Pics and History of your Empire

[Monk]

So we have one of these threads in the Main hall but looking around here, I really don't see one. So I hope Martok doesn't mind If I start one for kicks. Besides, i think it's a ton of fun to read the history of some of the .orgah's empires that they've created.

I'll start the thread off on the right foot with my current campaign as England. (patch 1.3, Stainless Steel 6.0).

In the year 1154 of our lord the Kingdom of England's borders have been extended greatly by the blood of it's noble soldiers. After a long service to the holy father in Rome, England has chosen it's own path, forging it's own destiney from the fires of conflict and war.
Current state of affairs:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1080-1102.
Here reigned King William the Conqueror.
After securing South of England and proclaiming himself, King William spent his days securing his newfound kingdom and doing all that he could to ensure that his sons would inherit a strong position from which to conquer. In 1095, the first crusade is declared. The King's son Prince Henry vows to see the holy city taken from the hands of the Fatamid Caliphate that now claims the city as their own. The long journey proves to be too much for him, and though he continues onward with his men, his mental health deteriorates. He soon becomes known as Prince Henry the Mad, and often threatens to skin his own men alive if they disobey him!

1102-1154.
Here reigned King William the Profane.

1103: The following year after his coronation news reaches the King that his brother, Prince Henry, has sacked the city of Jerusalem! The Crusade is deemed a great suceess by the pope, and though saddened by the treatment of the city, sends a gift in florins to the Kingdom of England. Prince Henry seizes control of the city and names himself regent acting as William’s right hand in the Holy Land. Well, he actually named himself “Great Poobah”, but no one was really sure at the time what he was talking about. So they just went along with his madness and assumed (and hoped) he meant regent. A number of border skirmishes sees the Fatamids retreat to Acre.

1104: King William meanwhile has quietly initiated a buildup of troops, his gaze sets on Scotland where the Scots have built for themselves a sizeable trade empire with their fleets sailing as far as Novgorod! The king begins to fear what this new found wealth could do for Scotland, He resigns to strike first…

Elsewhere in 1104 the Sicilians seize control of Cairo and Alexandria, setting up a client-crusader Kingdom of their own. The Pope names Sicily and England as inspirations to all Christendom, the Fatamids howevere are quietly building their strength. Biding time.

1106: William strikes! Gathering the army based at Nottingham the king hits first as he planned, slipping around the main Scots force and taking York with little resistance! The Scots turn quickly with the news and march on York, the battle that would follow would be the bloodiest in the British isles in many decades. The forces of England are triumphant but suffer terrible casualties; William is unable to press his advantage and winters in York. It is the first taste of the new Staple of the English Army that the scots have had, the Longbow. It will not be the last.

In the Holy Land Henry is slipping further into his madness. No longer fit to command the army he resides in Jerusalem as his men lay siege to the Fatamid fortress of Acre. Without a strong leader though, they are unable to make much progress and the siege bogs down.

1107: Scotland launches a counter attack. The Second Battle of York would prove to be just as bloody as the first, but again William wins the day and is able to keep control of the city.

The siege of Acre ends when the Fatamids mass an army and crush the crusaders outside the city walls. The English crusaders are forced to retreat to Jerusalem, shadowed the whole way by the Fatamids. A siege of the city is all but inevitable now as a call for aid is sent to the Sicilians in Cairo.

1108: The pope intervenes in the Anglo-Scot war forcing a ceasefire. Coming as a direct response to the peace talks the Treaty of York is signed by the two powers, in it England agrees to withdraw from York and pay tribute to Scotland for the next three years. Unable to press further with so few men William is forced to accept the peace and returns home to Nottingham to brood and rebuild. Later that year it is his tragedy to learn that Jerusalem falls to the Fatamids and the holy city is once more in Muslim hands. His brother Henry is assumed dead.

1112: Five years pass in peace between the English and the Scots, Henry though is beginning to feel cramped. Having annexed Bruges and Rennes along the North of France he is starting to sense himself “boxed in”. He begins pondering a new war with Scotland but before he is able to even draw up plans a large Spanish force lands near Exeter and lays siege to the city! The nerve! He is unable to marshal a force in time to save the city from being occupied.

1114: Numerous skirmishes between the Spanish and English follow but no significant ground is taken until 1114 when William sends his forces against the entrenched Spanish at Exeter. The two forces meet a few miles north of the city and though the Spanish have a great deal of cavalry forces and Jinnets, they underestimate the effectiveness of the English longbow. The city is won back and William initiates peace talks yet the spanish ignore the call for peace.

1117: Sensing a deadlock William sends the vanguard of his army, lead by an upstart captain only known as Richard against the Iberian landmass itself. Quickly dispatching the local forces Richard pushes on toward Castile, determined to cut the heart out of the enemy when to his surprise the Spanish are suddenly a lot more talkative! A ceasefire is signed and with the Treaty of Exeter the Spanish forsake all claims upon the British Isles, on condition England break it's alliance with the Kingdom of Aragon and pull out of Iberia. Richard is named Man of the hour and invited to join the royal court, of which he happily accepts.

1120: Having at last secured himself from threats abroad and no client Kingdom in the Holy land to finance William once more sets his eyes on the Scots and York; he decides though if he is going to avoid the blunder of his first campaign he must wait. A decade passes, the Kingdom of England builds quietly.

1130: The Scots become embroiled in a bitter war with the Kingdom of Norway and while their main army campaigns against the Norse across the sea, William sees his chance. Moving quickly the now rebuilt English army occupies York and blitzes north, by the time the Scots realize what has transpired they are too spread among their satellite provinces to send aid home.

1134: The Second Anglo-Scot war is in full swing; William leads his men into the wilderness, navigating the highlands as the army under Richard advances on Edinburgh. Even though the siege proves particularly bloody for both sides, the Scottish King Donnald is slain in defense of his capital. The loss of their king greatly demoralizes the Scots defenders and within the year the cities near Edinburgh are rolled up without so much as a fight.

1137: William emerges from the wilderness North of the great fortress of Inverness, taking the defenders completely by surprise. As the last bastion of the Kingdom of Scotland on Great Britain, the defenders of the city fight tenaciously. Though in the end the fortress is taken, William realizes his dream of a united Island all under his banner.

1140: The Scots across the sea learn of the occupation of their Homeland and send raiders along the coast of the English territories. Their raids are vicious, but each time they are repelled. Unable to reclaim anything of value the scots are slowly dragged down with their wars against the Norse and the Danes.

1143: William sends his navy to Block all Scottish ports, and slowly, one by one, the satellite provinces and trade hubs the Scots had used for so long to finance their kingdom are seized by the English. By 1146 the Kingdom is nothing but a memory.

1147: Unwilling to sit and watch as their territories are simply taken over by new foreigners, the Kingdom of Norway launches a vicious assault on Oslo and dislodges the English who had just a year before seized it from the Scots. King William pulls his men back, setting camp in a town on the western edge of Norway to rebuild. During this period King William takes up the habit of swearing, and not just a little swearing mind you! It’s not uncommon to hear the king erupt into tirades, cursing the Norse and everything about them. Uttering words so laughable it’s hard to say what they really mean, his men love him for it, i suppose it always helps to have a laugh before a battle.

1148: Captain John leads an expedition with the finest troops England has to offer into the Emerald Isle, defeating a local Irish garrison and laying siege to Dublin.. however during the summer months of the campaign the Irish counter attack and slaughter both John and his men near the city. Ireland soon severs all ties with England as a result of the unprovoked attack

1151: The second invasion of Ireland takes place, only this time commanded by Prince Henry, son of the king and heir to the throne himself. Dublin is soon seized and Henry pushes on finding and defeating a huge Irish host on their way to recapture the city. However the Irish cavalry nearly proves too much for the infantry lines of the English, Henry is forced to hold his position in Dublin and wait for reinforcements.

1153: Dublin falls under attack by a second Irish army, this time commanded by none other than their king. The siege turns bloody, both sides lose fully three-fourths of their command but the English hold the city, barely. Henry finds himself in possession of near five hundred Irishmen captured in battle, and without another thought allows them to return home to their families. His men and the Irish take to calling him “Henry the honourable” for his actions henceforth. The following year the King passes and his son succeeds him to the throne. Long live the king!


Well? Come on! Don't be shy, let's see those empires! I'll have much more screens next time, I kinda got the idea for the thread spur of the moment.

[Henry707]

Nice job Monk, I love reading through the history of peoples empires - so interesting to see the way players develop their games..

I'll be honest, I think I tend to rush through so quickly I never stop to take snapshots - I think I'll slow down.

In the case of the England, always interesting to see where you focus first.

On the Britannia campaign, my rule of thumb is normally, crush the welsh, knock out the scots then knee the Irish in the ghoulies. When the Danish land, give them a poke in the eye with a sh*&$(( stick....

Henri...

[Rhyfelwyr]

I have a habit of saving my games every ten turns with the toggle_fow on so I can trace my empire when I'm looking back. I've down this for about a dozen campaigns now, so I'll upload some pics soon. Its nice to see how the AI does as well.

[Martok]

Nice AAR there, Monk! Not that you didn't already know it, but you definitely have a gift for narration.

I have to ask, though, if only out of curiosity: How come you invaded Ireland when you were still dealing with the Norwegians? I'd have thought you'd have wanted to take care of one before going after the other.

So we have one of these threads in the Main hall but looking around here, I really don't see one. So I hope Martok doesn't mind If I start one for kicks.

Not at all, buddy -- in fact, I whole-heartedly support and endorse the idea. Everyone go nuts!

[Monk]

Nice AAR there, Monk! Not that you didn't already know it, but you definitely have a gift for narration.

I have to ask, though, if only out of curiosity: How come you invaded Ireland when you were still dealing with the Norwegians? I'd have thought you'd have wanted to take care of one before going after the other.



Not at all, buddy -- in fact, I whole-heartedly support and endorse the idea. Everyone go nuts!

To be quite honest I underestimated the Irish strength. I figured they'd be an easy win hence why I didn't even send a general along on the first invasion. Boy I could not have been more wrong, in SS 6.0 the Irish have a lot of power in their cavalry forces and the AI took full advantage of them. I found myself in a two front war, and without two of my largest trade partners. It was a tough time especially since in SS the AI uses their navy to launch seaborne invasions.

Glad you liked in Martok , I'll have more as I play further.

[Monk]

With the passing of William the profane, the kingdom falls to his son, Henry. The aggressive expansion the realm saw under his father was responsible for the fall of Scotland and the gaining of much prestige for England. However it was not without consequences. The rest of Europe views the English as nothing less than untrustworthy for their conquest of Scotland, and their campaigns against the Irish wins them no love among the other Kings and Princes of Christendom.

In 1157 the Pope sends a messenger to the new king, it is a simple warning. Return Dublin to the Irish, pull all troops from the Emerald isle, and pay tribute to the Irish for the damages the war has caused. If Henry fails to comply he faces excommunication and the kings limiting his trade. It would seem, however, that Henry not only inherited his father’s lust for conquest, but his subtly.

In 1159 Henry Leaves Ireland as a sign of goodwill, but refuses to return Dublin to the Irish; his son arrives in Ireland to take his place, Prince Edward, and quietly a slow build up of troops commences within the walls of the city. To the world, Henry is all that his father was not. A good Christian, willing to live in peace. He signs the Treaty of Oslo in 1160, effectively ending the conflict with Norway and returning the lands the Scots had originally conquered from them. His subjects, however, know better. The armies in the Norselands are quietly ferried away.

1162. It has now been five years since the pope declared hostility between the Irish and English end, on the very anniversary that the decree was issued Prince Edward leaves Dublin at the host of a mighty force, the men from Norway had simply been moved to Ireland! Edward marches toward the great fortress Galway, and clashes along the road with a huge Irish force. Whereas many of the former English armies who had faced off against the Irish had been poorly led, Edward's army is a tough and professional group who has seen many battlefields.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Edward is determined to break through and lets the Irish crash upon his spear line, He leads the cavalry on a charge around the left flank himself, and while the pinned Irish are shot to peices by the deadly longbows the lances of his mailed knights come down...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

There's no coming back from that one. The entire Irish host is either slain or captured, yet to everyone's great surprise, and considering there is much more war to be fought, Edward lets the prisoners return to Galway. It would seem he is just as honorable as his father. He wastes no time and leads his host into the siege of Galway. The pope is furious when hearing that hostilities are renewed in Ireland and demands that Henry call his son back, however Henry promptly refuses. The pope responds in kind, excommunicating England from the church. He demands that all the Christian kings and princes cease all trade with the English, however no one is capable of obeying this directed.

The Pope had just a year before declared that the Danes were the Devil's agents on this Earth and demanded all of Christendom take up arms against them. Of which they were obliging.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Frankfurt Crusade was in full swing, England had seized the trade empire the Scots had built and were profiting greatly from all the nations who were crusading, If they were to severe ties all those men would be very disappointed when the city fell if their wages could no longer be afforded!

Meanwhile Galway falls to Prince Edward; the fortress is occupied as is the honorable thing to do. He begins to be called "Edward the Honorable" as his father was before him. Henry, upon learning of his son's choices, could not be more pleased. After the fall of Galway in 1166 Henry sends envoys to the Irish King wintering in his new capital of Cork. The messenger pleads for the King to see reason, to become a vassal of the English king. But the request is flatly denied. Edward upon hearing the news decides that the end game of the war is near.

1168. Reinforcements arrive in Ireland and Edward marches from Galway south straight into the heart of the Irish defense hoping to provoke a fight. He intends to draw out the last strength of the Irish lords and smash them, leaving Cork an easy target. His plan couldn't have worked better. Issuing from Cork the Irish march out to meet the English, bringing with them great works of siege and enough men to match the English man for man. However, the greatest strength to their side, their cavalry, is absent. The long war of attrition has killed many of the Irish nobles and lords who can afford horse and armor, those who have not fallen are starting to defect to the English, preferring fealty to King Henry rather than fighting for a lost cause.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

(sorry for all the battle pics, I just love this mod. )

Still, the people of Cork stand proudly and fight to the last. Edward is impressed by their tenacity. The battle of Cork would prove to be the bloodiest of the war since the first siege of Dublin. Indeed, Edward's center is nearly broken through by the time he is able to lead the cavalry in a charge along the flanks! English discipline proves just enough, and the prince wins the day. The following year Cork is besieged. With only a few units of militia to guard the city, it doesn't take long before they surrender. By 1170 Edward has conquered the isle of Ireland and occupies Cork. Defeating the Irish, a feat his predecessors had severely underestimated, he is named "The Conqueror" sharing that title with his great grandfather.

Edward, after spending some years in Ireland returns home and rests in Nottingham. Minor troubles plague the Kingdom of England for the next decade, but as complete master of the British Isles King Henry commands authority that no other English king has enjoyed.

1180. A chance for redemption! The pope falls ill and dies, allowing the Kingdom of England to petition the church for reconciliation. With their wars with Scotland and Ireland now over Henry swears that the warlike ambitions of the English are through. The new pope, however, is not convinced. He decrees if England truly wishes reconciliation, she must join the crusade. The following year it is made official to the rest of the world, a Crusade has been launched with its ultimate target the Fatamid stronghold of Gaza. Henry, however, sees even greater potential. Jerusalem resides but a short march from Gaza, and if Gaza falls along with Acre and the citadel of Kerak, a new kingdom of Jerusalem could be founded!

1182. Prince Edward is named commander of the English Crusader forces sets sail for the holy land. He is determined to see his father's will done and eager to prove that England is ready to take her place among the other kings of Christendom again.

1186. After many months and years of marching through wilderness and sailing down the perilous coast of Egypt (Edward was quoted at saying "Let me face the peril!"), the English arrive in the holy land and waste little time. They besiege the stronghold of Gaza before the Fatamids even have news of their arrival. Gaza is quick to fall!

1187. Jerusalem is besieged by Edward, now known throughout Europe as a great crusader, he encircles the holy city. The Fatamids try desperately to break through and relieve the city, but the large garrison left at Gaza keeps them in check. Without aid coming from the south the city falls to the crusader forces. Nearly a full eighty years after being expelled from the city the English have returned and this time they intend to stay.

1189. Acre, too, falls! Edward presses on to Kerak as the English diplomats devise a cunning scheme to ensure the Papacy will never excommunicate England again. As a gift, King Henry presents the Pope with Jerusalem, to be ruled by the Papal States and ensure no petty rivalries would see its downfall. The Pope is, to say the least, shocked by such an offer. He happily accepts and names England an inspiration to christians everywhere.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1191. Kerak falls to England. With three outlying fortresses guarding every approach to the Holy City, the Papal States take over command of the city. A new Kingdom of Jerusalem is founded under these conditions, and though the pope is the "official" ruler of the city; all those in Outremer know that it is Prince Edward who holds the true power of the crusader forces.


Current state of Affairs:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[TWFanatic]

Nice AAR, looks like a fun campaign.

Question: what mod are you using? Or is that Kingdoms?

[Monk]

It's Stainless Steel 6.0, a mod for kingdoms.

[Dead Guy]

My first attempt at anything resembling an AAR =) Have mercy :p I hope I get the images right...

Stainless Steel 6.1, no RR, no Byg's grim reality. (It's my first SS campaign) VH/VH
Kingdom of Norway, Late Era

The year is 1220 AD when King Haakon the Mauler realizes that his people are becoming dangerously undeveloped compared to the southerners. Whispers of an explosive substance that wll make armor and walls obsolete are reaching his court, and he does not yet have the facilities to recruit knights! A simple church in Eikundarsund is the most advanced building in his kingdom!

He withdraws his son Magnus from the war effort in britain, and abandons the Isle of Man and the Orkney Islands for now. Instead, the Viking lands must be united to finance the required development of infrastructure, smithys and the like. The british isles will have to wait.

The Norwegian Hird is assembled and marches against Västergötland and the capital Skara in 1221. The Danes have the castle besieged when it arrives, however, and the king decides to push on to Södermanland instead. But the Swedish rebels in Skara are victorious, and Haakon quickly reroutes the march to Skara once more, and lays siege. The decimated garrison is no match for Haakons Carls.

Nyköping is besieged just before the Danes arrive. Tensions build between the nations as the Danes are repeatedly denied expansion into Sweden. But then disaster strikes! In the form of a scottish army at least 2000 strong landing at Eikundarsund. There is no way to raise a garrison in time to repel the attackers, and the army in Sweden is years march away from the besieged city. But only after a few months the siege is lifted! Perhaps the pope called the scots off.

Nyköping falls and our army moves on to Visby by sea. A second army is formed near Skara with men from Oslo and veterans of the previous campaigns. Once more the Danes show up, anooyed at not getting to add the baltic trading hub of Gotland to their territories. This seems to be the last drop for them, and they besiege Skara on the mainland when Visby is taken by Norwegian forces. This however leaves the Danish castle Kalmar poorly defended, and the main army can therefore quickly sail from Gotland to Småland and capture the castle before it can be reinforced, while the new army in Västergötland is also victorious.

1235 Haakon dies of old age leaving his heir Magnus Haakonson as King of Norway. A few sieges of Kalmar follow, the Danes attack mainly with militia, some nasty war clerics and a lot of mercenaries since they have only cities left. Visby is also besieged by the Novgorod swine repeatedly, but they are repelled, and we eventually sign an alliance when Magnus marries a Novgorodian princess. The scottish eventually launch more invasions against the Norwegian shore. Their fleets are sunk and the invaders are rewarded with watery graves. There are many hard fought battles in the forests of Småland and on the plains of Skåne, between Norwegian and Danish forces. The danes start fielding more sword staff militia and norse war clerics. The Norwegian forces are mainly Norse archers and hurcarls, both mounted and on foot.

Gunpowder is invented. The Norwegian cities are still quite a long way from being able to train soldiers in it's use. We do not have the knowledge yet to make sophisticated cannons either. Alliances have been fomed with France, Genoa, who have since been pushed into the sea and controls only Corsica, and Hungary. The marriage alliance with Novgorod holds.

Around 1265 Lund falls and Roskilde quickly follows when the danish forces in Skåne are routed. The danish prince is in Königsberg for some reason, along with a huge danish fleet, and they are down to their capital Århus. They offer a peace treaty which Magnus refuses. Not capturing Århus would deny Norway a land route onto the mainland and into the Empire, it is also an immensly rich trading city. After a protracted siege the danes even offer to become vassals to the Norwegian King, but Magnus refuses and takes the city in the summer of 1276, declaring himself King of all Scandinavia in the process.

The "Holy" oman Empire have been excommunicated due to their aggresive war with Venice. A crusade is called on Hamburg in 1277, and the Norwegian general Haldor the Chivalrous joins the crusade and captures Hamburg the very same years. He is severly wounded in the process, but recovers during the following year. He is now accompanied by Roger de Molin, a knight of St John. The Holy Roman Empire accepts a cease fire and resumes trade with us immediately, as their forces are busy elsewhere.

In 1279 a Jihad is called on Jerusalem, and many Muslims march on the holy city. A search for a bride for Magnus' son who will soon come of age is begun.

1283: A fatimid army assaults the walls of Jerusalem. The defenders are heavily outnumbered but manage to win a heroic Victory. But alas, the very same year, another 2000 fatimid enter the region, along with about 4000 Seljuks. The situation looks grim for the crusaders.

1284: "Prince" Kolbein, an adopted general of King Magnus who is heir presumptive, dies a noble death in battle in West Pomerania. He is struck in the chest by a crossbowbolt. His bodyguard avenges his death.

1286: "Prince" Christoffer, a man Kobein decided to adopt, dies a noble death in battle outside the walls of Edinburg. What in the world did he do there all alone with just his bodyguard? Thorkel Haakonson is heir apparent and is married to an intelligent Sicialian princess. Jerusalem is captured by the Seljuks. Roskilde is chosen as the Kingdoms centre of academia, while Lund becomes the center of the church. Hamburgs artllery school is nearly completed. Serpentines will soon be an asset to Norwegian armies. The Holy Roman Empire is becoming dangerously large, they are drawn into a war with the papacy!

1287: Another crusade is called on the not so holy empire. Franfurt is the target this time. Once more, Haldor the Chivalrous leads the Norwegian army south from Saxony. At night he assaults the city after it has been infiltrated by spies. The Germans are taken by surprise and abandon the walls! The fools! Now the Norwegians suffer neither boiling oil or ballista towers on their way to Victory! Our Mangonels can't reach the city square however, the gate is too small to let it through! While our army manouvers to encircle the numerous Imperial forces in the city center, our trebuchet knocks down the walls to allow our Mangonel into the city. Catapults and Mangonels are set up close to the square and many feudal knights burn before they decide to fight the Norwegians in the streets. The day is ours with only 99 men lost.

1290: Frankfurt is isolated from the rest of the Norwegian lands. The Germans agree to exchange it for their fortress Magdeburg, at the same time making their border with their enemies the poles smaller. This is an economical loss for us, but Magdeburg is much easier to defend. The king now looks to the Briitish Isles again, not wanting to become too involved in the wars in the south. England has fallen, Scotland and Ireland have split their lands between them.
Magnus' daughter Gunnvor is married off to Eystein Ericsson, son to Haakons youngest daughter.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Norwegian eceonomy is now bustling, many armies can be supported at once and our borders are secure. Preparations are under way for opreation Invasion Alba. It's payback time.

(I didn't start taking screens until a wee bit late into my campaign I'm afraid, sorry for the mass of text, and so far none in battles since I don't master the techniques of geting nice clean screens.)

[Monk]

Bravo Dead Guy! More! More i say!

What a lucky break early on with the scots, it sounds like either
1. bad AI or
2. The pope called 'em off

Either way ! Those Irish are a lot tougher than they look so don't be fooled (i know all about that.) The British isles will be a hard fight but I'm sure the sturdy Norseman in their fury cannot be stopped!

[PBI]

Nice stuff Dead Guy, your screenies are fine except the minimap in the first one is weird for some reason, otherwise fine though.

SS does look like a lot of fun, I'm thinking I might try a campaign once I've wound up my BC KoJ campaign (I've made the vague aim of taking all the provinces, but at roughly 90 I'm only halfway!). Any suggestions for which faction to try would be welcome, not sure whether it would make sense to replay one of the factions I've tried in vanilla or go for something completely new.

[Dead Guy]

Thanks for the encouragement, more to come!

I'm definetly going to try France after this. I've never played them before, but it looks like they've got it all when it comes to troop types. They even have dismounted french archers in SS who can plant stakes. I like stakes. =) They also have a tricky starting position which I think I'll enjoy.

Yes I noticed the minimap got crazy, it was after I took a screenshot with the map zoomed in I think... It compresses the entire image when it takes the screen, maybe it has to do with that, the overlay color is still zoomed in somehow, but not the actual map :p

There are two things I'm not entirely sure of with SS. One is that there seems to be too few family members sometimes. England and Kwarezmids got wiped with I'm sure 4+ regions left because they lost their generals. The other thing is that the AI seems to have trouble coping with the increased religious unrest. They lose stupid settlements to riots, like HRE lost Vienna for example... Otherwise I like it. Should probably have gone with at least Real Recruitment though. I looked at an Irish castle that had about 11 units in it. ALL of them where Muire =) I've seen plenty of armies that are all Muire and just a general. If I only had more mounted crossbows!

Another nice little loophole is to move just your general into a city when his supplies drop, your army can stay and continue to siege or what not. It's a shame they removed the scares infantry on Huscarls for example, they're not very special anymore, just pretty good heavy infantry. Instead Muire for some reason scares infantry, they're just plate armoured and I assume very skilled guys but it's not like they're eating mushrooms and drooling all over the place or have helmets with antlers on them is it? :p It also seems my military minded guys that I put in Castles don't get so much out of their supposed education while they're young as those that are administratively minded and get to study at a university with library etc. Anyone have any extensive experience there?

Cheers

[Dead Guy]

Part 2 - The last king of Scotland

1295: Århus is chosen as the main naval drydock and construction of an admiralty is begun. Armies of Nobles Hirdmen supported by Serpentines and feudal knights are trained in Saxony. The Swordsmiths guild establish themselves there.

In 1299, Haldor the Honourable sets sail for Inverness with 1500 men, many veterans from the conquest of Denmark. The early middle ages end at the turn of the century and the late middle ages begin, apparently.

In 1303 Haldor arrives at an almost undefended Inverness. The fortress is assaulted and taken, scottish troops arrive the same year and lay siege. The highlanders are repelled although the fighting is tough because a spy has opened our gates, denying us the opportunity to deploy our men properly. The scottish prince dies in the battle.

1305: A Crusade is called on Frankfurt, the pope himself is the first to reach the city, but fails to capture it when he eventually assaults the walls. The scottish lay siege to Inverness again, once more many knights die because the gates are opened by a foul spy. Anund Ericsson sails from Saxony with another army to reinforce the norse in Scotland.

1308: A Jihad is called on Palermo. Moors, Seljuks and the golden horde join. Prince Thorkel joins the crusade against the Roman Empire, the Polish capture Frankfurt and the Crusade is a success. Prince Thorkel doesn't take part in anything but a skirmish in the forests surrounding the city.

1310: Brynhildr Haakonsson comes of age, a very charming young woman already. Anund Ericsson sacks Aberdeen in a surprise attack from the sea. Our saxon army besieges Groeningen, a german city.

1311: Our kingdom now covers a vast area! It is the largest in Europe. The king of Scotland is killed in the field and his dynasty is at an end. He has no heir and Edinburgh, York and Nottingham are left to the rebels. Edinburgh has a large garrison and our siege becomes protracted, the Irish quickly fill the void left by the scottish. They have the stronegst force of arms in the known world!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In 1312, King Magnus the mean dies of old age. Thorkel is crowned king and Haldor the Honourable proclaims himself heir presumptive. He has none of Haakons blood! (Actually he is not in the family tree at all, but somehow I married him to some daughter that was not in the family tree either when I got him! Weird) Groningen falls to Norwegian troops. Haldor is extremely capable in battle and known to the Scottish, but older than the new king. He must eventually be removed so that Thorkels son can be married quickly and produce true heirs to Haakons line. Brynhildr is married off to Anund Ericsson, Haldors second in command in Britain.

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In 1320, Edinburgh is sacked by Anund Ericsson. The Irish attack our army at the southern border of the scottish lowlands. It is lead by a mere captain and the Irish bring a second army to flank us! Their Riderie charge us and inflict some casualties but we are somewhat protected by stakes. Huscarls are matched against Murie and Ostmen. The fighting is grim and terrible, and in the middle of it all an oil barrel from a Mangonel shooting over the engaged lines explodes amidst the men, killing at least a hundred, friend and foe alike! Because the foe is so strong in cavalry, captain Thorgils decides to commit his own cavalry against the enemys Riderie to protect his line. Despite the lack of our usual flank charge tactic the enemy eventually break and flee. Two regiments of Crusader knights are lost in the battle, and almost 300 infantry and archers. Our forces are eventually able to rout both the Irish forces, this is a heroic victory! But this is only the beginning of the battle of britain...

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1322: Skapti Haakonsson comes of age, a Sicilian bride has been found for him by our diplomat in Iberia.

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Haldor manages to capture York single handedly, with the help of an able spy!

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The 30 Irish Riderie that alone guard the city fall back to the central squre, where Haldor charges them head on.

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Disappointed with not finding any pots of gold, he then tragically meets his end in the field the same year. Skapti is married and begins training in Hamburg.

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In the winter a crusade is called on Silves, and the kingdom of Portugal. They are allied to us, and king Thorkel is put in an akward position when the pope asks him to join the crusade, to break his alliance with the Portuguese.

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However Sicily joins the Crusade and the king chooses to maintain good relations with Sicily, and with his wife and daughter in law.

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The Pope orders Thorkel to cease hostilities against the Irish, at the same time York is besieged by the Irish, while Anund governs the city recovering from Pneumonia. In 1324 they assault. Anunds garrison is equipped with 3 Mangonels which prove ruthlessly efficient during the assault! The Murie fight on almost to the last man on the walls and kill many experienced Huscarls. Many Irish burn in the field outside our gates.

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Anund executes those that survive the mangonel massacre, he is becoming a feared Viking leader.
Our allies the french take back Rennes and Bruges from the Irish. Our Kingdom now boasts the mightiest armed force in the known world!

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1325: The Seljuks arrive in northern Italy on Jihad, followed a year later by the golden horde. Our armies in Britain follow the popes command, skirmishes are fought on our land though, one Irish army close to Edinburgh is annihilated in the field. The Kingdom of Jerusalem captures Iconium, the Seljuk capital, but has still not regained Jerusalem. The fatimid are pushing north also. The golden horde seems to have paused in persia and are not the unstoppable horde the khwarezmids told us about.

In 1327, Ireland yet again lays siege to York. This time they pay for their aggression. The papist throne has excommunicated them from the christian faith! Now is the time to strike! By Iron and arrow we will leave our mark on Ireland.

(It's a pity the Irish AI doesn't field well rounded armies. I remember from Kingdoms that I had real troubles with Horseboys as Norway. Now I don't even have to fight Saethwyr. Still, they're no pushovers)

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