CKII AAR: Unite Eire!

[The Brain]

Death Panel?

[Tonitrus]

Duke Murchad the Old finally got bored of not dying and declared himself King of Ireland!



And finally a couple years later, on 28 October 1111, at the age of 84, King Murchad I passes away.



Alas, King Brian I's reign would not last long, giving up the ghost in less than a year, on March 30, 1112.

But long live King Constantin I!

Here is the current ruling family...


While alive, King Brian had made Fedlimid Marshal, and Duke of Connaught, while keeping Constantin an Earl until inheritance. (the idea being to keep the ruling line in control of the Duchy of Munster and Leinster as the King's power base).

Constantin and Deirdre(the lesbian) do have one son but I decided to make Fedlimid the heir for now, as Ireland still has elected succession and he is currently the best choice(I plan to change the succession law again...as elected seems rather crappy...when Brian was heir, he would keep swapping his favor from himself to some other distant relative, and back again constantly, also some totally unrelated 1-county Irish earl somehow has inheritance to the Kingdom of Ireland, so I need to lock him out....though being able to choose daughters is a nice advantage to have if needed, as long as one has an iron fist control of the electors).

Constantin also followed in his father's footsteps in consolidating the power of the King (between Murchad, Brian and him, got it up to "High").

Much of Ireland still remains independent, and invaders from The Isles have seized a province of Ulster, so now Constantine must begin the political and military consolidation of Eire. 

(still deciding if I should continue to do the slow, "claim and conquest" strategy, or start schmoozing the independent earls...as they will mostly all accept vassilization now...but I don't like the idea of a bunch of rebellious tards controlling the north)



And The World, as of 20 April 1112....



- France is split as Aquitaine fights a war for independence.
- Byzantium survives, but is splintered.
- Denmark continues to expand throughout the Baltic Sea.
- Novgorod, having acquired a large expanse of Rus, struggles to hold it together.
- England is suffering from a massive outbreak (I saw well over a dozen counties) of Consumption(tuberculosis).

[Faeelin]

It looks like in CK II you can't grow beyond a certain size, or the world starts to collapse as your vassals are always going to hate you. No?

[Sheilbh]

It looks like in CK II you can't grow beyond a certain size, or the world starts to collapse as your vassals are always going to hate you. No?

Basically - with the exceptions of the HRE and Byzantium.  I think it's quite good and makes the game more interesting.  But I think it also reflects the period.  You could see a dynasty build up immense power and prestige before total collapse in response to civil war or a bad ruler.

[Martinus]

It looks like in CK II you can't grow beyond a certain size, or the world starts to collapse as your vassals are always going to hate you. No?

Basically - with the exceptions of the HRE and Byzantium.  I think it's quite good and makes the game more interesting.  But I think it also reflects the period.  You could see a dynasty build up immense power and prestige before total collapse in response to civil war or a bad ruler.

Do holdings of your dynasty members you do not yourself control add to the score? I think people may be forgetting that, which is sorta counterintuitive compared to similar games - i.e. you are still getting points if your cousin rules France, even if it is a totally independent kingdom to your England for example.

[Tonitrus]

It looks like in CK II you can't grow beyond a certain size, or the world starts to collapse as your vassals are always going to hate you. No?

So far, I've managed to keep my Irish vassals happy, though besides the barons/bishops, they are all family.  But there's only really been one generation change so far...things are bound to get worse.

[garbon]

Do holdings of your dynasty members you do not yourself control add to the score? I think people may be forgetting that, which is sorta counterintuitive compared to similar games - i.e. you are still getting points if your cousin rules France, even if it is a totally independent kingdom to your England for example.

I don't think they do (they add to that small prestige bit) but not the overall score.  After all, if I reload as a cousin - my score is back at 0 although the dynasty prestige bit is at whatever it was at.  The overall score is made up of a sum of each of your rulers' prestige and piety.

[Tonitrus]

25 December 1122

Since last time...


Sadness, our Queen Mother, Lanka of Hungary has passed away... 



The epidemic of Consumption spread through Wales on onto Ireland, infecting the Queen (perhaps Constantin hoped at chance for a more willing and fertile wife...but alas Deirdre would eventually recover).



Having coaxed the independent Earls of Ulster (including one who is possessed) to join the Irish kingdom, the Twin Kings of Ireland (as I have unofficially dubbed Constantin and Feldimid) declare war on The Isles for control of Ulster.  The Isles, having just suffered a punishing defeat at the hands of Scotland, make for an easy opponent, and Ulster is soon liberated.



The Kingdom of Ireland remains just one county short of unification, Kildare's ruling dynasty remain stubborn hold-outs to the inevitable.

Despite this, the Twin King's reign over Ireland remains a pinnacle of unusual unity and loyalty (King Constantin doesn't have a vassal under 60 relationship).


Ireland's High Council


(Prince Mael-Martain is the third son of the former King Brian and also now Duke of Leinster)

Prince Feldimid remains heir under electoral succession as King Constanin considers whether to introduce Primogeniture succession.  The decision is not easy:

- Constanin only has one son (now the Duke of Ulster) from his wife Deirdre the Lesbian, and that idiot ended up married to a woman 18 years his senior (now 50) and they have no children.

- Prince Feldimid has two daughters (one from his first wife, now of legal age and in a matrilineal marriage), but also a new, young wife. 

- Prince Mael-Martin has an almost-grown son and daughter.

I assume Primogeniture will make the idiot son heir, so likely the succession would eventually get thrown back to Feldimid's or Mael-Martin's family...but that seems like a recipe for chaos and instability.  The risks of electoral succession may make sense for now...at least all the Duke's are inside the close family.  But the 10-year delay for a new king to change the succession law can be a long, risky wait.


Anyway, finally the World Report:



- Aquitaine failed in it's bid for independence, and France continues their crusades in Spain.
- Denmark continues its road to empire, fighting for domination of Finland.
- England, having reunited from a previous civil war under a new king in Warwick, again falls chaos.
- Norway fights to dominate Sweden, who is aided by Scotland seeking to liberate Norwegian-held counties in the north.

[katmai]

Keep up the AAR T.

[Tonitrus]

Also will note, though I wasn't able to switch-off auto-updating before this recent patch, I decided to forge ahead despite the risks.  No crashes so far, or complete strangeness (I probably wouldn't be able to tell anyway).

Killing off the story now and starting over is unacceptable! 

[Tonitrus]

Thing have been busy since last time...

King Constantin finds he can usurp the title for Duchy of Meath (the hold-out to unification), and promptly does so!



The defenders are promptly quashed at the Battle of Kilkenny...



And Eire is united!



But things are never peaceful for long...a plot is discovered that Deirdre the Lesbian desires to kill our twin brother Feldimid!  We have an heir (had already switched to Primogeniture), so such a plot is senseless!  Fortunately she submits to our demands...



And later, Constantin and Deirdre make up, falling into genuine love when he buys her a new, magnificent black horse (women are such suckers, even lesbians).



But strife between the Twin Kings would not end...



Fortunately nothing ever would come of Feldimid's claim on the Irish throne.


Tragedy!  On 15 April 1126, King Constantin I passes away(though falling asleep in the Lord sounds rather comfy)...



And his only son, Gilla-Ruad (I hate that name...and his beard) becomes the new King of Ireland.  The nation worries as he has no children, and an elderly wife.



And one even worries too much, as the Earl of Oriel starts a futile rebellion against the King...



...the rebellion is promptly crushed, only increasing King Gilla-Ruad's control.

But then, more treachery!  The wife of our uncle, Prince Mael-Martin plots against the life of the King!  But as my guardsmen close in, she manages to flee back to her home in England....craven English wench!



Though she still lives, things return to relative calm in Ireland.  The lords of the Emerald Isle seek only a quiet, peaceful reign, and hold no glorius ambitions of conquest abroad (even if England is rather ripe, seeming locked in endless civil wars).




The World, Christmas Day 1127



- England remains in turmoil.
- Denmark fights off moves for independence in Pomerania.
- Sweden strikes back against Norway.

[Tonitrus]

New Year's Day, 1142 A.D.

The last of the Twins finally passes, and King Gilla-Ruad's rule is now absolute.

But he is saddled with an old maid of a wife, and no heir.

Seeking to appease the Pope to grant a divorce, King Gilla-Ruad joins the Crusade for Alexandria.  At first intending to just play lip-service to the crusade, he ditches his old broad and finds his new young wife, who would eventually give him three sons in a short time.

But eventually, God speaks to our King, and he leads the united army of Ireland on a long journey to Egypt.  And with the help of the Hungarians (and some Swiss mercenaries), a little bit of Ireland comes to the shores of the Pharaohs...



With three sons and a fertile wife, King Gilla-Ruad's reign over Ireland has brought prosperity and peace.  Despite infirmity and a maiming received while quashing rebels in Alexandria, he has another child on the way.  The future looks bright.


The World....



- The young, beautiful Danish Queen wraps up another crusade against pagans in the North on the road to domination of the Baltic.
- France eases out of another civil war against Aquitaine.
- Saxon England remains a cauldron of instability, with the Scots seeking to take advantage of their weakness.
- Tuscany leads a fresh, but likely doomed revolt against the HRE.
- Sweden and Norway begin yet another in an endless series of wars.

[Ed Anger]

I hate that name...

I loathe the retard names that pop up. BAR BAR BAR BAR.

So I name the King's kids after hockey players, snack foods and cats.

[Maximus]

I always have to laugh at Ramon-Berenguer of Barcelona and his twin sons Ramon-Berenguer and Berenguer-Ramon.

[Tonitrus]

After being named "the Great", our dear King Gilla-Ruad would become incapable, and pass away in his early 50's, leaving his first son Brian II to ascend to throne at the age of 11....



His mother, Queen Cathan, would be regent.  Due to the delicate fragility of the current leadership, it was decided that our new holding at Alexandria should be relinquished, and they were donated to the Knights Hospittaler (who, of course, we promptly Jihaded and smashed by the Emir of Egypt). 

When Brian II came of age, it seems he would become a good, and noble King...



...helping in raising his younger siblings himself with the help of his new bride, the daughter of a Norman Duke.

Not everything would be serene, however...the new heir to the Duchy of Leinster, one of Brian's distant cousins, initiated a plot to reduce the authority of the Crown of Ireland.  Choosing not to be lenient, King Brian II ordered him imprisoned, but he would evade the Marshal and initiate a rebellion.



The rebellion stood no chance, and was soon crushed.  The hapless rebel's fate was to be banished from Ireland, King Brian seizing the Duchy of Leinster for himself  (and turning over the Duchy of Ulster to his younger brother).

And being the cynic that he is, King Brian would bring back Free Investiture of priests, which had been relinquished back to the Pope under the previous king to gain Papal favor.  King Brian would become well known for his cynicism...



The Knowne World, New Year's Day, 1154 A.D.



- Denmark recovers from a brutal rebellion that nearly brought an end to it's empire.  A duchess in Finland, also bride to the Polish King started a revolt to create the Kingdom of Finland (and had the support of a number of prominent Danish counties), and the pagan tribes rose up to seize back their lands.  However, Denmark's warrior queen would ultimately prove victorious.
- Sweden's own warrior queen continues to fight off Norwegian aggression.
- The Aquitaine again strives for independence from France.
- As does Tuscany from the HRE, this time joined by the powerful Duke of Osterreich.
- Hungary recovers from a bitter civil war.
- Byzantium crusades for Sicily.
- Several Orthodox states in the east, grown from the splintering of Byzantium, continue to show unusual success in fighting off the Muslim hordes.
- A new Persian Empire seems to be on the rise, however.