Crusader Kings 2 Redux

[Viking]

My heir and now Duke of Burgundy, Poitou, Aquitaine, and Duke of Toulouse in his own right, is the greatest power in all of France. Both he and his dad were homosexual. Gay Burgundy runnin' this house 

Duke of Burgundy: Eh, Comte Julian, what is zeess suggestión you veesh to meik?

Julian of Clarý: Oh, My, Gaaawd, I just have to say that Purple is just soooo square and sooo 1177. We need to get an in fashon colour to dress our big boys at arms up in; and you know I like them biiig. I was thinking tope or mauve or even, if we have to use a dark purple we can use maroon.

DoB: Hon-hon-hon, and zeere ai vas sinking ai vas zee gheest nobleman in france...

[Viking]

I just had the most fun war yet.

The Game Called it "The English Civil War to Lower Royal Authority"

The War started with Duke Faulk of Northumbria starting a plot to lower Royal Authority. He had been trying this for a while but I had limited myself to exposing his plots since I was constantly fighting in northern Spain to set the Castill y Leon (it's a kingdom that keeps swapping names between Castill and Leon, if somebody spanish can tell me how you would say "or" instead of "and" there I'd use that instead) border with de Normandie Lands in the area. Unfortunately had required the establishment of the Super Duchy of Navarre-Aragon-Barcelona. King Joecelyn was still King of England, Aragon and Navarre though. Other de Normandie holdings included England plus Brittany, Anjou, Normandie and Most of Flanders (except Ypres which was HRE and therefore left alone until later). The as yet childless King Jocelyn was Duke of Bedford, Count of Navarre, Boulogne and Guines as well as married to the Full Duchess of Flanders, his brother Willian Count of Shrewsbury was married to the only child of the imprisoned Duke of Normandy and thus heir to Normandy as well. Their mother, the Dowager Queen of England was also Full Duchess of Valois. Apart from the superduchy in Iberia most ducal matters were resolved apart from some confusion in the welsh marches all the duchies were fully demesne with one non-royal owner.

In short order the following things happen The Duke of Kent inherits the Duchy of Hereford, he joins the plot with the Duke of Northumbria as well as the Superduke of Iberia and the king of France (F.F.S). They declare war hoping to reduce royal power from high to medium in 1240. The timing creeped me out a bit since the second Barons revolt which reduced poor Henry III to a figurehead happened in the 1260s. This was basically the same thing, only this time with the admittedly feeble king of France supporting the my de Monfort; Faulk of Northumbria.

Note the Poitou and Vendee are HRE land and Languedoc and Provence are Hungarian; as I said, a feeble France.

I mobilized all ships as well as all levies in England. I wanted to leave the french levies in place to screw up their sieging. Note I have speeded up all sieges by 6 by fixing the files.

The first stage of the war invovled France occupying most of Anjou, Flanders and Brittany. The norman provinces with their large garrisons were left til last. The Superduke of Iberia cleaned out the few loyalist provinces in spain but being slowed down in heavily fortified Navarra which also found it self periodically the staging area for a large English army, it seems sailing from anywhere in england to navarra is quicker than marching cross country. Naval mobility for the one large army I raised during this war was vital. Having 10k englishmen sail into the port you are sieging with your 3000 frenchment is suicidal for the frenchmen and being in port allows said englishment to escape when the main 20k strong french army shows up haveing marched cross country. Raiding the french coastal provinces and navarre in this manner slowed dow the Superduke and the French Army, not mobilizing the french levies also helped.

The first phase of the war ended in 1243 when the english duchies werer all conquered. The seond phase started when Superducal and French armies started landing in middlesex like clockwork. Most of these were dealt with easily since Middlesex was the capital so mercenaries were always ready to be recruited on short notice. I maintained a healthy 15 ducat profit each month since my well developed demsne was kept free of frenchmen so I could hire a few merc companies per year to beat off any determiend landings and annhilate the forces. My collection of French mayors became quite extensive.

In 1244 Both the Dowager Queen and the King of England died leaving the throne and the Duchies of Valois, Bedford, Flanders and Normandie in the hands of Prince William of Shrewsbury and his Wife Isabel of Normandy. In this phase the English went on the counter offensive gathering the largest army possible and using it's porst in the channel and bay of biscaye to raid and attack. Landing; destroying a french 5k army; sieging and taking one province and absconding to sea before the relevied frenchmen can combine with the standing army and react. By the time they had reacted King William was in Flanders or Spain doing something more useful. In effect all the time the french spent marching the english spent sieging and resting while the ships sailed. This phase lasted til about 1246 by which time the french armies were exhausted and one of the Valois Counts had declared independence. Seeing as how Faulk refused to make peace as long as france still fought and King William did not have enough forces to actually invade france, his levies being near exhausted and the bulk of the army in the field being mercenaries (which needed disbanding before running out of money more than once). William struck out towards the revolting valois count and north of paris in the vexin faced what would be the last french army of about 5000 men in a pitched battle attacked the last english army of about 3000 men. Things were looking bad, but King William had 200 ducats in the bank and before the english army had been reduced to a few hundred men about to break 3000 mercenaries had been recruited in london, sailed to rouen and marched to vexin arriving cavalry style just in time to break the french army and pursue it capturing a few more mayors and a duke. At this point with his war score at 91% Faulk of Northumbria finally caved in an accepted the offer of white peace he had made three years earlier and rejected by King Jocelyn on the grounds that no war should end without all the english traitors in prison.

Well, in this case Faulk of Northumbria as well as the dukes of Hereford-Kent and Navarre-Aragon-Barcelona got off scot free, though I remember. The King of France having seen his country bled dry to keep Faulk attached not only to his head but his title as well must have been disgusted. The rebellious count was dispatched now that french armies no longer protected him. Having to make some sort of statement of victory King William rode into Paris in mid 1247, in his Mothers Duchy and set up the new Court at Paris. By this action he was making the statement that if the King of France felt that it was his business how the Kingdom of England was run, then the King of Englands business it would from then on be who was King of France.

Northumbria and the Superdukes will need to be dealt with. Revenge is a dish best served cold, but it needs levies if it is to be served at all. It is now time to rest and recuperate and seek out heiresses with land. Now that England and the HRE both have lands in Flanders I suspect that trouble might be brewing there. 

[jimmy olsen]

I think becoming a king would be more appealing if the duchy limit increased with the number of crowns held.

So, for example if the King of England gained the crown of Wales his duchy limit would increase to 3, and if he then went on to become King of Ireland it would increase to 4 and so on.

Otherwise, it seems that just racking up a load of ducal titles and keeping your vassals all one province counts would be better.

[JonasSalk]

What's the advantage/disadvantage of creating duchies, as opposed to ruling them directly as king?

[sbr]

Fewer people to manage?  Of course when they get possess they are much more powerful.

[Josquius]

as apuilas small 1 province ducal neighbour i waited for apuila and the muslims to start slugging it out...then snuck in around the back with my mercs and took sicily.

[Ideologue]

I can't figure out how to make anyone like me.

Oh, sorry, thought this was the Off Topic Topic.  ( ; )

Seriously, everyone hates my ruler, I have no idea why.  They just keep revolting.  WE WANT ELECTIVE MONARCHY BLAH BLAH BLAH and as soon as I cut them down some other dumb fucking vassal does the same thing.  Why can't I just execute every last one of them, and replace them with peasant committees or something?

Also, some total bullshit happened.  OK, as Duke of Most of Italy I had married into the House of Savoie or whatever it's called, and acquired the Duchy for my heir.  So far, so good.  As noted, I had become independent of the HRE previously.  What I expected: my heir would rule Modena Etc. as an independent monarch, and rule Savoie as a vassal of the Emperor, with the two together as a personal union, but not a single de iure realm.  What actually happened: my heir ruled everything as a vassal of the Emperor, so more than half a dozen independent, personally-united duchies all reentered the Holy Roman Empire.  That's wrong, isn't it?

Although perhaps I should have been tipped off when his county in Salerno became HRE gray again.   I guess if I restart I'll leave him to rot in prison.  Being independent is way better, and not worth the land (which is rebellion-ridden anyway).

I guess the upshot is that if you have a liege, your liege is your liege for all your titles.  That's pretty stupid, but whatevs.

How do I claim the kingdom of Italy, anyhow?

[ulmont]

What's the advantage/disadvantage of creating duchies, as opposed to ruling them directly as king?

If you have too many (> 2) duchies as a king your vassals get pissed.

[JonasSalk]

Beginning of reign: set ambition to get a son.

31 years later: 2 wives, 8 daughters.

[Jaron]

My Anjou game didn't last long. My duke had 3 daughters, his brother had 1 daughter. They both died eventually, and I played as the duke's eldest daughter who was Queen of France. I divorced the king, returned to Anjou and set up a matrilineal marriage to save my dynasty. Right before that marriage was accepted, the French king asked me to marry him. I said no, married the other guy and after about two months my game abruptly ended. I don't suppose its much of a stretch to assume the King had me killed. He must have been one of those psycho "If I can't have you, no one can" ex husbands.

[sbr]

What's the advantage/disadvantage of creating duchies, as opposed to ruling them directly as king?

If you have too many (> 2) duchies as a king your vassals get pissed.

I assumed he meant not making Duchies at all, just ruling a shit load of 'independent' counties.

[jimmy olsen]

I can't figure out how to make anyone like me.

Oh, sorry, thought this was the Off Topic Topic.  ( ; )

Seriously, everyone hates my ruler, I have no idea why.  They just keep revolting.  WE WANT ELECTIVE MONARCHY BLAH BLAH BLAH and as soon as I cut them down some other dumb fucking vassal does the same thing.  Why can't I just execute every last one of them, and replace them with peasant committees or something?

Also, some total bullshit happened.  OK, as Duke of Most of Italy I had married into the House of Savoie or whatever it's called, and acquired the Duchy for my heir.  So far, so good.  As noted, I had become independent of the HRE previously.  What I expected: my heir would rule Modena Etc. as an independent monarch, and rule Savoie as a vassal of the Emperor, with the two together as a personal union, but not a single de iure realm.  What actually happened: my heir ruled everything as a vassal of the Emperor, so more than half a dozen independent, personally-united duchies all reentered the Holy Roman Empire.  That's wrong, isn't it?

Although perhaps I should have been tipped off when his county in Salerno became HRE gray again.   I guess if I restart I'll leave him to rot in prison.  Being independent is way better, and not worth the land (which is rebellion-ridden anyway).

I guess the upshot is that if you have a liege, your liege is your liege for all your titles.  That's pretty stupid, but whatevs.

How do I claim the kingdom of Italy, anyhow?

If you stay in the Empire you'll have a better chance of becoming Emperor one day. I'd stay in.

[Tamas]

Very interesting option, church career for your brethren is.

It is keeping my growing Catalan Aragon managable, but always on the brink of the abyss. I curbed the initial side branches of the dynasty by populating the freshly liberated bishopries with my brothers and cousins. And then instituted male-only inheritance to make it all more streamlined. That was working very well until my king died in his early 41s leaving only one 14 years old heir after him, who had to stare at the possibility of being the last of his dynasty. Needless to say I hunted down a know lustful chick for wife, and now have a baby son, but it is still iffy.

But all things considered, I now value free investiture much more. Too much males around the direct succession line? Bishop-nominating time!

[Martinus]

Do you realize they still get claims, just not inherit?

[garbon]

Poor silly relatives. As a weak king of Wales, I twice had relatives rile up my vassals and steal my crown. However, because I had the ducal titles - inevitably my new liege would assign me all of the relevant earl vassals. All too easy to then snatch back the crown with Llewlyn the Drunkard.