The Second Crusade? Never heard of it! (Map Game)

=Rules= Each person picks a nation, they control that nation, AND you get if you desire you can create a fictional explorer or use a real world one to write about his journies and conquests.

Note: -Expansion is regulated, and the NPC battles will also be calculated, so the world doesn't result in one mega-alliance attacking a monster who devours up NPCs. -2-3 nations in one alliance. 4 and more nation alliances are allowed for a few turns at a time, then they must break up. -Approximately twelve pixels of settling per turn. Explore as much as you want but stay plausible. If it is ASB, expect it to be removed. However, as time progresses the maximum pixels-per-settlement will go up.

Since we're starting in 1100, no exploration at the start. You do not even need to claim an explorer at the beginning. Iceland will be the first nation to discover North America, in the early 1200's. Other nations will be allowed to start exploring one turn afterward.

1100

 * Japan: a Japanese shogun name Minamoto Ieyasu leads a powerful army which crushes several powerful daimyos. Minamoto begins centralizing the Japanese government by requiring that all feudal lords spend every other years in Kamakura, the capital of Japan. he also begins modernizing the Japanese Army with early muskets and grenades.
 * For fear of a crusade against Constantinople, the Byzantine Emperor signs an alliance with the Almoravid Empire. The Byzantine Empire also signs an alliance with Norway- Norwegian soldiers for the Varangian Guard are traded with trading rights in the Black and Mediterranean Sea.
 * Norway expands it's holdings in the Orkneys, and eyes Scotland, just to the south.

1101

 * Japan: Ieyasu engineers the marriage of the Japanese Emperor to the recently widowed queen of Korea, merging that realm into the Japanese Empire. he also invests a large portion of the Japanese treasury into the expansion of the Imperial Army (which consists mostly of Japanese musketeers) and the Imperial Navy (which consists mostly of Korean ships). he also builds a colony in Northern Taiwan, in order to facilitate trade with southern China
 * ^^How the hell do they have muskets in 1100?^^ Primitive muskets appeared in China in 900 AD, and muskets were extremely commonplace by the 1200's. Ieyasu is just a forward-thinking general
 * The first records of gunpowder anywere was in 1172 by some chinese guy in Nanjing, and the first guns were in europe, mod. day Belgium I think.
 * Gunpowder was invented in 800's in china.
 * That's speculation, the first DEFINATIVE records, with the actual chemical equation (7-5-5) written down in 1172. Let's rely on facts, rather than speculation. Also, muskets came into Asia only when the Portuguese came in in 1543. Rockets were the only gunpowder weapons in asia back then, because most generals didn't want to expirement with adding any more potassium nitrate to anything. Not to mention muskets imply that they had a snauphaunce-like lock, only invented in Denmark in 1310.
 * a formula for gunpowder appeared in the Wujing zongyao in 1044, and depictions of a matchlock-like weapon appear in the 1000's. IN CHINA


 * Norway continues a troop buildup in the Orkneys and Shetlands, and reorganizes the kingdom into 23 counties, each ruled by a duke. All men between 15-25 train 3 days a week during summer and winter, and saturdays the rest of the time. They begin to expirement with imported composite bows, as well as billhooks.

1102
Norway invades Scotland and completely takes OTL Lordship of the Isles by the end of the year. They also have Carla II of Norway marry Hanson of Sweden, paving the way to unite the two kingdoms. The militia system is revised, with all men who wish to marry required to serve full time for two years in the militia. Swedish troops under Hanson invade the Balts and take all of the coast.

Japan continues to expand it's colonies in Taiwan which soon encompas the entire coast. they also establish a colony in the Phillipines.