I've been playing on Expert games for a while now, it's been on and off ad more than once i've had to restart, but I think i've made it past the hardest stage of the game.

This particular German campaign is on Expert and Early stage with Glorious Acheivements, on the XL MOD. it is now 1227.

After nearly 150 years of blood sweat and toil, the Holy Roman Empire is secure and dominates central Europe.

However, this is the first time I have gotten this far in Medieval TW, every other time i've either gotten smashed and too bloodied early on or had so many things stacked against me (For example in one of my more memorable games Pope Antonio IV Excomm. me and this brought down all of Europe upon my head. After the first turn of attacks I had lost three provinces and two more had a skeleton garrison left. Spies reported a Spanish Crusade coming my way )

Anyways, the Empire now stretches from Norway to Naples and Normandy to Greater Poland. I have completed the Holy Roman Empire and Drang Nach Osten.
Rome and Livonia are my most fortified Strongholds, Livonia from the army for Drang Nach Osten, Rome party from local troops and the remnants of the Italian campaign.

The Political Situation.
The Poles, Danes, Genoese, Venicians, and Aragonese have all been destroyed (I destroyed the entire list except for the Aragonese.) The Hungarians are rather peculiar. After an admirable tussle with the Byzantines I offered an alliance and jointly we smashed the Easterners in Hungary. I continued a march of scorched earth all the way to Constantinople, and raised the city to the ground (muhahahahaha). After several decades of relative peace the Hungarians threw EVERYTHING they had at Hungary, I retreated and then decided to let them have it. However I responded by assasinating their general and several spies.

Ever since the climactic battle of the Somme () the French have been reduced to practically nothing, their armies were broken and the lands ripe, I held off due to excommunication-derived revolts and the French hung on by the skin of their teeth.

Somehow the English lost everything except for Wales and Wessex; massive rebel armies were holding Mercia and Northunbria. I raised some mercenaries and bribed the troops; took half of england then landed at Normandy.

The Byzantine Empire since my total destruction of Constantinople has been pretty quiet along the borders, I don't know anything past Greece.

The last Emperor who 'made' the Empire, that is he led troops and carried the day to what I think are now its final borders, recently died. he had 8 command, 9 dread, 9 influence 4 piety and 5 acumen. The currant Emperor is a young lad of 16 with 4 influence.
Crusaders and Crusading.

The Papacy has been reduced to the Papal States, I have graciously offered them terms time and again but they will not listen. I cannot launch Crusades or anything, and that is very annoying as I want to go kick some Arabian butt in the Holy Land. Around 1120 I sent a force to Antioch, amazingly it made it and the Kingdom of Antioch survived for nearly a decade. I could do nothing has Turkish and Egyptian attacks reduced to force to its steel core, then, in true Boromir fashion, disappeared. The final battle tallied at 128 men lost and nearly 600 Arabians killed.

I am Excommunicated at the moment from stealing French lands again, but how exactly do I start Crusades? I have several sitting at home and I know I can't be excomm. but do I have to be at peace with the Pope too? I've been 'at war' with the stubborn bastard for nearly a century; I havn;t attacked him and he still won't accept a cease-fire.

Two questions.

One, what exactly do I need politically for crusading.
Two, can anyone suggest new 'goals' to work for?