Getting tiny factions off the ground

[hlawrenc]

I have been playing XL mod, BKB's mod as well as FOR mod for some time now and they have all given a real boost to the vanilla MTW: VI game play for me. I think the additional factions and different types of exotic units that all of these mods bring are real pluses for them.

But I find that the factions that are the most intriguing, have the most interesting units, etc. tend to be factions with only one or two provinces to start. I always have problems getting tiny factions moving along fast enough to keep my interest in the campaign. They are either surrounded by larger neighbors, are in dirt poor areas and or have no exportable products for shipping so you can't even try to become an economic power house.

Because of the slow growth necessary to cultivate these tiny factions, I tend to go ahead and play Byzantium, Turks, Egyptians, Almonds,English, HRE or some other faction that has enough existing provinces to be able to start the game moving fast enough to keep my interest. Seems if they don't have at least 5 provinces to start it is almost impossible to get them moving at a reasonable pace for me.

I was hoping to get some advise, strategies, etc. from the rest of you on how you kick start small factions to get the game moving and keep your interest.

[mfberg]

Find the nearby provinces you will need and take them with your starting force. You do not need to keep them, just make sure they go to rebels, not loyalistst. If you can do that, and take them one by one for keeps, capturing the rebels for ransom it should help a little with the cash flow.

If you are still poor get an army together and form a one way raiding party. Hit the most advanced provinces possible and try to follow a king through his lands. This should give you enough money to actually begin building mines, traders, ships, and farms. Better advice will be from others, but you might tell us which small faction you want to start because some people have detailed start-up plans for most any faction.

mfberg

[Cowhead418]

Well, I'm in the middle of an XL campaign as the Portuguese in Early. On my third try I was able to get them off the ground. The key is in the initial phase. Being aggressive early is a must. The Portuguese start with only Portucale, which is an average province with two tradeable goods. If you wait too long the Almohads and Spanish (Castile-Leonese) will become too strong. The very first turn I took Leon then defended against a Spanish attack. On turn four I took Castile and the Spanish were annihilated.

I then bribed El Cid and took Valencia. I now had some rich provinces and was able to fend off an Almohad invasion. I now own all of Iberia and all the way up to Egypt. I also have several small clusters of provinces around the map disconnected from my main lands.

The same tactic works for the Welsh in VI. I took out Mercia completely in the first ten turns. For those factions starting with one poor province it is usually a good strategy to take another province right away with your starting force.

A faction that I find very challenging to get going is the Serbs in Early. You can't really take any provinces immediately right from the start and you are surrounded by the Hungarians and Byzantines, two factions you don't want to mess with. Starting a war with the rich, powerful Byzantines is not a good idea with a poor faction and the Hungarians have an archer-rich army at the beginning with lots of hilly territory to defend with.

As with any TW game, the most challenging part of the game is the initial phases. This is also arguably the most important part of the game because of you wait too long then it will be almost impossible to expand if you are a one-province faction but if you go too quickly and fail then it will be extremely difficult to bounce back.

[Martok]

As mfberg said, it would probably help if you could tell us which faction you're playing with (or thinking of trying out). Aside from agreeing with my fellow compatriates here that early and agressive expansion is usually a must for small factions, specific strategies really vary on which nation you are.

Which faction or factions interests you in particular? Scotland, Lithiuania, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Sicily, Armenia, etc.....it really all depends on which one(s) you're talking about. If you could be a little more specific, hlawrenc, we can probably help you more than just giving out vague advice.

[Third spearman from the left]

I just thought I'd add that I agree with all over the above and that bribing a rebel very early on can be an excellent move.

In my current game as the scots (high XL Expert) I bribed the rebels in norway on turn one before spending anything on upgrades or troops. On the third or fourth turn I invaded Northumbria (english) after they started a war with the french.

I made peace two turns later. Since then I've invested heavily in ships to boost trade. I now have a ship in each sea square and have a treasury of over 90,000.

I have only about 8 provinces but I've avoided major wars by taking rebel lands and building them up quickly. I've now started to build a major army and the english are my next target.

[ajaxfetish]

Although the hardest to play, the tiny factions are also the most exciting and interesting to play, with the highest risk of failure. I think the method depends a lot on who is around them. For example, my first successful experience as the Aragonese I went straight to the offensive and took out Spain within the first few turns, then used the same strategy I would as the Spanish.

As the Armenians, however, I was surrounded by three factions each too powerful for me to take on alone. Instead I bided my time, teched up my units, and started a savings account, and when they went to war with each other I'd join in and snatch a province or two, then build up some more and wait for my next opportunity. There were some very hairy moments and it took a long time for me to feel secure in my troops and ability to defend myself, but it was a great ride.

Each faction is different, though in most cases the early strike is probably your best bet. Don't wait for your economic disadvantage to get too magnified.

Ajax