Enter the Dark Age

[Lacker]

So this is a first.

I have played MTW several times through, at least 5 or 6 times on expert. This time I'm playing as the dutch, focusing completely on my economy and avoiding war at all costs. I'm rolling in money (12k a year and sitting on a treasury of over 800k), selling lumber, food, and iron to the other nations of the map as they slaughter each other with abandon. Here's the odd part.

1369 - the map consists of myself, the egyptians, the French, the Almohads, and the Polish. The French and Almohads have been clobbering eachother for centuries to a standstill, splitting mid-western Europ with France owning all the isles and the Almohads owning all of Spain. Egypt and myself have been duking it out on the seas but essentially at peace with me occupying the north lands, greece and constantinople (both acquired from a bout of rebellions before the Byz fell to Egypt)

here's the kicker

1370 - France AND the Almohads see their kings die without an heir in battle and LITERALLY 45% of the map is now in the hands of rebels. I've never seen such a transformation. Germany reappeared, as did the Sicilians and the Swiss but they occupy only one province each. It's like someone ussered in a dark age of lawlesness with 2/3rds of Europe without a leader. We're talking Acquitain to Milan, Scotland to Cyrencia, Britannia to Friesland and ALL of Spain. I'm like a kid in a candy store picking the provinces I like best and bribing up their garrisons to secure all the land I could hope for without a drop of blood spilled. I can also send my Cogs from the north who were there to deter a growing French navy down to turn the remaining Egyptian ships into drift wood. What an odd turn of events. Anyone seen anything like this before?

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