Hellfire 2952: Kingdom Come Apart
The Decapolis survived another year without the aid of the Imperial Navy, but the situation continues to deteriorate.
At the start of every year following the retreat of the Kaisan Empire, you roll for each city in the Decapolis with each having a 10% chance of losing population. The locals will stick around, but the sycophants and the courtiers realize that things out here aren’t going to get any better and go back to grubbing for favors in the Imperial Core worlds. The fractured Hippopolitan kingdom starts off 2952 AD by losing just one population point from Damascus, but that brings the total population loss since the start of the game to 11%. That impacts not only your annual income – leaving the player with fewer resources to handle more crises – but also reduces the forces available for defense and conquest. This is a subtle and steady drip drip drip of power from the player’s grasp and really helps build a ticking clock for the game.
Like all clocks, it does have a stopping point. Once any city loses half its starting population, all cities of that type (financial, art, industry) stop checking in future years. So you’ll never fall below half your start, and more often things will level out around the three-quarters mark. If gives you some solace, while keeping the pressure on. “So you’re saying there’s a chance?” indeed.
For my part, I doubled the chances of population loss following a successful barbarian raid or civil war battle. Traumatized war refugees aren’t likely to return, which makes the game harder, and is a well recommended practice to up the difficulty level.
The barbarians arrive in the civil war torn Decapolis in force in 2952 AD, resulting in some tightened sphincters on both General Staffs. Lucky for all, it’s Maccans offering mercenary services to the Rebellion and Weallians offering mercenary services to the Loyalists. That’s all five arrivals, with the Tillian Republic and Popular Front still smarting from their losses in 2950.
Both sides of the civil war take up the mercenary offers, with the Loyalists going heavy on mercs and spending serious dosh on an air force of their own. It’s just a single squadron of untested pilots, but the Imperial air power has meant the difference in too many engagements not to respond in kind. Even if they cancel out, it leaves Wargamious II with overwhelming odds on the ground, thanks to his deep pockets.
Battles rage across the heartland this year, with the Rebellion striking at Gedara early, only to be repulsed thanks to the loss of their air power. Four months later, their preparations complete, the Loyalists launch a counter-attack at the rebel stronghold of Gedara, with the hired guns serving as the tip of the spear. The Weallians take a heavy pounding and , chagrined by what they see as the profligate spending of their lives, take their coin and leave for the rest of the year. The loss of Gerase leaves the corridor open and quick thinking leaders on the Loyalist staff take advantage by blitzing into Philadelphia where the Usurper can barely scrape together a handful of loyalist militia outfits to defend the city.
Philadephia falls, and the militia curse their fate as the Usurper leaves them to it, in headlong flight back to his Canathan stronghold. That leaves the map a little something like this at the end of the year. 
In 2953 AD King Wargamius will have to choose between an all-out attack on Canatha for the kill strike, or a slow grinding war of attrition by retaking Hippos and the other two cities on the Macca River. Which will depend greatly on the realpolitik of the surrounding barbarians. He can’t be everywhere, and they probably won’t wait much longer before taking advantage of the much weakened Hippopolitan Kingdom.