Crusader Kings II

[Chaotix]

Is there even a river route that connects to the Indian Ocean??

[naut]

Surely Zoroastrian inbreeding would lead to many undesirable traits?

[rickinator9]

Is there even a river route that connects to the Indian Ocean??

I believe PB has seas there for the republic of Hormuz in later start dates.

[Myth]

OK i decided to put Antioch on the backburner until I get the hang of CK2. I started with the count of Vestland (the province in Iceland which has Reykjavik). I discovered the joys of the ruler builder, which is paramount when starting so small. I managed to conquer my neighbour in Iceland mainly because of my ruler having 22 combat, and my marshal having >14 at the start. I reformed the duchy - Petty Kingdom of Iceland, and started my raids.

My two sons - Ragnar and Thorkel (whom I personally named and discovered how much more immersive the game becomes when one name's one's sons) became great warriors and leaders (it helped that they had a Genius father). Ragnar won fame and fortune with the Varangian guard, and Thorkel was sadly denied his chance when he asked, because he at the time had 21 combat and was the realms marshal.

With just the troops from the two counties we raided Ireland every summer. The fleet of 7 longboats soon become larger, as we managed to conquer two independent counties in Norway, as well as the Faroe islands. The old king died at age 79, leaving his sons a raiding navy of 30 longships and a 1500 strong army of mostly upgraded heavy infantry. Naturally, Ragnar returned from Contsantinople a few years before his father died, and even though he was the son of a concubine, he managed to keep his kingdom. Throkel, who was the more capable leader, never did manage submit, and so was beaten with the help of the levies in Norway. He was then released from prison (after his title was revoked), and was reinstated as Marshall. Sadly, Thorkel lost his life at age 52, and will be remembered as the most fierce fighter and general Iceland had yet born.

His half-brother Askelad was given reign in Norway, while King Ragnar continued consolidating his position and raiding. At the peak of his reign, he would haul 340 units of gold and valuables per trip, and so gradually the capital of Iceland became a flourishing castle and had a sturdy foundation of military and civil infrastructure.

Ragnar's son had to deal with the rising threat of a petty kingdom in Norway, which had an ambitious ruler who had managed to conquer almost all of the necessary counties to form the Kingdom. Had it not been for the vast treasury accumulated from raiding, Iceland would have been subjugated. The petty Kingdom was neutralized but the garrisons proved too firm to be broken by the battered remains of the Icelandic army and the Scottish Band company of mercenaries. By the time we returned next year, our good friend and father in law the King of Sweden, had conquered all of Norway. Despite numerous key marriages, it seems that sooner or later we will have to deal with the larger duchies of Sweden (as the old king is 74 and his heir has not reached manhood yet).

The path before Iceland is now to continue with the yearly raids on Ireland, Wales, England and France and consolidate the young King's fresh rule (especially preparing for Askeladd's departure from this world, as his son does not have as much respect for his King) and then attempt to hire mercenaries and transport them to reclaim the Norwegian counties from the greedy Swedish dukes. It appears though, that transportation is the bane of Icelandic expansionist desires, as not being able to move our full force in one fleet severely hinders our mobility, and we don't have the capacity to fight a combined Swedish army.

For Antioch, swearing fealty to the Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire might indeed be the way, but the new factions feature chops the game up with faction announcements and it's really annoying. Also, the first thing to do is restart until the Pope calls a crusade for Alexandria and not Andalusia. The former means blessed respite from the Abassids, whilst the latter means one has to endure the onslaught of a (mostly) unified Islamic world.

[rickinator9]

For Antioch, swearing fealty to the Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire might indeed be the way, but the new factions feature chops the game up with faction announcements and it's really annoying. Also, the first thing to do is restart until the Pope calls a crusade for Alexandria and not Andalusia. The former means blessed respite from the Abassids, whilst the latter means one has to endure the onslaught of a (mostly) unified Islamic world.

Perhaps the byzantine empire. It's a lot closer than the HRE.

[Monk]

Surely Zoroastrian inbreeding would lead to many undesirable traits?

You can usually get away with inbreeding as long as you don't compound the incest too heavily. You still get the bonus if you marry half-sisters, so marrying sons to daughters of concubines is a good way to break up the bad genes. You can usually avoid almost all the big pitfalls of bad traits if you're careful about that and a little lucky. Low health values are another thing, though.

OK i decided to put Antioch on the backburner until I get the hang of CK2. I started with the count of Vestland (the province in Iceland which has Reykjavik). I discovered the joys of the ruler builder, which is paramount when starting so small. I managed to conquer my neighbour in Iceland mainly because of my ruler having 22 combat, and my marshal having >14 at the start. I reformed the duchy - Petty Kingdom of Iceland, and started my raids.

My two sons - Ragnar and Thorkel (whom I personally named and discovered how much more immersive the game becomes when one name's one's sons) became great warriors and leaders (it helped that they had a Genius father). Ragnar won fame and fortune with the Varangian guard, and Thorkel was sadly denied his chance when he asked, because he at the time had 21 combat and was the realms marshal.

With just the troops from the two counties we raided Ireland every summer. The fleet of 7 longboats soon become larger, as we managed to conquer two independent counties in Norway, as well as the Faroe islands. The old king died at age 79, leaving his sons a raiding navy of 30 longships and a 1500 strong army of mostly upgraded heavy infantry. Naturally, Ragnar returned from Contsantinople a few years before his father died, and even though he was the son of a concubine, he managed to keep his kingdom. Throkel, who was the more capable leader, never did manage submit, and so was beaten with the help of the levies in Norway. He was then released from prison (after his title was revoked), and was reinstated as Marshall. Sadly, Thorkel lost his life at age 52, and will be remembered as the most fierce fighter and general Iceland had yet born.

His half-brother Askelad was given reign in Norway, while King Ragnar continued consolidating his position and raiding. At the peak of his reign, he would haul 340 units of gold and valuables per trip, and so gradually the capital of Iceland became a flourishing castle and had a sturdy foundation of military and civil infrastructure.

Ragnar's son had to deal with the rising threat of a petty kingdom in Norway, which had an ambitious ruler who had managed to conquer almost all of the necessary counties to form the Kingdom. Had it not been for the vast treasury accumulated from raiding, Iceland would have been subjugated. The petty Kingdom was neutralized but the garrisons proved too firm to be broken by the battered remains of the Icelandic army and the Scottish Band company of mercenaries. By the time we returned next year, our good friend and father in law the King of Sweden, had conquered all of Norway. Despite numerous key marriages, it seems that sooner or later we will have to deal with the larger duchies of Sweden (as the old king is 74 and his heir has not reached manhood yet).

The path before Iceland is now to continue with the yearly raids on Ireland, Wales, England and France and consolidate the young King's fresh rule (especially preparing for Askeladd's departure from this world, as his son does not have as much respect for his King) and then attempt to hire mercenaries and transport them to reclaim the Norwegian counties from the greedy Swedish dukes. It appears though, that transportation is the bane of Icelandic expansionist desires, as not being able to move our full force in one fleet severely hinders our mobility, and we don't have the capacity to fight a combined Swedish army.

For Antioch, swearing fealty to the Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire might indeed be the way, but the new factions feature chops the game up with faction announcements and it's really annoying.

Right click on the message and set it to a low priority message, that way it will appear in the upper right instead of a pop-up and won't pause the game.

[Myth]

I made it work! I'm now King of Anatolia! Antioch on the highest difficulty setting is possible indeed

[Monk]

From the official forums for CK2:

There is a patch coming, although I would not call it a hotfix. I plan to make this available as a Steam beta patch on Wednesday afternoon, to be officially released next week. The next round of DLCs will be coming out with the patch after that, in late June.

Hold on tight!

...Wait what DLC?

The Celtic Portraits, Units and the Dynasty CoA Pack 3.

Oh my.

DoomDark also reports there should be full save compatibility with games started in 1.10.

I made it work! I'm now King of Anatolia! Antioch on the highest difficulty setting is possible indeed

Not so fast! I demand screenshots!

[naut]

Well, last night I had one of the most enjoyable sequences of events in CK2 so far, I cannot recommend Additional Objectives 2.0 (PB compatible) highly enough! That being said the mod still needs work, for larger realms the plots can get ridiculous and the backers often don't make sense. Regardless, I will regale you:

---

It was in 869--summer. Russia was far away from the world, and asleep; it was still the Dark Ages in Russia, and promised to remain so forever, or so it was thought.

The shadows of courtly intrigues had rudely awoken the nation; the realm was abuzz and rumbling at the latest scandal. The High Chief, Rurik Severus of the Severians, had had his manhood and honour dragged through the dirt. The offence, a cuckolding by a simple Baron who had seduced, or been seduced by, a girl of the Chieftain's Harem; and in the passing months had fallen pregnant to him, bringing a disgracing child into the arms of the court.

The Chief was no man to trifle with and was not best pleased at this lowly vassal's audacity.

The Chief	The Concubine	The Child

A rage was building in the Chief, a man not known for his kindness or patience; for even his sense of justice had been offended. A towering rage that demanded satisfaction, a rage that Rurik sought to appease by becoming this upstart Baron's ruination. A plot was laid to frame the Baron for treasons against the realm. A plot easily fabricated, and once achieved the man was soon enough imprisoned.

The Baron

Having stripped the man of his rights and freedom the irate Chief still would not abate, he would not relent until the man was truly broken. He set about to take the man's wife and love while he, stranded in a prison cell, could do nothing to its prevention. An eye for an eye, and a cuckolding for a cuckolding.

The Wife

The two lovers spent many a day and night together, perhaps spurred on by the nature of their lusts and situation, I cannot say--but by and by there was a child.

(Event is from the VIET mod, another mod I highly recommend!)

The Son

He had had everything he held dear slowly stripped away; his freedom and his wife. Still, there was yet one last thing to strip him of--his life.

The execution went along swimmingly, and with it the hereditary property.

---

Thankfully this is CK2 not the Godfather or Princess Bride, or Rurik would likely be staring his own ruination straight in the face in the coming years.

[xploring]

2 more years of expansions for CK2!

[Myth]

Antioch: Rise of the Crusader Kingdom of Anatolia

Year of our Lord 1187 - Outremer, Independent Duchy of Antioch

"We arrived trough much perils, following the footsteps of many a noble knight and pious soul, our predecessors in spirit, if not in blood. We came here, and we found that our Lord's work has but just begun, and the trials we must needs endure for our faith are a great many."

Peter d'Anjou, Duke of Antioch

I begin this tale, knowing full well that I might be scorned by my peers for putting to ink the life of Duke Peter of Antioch. I nevertheless feel it important for his actions to be preserved for the future generations, so that they may yet benefit from the wisdom of seeing how doing the Lord's work might require hard decisions upon men who are pure of soul and sound of mind, turning them into devils in the eyes of family and folk.

Duke Peter came from France on a mission to stabilize the Greek coastal counties of Aintioch, conquered a century ago by the holy assembly commissioned by His Holiness Urban II. His God given task was not made easy, as the King of Jerusalem had secured the loyalty of both the Hospitallier and the Templar Holy Orders, and he owed little respect to a newcomer to the Levant. The situation was, as my liege had assessed - most dire. Antioch was small, surrounded by hostile Muslim empires. Salah-ad-Din to the south, was biding his time and eyeing Jerusalem and all nearby Christian holdings, and the infidel Saracens of the East, the successors of Nur-ad-Din, had nothing to occupy them but their desire to scour from Syria those of us who had taken up the cross. Perhaps the greatest threat was the imminent calling of Jihad by the two Caliphs, which would amass a horde of Saracens upon our lands, that would rival the Plague of Locusts unleashed on the heathen Egyptians of ancient times.

The Duke, in his wisdom, decided to marry a most suitable young wife, not caring for her secular titles or standing amongst men, but seeing into her eyes the virtues which a wife and ruler must possess. His Grace was at the time, fifty years of age, but nevertheless an outstanding warrior, a genius and a man of patience. His wife, whilst not matching in his military expertise, was of a wit as nimble as my Lords', and with an uncanny talent for stewardship, which made it possible to perform miracles of the quill and ledger for our Duchy. It took but a simple glance at the impending storm to the east and south, and the cool relations with the Kingdom of Jerusalem, for our ruler and his wife to quickly decide and swear fealty to the Basileos of the Eatern Roman Empire. I believe this move, whilst opposed by those of Frankish descent and of the Catholic faith, was nevertheless important and the primary reason why we were not swept away before the terrible might of Islam and its hordes. The Basileos, Komnenos II, was an old man, yet capable and strong. His armies were at the time, vastly superior to those of Antioch and Jerusalem, and sufficient to deter all but the most organized aggression of the Muslims.

It is then, no doubt with the advice of his young, genius wife, that His Grace performed the first of his three crimes that so mar his name.This first crime, was of a secular nature, and happened not days after he climbed off the ship that had ferried him from Genoa to Antich. The decision, whilst in his right as Duke, was nevertheless seen as an outrageous display of tyrannical power by the then assembled court of the Duchy. His Grace Duke Peter stripped all of his vassals of their titles, imprisoned the then appointed Marshall of the Realm, and subsequently disinherited and forthwith banished most of them. Those whom he did not banish, he married off matrilineally, and the younglings he betrothed and did not care to appoint guardians to school them in proper courtly manners and Christian values. I must now add, that all who were married or betrothed, were done so to members of the high nobility of Europe, which was not required of my liege, but rather an act of benevolence which few now acknowledge.

In hindsight I can now see why my Liege had decided against swearing fealty to Baldwin of Jerusalem and instead looked to the more loosely governed realm of the Roman Empire. Baldwin was a strict and pious man, as was expected of those noble knights who would bear the cross to Outremer. He would not stand or allow Duke Peter's desires to revoke the titles of his vassals, nor would he sit idly as Antioch's levies grew in strength and number. I must also note, that while both our ruler and his wife remained Catholic and His Grace never betrayed the traditions of the Franks, the common folk in his Duchy were and still are to this day, Greeks (and only recently did they convert to Catholicism, under our current ruler Tristan d'Anjou, King of Anatolia).

I must state formally in these writings, that whilst undoubtedly harsh, these actions of revoking the lands and titles of his vassals are without a doubt what saved our Duchy's relative independence within the Empire, as well as ensured the well being of the house and set up the prosperity of this glorious bloodline. As he wrested control of all four Antiochean baronies, as well as a bishoparic and the city itself, Duke Peter secured his personal power with the unquestioned advantage of obtaining the full levy of all his holdings. Whilst he was not an involved mayor, the tax income and port tithes from the City of Antioch proved invaluable to our fledgling realm. So it is then, that this humble scribe asks you, the noble reader, to consider the actions of the future King of Anatolia on their merit, and not on the harsh words most would spill.

With the formidable troops he had outfitted, and the new court he quickly assembled, the Duke then set forth not to press his De Jure claim on the nearby county ruled by the Hashashin, but instead to turn his gaze on Cyprus. A claim had surfaced for Duke Peter, and he went on to press it, only to be beaten to the storming of Nicosia by a Greek Doux, who had similar intentions of expansion. Meanwhile the baronies of Antioch had seen an unprecedented boom of building, and many masons and woodworkers were assembled to undertake the vast projects of construction, with more arriving from Europe every day.

It is at that point that Duke Peter turned his gaze north, towards the never ending war the Basileos lead versus the hordes of the Seljuks. Much to our surprise, news reached us that His Holiness, following the completion of the Crusade for Andalusia, of which we had little news, had commissioned a new one, on Anatolia itself, in aid to the Orthodox Christians of the Eastern Roman Empire. Why my Duke had not received word of this glorious call to arms earlier, I may not speculate, though I think his personal matters of succession weighed heavily on his mind at the time. His wife, while quite worthy, had been still childless. My Lord the Duke of Antioch, whilst possessed of many fine qualities, had the vice of being quite lustful. As such, he laid with the wife of one of his courtiers, whose name now escapes me, and she took with child soon thereafter.

At the time when Antioch joined the Holy Crusade for Anatolia, the Duke had not one but two legitimate sons, as well as a bastard he formally recognized. Feeling secure with matters of succession for now, he set of to do God's work against the heathen Turks. However this adultery and betrayal of his wife, is considered by some, to be Duke Peter's second sin before Godand his noble wife. However, as she was possessed of an intellect peerless amongst Christians and heathens alike, only matched by that of the Duke himself, It was quite clear she well understood the need for a male heir, and why it had been necessary at the time, prior to her bearing her oldest son Tristan, for this transgression happened whilst we had not received the revelation that she had been with child. It is also my personal observation that the good Lady had forgiven her husband, as she had long since set her ambitions on expanding his influence.

The Holy Crusade for Anatolia was a bloody business of much turmoil and peril. Duke Peter was a genius commander, but the hordes of the Turks were well beyond what our levy could match. Only because of the mettle of our knights and the stern instruction of the realm's Marshall, were we able to win more victories for God than anyone expected of us. I think this is also the case, why later the new Pope would award the victory of the Crusade to His Grace Duke Peter, despite the efforts of the King of Sicily, who threw many men and horses into this war, as well as vast amounts of gold. One must also note the complete lack of involvement of Jerusalem and their two Holy Orders, which I will attribute to the Jihad called upon them by Salah-ad-Din, as well as the valorous deeds of our troops as well as some minor mercenary companies which the Duke employed, as his coffers were overflowing under the wise and cunning care of his wife.

I know of a specific scholar, employed by the King of Sicilly, who furiously defends his Liege's right to had been named victor of the Crusade, and to him I say - it was as much the will of God almighty, as was the skill at arms of our valorous Duke and his men, which determined the victor. That his Holiness would see our zealous involvement as a greater contribution than the vast armies which Sicilly levied and brought to the field, would speak of his unparalleled wisdom. To doubt him is to blaspheme.

After the completion of this most Holy task, Peter d'Anjou was given sovereignty over the crown of the Kingdom of Anatolia, and even at his advanced age of 70, he knew then that there was much work to be done in this realm, in the name of God and his liege-lord the Basileos. Of the Greeks I must say, they strike me as an odd mix. They are constantly fighting amongst one another, grabbing at power and bickering over laws, yet when a horde of thirty thousand Saracens comes battering down the doors of Antioch, the Basileos raises mighty armies and swiftly crushes them with the force of united Christendom.

And now, when talking of laws, I must mention the third, and most grave crime that my lord did commit, before the eyes of God and his subjects, but most harshly seen in the eyes of his noble lady wife, the Queen of Anatolia and Duchess of Antioch. In the quarter of a century in which we have been a part of the Eastern Roman Empire, we had enjoyed respite from their incessant internal bickering, most probably because my liege never vied for power and never sought a consular position nor lusted at the throne in Constantinople. And while I suspect thoughts of independence did cross his mind at times, the ever present Muslim threat saw it that our benefit from the hosts of the Basileos was vastly superior to the temptation of ruling alone. As such, we had, and still must, abide by Imperial law. It is quite unfortunate then, that due to the Basileos being too lax with his vassals (of which we were reaping the benefits of lower taxation and freedom for our levies), His Majesty the King of Anatolia could not set his own laws of succession.

For those of you who are not versed in such scholarly matters, the succession most favoured by the House of Anjou has been Gavelkind. Unfortunately, because Peter was King and owned the titles of two duchies, his oldest son Tristan would inherit them, but not the vital counties in Antioch or the baronies contained within. And yet these counties and especially the castles in the baronies, are what has made us so formidable and such a powerful vassal of the Basileos as to discourage meddling in our internal affairs. The situation at the end of King Peter's life was such, that his younger son and his legitmized bastard would inherit the two Counties, and thus would wield more power than their older brother, who would be King in title, but not by force of arms. Considering the fact that the two younger boys were born much later, and were still adolescent, their powerful counties would be ruled by regents. As such, the well being of the Kingdom and indeed the whole House of Anjou in Outremer hanged in the balance. In order for the Lord's work to be continued and for our good Christian realm to subjugate the heathens of Rum once and for all, as well as in answer to the now vast threat of the Abbasid Calihpate, who had conquered all the way north to Syria proper, my King and liege took action.

In a single night of horror and despair, he ordered his two young boys seized, thrown in prison and executed, even as he was incapable of actual ruling (as he was already of very advanced age and bedridden, his old wounds of war now taking their toll on his frail health). I know there would be no way to redeem such actions before God and men alike, and I shall remember for ever with horror the bitter screams of sorrow and the days of crying of the Queen Mother after the deed had been done. My liege spent the last of his days praying, with a plain wooden crucifix barely held in his weak hands. He was unable to stand and he spoke with barely but a whisper on his lips. His eyes stared without understanding, either at the ceiling or outside the tiny window in his dank room, yet sometimes, on rare occasion, they would gleam with the clarity and edge I remember from the days of youth of this most remarkable man. I should also mention that at the time, I was the one left to attend him, as all the servants had abandoned King Peter for his young, charismatic son Tristan, who was the de-facto ruler of Anatolia and Antioch.

There were new wars to lead, new diplomacy to consider, levies to raise... And yet, I think that even as his brothers' tiny, blond haired heads rolled on the courtyard floor, Prince Tristan knew full well why this had been a most necessary evil. Then, at the year of our Lord 1261, as we were discussing the recent news of a new warlord to the far east, King Peter I of Anatolia, Duke of Antioch, and count and baron to so many peerages I shan't even attempt to list them, passed away in his bedchamber, shunned by all but this most loyal scribe and historian. And while we must be thankful that the court and the petty nobles saw young Tristan as a liberator and had fresh hopes invested in him, we must nevertheless, remember the man who fashioned a Kingdom out of a duchy which most had long since condemned to Islamic conquest.

Written in the Year of our Lord 1264, by Abbot Bernard Cantor, royal historian of House Anjou and he Kingdom of Anatolia.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I started a game as Georgia. Put it on hold to try the Duke of Courland, but it's a sticky situation. I have the de jure lands of Georgia except for I think a county or two the Byzantines hold, plus the duke of Abkazia (?) has stolen most of Alania from the pagans. I'm a rough position because he has way more land than I do, and my four counties are going to be split between two sons (and I can't bring myself to just off one or the other). I'm pretty sure either the turks or Byzantines are going to steamroll me. I may just bend the knee to the Greeks but they have High crown authority already and that's stifling.

[Monk]

Excellent stuff guys

@Myth - Uh oh.. it's got its claws in you now. There's no going back. One of us. One of us! Full revocation is a very extremist tactic, but it's something that you can always fall back on in last resort situations. I'd say the Crusader States are likely one of the hardest starts in the game. No question. Quite impressed by your survival!

@Gelatinous Cube - Think you can keep that momentum? Decadence is a killer but I always found that unless i could solve the main problem (through murder, most the time!) I could never stay ahead of it through holy war alone.


Here's a few shots from my ongoing game. I haven't had a chance to play much beyond where I last left off, but the AI is doing some insanely cool things while I am building my empire in the east. More musings on the AI and Project Balance, which is fast becoming the best mod for CK2 imo.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

United England and Scotland beneath the Yngling Dynasty. These two women, who have come to power without any aid from me or relaxed female ruler penalties (which i normally run) are the two most powerful women in the known world right now. They are direct descendants (about 4 generations removed) from Ivar the Boneless and are sisters. Together they pretty much rule the North Seas.

Central Europe is in Chaos with the collapse of the Karling hegemony. The title of East Francia has been destroyed and no longer has a holder. Petty kingdoms thrive in the chaos after its fall with Saxony and Bavaria being the strongest of the central Germanic realms. Lotharingia holds fast with one of the last Karling kings but finds itself surrounded by enemies. It has very few allies.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Capets have risen in Northern France but their power is overshadowed by Aquitaine. The last truly powerful Karling realm left, it is the strongest kingdom in Europe. Currently engaged in heavy fighting against Muslim Iberia, they've already taken quite a few holdings, namely the entirety of Aragon.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Baltic is a mess. Rurik died a broken and failed adventurer unable to secure his dynasty. None have been able to secure a powerbase among the many warring slavic tribes, but the newly formed Novgorodian Kingdom could very well be the one to do it.

The Steppes are ruled by the Khazaria Khanate controlled by the Cumans. Their size is due to a meteoric rise in toppling the Crimea based Pecheneg Khans. The Crimean Khanate, which once stretched from Hungary to the fringes of the Persian Sultanate, collapsed in succession crisis not 15 years ago.. allowing the Cuman rise to power.

I am endlessly fascinated by this game.

[Myth]

Thanks! This game is indeed very addicting and immersive, and plus it's (as far as I can tell) very historically accurate, to the point where one can use it to learn about feodalism, medieval warfare and the different houses, kingdoms, dynasties and so on.

Now, also I beg to differ, but I didn't start with the Crusader States. I started with the two-county Duchy of Antioch, which is IMO a whole lot worse than the Kingdom of Jerusalem. So I actually feel pretty good about my achievement. I must admit that having beginner's luck in winning that crusade for Anatolia really helped me out. I also secured another county and Ducal title (the latter actually a hindrance) from the new Basilea (yes, a woman) of the ERE, as she was flat broke after a holy war against miserable, three county Rum in which the rabid Abassid empire eagerly plunged in.

Now we have a Crusade for Jerusalem, and the Abassids are successfully holding off half of Crhistendom (which is quite impressive). I must admit I'm not playing ironman (as this game is supposed to be played IMO) and use copious loading, but then again I didn't exactly pick the easiest starting position.

Now, if I somehow, against all odds I manage to win the Crusade for Jerusalem, I think I will be safe to establish a large Crusader kingdom and war for independence with the Basilea of the ERE (who is now very, very weary of Tristan I of Anatolia). I'm also pondering a fresh start with the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Honestly, I think the AI just squandered the golden position this powerful faction has. They managed to completely botch things up and let the Abassids reduce them to a few counties. The KOJ has the allegiance of both the Hospitallier and Templar holy orders which was something I sorely missed as lowly Antioch.

The Hospitalliers and Templars allow the sub-par AI to hold off double Jihads on Jerusalem and actually had the AI not squandred their manpower they would have been enough to end Salah-ad-Din. 14000 troops, mostly heavy infantry and a great number of heavy cavalry, is nothing to sneeze at. I think that if I start with Jerusalem I can eliminate the Abassids, and if I manage to grab that Teutonic Order stack, then nothing short of the Mongols or a very strong ERE will be able to stop me. Speaking of the Teutonic Order, I see their army just camping in some backwater ERE province in Asia Minor, not doing anything and not being up for recruiting. Is that a bug?

Anyway, this game caused me much sleep deprivation, as I played it non-stop during the weekend and then on Monday and Tuesday night until the early hours (and I get up for work so...). Last Night I gave a try of 1066 but I started as a small count in Sicilly. I managed to secure several counties and overthrew the yoke of the newly formed Kingdom of Sicilly, but not before the stupid AI king did the damage of lowering crown authority so I can't set my succession to Primagenitor, so now it's execution time I suppose.

As far as playing Christians during the Old Gods start date, I think I will try the Eastern Frankish Empire, as I'm a huge fan of Charlemagne. I can also try Bulgaria, being Bulgarian and all

[rvg]

2 more years of expansions for CK2!

I wonder what's next.

[komnenos]

I really like that they make another expansion to make Hashashins playable and also make Mayors or barons playable! And expand the game for starting it 200 years earlier than 867!!

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I really like that they make another expansion to make Hashashins playable and also make Mayors or barons playable! And expand the game for starting it 200 years earlier than 867!!

Rise of Islam? Would like to see a that kind of DLC.

[Myth]

Playable barons is not really feasible IMO.

[Hooahguy]

Just finished season 3 of The Tudors, really makes me want to jump back into CKII again.

[Beskar]

I have to admit, I dislike running huge areas like that. So congratulations!

Biggest I did was recreating the Roman Empire but extended it, leaving a border with Russia. Those independent/etc wars were sure a pain though!

[Chaotix]

I have to admit, I dislike running huge areas like that. So congratulations!

Biggest I did was recreating the Roman Empire but extended it, leaving a border with Russia. Those independent/etc wars were sure a pain though!

Agreed. Anything even half the size of the Roman Empire and the game becomes more about micromanaging vassals than anything else. Along with the inevitable revolts with every succession. There's no challenge in fighting wars anymore once you get that big, so really it's just about holding it all together.

I love making a big empire but once it reaches a certain point I kind of want to stop and do something else. I can only keep going if I have a specific goal in mind.

[Beskar]

I love making a big empire but once it reaches a certain point I kind of want to stop and do something else. I can only keep going if I have a specific goal in mind.

Same here. I am far happier to be a non-colonising power in EU3 for example and hold lets say, France area to myself and just out muscle everyone tech, economically and military.

[Monk]

Huge beta patch is now on Steam. Only steam users have access to it and you'll need to opt into it. Full release next week. Patch notes below:

MAJOR:
- Added a "Retract Vassal" interaction
- Disallowed destruction of non-titular titles under Gavelkind

INTERFACE:
- Added lots of portrait fixes from the "CK2 Portrait Fixes" mod by zebez
- Adjusted the random CoA colors and color choices
- Scripted a lot of CoAs for various dynasties
- The CoAs of titles named after a dynasty now match the dynasty CoA
- Bishops no longer wear pope hats, but the pope does
- Livonia now has the correct pagan flag
- Buildings requiring a coastal province now show up in the tech tooltip even if the capital is not coastal
- Fixed some tooltips in the settlement view not showing building levels with the name
- Nicknames are now shown for heads of religion
- The 'Grant Independence' action is no longer even shown if the recipient is not your vassal
- The 'Prepare Invasion' action is now shown but grayed out if you are at war with the recipient
- Added missing Bektashi religion description
- Endgame screen now shows correct score for characters
- Added missing name of the Reformed Aztec Church title
- Tweaked the religion colors to make them more distinct
- Corrected some event text typos

GAMEPLAY:
- Norse Pagans can no longer employ the coastal conquest CB against other pagans (neighboring counties can still be taken though)
- The Subjugation CB can now only be used once per lifetime instead of every 10 years. (Unless you have the 'Become King' ambition.)
- Characters with the "Become King" ambition and access to the subjugation CB can no longer move their capital out of the de jure kingdom
- Subjugated rulers of another religion now get a smaller opinion bonus vs the winner, lasting for a shorter time
- Fixed a bug with many vassalizing casus bellis where the target's own counties would be seized when they should not be
- Tengri Pagans are now limited to Agnatic succession
- The Jomsvikings now reform if the Norse reformation takes place
- Fixed an issue where the primary heir under Gavelkind would not inherit the capital county
- West African pagans can now also raid
- Lowered the spawn rate of TOG rebels by 20%
- Added the "Ghanan Band" mercenary company
- Slavic, Baltic and Finnish Pagans now get a bonus to their levy sizes, at the cost of their garrison bonus
- Fixed a problem with the decadence invasion event
- Fixed a bug with decadence revolts ending strangely on the attacking ruler's death
- Court Chaplain job events no longer restricted to men for pagans
- Made the Chancellor job to improve relations more effective
- Mercenary ships will no longer spawn in major rivers
- The Viking trait can now only be gained by adults
- Heirs returning from the Varangian Guard to take the throne of their dead father can no longer get the same event twice
- Piast the Wheelwright and his son are now of the Piast dynasty
- Pagan festivals can now only be held in summer as intended
- City Shipyards now produce slightly more galleys than their Castle and Temple counterparts
- Fixed a bug where banishing landed vassals would not take all their titles
- Under Gavelkind, your oldest son will no longer ask for titles
- Added additional names and dynasties for Roman characters created in the Ruler Designer
- Added an earlier king of Ireland to make Irish liberation revolts possible
- 867: Strengthened the coastal Baltic, Slavic and Finnish tribes with better Holdings
- 867: Slightly strengthened the initial forces of Ivar and Halfdan
- 867: The Karling kingdoms are now on Agnatic succession
- 867: Moved Uglich from the Meryas to the Vyatichi
- 867: Byzantium is now properly on Primogeniture, not Gavelkind
- 867: The Duchy of Meath now exists, called "Tara" by the Irish
- 867: Made some important vassals to the King of Italy Italian culture to prolong the survival of the culture and ensure more internal troubles
- 867: Adjusted the initial political and dynastic setup among the Baltic tribes to make them more resilient
- The vassal opinion for free investiture law now correctly only applies for Catholics
- Build cost and time is now affected by your capital tech, not the average tech in your realm
- Ignoring pagan defensive attrition is now controlled by your capital tech, not by the average tech in your realm
- Own fort level no longer affects ability to navigate major rivers
- Tweaked the AI bonuses on Hard and Very Hard difficulty settings
- Successful non-claimant adventurers are now known as "the Conqueror"
- Fixed a bug with weird dynasty names for the commanders of Liberation rebels
- Castrating or blinding a prisoner now removes the righteous imprisonment cause when they are released
- The ambition to gain a council position now only increases a skill the first time it is successful
- The generic Pagan religion now has a description and holy sites
- Added the Hellenic religion
- The events when certain cities are sacked now properly trigger for the Mongol Empire
- The event when you raise a runestone as a zealous Reformed Norse character no longer treats you as a Christian
- Captured Rebel leaders now have a "Broken Spirit" modifier, making them pretty useless
- Fixed a bug where Gavelkind could produce republics
- Fixed a general bug with multiple kingdom inheritance that could produce republics
- The decision to create the Kingdom of Leon now makes it a de jure part of the Empire of Hispania
- Trade posts are no longer counted towards the Prepared Invasion realm size limits
- Fixed a bug with being able to semi-grant invalid duchies and kingdoms to your heir under Gavelkind
- Heathen priests can now inherit titles
- Mayors and heathen priests will now marry if they are heirs to other titles
- Lack of Piety rumor event now only triggers for Christian lieges as intended
- Trade post garrisons now give less retinue cap increase
- Moved the counties of Loon and Julich from de jure Cologne to Luxemburg
- Technology points are now gained by own demesne when containing buildings that give technology points

AI:
- Will not convert to Norman culture if in a huge Norse empire
- Higher prio on building temple towns
- Adjusted propensity to backstab brothers of the faith who are primary parties in holy wars
- Behaviour is now affected subtly by the difficulty settings
- Tweaked max field army sizes a bit
- Will not agree to concubinage for title claimants

MODDING:
- Exported BASE_REVOLT_CHANCE_MOD and TOG_REVOLT_CHANCE_MOD to defines
- Added a 'can_appear' field to dynasties to prevent for example the Seljuks from appearing before their event

[Hooahguy]

Something which has been troubling in my recent 4 hours of playing today is that there doesnt seem to be a way to clearly see which lands are yours. Currently Im playing as a duke in England, formerly King of Scotland and Ireland. Pretty spectacular downfall, Id say, I mentioned it here before. Anyhow, after a slew of wars my current king died at 40-something from a heart attack leaving no heir, as all of them died as children except for one who died of the plague or something after he married and had kids, which sucked. Anyhow, his grandson or something became ruler so that kind of messed up my precious few lands that I held to a point where I really have no clue which lands i own. I thought I could go to my titles bar and check there so I thought I knew everything, but then when civil war arises I find that I held another province somewhere else that I had no knowledge of. Anyone know how I can find out what exactly I own/my vassals own?

[Monk]

Something which has been troubling in my recent 4 hours of playing today is that there doesnt seem to be a way to clearly see which lands are yours.

The direct vassals map shows which areas of land belong to which primary title. If a character's primary title is the Kingdom of Scotland and he owns three counties near one another, it will appear as a blue blot on the direct vassals map as "Scotland."

You can use that map to see which characters directly control the most land

[Myth]

Can you more experienced players post any tips for taking on a much larger faction than your own in a predominantly land-based war?

[Hooahguy]

Not an experienced player, but really the only way I see that a small faction can take on a larger faction is the use of mercenaries.

EDIT: Also, is there any way to totally give up a province? Because right now my new ruler has a bunch of provinces in Ireland and two random ones in Bavaria, and they are really causing problems for me so Id really like to just give up those two provinces in mainland Europe and concentrate on Ireland.

[rvg]

EDIT: Also, is there any way to totally give up a province? Because right now my new ruler has a bunch of provinces in Ireland and two random ones in Bavaria, and they are really causing problems for me so Id really like to just give up those two provinces in mainland Europe and concentrate on Ireland.

Install a count and grant him independence, no?

[Hooahguy]

I dont think I have a count, but Im pretty sure I have a bunch of barons. I tried to give off those lands but the option was not there to give them away. Im not sure why. I might reload to before my last duke died and assassinate the heir so the other heir, with no random areas in Bavaria will be able to take over without as much drama.

[naut]

Can you more experienced players post any tips for taking on a much larger faction than your own in a predominantly land-based war?

The best option (unless you have money for mercs) is to hit and run before they doom stack. Also bait them into favourable defensive terrain (hills, over rivers, etc).

If you are fast enough you can often also bait and switch before they doom stack.

I dont think I have a count, but Im pretty sure I have a bunch of barons. I tried to give off those lands but the option was not there to give them away. Im not sure why. I might reload to before my last duke died and assassinate the heir so the other heir, with no random areas in Bavaria will be able to take over without as much drama.

Random barons? Transfer vassalage to the count they are located in.