Crusader Kings III

[Norgy]

The thing I dislike about Paradox games is that if I haven't played them in a year or two, there's $100+ worth of DLC that they've released during that period.  Even I look at that and boggle a bit.  And it's not like that's a big expenditure on a hobby, but it seems so out of order when full on AAA titles are less than that and many of the more entertaining games on Steam are significantly cheaper.  Maybe if I was always playing and staying current, it wouldn't be such sticker shock. 

Paradox is working more along the lines of the drug dealers. The first hit etc.

And you are right. So do we really need the North African headgear DLC and the Byzantine underwear expansion? The smelly Norse footwear DLC?

Probably not, but this is how they add flavour. And a few mechanics that usually need a day one patch.

I still like Paradox and will buy future games. That being said, I am a bit underwhelmed by CKIII's progression as we speak.

[The Minsky Moment]

Yeah most of the time you don't need to buy the DLC because the core upgrade are included in the free patch. I really see the DLC as kind of like "skins" for FTP mobile games, a way to get some additional customization or flavor and/or a way to "vote" for Paradox continuing to support your favorite game.  I'm happy to buy Victoria DLC full price because I'm a fan of the series and want to PDX to keep putting in resources to improve it.  Most of the other games I'll wait till they get heavily discounted.

[Norgy]

And discounted they will be. In a few years. I mean, if we survive them. 

[Syt]

Elder Kings II has finally updated (last release was for 1.12, we're at 1.15 ). Of course, some of the add ons are not updated yet (esp. some of the flavor graphics, like lore appropriate holding graphics). With the landless playstyle I was hoping for more questing, though.

[Syt]

Very meaty dev diary about Nomad flavor/gameplay including becoming the Greatest of Khans in next expansion:

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/dev-diary-167-the-greatest-of-them-all.1733816/

[Syt]

Randomly started a new game to ploodle around a bit while catching up on podcasts. Random ruler, landed on Welf IV Welf, Count of Ravensburg.

My wife gave me a (spindly) son. And then she caught leprosy. I could actually ask for a divorce and was granted it and kicked her out of court.

I remarried, and when I was blessed with a daughter, I used her to forge an alliance with Robert the Fox (Hainault) in Southern Italy. I then used this alliance to declare war on my dad who had disinherited me to claim the Duchy of Lombardy. Except that Robert didn't feel like joining yet ... so I asked him to raise my son and heir which helped convince him to join the war. We kicked my dad's butt, and I got the Duchy. Of course, there were my brothers still who held the Duchy of Genoa and the county of Grissons.

But I was lucky that Mathilda and a few others - including my brothers took up arms against their Liege, Emperor Heinrich IV. Being the good subject that I am, I helped the Emperor. We won the war. He stripped the Duchy of Genoa from my brother and granted it to me.

Next I took my de jure Lombardian claims from Mathilda. And my other brother died of stress so I inherited his lands, too, including the Duchy of Corsica.

Unfortunately, my wife had in the meantime given birth to twin sons, so under confederate partition, each of my sons would gain one of my three duchies. I made Genoa my main holding and relocated the court there. During the journey, though, my spindly heir murdered a rival of his one night.

Being zealous, I had him arrested - and made him take the vows. He still likes me, but now I only have to worry about two heirs.

Meanwhile, conquerors have risen in India and Iberia. 

[Zanza]

Sounds like a good game. Hindustan looks scary.

[Syt]

It got worse, because the guy has the Scourge of God modifier (I had tuned down both chance of Conquerors and Scourge chance).



The Pope called for a crusade for ... Serbia. I used my piety to redirect it to the Kingdom of Sicily. Somehow I thought that was more important in terms of immediacy. Crusade was a huge success.

A few years later Welf died, and the realm was split between the twin brothers.



(I'm Genoa, my brother is Lombardy. I think I could have arranged the inheritance better Though fortunately there was another son born, but after Welf's death. I was tempted to continue as the son I made take the vows, but landless monk ... not sure about that But he came to my court and is now my selfless regent)

[Tamas]

You make me want to come back to the game Syt. how is the challenge?

[Syt]

Challenge is fine for me, casually pootering about. If you min max then it'll be still easy. The court positions IMO need some rebalancing after they added some OP actions to them you can select (like your wetnurse having a monthly chance to instill virtuous traits in children).

There's some mods that can help:

- Love Marriage Family: makes it harder to marry people "out of your league" (at least at lower ranks). Adds pregnancy and post-natal complications so it's a bit harder to pump out kids. Also adds some more romance autonomy to courtiers. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3037969445

- More Interactive Vassals: adds lots of options for vassals/allies joining (or not joining) wars and civil wars. Also has optional modifiers to make powerful vassals harder to please, adding one more powerful vassal to Empires, optional "Alliance fatigue" if you keep calling your allies into wars, and some optional modifiers to stuff like reinforcements, levy costs etc. Also has an optional setting to make AI more aggressive. One of the "must have" mods IMO (I add the interactions stuff, not the difficulty modifiers in my games). https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2712590542

- Pillage: armies marching through lands lower control and development (higher if enemies), and chance that buildings are destroyed during sieges. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3027931283

- Dark Ages. I don't use it myself, but it's main focus is to increase the challenge of the game in a number of ways.

[Syt]

The soap opera continued.

I managed to convince the Emperor to give me the rights to wage war despite his crown laws. I used the chance to dethrone my brother Godfrey in Lombardy and capture remaining de jure lands in Corsica from Mathilda. I created the Kingdom of Corsica and Sardinia, and gave the duchy of Genoa to my previously dethroned brother. He was my most powerful vassal but also very loyal to the point he didn't even want a council position.

Meanwhile, my Aunt in Southern Italy had become queen of Sicily and a real pain in the neck. (I'm sure it had nothing to do with denouncing of and revoking title from her grandson in Corsica. )

She dragged me into a war, then denounced me during the war. WTF lady? We managed to have her excommunicated and then started a war for my titles .... except she died of Typhus and I had to go home.

Her grandson inherited and was not best pleased with me. However, we kicked him off the boot. I created new Duchies in Southern Italy and founded the Kingdom of Italy.

Then, in the 1130s - the Black Death. Which the pope chose to call for a Crusade for Jerusalem. (I like to think this was the Christians believing the plague was a punishment from god or something )

The Crusade is successful, and my brave, ambitious niece, in her 20s becomes Queen of Jerusalem

Meanwhile, I have two kingdoms and three sons. Also, I'm infirm and close to dying. Thankfully one of my sons decided to start a murder plot against a courtier. I imprison and execute him. I'm now a kinslayer, but before that can bite me in the ass I croak.

My son Vilberto inherits the Kingdom of Italy (meanwhile the Emperor handed over some de jure vassals to me), his brother Corsica and Sardinia. Not ideal, but not the worst.

No, the worst is my Uncle Godgrey, Duke of Genoa. I have a warning in my notifications that the realm might lose territory if he inherits the Kingdom of Jerusalem. But I'm not worried. The Queen of Jerusalem is young, freshly married, pregnant .... and drowns during a boat ride.

So Godfrey is now the King of Jerusalem and ripped some of the most profitable lands from my realm, wrecking my budget, and my newly minted king has to build up new alliances.

I'm starting to think he's the actual main character of the story. Inherited Lombardy, was unjustly removed from the title, but later received Genoa, becoming a loyal vassal and family member. Only to inherit the Kingdom of Jerusalem later on. All without and underhanded actions or tactics, playing it clean and above board.

The Hindustani Empire is slowly falling apart but a new conqueror is rising in the steppes, also with the Scourge modifier. 

[Zanza]

  Sounds like a fun game!

[Syt]

Some of the fun stories that can randomly happen. I attend the feast of Duke Leopold III to try befriend the Holy Roman Emperor.

Then Leopold (a gluttonous drunkard, seducer, flagellant and adulterer) spoke a toast to the guest of honor: His 55 year old lowborn caravan master. Who is also the mother of his bastard daughter and his lover. (Meanwhile, his drunkard, infirm wife looks on.)

I wish there were consequences for a scandal such as this.