to the north lie Koth and Khoraja and to the south lies Stygia.

Finances

    Obviously life in the desert is harsh, very difficult to grow crops in the sand however the Eastern Shemite kingdom lies over the lucrative trade routes of southwestern Hyboria and has a bit more wealth to it than you would expect.

    For a province by province breakdown here it is:

Military

    The Eastern Shemite state has a surprisingly strong military very comparable to its western brother Shem and (in my opinion) on a troop by troop basis stronger than Stygia, Khoraja and Koth. This has a lot to do with the shared history between Eastern Shem and Shem prime, the Assurhi warrior tradition and the necessity to have a strong military surrounded by so many land hungry neighbors. Here it is on a troop by troop basis:

    A very good heavy cavalry and just as tough as their western Shemite counterparts. The E-Shem mailed cavalry are the shock troops of Eastern Shem and have had years of experience fending off invasions from Koth, Stygia and Khoraja. Though I do not have the percentage numbers as to how much they comprise of the E-Shem military I would place it at approximately 30% of total troop numbers.

    An excellent, durable version of heavy infantry the Shemish Spears are on par with any of the heavies that any of the western-Hyborian powers can muster and they are not to be taken lightly. At first glance you think why heavy infantry for desert warfare. Given the slow movement rate of (2) I would suspect that these fellows hate having to move around in the desert due to the heavy armor and spend much of their time in the Fort Class (B) terrain that exists in every province in E-Shem. Luckily for the Shemish Spears there are only four provinces all touching one another so if found in the IA's of E-Shem they usually do not have far to go to either pick a fight or to defend against incursions.

    Again I do not have what percentage that the Shemish Spears make up of the E-Shem military but I would suspect it is approximately 30-40% of the total numbers.

    Most likely the weakest link of the E-Shem arsenal are the Shemish Archers. As far as LIA go they are better on paper then the LIA which are raised by Stygia and Khoraja, equal to the archer corps fielded by Koth and a little less worthy than the LIA sported by Western Shem. 'Nuff said about these guys who seem to spend a lot of time in the PA's and IA's of E-Shem.

    I would suspect that the Shemish Archers will comprise approximately 30% of the total military of E-Shem.

    All the PA' s start out with 7 troops a piece (I think). I am not sure of their make up.

    The IA's start out with Ia-1 with 8 troops in Nippr and IA-2 with 10 troops in Sabatea.

The Court

    The E-Shem court is large for a non-player kingdom, 8 characters in total including the chancellor and adj-general. Surprisingly not much diplomacy, just like their cousins in Western Shem and not surprisingly a lot of military command and rulership ability. Well you can judge for yourself, here it is:

    Jonah is the smooth talker of Eastern Shem and most likely the only one who has ever ventured beyond its borders. As such he is the ultimate diplomat for E-Shem. He is also the provincial ruler of Shumir and spends much of his time trying to sooth the masses to worship him when not visiting other courts. The word is most of Shumir would rather slit his throat.

    Hail to the king?!! Poor Azor is one of those guys who dreams of taking over the world, well at least Western Shem but sadly will never get the chance to do so, thanks to Enosh Noph. Of course with a name like the "King" you never know. He is E-Shem's best general, knows his stuff about tactics and such and is usually found with either the 203rd provincial army or the 1st Imperial Army of E-Shem, "The Biters of Shumir".

    Enosh is the ruling monarch of E-Shem. He is an excellent monarch who understands what it means to rule a kingdom and meet the demands of the people as well as his court. He is the guiding force behind E-Shem and most likely the spirit behind the revolution which keeps E-Shem a separate identity from W-Shem, much to the chagrin of his court rivals. The people and pretty much everyone else who meets him loves him.

    Balak Pathros, an excellent ruler second only to Enosh Noph. Balak leads the court faction of E-Shem that continuously clamors for reunification with W-Shem by any means necessary. Balak is smart enough however to let his lapdog King Azor Tubala do all the speaking, indeed the braggart needs little encouragement. Balak hopes to live long enough to see the two Shemite states of Hyboria unite to form one combined power under his leadership to seek dominance over the Hyborian southwest. Balak resides as the provincial ruler of Akbitana and it is rumored amongst the court that he has secret dealings with Stygia in his covert efforts to become E-Shem's monarch.

    Lord Eliud is the provincial ruler of Nippr. He is also the commander in chief of the E-Shem northeastern theatre of operations. It is his responsibility to oversee the well being of the Nippr province, protect the trade route that runs through his lands and to repel the frequent raids and incursions that originate from Khoraja. He is loyal to the crown like a dog is to his master. Lord Eliud is an avid supporter of Enosh Noph's policies and desires to see E-Shem remain an independent state.

    Leviticus is the provincial ruler of Sabatea. As a ruler his people love him. His loyalties to the various factions in E-Shem sway as frequently as the wind blows across the desert. Leviticus knows that the time is not yet ripe to place all his cards on the table yet as to which side (the faction pushing for unification with W-Shem or the independence faction) he will support. Some say that Leviticus has his own designs on the throne of E-Shem and that he does not support either faction. Years of life on the Stygian border have taught him well the game of political intrigue. Some say he is more Stygian than Shemite.

    The second Leviticus (hmm, must be a popular Shemite name) of E-Shem is an enigma to all but Enosh Noph. Often masquerading as the court fool, Bathrab is anything but a fool. Adept at gaining information as well as removing unwanted rivals in the dead of night Bathrab is just as at home with diplomatic envoy duties as he is with removing the diplomatic attaché cases from visiting dignitaries.

    Ezra is the resident High-Magi of E-Shem. As I write this review I know he can cast Bless and does so frequently on the various provinces of E-Shem. I wish I knew the other spells he could cast. Regardless he holds the power of the magi within him and most likely he sports some battle magic in addition to the other various types. What do you think the odds are that it is something like missile shield and/or firewall. Ezra is a loner and does not meddle in affairs of state. He is far to busy scrying the stars for a sign of things to come and continues his research into turning arid desert land into lush fertile farm lands. He calls his research the art of Ire-Igg-Ation. So far he has not had much success especially like the time he wanted to move the river Styx through the center of E-Shem. Needless to say the ruling council in Stygia did not approve.

THE GREAT DILEMMA OF E-SHEM

    Well folks there you have it, a country often at odds with itself and others. Usually E-Shem does not stay around in the game for very long due to the sheer number of potential enemies who usually invade en-masse during the first season of war.

    Usually Khoraja, Koth or Stygia sunders the W-Shem/E-Shem alliance that limits the ability of W-Shem to aid in the defense of its eastern cousins. E-Shem usually loses not due to lack of effort but due lack of numbers. They are an aggressive non-player kingdom once attacked though and a wise monarch will be sure to attack-peace-attach as aggressively as possible to wipe out E-SHEM before they are allowed to become much of a growing concern.

    I would refer the careful reader to look at the various spotlights on Khoraja, Koth and Shem if you want to see different approaches as to how to effectively dismember E-Shem or how to use them to your advantage.