Crusader Kings II

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

That's going to be the new strategy-verging-on-exploit after The Old Gods, at least if you can send missionaries to the Hordes.

[Monk]

Adventures in Anatolia:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Asia Minor, 1159

Internal politics have exploded in the Sultanate of Rum. What had once been a strong sub-state of the greater Seljuk Empire has degenerated into a complete mess after nearly one hundred years of petty infighting. With the Successors of the Roman empire occupied in Helles with numerous civil wars, one would have though the conquest of the empire was assured. Yet the continued decadence of the Sultan's dynasty, the continued tolerance of foreign merchants and a series of failed expansions wars has seen the quick decline of the once formidable Seljuks. In the chaos that was the fourth Seljuk succession crisis, The Beylerbey of Armenia succeeded from Rum. They were quickly followed by the Beylerbey of Armenia Minor.

The two successor states of Armenia are bitter enemies, with Armenia Greater being ruled by Duke Baytas I of Armenia. Baytas is the son of Duke Tekin of Trebizond, and grandson of Beylerbey Ali I, who united the three great duchies of eastern Armenia together to create the greatest army in Anatolia. Baytas is a great warrior but an unproven commander. His is a realm that has weathered great hardship and always come out stronger because of it, and his army is without a doubt one of the best in Anatolia thanks to the efforts of his grandfather.

Baytas, leader of Armenia.

Armenia Minor, meanwhile, is ruled by Kaiqobad I. Whereas Baytas is a native Armenian, Kaiqobad is Turkish. Whereas Baytas is a great warrior, Kaiqobad is first and foremost an administrator. And perhaps most importantly, whereas Baytas has inherited his great realm from the men who built it, Kaiqobad has built his realm through nothing but the fires of his own ambition. At the age of 67, he is practically a living ancient of the medieval world, ruling his now free realm from his capital Melitene with an iron fist.

Kaiqobad came to power in 1110 AD after the assassination of both his grandfather in 1109, and his father the very next year. A wild conspiracy against Kaiqobad's father is to blame for both of their deaths, one which points back to the first wife of Sultan Suleyman I of Rum as the mastermind. Mesud I, father of Kaiqobad, had been gathering power for decades. Biding his time, waiting for the right moment to act and expand his personal demesne beyond that which had been granted by the Sultan. Though he achieved initial success in securing control of several new counties, his plans were put to a sudden stop by the assassin's blade. Kaiqobad swore revenge upon the grave of his father, leading a ruthless campaign of consolidation and intrigue among the other commanders and vassals of the sultan. While the Sultan was campaigning against restless vassals and rebellious brothers, Kaiqobad began his work. He first took revenge on the wife of the sultan, building a conspiracy against her and having her poisoned at a banquet held to honor visiting dignitaries.

Next was the conquest of Armenia minor and crowing himself Beylerbey of Armenia Minor. He was incredibly efficient in removing anyone who might've been a threat to his power. Rewarding those who served him well on the battlefield and destroying anyone who happened to stand in his way, Kaiqobad built a powerful web of alliances within the Rum Sultanate. He even clashed with Ali of Trebizond in a great battle outside his capital. The two powers fought while still technically vassals of the sultan over numerous disputed claims. Both sides claimed they had legal right, and both sides refused to back down. The ensuring war would ensure bad blood between the two dynasties for at least the next ten years, despite no side being able to claim victory. When Armenia succeeded from Rum two years later, having grown much too powerful for the weakened Sultanate to control, Kaiqobad was quick to follow. Curiously. It's said that Ali I died under mysterious circumstances just weeks after his realm broke away from Rum...

Even with all of central Anatolia, Kaiqobad's ambition is not satisfied. The weakened Sultanate to his west desperately struggles in another succession crisis, and the grandson of his greatest rival, Baytas, rules to his east. If the Turkish administrator had it his way, he'd see all of Anatolia beneath his command. A united, stronger sultanate than the failing Rummites. Unfortunately, already in his 60s, it seems his greatest enemy may be time.

[Monk]

Let me tell you something about fear. Fear is the Holy Roman Empire converting to a heresy and destroying two catholic crusades meant to take back Italy.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Religion map -

/

Yeah. I'm glad I'm way over here in Anatolia. No thank you, sir!

[Ishmael]

Let me tell you something about fear. Fear is the Holy Roman Empire converting to a heresy and destroying two catholic crusades meant to take back Italy.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Religion map -

/

Yeah. I'm glad I'm way over here in Anatolia. No thank you, sir!

Heh, 'Holy' Roman Empire indeed. I don't think I've ever seen a large nation, let alone an empire, convert to a heresy before, but then again my current game is the first in which I've reached the Mongol invasions (I tend to prefer building up a nation, rather than managing it ).

[naut]

Adventurers: Landless characters can gather armies and go off to carve out new realms on their own.

Aw hell yeah!

[Monk]

Heh, 'Holy' Roman Empire indeed. I don't think I've ever seen a large nation, let alone an empire, convert to a heresy before, but then again my current game is the first in which I've reached the Mongol invasions (I tend to prefer building up a nation, rather than managing it ).

I know! This is very very rare from my own experience. It's not uncommon for a powerful ruler to convert to a heresy later in life, but the emperor not only converted, he converted nearly all his children. Ensuring his heir would follow the heresy, and has been fighting hard to convert all his vassals. He has crushed two huge crusades trying to take back Italy. It's only a matter of time until he gets his court in order and starts holy warring

Aw hell yeah!

Haha. My sentiments exactly! Curiously, Paradox has been incredibly tight lipped about that feature, declining to say much to RPS in this article. Paraphrased as "It's a feature that will change a lot before release." is all the writer could get.

I'm eager to read the dev diaries as they come, no doubt.

[Monk]

Hope you guys don't mind the double post, here's an Old Gods Interview with PC gamer: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/05/cr...know-so-far/1/





Highlights include:

• The Adventurer system will tie in to landless claimants. Did you banish an ambitious brother to the life an an exile? Now he has the ability to come back and make your life hell. Although it is stressed that it's in its very early concepts, Paradox outlines their goals to tie in adventurers with rebellions and landless claimants to make keeping power more challenging.
  
  

  So the landless adventurers you mentioned aren’t actually playable?
  
  No, not as far as I know. Basically, the adventurer system is not fully implemented yet. So it’s in our progression. But our idea is, landless characters can be a danger to you. So just because you’ve kicked out the guy who claims your title—he doesn’t have any land—doesn’t mean he’s not a threat. Our goal is to try and tie them in with rebels. So rebels will now rebel for a title claimant.

• Prestige will drive invasion ability. In a move that mirrors the Muslim piety mechanics, Norse Casus Bellis will be heavily tied into their prestige as opposed to their title ranking. A count who has great prestige can call together a vast army and topple his neighbors with greater ease than an king whos prestige score is pitiful.
  
  

  And Prestige is a key thing. So, because these invasions are your biggest way of getting troops over land, I can be the poorest count in Norway. But if I have a high enough Prestige, I can declare invasions for one of my pagan neighbors, in fact, summon Vikings, and basically kick them in. So you have to make sure you have a lot of Prestige so you can counter-invade and things like this.

• The tease of teases: Nomads are a high possibility. Perhaps one of the biggest missing pieces for any scenario hoping to portray this era, Nomads. Although very little of concrete is revealed, the Paradox representative says in no uncertain terms that it's something they really want to do.
  
  

  That’s something, obviously. We call it “The Hungarian Question.” Which is, “How do we get the Hungarians from their home right now, in Western Ukraine, into Hungary?” So it’s something that we know about, and we’re probably going to do a bit of iteration, and trial and error, on that one. We definitely want nomads to move.

Lot of other stuff in there that is hinted at. Article is definitely worth the read.

[Chaotix]

I am practically drooling in anticipation over here.

I'll just have to satisfy the wait with continuing to rebuild the Roman Empire.

Step 1: Finally get done with taking back Anatolia already!