Spotlight on:   Vendhya

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!  

Thought that number three was the last one? Don't you believe it! The mysterious Zen Master of HW689 is here to share his thoughts on how to properly rule the kingdom of Kshatriyans!

LET ALL POTENTIAL RULERS OF VENDHYA TAKE HEED AS THE ZEN MASTER SPEAKS!

   This review is more of a work in progress since the game I am playing as Vendhya is only 6 turns old at this point. However, as most grizzled Hyborian War players will tell you, that first set of warseasons is often the most crucial in determining long term success. It is also during those first warseasons that advice from columns like these is the most relevant since each game will evolve differently as it progresses. Alliances come and go, people drop, whatever. This review is also being written from the view of someone playing in the Privacy Game, HW689, which means that a lot of the stuff about communicating with allies is not much of a factor, and it also means that I can't divulge long range strategies since those must remain state secerets.

   Let me start by saying I was one of those players that said "Oh, great..." with a HEAVY dose of sarcasm when I found out I was playing Vendhya. In the vast majority of games I have played, Vendhya has been little more than the Koth of the East. In other words, they do very little besides being a doormat for their neighbors. Well, sit back and enjoy the ride because so far it's been going very well in the lands of the Zen Master!

NPK ASSESSMENT:

   This is the info I wish I could have had, but didn't. I also couldn't ask other players because I was in the Privacy Game and didn't want to give my position away since many people know which games I am in. All this info was gained from the sweat of Vendhyan agents and the blood of their soldiers, so remember to offer prayers unto those who came before you!

   Afghulistan: Looking at the NPK troop types available on the HWE, I figured they had mostly LCA. On turn 2 I invaded with one army, drawing in the two neighboring PA's and sending in raised troops from turn 1. A spy report showed they had open field battle preferece in mountain terrain. Well, that was perfect for me as my IA of close to 30 mediums (some arrived late) easily wiped them off the face of Hyboria with the loss of 3 troops. They start with Firewall so don't go set piece unless you want to take extra losses.

   Bakharus Tribes: I chose to invade this province on turn 2 as well, but I went for set piece. I knew I couldn't fill it out to 30 like the army invading Afghulistan because I was stocking one of the other IA's so it could invade Zhaibar Tribes by itself. Instead I chose set piece and moved the fourth IA up from its initial defensive status to support the first army. On turn 3 the battle was fought and I faced a full 30 MC Bakharus so I seriously doubt you could take this province open field on turn 2 with only 1 army, thus my caution was rewarded with a victory in the set piece battle.

   Zhaibar Tribes: This kingdom has nothing but light troops, and a scouting of their defense orders also revealed they desired open field battle in mountain terrain. One of my armies that moved up from defensive status on turn 2 invaded here on turn 3 with 30 troops. A Black Death killed 2 on the way in (that spell seems overrated) and then I proceeded to demolish the Zhaibars with the loss of 2 more troops.

   Himelians: The two armies that had taken Bakharus Tribes on turn 3 were sent into Himelians on turn 4. A spy report showed that they had 31 troops at the time, split about 50/50 as LCA and MCA. Their defense orders were mountain/commaders discretion. I had enough forces left over from the Bakharu campaign to figure I'd win that battle open field and on turn 4 that is exactly what happened. They retreated at 50% losses, and with all those LCA types I didn't lose that much.

   Secunderam: This province somehow manged to draw me into set piece battle on turn 4, and when I fought the battle on turn 5 I ran into a damn firewall! Yikes, that one hurt, but the battle was a win nonetheless. Watch out for that stupid spell in open terrain....I could have taken this province much earlier with my army in Afghulistan, but that army and gone on to invade Iranistan via Kosala. Turan wasn't moving south right away so I felt I had time to spare, but as I said earlier, each game is different.

   Western Himmelians: I invaded this province with one of my new IA's with only 8 troops and went for set piece since I intended to reinforce the invasion with my army that would be taking Secunderam. The plan worked out fine, and I faced off against 26 troops (mostly MCA with a sprinkling of MI) and won in set piece on turn 6. They took 50% losses, but it might be pushing it to think you could take the province open field with a 30 troop army. Set piece is the way to go here.

   Meru: I have invaded a couple of their provinces now. Knowing that they take total or heavy losses, I was very cautious. I took Paliana on turn 6 with one army in a set piece battle, and found that indeed they took TOTAL losses (one troop left when he ran). The big problem thus far has been my inability to get terrain in something other than fortA. Taking total losses, it is hard to dig out those defenders. We'll see how the follow-up campaigns work out.

   Well, that's about as far as I've got on turn 7. I have a peace treaty with Turan, who came around the south a turn too late after I took Secunderam. My navy was used for a sneak attack (which failed, I'm afraid to say) into Iranistan on turn 3. I didn't get the open field battle I wanted but I would still maintain that this is a viable strategy since their PA's are small and taking a province from a PK is much more valuable than a sea zone--which can be picked up later on anyway. The more so because I was also invading Iranistan on land with my army that took Afghulistan after I moved it into Kosalan territory. I had hoped to link up, but my navy got stuck in set piece and my army was bought off with Iranistani gold (peace treaty) before I could take anything. The will of the Zen Master cannot be delayed for long though!

   With my navy out of action for all those early turns I have been slow to recover on the seas, but since my MNA's are better than the fleets of my foes I think it's only a matter of time before I recoup.

   I have obliterated all the NPK's in the mountain area to my immediate north, and even Meru is now under seige. Of course our first set of warseasons aren't over yet, so there is more work to be done. Building up provinces to boost troop raises is a must, plus it has done wonders for my victory progress. My IG in Secunderam is under Vendhyan administration, but getting to Dense Jungles will be a MUCH harder prospect that must await another time.

   So far I have faced nothing but medium and light troop types. My MI and MC have been at least as good, if not better than all those NPK's, but the fact that many of them have a large contingent of light troop types sure makes things easier.

   I have read the other reviews about how Vendhya's MI can stand up well to Turanian heavies which I find hard to believe, but I sure hope it's true! I keep as many MC as possible, and limit those LIA's to bare minumum as I'm sure most players will do. With the naval situation far from secure, keep those fleets going at the max too.

   The mammoths are indeed a waste of space since all of mine were gone after turn 4 and I haven't bothered with them since.

   Some have said that VEND-1 is better off dead, and a more competant ruler should take his place. Well, characters are always at a premium so I chose to keep him around and I haven't been disappointed. He has led several of my invasions so I have to disagree with the "keep him ruling or your provinces will revolt" idea. Hopefully he'll do well for some time, and once I get a reincarnate spell (crossed fingers!) I can send him adventuring and replace him, and at the same time hopefully bring him back as a superior skilled general/noble.

   My diplomats (esp. vend-10) have secured every treaty I've asked of them, and those diplomacy spells help too. My agents worked without a flaw is spying the various NPK militaries, as well as checking out various PK activities as well. NOTE: use province spying instead of kingdom spying for those one province NPK's to avoid any Counterspy Kingdom orders they may have.

   Your magic is pretty lame for starters but those diplomacy spells come in handy, and you have a couple bless spells should one of your provinces get off to a rocky start loyalty-wise.

   There has been no other peace years besides turn 1 so I can't speak about what will come down the pipe. I could sure use some nice spells to burn up Turanians, or some agents to whack away those Uttaran diplomats!

   LET ALL PEOPLE REPEAT THE MANTRA OF THE ZEN MASTER IN PRAISE OF HIS WORDS OF WISDOM:
"HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM"
"VENDHYA SHALL RULE THE WORLD"
"HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...."