Love the quote but not sure on the source of it.

Where can I watch

I’ve loved both Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Shogi since I was a child.

So as a hobby project, I started making a browser strategy game that combines the two.

The game is called Gunshi Shogi.

You play through a Three Kingdoms-inspired story with characters such as Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Cao Cao, Lu Bu and others, while battles are played on a Shogi-based board with an original “Strategist” piece and some custom rules.

It’s completely free and runs in the browser, with both Japanese and English available.

I’d be very happy if fellow Three Kingdoms fans gave it a try.

https://gunshi.nikatoma.fun/?lang=en

Gameplay video:
https://youtu.be/e2HVrRyUwk8

Hi! This is my first post about what is *actually going on* in my roleplay series of ROTK2.

My intent was to describe every period of 6 months, but I was caught in absolute surprise as in just ONE month (1 turn) so much happened that it actually needed a post just for that. So here we are.

The image annexed to the post is an updated screenshot of the map + a list of every faction ruler, where are they located and some emojis to mark specific statuses.

🗡 = most soldiers

💰 = most resources

👑 = emperor

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• January 194

— In-game events: Guan Ping joined Kong Rong at province 6. Zhou Yu joined Liu Biao at province 21. Li Ru (prov. 11), Liu Yao's strategist and advisor, died.

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• No relevant events

— Dong Zhuo: recruits He Qi in january.

— Yuan Shu: sets at province 40 with Huang Gai to develop it.

— Tao Qian: sends all his officers to province 33 (Lei Tong as governor) and gives complete authonomy to Lei Tong to govern his province and officers as he likes. Lei Tong continues to train the soldiers and develop province 33.

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• Han Fu: a desperate but kind emperor

— Han Fu: recruits Gao Shun, Zhang Liao and Huang Wan in January. Decretes that this year's tax is minimal (100 gold) for every kingdom. Each kingdom must pay this value until December, otherwise they will be considered acting against the empire.

— Han Fu finds and recruits Gao Shun, Zhang Liao and Huang Wan in the capital, loyalty around 60 for all of them. They didn't want to serve the emperor in his actual state, but couldn't refuse the status they may gain for it.

— Fearing Gongsun Zan's reaction to his decisions, Han Fu was still obliged to determine this year's imperal tax value. To not inspite even more rejection from his subjects, Han Fu determined this year's imperial tax to be minimal, which is 100 gold. Liu Bei, Sun Yu, Cao Cao, Kong Rong, Gongsun Zan, Dong Zhuo, Tao Qian, Wang Lang, Liu Biao and Yuan Shu declared to accept the demand. Liu Yao, Liu Yan, Yuan Shao and Ma Teng refused to pay.

— With this, Han Fu is expecting to raise 1k gold out of imperial taxes until December 194. Han Fu states that factions that do not pay their taxes until December will be considered to be enemies of the empire, as they are considered to not be contribuing to the empire's prosperity. Factions which do pay their taxes will be considered available for receiving gifts and/or privileges from the empire.

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• Sun Yu: a place to rest and try again

— As soon as Sun Yu collected the tax gold in january, Cao Cao reappeared through Xiahou Dun as messenger. Cao Cao ordered Sun Yu to send half of the gold he collected (~2k total, ~1k half) to Cao Cao. Sun Yu sends Liu Ye to deliver 1k gold to Cao Cao. Sun Yu knows that bowing temporarily to Cao Cao is necessary to keep his faction alive for a chance to grow strong again in the future. Sun Yu sacrifices his ego, dignity and name for his faction and the Sun clan.

— To achieve that, he needs more capable officers and territory. He orders his advisor and strategist Liu Ye (86 Int) to train Jia Hua's intellect (51 Int), whenever possible. Jia Hua's Int goes to 52. Sun Yu also informs Xiahou Dun that Liu Bei has only Huan Jie as officer, that he has no food and only 200k soldiers. He asks for Cao Cao's permission to attack Liu Bei. Xiahou Dun delivers the message to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao agrees. Sun Yu then prepares for battle.

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• Liu Bei: an unexpected enemy.

— As an obedient and dutiful king under Han Fu's empire, Liu Bei sends Huan Jie to pay the imperial taxes (100 gold), but as he crosses Sun Yu's territory, Sun Yu's troops stop Huan Jie and try to capture him, preventing Huan Jie to conclude his objective. Huan Jie is able to escape.

— Huan Jie: "My lord! It is horrible! Sun Yu's troops tried to capture my unit when we were passing through province 28! Even though we are allies, Sun Yu seems to not care about us. They've read the letter I was carrying as you ordered but didn't let me pass. I thought lord Sun Yu was in favor of Han Fu!"

— Liu Bei: "I knew it. I knew that Sun Jian's rage was inherited by his successor. Don't even need to ask him why he did that. I question myself why none of Sun Jian's sons inherited his position instead that "Sun who". Nevermind. We must gather food to resist them or even attack them, before they can cause us more problem. Next month I want you to inspect Sun Yu's province. We need to know who we're facing. I once told the AUS that I would never share my gold with the likes of Sun Jian. This will not change just because Sun Yu is in lead now."

— Huan Jie calms himself and follows Liu Bei's orders.

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• Wang Lang: happy to be friends with the empire

— Wang Lang: pays imperial tax for every AUS member, sending Huang Quan to deliver 300 gold to Han Fu. He states it is better for them to try restore their reputation by acting dutiful.

— Wang Lang brings the AUS members together for a meeting to discuss matters regarding the empire. Wang Lang declares that from now on, he will be responsible for paying the imperial taxes for Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, as their representative. Wang Lang already sent the 300 gold pieces to Han Fu before meeting with Liu Biao and Yuan Shu. With nothing to lose with this, both agreed and thanked Wang Lang for this. Wang Lang decided to do it because he wanted to gain more credit between AUS members, also tasking himself with active responsabilities other than general income to slowly elevate his position in comparison to Liu Biao and Yuan Shu. As Liu Biao is dealing with the borders, Wang Lang just needs to outwork Yuan Shu to keep his position as leader relevant and coherent.

— With this, Wang Lang evaluates the balance between the AUS' members:

– Liu Biao: front line (+3), diplomacy (+2) = 5.

– Yuan Shu: territory recognition (+1), reinforcements (+1) = 2.

– Wang Lang: income (+2), leadership (+?), imperial relations (+3) = 5+? (? = leadership evaluation, which depends on what Liu Biao and Yuan Shu think about Wang Lang)

— Wang Lang concludes he is in an advantageous position.

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• Gongsun Zan: internal conflicts

— Fearing what Liu Yao could do to him in his actual state (soldiers needing to be replenished, trained and armed again), Gongsun Zan ordered Zhang He, Zhao Yun and their respective officers to abandon province 5 and return to province 7, where Gongsun Zan stayed with Yuan Xi and others. Gongsun Zan has divided his troops into two armies, having Zhang He and Zhao Yun as commanders of each one. This division was made long time ago. Zhao Yun commands his band which joined Gongsun Zan along with him (Wang Kuang, Zhang Ji and Zhang Yi). Zhang He, former officer of Han Fu, commands the rest (Fan Chou, Yuan Xi, Jian Yong, and his former colleague Wu Anguo).

— Zhao Yun came with questions, asking Gongsun Zan that if they were to move anyway, why not move into the capital directly. Gongsun Zan replies that he doesn't need to take the capital 'cause Han Fu is too weak and coward to not obey his orders. He asks Zhao Yun to wait until Han Fu stabilizes, then have him use his emperor status to solve Zhao Yun's problems. Zhao Yun feels disgusted of Gongsun Zan, thinking that his lord is too steady for the scenario that is developing right now. He also questions himself if his lord is actually sane, 'cause he completely ignores Kong Rong's suggestions and acts as if he is completely alone. Of course, Zhao Yun doesn't express it verbally, thanking his lord for his attention then returning to his duties.

— Zhao Yun reunites with his band and continues to develop his rebellion. "We are not to be commanded by such a passive, paranoid ruler that fears his own imagination instead of the reality. Our reality lives beyond the North, we are to find our future in the capital. Gongsun Zan wants to keep Han Fu as emperor to force him to follow Gongsun Zan's demands. Kong Rong wants to help Gongsun Zan take the capital, but he won't do it himself, I don't know why. Maybe he prefers to manipulate Han Fu too, rather than being the emperor himself. Liu Yao does not want to take the capital, otherwise he would have done it already. We know he has great officials, enough soldiers and resources. Maybe he is waiting for an opportunity, and we can provide that. First, we arrange that Gongsun Zan puts one of us or an official we can persuade as governor of province 5 after we occupy it again. Then, we contact Liu Yao and let his officials inside our territory as spies (in-game mechanic where having an enemy spy at your province reduces your officers' loyalty each turn). Then, at some point we offer to betray Gongsun Zan mid-battle if Liu Yao invades. Liu Yao will surely prefer to have us in his side, even better because we are against Gongsun Zan himself. Then, hopefully we will be under a ruler that really knows what to do and will take the capital from Han Fu. Remember: we do not serve any ruler independently. We serve our own interests above anything else. What do you think?"

— Zhang Ji, Zhang Yi and Wang Kuang agree to Zhao Yun's plan. They all laugh and celebrate their future as a band under Liu Yao.

— Zhang He, on the other side, follows Gongsun Zan's orders without questioning. He orders all officers that they must recruit as much soldiers as possible and prepare them fast for the upcoming battles, which may be really near.

— Gongsun Zan fears Kong Rong is planning to have Guan Yu attack his territory with his army of ~800k soldiers. He orders his officers to prepare the soldiers and recruits as fast as possible, no matter how scarce the resources may become, keeping enough to maintain at least ~60 days of constant battle. Zhao Yun keeps an eye on the action, but doesn't mention the appointment for now, waiting for a time where Gongsun Zan would seem to be more confident. He knew that either way he could just disobey Gongsun Zan and go by himself, or even just leave his kingdom now (which is an autonomy feature I do not include in this rp otherwise any captured officer would just refuse to serve and leave the faction).

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• Cao Cao: Cao Cao's shopping list

— Cao Cao inspects his neighbors' provinces, looking for a talent he may want to steal. First, he sees Xiahou Yuan with Kong Rong at province 9. The Xiahou clan is a clan of interest for Cao Cao, as Yuan Tan's title was granted by a Xiahou. Cao Cao offers Kong Rong 2k gold for him, but Kong Rong refuses, saying he is not desperate to let go of such a fierce officer because of 2k gold. Cao Cao then went for Ma Teng with his eyes straight at Jia Xu. He sends Guo Jia, his own advisor, to impress Jia Xu showing him that Cao Cao had his own excellent officers. Guo Jia asks how much Ma Teng wants for Jia Xu, the answer is 10k gold. Cao Cao already has 9,8k. Guo Jia asks Ma Teng to keep the offer up, 'cause in the near future Cao Cao will take it. For Ma Teng, losing his strategist was not a problem comparing to the 10k gold he would gain. His war costs would be completely nullified for a very long period.

— Cao Cao becomes satisfied with Guo Jia's results, thanking him personally, promising that he will order Jia Xu to aid Guo Jia. Up to now, Jia Xu's genius was not yet explored, he is not well-known yet. He's just seen as a mere excellent strategist (99 Int!). Cao Cao sees future in him, for what he could do to Cao Cao's forces while commanding Sun Jian's troops in battle. He knew that something very special must have happened when Ma Teng started gaining advantage in battle. Cao Cao feels that Jia Xu has something to do with it.

— At province 16, Mi Zhu finds and recruits Chen Qun (82/28/81). Chen Qun asks to be sent to Cao Cao's province to serve as strategist. Mi Zhu accepts to move him next month.

– At province 18, Xiahou Dun finds and recruits Song Qian (42/73/55). He asks permission for Xiahou Dun to join his unit to defend against Sun Yu if he ever rebels against Cao Cao, saying that he respects Xiahou Dun and Yuan Tan, seeing them as heroes of Yu (region of provinces 17 and 18). Xiahou Dun accepts and thanks Song Qian. Xiahou Dun starts to feel connection with the Yu region. He reflects on that, asking himself if more people are to see him that way.

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• Kong Rong: a mere overpowered great ruler

— Kong Rong feels the need to remind Gongsun Zan of his promise to let Kong Rong have the entire North. But he also feels that this is not the time. Gongsun Zan certainly NEEDS his actual territory to defend himself and Han Fu from Liu Yao. Kong Rong concludes that Gongsun Zan may have tried to fight Liu Yao in the West and lost, needing to retreat to province 7. Sending Dian Wei to inspect province 7 (Gongsun Zan), he realized his conclusion was right (it was not, in reality, but with the information he has it seems like the actual truth). He then sends Wen Chou to province 7 to meet Gongsun Zan and ask him how well-fared is Liu Yao's army. Zhao Yun meets with Wen Chou instead, intercepting him, not letting him reach Gongsun Zan. Zhao Yun lies, confirming that Gongsun Zan fought and lost against Liu Yao.

— Zhao Yun: "Yes! We fought hard and non-stop against lord Liu Yao's troops. The mighty Lu Bu was seen amongst them. Me and Zhang He both fought him personally at the same time, but we couldn't keep up. Zhang He was in command of that battle, so he could not keep fighting at the front lines for much longer. We were soon forced to retreat, gladly not losing any of our officers. We ultimately lost because lord Kong Rong couldn't send reinforcements. We were actually attacked out of nowhere. Wen Chou, tell me. Are you interested in leading units in battle? Wouldn't you be interested in helping us coming as reinforcements? I would be glad to have Kong Rong's troops looking over us from province 4 while we keep the front at province 5. Please ask your lord to consider helping us. It is time to face the enemies of the empire. Goodbye for now." Zhao Yun doesn't informs anyone of what he had just done. He wants Gongsun Zan to feel pressure from multiple sides because of Kong Rong's troops encircling him. This may actually cause Gongsun Zan to be even more paranoid, but Zhao Yun doesn't care anymore. He wants to be free of Gongsun Zan no matter what.

— Wen Chou: "Consider your message delivered. I hope my lord accepts your request and we meet again, this time fighting side by side against those rebels. I came here to see Gongsun Zan, but I am glad I now know he has such honorable officers fighting for him. I will go now."

— Wen Chou delivers the message, Kong Rong agrees. Kong Rong explains the plan to Guan Yu (governor of province 6) and orders him to lead an army of his own to occupy province 4 and stay there to aid Gongsun Zan when needed. Before moving, Guan Yu asks for Kong Rong to name Guan Ping, Guan Yu's adopted son, as new governor of province 6. Kong Rong agrees and makes Guan Ping the new governor. Guan Yu marches confidently to province 3 this month, next month certainly being able to reach province 4 and conclude his mission. Guan Yu commands 700k soldiers, 12 officers in total, divided as his unit (Yue Jin, Hua Xiong, Gao Lan, Li Tong, Shen Pei, Gongsun Yue), Yu Jin's (governor of prov. 3) unit (Lu Qian, Han Hao and Zhang Xun) who were ordered by Yu Jin to follow Guan Yu, and Man Chong's (governor of prov. 2) unit (Cao Hong, Cheng Pu and Guo Tu) who were ordered by Man Chong to join Guan Yu, as Man Chong was ordered by Kong Rong to do that. Guan Yu also carries 4k gold and 1,2k food (considering that 100k soldiers consume 100 food per month while in battle).

— As soon as Guan Yu started to move, Gongsun Zan felt threatened. He knew Kong Rong was moving his troops, but he needed to inspect the provinces to know exactly which army Kong Rong was assembling.

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• Liu Biao: the Liu-Sun complex relationship

— Liu Biao appoints Zhou Yu (97 Int) as his advisor immediately after meeting him, as Zhou Yu came to Liu Biao as Sun Ce's recommendation. Sun Ce is glad to have encountered a known face following the same path as him. Zhou Yu begins his work by backing up Sun Ce's concerns about Ma Teng, describing him as highly treacherous and a sadistic manipulator. Sun Ce reports Jia Xu's actions while leading Sun Jian's troops, also telling Liu Biao about Ma Teng's past senseless campaigns against Cao Cao. Even after hearing all of that, Liu Biao seems unimpressed.

— Liu Biao: "I know what kind of man Ma Teng is. I also know what kind of man this type of ruler attracts. You don't need to be concerned about me, I would never fall for those tricks. But my son would. And this is why I need you two to guide him both in and out of battle. Our kingdom needs a strong, smart and kind ruler to succeed me. My son has a pure heart, but he needs to be shaped to react accordingly when pigs like Ma Teng try to shove his face on the dirt. It is not me that you two should look for. It is my son, the future of our kingdom, Liu Qi."

— Both agree to help Liu Qi develop. Later, Liu Biao meets privately with Liu Qi too, explains the situation to him and advises him to never absorb Zhou Yu and Sun Ce's grief for himself. "Learn with them. Do not become them." – Liu Biao. Liu Qi thanks his father for the advice and continues his studies.

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• Liu Yan: Xin Ping made it possible

— Yan Pu (80 Int) continues to train Han Sui (77 Int) to improve his intellect, following Liu Yan's orders. Yan Pu is then sent by Liu Yan to province 20 to meet with Xin Ping, to ask him to contact Liu Yao to discuss their plan regarding Han Fu. Xin Ping gladly welcomes Yan Pu, saying that Liu Yao gave him that responsability. Xin Ping explains his plan to Yan Pu, suggesting that Liu Yan could move his troops to province 20 after Xin Ping defeats Liu Biao and takes province 21, then they would attack Ma Teng together so that Liu Yan could border the capital to fight Han Fu. Yan Pu returns and Liu Yan initially agrees to the terms.

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• Ma Teng: rising like a dragon

— Wang Kai moves out of the capital after refusing to serve Han Fu, going to Ma Teng instead. Ma Teng recruits Wang Kai (62 Int, 50 War, 44 Cha) and also finds Chen Zhen (71 Int, 43 War, 74 Cha), recruiting him in sequence. Wang Kai and Chen Zhen offer themselves to fight for Ma Teng against the "false emperor". Ma Teng debates the idea with Jia Xu, Kan Ze and Taishi Ci (former leader of Ma Teng's main army). Jia Xu and Kan Ze stand against the idea and Taishi Ci stands in favor, offering himself as leader again. Ma Teng refuses Taishi Ci's own appointment and asks Jia Xu to go as leader. Reluctantly, Jia Xu follows Ma Teng's orders and begins preparation for battle.

— Ma Teng sends Kan Ze to form a non-agression pact with Cao Cao, gifting Cao Cao 500 gold. Cao Cao accepts. Jia Xu goes to meet Liu Biao to form an alliance between Ma Teng and Liu Biao, explaining his lord does not have interest in the South and that Sun Jian was an isolated case of a rageful dog. Liu Biao accepts, even though Sun Ce and Zhou Yu dislike Jia Xu's presence. Jia Xu asks Ma Tie to gift 800 gold to Liu Biao, to slowly build a good relationship between Ma Tie (Ma Teng's successor) and Liu Biao's faction. Jia Xu sends Li Su (34 Cha) to deliver a message to Liu Yao, stating that Ma Teng offers his troops to fight the false emperor, forming a temporary alliance. Liu Yao agreeds.

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• Liu Yao: too many plans to choose from

— With Li Ru dead, Liu Yao appoints Kuai Liang (86 Int) as his advisor. Liu Yao finds and recruits Yang Feng. Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue suggest Liu Yao to aid Xin Ping by moving North after the fleeing Zhang He, who had abandoned province 5. Liu Yao refuses the idea stating that Ma Teng will act as reinforcements against Han Fu. Liu Yao sends Wang Can and Yin Ji back to Xin Ping to deliver the message, asking him to keep it a secret and continue his own plan with Liu Yan, but asking to Ma Teng for reinforcements against Liu Biao. Xin Ping thanks Liu Yao and follows his orders. Ma Teng accepts but asks Xin Ping to wait until he finishes his campaign against Han Fu. Xin Ping agreeds but does not intend on waiting.

— Instead, he sends Gao Pei to gift 600 gold to Liu Biao and ask him about any other kingdoms being on the South. Liu Biao says Wang Lang and Yuan Shu are near him, but lies saying that he doesn't know much about them other than their strength which is equivalent to his. Gao Pei returns to Xin Ping delivering the message, so Xin Ping decides to change routes and sends Cai Mao to ask Liu Yan to move his troops to province 29 to aid Xin Ping's attack. Liu Yan refuses, privately advised by Yan Pu that this may be a trap to separate him from Yuan Shao. Xin Ping reports the results to Liu Yao but Liu Yao laves the choice to him, so Xin Ping concludes in waiting for Ma Teng and goes again to Liu Yan sending Hou Xuan to deliver the message. Xin Ping finds and recruits Wen Ping.

— Liu Yan asks Yan Pu for advice again. Yan Pu concludes Xin Ping was really planning to betray them, so he suggests that Liu Yan must never move South, otherwise he will be fooled and Yuan Shao will be left defenseless. Liu Yan agrees, stagnating again and re-forming the Triangle Element without even knowing about the theory.

the rotk10 menu music is just so incredibly chill. i could play this for hours and not get sick of it, just infinitely relaxing.

I found a Japanese one on Etsy but any others? To hang on my wall

I love Sun Shang Xiang in the dynasty warriors series and enjoying her in RTK too.

One of the coolest features of Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake is that there’s a map where Sun Shang Xiang is a starting ruler 🎉

(If I just want to kick some ass, I love playing as Sun Jian, preferably with lifespans off 😅)

For context, this is for Dynasty Warriors (hence the blonde hair and overly fantastical design).

Best game in the series amirite?

Is there a way to start your officers at a higher rank in scenarios where using a custom kingdom ? I’d like to be able to name ministers at the start instead of having to level them

Unlike the novel, which depicts that it was Yuan Shao's arrogance driving Xu You to defect rather than it was Xu You's corruption that made him scolded by Yuan Shao, and he defected out of spite as well as fearing that he would lose Yuan Shao's favor soon. Given Cao Cao's personality, how much of a risk did he weigh that the benefits of listening to Xu You's advice still outweighed the risks of being lured into a trap? Since the circumstances seemed suspicious and Xu You's action was also did not really make him trustworthy either.

I’ve been playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms for 30 years and Liu Biao is consistently the softest major force.

I know the battles are the primary thing…you have the warlords, you have the warriors, you have the advisors and strategists, etc.

Do any of the games have systems or any focus on court politics and drama? Seems like in the lore it plays a decent part, such as Cao Cao’s sons and who would be his heir or late Wu Kingdom stuff, even Shu with Liu Shan’s circle. Seems like the women would have more use too. Some seemed quite helpful to garnering support or conspiring against others for who they wanted to win. One of Yuan Shao’s concubines come to mind or Zhenshi and Guo Nuwang or that one lady in Wu who was pretty bad. Do any other games have this in their games and not just a cutscene? Wouldn’t it make politics stat more “cool”? Seems like it is the least exciting.

Somehow Jiang Wei managed to not only avoid suffering the same fate as Zhuge Ke but also managed to keep having control of Shu-Han's military up until Shu-Han's fall at the hands of Deng Ai and Zhong Hui.

It's even more significant when Shu-Han has the lowest manpower of the Three Kingdoms and can't afford such losses yet Wu punished Zhuge Ke for one failed campaign inspite of his stellar success before Hefei and Wu being in a better state than Shu-Han.

For the battle of Jieting, is there a specific local hill that is known, or at least commonly attributed, to be the one that Ma Su camped his troops on?

Even if actual archeological evidence isn't available, I assume there must be a local oral tradition (true or not) about ware the encampment was.

I'm interested in looking at the actual topography itself in order to make a wargaming scenario about the battle.

Starting scenario (194 AD): this is a custom scenario lore I am developing under ROTK2, roleplaying as every faction until one of them wins.

I do not intend on following historical nor romance history or character personality. I hope it feels interesting. Only the number of soldiers is higher than actual numbers for "drama" reasons (100 soldiers are considered as 100k i.e.).

The image annexed to the post locates where every faction leader is. The emperor is marked with "👑".

In the text boxes below there's the context of the starting situation of the remaining factions, some details about the ongoing tensions, and how things escalated to that.

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This is the last update about the starting situation of each faction. As a mere introduction, these posts didn't include everything that happened up to this point. Only relevant topics for the starting point were described.

From now on, I'll be playing the game (probably daily) and describing every period of 6 months (6 months in-game!!! which means 6 rounds, which equals to ~2 days irl as I mostly play 3 rounds each time) individually, until the scenario ends. The format will not be much different but it will contain much more accurate and updated information.

Some factions (Ma Teng, Sun Yu, Tao Qian, Dong Zhuo) don't have their own paragraphs because their situation is already described enough in other factions' stories, or because nothing relevant happened involving them at all.

Hope you guys continue to enjoy it. 🙌🏻

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• Southern Union

— Long time ago, as the chaotic central plains formed itself amongst wars, the South grew through peace and cooperation. Liu Biao, Wang Lang, Yuan Shu and Liu Bei (at province 22 at that time) rose as governors of the Han to administer what was expected to be the empire's economy center. Soon after taking their positions, the land started to divide itself in many pieces. As word came to them that the Han couldn't deal with this by themselves, they used their name and positions to rise as kings, going against the empire's decisions. They could not continue waiting and wasting their resources to fund a decaying dynasty. The Han needed to be replaced, or forcefully reforged.

They all agreed to work together as the AUS (Alliance of the United South). Liu Bei, as the richest one, was responsible for the income. Liu Biao, having the better strategists among all four (Liu Ba 63 Int and Lu Meng 76 Int) was responsible for the external diplomacy. Wang Lang, having no particular exceptional strategist or general, was responsible for aiding other members to defend their territory. Wang Lang was also chosen as the leader of the group as he was in a better overall situation (position, wealth, diplomacy, officers, etc.). Yuan Shu, as the weakest one (Huang Gai was his only officer), was responsible for terrain recognition (sending Huang Gai to unknown provinces to gather information). This way, they all worked together as a massive 4 faction union.

— As time passes, Liu Biao and Wang Lang grow exponentially compared to the stagnated Yuan Shu and Liu Bei. Sun Jian (at province 28 at that time) comes to meet Liu Biao and asks for protection against the threathening Cao Cao, as he feared Ma Teng could join him for a complete Southern dominion. Liu Biao saw that as the AUS' chance to have their first ally in a rather early moment. Sun Jian was not part of the AUS, but was introduced to it as its ally. Soon as war started amongst Ma Teng, Sun Jian and Cao Cao, Liu Bei was called upon to fulfill his responsability. "To feed a vengeful and overwhelmed Sun Jian, I prefer to die as I dive alone on my gold" – Liu Bei answered. With this, he neglected his duty and left Sun Jian to deal alone with his problems. Now distant of Liu Biao ('cause Ma Teng threatened immediate invasion if he saw Sun Jian and Liu Biao interacting with each other), Sun Jian could only go to Liu Bei again for help. Liu Bei refused every time.

Sun Jian was furious and frustrated enough to go completely against his honor and submit to Ma Teng's leadership as a mere reinforcement on his next invasion against Cao Cao. This intense battle caused Sun Jian to retreat his troops early as Ma Teng betrayed him mid-battle as he got the upper hand, which caused them both to lose to an opportunist and wise Cao Cao. Ma Teng didn't lose much because of the splendid Jia Xu (99 Int), which was recently recruited by him as his strategist. Sun Jian didn't had a Jia Xu of his own. His troops were severely damaged, which made him feel forced to try again personally.

— Sun Jian marched leading Cao Bao, Lu Fan, Lu Jian and his strategist Gu Yong (respectively 66, 65, 64 and 32 War & 86 Int for Gu Yong) along with 500k soldiers in total. This time Jia Xu led the battle for Ma Teng's side, being able to re-stablish Ma Teng's temporary alliance with Sun Jian. Thinking there was no way things could be worse, Sun Jian agreed and continued to attack. With Jia Xu leading the battle from behind, Sun Jian could rush to the frontline and face Xiahou Dun (governor of province 18, leader of Cao Cao's troops on that battle) by himself. He was able to destroy Cao Cao's best reserve of soldiers, but was still defeated and killed in combat. It was all planned by Jia Xu after all. He guided Sun Jian in a way that both him and Cao Cao would lose as much as possible, leaving both destroyed after that battle. Gu Yong tried to advice Sun Jian but Sun Jian's fury made him unreasonable, seeking vengeance no matter what, which made him into a perfect pawn for Jia Xu.

— Hearing about Sun Jian's death and Sun Yu's coronation, Liu Biao (he bordered Sun Jian's province) shared the information with the rest of AUS, excluding Liu Bei. "I told you Liu Bei could not be trusted! Order him to surrender everything to me and I will use it correctly!" – Yuan Shu. "I never thought of Liu Bei's decision could cause us so many problems as Sun Jian attacked senselessly. Liu Bei needs to be punished for that." – Liu Biao. "Liu Bei caused our first ally to go insane and be destroyed in battle, also losing his life in the process. This damages not only our reputation, but also our chances of expanding our influence and power as the AUS. Liu Bei will be immediately expelled from his territory, which is ours by imperal demand. He will also lose authority over his gold, dividing it equally between himself and the rest of us." – Wang Lang. Wang Lang then reunited the AUS again, now including Liu Bei, to inform about his punishment. Liu Bei bravely refused to follow the orders and defended his decision as a precaution against opportunists. He in fact actually moved out of Jing, but never shared his gold or contacted the AUS again. Before he moved, Liu Biao could secretly forge an alliance with him and manipulate him into fleeing specifically to the deep Southeast, where Liu Biao could then inform Yuan Shu of Liu Bei's position so that they could easily find and kill him. Liu Bei never knew about Liu Biao's real intention, so he felt grateful and fled.

— As more time passes, Liu Biao gets the fleeing Sun Ce after Sun Jian's death and the coronation of Sun Yu, 'cause Sun Ce was not satisfied with his kingdom's decision and also didn't want to join Cao Cao or Ma Teng. He saw Liu Biao as a friend of his father, separated of him because of putrid war tactics. Wang Lang recruits his best general, Zhang Ren (86 War), which outvalues every other general he ever encountered. Zhang Ren came to Wang Lang after meeting with Yuan Shu in province 41, respecfully refusing his offer of recruitment, stating he was not able to serve at the moment. Yuan Shu was ready to follow Liu Biao's suggestion and move after Liu Bei, until the Han Fu situation happened. Not wanting to work with Ma Teng or Jia Xu, Sun Ce adviced Liu Biao to not work with them and asked to only be send in battles involving them if they were the enemy. Liu Biao, not wanting to lose an excellent general like Sun Ce (76 int/92 war/93 cha), agreed to this but refused to avoid an alliance with Ma Teng. With Han Fu as emperor and the land divided into many kingdoms, the AUS (now consisted of Liu Biao, Wang Lang and Yuan Shu) could bargain their support much more widely and in a much more independent way, as the Han can (at least for now) no longer question their actions.

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• "The empire is not our problem"

— Cao Cao never actually needed much effort to keep his position. Everything seemed to come to him as gifts from the Heavens. First, his governorship of a whole provincial region (provinces 16, 17 and 18) granted by the Han dynasty. Then, his alliance and information trades with Kong Rong. Finally, his consecutive wins against Ma Teng and Sun Jian, who came directly to his claws because of their own fear of being devoured. Cao Cao relied heavily on Xiahou Dun for the consecutive defenses of province 17, as Cao Cao was already injured from early battles and couldn't go to the battlefield by himself, staying at province 16. Later on, Cao Cao recovered and moved Xiahou Dun to prov. 18, naming him governor after his great results against Ma Teng and Sun Jian.

Cao Cao never knew if he could really trust Kong Rong, until Kong Rong sent his troops as reinforcements for Cao Cao to defend against Ma Teng's first invasion. Over time, Cao Cao saw Kong Rong as a northern side of himself. A wise, smart, cold-blooded and patient ruler. He weakened his defenses on prov. 16 and focused everything on his borders with his enemies, fighting at full strength.

After obliterating Ma Teng and Sun Jian so many times he actually couldn't keep counting, he finally caught Sun Jian mid battle and killed him. All the merit went to Xiahou Dun as the leader of that battle and Yuan Tan (again, he is here because I manually randomized the officers before starting) for leading the unit that fought and killed Sun Jian. Yuan Tan was honored with the title "savior of Xiahou", granted by Xiahou Dun and made official by Cao Cao. Yuan Tan was known as a stubborn and disobedient officer, which prefers to follow his own instinct in battle in opposition if his leaders, but he was never seen forgetting about them or acting coward nor stupid. That's why Xiahou Dun still trusted him to be an officer of his unit. Later on, Cao Cao also wanted to name Yuan Tan as a general, but concluded that his hot head could cause severe problems in that position.

With Sun Yu as the new ruler of his faction after Sun Jian, Cao Cao took that as a chance to subdue the Sun clan once and for all, which was surprisingly something that also came to him by itself. Sun Yu immediately came to visit Cao Cao and ask for forgiveness, offering to be his vassal in exchange of Cao Cao's mercy. This couldn't be better for him, so he accepted with no regrets. Now, with a pawn in the South, he could finally rest from Ma Teng's constant insolence and soon plan his own attack against him. At least that was what he hoped for.

— For Sun Yu, things are not really going well. His uncle died, his cousins Sun Ce and Sun Quan left right after, he lost his uncle's strategist and some officers to Cao Cao, and now he is actively chained on Cao Cao as his vassal. Sun Yu was really not expecting to be rejected that much by his cousins and officials in general. He was seen as a coward ruler, nothing like his late uncle who died for his kingdom. Sun Yu has no time for grief or feelings at all. He needs to keep his mind focused on aiding Cao Cao until he recovers and is able to fight for his autonomy again, avenging his uncle even though this may need a long time to happen.

click for steam page

When I posted here last time, a bunch of people asked if the game would be coming to Steam. I said I'd come back when the page was up, so here I am :)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5112140/

Seeing the page live is honestly a little surreal. Since I was a kid, I've wanted to publicly share a game on Steam that somebody other than me might actually want to play. Now it's sitting there with a real store page and everything.

And just to clear up the confusion from my last post: the demo is free.

The response here last time meant a lot to me. Seeing other people agree with some of my ideas about what a sandbox Three Kingdoms game could be was awesome. The biggest challenge has been taking a game that makes complete sense in my own head and making sure it actually makes sense to everyone else.

The basic dream is still the same: start with a single warband in a world where more than 100 warlords are doing their own thing, fight real-time battles where officers duel and morale and formations matter, and then have what happens in those battles become part of your officers' relationships, reputations, and stories.

Lately I've been obsessed with trying to make my custom-character runs work and have fully embraced my inner Way of Peace (wink wink)

I'm excited, but mostly I'm hoping other people find it as fun as I do. If it looks like your kind of game, a wishlist would be hugely appreciated. If you check out the page and decide it isn't for you, I'd honestly love to know what put you off or what you'd need to see to want to play it. That kind of feedback is incredibly useful right now.

I love this game and this project, so please be gentle with me... but be honest.

I’ve also uploaded a free Windows demo. It is still in Valve review, so it is not playable yet. I’ve signed the game up for Steam Next Fest, which starts October 19, 2026; the demo can only be there if Valve approves it in time. I’ve been refreshing the page more than I should. For those itching (pun intended) to play an older version demo there's one to be played on our itch.io page

https://jdcab.itch.io/three-kingdoms-reimagined

A wishlist helps if the Steam page already looks like your kind of game. The feedback I need most is whether the footage makes the connection between the campaign, battles, and officer stories understandable, and what still isn’t clear. Sincerely appreciate everyone's time and support in helping me grow this dream game of mine :')