PART 1: Year: 867 AD

Maximum loot – which is all of the loot currently to be had

Protected loot – defines the amount of loot that is sitting behind the FORT LEVEL at the location. Only a successful siege assault will prize this loot away from its owner.

Available loot – which is the amount of loot that can be taken by a raiding party just present in the county.

Durham - Max: 24.9, Protected: 12.0, Available: 12.9

Westmorland - Max: 25.4, Protected: 12.0, Available: 13.4

Lancaster- Max: 25.5, Protected: 12.0, Available: 13.5

Chester - Max: 25.6, Protected: 12.0, Available: 13.6

Derby - Max: 24.8, Protected: 12.0, Available: 12.8

Leicester - Max: 25.0, Protected: 12.0, Available: 13.0

Lincoln - Max: 25.4, Protected: 12.0, Available: 13.4

With our immediate goal being the counties and armies of Northumberland to the north, you would think that we would send out armies straight there. We on the other hand have a different idea. The 5840 troops under our banner are ordered to go raiding by toggling the Raiding button found in the unit window. This will allow them to take part in raids to gather loot from nearby provinces of non-pagan religions. As each army changes from standard combat to raiding, the name of the unit changes from Army to Raiders. So you know which of your stacks are performing which function.Before unleashing this mighty horde we must take a look at the neighbouring provinces that are potential targets to identify which ones can be plundered and what likely rewards they will provide.The province window now displays a section of detailing the total amount of loot all aspects of a county contributes depending on the locations contained therein. The total loot is shown as a horizontal yellow bar. This is split into to three further types:When the horizontal bar is at maximum the county has the full amount of loot. A slider depicts the what loot is protected and what is readily available. The amount of protected loot is shown on the left of the bar. The amount to the right shows what is readily available.After reviewing the neighbouring counties we discover the following:So with our enemies in the north likely to encounter our ally King Ivar the Boneless' armies and those of his vassals, we send out own forces south to Lincoln. Then with some luck we can work out way counter-clockwise and join the fighting with our enemies forces diminished with little damage to our own forces.Our ally King Bagsecg of Jylland confirms his intention to help in the PREPARED INVASION of England but when will we see the first of his soldiers arrive?In the midst of battle our King Halfdan I weds Portmann of Mann. Royal aid duty is refused.This fulfills his ambition to get married. His next ambition is to have a daughter with his new wife.As our raiding parties move into Lincoln and win their first engagement with the defending forces, large numbers of Norse followers arrive in our home county of Jorvik, flying the flag of King Ivar the Boneless. 12K+ in total.During this battle our king displays a cowardly disposition towards fighting. Which is unfortunate as till then he had displayed the courage of a true Viking raider....A preacher Bishop Savary from the court of King Charles II of Francia arrives in court spreading his vile religion. This is intolerable but fortuitous. We have Bishop Savary escorted deeper into our keep. Curious to see what forgotten souls may exist in our dark dungeons, he walks straight into one of our cells. TRAPPED!!! This may turn out to be handy as at some point we will need to offer human sacrifices at the Great Blot.... so...As you can see the amount of loot changes over the course of the game as other factions loot a county, or the county's owners increase their accumulated gold. So it is possible to raid a county at a bad time after they've been raided or had a bad year with taxes. Or to raid them at a particularly good time.When a unit or units are raiding a particular country you can see a looting icon across the sprite (unit) banner depicting that it is currently set to perform raids. Highlighting this icon provides detail on the amount of looting is being undertaken in the province, and how often this takes place. Once the available amount of loot has been stolen, the icon will change from its multi-coloured format to a red one. This informs you that only protected loot can be gained through capturing the locations within that country OR that there is no more loot to be had at all, so it is time to move on to another target.Jorvik raiders manage to successfully raid the counties of Lincoln, Leicester, Derby, Chester, pushing away any defending armies numbering in the low hundreds. By around late October with our treasury holding 119 in gold from a starting total of 49.By December Lancaster has also been raided bring the total loot gained during the year to 99 gold.In August as our raiding horde reaches Chester the remnants of King Ella of Northumberland's army fight a defensive action on the border with Scotland, a small force of 377 men arrives in Jovik and conducts a siege of our county. We split off King Halfdan's own force to return home to deal with the invaders. By the end of September the attacks are repelled easily for minimal losses. King Halfdan returns to meet up with our war-bands in Chester.In September our spy-master discovers a plot by King Halfdan's own heir to have him killed. He has one backer. For the moment we do nothing and wait for the right time to check this event.We decide to use some of our plundered loot to go on the offensive. Though instead of using our raiding war-bands we elect to hire a company of mercenaries to do the dirty work for us. Tuathal's Irish band are the perfect candidates. Giving them enough time to rest and raise their morale, by early November they are ordered north to lay siege to Durham.By December our war again Ella of Northumberland goes well with an aggregate amount of victories equivalent to 36% warscore.More tomorrow...