Crusader Kings 2 Redux

[Jacob]

I am now inspired to next start a game in India.  I have thus far only played Europeans or Africans.  Not interested in Muslims.

My Buddhist game was great fun.  The ability of Buddhist rulers to designate any of their eligible children as their primary heir almost makes them over-powered, if it weren't offset by the limited CBs available outside your own culture group.  At the very least, the ability to designate your successor coupled with the +4 to learning that Buddhists get means that you should almost never have a bad ruler.

Haven't really tried a serious game as a Hindu or Jain yet.  Expansion as a Jain is probably pretty tough.

Don't forget you can switch religion between Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist once per ruler's lifetime with no real malus. Jain is actually great, since you have a bonus to vassal opinion and a larger desmesne size which is pretty sweet. The trick to expansion is (IIRC, it's a while since I played Jain) the subjugation CB from an ambition and/or pressing normal dynastic claims.

... and since you can designate your own heir (as Jain, but not Hindu) you can feel free to have as many kids as you want to create alliances and produce claims to press.

[Zanza]

I continued my game as the Abbasid caliphs and finally was able to create the Persian Empire. I had the possibility to create a custom empire decades earlier, but still went for the "real" thing. It was rather tedious in the end as I had some adventurer invading me every other year or so and at the same time faced a gigantic coalition to counter my every move. I will consider deactivating those coalitions in my next game as I still find them rather strange. Why would the king of Rus or so care when I conquer a county somewhere in Baluchistan? That just doesn't make sense.
My next challenge in about three decades will be defending my new empire against the Mongols. 



I got Reaper's Due after all. It adds some flavor and I haven't encountered any of the silly events yet. So while I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, I also wouldn't advise against buying it. I would like to see those end of days events though.

[dps]

Don't forget you can switch religion between Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist once per ruler's lifetime with no real malus.

Yeah, I never really took advantage of that;  it just seemed kind of cheesy to me.  Plus, I spent a lot of time converting counties to Buddhist, so I didn't really want to undo all that work.

Jain is actually great, since you have a bonus to vassal opinion and a larger desmesne size which is pretty sweet. The trick to expansion is (IIRC, it's a while since I played Jain) the subjugation CB from an ambition and/or pressing normal dynastic claims.

Hmm.  I was under the impression that the only CBs Jains got were de jure claims and fabricated claims.

... and since you can designate your own heir (as Jain, but not Hindu) you can feel free to have as many kids as you want to create alliances and produce claims to press.

Didn't know (or didn't remember) that Jains got that ability as well as Buddhists.

With Buddhists, it's limited to your children, though, so if you're childless and your only heirs are, say, your nephews, you don't get to pick which nephew inherits;  it's determined by the normal workings of your succession law.  Is that true for Jains also?

[Drakken]

Currently living the situation that Louis XIV actually went through, although due to different circumstances.

My King of France, King Edouard 'the Fat' Capet is currently reaching 65. The first son, the Dauphin and Duke of Orléans, died because his Physicians botched his treatment - twice. He left two sons, the eldest loathing me and vice-versa, we became Rivals. Both were Spymaster-material, so I made the youngest one (which loved me) Spymaster and left the eldest one as far as any plot or faction as possible, trying everything to have him declared heretic, traitor, killed-by-accident, kidnapped, etc, so to put him in jail and ensuring that the youngest of my direct grandsons becomes my Heir presumptive.

His brother discovered something against him, but like Caine and Abel the eldest had him murdered instead. Sent another lowborn Spymaster to spy on his activities, and this time he discovered him plotting revenge on me to 'give God a hand in speeding up His work a bit'. Despite 15% chance of arresting him, I threw him in the dungeon without a civil war.

I decided to bite the pill and ordered him executed. Yeah, Tyrant, Kinslayer and all that... but at over 8000 Prestige I can assume vassals won't dare complain.

For high treason, lese-majesty, fratricide, parricide, and attempting to dislocate his family and dynasty, befittingly this Prince of France was publicly sawed to be splitted in half until death ensures. I must admit, the game engine had some wry sense of humor choosing that execution method. I just hope the butchers went from down-up and pulled the blade back and forth very slowly.

But before he died, that bastard was able to sire two sons. So now, I am left playing the daddy to great-grandchildren as Heirs, educating them in my court to steer them to become good rulers before I finally croak.

Got also banging the 15-year-old unwed daughter of the Duke of Toulouse as mistress, and got me a young acknowledged bastard in the process. Wife got angry, but I bribed with some money so she's happy. Plus, she's 65 as well, and two surviving sons one so it is not as if she is feeling threatened by my little Provencial sugarbaby. I considered legitimizing the kid and divorcing my wife so to marry her instead, but at 65 I might expire any day and I do not want to leave a baby toddler as King. So, Alix or Eleanor?

[Syt]

Started as Count of Luxembourg in 769. 160 years later - border gore galore! I accidentally was voted onto the throne of Austrasia and have held it for 3 generations. Norse religion has been reformed.

[Zanza]

I conquered Egypt now and will establish an Imperial Administration in two years. The only stopping block at this time is the gigantic coalition against me. There are uprisings and adventurers too, but those are not a threat. I guess I'll play another 20 years or so to fight the Mongols and then call it quits on this game.

[Jacob]

With Buddhists, it's limited to your children, though, so if you're childless and your only heirs are, say, your nephews, you don't get to pick which nephew inherits;  it's determined by the normal workings of your succession law.  Is that true for Jains also?

Yeah, same for Jains.

[Valmy]

What is the historical basis for that? It seems pretty typical that any system besides primogeniture tended to result in vicious civil wars. But I am not really informed on Buddhist kingdoms.

[Phillip V]

Recommend opting into open beta?  (2.6.2)

[Zanza]

The next DLC will be similar to Way of Life, which soumds good as character development is the centre piece of the game mechanics.

[Zanza]

Recommend opting into open beta?  (2.6.2)

I installed it and so far didn't see anything broken other than my kingdoms not having the new law set (which you can only change every 50 years  )

[Josquius]

I wanted a dark ages game so tried when the world stopped making sense.
Sadly its still very beta. Lots of unwritten events and such.
There's another in development due end of the year that looks good, can't recall the name now

[Zanza]

I continued my game as the Abbasid caliph. My caliph can easily rival Henry VIII. I am on my 15th wife and have executed six of my previous wifes for various reasons (treason, adultery etc.), the rest died from sickness. 

The Mongols turned out a non-event as they invaded Cumania and then Russia and never turned south in the first twenty years after their appearance. They still have 120.000 event spawned troops though compared to my 70.000 levies. Ghengis Khan died and his son took over, seemingly without a civil war.

My heir is a demon spawn, envious and ambitious and 15 years old right now. He's also the rival of my current ruler. He's murdered his two older brothers already. I am looking forward to him becoming an adult. I guess I'll just roll with all the sillyness a demon spawn ruler promises.

[Syt]

My main vassal, the Duke of Brabant is 73. His heir is married to the Queen of Saxony and I would lose the vassal on heritage.

So I plot to kill him, and everyone in the Saxon court thinks it's a brilliant idea. All except two guys who I would need to join the plot in order to reach 100% plot power. They're the chancellor and the steward of Saxony. And both are single! Obviously I try to marry loyal girls from my court to them who can then join the plot.

But I can't. Turns out that Queen Béatrice "the Unfaithful" has both of them as lovers and refuses to let them marry.

So here's the Queen, age 21, married to the 19 year old Prince of Croatia (and heir to the Croatian throne), with two lovers aged 49 and 53.

Oh, I forgot to mention she's also brawny, and a dwarf.

[Josquius]

I think I've seen that one