DojoRat
10-31-2003, 18:58
I finally got that monkey off my back and built that (early, French GA) citadel in Tripoli. It was great fun. You have to balance the need to maintain good defensive armies in France while raising enough income to mount effective Crusades. Many of the big points have been mentioned already; drive England off the continent, build up your trade, and get to Tripoli by 1150-60 to give yourself enough time to build. But I thought I'd mention some odd things I notice.
1. Take Wessex after all of France is blue. I did this to make peace with the Engllish oddly enough. In my previous campaigns they stayed hostile no matter who asked them but soon after I took Wessex they were very reasonable.
2. Scout ahead to determine if you're going by land or by sea. If the Turks have Byzantium on the run it will be tough to go overland. You might fight your way through but you'll be weak and have both the Turks and the Egyptians mad at you. If the Byzantines rule you should have little problem arriving in Antioch with most of your army intact.
3. Antioch first if going overland. Hopefully its adjacent to a greek lesser Armenia. It becomes the battleground for the inevitable Egyptian counter attack leaving Tripoli's infrastructure intact for your second Crusade. Also in Antioch you can quickly build an Inn for Mercs and a horse farm for your +1 Turcopoles.
4. I found going by sea harder. Ships cost money and take time. You will also have to use more of your own forces to fill out the crusades. You can't depend on "allied shipping" and you never know when the Italians will get testy and take out a link in you chain.
5. You can do everthing right and still run out of time. In my second try I had everything set but the Italians were sitting on the Pope so no crusades. I guess you don't need a crusade to build the citadel but it doesn't seem kosher somehow.
Anyway, this campaign really kept me on my toes.
1. Take Wessex after all of France is blue. I did this to make peace with the Engllish oddly enough. In my previous campaigns they stayed hostile no matter who asked them but soon after I took Wessex they were very reasonable.
2. Scout ahead to determine if you're going by land or by sea. If the Turks have Byzantium on the run it will be tough to go overland. You might fight your way through but you'll be weak and have both the Turks and the Egyptians mad at you. If the Byzantines rule you should have little problem arriving in Antioch with most of your army intact.
3. Antioch first if going overland. Hopefully its adjacent to a greek lesser Armenia. It becomes the battleground for the inevitable Egyptian counter attack leaving Tripoli's infrastructure intact for your second Crusade. Also in Antioch you can quickly build an Inn for Mercs and a horse farm for your +1 Turcopoles.
4. I found going by sea harder. Ships cost money and take time. You will also have to use more of your own forces to fill out the crusades. You can't depend on "allied shipping" and you never know when the Italians will get testy and take out a link in you chain.
5. You can do everthing right and still run out of time. In my second try I had everything set but the Italians were sitting on the Pope so no crusades. I guess you don't need a crusade to build the citadel but it doesn't seem kosher somehow.
Anyway, this campaign really kept me on my toes.