In Progress Let's Play Crusader Kings 2: I want to be a Basileus!

[Azira]

And kudos on the prisoners! Will they be held for ransom, or raped and then murdered like the infidels they are? M:

 

[golgepapaz]

I was put off by the first one, because of the terrible interface although I've played the shit out of EU and magna mundi. Inspired by this LP and using it as tutorial at first;
Spartenos is now the king of sicily (with all its de jure duchies,I've got lucky with the claims, got them pretty rapidly (didn't know it's a %10 flat chance a year at that time) ), doux of cyrenica (HRE steamrolled the northern africa from tunis to egypt and I pounced at the opportunity. how likely is that?), inherited the duchy of Gelre by marriage somehow (I need to learn and work on this, I don't think I can keep on going by conquest alone ), nipped the spoleto from the HRE (Luckily, didn't meet the doom stack of HRE because it was very busy with a nasty independence war) , then defend it against the bloody pope, because the bastard had a claim on it(sucker lost it and paid me 1090 gold for reparations and just in timebecause I was in the negatives for paying the mercenaries and they were about the flop) ,by the year 1118..

under the primogeniture, every brother hates the guts of your heir and every succession is an almost certain civil war,-50 modifier is too step imho, need a better succession law..
Why do my duchies turn into republics. I am tired of fighting the republic of calabria and apulia because I get -30 modifier for wrong govenment type, I revoke the title but have no idea if that dissolves the republic.
Also if your heir has a holding that's not a castle, this becomes the the new county seat of the province after succession,even if you give it away to your vassal, then you have to revoke the title and suffer the reputation hit to get it back in order.

Overall that might be the one of the best paradox game, keep LP ing please...

 

[Yeesh]

99 problems, but a demesne ain't one.

 

[Fafnir]

Bunmp

 

[XenomorphII]

Update 12-Surprise.

So I know I said I would do mini-updates for the family every time a ruler died, but I feel like I just did one of those, so I am going to just carry on with the game.

Alright. So where were we? Aye yes. The prisoners. Normally, I would just execute the filthy heathens, but I could use some extra cash, and neither of the two prisoners is particularly skilled. That being the case I opt to ransom them, for 25 shiny gold coins each.

Now let's get this war wrapped up so I can press some claims. I have decided that, while the county claim would have been preferable, I can just press the ducal claim, then revoke the two counties. Sure, it will make me a little unpopular, but too bad. Besides once I redistribute those lands to some Greek nobility, everything should smooth itself out.

Beating the enemy army again after their retreat to Messina. Not long after this victory some news arrived...

You filthy bastard you! My liege not only cowardly flees from the battle when he is needed, but he also dares to convert MY subjects to his heretical Catholic

beliefs! I will have his head one day for this.

Anyway, back to the war with the dirty infidels we pursue and defeat the army again and...

Another prisoner! Oh joy!

Since he is equivalent to a count, he brings me a pretty penny (70 gold to be exact).

I decide to take the generously donated funds...

And boost Napoli some. My next development goal will probably be to increase the amount of heavy infantry and pikemen fielded from Napoli by building a Guard

Quarters. Actually...

I lied, after realizing I had not built up to medium walls in Salerno. But now it is my next development goal. Seriously. Probably.

While trying to siege and retake Sicily, a army of dirty Muslims sneaks in the back door, and lays siege to Foggia.

I decide to remove my troops from the siege, disband them, and reassemble them, to drive back the invaders. While this is going on, I get notification of the formation of the Knights of St. John, a holy order, but neglected to take a screenie for you. Sorry bros.

Holy orders won't be much concern for me (well I won't be using them at any rate since I am Orthodox, and I believe they only serve Catholics) but they are all around pretty bad-ass armies. They refuse to fight fellow Catholics (don't know if they will fight Orthodox or not), and I believe are maintenance free if you are at war with any non-Christian. Basically, they work like mercenaries, only much stronger (and more expensive to hire initially) but with some use limitations.

Just as we are about to rally to attack the invading army...

King Roger (our king) surrenders. What a pussy. Also you might notice in that shot, that he surrendered right after going through the trouble of hiring the Knights of St. John. (To be fair, with Sicily occupied, the enemy warscore was increasing daily for holding the objective, so it might have reached the 100% you must accept point).

Well with that over...

Time to press our claims before the old hag dies.

The armies as they are moving out. Also she called the Duke of Beneveto into the fray.

The Battle of Salerno:

Now to relieve the siege of Napoli, then to go on the offensive.

The Battle of Napoli:

They no longer have enough troops to properly besiege me there, so the army heads for Reggio.

After eliminating the Duchess's troops though we no longer have enough manpower to siege either.

While pursuing the last of the enemy army, and before reforming our own forces...

Sergios II restrains himself. Bastards could be a problem for the future of the kingdom. Especially since he has no legitimate sons yet.

We finally catch the enemy at Bari...

And in other glorious news...

Our heretical wife converts to proper Orthodoxy, and our chaplain is sent to convert the people of Salerno.

After wiping out the enemy army and reforming our own, I encounter a wee little problem...

Still not enough troops. Time to hire some mercs I guess to push the siege.

Now I can properly begin the siege.

While the siege goes on...

Our brother comes of age and is married off. The dowry is accepted to help fund our war.

The first siege...

Is done. Also...

Hopefully, this will mean that the succession is safe.

Back to the siege:

That should do it. She should accept surrender now...

She does, and...

Reggio and Messina go to being under my direct control. I was not expecting that. I expected her to become my vassal as a count, while I took only the Ducal title. Oh well.

With the war over, it is time to spend some money...

I went ahead and spent money at Messina largely because I expect it will need to be a well fortified province if I want to hold onto it in the long run.

Not long after...

The king grants me a honorary title. He currently has a rather large problem. I own 7 provinces personally. He has four personally (one is in N. Africa), and two vassals with one each. After I recover from the recent fighting, it will be time to undo the shame of Sergios II's father's surrender, and strike out on our own once more on the road to becoming Basileus!

That dirty bastard! He did it again! I need to recover troops and rebel quickly! If he turns me, or my heir, I will be most displeased.

Not long after that distressing news...

Sergios II's first child is born. She will definitely be married matrilineally.

While waiting for our levies to recover...

Our liege decides to hold a feast, and Sergios II decides he will attend.

The feast occurs without event, but...

That bastard!

Not long later...

And the feast ends.

After some time, an event happens...

Thanks to Sergios II's high diplomacy (I think) we are able to get out of this predicament, without upsetting anyone, or cutting into my revenues.

After some time I build up the walls in Taranto and in Messina again...

Also...

Our younger brother comes of age. I am not going to find him a wife until he converts back to Orthodoxy, as he is very close to the throne right now, and I also don't want a bunch of Catholics in my court.

Well with my army more or less replenished...

And as more and more random couriers are converting to Catholicism, Sergios II makes a decision...

To rebel, and regain independence for himself and his people.

 

[SCO]

Loooool. Your liege is a cool guy, runs away from battles and surrenders and doesn't afraid of anything afterwards.

 

[Cornflakes]

An exciting ending for the latest chapter. I look forward to more!

I broke down and bought the game and I've been enjoying it but I can't always figure out what's going on. For instance, is there any way to join in on a plot you've uncovered? My wife wants to kill my son and I wish her the best since he somehow isn't in my dynasty and therefore his existence means game over for me when I die. I'd love to help her out but I can't even start that plot myself. When I do diplo with her I only get an option to end the plot.

Also, I petitioned my duke for a duchy title and it was granted but nothing happened. Do you need to have a claim for that to actually do anything? My chancellor has been working on getting one, but my count is 60 and he's been working on it for years and nothing has happened. I have him in my county trying to lay a claim on the duchy, is that how it works? I couldn't find anywhere else to put him to get that duchy claim.

And my awesome chaplain converted to the Cathar heresy and so I imprisoned him and replaced him, but he still held the title to the bishopric. So I banished him and took it back (along with some serious money). Is there any way to use a bishopric to attract a good courtier? I needed a better bishop and spent 30 piety inviting religious people to my court since I couldn't convince anyone in the realm to come over and be my chaplain. Eventually I got an OK chaplain who I gave the bishopric to, but I'd rather have gotten someone else's courtier who had a way better stat.

And how do you choose who to marry your courtiers and relatives to? I married off my sister to a neighboring county (in a different empire) to gain an alliance, but I really have no idea if that was a smart idea.

 

[Cassidy]

This is starting to shift. Wonder if some random misfortune will put this back into the way things were going.

 

[XenomorphII]

An exciting ending for the latest chapter. I look forward to more!

I broke down and bought the game and I've been enjoying it but I can't always figure out what's going on. For instance, is there any way to join in on a plot you've uncovered? My wife wants to kill my son and I wish her the best since he somehow isn't in my dynasty and therefore his existence means game over for me when I die. I'd love to help her out but I can't even start that plot myself. When I do diplo with her I only get an option to end the plot.

Also, I petitioned my duke for a duchy title and it was granted but nothing happened. Do you need to have a claim for that to actually do anything? My chancellor has been working on getting one, but my count is 60 and he's been working on it for years and nothing has happened. I have him in my county trying to lay a claim on the duchy, is that how it works? I couldn't find anywhere else to put him to get that duchy claim.

And my awesome chaplain converted to the Cathar heresy and so I imprisoned him and replaced him, but he still held the title to the bishopric. So I banished him and took it back (along with some serious money). Is there any way to use a bishopric to attract a good courtier? I needed a better bishop and spent 30 piety inviting religious people to my court since I couldn't convince anyone in the realm to come over and be my chaplain. Eventually I got an OK chaplain who I gave the bishopric to, but I'd rather have gotten someone else's courtier who had a way better stat.

And how do you choose who to marry your courtiers and relatives to? I married off my sister to a neighboring county (in a different empire) to gain an alliance, but I really have no idea if that was a smart idea.

I don't think you can join others plots, unless they invite you. Also it sounds like you agreed to a matrilineal marriage. Whenever it comes to your personal character and heirs, be sure that when a betrothal or marriage offer happens that it is a regular marriage otherwise you will run out of family to play as.

I have never actually been able to even petition for a ducal title from my liege, but I think it should just raise you to a duke if you get it.

Well you can right click on the sub holdings that are under your direct control, then click on the little crown (bottom right side of the triangle that will pop up) and it will create the type of vassal necessary for that holding. Though there is no guarantee they will be good.

Your family should have a little button on their character sheet, just bellow where their picture and a spouse's picture are, that looks like wedding bands. Click that and you can find them spouses.


Also a sneak preview for the update that will be coming later:


I will let you guys ponder why while all those freaking images upload.

 

[XenomorphII]

Update 13-FREEEEE-DOMMMM

When last we left the noble House of Spartenos, Sergios II was about to declare war on his liege in order to secure his independence.

The opening moves...

Mercenaries are hired and dispatched to Beneveto, and the levies head to Salerno to rally together.

The first engagement begins at Beneveto between our mercs, and the king's levies. Our own levies are sent to Apulia to lay siege to the capital.

As the battle rages, and my forces march...

A new addition to the family. She is my niece.

Whoops...

The battle is lost, but not a total defeat. The enemy forces are now moving to Apulia to engage my levies. The mercs are sent there as well to reinforce.

The battle at Apulia begins...

And Sergios II gets a good event and a great trait...

Diligent grants me +1 to all attributes.

The battle at Apulia is won before my reinforcements arrive. The enemy retreats to Beneveto, which is now where my mercenaries are headed. The levies will lay siege to Apulia. Most of the enemy army has been defeated at this point.

Just after the victory though...

My chaplain is wounded.

Back to the war:

My forces destroy the enemy at Beneveto and now move to Foggia, where the last of the king's troops are pinned down.

As that battle rages...

The siege suffers a minor setback, but this war is already as good as over.

The forces of the Kingdom of Sicily are wiped out now, with only a few newly raised men wandering about incapable of doing anything. Time to begin besieging provinces with the mercenary force as well.

The first holding taken! The siege at Beneveto is progressing much better then the one at Apulia.

As the sieges progress and each nears taking another holding...

The Knights Templar forms.

Shortly thereafter...

Sicily's last holding in Beneveto is taken. The mercs move to Foggia now to dispatch the paltry force there and lay siege.

A holding in Apulia finally falls, as the tiny forces of our enemy make it to Beneveto and lay siege to reclaim their territories.

However...

King Roger of Sicily realizes that it is hopeless to continue, and saves lives by granting us our freedom.

With the war over, Sergios II starts feeling bored...

But before he can even decide if falconry is for him...

Looks like we won't be bored for too long. The chancellor is now reassigned to Catanzaro...

Which separates my lands. Also...

That means even more diplomacy for Sergios II.

And later...

A permanent boost. Also in these last few shots you may notice that Sicily has a problem with rebels in Catanzaro. They only have 200 troops to deal with them.

Serves you right. Bastard.

While waiting around...

I decide to beef up Taranto a little bit. I need to increase the number of troops I can field in case the Muslims come knocking. Though luckily for me, it should

be awhile as they are now fighting over the Island of Sicily.

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

An event! I opt to boost relations with one of my barons.

Also...

The Kingdom of Sicily's army gets beaten by rebels. I am considering moving my forces in to defeat the rebels, so that the province improvements are not burnt

down.

As I debate...

Sergios II takes ill.

As the army rallies together to prepare to defeat the rebels...

Notice my money. I don't really know where it all came from, but I *think* that I just received a HUGE inheritance from my mother-in-law. Time to start some incline in Southern Italy.

Improvements:

And I still have money left over, so...

I decide to beef up the cities of my vassals.

Well. Now then. Dealing with the rebel scum...

That went well. With the rebels gone...

Time to convert buddy. But he declines.

Shortly after another sudden bump in my money...

My chaplain dies. Damn heathens. A new one is appointed and sent in his place.

He is nowhere near as good as the last guy (down to 13 from 21).

That money is put to use.

Not long after...

He stops being ill but becomes pneumonic instead. (-2 all attributes, -50% fertility, -4 health)

This could be very bad, as Sergios II has only a daughter right now...

Oh shit.

We are now playing as Duchess Alexandra. Age 5. I need to decide how I will hand out holdings, or if I will cling to them as she is over her demesne limit by 3 and will suffer penalties. Also I need to be very sure that she marries matrilineally or there won't be a Spartenos ruling in Capua anymore.

I am going to be in for some very rough years.

 

[Kashmir Slippers]

You really ought to keep a small purse of money with you at all times to afford mercenaries, especially because there are Muslims who would just love to take your land from you.

Otherwise, good job. I am enjoying this.

 

[Cassidy]

 

[Yeesh]

TREMBLE AND KNEEL BEFORE YOUR MIGHTY NEW LORD !!!!!

 

[XenomorphII]

You are so fucked

Why not make a decent fleet to shot down any moslem invasions before they hit Italy?

Yep. That pretty much sums it up.

As far as I have been able to tell, there is no naval combat. They just transport troops. I guess we can find out though for sure the next time somebody tries to land troops on me.

 

[golgepapaz]

You are so fucked

Why not make a decent fleet to shot down any moslem invasions before they hit Italy?

Yep. That pretty much sums it up.

As far as I have been able to tell, there is no naval combat. They just transport troops. I guess we can find out though for sure the next time somebody tries to land troops on me.

no naval combat indeed. The power of the fleets are you can instantly load troops if the fleet is in port (no more EU3 nonsense of walking your troops to the middle of mediterranian - although you can still if you want to.-) and they move blindingly fast compared to land troops . I was able to move troops from palermo to gelre to suppress a revolt in less time than march them to napoli from messina

 

[golgepapaz]

bumpity bump. too image heavy..

 

[golgepapaz]

bump .Don't tell me it needs 25. this one is 18 I think

 

[golgepapaz]

Oh post-count inflation..

 

[golgepapaz]

Duh..

 

[golgepapaz]

must

 

[golgepapaz]

get to 25

 

[Tigranes]

Unf?

 

[Cassidy]

Will the pretty princess honor the legacy of Napoli?

r00fles!

 

[XenomorphII]

Update 14-Pretty Pretty Princess

Okay. So first some clarifications. First off, I lost my claim that I had fabricated on Leece, since claims must be pressed in a war in order to be inherited.

So that sucks, but it also means I don't have to continue trying to press a claim on Catanzaro since we have ducal claim. The reason I was trying to fabricate a separate claim there was that then, when Sergios II's peace treaty had ended, I could attack Sicily using "Press All Claims" (which only appears on claims that you personally have, so title based claims don't count) and in one war rob him of two territories maybe more, depending on how successful my chancellor was.

Anyway Alexandra. After unpausing for a bit, and giving the game a moment to update everything...

Her uncle, Demetrios is now acting as regent (Belisarios, had died even before Sergios II) and is also her heir. Oh boy. That couldn't possibly backfire.

Luckily, her mother is a damn good spymaster and likes her. So, she should be rooting out any assassination attempts before they happen. Also she has decent relations with most of the councilors, or at least close to positive. Also the chaplain is Demetrios, so they don't have terrible relations.

I would also like to take this moment to point out that thanks to Demetrios being appointed regent, we are now fine on our demesne. Things are already looking up.

Also I want to point out that since Sergios II died...

We no longer have a peace treaty with the Kingdom of Sicily. (Peace treaties, causus-belli, and ongoing wars appear under the portrait in that little rectangular box.)

Hehehehe. The Terror of Southern Italy is about to strike! (Insert maniacal little girl laughter/giggling here)

It must suck to be a Norman in Southern Italy right now.

The army pulls itself together, and mercenaries are hired to expedite this whole messy affair.

An event...

This could become problematic if this continues.

Finally...

The enemy is caught.

Glorious...

Not just victory, but a money bag...I mean prisoner too.

Who is immediately exchanged for some hard currency.

So much for the enemy army. Now to take Catanzaro.

While the siege is underway...

Sure, it isn't very expensive, and I am going to need to get advanced so why not.

Hey now...

Another enemy army appears. I send the mercs to deal with them.

The battle ends and we relieve our besieged brothers at Salerno. Also I get another prisoner. YAY MONIES!

The mercs chase down the enemy and wipe them out then are going to be sent to defeat another small enemy force before finally rejoining the siege forces.

Although the war may be over by then. First holding down.

And the next. One to go.

Before I forget to...

Time to trade a worthless Norman for some gold.

Not long after...

I tell him no. I don't want my family holding lands under me, as they can be some of the worst plotting assholes imaginable under Primo laws. Instead I will

attract Greek nobles to the court and marry them to ladies I attract to the court, and thus create awesome, loyal, Greek vassals.

Baw, baw, baw. Everyone whining to me about their problems and how only I can fix them...

It kinda feels like a Bioware game (only I am having fun actually). Anyway I decline. I don't need my mother, and awesome spymaster leaving court right now. That would be bad MKAY.

Not long after...

The siege, and the war, are concluded. Go you little terror, you!

Also we come of age and turn 6, so off for an education to...

Our aunt. She is selected for her high diplomacy, a decent other stats. I though about sending her to her mother, but she is Russian, and it would suck if Alexandra culture converted while being tutored by her (which is entirely possible).

With my recent acquisitions, I now am over our demesne limit, and will go about making a vassal.

While browsing my court...

I find this guy. He is perfect. Now to bring him a wife...

And grant him a fief...

I gave him the recently taken land, because it isn't making me any money. Hopefully he will start trying to convert the province.

Not long after...

The Kingdom of Sicily might be in trouble, but they have hired one of the holy orders, so they should be fine. And who knows, if they do well enough, we might need to "enlighten" some Muslims (by killing them and taking Sicily bake for the Spartenos's).

While waiting to see if the Muslims are going to get wiped out I...

Build up Napoli some more. Those extra troops might be very necessary soon, and are a whole lot cheaper in the long run then having to hire mercenaries all the time.

Damn it...

He needs to stop it with that crap.

Poor poor Sicily...

They just cannot catch a break. The chancellor is now in Apulia.

Alexandra gets...

Awww, she is growing up.

Also, after thinking about it a bit, as much as I would love to try to snag Sicily right now for myself, I don't think my army (disease is ravaging all my provinces too) can beat the enemy, and considering they have always heavily outnumbered me, I am going to have to pass on this opportunity...

At least for the time being.

Improvements on our territory and...

I swear. King Roger, has them hugely outnumbered, has much better troops (since that is a holy order) and won't use them. No wonder in most games Southern Italy is swallowed by the Muslim powers.

Well what do you know...

He finally does something after they have reinforced their position. Maybe he isn't such a moron after-all. I smell an opportunity approaching, as I believe that is most of the enemies forces...

This is it.

Also...

Great news! He is now sent to Messina, which has the capacity to become my finest province.

Not long after that, the Muslim army is destroyed in Southern Italy and...

We capitalize on it!

After the army is rallied:

We win our first battle against the Muslims, and take a prisoner. I am going to try to build up my funds significantly right now, so that if I need emergency mercs, I can get them.

Income!

Bad news...

Not only is our chaplain and regent injured, but also an enemy force is behind us. I may quickly rally then disband some mercs (depending on what they do to my monthly income) to deal with them.

Oh crap. They are coming for Calabria.

Mercenaries are hired...

And have success over and enemy they engage at Reggio.

The pursuit:

Goes well. Not long after they are wiped out.

And we get a prisoner for it.

While the shit hits the fan...

Alexandra continues to grow up.

Not long after...

That is the second siege won at Palermo. Hopefully I can get a peace there soon, so I can destroy the invading Tunis army, that currently besieges Messina.

Another victory...

Another prisoner. He will be ransomed off for 25 gold, new mercenaries will be hired to join the existing group, and our entire force will attempt to relieve our brothers at Messina.

As forces come together...

The first siege is lost.

And the second. I was trying to wait until Palermo was taken, but oh well. We must move now:

VICTORY! SUCK IT BITCHES!

And again! GWAHAHAHAHAH!

Not long after:

Not good, but not bad either really. Also I decide to hire more mercenaries, with my large influx of cash:

Oh boy...

I am rather concerned about this. It would be bad, if Alexandra died now.

Also we get a death event, since she was close to us...

And, as much as I hate to do this, that is the end of this update.

On a side note, for someone who I expected would have mountains of problems from day 1, Alexandra is turning out a pretty kick-ass ruler, even though her stats are still near 0 across the board.

 

[Cassidy]

Preemptively get rid of your pesky regent. After all:

"YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!!! STOP THE LIES START THE TRUTH! R00FLES"