Anyone looking for a challenge in the vanilla campaign: try playing as the Rebels. (Just add them to the Playable Factions in your descr_strat.txt file the same way as the Papal States).
You don't have to worry too much about constraining yourself with House Rules as there's plenty of new dynamics to get to grips with:
Beginner's Tips:
- You'll have no agents except Heretics. Keep them out of your regions and into everyone else's to spread unrest. Your religion varies depending on geographical location (and despite what the game says, it isn't Heresy).
- Diplomacy isn't an issue for you: everyone loathes and attacks you without exception or respite.
- Neither is rebellion a problem: you're already rebel - you can't go rebel-rebel without the help of David Bowie around turn 1790. Any settlements or troops that turn rebel from other factions become yours to command, so you have a regular supply of random free gifts each turn.
- You don't have a standard unit roster. This is an alliance of rebel factions, so every settlement has its roster determined by geography, e.g. the British Isles south of Edinburgh will produce English units; Middle Eastern territories will be either Turkish or Egyptian. This makes expeditionary forces face the issue of not being re-trainable. (A good working knowledge of which units each faction can recruit is recommended. It will help when deciding where to build barracks, stables, etc.).
- You don't start with a family tree, you just get a few generals like El Cid the Chivalrous in Valencia. You can gain family members when you destroy a faction by taking their last settlement. Any orphaned family members that become rebel are then yours.
- Eventually the game offers you adoptions of heretics that become generals/family members with names like Esau, Satres and Spartacus.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
As you know from playing, every other faction in the game is eager to grab as many rebel settlements as they can, as soon as possible. When these settlements happen to be under your control... you've got a very defensive campaign on your hands!
Enjoy!
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