[Morgoth]

So do you guys use any mods for this game?

[EmperorMagus]

I have the game without any of the DLCs on my laptop, and while it is nice it's not something I particularly like to play.
Now the question is, do the expansions make it into a great game or am I really picky/have a really bad taste?

This post has been edited by EmperorMagus: 06 March 2013 - 01:57 PM

[Morgoth]

I think bad taste is the correct answer, although the dlc's clearly flesh it out a lot

[EmperorMagus]

Morgoth, on 06 March 2013 - 01:02 PM, said:

I think bad taste is the correct answer, although the dlc's clearly flesh it out a lot

Thanks!
My main reason for not liking this game is simple: why can duke of flanders raise as many man as king of France?

[Gothos]

Crown authority, vassal opinion, county development... need I go on?

and no mods for me. I'm even missing Republic still

[EmperorMagus]

Gothos, on 06 March 2013 - 03:40 PM, said:

Crown authority, vassal opinion, county development... need I go on?

and no mods for me. I'm even missing Republic still

Yes. but all of the French army against one little Duchy? It should be a cake-walk but it's nearly impossible to do without mercs.

Also, Now that I'm playing the game as an Irish Duke I see why all of you like it so much.
I have the trait "Ill Ruler"! (I don't even know why I got it!)

[EmperorMagus]

Son of the Ill Ruler, Tadg the Cruel finally united Ireland under one flag and crowned himself king at the age of 61. He fought rebellions for the last 5 years of his life. (I had a female heir, was excumminiated and was holding too many duchies)
Now her daughter is the queen of an Ireland ripe with strife, all of the lords hate her because she is a she and her daughter is her hair and she is holding too many duchies.

A question: How do I purge my realm? when I imprison a lord they mostly die and their heirs replace them. Same thing happens again...

[MTS]

EmperorMagus, on 07 March 2013 - 08:42 AM, said:

Son of the Ill Ruler, Tadg the Cruel finally united Ireland under one flag and crowned himself king at the age of 61. He fought rebellions for the last 5 years of his life. (I had a female heir, was excumminiated and was holding too many duchies)
Now her daughter is the queen of an Ireland ripe with strife, all of the lords hate her because she is a she and her daughter is her hair and she is holding too many duchies.

A question: How do I purge my realm? when I imprison a lord they mostly die and their heirs replace them. Same thing happens again...

Purging your realm is likely to create more problems than it solves I've found. In this case I think appeasement is the best policy. Firstly, get rid of those extra duchies, as you get a -10 opinion penalty for every duchy over your second. Secondly, send a gift to the pope and try and get yourself accepted back into the fold, as you may have other kingdoms to worry about as well as your vassals. Thirdly, hand out your honorary titles and council positions like candy. As king of Ireland there are five duchies I believe, so you shouldn't have that many to keep happy, as counts won't rebel against you if their duke doesn't. If you have rebellious counts in your duchies, they're a secondary concern as they're less powerful, but certainly keep an eye on them too, as they may start a faction that more powerful members join.

[Tapper]

MTS, on 07 March 2013 - 12:06 PM, said:

EmperorMagus, on 07 March 2013 - 08:42 AM, said:

Son of the Ill Ruler, Tadg the Cruel finally united Ireland under one flag and crowned himself king at the age of 61. He fought rebellions for the last 5 years of his life. (I had a female heir, was excumminiated and was holding too many duchies)
Now her daughter is the queen of an Ireland ripe with strife, all of the lords hate her because she is a she and her daughter is her hair and she is holding too many duchies.

A question: How do I purge my realm? when I imprison a lord they mostly die and their heirs replace them. Same thing happens again...

Purging your realm is likely to create more problems than it solves I've found. In this case I think appeasement is the best policy. Firstly, get rid of those extra duchies, as you get a -10 opinion penalty for every duchy over your second. Secondly, send a gift to the pope and try and get yourself accepted back into the fold, as you may have other kingdoms to worry about as well as your vassals. Thirdly, hand out your honorary titles and council positions like candy. As king of Ireland there are five duchies I believe, so you shouldn't have that many to keep happy, as counts won't rebel against you if their duke doesn't. If you have rebellious counts in your duchies, they're a secondary concern as they're less powerful, but certainly keep an eye on them too, as they may start a faction that more powerful members join.

A high diplomacy stat is called for. Having a capable spouse and chancellor helps a lot, as well as sending him on 'improve relations' things. It won't help you with factions but it will help with happiness. A high Intrigue will help you with removing your vassals and perhaps getting a more pliable ruler in their stead.

I also find that bribing is a cheap option for on average a 30 pt boost in opinion for a cost of 20-100 ducats. That's allowing you to hold on to the maximum amount of duchies. Holding a Grand Tourney is also a good (but costly) way to boost relations all across the board.

Regarding France vs a duchy: you have a very low authority, so levies are smallish. In addition, people don't like you so much, your own power base is small (2 counties) and the entire south of france is Occidental culture instead of Frankish, meaning they'll probably give you a malus there, too.

[EmperorMagus]

Tapper, on 07 March 2013 - 12:24 PM, said:

MTS, on 07 March 2013 - 12:06 PM, said:

EmperorMagus, on 07 March 2013 - 08:42 AM, said:

Son of the Ill Ruler, Tadg the Cruel finally united Ireland under one flag and crowned himself king at the age of 61. He fought rebellions for the last 5 years of his life. (I had a female heir, was excumminiated and was holding too many duchies)
Now her daughter is the queen of an Ireland ripe with strife, all of the lords hate her because she is a she and her daughter is her hair and she is holding too many duchies.

A question: How do I purge my realm? when I imprison a lord they mostly die and their heirs replace them. Same thing happens again...

Purging your realm is likely to create more problems than it solves I've found. In this case I think appeasement is the best policy. Firstly, get rid of those extra duchies, as you get a -10 opinion penalty for every duchy over your second. Secondly, send a gift to the pope and try and get yourself accepted back into the fold, as you may have other kingdoms to worry about as well as your vassals. Thirdly, hand out your honorary titles and council positions like candy. As king of Ireland there are five duchies I believe, so you shouldn't have that many to keep happy, as counts won't rebel against you if their duke doesn't. If you have rebellious counts in your duchies, they're a secondary concern as they're less powerful, but certainly keep an eye on them too, as they may start a faction that more powerful members join.

A high diplomacy stat is called for. Having a capable spouse and chancellor helps a lot, as well as sending him on 'improve relations' things. It won't help you with factions but it will help with happiness. A high Intrigue will help you with removing your vassals and perhaps getting a more pliable ruler in their stead.

I also find that bribing is a cheap option for on average a 30 pt boost in opinion for a cost of 20-100 ducats. That's allowing you to hold on to the maximum amount of duchies. Holding a Grand Tourney is also a good (but costly) way to boost relations all across the board.

Regarding France vs a duchy: you have a very low authority, so levies are smallish. In addition, people don't like you so much, your own power base is small (2 counties) and the entire south of france is Occidental culture instead of Frankish, meaning they'll probably give you a malus there, too.

Thanks for the advice both of you.
So Queen Falguanna the old dies after ruling for 70 years.
When her son becomes king two duchies revolt against him.(the other three don't because he is holding them. )
After crushing and imprisoning dukes from both duchies, suddenly the Scottish king thinks I'm a punching bag and declares war on me for duchy of Ulster.
I hire 4k mercenaries and with my 3 k personal retinue I figure it's enough to get rid of their main stack.
After getting crushed I rage quit.
So how do you guys fight stronger countries? Are there some gamey things I can do to help with the fighting?
I have to admit, once I discovered the county development option the game was quiet fun.
Oh, another question, what is a respectable income for a kingdom the size of Ireland? (120 yrs in the game)

This post has been edited by EmperorMagus: 07 March 2013 - 01:08 PM

[MTS]

From a sheer military standpoint there's not that much you can do. Ireland is tricky because the terrain doesn't really give huge bonuses that you can take advantages of as opposed to Scotland. Nevertheless, in the games I've played Scotland rarely uses the navy to land her army in Ireland, and instead just cuts out the middle man and crosses the strait directly. Strait crossings gives huge combat disadvantages (sometimes up to 30% from what I remember) so stationing your main stack in Ulster as they cross would give you the best means of getting around the numbers problem. You could also marry a daughter/son to an English royal and secure them as an ally, then call them in when Scotland comes a-knocking. Hopefully they answer the call. Otherwise, white peace is a good option, use the extra time to regroup and maybe try and engineer a civil war in Scotland, then strike while they're distracted with that. The best means of whittling down the power of stronger opponents I've found is during their civil wars. While their rebels are fighting their liege they're technically independent realms, so a rebelling vassal of a kingdom won't have a peace treaty with you even if you have one with their erstwhile liege, which means you can start multiple wars for their territory at once, which is neat. Then you blitzkrieg the counties you want, and take them over before the rebellion is over. Hopefully your enemy is too busy fighting his lord to worry about you (and will sometimes even surrender early to get you off their back), but I've had my nose bloodied a few times when they've decided I'm the primary threat. You won't incur any opinion penalties with the king unless the rebelling vassal you attacked wins, and then you have a -25 opinion penalty for declaring war on him, but that's not huge in the long run.

[Morgoth]

Alternatively, if you're completely fucked. Swear fealty and chip away at the country from within. Marry into the royal family. Murder your way to the top. Now you're the king of Ireland and Scotland. Or, if your intrigue isn't high enough, start a faction for elective Monarchy and bribe your heir-claimant to to the top.

That's typically the only way to deal with the HRE if you're unlucky enough to have garnered their attention.

[EmperorMagus]

Morgoth, on 07 March 2013 - 01:43 PM, said:

Alternatively, if you're completely fucked. Swear fealty and chip away at the country from within. Marry into the royal family. Murder your way to the top. Now you're the king of Ireland and Scotland. Or, if your intrigue isn't high enough, start a faction for elective Monarchy and bribe your heir-claimant to to the top.

That's typically the only way to deal with the HRE if you're unlucky enough to have garnered their attention.

We are at war because of Duchy of Ulster. I can't swear fealty.
But that seems like a great strategy for getting rid of powerful rivals. I shall keep it in mind.

This post has been edited by EmperorMagus: 07 March 2013 - 02:43 PM

[Morgoth]

It's an incredibly satisfying feeling when, a hundred years after those fucking Byzantines conquered your little italian duchy, your dynasty claims the throne. On a mountain of skulls.

I made a particular point of hunting down and killing every single member of the Doukas dynasty too. Amusingly, because of my Italian blood line I had a much easier time forming the Roman empire.

[EmperorMagus]

Morgoth, on 07 March 2013 - 02:46 PM, said:

It's an incredibly satisfying feeling when, a hundred years after those fucking Byzantines conquered your little italian duchy, your dynasty claims the throne. On a mountain of skulls.

I made a particular point of hunting down and killing every single member of the Doukas dynasty too. Amusingly, because of my Italian blood line I had a much easier time forming the Roman empire.

Now I want to play an Italian duchy.

[MTS]

Italians are quite fun. Playing a french vassal in a game where the French are dominant is also fun as well, although exterminating the Capets is a much harder job than the Doukas. I don't like the HRE though because the elective monarchy annoys me.

I've been having an interesting time from a game perspective. It's now 1280 and apart from my initial tangles with them the hordes haven't touched me at all. The Ilkhanate now hold all of Arabia (I hold the Levant) and the Golden Horde have basically gone for everything north and east of me. They've even taking to fighting each other rather than me. I think the Ilkhan has declared war on me once, and that was for a tiny nothing-duchy that I had no interest in flinging thousands of lives at, so just gave it to him. There was a funny situation where the Horde were invading a count with two counties but they were realms apart; they occupied all the holdings in his eastern one and annihilated all his armies, but because the other one wasn't even close to the Horde they never went for it, and so the warscore sat on 89% for about 10 years. I think the only reason it ended was because he died and had gavelkind succession.

Anyway, I'm debating whether going on the offensive and just seizing their territory for myself, or just waiting until 1300 when apparently they don't get reinforcements any more. Luckily the Ilkhan only has like 80k in regular levies outside his horde and the Golden Horde about 40k, whereas I have over 550k now (over 100k in retinues as well), so after then all I need to do is take out the doomstacks and I'm home free. Or I could conquer the rest of the HRE and Poland and just wait for the Timurids to carve up the Ilkhanate...

[Gothos]

I found that after I restored the Roman Empire completely I had absolutely no incentive to continue that particular game anymore. a bloody million levies is... well, wow.

As for fighting a stronger realm, well, there's not all that much you can do. A nice thing to do is to try to marry your dynasty to the HRE to get them as allies and watch them roll over your enemies. Other than that, yeah, waiting for a civil war is good, it's always like a pinata for me, also due to the gorram 10 year truce mechanic, just means I can swallow them faster. Mercs are good during the early years of the game especially, later on they don't really change much.

As for income, I remember reaching like 120 per month as Roman Empire. 15-30 for a kingdom is rather good I'd say.

[Morgoth]

I don't think I make more than 25 or so with the Russian empire. Mind you, Russia is pretty much at the lowest end of the tech scale. Even with A massive campaign to upgrade the realm, Emperor Nikita the Just has yet to get every tech above the 1st star.

My main problem right now is that my heir, a quick son of a genius with a genius wife died suspiciously. So did his younger brother, but he had already had a son. So that son became Nikita's heir. Almost exactly how Nikita became the heir in his time, actually. Anyways, Nikita's grandson has terrible stats, and he's living in Norway because his father died just after he married and before his barony was finished in Kiev. So he was unlanded for about half a year from his 16th birthday. In that time he manage to get his wife pregnant and died. So, My grandson is the heir to Trøndelag in Norway and is living there with his mother.

Not only does he become a catholic, he marries another Norwegian duchess, completely butchering all of Nikita's beautiful plans. Then he gets himself killed leading a rebellion for the throne of Norway.

So, now Emperor Nikita's heir is his great grandson. A 12 year old boy with a lisp. Who's Norwegian and catholic. And Nikita is 75, so in all likelihood the new emperor will have a difficult time keeping the empire together. And the Mongols are just around the corner.

At least I've been building up Novgorod as an alternative capital if/when Kiev is lost.

[Gothos]

You could try and go for elective monarchy instead and choose your heir. Just hoping you can bribe your way to the throne...

[Morgoth]

That's not a risk I'm willing to take. Though I've been careful to grant every duchy to a male family member, Russia is simply too big for bribery to be feasible. If I had been clever enough to vassalise that Swedish merchant republic it might have been an option.

Although I do have a fourth son who would have been an excellent heir. I played with the idea of murdering everyone in order to provide for him the throne, but Nikita is named the just for a reason and I figured it would go against the type or character he is.