Crusader Kings II

[Zim]

Quick question, my level of Crown Authority says wars between my vassals are forbidded but Ulster and Connaght have gone at eachother repeatedly over the last few decades. Am I missing something?

[Monk]

Quick question, my level of Crown Authority says wars between my vassals are forbidded but Ulster and Connaght have gone at eachother repeatedly over the last few decades. Am I missing something?

They are still permitted to fight certain wars against each other. A lower vassal may still try to depose his direct liege even if CA is at medium.

If you have multiple King titles, or control multiple de jure areas, remember that the laws interact with their de jure areas only. Say you have the King of Ireland title and raise CA to medium: this applies to every province that is considered de jure (lawfully) apart of Ireland. Provinces that fall outside of that de jure (for instance, those that belong to Scotland) will NOT be subject to those laws, even if you are the de facto ruler of those lands.

This is also true if your vassals claim land that belongs outside a de jure kingdom. So if some of your dukes have provinces that fall outside of Ireland's laws, say in Wales, they may fight each other over possession of those Welsh provinces because they aren't considered to be affected by the crown laws of Ireland.

[Zim]

Interesting. In this case lands outside Ireland isn't yet an issue. I've pretty much been adding them to my demesne. I'll have to keep an eye on and provinces I give away there.

[Chaotix]

Interesting. In this case lands outside Ireland isn't yet an issue. I've pretty much been adding them to my demesne. I'll have to keep an eye on and provinces I give away there.

A word of advice, especially apt in the British Isles: if you get enough territory to create or usurp another kingdom, don't do it. Not if you don't want vassals to constantly be rebelling and plotting to take control of that kingdom from you, anyway. It gives them an extra -25 (I think, may me more/less) to opinion if they're a Duke in a kingdom that is not your primary title, and they will desire it.

Instead, wait until the provinces de jure drift into your kingdom (check the de jure kingdoms tab, it takes 100 years) and once you have converted all the territory in that kingdom, create it as a titular title.

[Monk]

This game is $10 on Steam for another hour and a half.

And from all indications a ton of people took steam up on the chance. The average number of simultaneous players for CKII has jumped a full two thousand. Talk about a rousing success for Paradox.

[rickinator9]

And from all indications a ton of people took steam up on the chance. The average number of simultaneous players for CKII has jumped a full two thousand. Talk about a rousing success for Paradox.

I think we can also assume many players have picked up SoI before the sale. Pdox wouldn't be so crazy to sell a month old DLC at such a price.

[LeftEyeNine]

For a game that has 25 pages of discussion, let me be the total idiot:

Should I get this game ?

Edit: such question as in "what makes this game stand out ?"

[rickinator9]

For a game that has 25 pages of discussion, let me be the total idiot:

Should I get this game ?

Edit: such question as in "what makes this game stand out ?"

You should totally get this game. The game doesn't focus on warfare(what most medieval games do), although that doesn't mean there's no warfare. The game shows how it must have been to be a medieval ruler. You can choose to play a king with vassals or even one of those vassals. There's also the intrigue and trying to become more powerful(like going from a duke to a king).

I'm pretty sure there's also a demo on the steam page.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

And to think Paradox was initially worried this game would be a no-profit labor of love...

SoI is so crazy. Started a game as Cyrenicia, it feels more like I'm waging an Ork WAAAAAAAAGHHHH than CK2 as a Christian. The Hajj and Ramadan things are neat. I also like only superficially caring about the succession, vassals, and diplomacy. Your half brother revolted? Round up da boyz and stomp 'im! Dirty Alexandrian Shiites think they can holy war me? They don't got enuff dakka! Killemall!

Next stop, the Caliphate! Get im boyz! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Monk]

And to think Paradox was initially worried this game would be a no-profit labor of love...

I think it's a big help to the game's popularity that it's relatively easy to learn while at the same time being a surprisingly fun and deep game. The fact that it's character driven instead of faction driven is what has me hooked so much. Well that and it's pretty fun, though it looks like Paradox support is slowing down for the game. 1.05 had hotfixes nearly three times a week, but we've only gotten one big hotfix for 1.06. Probably cuz they didn't break everything this time!

I guess that's a good thing in a lot of ways. It lets me mod without worrying about porting everything over again every couple days.

[rickinator9]

Well that and it's pretty fun, though it looks like Paradox support is slowing down for the game. 1.05 had hotfixes nearly three times a week, but we've only gotten one big hotfix for 1.06. Probably cuz they didn't break everything this time!

Most Paradox employees are on vacation right now.

[Hooahguy]

Its truly amazing how one can go from stable to chaos in such a short time.
My Kingdom of Scotland was doing fine until my king died. Both my male heirs had died so a decade before I married someone and had a male son. So he inherited at age 10.

The entire kingdom revolted save for a few counties. At first it was just one vassal. I held him off with the help of mercs. Then another revolted. Then England attacked, claiming all of Scotland. I had no forces left and all my cities were under siege, so I surrendered Scotland. I only had Ireland left. Then a vassals claimed Ireland, and she had 3,000 soldiers and I had none. So I let her become my new liege. Now I am the duke of roughly half of Ireland. I was able to put down a smaller revolt by one of my vassals but its rough.

Amazing how I went from rags to riches in roughly 3 years.

[Chaotix]

Its truly amazing how one can go from stable to chaos in such a short time.
My Kingdom of Scotland was doing fine until my king died. Both my male heirs had died so a decade before I married someone and had a male son. So he inherited at age 10.

The entire kingdom revolted save for a few counties. At first it was just one vassal. I held him off with the help of mercs. Then another revolted. Then England attacked, claiming all of Scotland. I had no forces left and all my cities were under siege, so I surrendered Scotland. I only had Ireland left. Then a vassals claimed Ireland, and she had 3,000 soldiers and I had none. So I let her become my new liege. Now I am the duke of roughly half of Ireland. I was able to put down a smaller revolt by one of my vassals but its rough.

Amazing how I went from rags to riches in roughly 3 years.

I think you mean riches to rags.

Wow, that's a real horror story though. Never had something that terrible happen to me. I've had big crises like that, but they always came once I was already a big shot. So I remained mostly in power but lost say a few provinces to rebellion and had to spend the next ruler's reign getting them back, one duchy or county at a time.

[LeftEyeNine]

Its truly amazing how one can go from stable to chaos in such a short time.
My Kingdom of Scotland was doing fine until my king died. Both my male heirs had died so a decade before I married someone and had a male son. So he inherited at age 10.

The entire kingdom revolted save for a few counties. At first it was just one vassal. I held him off with the help of mercs. Then another revolted. Then England attacked, claiming all of Scotland. I had no forces left and all my cities were under siege, so I surrendered Scotland. I only had Ireland left. Then a vassals claimed Ireland, and she had 3,000 soldiers and I had none. So I let her become my new liege. Now I am the duke of roughly half of Ireland. I was able to put down a smaller revolt by one of my vassals but its rough.

Amazing how I went from rags to riches in roughly 3 years.

I agree it's amazing a game can evolve like that.

I'm being tempted.

[Hooahguy]

Wow, that's a real horror story though. Never had something that terrible happen to me. I've had big crises like that, but they always came once I was already a big shot. So I remained mostly in power but lost say a few provinces to rebellion and had to spend the next ruler's reign getting them back, one duchy or county at a time.

Tell me about it. One minute I was the proud ruler of Scotland and Ireland. The next, Im barely holding on to a sliver of Ireland.

And yeah, I meant riches to rags. Oops. I guess I was just so shocked that my mind involuntarily put the latter first in an attempt to deny what just happened.

[Nigel]

I kind of had an up-down experiene like that - although not quite so dramatic.

In my current (and so far first and only) game I started as a duke of Saxony in the North of the HRK.
Several of my rulers ruled as dukes, some of them very succesfully. I kept thinking "a nice goal for this game would be to become Kaiser some day". Then, all of a sudden one of my rulers has the chance to usurp the Danish throne and become King of Denmark (while still a vassal of the HRK).

Great!
Only now the old Kaiser dies and of course his son gets elected. So with a young Kaiser on the throne it seems ages for a new chance to run up for the emperor's robes. But the young lad becomes greedy, revokes a few titles, banishes a few dukes and soon gains the title "The Cruel". Everyone hates him and it is not long before the first lords rise in rebellion. My own luck raises, I keep making friends and some month later I find myself as candidate for his succession - leading the Duke of Swabia by 1 vote. Now I seize the moment and initate a plot to, well, get rid of the unpopular Kaiser. There is no shortage of supporters and soon I can place the imperial crown on my head.

Excellent!
I have gone from Duke to Emperor in 1 generation.
But now I realize in what a mess the HRE is. I have to give away titles and offer white peace left and right; even surrendering to some lords' demands for independance becomes inevitable. At the same time my own son, although married, has two daughters and believes in pleasure in Heaven more than fun in this world - making it highly unlikely that a grandson will be born from my heir.

I soon realize that I will never get the support needed to elect him as successor for the HRE and that all I can do is to use my emperors power to give him a good start when, after my death, he will inherit the crown of Denmark and the Duchy of Saxony. Now my new goal is: "let's see how I can stabilize my realm and ensure the survival of my dynasty".

[Hooahguy]

I kind of had an up-down experiene like that - although not quite so dramatic.

In my current (and so far first and only) game I started as a duke of Saxony in the North of the HRK.
Several of my rulers ruled as dukes, some of them very succesfully. I kept thinking "a nice goal for this game would be to become Kaiser some day". Then, all of a sudden one of my rulers has the chance to usurp the Danish throne and become King of Denmark (while still a vassal of the HRK).

Great!
Only now the old Kaiser dies and of course his son gets elected. So with a young Kaiser on the throne it seems ages for a new chance to run up for the emperor's robes. But the young lad becomes greedy, revokes a few titles, banishes a few dukes and soon gains the title "The Cruel". Everyone hates him and it is not long before the first lords rise in rebellion. My own luck raises, I keep making friends and some month later I find myself as candidate for his succession - leading the Duke of Swabia by 1 vote. Now I seize the moment and initate a plot to, well, get rid of the unpopular Kaiser. There is no shortage of supporters and soon I can place the imperial crown on my head.

Excellent!
I have gone from Duke to Emperor in 1 generation.
But now I realize in what a mess the HRE is. I have to give away titles and offer white peace left and right; even surrendering to some lords' demands for independance becomes inevitable. At the same time my own son, although married, has two daughters and believes in pleasure in Heaven more than fun in this world - making it highly unlikely that a grandson will be born from my heir.

I soon realize that I will never get the support needed to elect him as successor for the HRE and that all I can do is to use my emperors power to give him a good start when, after my death, he will inherit the crown of Denmark and the Duchy of Saxony. Now my new goal is: "let's see how I can stabilize my realm and ensure the survival of my dynasty".

Wow that sounds intense! Ruling over the HRE cannot be very enjoyable at all.

What Im finding interesting about my current game is that after I lost kingship Im basically where I was in my last game when I tried to unite Ireland.

Though I wont be playing this game for a while. Too involved in Skyrim.

[Chaotix]

So... my Genius Brilliant Strategist Sultan of Rum with all positive traits and two military skills, who was passing his time killing rebels...

Now, you're thinking I'm going to say killed or maimed in battled. Nope. He got plot-assassinated at the age of 22 by one of his jealous stepmothers. Threw the whole realm into chaos for two decades until his heir came of age, and it completely threw me for a loop.

It makes complete sense in-context of the game, though. When it happened I first thought "Why him??" and then I thought "Oh". I had been putting down a new decadent uprising every 20 years or so, with my decadence back up to 100% before I could even put down each rebellion. My kinsman the Seljuks of Persia had finally lost their own dynastic uprising, so the opportunity was ripe. This Sultan decided he was going to purge the entire realm of Seljuk rulers except for the royal family (it was getting bad - the Hashashin were starting to wipe out my courtiers). And he was successful - too successful, in fact. I guess imprisoning some of those half-brothers of his came back to bite him in the end.

None of his three sons turned out to be Geniuses or even Quick, unfortunately, but my new Sultan is a Grey Eminence, and pretty much finished the job his father started. AND married off all his stepmothers to get them out of the house. My jail had about 80 Seljuks in it at its peak.

So now my plan is to keep a dynasty consisting solely of my Sultan's immediate family, and imprison all brothers and their children upon succession to keep the family small. Unfortunately after a good 40 years as vassals the Seljuks of Persia have taken back their throne... I'm gonna have to find some way to get rid of them once and for all. I can't go back to having 100% decadence all the time.

[rickinator9]

Ugh. That's... terrible. I can't even imagine what it feels like having more than 25% decadence. I usually just kill all of my brothers once I succeed. It's almost starting to feel like a tradition.

[Zim]

Thanks, Chaotix. It's too late for the Kingdom of Wales, but I'll keep that in mind about any other Kingdoms I get a chance to usurp.

I just had a four hour or so session. Very little territory changed hands but it was one of the most eventful I've had.

Some quick Highlights:

-King of Ricard, after initial setbacks, singlehandedly saves the Andalusian Crusade, but thPope sees fit to give all the conquered land to Scotland. Satisfied at having done his duty, he returns home and strengthens the dynasty, securing marriage alliances with Britanny, Norway, and the Holy Roman Empire. For a time his eldest daughter Derborgaill is his heir, but several sons are born and Ricard II stands in line to gain the throne. War with England breaks out over their repeated attempts to fabricate claims on Irish lands and Ricard I passes before the war ends. Young Ricard II and his regent finish it, adding the English held realm of Gwent to his lands (around the same time the Duchy of Ulster singlehandedly conquers Galloway, which had split from Scotland). Shortly after, his regent attempts to have him killed. He succeeds scant days after Ricard II comes of age (right as I'm pausing so I can imprison him). Now the even younger Gilla-Patraic becomes King, with his halfsister (he was born by Ricard I's second wife, a Norse Princess) Derborgaill as regent. Derborgaill, having bided her time and played the innocent for the long years since losing the heirship, has Gilla killed (in the same manner as Ricard II even. A hunting "accident") and becomes the Queen of Ireland at the age of 22. Heir heir is a son with an older sister....he better watch out.

One of the most interesting things about this is that I would have expected some trouble or even rebellions from going through three rulers in a few years. While both the young Kings received mixed attitudes to their ascension, the new Queen is almost universally loves. I was even able to release the Duke of Connacht, who had -100 relations with Ricard and had to be jailed. She also has respectable stats (better than her brothers') and a matrilineal marriage with a Prince of the HRE. I hadn't considered it previously but this turn of events might be worth starting an aar...

[Chaotix]

That's a cool turn of events. I forgot how fun primogeniture could be, Elective and Turkish Open succession have spoiled me.

Also, I always find it weird playing as the character who assassinated my last ruler. Kind of want to kill them on some level, but then if you got assassinated in the first place it probably means the new ruler is a better one...

[rickinator9]

Thanks, Chaotix. It's too late for the Kingdom of Wales, but I'll keep that in mind about any other Kingdoms I get a chance to usurp.

I just had a four hour or so session. Very little territory changed hands but it was one of the most eventful I've had.

Some quick Highlights:

-King of Ricard, after initial setbacks, singlehandedly saves the Andalusian Crusade, but thPope sees fit to give all the conquered land to Scotland. Satisfied at having done his duty, he returns home and strengthens the dynasty, securing marriage alliances with Britanny, Norway, and the Holy Roman Empire. For a time his eldest daughter Derborgaill is his heir, but several sons are born and Ricard II stands in line to gain the throne. War with England breaks out over their repeated attempts to fabricate claims on Irish lands and Ricard I passes before the war ends. Young Ricard II and his regent finish it, adding the English held realm of Gwent to his lands (around the same time the Duchy of Ulster singlehandedly conquers Galloway, which had split from Scotland). Shortly after, his regent attempts to have him killed. He succeeds scant days after Ricard II comes of age (right as I'm pausing so I can imprison him). Now the even younger Gilla-Patraic becomes King, with his halfsister (he was born by Ricard I's second wife, a Norse Princess) Derborgaill as regent. Derborgaill, having bided her time and played the innocent for the long years since losing the heirship, has Gilla killed (in the same manner as Ricard II even. A hunting "accident") and becomes the Queen of Ireland at the age of 22. Heir heir is a son with an older sister....he better watch out.

One of the most interesting things about this is that I would have expected some trouble or even rebellions from going through three rulers in a few years. While both the young Kings received mixed attitudes to their ascension, the new Queen is almost universally loves. I was even able to release the Duke of Connacht, who had -100 relations with Ricard and had to be jailed. She also has respectable stats (better than her brothers') and a matrilineal marriage with a Prince of the HRE. I hadn't considered it previously but this turn of events might be worth starting an aar...

Why do I never have such things? My succession is almost always secure and I have never been assassinated or plotted to death unless it was revenge.

[Centurion1]

so your good at the game?

[rickinator9]

so your good at the game?

Somewhat good. I usually don't get any revolting vassals unless it's either:
1: The start of the game
2: Muslim relatives
3: Regency
4: A foreign vassal

[Chaotix]

Why do I never have such things? My succession is almost always secure and I have never been assassinated or plotted to death unless it was revenge.

Well if you have good intrigue, you rarely get hit with a plot before you can detect it.

My ruler, despite being a Genius had all sorts of traits like Honest that reduced his intrigue to something like 3 or 4. The stepmother that bumped him off was an Elusive Shadow.

[rickinator9]

If you play a ruler without dynastic heir, it's really annoying when your wive dies from disease while pregnant.

[Chaotix]

If you play a ruler without dynastic heir, it's really annoying when your wive dies from disease while pregnant.

Strangely enough, I've almost never had a wife die during pregnancy. I think it might have happened maybe once with one of my Sultans, but then it didn't really matter because he still had three left. And I was actually expecting death during childbirth and stillborn babies to be present in the game, considering this is medieval times we're talking about. I guess they either thought it was too serious of subject matter or figured it would just be too much work with no dramatic effect on gameplay. I mean kids and wives do die young and pregnant, it's just never when the wives are in the actual process of having kids.

[The Stranger]

plot killing suddenly stopped functioning for me. even when im well over 100% plotpower I no longer get the option to execute the plot. yesterday it was working fine :S anyone experienced something similar?

[Chaotix]

plot killing suddenly stopped functioning for me. even when im well over 100% plotpower I no longer get the option to execute the plot. yesterday it was working fine :S anyone experienced something similar?

They changed the system with the 1.06 update.

Now plot kills work by events. You get a bunch of people to join you, and based on how high your plot % is it will take a certain mean time for one your conspirators to come up with with an assassination plan. Then a set number of days later the plan is put in motion. If you fail, you have to wait for a conspirator to come up with another plan and you might get revealed.

So yeah, it's a big nerf. You can't kill entire royal families almost immediately any more with the right courtiers in place. However, you can do some serious damage over time, and if you have over 200% plot power it usually takes only a month or so for the trigger.

I've had a lot of practice with the Seljuks. My Sultan plot-assassinated at least 10 Sultans of Persia in nearly as many years (most of them children; interestingly enough they kept sending the maid to smother them, you'd think after the 5th one kicked the bucket they'd get the hint not to trust the maid!), and it has made them incredibly weak for the coming Ilkhanate invasion. Many more Seljuks (though not Sultans) have been killed via hired assassin, though, and still more have been imprisoned. As of 1209 or so, I have the dynasty reduced to maybe 12 male members that are not in jail, and that includes my Sultan, his three living sons, and one grandson. With the dough I've got rolling in I can put together enough funds for a new assassin every 2-6 months depending on the cost, and it shows.

[The Stranger]

yea i read about it now, but its weird because i started a new 1.06 game yesterday and i still got those 75% and 90% chance descisions. then i started another one today and it was suddenly gone :P