fun fact: the Cadaver Synod happened in real life! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadaver_Synod and hilariously enough, the Pope that was tried post-mortem IRL was called Formosus. here is a cool painting of it by a French dude called Laurens.
also lol at Mo's map on the previous page where for some reason the Orkneys are french??
i keep seeing this game about and im dangerously close to thinking of making it the first game i have bought in about 2 years or so. though im going to wait until i dont have 10,000 words of work to hand in fairly imminently, and also wait until i actually have some money in 2 weeks time. have some noble ancestors who im going to make great!! (actually i will probably just die spectacularly, in a fun way)
fun fact: the Cadaver Synod happened in real life! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadaver_Synod and hilariously enough, the Pope that was tried post-mortem IRL was called Formosus. here is a cool painting of it by a French dude called Laurens.
I know, that's why I found the judging pope's name here being Formosus funny.
also lol at Mo's map on the previous page where for some reason the Orkneys are french??
i keep seeing this game about and im dangerously close to thinking of making it the first game i have bought in about 2 years or so. though im going to wait until i dont have 10,000 words of work to hand in fairly imminently, and also wait until i actually have some money in 2 weeks time. have some noble ancestors who im going to make great!! (actually i will probably just die spectacularly, in a fun way)
it is a good game. All the (useful) DLC is expensive by this point though.
also the Orkney Islands aren't French on that map, they're independent as a small county (converted into a kingdom in the CK2->EU4 save transfer) ruled by the last descendants of the old Kings of Scotland, which was the Buchanan dynasty in this game, they're just a similar shade of blue to France (they're blue because they're near Scotland and Scotland's independent color is blue).
Here's the same area about a decade after its conversion to an EU4 game.
Of note: Poland and Suomi re-consolidating their power, Sweden stomping the shit out of Norway (which is now ruled by a greek dynasty. "Laurentios I of Norway" anyone?), us (Albion) GTFOing out of Italy and central France by selling our possesions there to Byzantium and well, France, respectively, and beginning colonization efforts in Africa.
Also, note Rus. What happened there is that because Rus had very low Crown Authority when the game converted, when it turned into an EU4 game it made Rus itself a small state with a number of vassal nations (Novgorod, Yaroslavl, and Belo Ozero. There was also Volhyina which it's since integrated).
Also, my Emperor of Great Albion, William-Martin IV, is also the King of a tiny, landlocked nation called Pest (presumably as Vilmos-Marton I, though the game does not give such information) in what was once Hungary.
Also, my Emperor of Great Albion, William-Martin IV, is also the King of a tiny, landlocked nation called Pest (presumably as Vilmos-Marton I, though the game does not give such information) in what was once Hungary.
I find this hilarious and will never not.
that is i guess the Great Plain of hungary, though from the map, it looks like you just missed out on owning International Rave Party Destination lake balaton. commiserations
Also, my Emperor of Great Albion, William-Martin IV, is also the King of a tiny, landlocked nation called Pest (presumably as Vilmos-Marton I, though the game does not give such information) in what was once Hungary.
I find this hilarious and will never not.
that is i guess the Great Plain of hungary, though from the map, it looks like you just missed out on owning International Rave Party Destination lake balaton. commiserations
I don't know if there was ever a historical Duchy of Pest, but that's where the Kingdom of Pest in the EU4 version of this save came from (independent nations always become Kingdoms if they were monarchies of any kind. Although this varies by culture and religion, many middle eastern cultures become Sultanates instead, and some Mongol nations become Khanates).
William-Martin came to own it because there was a royal marriage between his dynasty (House Normandy, descended directly from William the Conquerer, who I started the CK2 game as) and the German-Hungarian dynasty that was ruling Pest at the time. Since the King (whose name was Attila Paloczi if I remember correctly) died without an heir, the kingdom fell to William.
Fun fact, the nation of Pest has a -75 "Ignorant Monarch" opinion malus with me. I'm not sure why exactly that's happening, might be because William is of a different culture (English) than Pest (Hungarian).
other interesting political entities include a much larger than historically Holy Roman Empire (with large territories in the Baltic and the parts of Hungary that aren't Pest) that is nonetheless very fractured and disunified, and a couple republics that were initially set up by mercenary companies (the largest and oldest of these is The Republic of The Navarrese Company in Sardinia and western Italy, there's also the ridiculously named Company of The Hat in central Andalusia) and a couple states set up by holy orders (The Knights of Santiago in southern Spain, The Knights of Calatrava in Sweden. The Teutonic Order used to exist, and is the source of the current HRE holdings in the Baltic, but has since been disbanded).
most recent map with some interesting developments
Stuff I was involved in:
Expanded presence in Africa and the colonization of Greencape (Cape Verde as we would call it).
The absorption via peaceful means of the Kingdoms of Shlib and Badajoz into our own, and the absorption via distinctively not peaceful means of the Company of The Hat. All of this in Spain.
It's not exactly visible (as it's still an independent country), but we've vassalized Norway as a duchy.
Not pictured, but we've established a few small colonies in South America, in what's Brazil in our world.
Stuff I was not involved in
Rus annexed her vassals peacefully and is a fairly large kingdom again under Queen Olena II.
Transylvania (!), that newly large pink nation near Byzantium absolutely thrashed what was left of the Golden Horde a few years ago, and have taken a lot of their land. Much of what they didn't take fell to Byzantium.
Poland has continued to reconsolidate its power, and is now a major player again under the awesomely named King Nadbor von Weimar.
The Timurids conquered Perm, and remain the only threatening Mongol nation on the map.
"It is a matter of grave importance that Fairy tales should be respected.... Whosoever alters them to suit his own opinions, whatever they are, is guilty, to our thinking, of an act of presumption, and appropriates to himself what does not belong to him." -- Charles Dickens
I started a game as the Eastern Roman Empire to complement reading Gibbon's Decline and Fall vol 5 (the one that goes from Heraclius and Mohammed to the Fourth Crusade). Should I be a good Komnenos and prioritize the religious goals? The Turks and Fatimids look super strong. I think my first wars should be recovering Croatia and Sicily instead.
Muslim nations tend to collapse every couple of decades in the hands of the AI. Wait til then, and then strike.
About Sicily, retaking the parts held by the Italians won't be as easy as you think (especially not if you're in the 1066 start) but the independant duchies are cake.
Fun fact: if you restore all five Pentarchs (including the one in Rome) you can declare Catholicism a heresy and mend the great schism. You can also restore the Roman Empire proper.
Anyway, I don't know how many of you are keeping up with it, but Paradoxcon started today, and they've already announced a new CK2 DLC that will extend the map to India and introduce several new mechanics, as well as Hearts of Iron 4.
"It is a matter of grave importance that Fairy tales should be respected.... Whosoever alters them to suit his own opinions, whatever they are, is guilty, to our thinking, of an act of presumption, and appropriates to himself what does not belong to him." -- Charles Dickens
I am in the 1066 start. And yeah, that's what I was thinking: stay n the defensive with the Muslims until a collapse, then strike, and gobble up independent duchies while leaving the Catholic kings alone.
Trying to restore the Pentarchs is gonna be hairy. Christians getting Jerusalem is a huge casus belli for the Muslims, and when we get a crusade going, what's the best way to keep the Latins from keeping me out as in history? Apparently creating the Kingdom of Jerusalem gives 2000 piety, so I guess sweep into Antioch when the Seljuk Sultanate collapses and create that as a vassal? Hopefully we can get the First Crusade going while Jerusalem is Fatimid.
Whoa, that's interesting. If it uses the 1066 start date, that's after the Turks have put half of India after Islam. I wonder what the new mechanics for Hindus are...
I don't know if Orthodox characters can create The Kingdom of Jerusalem at all, I know you can get the territory though
as for keeping Catholics off your back, you won't really have to worry about it unless they have other claims. Christian sects can't declare Holy Wars or call crusades on each other.
Whoa, that's interesting. If it uses the 1066 start date, that's after the Turks have put half of India after Islam. I wonder what the new mechanics for Hindus are...
I am also curious.
Pagans, Muslims, and Jews have their own mechanics so it would be surprising if Hindus didn't.
The Second Germanic Kingdom of Italy came into existence following the end of The Italian Anarchy after the collapse of The Sultanate of Rome, and its protector state, the Iberia-based Mundirid Empire.
The Kingdom was the result of Ludolf II of Bavaria-Savoy finally exerting enough influence over the Italian pensinsula to feasibly crown himself King of Lombardy. A papal coronation by Pope Constantine II--a friend of Ludolf's late uncle Pope Alexander II--as King of Italy followed a few months later.
The origins of the Kingdom are considered to be traceable back to Ludolf's grandfather, King Welf of Savoy. Welf was the first to consider himself King of Savoy in his own right, and had his right to rule recognized by the pope. Welf was also the one who changed the dynastic surname from the long and unwieldy "von. St. Savuer-en-Pusaiye" to the simpler "von Doffen".
I'm going to eventually Longpost about this particular game. I'm doing a Quantum Leap playthrough where I switch dynasties every hundred years. So far I've been the Islamic Mundirid Empire, the Kingdom of Bohemia (one of the two biggest Orthodox powers in the game), and now Burgundy (and then Bavaria-Savoy, and now Bavaria, Savoy, and Italy).
No one would ever accuse Abdalhaqq II, nominal Sultan of al-Mamlakah in the year 1444, of being overqualified for his job. Nonetheless, with the unexpected death of his grand vizier Abu Zakariya, Abdalhaqq found himself in full and practical command of his state for the first time in his life since being proclaimed Sultan by the minister at the tender age of 1. Abdalhaqq had never been properly trained for the position of head of state, and as such lacked the military and administrative competencies many other rulers (including the Sultans of neighboring Algiers and Tunisia) had. But, he was likable enough, and this was enough to keep Morocco internally stable during his reign, which allowed him to focus on other matters.
Portugal, Morocco's foremost rival, had claimed the tiny province of Cueta by force a number of years ago. Abdalhaqq lacked designs on taking the small port back, but he was concerned about possible further Portugese expansion. He sought alliances with the other four Sultanates of North Africa--Algiers, Tunisia, Tripoli, and The Mamluks--in order to fend off aggression. Only the former two were willing to commit to a formal alliance (and the third was more than willing to establish marital ties), but nonetheless, the North African Alliance had been founded.
Abdalhaqq had been made aware of Portugese and Castilian exploratory efforts both in Africa and to the west--part of their seemingly neverending quest to find a sea route to Hindustan. Inspired by this approach, and threatened by the possibility of expanded Iberian influence, Abdalhaqq ordered the foundation of an institute for the settlement of provinces abroad--starting with the uninhabited areas to Morocco's immediate south, over the next 30 years, this institution--what would become known as the Haqqid Institute--would dominate Moroccan politics for the next four centuries.
It was during this time that Abdalhaqq's son, Hisham, came of age. Abdalhaqq wasted no time in proclaiming the young man his heir, averting a succession crisis akin to the one the nation had been subject to upon Abdalhaqq's own succession, and ensuring that the Haqqid cadet dynasty of the illustrious Marinids who had driven out the corrupt Almoravid dynasty some 200 years prior, would survive.
Not long after, in 1463, entrepeneur Rasul Skah came to the Sultan with a proposition. With the Sultan's blessing (and of course, funding), he would set out to colonize the untamed desert lands to the south. Though somewhat skeptical, Abdalhaqq agreed, sending Skah to the area that the Portugese had once claimed as Rio de Oro.
Later that year, The Mamluk Sultanate, facing increased pressure from The Ottomans to the north, joined the North African Alliance, much to Abdalhaqq's pleasant surprise. Indeed, as Tripoli had become a tributary of the Mamluks, now all of the North African Sultanates were allied to each other, ready to defend against Northern aggression. Incidentally, this was not a moment too soon.
Castile and Portugal both declared war on Morocco the following year, the other North African Sultanates leaping to Morocco's defense. Unfortunately, this meant that expansionist endeavors had to be put on hold for the time being, leaving the Rio de Oro colony neglected.
The war dragged on for four years. Ending with Portugal ceding Cueta to Algiers, a diplomatic move conceived by Abdalhaqq as a goodwill gesture. This ended up backfiring, causing Algiers to formally end their alliance with Morocco, and an end to peaceful relations between the two countries for the time being.
Considering the peace talks a failure, and in failing health. Abdalhaqq abdicated to his son Hisham on the third of August, 1468. Abdalhaqq would die two years later at the age of 71, the legacy of the Haqqid Institute behind him.
I'm playing an Ireland game on some CK2 classic shit.
Currently have a Tanistry system working out quite well, and investiture laws are letting me keep a tight grip on Wales (which I am also the king of) through one of my vassals, the titular King and Archbishop of Gwynedd. I've been staffing the position with leftover family members.
anything that's not Victoria 2 is a fine jump-in point.
I'd recommend CK2 since it's where I started, but all of the DLC (by which I mean the stuff that actually adds meaningful content, not just like, BGM packs, which they also sell) is pretty expensive.
Comments
Here's the same area about a decade after its conversion to an EU4 game.
Of note: Poland and Suomi re-consolidating their power, Sweden stomping the shit out of Norway (which is now ruled by a greek dynasty. "Laurentios I of Norway" anyone?), us (Albion) GTFOing out of Italy and central France by selling our possesions there to Byzantium and well, France, respectively, and beginning colonization efforts in Africa.
Also, note Rus. What happened there is that because Rus had very low Crown Authority when the game converted, when it turned into an EU4 game it made Rus itself a small state with a number of vassal nations (Novgorod, Yaroslavl, and Belo Ozero. There was also Volhyina which it's since integrated).
I find this hilarious and will never not.
William-Martin came to own it because there was a royal marriage between his dynasty (House Normandy, descended directly from William the Conquerer, who I started the CK2 game as) and the German-Hungarian dynasty that was ruling Pest at the time. Since the King (whose name was Attila Paloczi if I remember correctly) died without an heir, the kingdom fell to William.
Fun fact, the nation of Pest has a -75 "Ignorant Monarch" opinion malus with me. I'm not sure why exactly that's happening, might be because William is of a different culture (English) than Pest (Hungarian).
good luck with that
Stuff I was involved in:
Stuff I was not involved in
About Sicily, retaking the parts held by the Italians won't be as easy as you think (especially not if you're in the 1066 start) but the independant duchies are cake.
Fun fact: if you restore all five Pentarchs (including the one in Rome) you can declare Catholicism a heresy and mend the great schism. You can also restore the Roman Empire proper.
Anyway, I don't know how many of you are keeping up with it, but Paradoxcon started today, and they've already announced a new CK2 DLC that will extend the map to India and introduce several new mechanics, as well as Hearts of Iron 4.
I am in the 1066 start. And yeah, that's what I was thinking: stay n the defensive with the Muslims until a collapse, then strike, and gobble up independent duchies while leaving the Catholic kings alone.
Trying to restore the Pentarchs is gonna be hairy. Christians getting Jerusalem is a huge casus belli for the Muslims, and when we get a crusade going, what's the best way to keep the Latins from keeping me out as in history? Apparently creating the Kingdom of Jerusalem gives 2000 piety, so I guess sweep into Antioch when the Seljuk Sultanate collapses and create that as a vassal? Hopefully we can get the First Crusade going while Jerusalem is Fatimid.
Whoa, that's interesting. If it uses the 1066 start date, that's after the Turks have put half of India after Islam. I wonder what the new mechanics for Hindus are...
as for keeping Catholics off your back, you won't really have to worry about it unless they have other claims. Christian sects can't declare Holy Wars or call crusades on each other. I am also curious.
Pagans, Muslims, and Jews have their own mechanics so it would be surprising if Hindus didn't.
The Second Germanic Kingdom of Italy came into existence following the end of The Italian Anarchy after the collapse of The Sultanate of Rome, and its protector state, the Iberia-based Mundirid Empire.
The Kingdom was the result of Ludolf II of Bavaria-Savoy finally exerting enough influence over the Italian pensinsula to feasibly crown himself King of Lombardy. A papal coronation by Pope Constantine II--a friend of Ludolf's late uncle Pope Alexander II--as King of Italy followed a few months later.
The origins of the Kingdom are considered to be traceable back to Ludolf's grandfather, King Welf of Savoy. Welf was the first to consider himself King of Savoy in his own right, and had his right to rule recognized by the pope. Welf was also the one who changed the dynastic surname from the long and unwieldy "von. St. Savuer-en-Pusaiye" to the simpler "von Doffen".
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
No one would ever accuse Abdalhaqq II, nominal Sultan of al-Mamlakah in the year 1444, of being overqualified for his job. Nonetheless, with the unexpected death of his grand vizier Abu Zakariya, Abdalhaqq found himself in full and practical command of his state for the first time in his life since being proclaimed Sultan by the minister at the tender age of 1. Abdalhaqq had never been properly trained for the position of head of state, and as such lacked the military and administrative competencies many other rulers (including the Sultans of neighboring Algiers and Tunisia) had. But, he was likable enough, and this was enough to keep Morocco internally stable during his reign, which allowed him to focus on other matters.
Portugal, Morocco's foremost rival, had claimed the tiny province of Cueta by force a number of years ago. Abdalhaqq lacked designs on taking the small port back, but he was concerned about possible further Portugese expansion. He sought alliances with the other four Sultanates of North Africa--Algiers, Tunisia, Tripoli, and The Mamluks--in order to fend off aggression. Only the former two were willing to commit to a formal alliance (and the third was more than willing to establish marital ties), but nonetheless, the North African Alliance had been founded.
Abdalhaqq had been made aware of Portugese and Castilian exploratory efforts both in Africa and to the west--part of their seemingly neverending quest to find a sea route to Hindustan. Inspired by this approach, and threatened by the possibility of expanded Iberian influence, Abdalhaqq ordered the foundation of an institute for the settlement of provinces abroad--starting with the uninhabited areas to Morocco's immediate south, over the next 30 years, this institution--what would become known as the Haqqid Institute--would dominate Moroccan politics for the next four centuries.
It was during this time that Abdalhaqq's son, Hisham, came of age. Abdalhaqq wasted no time in proclaiming the young man his heir, averting a succession crisis akin to the one the nation had been subject to upon Abdalhaqq's own succession, and ensuring that the Haqqid cadet dynasty of the illustrious Marinids who had driven out the corrupt Almoravid dynasty some 200 years prior, would survive.
Not long after, in 1463, entrepeneur Rasul Skah came to the Sultan with a proposition. With the Sultan's blessing (and of course, funding), he would set out to colonize the untamed desert lands to the south. Though somewhat skeptical, Abdalhaqq agreed, sending Skah to the area that the Portugese had once claimed as Rio de Oro.
Later that year, The Mamluk Sultanate, facing increased pressure from The Ottomans to the north, joined the North African Alliance, much to Abdalhaqq's pleasant surprise. Indeed, as Tripoli had become a tributary of the Mamluks, now all of the North African Sultanates were allied to each other, ready to defend against Northern aggression. Incidentally, this was not a moment too soon.
Castile and Portugal both declared war on Morocco the following year, the other North African Sultanates leaping to Morocco's defense. Unfortunately, this meant that expansionist endeavors had to be put on hold for the time being, leaving the Rio de Oro colony neglected.
The war dragged on for four years. Ending with Portugal ceding Cueta to Algiers, a diplomatic move conceived by Abdalhaqq as a goodwill gesture. This ended up backfiring, causing Algiers to formally end their alliance with Morocco, and an end to peaceful relations between the two countries for the time being.
Considering the peace talks a failure, and in failing health. Abdalhaqq abdicated to his son Hisham on the third of August, 1468. Abdalhaqq would die two years later at the age of 71, the legacy of the Haqqid Institute behind him.
Tell me what you think about these as far as bonuses go:
End The Reconquista
my first game with the new expansion is going well.
Currently have a Tanistry system working out quite well, and investiture laws are letting me keep a tight grip on Wales (which I am also the king of) through one of my vassals, the titular King and Archbishop of Gwynedd. I've been staffing the position with leftover family members.
I'd recommend CK2 since it's where I started, but all of the DLC (by which I mean the stuff that actually adds meaningful content, not just like, BGM packs, which they also sell) is pretty expensive.