Crusader Kings II

[Monk]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The lessons learned from my Irish game are being put to good use as Castille.



Its been a rocky 120 years but I have emerged as a true force to be reckoned with. Reuniting the northern kingdoms is almost more trouble than it's worth. Since everyone in Spain starts as apart of the same dynasty it means that from the start you're locked in a power struggle with your dynastic ties. My first attempted ended in six years due to my brother assassinating my king and absorbing my kingdom, not unlike what happened in the launch trailer...

This go has been punctuated by periods of bloody conquest and pitched battles against rebellious elemants inside my own borders. I'm learning that having "super-duchies", made so by giving more than one duchy title to a noble is a very bad idea. Sure, he may be grateful now - but just wait 20 years down the line. Soon he'll be getting visions of granduer where he can rule his duchies without you looking over his shoulder. After all, he's almost your equal de facto, if not de juro. A marriage here, an assassin there, and he will soon become your worst nightmare. My realm was nearly torn asunder twice by such men.

Over the last 30 years i've been instituting a ruthless campaign of decentralization of my vassals. Thus far it has worked flawlessly, not only in keeping my vassals content that they can boast and brag they are the duke/duchess of x, but with no one man/woman holding enough power to topple their neighbors without a good web of alliances. This is especially the case after I pushed my crown authority to the point where they can no longer war against each other.

The Reconquista is going well but it's not been without its own close calls. The last war against the muslim lords in the south nearly broke the bank and seriously drained my manpower. Of course they didn't come out of it any better, as you can see. Mauretania used to control ALL of North Africa as well as the south of spain, but after my war with them they completely fractured and are fighting for their life in a civil war. I'm watching eagerly to see who wins and rebuilding my strength in the meantime, continuing to consolidate my power.

Elsewhere France has started to chip away at Africa, they came into the Iberian penesular about 80 years ago to fight one of the emirates there, but the ore power they grab the more they pay for it. Their interal strife has kept them occupied for the last 40 years and they aren't much of a threat to anyone right now, which the HRE has abused to take away vast parts of their territory.

Not shown here is a huge empire controlled by the Rus. They've effectively blocked Byzantine expansion and are looking like the top dogs of the campaign. I'm glad I'm on the other side of the map, i'd hate to fight them...

The First Crusade was a rousing success with Poland, of all nations, declaring final victory and capturing Jerusalem. Unfortunately, twenty years after the fact they were thrown out, and the Second Crusade has been an unmitigated disaster. I'm sure the Pope would love for my 20k strong army to join in the fighting but I've got my hands full at home.

This game is way too fun.

[Greyblades]

Their interal strife has kept them occupied for the last 40 years and they aren't much of a threat to anyone right now, which the HRE has abused to take away vast parts of their territory.

How? I could have sworn it takes over decade of truces and waiting for false claim attempts just to take one provice from someone.

[Monk]

If you build false claims then absolutely it takes forever. Getting real claims through dynastic ties is how you end up getting much larger areas of land at once. I think the HRE took about full 3 duchies within France all within ten years of each other due to that, one flipped without a conflict and from there they just pressed their dukes' claims to gain more.

[Fisherking]

I keep having problems that I don’t expect.

I make a new title and it tells me I lose claim to my original holdings.

I marry an heir to my lands to a Countess only to find later that the kids took her name and I have no heir. (got lucky twice, I killed her and my eldest son and got the land and my youngest child is heir. There were steep odds against me too.)

Some others were so complex I won’t even go into them but some of this is just baffling and I know the general laws and the lay of the land.

I really don’t understand why my lands could be lost or what to do about it.

[Monk]

I keep having problems that I don’t expect.

I make a new title and it tells me I lose claim to my original holdings.

I marry an heir to my lands to a Countess only to find later that the kids took her name and I have no heir. (got lucky twice, I killed her and my eldest son and got the land and my youngest child is heir. There were steep odds against me too.)

First thing you'd want to do is check the type of marriage you got into. If it was matrilineal that means the children take her dynasty and not the male's.

I really don’t understand why my lands could be lost or what to do about it.

Heirs and succession is really odd in this game and can catch you off guard. You'll want to establish the right succession laws from the very start of your game. Your lands can be lost when by the laws of succession, you lack a capable heir to take over after your current ruler dies. You can see the line of succession for everything (even down to individual cities and counties) by mousing over the coat of arms for that particular holding. Lands of vassals can also be lost to lords outside your realm, so you really need to be ontop of things.

As to what can be done about it? Honestly, if it comes to the point that you get the pop up saying you're about to lose something, chances are its too late to fix it. Assassins can be good for clearing out unwanted lines of succession but aren't viable unless your ruler has high state intrigue. The best way to ensure that your lands stay with you, is to micromanage your heir. Always try to marry your family up in the world. If you're a count, marry a duchess, if your a duke, marry a princess, ect. Always get marriages that propogate your dynasty, not the other guys'. This isnt always possible but its something you should strive for.

One of my favorite tactics after securing a new Duchy is to use the intrigue option to invite a noble to my court. This will give you a new male courtier to use as a pawn. Matrilineal marriages are usually hard to establish, since those with power want to keep their dynasty in control, but a lowly courtier doesn't care, he just wants to move up in the world. So i marry my daughter to him, with the understanding any children will be apart of my dynasty. The very next day, i award the lucky guy his very own duchy. In 20-30 years, my dynasty will be ruling after him. This could create problems down the road (potential pretenders to the throne) but its a good way to spread your bloodlines through the kingdom.

I've also noticed that dukes/counts/barons will institute their own laws of succession below yours. The duchy of Valencia, for example, became the republic of valencia due to the duke instituting open elections for his succession. This caused a huge uproar and led him to declaring independance/starting a civil war with me because suddenly, his government and my government were not working happily together. Other than causing strife, this can have the cause of titles passing outside your realm due to someone having a succession law that says that old guy living under a rock in Germany has more rights to the duchy than you do. To fix that, you'll want to raise crown authority (if you are a king) high enough to the point where titles cannot pass from your borders. If you aren't a king, you have to play the dynasty game and hope for the best.

edit: wow that turned way longer than I thought...

[Fisherking]

The marriage went without warning that it was a Matrilineal marriage. I can live with that. It was something that won’t be repeated.

On the other hand, creating a new title and taking it seems to have cut me out of the first. I don’t understand why.

If need be I will see if I can give away that second title, though I don’t know that having a vassal of equal rank is such a good plan.

My next move will be to get my new County of Cathness holding independent and then as a vassalage to me, and that will be complex, no doubt.

I took a page from you and took Munster. Funny enough, dad was Holey Roman Emperor, via mum of course. And for some reason my younger brother is now in line for that title, but not me.

I was heir to her Duchy but who knows now.

One large bone I have to pick with the game though is that there should be 5 kingdoms and no Duchies in Ireland. That was part of the problem with uniting them.

Still, I don’t understand why I can’t hold Munster and Leinster at the same time.

If you managed to get the island you must have run into the same problem?

[Monk]

The marriage went without warning that it was a Matrilineal marriage. I can live with that. It was something that won’t be repeated.

On the other hand, creating a new title and taking it seems to have cut me out of the first. I don’t understand why.

If need be I will see if I can give away that second title, though I don’t know that having a vassal of equal rank is such a good plan.

You cannot have a vassal of equal rank, period. A duke is lawfully equal to a duke and, therefore, will not be burdoned to take orders from one. Just like a King would not take orders from a king, or a count take orders from a count. In order to hand out duchies you have to establish yourself as a king, in order to hand out counties, you must be a duke and ect.

You must be one level higher on the social ladder than the title you wish to grant. If you give someone a title that is equal to your own they will become independent.

My next move will be to get my new County of Cathness holding independent and then as a vassalage to me, and that will be complex, no doubt.

I took a page from you and took Munster. Funny enough, dad was Holey Roman Emperor, via mum of course. And for some reason my younger brother is now in line for that title, but not me.

Sounds like you're running under gravelkind succession. That means all the titles are split up between the children, with the eldest getting 30% of them, and afterward the other siblings get an even share. Your claim to the throne was likely given away to a brother while you got something else. You should change that asap to primo, so that your oldest son inherits everything. Stay away from Seniority unless you want your 80 year old uncle getting the crown over your 5 star 16 year old son.

edit: it should also be noted that getting someone elected emperor has a funny effect on title inheritance. In my honest opinion I think its a little buggy, but i havent seen its effects enough to say that with confidence. But I've heard stories of people having claims to 4-5 duchies, getting elected emperor, and then losing those claims once their emperor dies.

One large bone I have to pick with the game though is that there should be 5 kingdoms and no Duchies in Ireland. That was part of the problem with uniting them.

Still, I don’t understand why I can’t hold Munster and Leinster at the same time.

If you managed to get the island you must have run into the same problem?

You can, but people don't like it, to put it simply. You'll have to deal with unhappy nobles who see you hoarding all the titles until you unite the island as a kingdom. When i played Irish the very first thing I did was work to change the succession laws, then tried to build ducal claims on my neighbors with my chancellor. All you'll need to do is claim a single county from them, then you can press further claims that you'll get when you hold half a de juro duchy.

[White_eyes:D]

edit: it should also be noted that getting someone elected emperor has a funny effect on title inheritance. In my honest opinion I think its a little buggy, but i havent seen its effects enough to say that with confidence. But I've heard stories of people having claims to 4-5 duchies, getting elected emperor, and then losing those claims once their emperor dies.

I was playing as the emperor of the HRE with Gavelkind inheritance laws(on the Kingdom level) and when my 2nd-gen ruler died some of the titles were passed around to his kids.(Had the 3rd gen-heir Kill his other brothers for their titles...received "kinslayer" from it and had some fun times with that)

But it seemed to act buggy after that. When my 3rd-gen guy died, it seemed to act kinda like Primogeniture and only the oldest son received everything. While it saved the lives of (most) of his siblings, it was acting buggy with how the bohemian gavelkind law was working and I had to abandoned it.

[Monk]

So there's been some wondering about how strong the Byzantines are in this game, and empires in general for that matter. A lot of people on the CK forums are of the belief its impossible for empires to die in the current balance, well...

I had to post this, ladies and gentlemen I give you the death of the Byzantine blob:



Through a combination of internal pressure and cultural tension the Byzantine empire has imploded into a colorful sea of successor states, each one vying with the other for the right to call themselves the heir to the Roman legacy. I have double checked by selecting the Byzantines and looking at their stats. Down to having only 3 vassals and a pitiful 1000 men out of a possible 6000 strong army, the emperor is in DIRE straights. Constantinople is on the verge of falling to siege.

This has COMPLETELY changed the dynamic of the asia minor political situation. I am almost wishing I picked a nation in that neck of the woods just so I could be there to take advantage. Alas, my own kingdom needs my attentions.

[The Stranger]

You cannot have a vassal of equal rank, period. A duke is lawfully equal to a duke and, therefore, will not be burdoned to take orders from one. Just like a King would not take orders from a king, or a count take orders from a count. In order to hand out duchies you have to establish yourself as a king, in order to hand out counties, you must be a duke and ect.

You must be one level higher on the social ladder than the title you wish to grant. If you give someone a title that is equal to your own they will become independent.



Sounds like you're running under gravelkind succession. That means all the titles are split up between the children, with the eldest getting 30% of them, and afterward the other siblings get an even share. Your claim to the throne was likely given away to a brother while you got something else. You should change that asap to primo, so that your oldest son inherits everything. Stay away from Seniority unless you want your 80 year old uncle getting the crown over your 5 star 16 year old son.

edit: it should also be noted that getting someone elected emperor has a funny effect on title inheritance. In my honest opinion I think its a little buggy, but i havent seen its effects enough to say that with confidence. But I've heard stories of people having claims to 4-5 duchies, getting elected emperor, and then losing those claims once their emperor dies.



You can, but people don't like it, to put it simply. You'll have to deal with unhappy nobles who see you hoarding all the titles until you unite the island as a kingdom. When i played Irish the very first thing I did was work to change the succession laws, then tried to build ducal claims on my neighbors with my chancellor. All you'll need to do is claim a single county from them, then you can press further claims that you'll get when you hold half a de juro duchy.

i united ireland in 50 years (3 generations), 50 years later now and i am king of france and ireland XD

it is not too hard to be honest. just take one of the dukes and you should be fine. ursurp all the counts and then you will be able to create the title of king. from there just offer vassalisation to what is left over. they will readily accept, atleast in my case :P


the game is awesome imo but i agree with frogg that it needs more or more complex ambitions and plots. most of the time i can only choose to kill my wife as an ambition and i havent really had any particularly complex or interesting plots. thats the only thing sofar which really dissapointed me. as well as the absence of a quickload button :S now i have to resign and then load from the single player menu again. and every 5 times the game will freeze, tho i am quite sure that is a problem of steam... (i hate steam).

[giorgos]

hello.can i ask something?i have the game ck2 and is download no official i can join multiplayer like "host" or i need the official.thank you

[Beskar]

Crusader Kings 2 The Old Gods Expansion is out next week, along with 3 smaller DLCs.

I am guessing.. Some sort of CoA or Sprite pack, music of the Norse, and music of the Hordes.

[xploring]

I am guessing.. Some sort of CoA or Sprite pack, music of the Norse, and music of the Hordes.

http://www.paradoxplaza.com/shop

It's Norse Portraits and Unit Pack, and Hymns to the Old Gods.

[Chaotix]

hello.can i ask something?i have the game ck2 and is download no official i can join multiplayer like "host" or i need the official.thank you

As far as I know, you need to register your game on the website in order to access the multiplayer server.

EDIT: @Tiaexz : You're probably right. Norse music and units are a definite. Not sure about Coat of Arms... I'd love that, but it seems unlikely to me.

Personally I don't buy the unit skins because I am usually so zoomed out on the map that I can't even see them.